Sold for 300, I Fight Back with Superpowers

”Mr. Hua, do you know how annoying your hovering is?” Su Qing said, making no effort to hide her dislike for Hua Zifeng.

”Comes with the territory. Being a detective means you’re bound to annoy people,” Hua Zifeng replied with a slight smile.

Su Qing stared at Hua Zifeng as if she were seeing a ghost. Ever since they met, he had been nothing but cold toward her, always wearing a suspicious expression or using an interrogative tone. For him to be smiling at her now... ’Why does this feel so creepy?’ she thought. She was positive this man was up to no good.

”You don’t have to look at me like that, Miss Susan. I’m no monster,” Hua Zifeng said to Su Qing with a faint smile. ”I just hoped we could have a proper chat.”

”I don’t think there’s anything for us to talk about. Or does Mr. Hua still think I’m a suspect?” Su Qing replied coolly.

”To be honest, I did suspect you, Miss Susan,” Hua Zifeng admitted, looking at Su Qing. ”But then, it suddenly clicked. This whole incident probably has nothing to do with you.”

”Since you’re sure it has nothing to do with me, you shouldn’t be bothering me anymore, Mr. Hua,” Su Qing stated.

”No, no, no. It’s precisely because I’m sure you’re not involved that I’ve become even more curious about you, Miss Susan,” Hua Zifeng said. ”And as you know, curiosity is a detective’s stock-in-trade.”

”Curiosity killed the cat,” Su Qing remarked with a slight smile.

”What?” Hua Zifeng clearly didn’t understand what she meant.

”Nothing,” Su Qing said, raising an eyebrow. ”Just a thought. You may be curious about me, Mr. Hua, but unfortunately, I have no inclination to satisfy that curiosity. So I’d appreciate it if you kept your distance.”

Having said her piece, Su Qing turned to leave.

”Miss Susan.” Hua Zifeng quickly stepped forward to block Su Qing’s path. ”Can we talk privately?”

Su Qing frowned at Hua Zifeng. Seeing the persistence in his eyes, she knew he was the type who wouldn’t give up until he achieved his goal. After a moment’s consideration, she nodded. ”Fine. Just this once.”

Hua Zifeng smiled. ”Good.”

Hua Zifeng told his assistant to return to his room first. He then followed Su Qing to her room. Su Qing poured him a glass of water and said coolly, ”So, what is it exactly that Mr. Hua wants to talk to me about?”

Hua Zifeng picked up the glass of water and thanked Su Qing. He took a sip before saying, ”Those three crewmen are trying to drag you down with them, Miss Susan. They claim you were the mastermind who ordered them to harm Miss Angela.”

”Didn’t you just say you’ve ruled me out as a suspect, Mr. Hua?” Su Qing said casually. ”If you still don’t believe that, then why come talk to me?”

Hua Zifeng nodded. ”I won’t lie to you, Miss Susan. I did suspect you at first. For a time, I was even convinced you were the mastermind. But then I thought it through, and I realized something. If you wanted to get rid of someone, you wouldn’t hire three men that stupid, nor would you leave so many loose ends. In fact, those three might never have had the chance to speak at all. Am I right, Miss Susan?”

”You seem to have a very high opinion of me, Mr. Hua,” Su Qing said, leaning back on the sofa and looking at Hua Zifeng. ”Should I be honored?”

”You’ve earned it, Miss Susan,” Hua Zifeng chuckled. ”After all, you’re an incredibly capable woman.”

”You flatter me, Mr. Hua.”

”No, not at all.” Hua Zifeng put down his glass of water, leaned forward slightly to look at Su Qing, and lowered his voice. ”I imagine if you wanted to kill someone, Miss Susan, you’d do it yourself. And you could do it so quietly, so seamlessly, that no one would ever find a single trace of evidence. Am I right?”

Hua Zifeng’s words sent a chill down her spine. ’So maybe that’s the real reason he’s been watching me so closely.’ Su Qing herself was highly sensitive to auras; as a Wood Ability User, her senses were naturally sharper than an ordinary person’s. And she knew she wasn’t the only special person in this world. There were others.

’Like those Feng Shui Masters, for example, or the Onmyoji from Japan. Or perhaps... perhaps Hua Zifeng himself is one of those people who are highly sensitive to auras.’

’Su Qing had killed before; she knew that better than anyone. The way Hua Zifeng had been watching her so intently... perhaps he’d sensed something was off. Or perhaps he noticed her aura was different from an ordinary person’s.’

’But so what if he did?’

’Even if Hua Zifeng suspects something, he has no proof. Once we’re off this ship, we’ll be strangers. We’ll probably never even see each other again.’

”There’s nothing in this world that doesn’t leave a trace,” Su Qing said, looking at Hua Zifeng. ”Mr. Hua, what do you take me for? A goddess? Able to turn someone to ash with a flick of my fingers, leaving not even bones behind?”

”You’re joking, Miss Susan,” Hua Zifeng said with a laugh.

”Weren’t you the one who started joking with me first, Mr. Hua?” Su Qing retorted.

Hua Zifeng looked at Su Qing with a faint smile. He knew he wouldn’t be able to get any information out of her today. This woman was incredibly strong-willed; it seemed nothing could shake her.

And yet, his curiosity only grew stronger.

In his decades of solving cases, he had never been this intensely curious about anyone. Su Qing was the first.

Knowing he wasn’t going to get anywhere, Hua Zifeng smiled and said, ”Then just consider this an idle chat, Miss Susan.”

”You’re certainly dedicated, Mr. Hua. Even your idea of a casual chat revolves around work,” Su Qing replied, returning his smile.

Hua Zifeng smiled and stood up. ”In that case, I’ll be taking my leave.”

”Take care, Mr. Hua,” Su Qing said, also standing up.

Hua Zifeng took two steps toward the door, then suddenly stopped and turned back to ask Su Qing, ”Miss Susan, did you hear any commotion late last night?”

”I’m a heavy sleeper. I didn’t hear a thing,” Su Qing replied evenly.

”It seems your sleep quality is quite good, Miss Susan,” Hua Zifeng said with an unreadable smile.

”I’ve always been a good sleeper.”

”Well then, sorry for the intrusion.”

”I won’t see you out.”

Su Qing knew Hua Zifeng likely wouldn’t be back. Angela’s case was pretty much an open-and-shut book now. As for the three crewmen implicating her, Su Qing scoffed to herself. ’I can guess what happened. Angela must have said something.’ Given Angela’s bizarre and unfounded animosity toward her, Su Qing knew that nothing good could ever come out of that woman’s mouth.

Furthermore, Su Qing was also certain that Angela would not let the matter rest.

Still, that had nothing to do with her. But if Angela really didn’t know what was good for her and came looking for trouble, Su Qing wasn’t one to be trifled with.

And just as she’d expected, when Angela heard the results of Hua Zifeng’s investigation, she was having none of it.