Chen Cheng pretended to frown. "What? Am I not good enough for you?"

"Or am I just a busybody sticking my nose where it doesn't belong?"

Sun Xiang immediately became embarrassed and waved her hands quickly. "I didn't mean it like that..."

He was offering ideas and was willing to help. How could she call him a busybody?

She wasn't that kind of person.

Besides, this handsome guy was really, really handsome.

A mischievous smile was hidden at the corner of Chen Cheng's mouth. "Then we'll go with what we just discussed?"

Sun Xiang thought about his plan again and nodded.

"I'll ask someone to watch the shop for a bit."

As she spoke, Sun Xiang looked at Chen Cheng with some hesitation. "Um..."

"Is it okay to trouble you this much?"

Chen Cheng chuckled. "You're being blackmailed, and you're still worried about that?"

"Don't worry, would I be out drinking coffee in the middle of the afternoon if I were afraid of trouble?"

"Just consider it a bit of fun."

Sun Xiang's eyes widened into round circles; that seemed to make sense.

If he weren't someone with free time, he wouldn't be here drinking coffee in the middle of the afternoon.

She gave an embarrassed smile and pointed behind her, indicating she was going.

Chen Cheng smiled and nodded encouragingly.

Sun Xiang took a breath, turned around, and walked toward the man who was blackmailing her.

This man was named Cao Yibing. Despite having the word 'soldier' in his name, he spent his time doing nothing but petty, shady deeds.

Seeing Sun Xiang walking toward him, Cao Yibing asked suspiciously, "Who was that guy?"

"Oh~" Sun Xiang's expression remained normal. "Just a tourist. He asked me about where to have fun and where to find good food."

"Let's go, I'll get the money for you."

As soon as he heard 'money,' Cao Yibing's suspicion was immediately pushed aside. He wanted to get the money in his hands first.

He smiled triumphantly. "It would have been better if you'd done this earlier instead of making me wait here for so long."

Sun Xiang wished she could tear him apart, following behind Cao Yibing with gritted teeth.

When they reached the door, she glanced back at Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng nodded, reassuring her that he was following behind.

Once the two of them left the coffee shop's courtyard, Chen Cheng stood up and followed.

From the outside, the coffee shop looked like it was in a modern red-brick style.

Inside, it was a traditional building in the style of an old Siheyuan.

It had quite a lot of charm.

It was just that this year, not many people came to dine in, and there weren't many tourists visiting for photos either.

This was already the second shop Sun Xiang had worked at this year. The first was a milk tea shop that had closed down due to renovations at the mall.

Sun Xiang walked out and greeted a neighbor from the shop next door. "Sister Wang, if anyone comes by, could you help me attend to them? I'm... I'm taking someone to withdraw some money."

Sister Wang glanced at the man next to Sun Xiang and frowned slightly.

However, she didn't think too much of it and nodded in agreement.

Neighbors helping each other watch their shops was common and nothing to be surprised about.

Sun Xin led Cao Yibing through various twists and turns out of the park and found an ATM at the street corner.

Cao Yibing looked at Sun Xiang and warned, "Don't play any tricks, I'm watching you."

Sun Xiang rolled her eyes at him. "If you're so worried, just come in with me."

Seeing Sun Xiang's fearless attitude, Cao Yibing's rebellious streak was triggered.

A devilish voice also popped up in his mind: 'Why not go in and take a look? Maybe this girl has even more money.'

"The two of them have been busy for two or three days, and I'm only taking three thousand? Isn't that letting her off too easy?"

Thinking this, Cao Yibing gritted his teeth and followed her in.

Sun Xiang was still slowly entering her password, stalling for time, just waiting for him to come in.

As soon as she heard the sound of the electric door opening, the corners of Sun Xiang's mouth curved into a crescent shape.

She 'finally' entered the correct password.

Entering the service interface, she didn't click on withdrawal directly. Instead, as if she hadn't noticed Cao Yibing, she first clicked on 'Check Balance'.

Watching her movements, Cao Yibing's eyes immediately lit up. He subconsciously leaned forward, wanting to see the balance clearly.

At that moment, Sun Xiang immediately shifted half a step to the side, completely yielding the front of the ATM to Cao Yibing.

Her face was full of 'panic' as she clutched her chest. "What... what are you... what are you doing?"

It had to be said that every woman was a natural-born actor.

When Cao Yibing saw the balance, his eyes instantly lit up.

He turned to look at her weak and fragile appearance.

Cao Yibing completely forgot that this was an ATM booth, with surveillance cameras both inside and out.

He smacked his lips and looked at Sun Xiang with an unkind expression. "Didn't you say you only had three thousand?"

"You hit my mother, and now she's lying in the hospital waiting for surgery."

"You said you had no money and would only give three thousand. My mother needed the money urgently, so I accepted it."

Sun Xiang was immediately displeased. "Don't talk nonsense, I didn't hit your mother."

"She stole something and fell while trying to run away."

Cao Yibing immediately glared at Sun Xiang fiercely. "What nonsense?"

"If it weren't for you, would my mother be like that?"

"Do you know how much my mother is suffering?"

"I'm telling you, playing poor won't work. Pay up!"

The last two words were said through gritted teeth.

Sun Xiang glanced left and right but couldn't see Chen Cheng anywhere, and she started to panic.

Everything had been planned so well, why was it different now that they were here?

"Then... then... how much money do you want?"

Cao Yibing pondered for two seconds. "At least, at least five thousand!"

As he spoke, Cao Yibing's greed grew, and he added more. "No! At least five thousand five hundred."

Sun Xiang panicked, tears welling up in her eyes. "That's my salary that was just paid. If I give you five thousand five hundred, I'll have less than a thousand left. How am I supposed to live?"

Cao Yibing acted like a total scoundrel. "I don't care about that. Either way, you have to compensate me."

Sun Xiang: "..."

"What are you looking at me for? Withdraw the money!"

"If you don't give me the money today, don't even think about leaving."

Cao Yibing hadn't lost his last bit of reason yet; he knew enough to make Sun Xiang withdraw the money herself rather than counting it himself.

By this point, Sun Xiang was panicking so much she was in a state of shock, her whole body trembling.

Cao Yibing's shout to withdraw the money gave Sun Xiang a startle. She hurriedly wiped her tears and operated the ATM to withdraw the cash.

She entered 5500 for the amount.

Before long, the rustling sound of banknotes rang in Cao Yibing's ears.

For a moment, Cao Yibing's face flushed with excitement.

Sun Xiang took the money out of the ATM, and Cao Yibing impatiently reached out his hand.

Sun Xiang looked at him pitifully, not wanting to give her money to this bad man at all.

"What are you looking at? Give me the money."

Sun Xiang reluctantly handed over her entire month's salary.

Cao Yibing snatched the money and stuffed it into his pocket. "That's more like it."

"Be more careful next time."

Afterward, the two of them walked out of the small ATM room one after the other.

They bumped right into Chen Cheng.

As soon as Cao Yibing saw Chen Cheng, he immediately frowned and looked back at Sun Xiang.

Seeing her mouth curved into a crescent, almost laughing out loud, he suddenly realized what was happening.

He turned around and pointed at Sun Xiang's nose in a rage. "Fine, fine, fine, you two are setting me up, aren't you?"