Chapter 74: The Motorcycle Was Stolen Again

Qiao Yu responded with a quiet “Mm,” but fell silent, saying nothing more. Chen Jiao waited for a while before asking curiously, “Hey, Qiao Yu, what are you thinking about? Jingjing, why aren’t you speaking either? What’s with you two?”

Before Qiao Yu could reply, Quan Yajing suddenly blurted out, “I think I’m in love!”

“What?” Qiao Yu and Chen Jiao both tilted their heads, looking at Quan Yajing.

“Jingjing, are you alright? Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for that nouveau riche guy! What do you see in him? He’s rude, has a bad temper, and doesn’t know how to treat women gently! Are you feverish or have you lost your mind?” Chen Jiao was utterly astonished.

Quan Yajing countered, “Don’t you think he’s very manly?”

Chen Jiao dismissed the idea outright. “That’s just roughness, okay? I get it, you’re saying this because you’ve never met someone like him before, so it feels novel. Qiao Yu, help me talk some sense into this lovesick fool! Has she been possessed? How could she possibly say she likes a crude, nouveau riche guy?”

Unexpectedly, Qiao Yu, who hadn’t spoken for a while, startled Chen Jiao with his sudden words, “Jingjing, looks like this time we’ll have to compete!”

Chen Jiao was taken aback. “Qiao Yu, what do you mean?”

Qiao Yu answered matter-of-factly, “I think I’m in love too.”

Chen Jiao looked at Qiao Yu, then at Quan Yajing. “Are you two out of your minds?”

Qiao Yu sat on the bed cross-legged, looking utterly unrefined. “Nope, just suddenly figured it out. Turns out we’re all spoiled kids.”

Chen Jiao blinked. “We’re spoiled kids? Oh no, you’re possessed too!”

Qiao Yu ignored her and turned to Quan Yajing. “So, Jingjing? Are you going to compete with me?”

Quan Yajing nodded with a smile. “Every time something comes up, I always let you have your way. But this time, I won’t.”

Qiao Yu replied, “What do you mean let me have my way? Are you just preparing an excuse in case you lose?”

Quan Yajing raised her voice. “I won’t lose! I’m full of fighting spirit this time!”

Qiao Yu smiled faintly. “Unfortunately, so am I. Then let’s compete!”

“Fine, who’s afraid?” Quan Yajing retorted, refusing to back down.

Chen Jiao watched the two, dumbfounded. “What’s wrong with you guys? We’ve been together since kindergarten. Are you seriously going to fall out over a man?”

Qiao Yu said, “Uh, Chen Jiao’s right. Jingjing, let’s make a promise—no matter how this ends, it won’t affect our friendship!”

Quan Yajing extended her fist. “Absolutely! Let’s seal it with a handshake!”

Chen Jiao looked at the two dazedly, finally shaking her head. “It’s over, you’re both crazy. Let me warn you, that guy is clearly a textbook case of ‘straight man syndrome’ in its terminal stage! His lifestyle is nothing like the refined life we pursue. It’s fine as a novelty, but if you really get together with him, you’ll regret it.”

Qiao Yu smiled. “How would we know if we don’t try?”

“Crazy, all of you, crazy!” Chen Jiao shook her head vigorously. “What are you even competing for? Why don’t you just throw yourselves at him together? Men are all pigs anyway, always wanting both the pot and the bowl. Why not serve up both at once? One wife, one concubine, sounds perfect!”

Qiao Yu and Quan Yajing exchanged glances, then Qiao Yu said languidly, “Jiao’s suggestion sounds pretty good.”

Quan Yajing nodded. “It does, but we still lack a chambermaid.”

Qiao Yu pointed at Chen Jiao. “Isn’t there one right here?”

Quan Yajing added, “To be our chambermaid, she has to be top quality. Should we check if she’s qualified?”

Qiao Yu nodded. “Good idea!”

Chen Jiao sensed trouble. “What are you planning?”

“What do you think? Get her! Strip her and inspect!” With that, Qiao Yu pounced on Chen Jiao, followed closely by Quan Yajing. For a moment, the room was filled with laughter and chaos.

While they enjoyed themselves, someone else was pacing anxiously nearby.

“Say that to me one more time!” The one cursing wasn’t anyone else but Zhang Qiang, the boss of Focus. Now, he showed no trace of drunkenness; his eyes were sharp and alert.

Gao Pei dragged a man over and shoved him in front of Zhang Qiang. “Boss, let him tell you himself.”

The man being dragged by the collar was Xiao Chen, the security guard who stopped Yang Meng at the nightclub entrance earlier that night. Now, he looked terrified.

“Boss... I swear on my life, I was watching Mr. Yang’s motorcycle closely. I just went to the restroom once, and when I came back, the motorcycle was gone! I immediately checked the security footage and saw a group of young men stealing it,” Xiao Chen explained urgently.

