Lost and Found: Return of My Mysterious Fiancee

While Tina and Sophia were enjoying their cake, the group had already decided on the final place to have dinner. Considering that Sophia was younger, they ordered some lighter dishes. By the time they finished dinner, it was already eleven o’clock, and Sophia felt sleepy and wanted to go back early to rest. Jared asked Nathan to take Tina home, but she refused. She wanted to walk the streets alone. During her ten years in the mountains, she never had the chance to enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city; on the rare occasions she did come down, it was always to take care of business and then return immediately.

The weather was good that day, cool and breezy, which felt comfortable on the skin. Jared insisted on escorting her, but Tina was adamant about going alone. After a long standoff, Jared finally relented, only saying, “Send me a message when you get home, to let me know you’re safe!”

“Okay.”

Tina’s attitude towards Jared had improved a lot, thanks to Sophia and the strawberry cake. She no longer spoke to him as coldly as before, and her face often carried a light smile. After Jared and the others left, Tina headed towards home. The city center was close to Pinkwater Alley, just about a ten-minute walk away. However, Tina walked slowly, captivated by the lively district.

Halfway through her journey, a sudden shout erupted from behind her, “Excuse me! Make way!” Tina turned around to see several people running towards her, followed by a group armed with sticks in hot pursuit. When she recognized the person in the lead, her eyebrows involuntarily raised. An acquaintance!

As they approached her, the lead person came to a sudden halt, exclaiming in surprise, “Miss Reed?” Before Tina could respond, he grabbed her and ran. Looking back, their pursuers were nearly upon them, and they were soon surrounded.

Seeing no escape, the man shielded Tina behind him and angrily confronted a twenty-something-year-old with a buzz cut, “Chopard, how despicable can you get? You call for backup when you’re losing, are you even a man?”Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

“Velma! I can’t beat you! But you’re not getting away either! The street has its rules: the victor is king, the loser the outcast. Today, you’re in my hands. If you’ve got the guts, call someone for help,” the buzz-cut youth sneered.

Tina was speechless. So, she had stumbled upon a fight? And the main character was Velma, the daughter of the Lehman family, who had spoken up for her at the Reed family banquet not long ago? That was unexpected.

“Spit on you!” Velma spat at him, “If you hadn’t tricked me into coming here, why would I have only brought three people?” The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. After leaving the Reed family, she had planned to dine with friends, but someone came to her saying a friend was drunk. Without much thought, she brought three people along, only to fall into Chopard’s trap.

Then she had proposed a one-on-one fight with Chopard, but when the coward couldn’t beat her, he called for backup-more than twenty people. How could she fight so many? She had no choice but to run.

“Less nonsense! You injured my brother’s head last time; this time, you’re going to leave a leg behind,” Chopard said, slapping a stick in his palm.

“You want my leg? Fine! But we have our grudges, and she has nothing to do with this. Let her go,” Velma said, pointing at Tina.

Chopard glanced at Tina, his eyes lighting up-she was beautiful. Velma, seeing his look, disgustedly said, “The street has its rules, we don’t involve the innocent. Our grudge is our own!”

Chopard looked away from Tina, thought for a moment, and agreed, “Fine!” Velma sighed in relief and turned to Tina, “You go quickly.” Then, in a whisper only the two of them could hear, she said, “Go to the Lehman family and tell my dad that if he doesn’t care for me, the next thing he’ll see is my corpse.”

Tina was inexplicably caught up in this brawl and had become a messenger? But considering that Velma had spoken for her at the Reed family’s event, she reluctantly agreed to run the errand. Tina nodded and left.

Once she was gone, Velma took a breather. The Lehman family wasn’t far, just a five-minute drive away. But at this time, it was not easy to get a taxi, and Tina had to run. If she moved quickly, she should make it in under ten minutes. Velma knew some martial arts; although theywere outnumbered with twenty people against them, including herself, they had four, and could hold on for fifteen minutes without a problem. With this in mind, she inwardly cursed: You old fool, you better come quickly, or you’ll have no one to care for you in your old age.

Just as Velma was rolling up her sleeves, ready to fight, Tina suddenly came running back. Velma frowned, “What are you doing back here?” Did Miss Reed lose her mind? Couldn’t she see the situation clearly? To leave and then return!

The key issue was, with Tina coming back, who would deliver the message? Tina didn’t answer her, but walked up to Chopard, “How much did your brother’s medical expenses come to for his head injury?” Chopard, confused by her question, responded, “Thirty thousand dollars!”

Tina thought for a moment and then said seriously, “How about this, I’ll give you two hundred thousand dollars- one hundred thousand for your brother’s medical expenses and another hundred thousand to settle the feud with Miss Lehman?”

Upon hearing this, Velma, Chopard, and his men all widened their eyes in shock. Velma was the first to regain her composure and hurried over, angrily saying, “What are you doing? These guys are real thugs, with real feuds and grievances. How could money possibly buy them off?”

Tina turned to her, her expression even more serious than before, “If money can solve it, then it’s not a problem.”

Velma was at a loss for words. Of course, she understood this principle! She had money! Two hundred thousand was just a few days’ living expenses for her! But these people were not motivated by money!

Tina turned her attention back to Chopard and asked earnestly, “What do you say? Will you consider it? Or name your price?” Chopard didn’t respond immediately, but inwardly he weighed his options. He was a local thug, leading about twenty men, and they had a boss above them. Their daily income came from managing venues and collecting protection fees. On one hand, they had to pay tribute to their boss, and on the other, they had to take care of their own men. Each person’s share was only three to five thousand dollars a month.

To be honest, with such meager earnings, they had to think twice before enjoying a meaty meal; after all, one less meal meant one less bit of money. If they had any real skills, they wouldn’t want to live this way. But now, with the prospect of getting two hundred thousand dollars, he saw a bright few months ahead.

Tina did not disturb his thoughts and let him consider. After a while, Chopard looked at Tina and said, “Three hundred thousand dollars! Pay that, and all grudges are forgotten.”

He actually thought two hundred thousand would suffice, but asking for three hundred thousand left room for negotiation.