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I Was Betrayed, Demoted, And Humiliated... Until A Homeless Man Changed Everything — Transcript

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0:00Four years of college with Li Feng, and
0:02we never even held hands. In a few days,
0:04he's going to propose to me. But
0:06tonight, I want to give you my first
0:07time. Your aunt's away on a business
0:09trip, right? I'll be waiting at her
0:11place. Don't keep me waiting. Late at
0:13night, outside the gates of Yunxing
0:15University, I staggered out of the
0:17little diner, drunk, and pulled out my
0:19phone. A string of messages from Zhao
0:21Yuching sat there on the screen. We'd
0:23met in high school, gotten together
0:24after the college entrance exams, and
0:26tested into Yunxing University side by
0:28side. Everyone said we were a match made
0:31in heaven, the gifted scholar and the
0:32beauty. But the night before
0:34orientation, out of nowhere, she dumped
0:36me and threw herself at some official's
0:38spoiled son. Fine. A breakup's a
0:40breakup. I can accept that. The problem
0:43was she couldn't let go. For four years,
0:45she kept coming back to me behind that
0:47rich kid's back, making me breakfast,
0:49bringing me gifts, even washing my
0:51underwear. Now we'd graduated, and
0:53before accepting his proposal, she
0:55wanted to hand me her body, too? Like I
0:57was the real boyfriend, and that
0:58official son was just
1:00I lit a cigarette and took a hard drag.
1:03Truth be told, she was gorgeous. Smoking
1:05hot figure, and throwing herself at me.
1:07Pretending I felt nothing would be a
1:09lie. But I was raised right. I had my
1:11limits, and I didn't want to watch her
1:13cheapen herself into that kind of woman.
1:15I texted back, "Qing, knock it off. I'm
1:17staying out tonight." I'd barely slipped
1:19the phone back into my pocket when a red
1:21BMW came tearing up behind me. Its tires
1:24rolling clean through a puddle. Splash.
1:27Dirty water drenched me head to toe. My
1:29white t-shirt became a canvas of mud
1:31spatter. My pant legs soaked through and
1:33clinging to my skin. The BMW stopped
1:36five or six yards ahead. The window
1:38rolled down, and three heads poked out.
1:40That smug, greasy grin in the driver's
1:42seat. Who else could it be but Yang Wei?
1:45"Yang Wei, are you blind?" I yelled. The
1:47road was plenty wide. There was no way
1:49this bastard hadn't done it on purpose.
1:51"Ah, Li Feng, I swear I didn't see you.
1:54It's pitch dark out here. Who'd expect
1:56someone just standing on the side of the
1:57road? He cocked an eyebrow, feigning
2:00surprise. Then he pulled out two bills
2:02and flicked them my way, like he was
2:03tossing coins to a beggar. Here, for the
2:05trouble. Enough to buy yourself a new
2:07outfit off some street stall. His two
2:09lackeys in the backseat jumped right in.
2:12Heard you're off to be a nurse at
2:13Yuncheng People's Hospital. Congrats. A
2:15man working as a nurse? Now I've seen
2:17everything. Yang Wei waved a hand and
2:20put on a show of scolding them. Have
2:22some class, you two. What's wrong with a
2:23male nurse? They save lives just the
2:26same. Then he floored it and the BMW
2:28roared off in a cloud of black exhaust.
2:31I stared at those two crumpled bills on
2:33the ground. My fists clenched so hard
2:35the knuckles cracked. For as long as I
2:37could remember, my dream had been to
2:38become a doctor like my aunt. My exam
2:41score was high enough. Clinical medicine
2:43was my first choice. It was Yang Wei
2:45who, to steal my girlfriend, pulled his
2:47family's strings and had me forcibly
2:49reassigned to the nursing program. My
2:51dream, crushed under his heel. My aunt
2:53told me to let it go. I'd been letting
2:55it go for 4 years. Now that we'd
2:57graduated, he still wanted to lord it
2:59over me? The fire in my chest burned
3:01until my whole body felt feverish. I
3:03pulled out my phone, scrolled to Zhao
3:05Yuching, and unsent the message I'd just
3:07typed. Yang Wei, you stole my girl,
3:10hijacked my major, and now you've
3:12splashed me with filthy water. But
3:13here's what you don't know. That
3:15precious little treasure you cradle in
3:17your palms is waiting for me right now.
