Back To The 80s-Chapter 54 - 53: A Thousand Jun_1

Gu Xiaobei cursed under his breath, realizing Ling Yun had seen his hanky before. He wondered whether he should go to work the next day. In the end, he decided not to, fearing that his absence would make him look suspicious. Instead, he thought of going to the company to gauge the situation.

Due to excessive tension and lack of sleep the previous night, Gu Xiaobei surprisingly enjoyed a good sleep. He woke up early and psyched himself up.

By the time Gu Xiaobei arrived at the office, Ling Yun and Jin Cheng were already there. Gu Xiaobei squinted his eyes and said with a smile, "You guys are quite early."

Ling Yun glanced at the smirking Gu Xiaobei and replied with a smile of her own, "I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night. The shipment arrived, and since you guys weren’t there, I had to pull an all-nighter."

Pretending to be surprised, Gu Xiaobei replied, "Ling, why didn’t you call me? I wasn’t busy, I could have come over to accompany you." All the while, his palms were quietly sweating.

Ling Yun said, "No problem, I was just doing inventory last night. The three of us will need to check the goods later."

Gu Xiaobei nodded and asked, "Okay, what did we get this time, and is it a large quantity?"

"It’s glass bottles like last time, the same quantity of four hundred." Ling Yun said as she picked up a notebook and pen, "Let’s go."

The three of them went to the warehouse, and Gu Xiaobei saw that the boxes looked different from last time. These were standard triple layer corrugated boxes. Inside, there were indeed glass bottles, also four hundred of them.

Jin Cheng, with his hands in his pockets, looked around and said, "Counting these broken bottles, do we really need my help? You two take your time."

Gu Xiaobei glared at him and said, "Lazybones." He only bantered with Jin Cheng to divert his own fear. He was afraid he would let something slip.

After inspecting the boxes, Ling Yun said, "We don’t have anyone to cook for us today. I’ll go buy groceries. What do you two want to eat?"

Gu Xiaobei replied with a polite smile, "I’m fine with anything."

However, Jin Cheng quickly interjected, "Meat. As long as there’s meat, I’m good. I’ll cover any costs exceeding the meal allowance."

Ling Yun chuckled and said, "Okay, let’s just have a meat stew for the four of us."

Once Ling Yun left, Gu Xiaobei was alone with Jin Cheng in the office. Jin Cheng leaned over and asked, "Why hasn’t Qin Li come looking for you these days?"

Gu Xiaobei shot him a look, "What does it have to do with you whether she comes or not?"

Jin Cheng nodded and said, "It does matter. Every time I see her, there’s bound to be trouble. You’d better tell her to stop flaunting herself in front of me; it’s annoying."

Gu Xiaobei was irritated. How could Qin Li, such a good woman, fancy someone as clueless as him?

Wang Chuanjiang and his party of four returned after a few days. They said Liu Ying’s mother had eaten something wrong and suffered food poisoning, it was lucky they found out early.

The following two weeks were relatively peaceful, working regular hours, occasionally having a meal and chatting with Qin Li when she visited.

Gu Xiaobei spent the rest of his time concentrating on his translation work. By mid-June, he had finally finished translating the entire book.

Looking at the calendar filled with almost thirty red circled dates, Gu Xiaobei thought to himself, Lu Zhanguo should be back soon, right? His heart ached at the thought; it had been so long with no news. Counting the days had begun to feel unbearable.

Luckily his suspicion from that night seemed unwarranted. With time, his self-reassurances became more effective, and Gu Xiaobei calmed down. Now he could only concentrate on Lu Zhanguo’s return.

As the post office was also closed on Sundays, Gu Xiaobei decided to take half-day leave on Monday to mail the translated manuscript.

The middle of June was already quite hot. Gu Xiaobei pulled out a new pair of skirt-pants with a white background and green leaves pattern. She had originally planned to make a knee-length dress, but considering she didn’t own any leggings, she made a jumpsuit instead. She paired it with some black sandals that costed ten yuan.

Just as Gu Xiaobei exited the post office after mailing the package, a man suddenly emerged from the side and gripped her by the throat with one arm while holding a sharp knife to her throat with the other hand.

Screams resounded as the crowd around her scattered. Gu Xiaobei was completely taken aback. She was just mailing a package, how could she encounter a robber?

The robber dragged Gu Xiaobei back into the post office, threatening, "Everyone get out, or I’ll kill her!"

Everyone in the hall promptly fled, the robber then dragged Gu Xiaobei upstairs and then up to the rooftop, clumsily forcing her into a loft. Fear gripped Gu Xiaobei as she stumbled along the way; she scratched her skin but felt no pain.

The robber fiercely glanced at Gu Xiaobei and said, "You’d better cooperate, I have explosives strapped to me, and this little loft is packed with them."

Although Gu Xiaobei was terrified, she remained silent. She knew anything she said might provoke the brutal robber further.

A group of police quickly gathered on the ground floor. The robber looked down from the window, offering a cold smile, and pulled Gu Xiaobei in front of the window.

A police officer on the ground floor spoke through a megaphone, "Listen up, robber, let the hostage go and we’ll go easy on you."

The robber heard this and yelled, "Don’t bother with the pointless chitter-chatter, I’ve got explosives strapped to me, and this little building is rigged with them too. If you dare do anything rash, I will blow up this entire place alongside myself and the hostage."

Upon hearing the news, Shen Heng rushed over. When he confirmed that Gu Xiaobei was indeed the hostage, he felt like a vein was about to pop in his forehead.

Song Ming, the head of the criminal investigation team, continued to negotiate, "Don’t get worked up, state any demands you have."

The robber shouted, "First, let Old Biaozi out from the prison, and then prepare fifty thousand yuan."

Shen Heng quietly discussed with Song Ming, "Have any snipers been arranged?"

Song Ming replied, "Snipers are in position. However, the effective shooting range is limited, and there’s a blind spot from where the assailant’s positioned. Besides, considering there are explosives involved, if they miss the first shot, the consequences would be unthinkable."

Anxious, Shen Heng began scratching his head, "In that case, we have no choice but to meet his demands first, lure him out of the loft, then figure something out?"

Song Ming said, "That’s the only way." He picked up the megaphone and said, "We’re considering your terms but you have to assure the safety of the hostage." He then ordered his men to go to the prison to fetch the aforementioned Old Biaozi.

Seeing the situation, the robber didn’t let down his guard for a moment. He kept Gu Xiaobei shielded in front of him, barely showing his face, all the while quietly assessing the surroundings, shouting, "You should withdraw your snipers too. I’m feeling the pressure and might inadvertently set the explosives off."

Song Ming muttered a curse, then signaled the conspicuously placed snipers to retreat with a wave of his hand.

Gu Xiaobei was at a loss for words. Being a spirit who had already lived once in another body, was she about to die yet again? But if she died this time, would she still have a chance at resurrection?

Last time, she never had the chance to genuinely love someone or have a warm family. This time, she had finally met someone, but it seemed she was destined to miss the opportunity again. Gu Xiaobei couldn’t help but curse fate; wasn’t this too cruel?

The calm demeanor of Gu Xiaobei bemused the robber. Half a day had passed, and she hadn’t uttered a word. He asked her, "Hey, girl, aren’t you scared?"

Gu Xiaobei looked at the almost thirty-year-old robber—though quite refined-looking—and asked, "If I say I’m scared, would you let me leave?"

"You have guts, girl. If I manage to escape, you’ll be my woman. I promise I won’t wrong you," the robber delusionally suggested.

Gu Xiaobei sighed inwardly. Was he naive, or just downright foolish?