Chapter Twenty-One: Gathering of Detectives

The business card read “Eagle Detective Agency,” and beneath it was the man’s name: Yun Ji.

“Detective Yun Ji?” Liu Zichen read it aloud, finding it rather amusing.

Chen Tianyu made a joke, “Maybe he really is just trying to be helpful.”

Liu Zichen snorted, examining the card again before laughing, “Look at the services he offers: finding missing people or things, extramarital affair investigations, insurance probes, private security, wiretapping and surveillance, professional debt collection…”

She couldn’t help but tease, “Are you in debt to anyone lately? Got any affairs going on?”

For no reason, Chen Tianyu’s heart skipped a beat, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes. Just as he was about to meet this so-called Yiruo, a detective suddenly popped up out of nowhere—what a close call!

“You’re the one in charge of the money, so if anyone’s in debt, it can’t be me,” Chen Tianyu deflected. “But honestly, the way this guy operates, we really can’t let our guard down. He could cause us more trouble than we’d like.”

He seemed to be talking to himself, “Private detective agencies have sprung up like mushrooms over the years. His appearance is a reminder that there’s another force closely observing our every move.”

“He just puts on a show—what else can he do but make people laugh?” Liu Zichen dismissed him. “If someone dressed like that every day, the crooks would steer clear of him by a mile. What could he possibly uncover?”

“Wait,” Liu Zichen suddenly thought of something. “Why would he be watching us?”

Chen Tianyu pondered, “Maybe something we did caught someone’s attention by accident—or maybe your wild antics got you noticed…”

Liu Zichen bristled, “Excuse me? What did I do?”

“What didn’t you do? Picking fights at bars, risking your life to save someone at Black Dragon Pool—it all made the front page. Did you really think you could escape all that just by hiding out here in the middle of nowhere?” Chen Tianyu’s expression grew serious. “Maybe the average tourist wouldn’t know, but a professional will never miss a thing.”

Liu Zichen wasn’t stupid. The truth dawned on her immediately, “So you mean, we’ve been watched for a while now, and he just followed us here? That’s a little scary.”

“We hadn’t noticed anything before, though,” she said, finding it unbelievable. The thought of being monitored by such a formidable opponent made her uneasy.

Chen Tianyu slowly shook his head. “No, that can’t be it. If he’d been tailing me this whole time, I would have noticed. His appearance, his aura, his gaze—he’s far too conspicuous. I suspect there’s more to this than meets the eye. From now on, we need to be cautious in everything we do and avoid confronting them head-on.”

“Would we even get into a conflict with him?” Liu Zichen thought, voicing her doubt.

Chen Tianyu picked up the business card, musing to himself, “Heh, Detective Yun Ji… perhaps this really is a gathering place for detectives.”

“Strange… what are all these people doing here?” he murmured.

---

The two of them ate a local specialty, rice jelly, at a small stall tucked away at an exit near the inn. It wasn’t expensive and served as their breakfast.

The stall was clearly operated by a local woman, though selling rice jelly couldn’t be a very lucrative business. The spot was windy and dusty, and the plate of rice jelly was covered with a yellow cloth to keep the dust off. Tourists might be put off by the lack of hygiene, but the two ate without much comment. The taste was authentic—neither particularly delicious nor unpleasant. They did, however, appreciate the sauce, so they didn’t complain.

At least there was no price gouging in the scenic area, which was a relief in itself.

After they polished off their breakfast standing up, the woman collected their bowls and tossed them into a red bucket. Business was slow; she looked rather idle.

Liu Zichen glanced at the other bucket of grimy dishwater with a slight frown—girls are naturally inclined toward cleanliness.

Suddenly, Chen Tianyu’s curiosity was piqued. Instead of leaving, he squatted down beside the stall.

“Ma’am, do you just make the rice jelly at home and come here to sell it?” He tried to strike up a conversation.

The woman looked up at him coldly and was silent for a while. Chen Tianyu thought she wouldn’t answer.

“I come here every day. Been doing this for years,” she finally replied. She hadn’t spoken with anyone in so long that she seemed a bit slow to react.

