When Gan Qing was done talking, she looked down and accepted Yu Lanchuan's WeChat money transfer. This alliance leader was one sweet-smelling oddball—just for the sake of ten yuan, he had bargained with her for a good long time.

Yu Lanchuan asked, "Can you get evidence?"

"Their transactions are done with cash and of course there are no accounts. But if you search that evil doctor's house right now, you can probably find some smuggled drugs." Gan Qing thought a while, "As for Nie Ke and the rest, you can probably get their past chat logs. Is that enough? If necessary, that one upstairs who pissed his pants can turn himself in."

"Turn himself in?" Yu Lanchuan asked in bewilderment. "He found his conscience? What did you do to him?"

"Nothing, just educated him a bit. You can say that I persuaded him with the power of ethics," Gan Qing said. "And then I nicely made another appointment with him. 'See you tomorrow, see you everyday.'"

Yu Lanchuan said, "Tricking him once is enough. This kind of thing is very easily exposed."

"It's all right." Gan Qing laughed and opened her hand to him. In her hand was a small tuft of hair, the strands very short and cut with a sharp edge. When the night wind swept past, they immediately flew away. She said, "Today, it's his hair. Tomorrow, he should worry about his ears. Day after tomorrow… whether I'm a human or a ghost will no longer be of importance to him."

Yu Lanchuan, "..."

He could roughly imagine how the Doctor Zhao upstairs pissed his pants.

Yu Lanchuan called for a ride on a ride-hailing app and the two of them waited by the roadside. The driver seemed a bit unable to find their location and called to ask. After he had finally made his location clear, Yu Lanchuan put down his phone and heard Gan Qing suddenly say from beside him. "This is enough, right?"

"Mm, what?"

"Stuff like evidence and whatnot, there's no need to be too particular. I have an audio recording of what that Zhao fellow said just now." Gan Qing stepped about on the curb. "Add a section of the chat logs to it and send them to Nie Ke. That should be enough to shut his mouth. Go back and keep that foolish sparrow on a tight leash, stay low for a few days, and this matter can be considered over."

Yu Lanchuan heard those words and understood what she was not saying.

The reason why they were out here to handle this shitty problem was all because of the trouble caused by Yan Hao. Now that they had information to use against Nie Ke, they could retreat in victory.

However...

"Actually, even if the evil doctor turns himself in and reports them, there's no use." Gan Qing spread her hands at him. "Nie Ke drugging Xiang Xiaoman was something that happened a long time ago and there's nothing that can be found now. He just needs to insist that he didn't do it. Whether or not the chat logs can be used as evidence is also a question. They can say that the logs were edited, or that they were false advertising to swindle those losers into paying lesson fees or something like that. At most, they will just be fined."

Yu Lanchuan didn't say anything.

As for sharing someone else's private photos, it was just "dissemination of obscene material." At most, it would be assigned a "humiliation and degradation offence." The latter crime usually needed the victim to make a report before it could be investigated, unless there was conclusive evidence to prove that Xiang Xiaoman's unstable mental state was due to Nie Ke spreading her nudes. But this was impossible. Xiang Xiaoman herself might be completely unaware of what Nie Ke had done behind her back.

Not to mention that the matter of the sleeping pills had happened too long ago and was difficult to prove. Even if it could be done, taking sleeping pills typically wouldn't make a person mentally unstable.

That Xiang Xiaoman could walk step by step until she reached where she was today was very likely because she had been someone with low self-esteem in the first place. She might have been more sensitive and easily reliant on others, or maybe she was naturally more susceptible to having mental health issues. If they investigated her relatives and happened to find some who suffered from insomnia or depression, they could say that her condition was hereditary.

As for the long-term psychological abuse, who had seen it?

What was more, the punishment for abuse was not severe. The prison term was at most three years. It wasn't even enough to finish an undergraduate course.

"Little Master Yu." Gan Qing lifted her head and beamed at him as she said, "How does fifteen yuan for one sound?"

Yu Lanchuan was puzzled. "Didn't you just say that the bulk purchase price was fourteen…"

Halfway through, he suddenly realised what Gan Qing meant by "fifteen yuan for one" and his words stuck in his throat.

"This is already the bargain basement price. Otherwise, I would add at least four zeros to it." Gan Qing stretched her body and said, "I am detailed and meticulous, and guaranteed to leave no trace nor evidence. If you're willing to cover the additional transport costs, I can also add a 'disposal and clean-up' service, and make this person disappear without a trace from here on. Even the police would think that he fled because he feared being arrested. How does that sound? I only take cash."

The weather was really cold. As Gan Qing spoke, she stamped her feet lightly and blew on her hands. She looked like she was joking with him.

