Chapter 205 Eternal Abyss

    It was great being a kindergarten teacher.

    I sold her granddaughter, and she actually apologized to me.

    Indeed, you should be apologizing to me. Why did your family have to have a granddaughter?

    After all, she barely made any money.

    Besides...none of this is my fault.

    If you weren’t so poor, I would have treated you much better.

    "Ma’am, you don’t need to apologize to her," Chen Ting said, pulling the elderly woman up. "I’ll take you to see the police. If there''s anything you need to say, you can tell them."

    She gave me a meaningful glance before continuing, "Say whatever you need to say. It’s only a matter of time before we catch the criminals."

    They turned and entered the police station once again, but I didn’t have the patience for that.

    Returning home, I lay on my bed and counted the money. Three thousand yuan, not too much, not too little—just enough to buy some toner and eye cream for myself.

    I’ve been getting worked up a lot lately, so I need to focus on self-maintenance.

    I flipped through my phone, planning to find a few more targets during my spare time. I decided to search online for the most lucrative jobs in today''s society.

    A new term caught my eye.

    {Counseling Psychologist}.

    The internet said that counseling psychologists make a lot of money, with some charging several thousand for an hour-long session.

    I quickly came up with an idea, found a nearby psychological counseling studio, and selected a young and talented male counseling psychologist. I added him to my contact list and started chatting him up.

    Counseling psychologists really are professional at listening and conversing—it was surprisingly pleasant to talk with him. I told him that I had been criticized by many people for not taking good enough care of the children, and he kindly offered to give me a free consultation.

    Why would he be so generous?

    It must be because he came across those explicit pictures in my WeChat moments (visible to friends only).

    But that was exactly what I wanted.

    ...

    Three nights later, while I was arranging a second meeting with the counseling psychologist, I was suddenly startled by a series of urgent knocks on the door.

    “Who is it?”

    {Bang bang bang}!

    “Who is it?”

    I kept asking, but no one outside responded. I started to feel a bit panicked.

    {Bang bang bang}!

    “Knock again, or I’ll call the police!”

    “Call the police, my ass!” Qu ge’s deep voice came from the other side of the door. “Open up!”

    I froze, a wave of fear sweeping over me.

    What did he want?

    Didn’t he know the police were looking for him?

    After a few seconds of hesitation, I slowly opened the door.

    “What’s going on?” I asked.

    “Let’s talk inside.”

    He didn’t say another word, just shoved the door open and stepped into the room.

    “Qu ge...” I felt a bit angry. “Do you realize how dangerous things are right now? You want to get caught? I don’t. That girl...”

    Before I could finish, Qu ge tossed a manila envelope at me.

    I opened it to find two stacks of cash—probably around twenty thousand.

    “Xiao Ran, I found a promising patron. The people in their village have money, and there’s high demand for children. How about handling one more?”

    I could hardly believe it. This time, I was getting over twenty thousand.

    “One more...?” I hesitated. “Qu ge, do you realize what kind of situation we''re in right now?”

    “One last time,” he said, lighting a cigarette. “I’ll give you fifty thousand this time, and after that, we’re square.”

    I wanted to refuse with righteous indignation, but those words—{fifty thousand}—were too tempting.

    “Qu ge, make it sixty thousand,” I said. “This time, I’ll pick a smart little boy, one the patron will love.”

    “Don’t bite more than you can chew. This money has to be split with a lot of people. If I give you sixty thousand, it won’t be easy to explain,” Qu ge flicked the ash from his cigarette, his eyes cold as ice. “Fifty thousand. Take it or leave it.”

    I looked at his expression, swallowed nervously, and replied, “Sixty thousand, not a penny less.”

    “You fucking bitch...” Qu ge gritted his teeth. “You wanna die?”

    I forced a smile. “Qu ge, the police are struggling to find evidence. You wouldn’t want to get reported, would you?”

    “We’re on the same sinking ship,” Qu ge said darkly. "You think you can go scot-free once you report me?"

    “I’m being coerced,” I said with a giggle. “I can’t outfight you, so I have no choice but to follow your orders.”

