As expected, the young girl said, “Evan Reed, how can you say that? No matter what, I did shoot his dog to death. How can I just ignore it?” Her tone was full of dissatisfaction.

“No—no, Snowy, you misunderstood me, that’s not what I meant.”

“Then what do you mean?”

“I—I…”

Although Ethan Grant wasn’t looking at them, just listening made him anxious for that white-robed young man. You idiot, dumb as a rock, trying to pick up girls like this? It’s not that I look down on you, but at this rate, you’ll never succeed, not even on the day you die. Women are compassionate creatures, and this is the perfect moment to win her over. Usually, at a time like this, you should show your kindness, express your inner goodness, and voluntarily take out a hundred or so coins to give to me, making up for her mistake. Wouldn’t that be a win-win? You’re happy, I’m happy—what a waste of the opportunity I created for you.

At this moment, the tall and imposing man suddenly said, “Eighth Sister, the dog is already dead. Just compensate him a bit.”

For some reason, the white-robed handsome guy suddenly became clever. He hurriedly beckoned to his attendant, who immediately took out a string of heavy copper coins from the saddlebag and handed them to the white-robed young man. Whether it’s now or in the future, you can’t go out to pick up girls without money on you, and you can’t bring too little either. What if your beloved fancies something valuable? You have to be able to pay for it. Of course, for rich people like them, the money is always carried by attendants—after all, copper coins in these times are quite heavy. The white-robed young man took the coins, walked up to Ethan Grant, and threw them on the ground with a dull thud. Clearly, it was quite a lot. He said, “This is enough for you to buy ten dogs.”

What a generous, showy statement—instantly establishing his image as tall, rich, and handsome. The white-robed guy finally got the hang of it.

This just goes to show that showing off is an art.

Enough to buy ten dogs—let me think, how much is one dog anyway? Damn, how much does a dog cost! Would it kill you to be more specific?

At this moment, Ethan Grant absolutely couldn’t look at the money, or else people would get suspicious. He had to pour all his emotions into the dog, but his hands still clung tightly to the dog’s neck as he cried out, “I only want Wangcai, I only want Wangcai…”

“You really don’t know what’s good for you. We’ve already compensated you, what more do you want?” The white-robed young man glared angrily at Ethan Grant.

You idiot, if I took your money now, I’d blow my cover. Besides, I’ve already been crying for so long—if I cry a bit more, maybe you’ll give me even more. I’m in debt right now, have some sympathy. Ethan Grant retorted silently in his heart.

Sure enough, the young girl gave the white-robed guy an unhappy look and said, “Give him some more.”

Beauty always understands me!

Although Ethan Grant was still crying, his tears now were tears of gratitude.

The tall man said, “Eighth Sister, that’s already a lot.”

Because he knew his sister too well—she had no concept of money.

But Ethan Grant just loved dealing with people like this.

“If you won’t give more, then I’ll just give him this bow.”

“Snowy, that’s your favorite bow!”

The white-robed young man hurriedly stopped her and told the attendant to give Ethan Grant another string of coins.

The girl called Snowy also came over, bent down, and said apologetically, “Sorry, I really didn’t mean to hurt your dog. But I can’t bring your dog back to life, so I can only give you some money as an apology. Please accept it.”

Don’t worry, I’ll definitely accept it. You can leave with peace of mind—my tears are almost dried up. Ethan Grant remained silent, still hugging the dog’s neck and sobbing, but in his heart he thought, Good thing this handsome guy showed up—turns out the girl didn’t have any money on her. What use do I have for your bow? Sigh, this is the downside of not knowing the local situation.

The girl didn’t say anything more, turned around and said, “Second Brother, let’s go back.”

The white-robed young man said, “But we just got here.”

The girl was clearly affected, and said listlessly, “Then you all keep hunting here, I’ll go back first.”

“How can I be at ease with that?”

The white-robed young man said, inwardly cursing Ethan Grant to death. He’d finally managed to invite his beloved out, and now this guy had ruined everything.

The tall man said, “Since that’s the case, let’s all go back.”

The group mounted their horses and left. The girl couldn’t help but look back at Ethan Grant, showing just how convincing Ethan Grant’s acting was.

Chapter 11: Stewed Dog Meat

Every profession has its own characteristics, and the art of swindling is no exception.

According to an unwritten survey, nine out of ten con artists start by eliciting sympathy—in other words, gaining sympathy is the foundation or basic skill of a scam.

Ethan Grant was no different. It’s just that his first con happened by coincidence. He remembered that when he was just over ten years old, he hadn’t eaten all day and was so hungry that he stole a bun from a small noodle shop. But the family’s dog caught him and chased him down an entire street. When he crossed the road, he made it across, but the dog was hit and killed by a private car.