I took out my phone and called Zhao Laoqi.
But as expected, he didn't answer. I figured he'd blocked me.
"Stop calling. He won't pick up."
Song Xiaotian climbed onto the top bunk and yawned. "He was playing you from the start. Just accept that you got screwed."
I couldn't let it go, so I called several more times. Still no answer.
Finally, I tried calling from Song Xiaotian's phone. The call went through, but Zhao Laoqi must have known it was me, because he hung up immediately.
Now I had no choice but to face reality.
That old bastard Zhao Laoqi really had lied to Meng Yifan and me!
I felt deeply hurt.
I'd been working for years, including two years in sales, and I'd dealt with all kinds of people. I'd always considered myself pretty smart, not someone who would fall for a scam.
Yet I'd been played by an old man.
I felt like my intelligence had been insulted.
What I couldn't understand was, if Zhao Laoqi had been working with Du Ruhai all along, why had he let me take those two Ash Urns?
Besides, Brother Liu had introduced me to Zhao Laoqi. Could Brother Liu be one of Du Ruhai's people too?
I'd wanted to discuss it with Song Xiaotian, but he was already asleep.
We'd gone to Qin Island yesterday and come back today. All that traveling really was exhausting.
I didn't disturb his rest any further. I turned off the light and got ready to sleep too.
But that night, I couldn't sleep no matter what I tried.
Whenever I thought about having to live as a fugitive, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
After agonizing in bed for an hour, I felt so miserable that I quietly climbed out and left