Chapter 101: Are They Really Demoting the Second Male Lead

He lowered his head and pressed on, "Why did Brother Bao send you guys to abduct people?"

Xiao Qian's eyes darted around, then he answered, "The compound's short on people, plain and simple. We need both men and women—we snatch who knows how many people every day."

Qi Yuan sneered and slapped him across the face. A handprint instantly bloomed on his tan cheek.

"Do you take me for a fool?"

Bribing Liwei Spring to fake the records, first-class direct flights, five-star hotel stays the whole way...

All that, just so this Brother Bao could snatch two girls back to the compound for some online scam scheme?

Does that even make sense?

Xiao Qian, face red, insisted, "What else could it be? Don't believe me? Ask them—Brother Bao runs a telecom fraud racket up in northern Myanmar."

"Let me out—mmph—" Sang Biao thrashed around like a fish on dry land, desperation written all over his face.

Let him talk. Let him talk!

The stinking sock was yanked from his mouth, and Sang Biao shouted at the top of his lungs, "Brother Bao's a fraud boss, sure—but Xiao Qian's definitely holding something back!"

"Don't slap him! He's into that—you're rewarding him! Shove a stinky sock in his mouth instead, choke him out with the stench!"

Xiao Qian snapped, "What the hell's wrong with you?"

No one was even interrogating him. Why was he showing off like that?

Sang Biao just wanted a few minutes of clean air. That's all. Just a few minutes.

Qi Yuan slowly pulled a scalpel from his coat. The sharp tip pressed against Xiao Qian's cheek. "Rewarding him? That won't do. How about I carve this piece of flesh off and take the reward back?"

His tone was calm, but Xiao Qian shivered involuntarily. "I... I..."

Sang Biao got excited again: "Damn! That's still a reward for him! Just stuff a sock in his mouth—he'll spill everything for sure—"

The sock was shoved back between his lips, and he went back to muffled, frantic grunts.

Wrong move! Not in his mouth—in Xiao Qian's!

The scalpel stood upright, the tip almost piercing skin. Qi Yuan stared at him coldly. "This is your last chance."

Xiao Qian's eyes kept shifting away. "You... you wouldn't dare. Killing someone is against the law..."

Qi Yuan let out a scoff. "Kid, this is Sawa. You're not a local. How much police effort do you think Sawa's force will waste on you? By the time they figure out the facts, do you think I'll still be in Sawa?"

Cross-border manhunts aren't exactly easy.

Besides, "I'm a doctor. Making someone die quietly is very easy for me."

A hint of a smile crept into his eyes—one laced with barely concealed eagerness. It made Xiao Qian's heart pound with dread.

"I don't know what their grievance is! I swear!"

He spilled quickly. "But Brother Bao's been back in the country lately. That woman—she probably pissed him off somehow, and he wanted to get even. That's all I know. Really!"

"Brother Bao's back in the country?"

Qi Yuan was surprised. A northern Myanmar scam boss operating on home soil?

He remembered He Huanhuan was also in Jiangcheng—meaning Brother Bao was in Jiangcheng too.

He glanced at Qi Jin, whose face had gone dark. "Looks like you guys aren't doing a great job."

Qi Jin grabbed his phone to call his superior, but Qi Yuan snatched it away. He panicked. "Bro, what are you doing? I need to report this up the chain!"

Qi Yuan shot him a look. "Jiangcheng has twenty million residents. You plan on telling your boss to search one by one?"

Qi Jin's face carried that stubborn, law-enforcement resolve: "One by one—we'll find him eventually."

Qi Yuan rolled his eyes at him. "The second you make that call, your vacation ends. And this Brother Hu we've got here—who's going to look into him? The Sawa police?"

That would mean writing a several-thousand-character application for international cooperation.

The moment Qi Jin thought about the paperwork, his head cleared up. "Bro, you mean..."

Investigating on their own first, then reporting it later?

Qi Yuan gave him a none-too-gentle kick. "What else?"

Why take the long, painful route when there's an easier way?

"Load them into the car. We've got a show to watch."

Let Brother Hu rack his brain wondering where all his men went.

Once they'd stuffed everyone into the trunk, Qi Jin couldn't help asking, "Bro, why didn't you ask them where Brother Hu is? We could storm his place and squeeze the truth out of him."

Qi Yuan opened He Huanhuan's chat. [They've got an elephant show today. Want to watch?]

A reply came back instantly. [Watch! Definitely watch!]

The corner of his mouth lifted. "We paid for this tourist package. Are you that rich, wasting it just like that?"

Qi Jin was speechless. Wasn't it all his own money anyway?

Qi Yuan had only finished his residency a couple of years ago, and the economy had been rough since. His department had just gotten last year's bonus this year—this year's wouldn't come until at least next year.

Dr. Qi looked fancy, but his wallet was emptier than anyone's.

Didn't matter though. His little brother had been working for years, no girlfriend, and a fat savings account.

Brother's money is his money. Brother's elegance wasn't all for show after all.

He took He Huanhuan to see the elephant show, then dragged her into a photo with ladyboys across the border. Her laughter wouldn't stop. "God! Dr. Qi, you're the best! When are you flying back? I have to treat you to dinner!"

Qi Yuan smiled lightly. "Treat me to spicy malatang or beef noodles?"

She'd once posted a WeChat moment: [No more pretending. Sister's got money now—living large! Eating malatang without wringing the broth dry! Treating all my ride-or-die girls to malatang! P.S.: don't come begging if you're not that close—one bowl of beef noodles is already generous!]

The photo showed three bowls of beef noodles—so she'd been eating with not-so-close friends.

He had no idea that the people sitting behind that photo were Han Mo and Qi Meili.

That "don't come begging if you're not that close" line was the edgy flirting of a hidden alt-girl.

But Dr. Qi had never dabbled in that scene. He figured it was just her quirky caption.

On the other end of the video, He Huanhuan beamed. "You like malatang too? I thought doctors were all strict about food hygiene."

Qi Yuan chuckled. "I used to order it all the time during night shifts at the hospital."

"Done deal!" He Huanhuan agreed readily. "When you're back, hit me up. I'll get you malatang—for real now!"

"Alright."

"I'll hang up then..."

"We're about to go snorkeling by the coast. Want to watch?"

Her peach-pink hair zoomed into the frame. "Yes! Make sure you show us handsome guys with abs! Lots of them!"

Qi Yuan couldn't help but laugh. "Will do."

The video call kept going, never dropped.

At Han Group headquarters, Han Mo brought Wang Qiang back to his office and asked, "Can you drive?"

Wang Qiang shook his head. "No."

"Then I'll arrange for you to get a license. Once you have it, how about being my driver?"

Wang Qiang hesitated. "Um... I actually don't really want to be a driver..."

Han Mo gave him a curious look. "Then what do you want to do?"

Wang Qiang's face turned red. "I want to be a security guard..."

A poor man's natural destination—the golden trio of gigs: security guard, cleaner, and nanny.

Wang Qiang didn't have big ambitions, nor did he want to take too much from Han Mo.

He'd secretly looked it up on his phone during the ride—even a security guard at Han Group made eight thousand a month. He figured that would be perfect for him.

Han Mo said helplessly, "How is driving for me taking advantage of you? I told you I'd give you a good life—how could I let you work as a security guard?"

But Wang Qiang was a stubborn kid and insisted on being a security guard.

Unable to talk him out of it, Han Mo decided to video-call He Huanhuan to have her persuade him instead.

Unexpectedly, the call went through—but was cut off with a single busy tone.

Alarm bells rang instantly in his mind. What did this mean? Was he really about to get demoted from the male lead's sidekick?