3:19I'd meant to be a decent man. Not
3:21anymore. I was going to pay back for
3:23years of humiliation with interest. I
3:25flagged down a cab straight for the East
3:27Bank Residences where my aunt lived.
3:30Over those 4 years, Zhao Yuching had
3:32come here so often that she'd grown
3:33close with my aunt. She even had the
3:35door code memorized. Otherwise, she'd
3:37never have known my aunt was away, let
3:39alone come here to wait for me.
3:41Fingerprint unlock. The moment I stepped
3:43inside, a cloying sweetness hit me. Miss
3:46Dior, her favorite perfume. The door to
3:48the small bedroom on the north side was
3:50ajar, no lights on. Through the crack, I
3:53could just make out a woman lying in
3:54bed. The blanket was pulled up to her
3:56waist, one rounded shoulder bare, a thin
3:59black spaghetti strap draped over her
4:00arm. I swallowed hard. The liquor and
4:03the rage churned together in my head. I
4:05shoved the door open, didn't even flip
4:07the light, crossed the room in three
4:09strides, and pounced onto the bed. Xiao
4:11Yuqing. Panting, I tore at my clothes
4:14and growled. I ran into that bastard
4:16Yang Wei again. Graduated, and he's
4:18still pushing me around. Tonight I'm
4:20going to teach him a lesson. 1 hour
4:21later, the woman suddenly shoved me off
4:24and sat up cursing. Li Feng, you little
4:26animal. Open your eyes and look at who I
4:29am. Click. The bedside lamp came on. The
4:32light stabbed into my eyes and half my
4:34drunkenness evaporated. The woman on the
4:36bed, hair in disarray, face streaked
4:38with tears. But those willow leaf brows,
4:41those phoenix eyes, that straight,
4:43elegant nose, and the tiny beauty mark
4:46at the corner of her mouth. Since when
4:47did Xiao Yuqing look like this? No. This
4:50wasn't Xiao Yuqing at all. This was Ai
4:52Jia, my aunt's closest friend, the same
4:55age as my aunt, 38, an art teacher at
4:58one of Yuncheng's top high schools.
5:00Normally gentle and soft-spoken, with a
5:02refined, scholarly air about her. Her
5:05husband was the director of the Yuncheng
5:06Culture and Tourism Bureau, a powerful,
5:09high-ranking official. My scalp went
5:11numb. I rolled straight off the bed and
5:13landed hard on the floor, my tailbone
5:15taking the hit, and I bared my teeth in
5:17pain. But the pain in my backside was
5:19nothing next to the panic in my chest.
5:21I'd just slept with my aunt's best
5:22friend. If my aunt found out, I couldn't
5:25bear to think about it. If her husband,
5:27the bureau director, found out, even
5:29worse. Unthinkable. I was only 22, fresh
5:32out of school. My life had barely begun.
5:34Ai Jia, let me explain. I really didn't
5:37know it was you. I thought you were I
5:39thought you were Xiao Yuqing. I
5:40scrambled up, grabbed my boxers, and
5:42yanked them on. Wanting to get closer,
5:44but not daring to, just standing there
5:46helpless. Bai Jia huddled against the
5:48headboard, wrapped in the sheet, tears
5:51streaming down one after another. Bit by
5:53bit, in broken fragments, I pieced it
5:56together. She'd had a huge fight with
5:58her husband the day before, stormed out,
6:00and with nowhere else to go, came to her
6:02best friend's place to spend the night.
6:04She'd been fast asleep when, half
6:06dreaming, she felt someone pin her down
6:08and shove something into her mouth. She
6:10couldn't even cry out. That Zhao Yueqing
6:12did come by, but when she saw me here,
6:15she left. I tried to tell you I wasn't
6:16her, but you stuffed your boxers in my
6:18mouth. I can't go on living. Boohoo. I
6:21backhanded myself across the face, hard.
