Scolded her to tears?

The sound of a successful payment rang out in the shop.

The girl left the shop without saying anything.

Xie Yuan looked outside the shop, then turned and went back to the courtyard a short while later.

He crouched beside Old Yuan. "Old Yuan, what was the story with that customer just now?"

"Did she say when she needed these paper figures?"

Old Yuan glanced up at Xie Yuan, then lowered his eyes and continued working. "Her name is Xiang Qing. I don't know anything else."

"In our line of work, we don't ask about customers' private affairs."

"When she ordered the paper figures, she only said to deliver them to this address on the tenth..."

Old Yuan recited the address.

Xie Yuan fell silent for a moment, then stood up. "Old Yuan, can I go out for a bit?"

Old Yuan looked up and stared at Xie Yuan for a long while before lowering his eyes. "Go ahead."

Xie Yuan rose and said with a smile, "You won't dock my pay, will you, Old Yuan?"

Old Yuan said, "Do you get paid?"

Xie Yuan froze for a moment. "Actually, I don't."

He looked at Mu Ze. "I'm heading out for a bit. If things go smoothly, I'll be back soon."

Mu Ze didn't ask any more questions, only reminding him, "Stay safe."

Xie Yuan turned and left the funeral shop.

After waiting a while, Old Yuan asked, "Aren't you curious about what he's going to do?"

"I am," Mu Ze answered honestly. "As long as he's all right, I won't ask about anything else."

Old Yuan shook his head without speaking.

By the time he left the shop, the girl from earlier was already gone.

Xie Yuan searched for a while but didn't see her.

The elderly woman next door said, "Are you looking for that girl from earlier?"

"She already took a taxi and left."

"Thank you, ma'am." Xie Yuan thanked her, took out his phone, and sent a message.

Xie Ran was in a meeting when her phone chimed. She took it out and glanced at it.

Yuan Yuan: Sis, help me look into someone. Xiang Qing, about seventeen or eighteen, a local.

Yuan Yuan: Once you've found her, send a car to pick me up here. [Location shared]

Xie Ran: Got it.

Xie Ran beckoned to the assistant beside her. Once she leaned closer, Xie Ran whispered, "Look into someone named Xiang Qing, seventeen or eighteen, a local. Send a car to the location I'll send you."

The elderly woman beckoned to Xie Yuan as he waited for news. "Come, sit down while you wait."

Xie Yuan sat across from her. "Ma'am, have you seen that girl before?"

The elderly woman deliberately teased him. "What, have you taken a fancy to that young girl?"

"No." Xie Yuan shook his head. "I'm seeing someone."

The elderly woman pursed her lips. "Boring."

"Speaking of that girl, she's only been here a few times before. One time was when her parents passed away."

"She came to buy some funeral supplies the next few times, too."

"Those later times, she kept herself covered up very thoroughly."

"But these old eyes of mine still work well. I recognized her at a glance."

The elderly woman's face was full of pride. She was clearly very pleased with her eyes.

Xie Yuan asked, "Ma'am, do you know anything else?"

The elderly woman shook her head. "No. I only know that her family seemed fairly well-off before."

Xie Yuan didn't ask any more questions. Only after drinking two more cups of her tea did the information he wanted arrive.

Xiang Qing, phone number: 1××××××.

Xie Yuan took out his phone and called.

The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered.

After the call ended automatically, Xie Yuan waited a few seconds and dialed again.

Once again, no one answered.

The viewers watching the livestream were all puzzled.

[What's Young Master Xie doing?]

[Why is she looking for that girl? Does she want the girl to order a few more paper figures?]

[Something feels off. Why is Young Master Xie so concerned about that girl?]

[She covered herself up so thoroughly to go out. Who knows if she's done something shameful.]

[Are you sick in the head? Can't she just be protecting herself from the sun? Besides, what business is it of yours what she wears? Do you have to stick your nose into everything?]

A car pulled over by the roadside.

The window rolled down, and someone called toward Xie Yuan, "Third Young Master."

Xie Yuan stood up. "Ma'am, I'll get going. I'll chat with you when I get back."

After getting into the car, Xie Yuan didn't immediately tell the driver to leave.

He kept calling, and this time, the call finally connected.

"Hello?" The voice was completely flat.

Xie Yuan said, "Hello, I'm a clerk at the funeral shop. There's an issue with the items you ordered, so we need you to come back."

The other end fell silent for a moment. He could faintly hear someone else's voice. "I'm not free right now."

Xie Yuan said, "That's all right. We can come to you. Would you mind giving us your address?"

There was a long silence on the phone before she gave him the name of a café.

After hanging up, Xie Yuan told the driver to head to the café.

When he arrived, Xie Yuan didn't enter the café. Instead, he wandered along a few nearby streets.

As he approached one of the alleys, he heard faint sounds from inside and walked over in a few strides.

The girl, covered from head to toe, leaned against the wall in the alley, her head lowered so he couldn't see her expression.

Xie Yuan frowned slightly. "Miss Xiang?"

The girl looked up, her emotionless eyes meeting Xie Yuan's gaze before she quickly lowered them again.

Xie Yuan said, "I'm the clerk from the funeral shop. I thought I might have mistaken you for someone else."

"Would now be a good time to talk at the café?"

Xiang Qing walked out of the alley, her clothes a little dirtier. She didn't pause as she passed Xie Yuan.

Outside the café, Xie Yuan told the cameraman following him, "Wait outside. I'll be out in a bit."

The cameraman hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

After entering the café, Xie Yuan ordered two coffees. "Extra milk and sugar in one."

Outside the café, the cameraman aimed his camera through the glass at Xie Yuan's table.

Everything seemed normal at first, but a few minutes later, the girl suddenly slumped over the table and burst into loud sobs.

She cried for a full half hour before stopping.

When Xie Yuan left the café, the girl remained seated inside.

For some reason, the cameraman kept feeling that something about the girl had changed.

"Let's go back to the shop."

On the drive back, the cameraman asked curiously, "Young Master Xie, what did you say to her?"

Xie Yuan looked out the window, the corners of his lips lifting slightly. "I asked her to order a few more paper figures."

Comments streamed through the livestream chat.

[Called it. He really did ask that girl to order more paper figures.]

[But why did she cry? And so hard, too?]

[Could Young Master Xie have scolded her to tears?]

[Surely not? Why would Young Master Xie scold her? She didn't offend him.]

[He definitely scolded her to tears. This isn't the first time Xie Dog has done something like this.]

[Exactly. He even got physical with Yueyue. What's a little verbal abuse compared to that?]

A dozen or so minutes later, a trending topic suddenly appeared.

#Variety show guest scolds customer to tears: moral decay or twisted humanity?#

#Shocking! A wealthy young master actually did something like this!#

#A certain young master stops at nothing to achieve his goals#

#Are certain shows secretly manipulating publicity?#

Not long after the topics began trending, Director Ma found out.

Looking at the trending headlines one after another, he caught the scent of a conspiracy.

At a glance, it was clear that someone was deliberately targeting Young Master Xie.

After hesitating for a while, he told Xie Mo about it anyway.

When Xie Mo received Director Ma's message, he opened it and found it full of trending topics about Xie Yuan scolding a customer to tears.

Although they didn't name him directly, they might as well have.

The level of attention was frighteningly high. It was obvious someone was steering things behind the scenes.

"Understood. I'll look into what happened on my end."