    “You...” Qu ge glared at me, thinking for a moment before saying, “Fine, sixty thousand it is.”

    “This time, I want payment and the child exchanged at the same time,” I insisted.

    “Why the hell are you only thinking about the benefits?” Qu ge huffed, clearly irritated. "We need to sell the goods first to get paid. How could we possibly get that kinda money before the transaction?"

    “That’s none of my concern,” I shook my head. “I’m only responsible for bringing the child out, so once I hand the kid over to you, my job is done.”

    Qu ge put out the cigarette in his hand, moved his fat body to stand up, then reached out and lifted up my shirt.

    "Xiao Ran, you think you’re so smart, but one day it’ll be the death of you." He said.

    I took off my shirt without hesitation. "Qu ge, beautiful women are dangerous drugs." I slowly took hold of his pants, "And you, you’ve already fallen deep into it, am I wrong?"

    "Heh."

    ...

    The next day, Qu ge left before dawn, and I went to the kindergarten as usual.

    I had made up my mind—once this deal was done, I’d leave this place behind. I didn’t care where I went, as long as I had this 80,000 yuan in hand. I’d treat myself to a makeover and reel in a few more big fish.

    Now that I had the capital, I should be able to enter more upscale places.

    As school was about to end, I once again offered to take a child home, and this time, my target was Chen Moran. This child was another easy prey. I heard his mother has something growing in her brain and is in the hospital preparing for surgery. And because of this, his father is swamped and has no time to look after the child.

    Chen Ting firmly rejected my offer, insisting that I was involved with human traffickers, and she wouldn''t trust me with the child, no matter what I said.

    "Chen Ting, think carefully..." I explained with a feigned smile, "Even if I were truly an accomplice, how could I possibly commit so many crimes in such a short span of time?"

    She paused to think for a moment before responding, "Still, the answer is no. Call Chen Moran''s parents and have them come to pick him up."

    "Alright, alright..."

    I couldn’t help but feel smug—this was too easy.

    I had already anticipated this situation.

    I opened my phone’s contact list, found the name {Chen Moran’s dad}, flashed it briefly at Chen Ting so she couldn’t see it clearly, and then dialed the number.

    It was Qu ge who picked up.

    “Is this Chen Moran’s father?” I asked.

    There was a brief pause on the other end before he responded, “What’s the matter?”

    “Sorry to bother you, but could you please come pick up the child after school?” I asked sweetly, “I’ll wait for you at the gate.”

    “Got it.” Qu ge replied in a deep voice.

    "Give me the phone." Chen Ting suddenly suggested.

    I shook my head and handed the phone over to her.

    “Hello?” Chen Ting took the phone and spoke, “Are you Chen Moran’s father?”

    “Mm.”

    “Could you please make sure to pick up Chen Moran on time? There have been reports of human traffickers in the area near the kindergarten,” Chen Ting said. “Also, please make a note of this number. It’s for the civil police handling the kidnapping case. If you can’t make it, please call the officer, and they will take care of getting the child home.”

    Chen Ting provided a phone number.

    “Alright, thank you.”

    After hanging up the phone, Chen Ting turned to me and said, "Xiao Ran, I’ll have the police keep an eye on the school’s surveillance cameras. If you dare to take the child away, I won’t ever let you get away with it."

    "Don’t worry, don’t worry," I smiled and nodded. "I told you I’m not colluding with those traffickers." I’m about to cut ties with Qu ge, so how could I possibly be colluding with them?

    As the school bell rang, I stood at the entrance with Chen Moran’s hand in mine, quietly waiting.

    I had already given Qu ge instructions—all he needs to do is throw the money to me when he snatches the child, and I’ll still be free of suspicion.

    But something felt off today. The atmosphere around the school seemed strange, like there were many people watching me.

    Could it be that they were envious of me?

    I gazed at the Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple in the distance, quietly making a wish.

    I hoped that the Bodhisattva would bless the pitiful me and grant me everlasting wealth.

    Once today’s deal is done, I’ll go meet with that counseling psychologist in the evening. It felt like one of those days when fortune would finally smile on me.