Fang Xiaoxia's words stirred Liu Sandao slightly.
Had they discovered his flaw?
He had been so careful about his transformations all these days; no one should have seen anything.
But his movements were so subtle that even Sasha, who was holding his arm, hadn't noticed.
"Let go! You brat, or I'll expose your true identity!" Liu Sandao said, feigning anger.
"No, no, no, Big Brother! What era are we in? If I hug you, I'm the one at a disadvantage. You're a big man, how could you be at a disadvantage?" Sasha pleaded, yet still retorted.
"Hmph! You're being unreasonable!" Liu Sandao shook Sasha's arm off and walked away from the beach.
"Hey, wait for me, wait for us!" Sasha called out, pulling Fang Xiaoxia to follow Liu Sandao.
Their attempt at wooing had failed, a romantic plan gone awry, and they didn't dare to ask about the reward money.
However, Shu Risheng kept his word and distributed the reward money to everyone during dinner.
Liu Sandao received the largest share, earning envious glances from his colleagues.
With the fifty thousand yuan in hand, he went to Shu Dehou's residence.
He had been undergoing treatment for a while, and it was time to use his internal energy to consolidate the results of the first stage.
That tiny shrapnel had to be expelled from the body bit by bit.
The slower the process, the less damage it would cause to Shu Dehou's body.
Shu Dehou still felt pain occasionally, but the frequency had decreased.
Since there had been no hope of removing it before, even this small progress brought him contentment.
"Here, take this money to those villagers," Liu Sandao said, handing over the fifty thousand yuan reward.
"Hahaha, is this what you earned from your work these days?" Shu Dehou chuckled.
"Yes, what about it?" Liu Sandao asked, not understanding.
"Never mind, you shouldn't go. Just focus on curing me, and I'll reward you much more than this." Shu Dehou said, returning to his task.
"Yours is your share, this is from my part-time job. This money is clean," Liu Sandao said, sounding quite worldly.
"Hahaha, I didn't know you were such a money grubber!" Shu Dehou laughed. Liu Sandao didn't respond.
"Take the money back. Even if you give it to them, they won't be able to receive it," Shu Dehou said calmly, pushing Liu Sandao's arm away.
"Why?" Liu Sandao asked in surprise.
He had been able to deliver a hundred yuan last time, and this was cash, so why couldn't he deliver this?
"I don't know, but that place is quite strange. They can't starve, but they can't live properly either. They can't get out, and they can't leave! Ah, it seems like they're cursed..." Shu Dehou said wistfully.
If only they could leave, it would be better than suffering there.
But the reality was, they couldn't escape.
"Give as much as you can. Didn't I accidentally bring a hundred yuan in last time? This is a small token of my appreciation, for Xiao Hai's medical expenses!"
"Alright!" Shu Dehou took out four or five of the fifty thousand yuan, pushing the rest back to Liu Sandao.
"Oh my, that's a lot of money! Uncle, have you struck it rich?" Sasha exclaimed. Fang Xiaoxia followed her in.
Strangely, they both had long hair. Liu Sandao realized they were wearing wigs.
"Hehehe, you're wrong. This is his money!" Sasha and Fang Xiaoxia looked at Liu Sandao. Sasha then began to examine him with great interest.
"What are you looking at? This is Uncle De's payment for treating him. Aren't you satisfied?" Liu Sandao said sternly, clutching the money.
"Yes, he looks like it, he really does, his appearance..." Sasha began, acting like an old man, even stroking her chin. Her actions were comical.
Liu Sandao ignored her and turned to leave.
"Hey, don't go!" Sasha, surprisingly agile, grabbed Liu Sandao's sleeve. Liu Sandao looked at her with disgust and then pulled his hand away.
Watching them bicker, Shu Dehou smiled. Their antics reminded him of his youth.
Actually, they were quite a good match. The young man was steady and possessed healing skills. If they could end up together, it would be a good marriage. Sasha was of marriageable age, and it was time to make arrangements.
"Heeheehee!" Fang Xiaoxia, amused by Sasha and Liu Sandao's playful squabble, burst into laughter, completely forgetting that Liu Sandao was exclusively for Bai Suxiang.
The day passed quickly with their playful interactions.
Liu Sandao saw Sasha again at noon the next day. Even though her appearance had changed, he instinctively wanted to avoid her.
Sasha didn't seem to notice, her expression a little off today. She was much more subdued, and her eyes flickered. Liu Sandao didn't provoke her, fearing trouble.
"Stop!" A shout echoed down the corridor. Someone had been stopped.
Liu Sandao looked and saw it was Old Wu, accompanied by three or four people, holding a black stick and scanning the person from head to toe. It seemed they were searching for something.
Hadn't the matter of the hidden camera been resolved? Why was it starting again?
Just then, Sasha happened to be carrying a tray from the kitchen towards a private room, passing right by Old Wu. Sasha kept her head down, appearing particularly nervous. Liu Sandao, pushing a small trolley and about to head to the kitchen, saw this and, sensing something was about to happen, changed direction. As he turned, he noticed that one of Sasha's uniform buttons was odd. Regular server uniforms had a row of thin buttons. But one of Sasha's buttons was thick, looking similar from a distance but clearly different upon closer inspection.
"Stop, server, come here!" Old Wu shouted at Sasha.
"This is the food for room 3245 and must be delivered immediately. Once I've finished, I'll come right back for your search, okay?" Sasha said smartly.
"Hmph! Dream on! What if you tamper with something? Wouldn't that mean you've slipped through our net?" Old Wu immediately rejected her request.
Sasha froze. She really couldn't get too close. The hidden camera was inside the button, and Old Wu's device was clearly designed to detect cameras. What should she do?
Seeing Sasha hesitate, the men behind Old Wu started moving, slowly approaching Sasha.
"Damn it, I told you to come here, didn't you hear me? Let me tell you, even the boss Shu's food has to be checked before it can pass!"
With them saying that, Sasha had no excuse to push through forcefully. She could only brace herself, close her eyes, and wait for them to approach.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. A series of crisp footsteps sounded in the corridor.