Hello Love, Goodbye Billionaire

Stephanie Ruan immediately searched beneath the documents to check if there are more clues as to why Javier Zhong is interested in her family’s case.

She then found a close-up photo of a man in his late thirties, together with a grey name card placed next to it.

The man had an ordinary look, with a disheveled beard. But he is not someone whom Stephanie Ruan recognises.

As for the card, she took a closer look at the name of the company.

[Albert Liu, Golden Sun Pawnshop]

It’s a pawnshop??…

After thinking deeply for a few seconds, Stephanie Ruan took out her phone and quickly snapped a few pictures of what she has found.

…

The next morning, Javier Zhong headed towards the dining hall, just right after his usual morning workout session.

“Is she still upstairs?” Seeing that Stephanie Ruan has yet to come down for breakfast, he asked Mdm Li, who is busy preparing his food.

“Young Master, Madam has left the house very early in the morning. She was rushing out and only took with her a piece of bread.” Mdm Li respectfully reported to him.

“…”

Slightly disappointed that Stephanie Ruan had already left without any words, Javier Zhong nodded his head and returned to his room for a shower.

…

In the outskirt of the city, Stephanie Ruan finally arrived at the address written on the name card.

Earlier, she had rushed back home to have a change of clothes first before driving to this underdeveloped area.

Taking her shades away from her face, she stared at the seemingly small pawnshop across the street.

“Welcome, Miss. How can I help you today?”

Although the man in his late fifties had greeted her politely, he could not help but wonder why a well-dressed young lady would be here at his store.

Stephanie Ruan took a quick glance around the small shop. It is indeed a humble shop with just one glass display cabinet in the middle – which also doubles up as a counter desk.

“Is there a person called Albert Liu in your store?” She did not want to waste any time and went straight to ask for this person.

As soon as the man heard this name, his face changed drastically. With a serious tone, he responded to her, “I’m sorry, there is no such person in the store. If you are looking to buy or sell any item, I can help you with it.”

With her eyes still locked on him, Stephanie Ruan reached into her handbag and took out a large stack of bundled notes worth approximately seventy thousand yuan (about eleven thousand US dollars).

Placing them on the table, she reiterated, “I’m looking for Albert Liu.”

Although her voice was neither loud nor soft, she gave off this strong aura that the man found difficult to ignore.

Unwilling to budge, the man continued to deny it. “I really don’t know who this person is. If you’re looking for someone, you must have found the wrong store.”

Seeing Stephanie Ruan’s cold stare in return, he could not help but break out in a sweat.

“…”

Hearing the unsatisfactory response, she casually threw out another stack of notes with the same amount of money.

“Call him!” She ordered with a cold smile.

Judging by her persistence and certainty, the man thought that she must really know about the existence of Albert Liu.

With a deep breath, he took the money on the table and reluctantly conceded, “Come with me.”

Following that, the man pushed open a cleverly hidden door situated near the countertop.

Inside, there is another locked door at the other end of the short corridor. It is obvious that the security here is very tight and not just anyone could enter!

As soon as the second door is pushed open, the loud voices of several men with full-body tattoos could be heard.

“One more!!!… One more game!!” They chanted repeatedly.

So there’s actually a gambling den here??…

With a smirk, Stephanie Ruan thought to herself, “Humph, this place looks more like it…”

However, the loud and chaotic place soon quietened down when the men noticed a beautiful lady in their midst.

One of the men walked straight up to her, “Hey, pretty girl… what are you doing over here??”

With a lecherous gaze, he continued to probe while daringly placing his hand on her shoulder, “Want some company?”

But in the next second, Stephanie Ruan grabbed his hand, twisted it, and pinned him down on the floor.

With one foot stepping on his body, she pointed a Swiss Army Knife at his face. “I’d suggest you don’t try to do anything funny. Because the next time you do…”

She bent down and pressed the knife against his neck, “… this is going straight in.”© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“!!!…”

Witnessing this shocking scene, a pin-drop silence filled the entire room.

Pretty sure these men did not expect such a young and beautiful lady to actually be a well-trained fighter.

Feeling the cold metal on his skin coupled with her calm yet threatening voice, he shivered and did not dare to move an inch.

“I… I won’t dare…”

Hearing his assurance, she released him and swiftly kept the Swiss Army Knife in her pocket.

Looking at the stunned man who had brought her in, she asked, “Aren’t you leading the way?”

“…”

But before the man could even respond to her, the door from behind had swung open.

A slightly younger man in his mid-forties with a thick gold chain hanging on his neck has walked out of the room.

“Looking for me?” He put both hands in his pockets and looked at Stephanie Ruan from the top to the bottom.

“Albert Liu?” Similar to him, she is also behaving cautiously and scanning him from the bottom up.

After a moment of silence, he then headed towards his office and ordered her, “Come in.”

Earlier, Albert Liu had been observing her through the surveillance cameras ever since she has stepped foot into the pawnshop.

Although he does not know who she is, he is interested to find out what she is here for… and how she got to know him.

After all, he is a mysterious figure and not many people know about his name, let alone this deserted office space.

“Sit.” He offered her while busy preparing a cup of tea for his guest.

“There’s no need for that. I’ll go straight to the point. Javier Zhong sent me here.”

Upon hearing that, he squinted his eyes slightly at her. “Javier Zhong??”

Seeing his unconvinced look, Stephanie Ruan took out her phone and showed him the picture of a man whom she had taken yesterday.

Risking all the information that she has, she spoke to him, “Javier said that you would know what he wants as soon as I show you this photo.”

“??…”

Taking a closer look at the picture, Albert Liu then stared into Stephanie Ruan’s eyes.