The Inside Thief Revealed

Seeing that I was safe and sound, Elder Sister Yang patted her chest and said, "How dangerous! Just a step further, and you would have been crushed."

The Fatty looked at the portrait-like object in my hand and said, "Is this thing a priceless antique? Was it worth risking your life to grab it?"

I replied, "I'm not sure, but it might actually be a treasure." As I spoke, I carefully wiped the dust off the ancient painting.

Suddenly, a lifelike ancient-style beauty was revealed. The Fatty laughed and said, "I really admire you; you risked your life just for a painting of a beauty! Now that a living, breathing beauty is right in front of you, do you still need to feed your hunger with a picture of a cake?"

Hearing this, Elder Sister Yang's pretty face flushed with a rosy blush, looking somewhat embarrassed.

When I looked at the ancient beauty in the portrait, she felt vaguely familiar, like a woman I had seen before. Suddenly, a jolt went through my heart as I thought of Han Lingxue.

The Fatty shouted, "This ancient beauty is so stunning! It feels like I've seen her somewhere before..." Suddenly, he cried out, "Ah Feng, that beauty sitting in the Rolls-Royce the other day looks almost identical to the beauty in this portrait!"

I never expected that the ancient beauty in the portrait would look exactly like Lingxue. In the past, at the ancient mountain temple, I had seen the portrait of the Goddess Mother, which looked very similar to A-Yun. Could all of this simply be a coincidence?

Suddenly, I heard Guying let out a low whine, as if giving a timely reminder. A shudder ran through my heart, and I felt that this place was no longer safe to linger in.

I said, "It's past noon now, let's head back!" Elder Sister Yang said, "I'm also getting a chilling feeling."

Although the Fatty didn't say much, he shared the same sentiment, so we all hurried back.

Upon returning to the village, Elder Sister Yang no longer had any intention of staying overnight. She prepared to drive back and naturally hoped I would accompany her.

I made the excuse of going home to pack up and asked her to wait for me in the car. Back home, I opened the door and said to Sister Ye, who was hiding on the bed, "Sister Ye, I'm heading into the city. Take care of yourself." I figured that since there was food left in the room, she should have no problem managing on her own.

Seeing that I hadn't brought anyone else in, Sister Ye climbed up and said, "I know, go ahead! I'll be fine."

I said, "I'll come to check on you in a few days." Sister Ye replied, "Once my injuries heal, I plan to leave this place. Thank you for taking care of me."

I closed the door and left with Guying. Seeing that I was ready to leave, the Fatty couldn't stand the loneliness of the mountain village either, so we left together.

Upon arriving in the urban area of Qingxi, the Fatty and I parted ways, and I followed Elder Sister Yang to the villa where she lived.

The elderly security guard saw us return and cheerfully opened the factory gates. Although the guard didn't say anything, I could tell from his expression that he had long been aware of our relationship, and that smile spoke volumes without a word.

I kept Guying outside Elder Sister Yang's villa, and she didn't object, merely telling me to take Guying to the pet store tomorrow for a checkup and vaccination.

I agreed. After settling Guying in, we had dinner together. Elder Sister Yang told me to take a bath and then come to her bedroom.

I naturally understood what she meant. After taking a bath and changing into clean clothes, I saw Elder Sister Yang half-reclining on the bed playing with her phone, and I couldn't resist wiping the ancient painting I had brought.

As I looked at the ancient beauty in the painting, her gaze seemed as though it were alive. Feeling embarrassed by her stare, I rolled up the portrait, took it down to the room I was staying in on the first floor, and placed it inside my suitcase.

Elder Sister Yang waited on the bed for a long time. Seeing that I hadn't come upstairs, she called me and said, "What are you dawdling about? Why aren't you coming up?"

I replied, "I'm already sleeping downstairs." With a hint of anger in her voice, Elder Sister Yang demanded, "What do you mean by this?"

I excused myself, saying, "I'm a bit tired today and want to sleep and get some good rest."

Elder Sister Yang was so angry she almost cursed out loud, but ultimately maintained her pride and said, "Suit yourself then." Clearly, she cared about her face; after being rejected a few times, she no longer wanted to make the first move, as being rejected too many times hurts one's self-esteem.

Of course, Elder Sister Yang was undoubtedly cursing inwardly: "Damn it, always putting on an act for me. Let's see how long you can hold out."

In truth, ever since I brought that ancient painting back, I had an odd, inexplicable feeling, as if Lingxue were watching my every move.

With that kind of feeling weighing on my mind, how could I possibly have any mood to dally with Elder Sister Yang?

Waking up the next day, I took Guying to the pet store for a thorough checkup. It turned out to be free of viruses and bacteria, and of course, I got it vaccinated along the way. Upon returning to Elder Sister Yang's villa, I built a makeshift kennel for Guying.

In the days that followed, Elder Sister Yang accepted Guying. Through careful care and feeding over the past few days, Guying grew much stronger and its appearance became increasingly adorable.

Most importantly, the bond between Guying and Elder Sister Yang deepened. Elder Sister Yang fed Guying several times and even teased and played with it.

Guying was also very well-behaved, cleverly cooperating with Elder Sister Yang, and gradually, she grew to love Guying as well.

Time flew by. I seized a moment of free time to drive back to my hometown in Fenglin Village to visit Sister Ye, who was recovering from her injuries.

Sister Ye's wounds were healing well. I dropped off the food she needed and conveniently helped her remove the stitches from her wound.

As I was leaving, Sister Ye said, "A great kindness needs no words of gratitude; we shall meet again."

I couldn't help joking, "I'll wait for you to repay the favor after you've taken your revenge."

Sister Ye replied, "Rest assured! I won't forget."

After parting ways with Sister Ye, I returned to Elder Sister Yang's factory. By this time, the factory had already resumed operations.

To Elder Sister Yang's surprise, the original workshop director, Yang Tianfeng, made the excuse of poor health and failed to show up for work.

Elder Sister Yang took me to visit him, only to find that his right foot was limping. Seeing the wound, both Elder Sister Yang and I understood immediately—he was the one who had been hit. Truly, it is hard to guard against a thief within your own household.

Yang Tianfeng was a distant relative of Elder Sister Yang, so she didn't expose the matter explicitly, merely telling him to recover properly before bringing me back.

Upon returning to the factory, Elder Sister Yang held a staff meeting. She announced, "The former workshop director is in poor health and will no longer be coming to work. From now on, I am appointing him as the new workshop director."

Because I had helped Elder Sister Yang resolve her loan shark problem and had knocked out Bald Leopard, the employees were more or less afraid of me. Therefore, having me become the workshop director was something the employees accepted with convinced minds.

Of course, I found myself utterly swamped with work, but since Elder Sister Yang had accepted Guying, I had no choice but to push through and keep going...