Supreme Hidden Dragon in the City-Chapter 455 An Lan Is Targeted

"Top quality? How top quality?" A languid voice came over the phone.

The middle-aged man chuckled and said, "As top quality as you want, whether it’s figure or face, she’s the best I’ve seen among women, especially that curvaceous body, just looking at it makes you drool."

The voice on the other end of the phone suddenly became eager, "Wait for me, I’ll be right over."

Not long after, a young man in his late twenties, wearing a leather jacket and sporting a slicked-back hairstyle, entered through the back door of the pawnshop.

The middle-aged man immediately greeted him with respectful bows and nods, "Mr. Qin, you’re here."

The young man addressed as Mr. Qin nodded indifferently, "Lao Cai, the top quality one you mentioned, take me to see her quickly."

Lao Cai hurriedly gestured politely and led the young man forward.

The young man’s name was Qin Hao, the son of Qin Long, the owner of Qianda Mall.

As the largest commercial complex in Jade River County, Qianda Mall could be considered a pillar industry locally, a major tax contributor in the county. Thus, Qin Long was a prominent figure in Jade River County, and even the head of the county would have to show him considerable respect.

As the son of Qin Long, Qin Hao naturally had been fawned over since childhood. To make him happy, everyone who met him would greet him with a "Mr. Qin," giving him the sense of being a young master.

The pawnshop inside Qianda Mall was owned by the Qin family and acted as Qin Hao’s personal cash vault, with Lao Cai being his loyal lackey.

Many who came to pawn items were in urgent need of money, including young and beautiful girls who had incurred massive debts. Qin Hao took advantage of this, instructing Lao Cai to keep an eye out for such girls. If they especially needed money, they would use certain methods to lure these girls to bed, enjoying themselves freely.

Since the opening of the pawnshop, Qin Hao had, using his status and the desperation of these beautiful girls for money, successfully taken down no fewer than ten girls. Sometimes, after finishing the deed, he would even refuse to pay the money he had promised those girls.

Fearing Qin Hao’s status and lacking money, time, and energy to argue with him, the girls would ultimately swallow their grievances in silence.

Lao Cai brought Qin Hao to a window through which they could see An Lan waiting outside.

The moment Qin Hao’s gaze fell on An Lan, his eyes blazed with passion, and he said excitedly, "Damn, she really is top quality!"

With a smile, Lao Cai said, "I told you you’d like her, Mr. Qin. What do you think, should we use the old method to coax her into bed?"

Although it was to satisfy Qin Hao’s needs, Lao Cai sometimes managed to benefit from the situation; hence, he was always very enthusiastic about such matters.

After mulling it over, Qin Hao said, "A woman of such beauty, even in a major city, you wouldn’t find many like her. Though she is desperate for money, we don’t know anything about her background. It’s not hard for such a beautiful woman to find a powerful backer, and if we act rashly, we could offend the wrong person."

"Here’s what we’ll do, you get her contact information first, then have someone discreetly investigate her background. If we’re sure she has no powerful support, it’s not too late to make a move."

"You just said she’s really in need of money. If that’s the case, she’ll definitely come here again. A prey of this level is worth waiting for."

Lao Cai said with a smile, "You always think things through, Mr. Qin. In that case, shall I go get her contact information?"

Qin Hao nodded, "Go ahead."

Lao Cai walked out to the counter.

Seeing him return, An Lan quickly asked, "How is it, what did your boss say?"

Lao Cai smiled and said, "I’m sorry, miss, without a receipt, we really can’t offer you too high a price. We have to take on certain risks, so the most I can give you is thirty-five thousand. If that’s acceptable, I can give you the money right now."

An Lan hesitated for a few seconds, then finally clenched her teeth, "Alright, then thirty-five thousand it is."

Lao Cai continued, "Just to be safe, please leave a contact number with us in case any issues arise later and I need to find you. What’s your phone number?"

An Lan said, "I don’t have a phone."

Lao Cai was taken aback but quickly said, "Come on, miss, don’t joke around. This makes me even more uncertain."

An Lan rolled her eyes and said, "I lost my phone, otherwise I wouldn’t be here selling the watch to raise money."

Thinking she must be very short on cash to be in such a situation, Lao Cai saw her as an easy target and asked, "Then you must have an address where you can be reached, right?"

After considering for a moment, An Lan figured this pawnshop, being located in the mall, should be quite formal, so she left the address of Wang Yao’s home.

Lao Cai glanced at the address to make sure it wasn’t made up, then nodded in satisfaction. He then took out thirty-five thousand in cash and handed it to An Lan.

An Lan carefully pocketed the money and left the mall.

Qin Hao came out and Lao Cai handed him the piece of paper with Wang Yao’s address written on it.

