Sufficient Payment

Meilong Building, Tianxing Club.

It was one in the afternoon. Zhao Han carried a large pile of lunch boxes she had just bought from the cafeteria to a room on the west side of the corridor, marked "Duty Room."

"Uncle Wenren, come out and eat."

She called into the inner room, then began neatly arranging the lunch boxes on the duty room table.

The table was packed with meat and vegetables, ribs and beef, everything one could want. There was porridge and rice, seven or eight lunch boxes gathered together, giving off a rich aroma.

Wenren De lazily climbed out of the bed in the inner room and sat down behind the table. After glancing over the dishes, his expression became somewhat complicated.

"You've spent too much, Xiao Han. How much did this meal cost? I'll have A Sheng transfer it back to you later." Wenren De picked up his chopsticks as he spoke.

"There's no need, Uncle. During the break this morning, Team Leader Hu from the Project Center sent last week's reward to my phone. There was also Sister Shan Shan's and Sister Yun Shuang-jie's shares. I actually got over twenty thousand..." Zhao Han lowered her voice slightly, her face brimming with excitement. "Most of it was Teacher Wenren's contribution, really. We were just running errands alongside him."

"Not bad, not bad." Wenren De seemed to sink into memories upon hearing that, then reminded her, "But while the income is substantial, the risks are much greater than for Ordinary People. You must always stay vigilant."

"Thank you for the reminder, Uncle." Zhao Han nodded.

That was true. Back when she had still been an Ordinary Person, why would she have thought about guarding against people every day?

She had only thought about what good food to eat for her next meal and what classes she had the next day.

Now, that was no longer enough. She had to wonder whether someone might suddenly stab her today, or whether she might run into some accident on the road tomorrow.

Fortunately, Narration Mister had been reliable enough to let her cling to a powerful backer, so she did not have to think too much about such things.

Uncle was strong too, but he was the head of a company after all. He was busy with work and constantly on the move. He could not possibly watch over her at all times.

Seeing this, Wenren De smiled in satisfaction and began eating.

Halfway through the meal, he casually asked, "Tomorrow is the weekend again. Xiao Han, are you going out shopping and having fun with some heartthrob like the other girls?"

"Huh?" Zhao Han blushed and hurriedly waved her hands. "What heartthrob would like a dark-skinned girl like me, much less go shopping with me?"

"That's called healthy, and you're not dark at all. You need to have more confidence in yourself," Wenren De comforted her. "But feelings require mutual effort. If some heartthrob liked you and was willing to go shopping with you, what would you be willing to do for him?"

"Oh, as long as he's a heartthrob I like, I'd be willing to do lots of things for him." Zhao Han spoke as though it were only natural.

"Mm, very good. What an obedient child." Wenren De said seriously, "Uncle likes you very much too. I can go shopping with you tomorrow. So can you help Uncle go downstairs and buy a bottle of Wuliangye?"

"Ah..." Zhao Han was instantly dumbfounded.

"Sigh, could it be that in your eyes, Uncle can't even meet the standard of a heartthrob anymore? Or do you hate Uncle that much?" Wenren De ran a hand through his hair, seeming somewhat dejected.

Zhao Han had nothing to say. As expected of Teacher Wenren's father, he had so many tricks up his sleeve.

"Of course not. But when Teacher Wenren left, he specifically told us to keep an eye on you and not let you drink. If it gets serious, we're supposed to make you take medicine. This is the Club, after all, and there are many outsiders around. It wouldn't look good if you got drunk." Zhao Han said awkwardly.

Although she had fallen for his trick, she felt she still could not break her principles.

"Damn it, that brat. He's gone and still planted a mine for me." Wenren De immediately leaned back in his chair and said unhappily.

"Uh, Teacher Wenren is taking an exam," Zhao Han quickly changed the subject. "There are so many experts competing in the selection, and Divine Land is so vast, full of hidden talents. Teacher Wenren must be tired and nervous. We should be cheering him on right now..."