6:24Antiboy, it's all my fault. I'm not even
6:26human. I deserve to die a thousand
6:28deaths. Curse me, hit me, but please,
6:31please don't do anything stupid. Stop
6:33it. I can't stand the sight of you right
6:35now. Get out. She pointed at the door,
6:38not hearing a word I said. Okay, I'll
6:40go. I'll go to another room. Let you
6:42have some peace. I backed up slowly
6:44until my heel bumped the doorframe. No.
6:47She lifted her head, her tear-reddened
6:49eyes glaring at me. Get out. Don't stay
6:51in this apartment. I froze for a second,
6:54then nodded quickly. Okay. Okay,
6:56whatever you say. I was in the wrong.
6:58How could I refuse? Barefoot, I crossed
7:01the living room, pulled open the front
7:02door, and stepped out. Slam. The door
7:05locked behind me. The sound of the
7:06deadbolt turning rang out sharp and
7:09clear in the empty hallway. The night
7:11wind swept across my bare shoulders,
7:12cold. That was when it hit me. All I had
7:15on was a pair of boxers. My phone, my
7:17wallet, everything was still inside. But
7:19what was done was done. I couldn't just
7:21stand at the door until morning. If a
7:23neighbor came out to take out the trash
7:25and spotted me, they'd think I was some
7:26kind of pervert. Gritting my teeth, I
7:29didn't even dare take the elevator. I
7:31felt my way down the stairs and slipped
7:32into the park beside the complex. I
7:35found a bench in a corner and lay down.
7:37Summer nights swarm with mosquitoes, but
7:39I was past caring. The scene from
7:41earlier kept replaying in my mind over
7:43and over. Auntie, Auntie Bi, I'm so
7:45sorry. I'm not human. I'm an animal. I
7:48berated myself again and again, tears of
7:51regret leaking from the corners of my
7:53eyes. But I was exhausted and with the
7:55alcohol, I drifted off into a hazy
7:57sleep. I don't know how long passed
7:59before an itch crept over my body like
8:01ants crawling across my skin. My eyes
8:04snapped open. It was broad daylight. I
8:06looked down and the sight jolted me
8:08fully awake. Crouched beside me was a
8:10homeless man, matted hair, a face so
8:13grimy I couldn't make out his features,
8:15clothes in tatters. He held a
8:17calligraphy brush in his hand and was
8:19drawing something across my belly.
8:21Seeing me wake, he showed no alarm. He
8:23just grinned, bearing a mouthful of big
8:25yellow teeth. Haha, easy there, kid.
8:28Don't move. Just one more stroke. What
8:30the hell are you doing? I bolted
8:32upright. Only then did I see that my
8:34belly, chest, and arms were all covered
8:37in dense, bizarre patterns. Black and
8:39red intertwined, crooked and jagged like
8:42the talismans Taoist priests draw. His
8:44hand twitched and with a flick he laid
8:46down the final stroke, then tucked the
8:48brush into his robe, stepped back two
8:50paces, and looked me up and down like he
8:52was admiring a masterpiece. Lucky you,
8:54kid, running into me. From this day on,
8:57you're going to defy the heavens and
8:59rewrite your fate. With that he turned
9:01and shuffled off, his sandals slapping
9:03against the ground and vanished into the
9:05morning mist without once looking back.
9:08Lunatic! I cursed at his back. Then
9:10frowned down at the ghostly scrawl
9:12covering my body. I needed to find a
9:13restroom and wash it off, fast, before
9:16someone decided I belonged to some cult.
9:18I climbed up off the bench and jogged
9:20bare-chested toward the public toilet.
9:22I'd gone only a few steps when, on
9:24instinct, I glanced down again. My chest
9:27was spotless. The patterns were all
9:28gone. I rubbed my eyes and looked again,
9:31still nothing. Those crooked lines,
9:33those talismans, it was as as my skin
9:35had absorbed them. They'd vanished
9:37without a trace. Impossible. They were
9:39right there. Before I could finish the
9:41thought, my mind burst. A violent wave
9:43of dizziness hit me without warning,
9:46like countless needles driving into my
9:48temples at once. My vision went black,
9:50and I nearly collapsed. I grabbed a tree
9:53trunk and clenched my teeth. It felt
9:55like something enormous was being
9:56crammed into my skull. A flood of
9:58information pouring in, overwhelming.