Gao Pei snorted coldly. “So it has nothing to do with you? Then why did you run? You know that bike is expensive and could be stolen for cash, right? I’m telling you, if we don’t get it back, you’ll have to pay for it!”

Xiao Chen was nearly in tears. “Manager Gao, please don’t scare me! I don’t have the guts. That bike costs three hundred thousand!”

Zhang Qiang frowned at this. “How do you know it’s worth three hundred thousand? If you knew that from the start, would you have stopped Brother Yang from entering?”

Xiao Chen hurried to explain. “Boss, it’s like this—Kathy’s boyfriend told me!”

“Kathy? Who’s that?” Zhang Qiang asked, puzzled.

Gao Pei explained, “That’s the bar girl Sun Meiyan. She chose the English name Kathy to sound fancy.”

Xiao Chen nodded frantically. “Yes, her! Her boyfriend picks her up every night. Today, he spent a long time looking at the bike. I asked what he was staring at, and he told me about it. That’s how I learned it was so expensive! After Kathy and her boyfriend left, I had a stomach ache and went to the restroom. When I came back, the motorcycle was gone! I thought Mr. Yang had left, but when I checked inside, he was still drinking with you. That’s when I realized it had been stolen. I was so scared, I ran out to look for it. Boss, I wasn’t running away—if I was, would I have come back?”

Zhang Qiang thought for a moment. “Why did you suddenly have stomach trouble?”

Xiao Chen pulled a face. “How should I know? I hadn’t eaten anything all night... Oh right, Kathy’s boyfriend gave me a milk tea, said it was a thank you for looking after Kathy.”

Zhang Qiang, enraged, kicked Xiao Chen. “Looking after, my ass! What kind of man thanks another man for looking after his girlfriend? Are you brain-dead? If there’s nothing wrong with that milk tea, I’ll take your surname! Gao Pei, contact that Kathy... Sun Meiyan! Ask what her boyfriend does!”

Gao Pei replied, “I just called Sun Meiyan, but her phone’s off. But I do know her boyfriend—just a seventeen or eighteen-year-old punk. He used to hang out with He Kui, who guards the place here. Always idle, but never short on cash. He often treated He Kui and his crew. Since Zhai Dacheng went down, he stopped coming. I thought he and Sun Meiyan had broken up, but turns out he’s just been staying outside.”

Zhang Qiang pondered. “This probably has something to do with that kid.”

Gao Pei said, “I checked the security footage. It was a group of young men on motorcycles, very skilled—obviously experienced. But Kathy’s boyfriend wasn’t among them.”

Zhang Qiang snapped, “Are you stupid? With such an expensive bike parked here, he wouldn’t need to do it himself—just tip them off! Dammit, I’m furious.”

Gao Pei asked, “So what should we do? Call the police?”

Zhang Qiang took a deep breath. “Police? If we can’t handle something like this, what’s the point of keeping you around? Gao Pei, I don’t care what you do—get the bike back.”

Gao Pei nodded. “Alright, boss, leave it to me. Give me twenty-four hours. If I can’t get it back, I won’t have the face to see you. Those bike thieves used to mess around every night, but lately they’ve been hiding out since things got tense. Still, it shouldn’t be hard to find them.”

Zhang Qiang rubbed his temples. “Twenty-four hours? The thieves probably shipped it out of the city already. With such a conspicuous bike, they wouldn’t dare keep it locally. Fine, we’ll call the police. Gao Pei, it’s clear we make money too easily here. I’m really disappointed in your work.”

Gao Pei glared viciously at Xiao Chen and said, “Boss, let me handle it. Mr. Yang’s bike has all the proper paperwork. If they want to sell it, they’ll need an expert. Only Zhao Village Market does this kind of work around here. If they want to offload it, they’ll go there. I’ll head over first thing tomorrow. I have a friend there named Zheng Dapao, he’s quite capable. If they sell the bike, he’ll definitely find it.”

“What if they’re not in a hurry to sell?” Zhang Qiang asked.

Gao Pei gave a sly grin. “Boss, don’t forget Kathy! Now that Zhai Dacheng’s gone, all sorts of shady characters will crawl out. From another angle, this is a great chance for our nightclub to show its muscle. Otherwise, who knows what trouble we’ll face in the future? I suggest we handle this ourselves.”

Zhang Qiang considered for a moment. “Alright, you make sense. Just don’t disappoint me.”

Gao Pei laughed. “Boss, you know you can trust me!”

Zhang Qiang glanced at Xiao Chen behind him. “I trust you, I just don’t trust these idiots behind you! Yang came here to have fun, and his bike was stolen. How am I supposed to explain that to him? Fine, tomorrow my phone will be off. Gao Pei, when the club opens tomorrow, I want to see Yang’s motorcycle parked at our door. If not, you can explain it to him yourself!”