It was Pei Xi who called.
This time, he didn't waste words. He gave the time and place for their meeting and hung up.
The simplicity of it was surprisingly disconcerting, making one wonder if he had some other trick up his sleeve.
In the silence, Shen Qing Qing put down the phone. "This time, all of you stay here. No one is to follow me again."
Pei Lie subconsciously glanced at Pei Xing.
He touched his nose awkwardly. "I understand. I won't be impulsive."
King once again provided a brand-new tracker and affixed it to Shen Qing Qing's person. Then, he put her in the car. He and Fu Jing Shu watched everyone else.
No one had a chance to follow her this time.
As the car drove away, everyone returned to the palace. Pei Xing asked, "Aren't you worried?"
Fu Jing Shu said indifferently, "I trust her."
King, standing beside him, casually added, "Coincidentally, so do I."
The two of them led the way into the house. Pei Xing tugged at the corner of his lips, seeming to want to smile but not quite doing so. He lowered his gaze and followed the others.
Shen Qing Qing arrived at the agreed-upon location, a derelict pier.
A boat was docked by the shore.
Shen Qing Qing stood on the bank and looked around. She didn't see anyone. She frowned slightly and glanced at her watch. Had the other party changed their mind at the last minute again?
This time, no one should have followed her.
When she came out, she had carefully checked behind her.
And with King and Fu Jing Shu keeping a close watch, no one would have been able to follow.
Just then, the sound of an engine came from behind her. She turned her head. A black, somewhat dilapidated car pulled up. The car door opened, and a man got out.
It was Pei Xi.
He was cautious, stepping out with only one leg. "Come here."
As Shen Qing Qing walked towards him, he kept scrutinizing her, noticing she was wearing only a simple casual outfit.
She seemed perfectly normal.
When she reached him, he took a gun from his pocket and toyed with it.
"Miss Shen, can I trust you?"
"If you don't trust me, why would you ask me to come?"
Shen Qing Qing remained as calm as ever, her expression unchanging.
Pei Xi chuckled with amusement. "You're right, I should trust you. But you're too cunning. Last time, you said you wouldn't bring anyone else, yet you still brought someone."
Shen Qing Qing said calmly, "I was unaware."
"Do you believe me?"
"Believe it or not."
Pei Xi tutted.
This was not the reaction he wanted. Fear, nervousness, sadness, even anger, would have been better than this expressionless demeanor, as if she cared about nothing.
He looked at Shen Qing Qing's beautiful face and suddenly felt displeased.
"Are you here to save someone? Do you want Pei Ji to live?"
Shen Qing Qing's gaze was calm, her red lips parting slightly. "Nonsense. If I didn't want that, why would I be here?"
Pei Xi snorted. "And the money I want?"
"So much money, and you expect me to give it all to you in cash?" Shen Qing Qing said contemptuously. "A single car wouldn't even be enough to carry it."
"So?"
Shen Qing Qing handed him a card. "This account belongs to Pei Ji. You can withdraw the money. Put it anywhere you like. As long as Pei Ji is in your hands, no one will investigate."
The card, loaded with three hundred million, was casually handed to Pei Xi.
Pei Xi himself didn't seem to care much. He casually put it in his pocket and tilted his head. "Get in the car."
Shen Qing Qing got into the car without hesitation.
Pei Xi was quite pleased with her action. He took a set of clothes from the back seat and tossed them onto her lap.
"Change into these."
Shen Qing Qing looked at him coldly. "In front of you?"
"Yes." Pei Xi rested his chin on one hand. "Don't worry, I'm not interested in you, and I won't do anything. But you have too many capable people around you. If I don't have you change your clothes, someone might track you through your GPS tracker or something."
His gaze lingered on her, not lewdly, but it still sent shivers down her spine.
Shen Qing Qing narrowed her eyes slightly, silently chanting, "For Pei Ji, I must endure. I must endure." She placed her hand on her button.
The man beside her still hadn't looked away.
She was losing patience. "Turn around!"
Pei Xi's lips curved upwards, a malicious glint in his eyes. "If I turn around, won't it be easier for you to transfer the tracker to the new clothes?"
"According to you, I might even hide the tracker in my underwear. You didn't prepare a set of underwear for me?" Shen Qing Qing glanced at the clothes on her lap, which were just a jacket.
"No, you wouldn't hide it in there."
Pei Xi was inexplicably confident.
Shen Qing Qing now regretted it a little. She should have hidden it in her underwear back then. But then she thought, with this man's character, he might have made her change everything...
She quickly took off her jacket and threw it in the back seat. The tracker fell out.
Pei Xi grabbed it in his palm. "Indeed, a good piece of equipment."
With a bit of force from his fingertips, the tracker snapped in half. He rolled down the car window and tossed it outside.
As the engine roared to life, the car drove away.
...
The Royal Palace.
King looked at the computer screen. The blinking red dot suddenly disappeared. The hand he had resting on the keyboard clenched into a fist.
"What's going on? Did the tracker break?"
He wasn't very good at this. Shen Qing Qing had learned it herself. He had gotten this tracker from a friend.
"Move aside."
Fu Jing Shu pushed him aside, sat down, and began typing at an astonishing speed.
King raised an eyebrow. "Well, well, you know how to do this too."
Fu Jing Shu was too busy to reply. King fell silent, and the others watched quietly, though they were all incredibly anxious.
The Queen attempted to ask several times but was stopped by Pei Lie.
Finally, Fu Jing Shu stopped typing, but his expression was grim. He looked at the black dot that had completely vanished from the screen and said in a cold tone, "The machine is fine. The tracker is the problem."
"That's impossible. This is a new model, and it's been tested."
When King got this from his friend, the friend had repeatedly assured him that it wouldn't have any problems, and that it could even block detection.
Fu Jing Shu said calmly, "Then the problem lies with Pei Xi."
If he were Pei Xi, he would definitely conduct checks. But what kind of check would make Shen Qing Qing give up protecting the tracker?
It must be a method she had no choice but to use.
His face darkened like ink, and the air became heavy and tense.
The Queen, filled with worry, asked, "Now that the tracker isn't working, won't Miss Shen be in trouble?"
Fu Jing Shu closed his eyes, quickly thinking. The tracker malfunctioning meant she had met Pei Xi, and everything had gone smoothly.
He felt a little reassured. He opened his eyes and said, "She'll be fine."
He said it with such certainty that the Queen couldn't help but ask, "How can you be sure? We've lost her location. Has she become Pei Xi's hostage?"
"Let's wait and see," Fu Jing Shu said.
The Queen was puzzled. "Wait for what?"