132. This person seems like a scammer!

The water meter reading at the Angui residential complex always fell in the latter half of the month. Ling Hua didn't suspect anything; she merely shot Guo Jingyuan a disappointed look, snatched the phone from her hand, and shooed everyone back into the room before going to open the door with Xu Qiang.

"Water meter reading," the man at the door said, waving his notebook in front of them.

Just as Ling Hua turned to the side to let him in, the phone she was still holding suddenly chimed. She glanced down and saw a new text message.

"Your account ending in 2333 received a transfer of 10,000 Huaguo coins on June 20th at 15:01."

Ten thousand!

They had transferred ten thousand without even asking!

Ling Hua was so tempted to find Guo Jingyuan and demand the contact information of this wealthy friend!

One second, Ling Hua was immersed in the joy of money being within her reach; the next, the half-closed door was kicked open with immense force. Twenty people swarmed in, their guns raised, surrounding the small room instantly.

"——You are all surrounded!"

...

The raid was swift and silent. It wasn't until the residents of Angui and the surrounding area saw police cars and a string of strangers being led away in custody that they realized a pyramid scheme organization had been hiding right under their noses. Trembling with fear, they ran to the property management office to protest, demanding a thorough investigation of all tenants to ensure their personal safety.

"You say you came to Beicheng to look for work?" Major Yu, a young man, stared at the frail girl before him, his questioning formulaic. However, deep in his eyes, he hid a mix of confusion and anger that ill-befitted his position.

Guo Jingyuan nodded uneasily.

She didn't know why, but after the recruitment base was taken down, she hadn't seen Assistant Pan. She and the others had been brought to the Beicheng Police Station, where they were being interrogated one by one by this Major Yu, who didn't even seem to be part of the police force.

"You're not even an adult. What kind of work are you looking for? Where is your family? Did they send you here?"

Guo Jingyuan remained silent.

"Not talking? So, you're an accomplice to these thieves?" Major Yu deliberately put on a stern, uncompromising face. "According to the relevant laws, those involved in defrauding others of money can be sentenced to up to five years in prison depending on the severity of the case. I think a few years behind bars will teach you a lesson!"

Only then did Guo Jingyuan panic. "I didn't! I didn't cheat anyone out of money..."

"Didn't you?" Major Yu held the confiscated phone up in front of her. "An hour ago, your account received a transfer of ten thousand. Based on the nature of this pyramid scheme, we have reason to believe that this is illicit money you extorted from others through deception."

Ten thousand?

Guo Jingyuan’s feelings were a mix of being touched and ashamed. After a long pause, she said with a complicated expression, "I won't keep this money. I will return it to her."

"It's not that simple. This bank card is yours, right? And this phone is yours, right?"

"...Yes."

A different emotion flickered in Major Yu's eyes.

"This phone model must be four years old. Hardly anyone uses a Symbian system anymore."

Guo Jingyuan lowered her head.

"You don't look old. Did you just finish the college entrance exam this year?" Major Yu sighed softly. "Why did you come to Beicheng to work? Tell me clearly, or else you'll end up spending a few days in the detention center."

She then explained, albeit reluctantly, "I need to earn tuition..."

"What tuition?"

"Col-college tuition."

Veins bulged on Yu Xiangli’s hands. When Kang Wenbo told him that his cousin, whom he had never met, had been kicked out by her family and was now staying at Chen Ruowen’s place, relying on odd jobs to cover her living expenses, he hadn't quite believed it.

Although his aunt had broken ties with the Yu family, people in the official system usually gave some face to the family. His useless uncle had actually done quite well for himself over the years, rising from a lowly clerk to the district head of an important suburb in Nancheng.

If it weren't for the Yu family's reputation, could a loser like Guo Yang have climbed that high?

Even though Yu Xiangli had heard that his uncle had remarried, he was still a government official. Even for the sake of appearances, he shouldn't have treated his ex-wife's daughter so poorly.

A district head's underage daughter traveling north alone to work for tuition, nearly falling into a pyramid scheme trap.

Who would believe that?

"Does your family not pay your tuition?"

Guo Jingyuan’s gaze dimmed.

Tuition?

If her mother hadn't paid the full three years of high school tuition at once when she started, she probably would have been forced to drop out before even finishing.

Others didn't wear school uniforms because they wanted to be unique; as for her? It was because no one at home would pay for one.

Seeing her silence, Yu Xiangli pointed at the phone again.

"If you were short on money, why didn't you borrow from this friend? She looks quite wealthy."

Guo Jingyuan gave a bitter smile. "Just because I borrow it, doesn't mean I don't have to pay it back. I can't keep asking others for help..."

"I have a friend who is looking for interns. Want to give it a try?"

Guo Jingyuan was stunned; she didn't understand why this man was suddenly helping her.

"You've just graduated from high school. Besides washing dishes in a restaurant, what kind of work could you possibly find? You were lucky to escape this time, but what happens if you get swindled again?"

"But... why are you helping me?"

Yu Xiangli pointed to the insignia on his shoulder, his expression solemn.

"To serve the people."

...

This guy...

He seems like a con artist...

Having been scammed three times, Guo Jingyuan already had a psychological shadow over this city...

People in Beicheng, she reckoned, were probably not good people.

Companies in Beicheng, she figured, were probably all scams too.

The man in front of her looked righteous, but the companies that interviewed her had all sounded just as convincing.

Probably a scammer, too.

Seeing Guo Jingyuan eyeing him with suspicion, Yu Xiangli was so exasperated he laughed.

"I am a soldier. Soldiers don't lie."

The company that interviewed me earlier also said they didn't lie...

"Do I look like a scammer to you?"

Of course you do, otherwise why would you suddenly want to help me?

Yu Xiangli was helpless.

"My friend's company is called Huaguang Communications. It's a state-owned enterprise, extremely famous in the industry."

That sounded even more like a scam. One moment he said she could only wash dishes, the next he was introducing her to a job at a state-owned enterprise?

Suppressing his temper, Yu Xiangli threw the phone to Guo Jingyuan.

"If you don't believe me, call your friend and ask."

Guo Jingyuan dialed Chen Ruowen’s number with half-hearted belief and whispered the situation to her.

"Give the phone to him," Chen Ruowen said.

Guo Jingyuan complied, and Yu Xiangli took the phone.

"Did you see her?"

Yu Xiangli glanced at Guo Jingyuan and walked to the other side of the room with the phone.

"Yeah, is that matter true or false?"

"Investigate your own family's business yourself. Who are you asking?"

Yu Xiangli was choked by her retort. Muttering to himself that a gentleman shouldn't argue with a woman, he said a few more words and handed the phone back to Guo Jingyuan.

Guo Jingyuan took the phone, and within a minute, her expression shifted from cautious to bright. She hung up the phone reluctantly, clutched the broken device tightly to her chest, and looked at Yu Xiangli with a beaming smile.

"When can I report for duty?"

Yu Xiangli was fuming. What did people mean when they said girls were disloyal to their families? He finally understood today!