Neighbor 05

"She's gone to work." Fang Zaozao looked at Li Juan, her gaze indifferent.

Li Juan appeared somewhat forlorn: "Gone to work, ah... then I... my son..." She began to cry again.

Fang Zaozao suddenly spoke up: "Money, however, is easy enough. I can help you."

"Really?" Li Juan stopped crying immediately.

"Give me your phone."

Li Juan was puzzled but still pulled out her shabby old phone. Fang Zaozao took it, her brow involuntarily furrowing. This woman was truly something—preferring to give money to her husband for gambling rather than keeping some for herself.

Li Juan didn't understand what she was doing, but thinking about getting the money, she waited patiently.

She considered herself honest and dutiful, a virtuous wife and loving mother. Apart from working at the supermarket and buying groceries, she had almost no other entertainment. So, she didn't understand the instructions Fang Zaozao gave her—opening and closing her mouth, shaking her head in front of the phone camera—but she followed them all anyway.

"Your credit history is really something else," Fang Zaozao remarked, looking at the phone screen showing another loan rejection. It seemed this woman still didn't know her husband had already used her information to borrow money and hadn't paid back a single cent.

But she had her ways. Back when she was working to pay for her younger sister's living expenses, she had dabbled in quite a few grey-area industries.

Soon, Fang Zaozao downloaded several more apps. After a series of swift operations, she calmly handed the phone back to Li Juan.

"Here, the money's in there."

"Thank you, thank you." Li Juan's opinion of this fierce woman improved considerably. However, seeing several unfamiliar apps on her phone, she was taken aback. Though unsophisticated, she could still read.

"You... why did you take out online loans for me?"

Fang Zaozao spread her hands: "Didn't you need to borrow money?"

"Yes, but how could you... this, this..." Li Juan grew anxious. She didn't know her identity had already been used by her husband to borrow significant sums.

"Borrower: Li Juan. Loan amount: Ten thousand. After deducting fees and first-period interest, actual disbursement: Five thousand eight hundred. Repayment upon maturity: Twelve thousand."

The text message arrived promptly, leaving Li Juan utterly dumbfounded.

"You... how could you do this? You..." She was both frantic and angry, bursting into tears again. "How can I ever pay that back!"

Fang Zaozao, however, gave a faint smile: "That's easy. Give me the phone."

Li Juan hesitated for a moment, then passed the phone over again. She watched as Fang Zaozao deftly uninstalled all those apps.

"Done!" Fang Zaozao almost threw the phone back at Li Juan, then shut the door directly.

Li Juan stood there dazed for a while. So, deleting them meant she didn't have to pay back?

But then she suddenly remembered her still-ill son. Not caring about anything else, she jogged back home to take him to the hospital. Upon learning she had gotten money, Zhang Xi didn't even ask how; he just reached out his hand.

Li Juan didn't hesitate either, keeping only five hundred for herself and transferring the rest to Zhang Xi.

Suddenly coming into a large sum of money, Zhang Xi was overjoyed. He hugged her and planted a kiss: "Now that's my good wife! Wait at home, I'm going out to make some money!"

Li Juan felt a surge of happiness, nodding shyly, completely forgetting that this same man had just hit her.

Fang Zaozao finally managed to get through to her father on the phone.

"Ah, ah, okay. You take good care of your sister," Fang Zhiyi said casually.

His attitude made Fang Zaozao feel stifled, but she didn't know what else to say. Tell him a dream had made both her and her sister nervous? Helpless, she could only exchange a few more words. Fang Zhiyi said he had other matters and wouldn't say what when asked. Fang Zaozao could only hang up.

After ending the call, Fang Zhiyi turned his attention back to the spectacle with interest. In this quiet alley, a young man driving through had encountered an old man staging a fall. The exaggerated performance amused Fang Zhiyi greatly.

"You're not going anywhere!" The old man grabbed the young man's pant leg. "Pay up!"

The young man looked anxious: "Uncle, I was so far away from you! You fell down by yourself!" He turned and saw Fang Zhiyi, quickly seeking help. "Sir over there, you saw it, right? I didn't hit him. He's faking it!"

Hearing this, the old man also turned to look at Fang Zhiyi, his eyes full of warning.

To the old man's delight, Fang Zhiyi was sensible and immediately averted his gaze: "I didn't see anything. My eyes aren't good, and my ears aren't either."

"Who's faking it! Pay up!" The old man looked triumphant, even scratching the young man a couple of times.

The young man clenched his fists.

"What? You want to hit me? Let me tell you, I'm not afraid of you! Give me five thousand and you can go!" The old man's face was flushed with excitement.

The young man wore a bitter expression. Where would he get five thousand? He looked at Fang Zhiyi again, the only witness, now hoping he would step up and help.

"Stop looking! He won't bother with your troubles!" the old man scolded. "I'm telling you, you're not leaving today. There are no traffic police here, no cameras. If you don't pay, things won't end well for you!"

"Uncle, I don't have..."

Fang Zhiyi suddenly spoke: "Hear that? No people, no cameras here."

The scammer looked at Fang Zhiyi, confused. He didn't catch on, but the young man suddenly realized. That's right!

"You old bastard, five thousand, right? Here you go!" The young man was hot-tempered too. Once he understood, he punched the old man in the eye socket, though he held back some force. The old man cried out "Aiyo!" and began cursing loudly: "You hit me! Make it ten thousand!"

The young man swiftly shook him off and got into his car: "Get out of the way or I'll run you over!"

Seeing the car actually start moving towards him, the old man hurriedly dodged. He pointed at the young man: "You won't get away with this!"

"No cameras here, old man," the young man said, throwing a grateful glance at Fang Zhiyi before driving off.

"You saw that, didn't you? I'm calling the police! You be my witness!" The old man turned to Fang Zhiyi.

Fang Zhiyi glanced at him: "You forgot. My eyes aren't good, and my ears aren't either."

"You!"

"My temper isn't good either," Fang Zhiyi added. The old man's steps forward halted abruptly.

"He's here," Little Hei reminded.

Fang Zhiyi left the old man behind and walked straight ahead. At the intersection, he saw a man dressed in black. Following the direction of the man's gaze, he saw his younger daughter and his elder daughter who had come to pick her up from work.

The man in black was clearly puzzled: "It shouldn't be... System, are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"

The system on his shoulder shook its head: "My perception is extremely strong. The Hunter must have already arrived, but for some reason hasn't shown himself."

The man was silent for a moment: "Could he be hiding in the original host's home? We've been tailing these two girls for a full day and night now."

"Hard to say."

"Hmph, I don't believe he can stay hidden. Meeting me, Gui Jianchou, will be his doom." The man turned and walked away, completely unaware of Fang Zhiyi standing not far away with his hands behind his back.