Chapter 923: Gao Yang and Qin Chuan Argue

It was a little past 11 AM the next morning.

The cement road Zhang Xue had built for the village was finally completed.

Of course, completed was completed, but the fact that it was cheap, shoddy work was also absolutely true.

Despite being shoddy work, they still had to wait for the cement to dry completely before it could be used normally.

If yesterday's big incident of so many people dying in the village hadn't happened.

Today's cement road ribbon-cutting ceremony should have been quite lively.

After all, this was a benefit that the entire village could enjoy, a major event.

But precisely because of that incident, this ribbon-cutting ceremony ended up being very low-key, with just the Village Chief and a few others accompanying Zhang Xue through the motions.

Zhang Xue was happy to have the peace and quiet anyway, since she was just filming the ending for this video series.

She didn't really care whether it was lively or not.

Of course, as a sign of concern for the village, she asked the Village Chief how yesterday's search and blockade operation by the villagers and police had gone.

The Village Chief sighed, saying that after the person wearing the helmet entered the mountain, he vanished into thin air.

It felt like he was even more familiar with the terrain of the entire mountain than them, people who had grown up living in these mountains their whole lives.

As for whether the killer could be caught, Zhang Xue, Gao Yang, and the others didn't really care, after all, the video was already finished filming.

As for this small mountain village, even Zhang Xue felt that with how corrupt and black-hearted this village was, something like this happening to them was simply asking for it.

Once the ribbon-cutting was done, Zhang Xue, Gao Yang, and the others couldn't wait to leave.

After all, staying here only meant memories of being ripped off.

After Jiang Ran woke up, he also learned about what had happened in this small mountain village.

Afterwards, he felt terrified inside, because no matter how he looked at it, he felt this might be related to him somehow.

Especially when he walked past those police officers in the village, his heart was pounding every single time.

They returned from the small mountain village to the hotel.

After lingering at the hotel for a while, Jiang Ran and the group found a restaurant in the city, booked a private room, and had lunch.

This meal was still Zhang Xue's treat, and this one was especially richer and more varied than any of the previous ones.

Dishes came one after another.

According to Zhang Xue, this was to celebrate the completion of filming for this video.

During the meal.

Zhang Xue said, "Funny coincidence, isn't it?"

"Last time when we rented the fishpond, Qingzhao and Jiang Ran, you two were there too, and in the end, that incident happened where the black-hearted fishpond owner's whole family was burned alive."

"This time, we come to film a poverty relief video, and another murder case happens."

"When we go to faraway places to film videos by ourselves, we never run into anything like this."

"You two are just like Conan, both carrying the attribute of being death magnets."

Jiang Ran listened silently while eating the fried chicken drumstick in his bowl.

Wang Qingzhao, on the other hand, laughed and said, "Then you should be thanking me and Jiang Ran. If it weren't for the two of us, you wouldn't have gained so many followers from the fishpond video, and that includes this time too. Even though the video hasn't been posted yet, I'm sure your follower count will only be more than last time, not less."

"Heh heh, according to your logic, all the credit goes to them. Meanwhile, I'm the one carrying the camera all day and editing the footage, and I don't get any credit at all."

At this point, Gao Yang, who was eating a bite of celery on the side, was extremely dissatisfied.

Zhang Xue turned her head and said, "But I'm just stating the facts. The four of us go out to shoot videos by ourselves, whether it's near or far, and we rarely run into these kinds of things where people end up dying!"

Gao Yang turned his head and suddenly fixed his gaze on Qin Chuan across from him.

Qin Chuan was eating while looking down at his phone, and without even looking, it was obvious he was gambling online again.

Gao Yang said, "Yiwan, aren't you going to manage your boyfriend?"

The moment those words came out.

Qin Chuan looked up, dumbfounded.

Zhao Yiwan first stared at Qin Chuan's phone screen, then turned her head and answered Gao Yang:

"He and I are no longer in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship anymore."

"Whatever he does has nothing to do with me."