10:01Cultivation techniques, talismans,
10:03formations, medicinal recipes, frame by
10:06frame, dense beyond counting. Ack. It's
10:09got to be that homeless man. He put some
10:11kind of sorcery on me. When the
10:13splitting pain finally receded, I gasped
10:15for air, half wishing it had all just
10:17been a hallucination. It took me a good
10:19while to come back to myself. But the
10:21moment I thought of last night, my
10:23nerves pulled taut again. Running
10:24wouldn't help. This had to come to some
10:26kind of resolution, good or bad. I had
10:29no choice but to steel myself and jog
10:31all the way back to the complex,
10:33half-naked, drawing countless strange
10:35looks the whole way. When I reached my
10:37aunt's door, the first thing I noticed
10:38was a pair of black high heels by the
10:40shoe cabinet. Was my aunt back? Hadn't
10:42she said 5 days? It was only the third.
10:45I was so nervous I could barely breathe.
10:47I pressed my ear carefully against the
10:48door. Clack. The door opened. I pitched
10:51forward, tumbling headfirst into the
10:53apartment, and landed stark naked on the
10:55entryway mat. On the living room sofa,
10:58my aunt Yilan and Baijia sat side by
11:00side. Baijia looked as fragile as ever,
11:03her eyes red and swollen, clutching a
11:05tissue and sniffling. Yilan, though
11:08weary, still carried that queenly aura
11:10of hers. Her brows knit as she listened
11:12gravely to Baijia. The instant I crashed
11:15in, both of them turned their heads at
11:16once. God only knows the kind of impact
11:19a grown man in nothing but his boxers
11:21can make. The living room went silent
11:23for a solid dozen seconds. Then Yilan's
11:25face flushed red all the way to her
11:27ears. Baijia's already tear-reddened
11:30face burned hot enough to bleed, and she
11:32quickly looked away, not daring to look
11:34at me. Yilan shot me a fierce glare.
11:36This little punk, well into his 20s,
11:39parading around in nothing but boxers,
11:41and just coming in from outside, too.
11:43Had he gone streaking? Her expression
11:45went stern. Little Feng, do you have no
11:47clothes to wear? Or is this some kind of
11:49weird habit? Look at yourself. Is this
11:51any way to behave? Auntie, I'm sorry. I
11:54I got on my feet, looked down at myself,
11:56and had to admit it really wasn't a good
11:58look. Yilan wasn't actually my blood
12:00aunt. I was an orphan, abandoned at a
12:02welfare home when I was little. I had no
12:04memory of my parents, who they were,
12:07what they looked like, nothing. When I
12:09was eight, Yilan suddenly appeared,
12:11filed a stack of paperwork, and took me
12:13home. From then on, I grew up with her
12:15and Yuxing. She put me through school,
12:17washed my clothes, cooked my meals, and
12:19gave me the warmth of a real home, no
12:22different from a real mother. But she
12:23never let me call her mom, only Auntie.
12:26I asked why so many times. She never
12:28explained. Just as I was about to come
12:30clean and recount everything from the
12:32night before, my Jie suddenly spoke up.
12:35Long Long, here's what happened. I was
12:37in a bad mood last night, and Little
12:39Feng came home drunk, making a racket. I
12:41was already on edge, so I took it out on
12:43him. Then she turned to me, her voice
12:45soft. Little Feng, I'm sorry. I
12:47shouldn't have lost my temper and thrown
12:49you out, made you spend the whole night
12:51outside without any clothes. I was
12:53stunned. She was going to bury what
12:55happened last night, keep it from my
12:56aunt. So, she'd forgiven me, really?
12:59Yilan said, half skeptical, "All right.
