Chu Ge chuckled lightly, "To be honest, I do feel that way."

Song Baijia's expectant gaze dimmed instantly. He sighed softly, as if to say "I knew it."

Noticing the change in Song Baijia's expression, Chu Ge shook his head with amusement, "But what does this have to do with whether we're friends or not?"

Song Baijia was taken aback again, "You're... not afraid of me?"

Chu Ge shrugged, "Why should I be afraid?"

Seeing Chu Ge's indifferent look, Song Baijia appeared a bit bewildered, "Because... I'm not like normal people."

At that moment, Chu Ge felt a real urge to tell Song Baijia about the plans he had previously made, but after a moment of careful thought, he finally restrained this impulse.

It wasn't that Chu Ge lacked courage, it's just that telling Song Baijia wouldn't achieve anything. It would probably only make Song Baijia angry and serve no other purpose.

No apology, however sincere, could match actually doing something for him and sincerely treating him as a friend from now on.

After a few seconds of silence, Chu Ge smiled with a complicated mix of emotions, "Brother Song, there are many freaks in this world; you're not the first, nor will you be the last."

Song Baijia stared at Chu Ge blankly, "Many?"

"Yes, many." Chu Ge nodded seriously, "So, there's really no need for you to worry so much. About today's matter, I won't tell anyone. I promise."

After staring at Chu Ge for a few more seconds, Song Baijia finally broke into that familiar silly smile, "Master, thank you."

"I should be the one thanking you. For someone like me, a useless teammate, you really didn't need to do this."

Before Song Baijia could say anything else, Chu Ge patted him on the shoulder with a smile, "Alright, from now on, don't call me 'Master.' Just call me little Chu, and I'll call you Brother Song."

Song Baijia quickly shook his head, "How can that be? My biggest hobby is cooking. You're so much better than me in this area, it's only right I call you Master."

"Master? Don't you find it very distant and strange to call each other that as friends?" Chu Ge put on a straight face, "From now on, just call me little Chu or little brother, or else I won't be happy."

Seeing how serious Chu Ge was, Song Baijia scratched his head and, after hesitating for a while, finally called out "little Chu."

Chu Ge laughed, "Brother Song, that's more like it. Alright, let's head back."

Song Baijia turned to look at the dead wild boar on the ground, "What about this wild boar? We're not taking it?"

"Of course not. How would we explain it if we brought it back? Say you punched it to death? If that got out, you'd be in trouble, possibly taken away for research."

"This... sigh! What a waste! That's such good meat..."

Seeing Song Baijia's distressed look, Chu Ge couldn't help but find it hilarious. He tugged on Song Baijia's arm, "Come on, Brother Song, if you want to eat, I'll buy you as much as you want later."

"Really? Little brother, I eat a lot."

"Of course it's true. No matter how much, it's not a problem!"

Even though he got Chu Ge's reassurance, as Song Baijia left, he kept glancing back at the lonely wild boar lying on the ground, his face full of regret.

Once out of the woods, the two returned to Song Baijia's dormitory. As soon as Chu Ge walked in, he was amazed. He considered himself a foodie, but compared to Song Baijia, the difference was massive.

Everywhere in the room were bits of food — not to mention sacks of sunflower seeds, peanuts, and dried sweet potatoes, but even the buns and pancakes were stored in large bamboo baskets. But they were all cheap, ordinary things, likely sent by Song Baijia's parents.

Song Baijia hadn't even taken a seat before he'd already demolished a bun the size of an adult's palm. Just watching made Chu Ge feel choked up.

"Brother Song, tell me honestly, aren't you tired of staying in this shabby place? Don't you want to go out and see the world?"

Song Baijia picked up a second bun, but when he heard Chu Ge's question, he paused slightly, then smiled wryly and took a bite of the bun, "Well... what good does wanting to do?"

"Of course it helps. As long as you want to, we'll leave. No need to serve that idiot who pays you five hundred a month anymore. My wife has a restaurant, you can be the head chef, and I'll pay you twenty thousand a month."

"How... how much?" Song Baijia nearly choked on the bun, his eyes bulging.

Chu Ge burst into laughter and quickly went over to pat Song Baijia on the back, grabbing a cup of water from the table to help him wash down the bun.

"Twenty thousand, that's what your skills are worth."

Song Baijia's mouth twitched a few times. He raised his head and stared blankly at Chu Ge, muttering under his breath and starting to count on his fingers.

