Chapter Seventy-Two: Have His Ancestors Checked Three Generations for Me (Please Vote for Recommendations)

Downstairs from the detective agency.

“I’ll let Hu Xiong know about today’s intel,” Li Minghao said to Li Changqing before driving away.

Li Changqing, meanwhile, took the 160,000 Lang and pushed open the office door, stepping inside.

Tang Xiaoyu was sitting in the living room watching television. She turned her head when she heard the door open.

Seeing the money in his hands, she immediately asked, “Li Changqing, did you go out thieving?”

“I collected a debt,” Li Changqing shot her a glare. “What an imagination.”

He said, “Sort out your share. I’m heading home for a bit.”

Counting their previous earnings, subtracting daily expenses, and adding this new sum, he now held a total of 220,000 Lang—a small fortune.

It was time to pay off the family debt once and for all.

Tang Xiaoyu quickly divided up the money. Li Changqing slung a black backpack over his shoulder and asked, “I’m heading home—want to come along?”

“Of course,” Tang Xiaoyu nodded. “Your sister’s buns are delicious.”

They took the bus, and by the time they reached the bun shop, it was already three in the afternoon.

As they entered, he saw a man standing inside—about twenty-eight or twenty-nine, dressed in a suit, hair slicked back, face full of charm, chatting amiably with Li Lin.

Li Lin answered politely, but her brows remained slightly furrowed, obviously not pleased.

“Big Sis!” Li Changqing called out loudly, entering with Tang Xiaoyu.

The man looked at Li Changqing in surprise, then smiled. “You must be Changqing. Long time no see. I returned from studying in the Lamela Empire, and I haven’t run into you since—must be nearly ten years now.”

Li Changqing could not for the life of him remember who this man was, so he simply smiled politely.

“I’m Ping, you know—Xia Ping. You’ve forgotten?”

Xia Ping introduced himself.

Li Changqing still couldn’t place him, but responded warmly, “Oh, it’s you! Been a while. How have you been...”

That phrase was always safe when dealing with vaguely familiar faces.

Xia Ping chatted a bit more before finally taking his leave.

“You really don’t remember him?” Li Lin was wiping the dining table with a napkin. “He was our neighbor. Every time he beat you up, you’d come crying to me. Forgotten already?”

“Then I remember even less.” Who would want to remember the guy who beat them up every day?

Li Changqing asked, “By the way, what was he doing at our bun shop?”

Li Lin smiled. “He just graduated from studying abroad, and Aunt Liu, seeing that I’m single, wanted to play matchmaker for us. But I haven’t agreed. It’s been years—we have no idea what kind of person he’s become.”

“Besides, with our family’s situation, if I really married him, what about my little sister? I’ll wait until she graduates.”

“If you wait for her to graduate, you’ll be over thirty,” Li Changqing teased, grinning. “If he’s right for you, why not give it a try?”

Most women Li Lin’s age already had children running around.

“And what about the bun shop?” Li Lin shot him a glare. “He graduated from a prestigious university in the Lamela Empire. He’s not going to come home and sell buns with me, is he?”

“If Xiaoyu likes them, teach her. Let her inherit the bun shop.” Li Changqing pointed to Tang Xiaoyu.

Li Lin paused—this was a family craft, not passed on to outsiders. Surely, Li Changqing knew this.

Unless Tang Xiaoyu married into the family…

Could it be they’d already made a secret vow?

A bright smile spread across Li Lin’s face. “Xiaoyu, if you’re interested, I’ll teach you.”

Something was off...

Li Changqing keenly sensed that, after what he’d just said, Li Lin’s gaze towards Tang Xiaoyu had changed completely.

Trouble...

He coughed to break the awkwardness. “Ahem, right, there’s something else I need to discuss.”

He set the black backpack on the table and opened it, pulling out stack after stack of Lang notes.

Seventeen thousand Lang in total.

“Where did you get all this money?” Li Lin exclaimed, surprised.

“I scrimped and saved,” Li Changqing replied with a smile. “Our family’s debt has been hanging over us for years. Sis, use this to pay it off.”

Li Lin gazed at the pile of money and couldn’t help but say, “I told you, I’d take care of the debt.”

“Just take it, Sis,” Li Changqing insisted.

But Li Lin shook her head. This was money Li Changqing would need if he married Tang Xiaoyu—how could she accept it?

She said, “If I take it, what will you live on?”

Seeing her reluctant, Li Changqing shot a meaningful glance at Tang Xiaoyu.

Catching on, Tang Xiaoyu chimed in, “Sis, just take it. With me around, he’ll never go hungry—I have money.”

Li Changqing simply put the money in the kitchen and grinned, “Sis, start cooking. Xiaoyu’s been craving your buns.”

“All right,” Li Lin agreed, though she couldn’t help but wonder—had her brother landed himself a rich girlfriend? Was this Xiaoyu girl from a wealthy family?

Soon, steaming buns were served. Tang Xiaoyu ate heartily, carefree and content.

Li Lin pulled Li Changqing aside. “Be honest, did Xiaoyu give you that money? She’s a wonderful girl—you can’t take her money to pay our debts.”

Li Changqing was at a loss for words. “Sis, I earned it myself. It has nothing to do with Xiaoyu.”

Li Lin frowned, still skeptical. The detective agency had barely scraped by before; when Li Changqing returned, he only got a five-hundred-Lang allowance. How had he suddenly made so much money?

Only after repeated assurances did Li Lin finally accept the sum.

Back when their parents were critically ill, those who lent the siblings money did so out of kindness. It really wasn’t right to keep them waiting.

With that settled, Li Changqing took the well-fed Tang Xiaoyu and left.

Outside the bun shop, Li Changqing took out his phone and called Kelly Rosetti.

“Hello, Kelly.”

“My friend, you finally remembered you have an employee like me…”

Before he could complain further, Li Changqing cut in, “I’ve got an assignment for you. Investigate a man named Xia Ping—my former neighbor, studied in the Lamela Empire.”

Kelly Rosetti perked up. “Easy enough. What do you want to know?”

“If you can manage it, trace his family back three generations.”

Kelly replied, “Don’t worry. Trust the abilities of a nobleman. If he so much as chatted with a lady in secret in Lamela, I’ll find out exactly who she was.”

He was as boastful as ever.

But there was no doubt Kelly could get to the bottom of Xia Ping’s background. With his professional skills and connections in the Lamela Empire, finding out about one person would be a piece of cake.