13:01I was wrong to blame you then. Go get
13:03dressed now." "Oh." I nodded over and
13:06over, and before I turned to leave, I
13:08made sure to shoot my Jie a look of
13:09gratitude. If she had pressed the
13:11matter, my aunt would never have
13:13forgiven me, and the law wouldn't have
13:14spared me, either. A few years behind
13:16bars would have been unavoidable. But
13:18she didn't press it, which meant my life
13:20had been set back on the right track. It
13:22really did feel like I'd escaped death.
13:24Back in my little room, I pulled on a
13:26T-shirt and athletic shorts. By Jia's
13:28sobbing drifted in again from outside
13:30the door. I pressed my ear to the door,
13:32and the more I listened, the angrier I
13:34got. It turned out By Jia had discovered
13:36her husband, Shin Ji-yong, was keeping a
13:38college girl as a mistress. That was
13:40what had driven her to storm out. And to
13:42make it worse, that little home wrecker
13:44had the nerve to call and taunt her. A
13:46good woman like that, and he couldn't
13:48cherish her. Out there sleeping around
13:50instead. Some people really don't know
13:52how good they've got it. I'd heard a few
13:53things about Shin Ji-yong from my aunt.
13:55A social climber through and through.
13:57Back in the day, he'd been so poor he
13:59couldn't even cover tuition. It was By
14:01Jia's father who funded him through
14:03college. After graduating, he clawed his
14:05way up, every step riding on the
14:07connections and influence of By Jia's
14:09family. Now that By Jia's father had
14:11retired, and Shin had grown his wings
14:13and landed a high post, he'd stopped
14:15giving By Jia the time of day. Even I
14:17was furious, let alone my aunt. She
14:20gripped By Jia's hand, grinding her
14:22teeth. That bastard Shin Ji-yong owes
14:24everything to your family. And now he
14:26turns around and acts like he doesn't
14:28know you. Who the hell does he think he
14:29is? Divorce. You have to divorce him.
14:32But we're not letting him off easy.
14:34Everything he owes you, everything he
14:35owes your parents over the years. He's
14:37going to cough up every last cent. By
14:40Jia sniffled and nodded. It was her own
14:42fault for being so indecisive. She'd
14:44only agreed to marry him to please her
14:46parents in the first place. There'd
14:47never been much love in it. But after
14:49the wedding, she devoted herself to the
14:51marriage wholeheartedly, done her duty,
14:53been a good wife by any measure. The
14:56moment she learned her husband had
14:57cheated, the heartbreak was almost
14:59secondary. What hurt more was how it
15:01insulted her parents. Suddenly, she
15:04pressed a hand to her left breast, her
15:06brow creasing hard, her face going ashen
15:08in an instant. By Jia, is your chest
15:11hurting again? Yilan noticed at once.
15:13Mhm, it hurts whenever I get upset. Her
15:16voice was frighteningly weak. She curled
15:18into the sofa, her lips trembling
15:20slightly. Maybe take some painkillers.
15:22I've got some in my room. Yilan couldn't
15:24hide her tension. No need. It'll pass if
15:27I just rest. Bai Jia shook her head and
15:29leaned back against the sofa with her
15:31eyes closed. Hearing the commotion, I
15:33hurried back to the living room
15:35frowning. My aunt was the head of
15:36pulmonology at Yuncheng People's
15:38Hospital, a bonafide specialist. For her
15:41to casually suggest painkillers,
15:43something wasn't right. Unless. I stared
15:45at Bai Jia's ashen face. Suddenly, like
15:48a switch had been flipped, a flood
15:50traditional medicine knowledge came
15:52rushing up in my mind. The words tumbled
15:54out before I could stop them. Liver qi
15:56stagnation, phlegm, and blood stasis
15:58congealed together. Disorder of the
16:00Chong and Ren meridians. Toxic pathogens
16:03accumulating in the breast network,
16:05hardening into a mass over time.
16:07Compounded by depressed spirits,
16:09distension of the chest and flanks,
16:11worsening breast swelling before
16:12menstruation. This is the breast pattern
16:15of liver qi stagnation with phlegm
16:17congealing. Yilan, who had been
16:19supporting Bai Jia, whipped her head
16:21around and shot me a sharp look. "Little
16:23Feng, what are you mumbling about? Don't
16:25forget you studied nursing, not Chinese
16:27medicine. Where did you dig up this
16:29nonsense?" "Auntie, I" My mouth opened,
16:32but I didn't know how to explain. I
16:33didn't even know where it had come from
16:35myself, let alone whether it was right.
