Chapter 1 The Same Awakening

Like Jiang Cheng, they also woke up in their respective rooms, startled by a sudden alarm clock.

The wake-up time should have been the same, but Jiang Cheng chose to observe his room for a while, which delayed him a bit.

"Tap."

"Tap."

"Tap."

......

A series of sharp high-heeled footsteps came from the staircase on one side. Soon, a plump woman of about 35 appeared.

The moment she saw Jiang Cheng and the others, the woman complained anxiously, "Why are you still standing here? Hurry up! The clients have been waiting for so long. Do you even want to do business?"

"I'm telling you, if you can't pay the rent next month, all of you will be sleeping on the streets, every single one of you. And don't you dare come begging your Auntie Wen," the woman said with a pout. "I introduce you to business, and you're not even enthusiastic. I've never seen anything like it."

"How could that be, Auntie Wen? If it weren't for your care, we'd be in a terrible state," Jiang Cheng replied with a smile.

From the woman's words, everyone could initially infer a few pieces of information.

First, the woman who called herself Auntie Wen was probably their landlady.

Second, their current situation wasn't good. To be precise, they were quite poor and had no money.

Third, Auntie Wen had introduced them to some business.

Auntie Wen glared at Jiang Cheng, her tone resentful as she said, "Only you know how to talk and make Auntie Wen happy. If it weren't for your sake, I would have kicked you all out long ago. Three months without paying rent, do you think I'm running a charity!"

"Enough nonsense, hurry up and come with me, the client is waiting!" Auntie Wen turned around and gestured for everyone to follow her downstairs.

Jiang Cheng was the first to walk over, but unexpectedly, Auntie Wen grabbed him, letting the others go first, and then walked downstairs side by side with Jiang Cheng.

The two got closer and closer. Jiang Cheng had to turn sideways a little, otherwise Auntie Wen's entire surging upper body would press against him.

"Auntie Wen," Jiang Cheng reminded in a low voice, "There are a lot of people here."

Hearing this, a blush appeared on Auntie Wen's face, and she said resentfully, "Now you know to be embarrassed? You weren't saying that last night."

After speaking, she reached out her left hand and pinched Jiang Cheng's lower back, glancing at the people walking in front with disdain, "If it weren't for Chengcheng being sensible, Auntie Wen would have kicked these people out long ago. And, you're so young, why are you thinking about starting a company? And the kind that deals in shady stuff, it's scary."

Auntie Wen puffed out her proud chest and leaned closer to Jiang Cheng, her voice seductive, "Why don't you close your company and just stay with Auntie Wen, okay? If you need money, just tell Auntie Wen, Auntie Wen will give it to you, Auntie Wen just loves spending money on you." As she spoke, her left hand was still restlessly groping behind Jiang Cheng.

The next second, Auntie Wen's hand was grabbed by Jiang Cheng.

"Don't play with fire," Jiang Cheng whispered in Auntie Wen's ear, "Or next time, begging for mercy won't work."

Hearing this, Auntie Wen's breathing became rapid, but because they had already reached the first floor, she didn't take any further action.

However, the way she looked at Jiang Cheng had become blurred.

Xia Qiang and the others, who were walking in the front, stopped. This was a relatively old apartment building, and now they were standing in front of the door. Because they didn't know the way, they had to wait.

"Auntie Wen," Jiang Cheng reminded.

"Oh, oh, you...you come with me." Auntie Wen walked ahead to lead the way, not forgetting to complain that they were not doing their jobs properly and dared to get involved in those messy things, and should change careers as soon as possible.

Following Auntie Wen, the group arrived at an office building. The building was impressive, with about twenty floors.

After entering, Auntie Wen subconsciously led the group to the elevator.

Seeing this scene, everyone's faces became very unsightly. In the mission, taking the elevator was, in a sense, equivalent to ascending to heaven.

"Auntie Wen," Huai Yi asked with a smile, "Which floor are we going to?"

"9th floor." Auntie Wen glanced at him and replied impatiently, "Which floor is your own office on? Do you still need to ask me?"

As the elevator descended, everyone looked at Jiang Cheng, obviously placing their last hope on him.

Jiang Cheng put his head close to Auntie Wen's ear as if no one else was around and whispered a few words, "Auntie Wen, can we take the stairs? I want to spend a little more time with you." He deliberately emphasized the word "continue."

Sure enough, Auntie Wen readily agreed. When the group walked upstairs, Jiang Cheng and Auntie Wen slowly followed.

Arriving at a room that looked like an office on the 9th floor, there was a seat in the corridor with a white-collar woman sitting on it.

The woman looked frightened and a little dazed. She was holding the hem of her clothes tightly with both hands, and her eyes were dark, as if she hadn't rested well for a long time.

After Auntie Wen's introduction, the woman's name was Wang Jie. She worked in a large company and had recently... encountered some things.

After inviting Wang Jie into the office, Auntie Wen left, reminding Jiang Cheng and the others to wear their work badges before leaving, otherwise they wouldn't look professional at all.

The office was relatively spacious, with several tables. Each table had a name tag, not the kind with a string to wear around the neck, but a plastic one with a pin on the back to be pinned to the chest. There was a row of numbers starting with 00 on it, which looked very cheap.

Like a student's school badge, or some kind of small prop.

Jiang Cheng walked to the most conspicuous table and picked up the badge and put it on.

The others followed suit, just enough for 9 people, 9 badges.

There was also a set of sofas in the office.

"Please sit down, Miss Wang," Jiang Cheng gestured.

As Wang Jie sat down, Jiang Cheng and Xia Qiang also took their seats.

On the way upstairs just now, after paying a certain price, Jiang Cheng had inquired about a lot of information, such as his current company.

In name, it was a consulting firm, but in reality, it engaged in shady dealings. In short, those things that ordinary people couldn't understand, let alone solve, could be brought to them.

"Miss Wang, have you encountered a problem that is difficult to solve?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"Yes...yes." Wang Jie's shoulders trembled, and her face was pale and bloodless, "Just yesterday, last night, I had some drinks at the bar, but I didn't drink too much, I really didn't drink too much." At this point, Wang Jie's emotions suddenly became agitated, "So... so what I'm about to say is true, every word is true, please believe me!"

"Of course we believe you." Jiang Cheng looked at the woman who was shaking like a sieve and comforted her, "Don't worry, you are safe here, so... please begin, Miss Wang."

"Last night, I just left the bar and was thinking of taking a taxi home, but on the way, I received a call from a colleague in the company. He asked me to go over, saying that there was a document that needed my seal, and his tone was very urgent."

Wang Jie explained, "It was very late at the time, but we... that's how our company is. When we encounter a busy season, overtime is common. I didn't think too much about it, so I rushed over."