Chapter 205: Abyssal Abyss

Being a kindergarten teacher is a really great cover. I sold her granddaughter, and yet she still wanted to apologize to me. Oh, yes, you should apologize to me. Why did your family have to have a granddaughter? That cost me a lot of money. Besides, it's not my fault. If you weren't so poor, I would have treated you well.

"Ma'am, you don't need to apologize to her," Chen Ting said, pulling the old lady along. "I'll take you to see the police. You can tell them everything."

She gave me a meaningful look: "Say whatever you have to say. We'll catch the bad guys eventually."

They turned and went into the police station, but I didn't have the patience for that. I went back home, lay on the bed, and counted the money. Three thousand yuan—neither too much nor too little. It was time to treat myself to some essence lotion and eye cream. I'd been getting angry a lot lately, so I needed to take good care of my skin.

I flipped through my phone, planning to scout for more targets in my free time. So, I searched online for the most profitable industries these days. A new term caught my eye: Xin Li Zi Xun Shi (psychological counselor). Everyone online said that psychological counselors make a ton of money, with fees for a single session running into thousands of yuan per hour.

I quickly came up with a plan. I found a psychological counseling studio nearby and targeted the young and promising male counselor there. I added his contact and started chatting him up. A psychological counselor is truly a pro at conversation; talking to him was so comfortable. I told him I was getting a lot of blame for not taking good care of kids, and he extended a warm invitation, offering to diagnose me for free once.

Why was he being so nice? He'd probably just seen those provocative photos in my friends' circle. But that's exactly what I wanted.

That evening, three days later, as I was arranging to meet the psychological counselor the next day, I was startled by a frantic knocking at the door.

"Who is it?"

"Bang bang bang!"

"Who?"

I kept asking, but there was no answer from outside; I started to panic.

"Bang bang bang!"

"If you keep knocking, I'll call the police!"

"Call the police my ass!" Qu Ge's deep voice came through the door. "Open up!"

I froze, feeling a bit scared. What was he here for? Didn't he know the police were after him? After thinking for a few seconds, I slowly opened the door.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Let's talk inside."

Without another word, he pushed the door open and walked straight into the room.

"Qu Ge..." I was getting angry. "Do you know how dangerous things are right now? You might want to get caught, but I don't. That girl..."

Before I could finish, Qu Ge tossed over an envelope. I opened it and saw two stacks of cash—probably around twenty thousand yuan.

"Xiao Ran, I've found a good buyer. People in their village have money and a high demand for kids. Are you interested in another deal?"

I could hardly believe it—this time, I was getting over twenty thousand yuan.

"Another deal...?" I hesitated. "Qu Ge, do you realize what kind of situation we're in right now?"

"The last one," he said, lighting a cigarette. "This time, I'll give you fifty thousand yuan, and then we're even."

I wanted to refuse right then and there, but the words "fifty thousand yuan" were too tempting.

"Qu Ge, make it sixty thousand," I said. "This time, I'll get you a smart little boy—the buyer will love him."

"Don't push your luck. This money has to be split with a lot of people; sixty thousand would be hard to explain." Qu Ge flicked his cigarette ash on the floor, his eyes icy cold. "Fifty thousand—take it or leave it?"

Looking at his expression, I swallowed hard and said, "Sixty thousand, not a penny less."

"You bitch..." Qu Ge gritted his teeth. "Do you want to die?"

I forced a smile: "Qu Ge, the police are dying to find evidence against you. You wouldn't want me to report you, would you?"

"We're in this together like grasshoppers on a rope." Qu Ge said heavily. "If you report me, do you think you can get away?"

"I'm the one being coerced," I laughed. "I'm not as strong as you, so I had to go along with your plans."

"You..." Qu Ge glared at me, thought for a moment, and said, "Fine, sixty thousand it is."

"This time, I want the money handed over when I hand over the kid," I said.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Qu Ge sniffed. "We need to sell the goods first to get the money. How can we pay you upfront?"

"That's not my problem." I shook my head. "I only handle getting the kid out. Once I give the child to you, my job is done."

Qu Ge stubbed out his cigarette and stood up, his bulky body shifting as he reached out and lifted my shirt.

"Xiao Ran, your cleverness will get you killed one day," he said.

Without hesitation, I took off my shirt.

"Qu Ge, a beautiful woman is like dangerous drugs." I slowly grabbed his pants. "You're already hooked, aren't you?"

"Heh."

...

The next day, Qu Ge left before dawn, and I went to the kindergarten as usual. I decided that after this deal, I'd leave this place. Anywhere would do. With the eighty thousand yuan I have now, I can spruce myself up and go after some bigger fish. Now that I have the capital, I can get into more upscale places.

Near dismissal time, I offered to walk a child home again. This time, I targeted Chen Mu Ran. This kid would be easy to take; I heard his mom has something in her brain and is in the hospital for surgery. His dad is swamped and has no time for the child.

Chen Ting flatly refused me. She insisted I was connected to the traffickers and wouldn't hand over the child no matter what.

"Let me tell you, Chen Ting, think about it..." I said with a fake smile. "Even if I were really in cahoots with the traffickers, how could I pull off another job so soon?"

She thought for a moment and said, "No, still not. Call Chen Mu Ran's parents and have them come pick him up."

"Alright, alright..."

I was so smart; I'd already anticipated this. I opened my phone contacts, found "Chen Mu Ran Dad," waved it at Chen Ting briefly, and dialed.

Qu Ge answered.

"Is this Chen Mu Ran's dad?" I asked.

There was a pause on the other end. "What's up?"

"Sorry, could you come pick up your child after school?" I asked with a smile. "I'll wait for you at the gate."

"Got it," Qu Ge replied gruffly.

"Hand me the phone," Chen Ting said.

I shook my head and passed it to her.

"Hello, is this Chen Mu Ran's father?" Chen Ting took the phone and said.

"Mm."

"Please make sure to come on time to pick up Chen Mu Ran. There are traffickers around the kindergarten," Chen Ting said. "Also, let me give you a number—it's the police officer handling our kindergarten trafficking case. If you can't make it, call the officer, and they'll take the child home."

Chen Ting gave him the number.

"Okay, I understand."

After hanging up, Chen Ting turned to me and said, "Xiao Ran, I'll have the police keep an eye on the school's surveillance. If you try to take the child away, I won't let you get away with it."

"Don't worry, don't worry." I nodded with a smile. "I told you, I'm not involved with those traffickers."

I was about to ditch Qu Ge, so how could I be involved with him?

At dismissal, I held Chen Mu Ran's hand and stood at the school gate, waiting quietly. I'd already instructed Qu Ge: when he grabs the child, just throw the money to me, and I'll be in the clear.

But today, the atmosphere around the school felt a bit off, like a lot of people were watching me. Were they envious of me?

I stared at the three tall pagodas of Chong Sheng Si in the distance and made a sincere wish. I hoped the Buddha would bless this poor woman and let me always make money. Once this deal is done, I'll meet up with that psychological counselor tonight. What a moneymaking day it's going to be.