A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Guier gave her two more banknotes and said, "Let me take a look at them. Please go and do something else. I'll find my sister if you need me."

Seeing her politeness and hearing her voice, the dancer knew she was a woman. She smiled and said, "Sister, are you here to catch an adulterer? Being a woman is a hard life. Whether you're from a wealthy family or someone as lowly as me, we're all bound to be harmed by bad men. Tell me who it is and where it is. I'll give you some advice. I know this area well."

Gui'er was concentrating on searching for clues among the people walking on the street. Hearing her chattering beside him, she felt a little impatient and said, "No need. You can go back first."

There was no sound behind her. Gui'er guessed that the dancer must have left. She carefully observed the pedestrians on the opposite street but did not find anything unusual. It seemed that the spies had disappeared.

She stretched her neck again and tried to look through the glass window into the Café de Café. There was no sign of Shopkeeper Zhang, Miss Shen, Teacher Meng, and there was nothing unusual about the customers in the cafe.

What she did just now must have alarmed them, and they must have left. She just didn't know if she could escape. This was the best she could do with her ability. After thinking it over, she decided to go back to the Sha Mansion, so that she could at least get some information from Sha Yanyao.

Having made up her mind, she turned around and walked inside, only to find Sha Yanyao leaning against the balcony door with his arms folded across his chest, looking at her with a very calm expression.

Gui'er was startled, but she tried to calm down and asked with a smile, "Brother, why are you here too? Hey, I've always been curious about what this dance hall looks like, so I snuck in to take a look."

"I bribed Gao Zinong's men and knew he would take action today, so I deployed people on the outskirts..." Sha Yanyao said lightly.

Gui'er was shocked when she heard this. If that was the case, her actions must be under surveillance, not to mention Teacher Meng, Miss Shen and others who were surrounded on two sides.

She looked at the calm Sha Yanyao in front of her, her mind racing. The pocket pistol was in her trouser pocket, but even if she could pull it out, she wasn't confident she could defeat the well-trained Sha Yanyao. Even if she killed him, what good would it do? He was definitely not alone, and she still had complicated feelings for him. She still remembered the time when Sha Yanyao had taken care of her in her youth.

Sha Yanyao looked at Gui'er standing there with a pale face, feeling a little sorry for her. He stepped forward, touched her head, took her hand, and said, "Come on, follow me. I know Shen Fengshu is your teacher. She took such good care of you in the past. You must have been bewitched by her."

Gui'er still said nothing. She was afraid that she would say something wrong. The situation was unclear now. What if Miss Shen escaped? Then she could completely deny it.

The two men went downstairs, and four or five people rushed over. One of them said, "Our people have been monitoring Gao Zinong and his men. Their target left through the back door, and Gao Zinong only brought three or four people with him. They hurriedly chased after him. During the chase, he called the police station and asked for more manpower. Our people then said we were out."

Sha Yanyao nodded and said, "What's the situation now?"

"We're still tracking him, but I heard shots were fired."

"Who fired the shot? Who was hit?" Guier asked subconsciously.

The subordinate glanced at Gui'er, and Gui'er immediately realized that she had said too much and quickly shrank behind Sha Yanyao.

Sha Yanyao glanced at her and asked his men, "Who fired the shot?"

"Over at Gao Zinong's end, the enemy retaliated. The exact casualties are unknown, and our people are still following them."

After exiting the dance hall, Sha Yanyao hesitated for a moment, then pulled Gui'er to a car. He said to her, "Guier, don't worry about anything, just be quiet. I could have sent you home, but given the current situation, I don't know if Gao Zinong has contacted Director Tian. If he has, you'll be in danger, so stay with me."

Is this an attempt to protect herself? Gui'er pondered.

The car started and drove forward, and Guier secretly noted down the route.

After about 20 minutes, the car stopped at an intersection. Sha Yanyao asked them to roll down the window, and one of his men walked over to it. He hunched over and reported to Sha Yanyao, "Boss, because the reinforcements we sent arrived late, two of them escaped. Xu Wenjie and his wife were captured, and there are two other men we don't recognize."

Sha Yanyao frowned after hearing this, waved his hand, and the man left.

Gui Er heaved a sigh of relief when she learned that it was Shopkeeper Zhang who had escaped. Shopkeeper Zhang was their wanted criminal. If he was caught, then the situation would be set in stone. The only thing they didn't know was whether Teacher Meng was among those arrested. If Teacher Meng had escaped, they could completely deny the charges, as Sha Yanyao wouldn't be able to find anyone to prove they were part of the revolutionaries.

After his men left, Sha Yanyao didn't ask the driver to drive away. He turned around and looked at Gui'er and said to her, "Guier, tell me the truth. I want to save you now, but this matter has been reported to the bureau, and I have to find a way to get back at you. I don't care about others, but you are my sister."

Gui Er realized her chance had come. She pretended to be a little aggrieved and said, "Actually, I didn't think it was that serious. Sister Feng Shu said that he was a relative of Mr. Xu, also a teacher. He couldn't stay in his original private school anymore and wanted to go to Shanghai to find a job. That day, he had no money, so he ran to the school to ask Sister Feng Shu for help. Sister Feng Shu asked me to take her to the Shen residence first, so I just helped a little."

"Then why are you here dressed like this today? Aren't you here to keep an eye out for them? If you were a respectable family, why would you do this?"

"That's not the case. When I was leaving school with Teacher Meng, I noticed someone from your company seemed to be following us. I felt strange and a little worried, so I came to check on them today."

"Gao Zinong reported to Director Tian that a man named Meng was the head of the revolutionary party's liaison point, and that he and the previously fugitive owner of Daxinglong were planning to reunite and escape."

"Which Daxinglong shopkeeper?" Gui'er pretended to be confused.

"That's the woman wearing the gorgeous cheongsam."

"Is that the owner of Daxinglong? Not at all. Sister Fengshu said that she was Teacher Meng's friend, or his girlfriend or something. They were originally in a good relationship, but then because he was too poor, her family didn't agree, so they parted ways. Now that Teacher Meng is in trouble, she wants to help. I don't know anything else, so how did she become the owner of Daxinglong? I've seen the owner of Daxinglong before, but that's not this person."