Qin Hao glanced at it, then took out his phone and dialed a number, "Help me look into someone."

...

After dinner, An Lan took the thirty-five thousand she had received and went into the room of Wang Dequan and Liu Fang, smiling as she repaid the money she had borrowed, and the rest, naturally, was her compensation for staying with Chen Fan for so many days.

Though An Lan wasn’t well versed in social niceties, she still used a very comfortable method to give the money to Mr. and Mrs. Wang Dequan.

Mr. Wang Dequan naturally felt awkward about accepting the money, uttering polite niceties, but An Lan, without missing a beat, took over the conversation with high emotional intelligence, helping the couple avoid embarrassment and ultimately accepting the money with joy.

After returning the money, An Lan finally felt a significant alleviation of the guilt that had been weighing on her chest. She breathed a sigh of relief and returned to her room.

Chen Fan asked, "What were you doing in Wang’s room?"

An Lan haughtily lifted her head, "I’m not telling you."

Although she wanted Chen Fan to know how much she had sacrificed for him recently, she wasn’t one to fish for compliments. To do so would make her feel too calculating since everything she had done was out of her own volition.

Thus, she preferred to wait for Chen Fan to find out on his own, rather than actively telling him what she had done.

If Chen Fan never figured it out, then so be it. Feeling satisfied with herself was enough for her.

Two days later, Wang Zhi came again to treat Chen Fan. After the session, he called An Lan over.

"Girl, this lad’s condition has mostly recovered. I reckon after three more treatments, he won’t need to come anymore. However, for these last three sessions, we’ll need to use some expensive medicinal ingredients to brew the plasters. It’ll cost about thirty thousand yuan in total. Do you have a problem with that?" Wang Zhi asked.

Upon hearing this amount, An Lan’s eyes bulged.

She had just returned all her money to Mr. and Mrs. Wang Dequan, so she had nowhere near that amount on her.

Seeing her reaction, Wang Zhi inquired, "What’s wrong? Too expensive? I could continue with the current medicine, but in that case, it would take at least another half a year for him to fully recover."

"I need to explain. I’m not trying to gouge you for money. The lad was weak before so I used gentler medicine. Now that he’s recovered a bit, we can use stronger medicine to help him recover quickly. Of course, these medicines are also more expensive."

An Lan quickly responded, "No, no, if that’s the case, then use the stronger medicine. Naturally, the quicker he recovers the better. I’ll try to get the money to you as soon as possible."

Wang Zhi nodded, "Alright, I’ll be taking my leave then."

After Wang Zhi left, An Lan went back to her room and sat at the table, lost in contemplation.

"Thirty thousand yuan, where can I get that kind of money?" An Lan sighed. She had never found it so difficult to come up with thirty thousand yuan before.

She propped her cheek with one hand, gazing at the old-fashioned round mirror on the table. She saw her unmade-up, plain face reflected back at her. It had been a long time since she last wore makeup.

The only ornament on her face was a pair of earrings.

It was all her mother had left her, a family heirloom passed down through generations from her mother’s side. Even by their age alone, they were a pair of valuable art pieces.

At that moment, her gaze fell upon the earrings, and her expression faltered.

"Do I really...have to pawn these earrings?" fгeewebnovёl.com

Her heart was immediately torn; after all, these were the only items her mother left her. How could she bear to sell them unless she had no other choice?

She stared at the earrings for a while, then glanced at Chen Fan, a hint of resentment creeping into her heart, "Jerk, for you, I even sold my favorite watch. Do I really need to sell my mother’s keepsake now?"

After a long while, she sighed helplessly and took the earrings off.

After carefully examining them in her hand for a bit, she murmured to herself, "I’m just pawning you for now. Once I have the money later, I’ll redeem you."

She then found a piece of cloth and wrapped the earrings in it, stood up, and headed for the door.

Chen Fan had been secretly observing An Lan for a while and, seeing her about to leave, hurriedly asked, "Where are you going?"

An Lan said, "Just stepping out for a walk."

Then she quickly left.

Chen Fan thought for a moment, stopped practicing, got up from the bed, and quietly followed An Lan out.

Meanwhile.

Inside the pawnshop at the mall.

Qin Hao lay on Lao Cai’s recliner, his mind filled with images of An Lan.

Ever since that day he saw her, he just couldn’t get this woman out of his head, dreaming of having his way with this beauty in bed.

To see An Lan again, he had simply started hanging out at the pawnshop every day.

His phone rang at that moment. He answered it, "How’s it going? Did you get the details?"

A deep voice came through: "All clear. The woman lives in the old town area. It’s a poor neighborhood; we can confirm she has no background."

Qin Hao immediately grinned with excitement, "Good, I got it."