Qin Chuan turned his head, pressing his tongue against the inside of his left cheek, puffing it out on that side:

"Zhao Yiwan, did I agree to the breakup? You're just going to say we're not boyfriend and girlfriend anymore?"

Zhao Yiwan didn't say a word, silently shoveling food into her mouth.

Seeing this, Gao Yang said, "Qin Chuan, do you still want to win Yiwan back or not?"

"If you really want to win her back, then completely quit your online gambling."

Faced with Gao Yang's condescending tone, like a superior speaking to a subordinate.

Qin Chuan felt annoyed inside, but didn't dare talk back.

He could only say, "I can't quit."

"I'm making money here. I'm making money for the future of me and Yiwan."

"Sure, housing prices have dropped now, but buying a house still costs at least a few hundred thousand."

"And after that, we need to buy a car, pay the bride price, host the wedding. What doesn't cost money?"

"Especially when Yiwan and I have kids in the future. Kids are money-eating monsters that cost even more!"

"So that's why I'm desperately trying to make money!!!"

If someone didn't know that the man in front of them was a gambler.

Then his speech would definitely move a lot of people.

Making them think he was a good man, working his hardest with his whole heart for the future little family of himself and his girlfriend.

But unfortunately, everyone present knew he was a gambler.

"Heh heh, that sounds quite reasonable. Getting married and having kids these days is just throwing money away."

"But Qin Chuan, haven't you noticed? You've been gambling online for this long."

"And up until today, you haven't seen a single cent of profit, yet you've lost all your regular salary and savings from work too?"

"And don't forget, Yiwan secretly sold the house her parents had prepared for her, over seven hundred thousand, to pay off your gambling debts."

"You're all outflow and no inflow!!!"

Qin Chuan turned his head away, a bit unconvinced: "Who said I haven't made any money?"

"I just made over three thousand! In just over ten minutes!"

Gao Yang: "Oh, so impressive. Then how come you still owe over seven hundred thousand from before?"

Qin Chuan: "It's just like doing business. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Isn't that normal?"

Gao Yang's gaze turned cold, still maintaining that condescending tone of a superior speaking to a subordinate.

Criticizing and lecturing: "Give it up. You can't make money from gambling. It only leads to ruined families and lost lives."

"Stop thinking you can make money this way."

Qin Chuan remained unconvinced: "Then tell me, if I don't make money this way, how am I supposed to make it?"

Gao Yang: "Your salary."

"You and Yiwan take the salary that me and Zhang Xue pay you every month."

"Fifteen thousand per person per month."

"That's thirty thousand for two people a month."

"That's three hundred sixty thousand a year."

"Work hard, save up for a few years, and what can't you support?"

"This kind of salary in our country already counts as a high-paying job!"

But unexpectedly, these words only drew even greater contempt from Qin Chuan:

"Thirty thousand a month, like that's such a big deal."

"Now if I could make three hundred thousand a month, that would be something. I'm aiming to make three hundred thousand a month!"

Gao Yang sneered coldly at this: "You?"

With an expression and tone of extreme disdain:

"It's not that I'm mocking you, but if it weren't for me and Zhang Xue giving you this job."

"And instead you went out to find work on your own."

"Working yourself to the bone, you'd be lucky to make five thousand a month."

"And you're talking about three hundred thousand a month. Heh, laughable."

"A person should at least know their own place, don't you think?!"

Gao Yang was the type of person who cared a lot about saving face.

During this lunch gathering, from the very start of the meal, he had already been annoyed that Zhang Xue was giving all the credit to Jiang Ran and Wang Qingzhao.

So he didn't want to argue with Zhang Xue, nor with Jiang Ran and Wang Qingzhao.

Mainly because if he argued with Jiang Ran, Wang Qingzhao would jump in to help with the verbal sparring, and with Wang Qingzhao... he couldn't win.

Therefore, he set his sights on Qin Chuan instead.

Putting him down, giving him a dose of humiliation, to make himself feel better.

But unexpectedly, Qin Chuan turned out to be a backstabber too, constantly trading little jabs with him the whole time.