But Yu Lanchuan had an inexplicable feeling that if he brushed it off with a laugh, then those words were just a joke; but if he really took out fifteen yuan now, Nie Ke would turn into a missing person tomorrow!

In a little less than half a year, Alliance Leader Yu had met not an insignificant number of troublesome people. For example, Madam Qian and her three unlucky disciples belonged to the category of brutal and ruthless people. They had criminal records, were capable of fighting and running, and there was nothing they could not do in a moment of impulse. For another example, Yan Hao, who did things without consulting his brain, did not consider anything, and was someone ignorant of the law and ever-ready to take a wrong step.

Compared to these people, Gan Qing was totally a model citizen. She was usually civilised and courteous. She never cut the queue when buying breakfast, always smiled before speaking, and looked like she was rather easy to bully. But under that facade of "I know what I'm doing," her bones were completely black and when she occasionally revealed a hint of that, it was enough to shock a person to the core.

Fifteen… "add four zeros" yuan. In that case, given that she currently made a living by muttering nonsense to hoodwink people and could not even dig out 1.50 yuan, should he feel relieved?

Behind his glasses, Yu Lanchuan's eyes flickered. "You seem quite experienced."

At that moment, the ride he had called was arriving with its hazard lights on. Gan Qing didn't reply. The eyes that she was never willing to open fully flickered in the dark of the night, revealing a faint cold light like the tip of a blade. "Guess?"

Thus, on this day, the chatty cab driver realised that he totally did not have a chance to join the conversation. The young man in the front passenger seat spent the entire time giving a long lecture on law awareness, frightening the driver into driving fearfully. He didn't dare exceed the speed limit throughout the journey.

Gan Qing, who had dared to put on an act in front of the King of Cool, was now reaping what she sowed. She curled into a ball under the force of his tirade, shrinking into the back seat and not daring to poke her head out. Taking the chance when Yu Lanchuan was drawing a breath, she hastily and weakly cut him off. "I was just joking."

Yu Lanchuan said, "A lot of people who crossed the line began by not taking this matter seriously. Can everything be treated as a joke?"

Gan Qing said remorsefully, "...I was wrong."

The driver met her eyes in the rearview mirror, his eyes full of sympathy. He turned the volume on the radio a little louder to do what he could to help her. And so, the "law segment" gained background music in the form of a traditional narration of Journey to the West.

"Just look at these Jade Hare Spirit, Scorpion Spirit, Sun Wukong and whatnot. Proper demons, all of them, and proper monkeys." When the cab stopped at the entrance of No. 110 Courtyard, the driver said meaningfully, "They couldn't see past the beauty or ugliness of youth and old age, and don't understand that form is emptiness. They just had to insist on marrying the monk Tang Seng. Wasn't he forced to wear the magical circlet? Everyday, he had to listen to the monk chant sutras. Learned his lesson, didn't he? The total is 28.30 yuan, just round it down to 28. Thank you!"

After taking the money, the cab sped off like a supercar, leaving only a trail of exhaust and dust.

Yu Lanchuan was actually not done talking yet but the conclusion of "Sun Wukong marrying Tang Seng" was like a fish bone wedged in his throat, his words stuck so hard that it hurt. He could only drop the subject and turn to go with a flourish of his sleeve.

President Yang found someone to take care of the audio recording Gan Qing made. Together with a few chat log screenshots, it was sent to Nie Ke. That very night, Yu Lanchuan received a call from Yu Yan saying that Nie Ke suddenly changed his mind and admitted that he had made a false report after drinking too much the other night. He even paid the fine on his own volition.

Yan Hao was brought out by Old Master Yang and Boss Jiang to face Yu Lanchuan. He obediently apologised for all the trouble he had caused but still did not get his figurine back. This was at the request of Boss Jiang. He was to remain under observation for a period of time. When they were sure that he was living steadily and responsibly, and would definitely not cause any more trouble, they would return it to him.

In the eyes of the older generation, it was nothing more than a plastic doll anyway. A grown man spending entire days enamoured with toys was not proper behaviour at all. It was better to take it away from him.

When Yan Hao left, he was nearly in tears. For every step he took, he turned his head back three times, wondering if Yu Lanchuan would treat his Ayanami Rei well.

In the past, he also had a Spiderman. Ayanami Rei was the one who understood him for who he was while Spiderman was the one entrusted with his ambition. There were times when he imagined himself to be like a small spider. If he transformed into Spiderman, he would obtain superpowers and everything good, and could go to battle and save people. But after his mother found that little Spiderman figurine, she broke it with her bare hands. And when he put on that Spiderman costume, he didn't transform into a superhero. He was only treated as a suspicious pervert and taken away by the police while onlookers pointed their fingers at him.

He also couldn't save anyone. He could only cause trouble for others.

