The Favored Heiress
Chapter 623: What I Owe You

Chapter 623: Chapter 623: What I Owe You

"I don’t have time." The man spread open the hem of his trench coat and took a seat opposite Li Qiao in a commanding manner, picked up the glass of brandy, sniffed it, and his expression soured, "I don’t drink brandy."

Li Qiao crossed her legs, leaned back in her chair, and remained silent, just looking at him coolly and indifferently.

The other party ground his teeth, a fierce light flashing in his eyes, "At the very least, I’m your senior fellow. Is this how you treat me?"

"After committing acts of treachery against our master, you think there’s a problem with my treating you like this?"

The man did not speak for a long time, his callused hands tightly clutching the glass, and he sneered coldly, "Is that old man still alive in the Poor People’s Kiln? If so, it seems I need to consider committing the sin of treachery against my master once again."

"You can try." Li Qiao glared at him expressionlessly, "Last time it was your nose bridge, what do you want to break next?"

Indeed, his nose bridge had been broken by Li Qiao.

The man pressed his lips tightly together, his sharp profile commanding even without anger, "Only you would still consider that man your master, truly blind."

"Finished talking nonsense?" Li Qiao flicked her fingernails, her tone somewhat nonchalant.

The other party rolled his Adam’s apple, pulled open the collar of his trench coat, and from the inner pocket, took out an envelope and tossed it onto the table, "Everything you want is in here. Take a good look; Aida State isn’t as simple as you think. Don’t run around causing trouble; don’t expect me to help you if you do."

Li Qiao picked up the envelope and stuffed it into her pocket, then got up and walked out.

The man who was still sitting at the table kicked the leg of the table, "You didn’t take your suitcase."

Li Qiao, without turning back, spoke in a moderate tone, "Send it to the hotel."

"I’m really fucking indebted to you."

Despite his words, he still picked up the suitcase, cursing as he followed Li Qiao’s pace.

This person, Meng Jun, came from the Border Slum Kiln.

...

The next day, Li Qiao slept until well into the morning before she lazily woke up.

By habit, she reached under her pillow for her phone, which had two unread messages.

One of them was sent by Shang Yu.

After reading the message, Li Qiao called him back with a weary expression.

The other end was somewhat noisy.

Soon after, a familiar voice came through, "Awake yet?"

"Mhm." Li Qiao asked languidly, propping herself up against the headboard, "You won’t arrive until evening?"

Shang Yu took a drag on his cigarette, his thin lips releasing a faint mist, and glanced at Mr. and Mrs. Li opposite him, his voice laced with a smile, "Something came up last minute. I’ll head over in the afternoon."

Li Qiao looked at the wooden box on the table across from her and heaved a soft sigh, "Okay, I’ll wait for you."

Without much more to say, Li Qiao hung up the phone and went to the bathroom.

Meanwhile, at the South Sea Li Family residence, Shang Yu was at the dining table having lunch with Mr. and Mrs. Li.

...

At one in the afternoon, after finishing lunch, Li Qiao looked down at the envelope in her hand, shadows pooling in her gaze.

Luoyu had already left for the Qianmu Group negotiations, Cheng Mo was nowhere to be found, and only Liuyun was waiting at the hotel.

Li Qiao glanced at the time and left shortly after.

A moment later, a dark red Ferrari pulled out of the Royal Hotel’s parking lot.

At two-thirty, in front of an ancient castle villa in the suburbs, Li Qiao stepped out of her car.

Leaning against the door, she looked at the towering wrought iron gate, took her phone, and made a call to Shen Qingye.

A few brief words, and the call was cut off.

Then the wrought iron gate slowly opened, accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps, "Fuck fuck, is that kid screwing with me?"

Li Qiao leaned against the car door without moving, until she saw Shen Qingye approaching briskly in casual homewear; only then did a hint of a smile appear on her lips, "I’m not kidding."

Shen Qingye was still wearing slippers, his hair messy and unkempt.

Suddenly hearing Li Qiao’s banter, he stood in the courtyard, joy overflowing from his expression, "Damn, you really came."

Li Qiao glanced at the corner of her mouth, leaning against the car door, she straightened up and strolled through the front gate.

The living room was filled with the smell of smoke.

Li Qiao found a sofa and seated herself, while Shen Qingye came over excitedly with a bottle of mineral water, "Kiddo, what brought you to Aida State? Did you come especially to see me?"

"Wishful thinking." Li Qiao took the mineral water, her gaze falling on his home clothes, "How’s the wound?"

When he had gone to the South Sea a while ago, his face was still very pale.

After all, recovering from a gunshot wound to the chest took time.

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingye patted his chest, "It’s fine, not a big deal."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he frowned and coughed twice.

Li Qiao looked at him with a mocking gaze, then pulled a white pill bottle from her pocket and tossed it over, "Take two, twice a day."

Shen Qingye clumsily caught the pill bottle and, without asking further, opened it and downed two pills.

After taking the medicine, Shen Qingye belatedly thought of something, "How did you know where my house is?"

His private residence wasn’t even displayed on Aida State’s navigation maps. How did this brat find it?

Li Qiao raised an eyebrow in response, "Is it that hard to find?"

Shen Qingye cleared his throat, glancing at her before changing the subject, "What are you doing in Aida State?"

"Business." Li Qiao crossed her legs and swung her foot, "Can you log into the Sixth Bureau’s intelligence system from here?"

Shen Qingye shook his head without hesitation, "No, you have to go to the Sixth Bureau headquarters. What do you want to check? I’ll help you."

"You can still get into the Sixth Bureau headquarters now?"

Shen Qingye’s expression changed, and he picked up a cigarette case from the table, remaining silent for a long time before chuckling awkwardly, "You... know?"

Li Qiao narrowed her eyes, watching his obscure expression, then looked away, "I’ve heard some things."

Shen Qingye had been stripped of all access to the Sixth Bureau’s systems by his father and had been barred from going to the headquarters.

She had learned of this the night before.

The living room fell silent.

Shen Qingye bit on an unlit cigarette, his voice muffled with a chuckle, "I often make my old man angry, it’s just that this time it was a bit severe. It’s no big deal; it’ll be fine after a while."

Listening to his forced casualness, Li Qiao bluntly exposed, "Right now, you probably can’t even leave this villa."

Shen Qingye fell silent.

How did she know all these details?!

Shen Qingye was essentially confined to the villa, and even his phone was being monitored.

Li Qiao’s gaze grew heavy, her fingers rubbing her forehead, "Aren’t you going to talk about what you’ve been doing?"

Shen Qingye glanced at her, sarcasm swelling in his dark eyes, "I haven’t done much, just trivial matters not worth mentioning."

"I’m leaving." Li Qiao spoke bluntly, rising to leave.

Shen Qingye panicked, spilling the truth behind her in haste, "I posted an anonymous deal on the black market to target Xiao Yehui."

Li Qiao looked at him darkly, her smile ambiguous, "To avenge that gunshot wound of yours?"

Shen Qingye touched his chest, his expression unreadable, "Can’t I? I can’t just take a bullet for nothing."

"You can, but you chose the wrong method."

"I know, but I had to try. What if it worked?" Saying this, Shen Qingye’s eyes brightened, as he revealed something astonishing, "Besides, the black market is just a Blinding Method, the real deal was taken long ago."