Chapter 90: A Slim Chance of Survival

Her personal account now held eighty yuan; deducting the previous balance, she had easily snatched over fifty yuan in personal red envelopes just from a casual half-day out in town.

Not bad at all!

Shi Qingqing believed that in the near future, once her phone was upgraded, the range for grabbing red envelopes would increase again. At that time, she could cover a wider area and seize even more envelopes.

If she could get fifty yuan into her personal account in just half a day now, then with the range increased tenfold, she could conservatively estimate over five hundred yuan a day.

Wow, just the thought of it was delightful!

“Mom, what were you saying just now?”

Shi Yufen tugged at Shi Qingqing’s ear and twisted it gently. “You’re so disobedient, always glued to your phone. I was saying…” She repeated what she’d just said.

Shi Qingqing was about to agree readily.

But then she caught a glimpse of the time on her phone—it was almost six o’clock...

In the past few days, this was the hour she’d go to the campus heartthrob Zhan’s house to work as a maid...

The memory of yesterday flashed before her—first, Zhan had set his dog on her, then tried to force a kiss on her. The perversity of the scene made Shi Qingqing’s cheeks flush.

No, absolutely not. Even if the hourly wage was five hundred yuan, she would rather die than go back.

Now she could rely on boosting game accounts and the red envelope system—she already had money and no longer needed to worry about her living expenses. She had no need to provoke a lunatic!

Her mind made up, Shi Qingqing said guiltily, “Mom, since it’s such a rare occasion for us to be out together, let’s eat out tonight. I sold a top-tier item in the game yesterday for a thousand yuan. We’re not short on money. Come on, your good daughter is treating you!”

Shi Yufen thought it over; it was indeed rare to go shopping with her daughter, and she didn’t want to spoil her mood.

So she let Shi Qingqing pull her along.

***

Police Station on the street.

After the anxious couple who had filed a report left, Officer Zhao entered the case into the computer.

He checked the internal records.

“Old Fang, there have already been several similar cases of missing teenage girls in recent months. Do you think they’re connected?”

“This Lin Jiao seemed to have called someone herself and got into the car willingly. Surveillance footage confirms it—it doesn’t look like a kidnapping. Maybe she’s not missing, just out having fun with friends.”

“That’s not certain. Still, my gut tells me something’s off. I fear this girl is in real danger.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because she’s pretty! The recent missing girls were all attractive and under eighteen. The group that came to pick her up all wore baseball caps; not a single full face was caught on camera. Suspicious…”

“Agreed. We should report this immediately.”

The two of them went off to handle their respective tasks.

***

Food Street.

The lights were dazzling, and the crowds unending.

At night, the food street was more bustling than ever; every stall and shop was packed with people waiting for a taste.

Shi Qingqing and her mother had just finished their meal.

That evening, the two of them shared a large pot of pickled fish hotpot. Shi Qingqing was so full she could hardly move. Checking the time, she saw it was just a little after seven.

It was too early to head home, so she dragged her mother around for a stroll, calling it a digestion walk.

“Mom, we’re almost at Juxiang Barbecue ahead. Let’s go ask for my wages.”

They happened to be passing by, and she finally had the time.

Three months’ hard-earned money—four to five thousand yuan—she couldn’t just let it go.

“Alright!” Shi Yufen was of the same mind.

If they could get the money back, she planned to buy Qingqing a school uniform or something. After all, her daughter had been at Qingming High for over a year and didn’t even have a uniform yet. She felt she owed the child.