Chen Tianyu, feeling he got what he wanted, grinned, “Doesn’t make much money, does it?”

“Just trying to get by,” she answered flatly. Her Mandarin was clearly imperfect, so she didn’t care to say much, but she was willing to talk a little.

“The scenic area doesn’t charge you rent?” Chen Tianyu asked, surprised.

“You tourists like to pry,” she replied in annoyance, with a trace of resentment.

“Ever heard of any business that doesn’t pay rent?” she shot back.

Chen Tianyu nodded, admitting honestly, “Not really.”

“Not really? You young folks don’t get it—there’s no such thing,” she said with a hint of sarcasm.

Liu Zichen laughed nearby, and Chen Tianyu awkwardly rubbed his face.

“Uh, am I still young?” he said with a sheepish grin, thinking the woman was about his age.

She immediately retorted, “Are you older than me?”

He had no answer to that. People who live on the edge of survival tend to speak bluntly and honestly, leaving no room for argument.

Clearly, she just needed to vent. Seeing him fall silent, she spoke up again, “You must want something from me, right?”

“Yes,” Chen Tianyu replied, seeing no point in beating around the bush. “Ma’am, you’ve run this stall here for years—you must have seen a lot of tourists come and go, right?”

“Ever seen a detective?” he cut to the chase.

She shot him a cold look, “Oh, come off it. Aren’t you a detective?”

Chen Tianyu was startled, and Liu Zichen’s face showed her surprise.

…

The woman continued unhurriedly, “Asking this, asking that—if you’re not a detective, who is?”

“Come on, do we look the part?” Chen Tianyu let out a sigh of relief, realizing she was just guessing. “I just ran into a real detective in that little room over there—scared us out of our wits. We thought we’d done something wrong, so we came to ask.” He pointed toward the corner where the bonfire party had been held.

As expected, the woman gave a look of disdain.

“You mean that guy? Detective, my foot,” she scoffed. “He’s good at putting on airs, always coming over here to pester me with questions. Drives me crazy.”

She added, “Never once bought anything from me—just full of questions.”

“As long as he isn’t a real detective, that’s a relief. We were scared out of our minds,” Chen Tianyu feigned anxiety.

The woman actually smiled for a moment—a rare sight—but it faded instantly. “I didn’t say he wasn’t a detective. I just said he never finds out anything. He just wanders around all day.”

Liu Zichen interjected, “Are there many detectives like him around the lake?”

“Many? That would be a disaster!” the woman exclaimed, not at all faking it. “One is more than enough to be a nuisance.”

She eyed them suspiciously. “Is he really watching you? What have you two done?” Her gaze lingered on Liu Zichen, making her feel inexplicably uneasy.

…

Chen Tianyu was the first to recover. He coughed, “Don’t get the wrong idea—she’s my girlfriend.” Liu Zichen immediately understood.

“Well, that explains it!” the woman remarked knowingly.

Liu Zichen was puzzled, “What do you mean?”

Suddenly, the woman began gathering her things as if she were about to pack up and leave.

“Looks like there aren’t any customers. I’ll head home and cook for my kid,” she said, though her tone was insincere.

All they could do was stare helplessly. Chen Tianyu stood up too; there was no way to stop her from leaving.

In no time, she had all her things hoisted onto her shoulder. Seeing the two still standing there, she sighed.

“At your age, you should be married already,” she said, walking off without a backward glance.

Watching her figure recede into the distance, Chen Tianyu finally spoke after a long pause, “The eyes of the people truly see all.”

“So, Yun Ji was just secretly spying on us?” Liu Zichen, ever sharp, caught on immediately.

“Let’s hope so,” Chen Tianyu nodded. “As I said, let’s wait and see. Since Yun Ji suspects there’s something unusual about our relationship, perhaps we can turn that to our advantage later.”

“I still feel that person won’t be easy to deal with,” Liu Zichen said with some concern.

“If his motives aren’t pure, then it’s none of our concern,” Chen Tianyu replied with conviction, exuding confidence. A bold idea suddenly took shape in his mind.