"Twenty thousand, I currently earn five hundred a month. How long would it take me to earn twenty thousand? Six thousand a year, eighteen thousand in three years, three... three years and four months' worth of money. You say I can earn that in a month? Little brother, you can't be joking about this."

Chu Ge chuckled, "Who's joking with you? I'm being serious."

Song Baijia's eyes lit up, but he quickly shook his head, "I'm a resident without papers. If I work at your wife's restaurant, I'll definitely cause trouble for you. No, this won't do."

Chu Ge patted Song Baijia's shoulder, "Brother Song, don't you think I wouldn't consider that? Rest assured, it's not a problem. It's just a matter of ID and residence permit; I can handle it."

Song Baijia was stunned again, as if these words echoing in his ears seemed so unbelievable. Could such good fortune really happen to him?

He glanced at Chu Ge and then at the bun in his hand. Song Baijia brought the bun to his mouth, took a big bite, chewing it bit by bit.

Chu Ge was speechless, "Brother Song, I'm talking business with you, why are you munching on a bun?"

"I'm... trying to see if I'm dreaming."

Chu Ge burst out laughing. At this moment, most people should pinch themselves or touch their face, shouldn't they? The world of a foodie is indeed different.

Chu Ge raised his hand to rub his forehead, "So, did you figure it out? Are you dreaming?"

Song Baijia swallowed the bun in his mouth, "This bun is sweet; I'm not dreaming."

"So, is this settled?" Chu Ge originally quite serious, couldn't help but laugh after seeing Song Baijia munching on the bun.

"Ah... ah?" Song Baijia stared at Chu Ge, still in a daze, feeling that it was so unrealistic.

Without bothering to explain further, Chu Ge grinned at Song Baijia, said, "Wait for my call," patted his shoulder again, and turned to leave the dormitory.

It was only after Chu Ge's silhouette had disappeared for a long time that Song Baijia brought the bun back to his mouth, munching on it, his gaze filled with bewilderment, finding it extremely rare to eat without tasting.

Back inside the Maserati, Chu Ge's lips naturally curved upwards. Once Song Baijia said goodbye to his undocumented status, he would surely be delighted, wouldn't he?

Chu Ge took out his phone, intending to call Mu Lingshan and talk about handling the paperwork for Song Baijia, but after pulling up the contact list, his raised finger didn't fall on the words "Tiger Girl Cop."

Chu Ge smiled and smiled, but gradually couldn't keep smiling. Since the last goodbye, he hadn't contacted Mu Lingshan. He didn't know if he made the call, whether she would answer, and if she did, what her reaction would be.

But Chu Ge knew very clearly that regardless of the circumstances, it's unlikely that their relationship could return to the carefree banter they once shared.

Forget it, let's find someone else to handle this matter.

Chu Ge lifted his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, exhaled somewhat complexly, and dialed Liu Weijiang's number. Although this guy wasn't incredibly capable, he was a well-connected person as the son of the Bureau of Industry and Commerce director. Asking him to help with this was certainly more than enough.

The call connected quickly, and Chu Ge explained the situation to Liu Weijiang, who agreed without hesitation.

After hanging up the phone, Chu Ge's previously low spirits brightened considerably.

Though it was a trivial matter, given the declining status of the He Family, Liu Weijiang didn't express any impatience or superiority. Instead, he helped readily, which was quite rare indeed.

He wondered about He Qing and He Junming's current situation.

Feeling a bit concerned, Chu Ge hesitated momentarily before deciding to separately call the siblings, but the calls only returned a message indicating their phones were off.

Back in Lidu City, Chu Ge first went to a farmer's market, found a stall selling wild boar meat, and bought thirty pounds of it. He paid extra to have it delivered, since he had promised Song Baijia, his Brother Song, that he would let him feast.

After wrapping this up, Chu Ge stretched, thinking it was time to deliver items to Chen Jiatong and Xu Jingyuan.

Even though he felt Chen Yujie's affair was mostly over, he figured it'd be safer for the two women to stay put a few more days just in case.

Meanwhile, as Chu Ge drove to the temporary residence of Chen Jiatong and Xu Jingyuan, Black Arrow boarded a bus leaving Lidu, carrying not just the memory card, but also a card reader in her bag.

At the same time, Liang Chen emerged from an abandoned factory, dressed in clothes snatched from a passerby that night. He had done simple bandaging for the wounds on his shoulder and chest and applied some medicine he brought from home. Combined with his extraordinary physique, he didn't appear injured at all on the surface.

However, in Liang Chen's eyes, there was an unmistakably intense hatred ready to burst forth!

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