Fantasies were nothing but fleeting illusions.

Now, his last consolation was gone. Yan Hao knew in his heart that Boss Jiang and Old Master Yang meant well. He couldn't say no. He just felt very lonely.

From the moment he was born, there was nothing he was useful for. That was the loneliness he felt.

At the intersection below No. 110 Courtyard, Yan Hao suddenly had a thought. Is it time for me to leave?

Right at that moment, the door to the pet store beside him opened. The shop employee was sending off two customers.

The employee was a mute girl with freckles on her face. A young couple came out of the store, taking with them a cat. Looking at the colouring, it should be an adoption.

The cat curled up quietly in the carrier, gazing at the mute girl. The girl seemed to be very worried. Subconsciously, she walked after them for a few steps until the customers thought that she had something to bring up and stopped to ask.

The mute girl watched them walk off and noticed Yan Hao standing not far away. Her eyes lit up. She let out an ah and turned to slip into the store. She brought out the canned cat food he had left, pointed at him, then at the cans, and bowed to him.

Yan Hao was afraid of girls in the first place and was so dumbstruck he was like a wooden stump. He let down his guard for a minute and the mute girl was tugging at his sleeve, forcefully pulling him into the store.

In the corner, a few large cats were eating from the cans. They were entirely focused on eating. When they heard someone come in, they only twitched their ears a bit and they didn't even lift their heads.

Right then, a rather hoarse meowing could be heard. The two of them looked up and saw that a smaller cat had somehow climbed up on a tall perch and couldn't get down. It was turning in circles in agitation. The mute girl quickly let go of Yan Hao and went to rescue the cat.

When she let go, Yan Hao also felt more relieved.

Then, he saw the mute girl leap up, light and agile. Her toes touched lightly on the cat tree and she reached the top of the perch as though she weighed nothing. One foot on the cat tree and the other foot on an opened cabinet door, she picked up the cat and carried it down.

Both the cat tree and the cabinet door did not move the slightest.

Yan Hao was surprised and felt that she was a little overly nimble.

Even though she looked very slender… no matter how thin a girl was, they would still weigh at least seventy or eighty pounds. Was it possible to move so lightly?

Without waiting for him to understand what was going on, the girl had already leaped down and put the cat on the ground. When she touched the ground, there was no sound at all.

She gave him a huge smile, then took out a small book and wrote some words for him to read: Thank you. There are too many strays which makes the boss unhappy. There's a quota for how much food I can feed them in the future and I can't go over the limit. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to let Xiao-Bai come here.

Yan Hao came back to himself. He also felt that writing was better than speaking, so he voluntarily joined the ranks of the deaf and mute, and wrote in the book: You're welcome. What about next month?

The mute girl wrote: Yarn Ball just got adopted. If it doesn't get sent back and if no new cats come to the store, we have enough to go around.

After a pause, she wrote in the book: But they frequently get sent back.

Yan Hao wrote: The two people just now look like nice people.

Hopefully. The girl wrote: Even if the cats are treated badly in someone's home, they can't speak up.

The two of them crouched down together, both worrying. Yan Hao's heart stirred and he turned his head to look at No. 110 Courtyard. From this angle, he couldn't see the eighth floor.

After the chaos he caused, Nie Ke definitely would not dare stay there anymore. He had sent his child away and had currently gone off to who knew where. Before long, he would move away and 804 would be rented to someone else. The shattered window would be repaired and no one would know that a woman had once been imprisoned there.

Yan Hao sighed. He bid farewell to the mute girl and stood up to go. He decided that he would follow the arrangements Boss Jiang and the others had made for him after all and work and earn some money. At the very least, he could support the girl at the pet store by providing canned pet food.

A week later, the occupant of 804 indeed moved away. Two moving vans arrived at the courtyard. When Gan Qing left for work in the morning, she happened to see Nie Ke talking to the movers downstairs. She stood at the building entrance, one hand fingering something in her pocket, and stared at Nie Ke's back for a few seconds.

Nie Ke felt a chill on his back. His nerves overly sensitive, he stretched his neck and looked around.

After a few days of not seeing him, the man had grown noticeably more wan. Word had it that when the evil doctor turned himself in, he had reported the rest of them at the same time. Nie Ke was taken away by the police and interrogated, causing gossip to fly around in his office. He might not be able to continue working there in the future.

However, just as they had expected, Nie Ke engaged a lawyer and very cleverly washed his hands clean of his past deeds. When all was said and done, all he admitted to was that "there were issues with his morals."

This time, even though he encountered some bumps and went through some turmoil, he was not deeply wounded. As for his job, he could lay low for a while and then find a new one later. With Nie Ke's qualifications and academic background, it wasn't difficult for him to change jobs. People were forgetful anyway.