"What's there to cheer for now? He should have already finished the exam and gone home..." Wenren De lowered his head and began eating, muttering, "He's probably forgotten all about us already. The two of us can only take a taxi home tonight."

"That can't be, right? It's only been half a day. Even our usual Monthly Exams don't end that quickly. I remember Teacher Wenren looking very busy when he was preparing, reading so many books every day." Zhao Han found it hard to believe.

"That's just the kind of person he is. Things we find difficult come naturally to him. He's practically unlike a child who only graduated kindergarten a hundred-odd months ago. He isn't clumsy and adorable like he was when he was little at all..." Wenren De said with considerable dejection.

Zhao Han was too weak to complain. Just then, her phone suddenly chimed twice.

She put down her chopsticks, picked up her phone, and swiped it open to look. "The assessment is complete. I have passed the selection in advance. But I have something to handle now, so Old Wu will take you home tonight."

Her expression turned strange as she said to Wenren De, "Uncle, you were only half right just now."

"Impossible. I know him best." Wenren De ate a chicken drumstick.

"He did finish his exam, and he passed the selection early, but Teacher Wenren hasn't forgotten about us," Zhao Han said seriously. "It's just that he really won't be coming to pick us up. He says he has something to do."

"What could he possibly have to do? He must be going to..." Wenren De stopped halfway, looked at Zhao Han, then swallowed the rest of his words and buried himself in his meal.

At that moment, Wenren Sheng's car was parked by the roadside. He stood on the sidewalk, speaking with a young man who looked somewhat mature for his age.

The car was already close to the Villa District.

"Zhang Yi? That should be your name. You stopped my car by the roadside. Is there something you need?" Wenren Sheng stared at the young man and asked.

"Mr. Wenren, you have sharp eyes." Zhang Yi offered a flattering remark before continuing, "I'm terribly sorry, but I would like to ask you to help investigate my older brother's disappearance. I registered at your Club last Sunday, but they sent me a message saying my matter did not fall within the scope of special relief."

"You want me to investigate it privately?" Wenren Sheng remained composed as he sized the man up.

Zhang Yi.

Mystery Points: 0/1.

He was just an Ordinary Person, not even someone connected to any mysterious incident.

"Although I know this is asking too much, that is what I want. I may not be able to afford the payment to hire you, but I'll do everything I can. I still have five hundred thousand in compensation money here. I can give all of it to you." Zhang Yi took out a bank card and offered it with both hands.

Wenren Sheng appeared thoughtful and did not immediately take the bank card.

"I know a little about your matter," he said calmly. "You asked many organizations for help, including several well-known agencies. They all gave you accident assessment reports. Why do you refuse to believe them?"

"Because my brother truly did not drink alcohol, and he was an extremely cautious person..." Zhang Yi's face showed agitation. "In any case, he would never have fallen into molten steel for that reason and left no body behind."

"You should have given those reasons to the other investigators too, right?"

"Yes. One investigator helplessly told me that, according to regulations, important production lines are equipped with Video Recordings that run for long periods. But when they went to investigate, they could not find the relevant Video Recording at all. They could only make a judgment based on the traces left at the scene. It was just an accident." Although Zhang Yi spoke calmly, the tremble and anger in his voice could still be heard.

Clearly, he believed the investigators feared the Five Colors Group. After all, they had money, as well as the rumored Otherworldly Users backing them.

Wenren Sheng thought about it. This might be the entry point for that incident.

So he nodded. "All right. I'll help you look into it. Give me the factory where your brother had his accident, along with his information. For the next couple of days, stay with Brother Li first, so nothing happens to you."

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Wenren. Please take this card. It may not be enough, but I'll make up the rest for you later." Zhang Yi said gratefully.

Wenren Sheng looked at the bank card and took it, but shook his head. "No, this is enough. In fact, it won't take this much. I'm an honest man. When the time comes, I'll refund any excess and charge any shortfall."

"Huh?" A trace of astonishment flashed across Zhang Yi's face.

"Get in." Wenren Sheng opened the car door and got in first.

Zhang Yi hurriedly followed him into the car.