Chapter 2366

Chapter 2366: Chapter 2366

Duan Xi was aware of Wen Shu’s existence, but Duan Qianyang had to reluctantly acknowledge the relatives, and to him, Wen Shu was an even more unrelated stranger.

His gaze only lightly swept over her, then landed on Ruan Jiaojiao.

"Sis, why didn’t any of you answer the phone? We were worried something happened to you," Yang Hong said, breathlessly walking over, gasping for air as sweat coated his forehead despite the cold weather.

They had called from outside the vegetable market, but none of the calls went through. He didn’t think much of it, but seeing the expression on Duan Xi’s face at the time made him momentarily fear the three had met with trouble. Following him all the way here, he nearly lost half his life chasing after them.

"Did you call?" Yang Tao looked at the two approaching, suspiciously asked and reached into his pocket. His expression immediately changed dramatically: "Oh no, where’s my phone?"

Hearing this, Ruan Jiaojiao and Yu Rou quickly reached for their pockets, and their expressions changed as well.

"Mine’s missing too." Yu Rou.

"So is mine." Ruan Jiaojiao nodded along.

The two spoke in unison.

Duan Xi didn’t care much about the phones; he just pulled Ruan Jiaojiao beside him, checking left and right to make sure she wasn’t hurt. Only then did his furrowed brow relax.

"There are indeed a lot of pickpockets around here, likely targeting you three girls as you seemed unguarded. I have a police friend in this area; do you want to report it? We might find them." Gao Ji, who was previously upset for being ignored, immediately spoke up once he saw the three girls lost their phones.

While saying this, his gaze subtly swept over Ruan Jiaojiao’s face, unconsciously showing off a bit.

Ruan Jiaojiao ignored him and just looked at Duan Xi.

Duan Xi’s gaze swept through the crowd. Since it was the Lantern Festival, many people were out strolling around, especially in front of some shops where it was quite crowded. In this situation, finding a pickpocket wasn’t easy.

But Duan Xi’s senses were naturally sharper than the average person’s, and with Ruan Jiaojiao’s phone carrying her scent, it was unmistakable even among many others.

He merely scanned the crowd for less than half a minute before locking onto his target.

With a cold expression, he walked towards that person.

The pickpocket was standing in front of a shop selling sponge cakes. The shop was very busy, with a crowd pushing in front of it. His eyes were on an elderly lady with a child, watching as she pulled out a little cloth bag full of money, removing a bill to pay before putting the rest back. He timed it just right, squeezing sideways into the crowd, lifted one hand and said to the vendor: "Give me a bag."

Meanwhile, the other hand reached into the old lady’s pocket, quickly feeling the cloth bag full of money.

Thinking he’d be successful, a hint of smugness appeared at the corner of his mouth, but that smile barely lasted a few seconds before it turned into a wail: "Ahhhhhh..."

His sudden loud screaming startled the people around, and they immediately stepped aside.

At first, everyone was puzzled as to why a grown man was yelling, but following his wrist, they saw a good-looking young man. This young man was holding groceries in one hand and was gripping the wailing man’s wrist with the other.