16:37But the words just wouldn't stay in.
16:39They came pouring out on their own,
16:41impossible to hold back. "Go do whatever
16:43you were doing." Yilan waved me off
16:45irritably, then turned to Bai Jia. "I'll
16:47help you to the bedroom to lie down for
16:49a bit." "Okay." Bai Jia nodded weakly.
16:52The two of them made their way slowly
16:53toward the master bedroom. I stood there
16:55in a daze. The Chinese medicine
16:57knowledge was still buzzing in my head,
16:59especially that whole mouthful just now.
17:01It was uncanny. But Bai Jia's symptoms,
17:04chest pain worsening with anger, ashen
17:07face, breaking out in a cold sweat. I
17:09shook my head. My stomach growled. I
17:11downed half a belly of liquor the night
17:13before with nothing to eat, then spent
17:15all night feeding mosquitoes in the
17:17park. I was starving. I went into the
17:19kitchen thinking I'd make a bowl of
17:21noodles. I just put the water on when
17:22the door pushed open. Yilan walked in
17:25and leaned against the door frame. Her
17:27face even darker than before. A bad
17:29feeling rose up in me. I hesitated but
17:32couldn't hold the question back and
17:33asked quietly, "Auntie, may I be so bold
17:36as to ask something? Don't get mad if
17:38I'm wrong." "What?" She lifted her
17:40eyelids. "Auntie Bi, does she have some
17:42kind of breast problem?" I decided to
17:44just say it out right. Is it breast
17:46cancer? The color drained from Yilan's
17:48face in an instant. Her eyes went wide.
17:51Her lips parted slightly and she froze
17:53in the doorway as if she'd been turned
17:55to stone. In that moment, the air seemed
17:57to solidify. Yilan quickly shut the
17:59kitchen door, spun around and clamped a
18:02hand over my mouth. "You little punk,
18:04did you see Bi Jia's diagnosis report in
18:06the study?" "Auntie, I didn't look."
18:08Smothered and unable to breathe, I shook
18:10my head frantically. But from her
18:12reaction, I was already certain I'd hit
18:15the nail on the head. Bi Jia really did
18:17have breast cancer. My heart sank. Early
18:19stage, not yet spread, so there was
18:21still a chance of a cure. But the
18:23solution was right there in front of us.
18:25They'd have to remove the breast. For a
18:27woman, it was too cruel. Her husband
18:29cheating, the mistress taunting her and
18:31now a disease like this. How could fate
18:33be so bitter to Bi Jia? Yilan stared at
18:36me for several seconds before she
18:37finally let go. The suspicion still
18:40hanging in her eyes. "I don't believe
18:41it. You didn't see the report. How could
18:44you know she has breast cancer? Even she
18:46doesn't know yet." "Auntie, I" "Forget
18:48it." She waved a hand and dropped the
18:50questioning. She turned and leaned
18:52against the door, arms hanging at her
18:54sides, her shoulders slowly sagging, her
18:57eyes brimming with tears. A month
18:59earlier, Bi Jia had come to my aunt's
19:01hospital for a checkup and been
19:02diagnosed with breast cancer. The doctor
19:04handling the exam knew how close they
19:06were and broke the terrible news to my
19:08aunt first. For her, it was nothing
19:10short of a bolt from the blue. From that
19:12day on, Yilan hadn't slept or eaten
19:15properly for nights on end. She didn't
19:17know how to broach it, when, or in what
19:19way to tell Baijia. She'd been putting
19:21it off until now, not daring to breathe
19:23a single word. "Auntie, don't be too
19:26heartbroken." I said, my heart aching at
19:28the sight of her like this. Yilan
19:30couldn't hold it together any longer.
19:32She buried her face against my shoulder
19:34and sobbed softly. "I've known her for
19:36over 20 years. She gets a disease like
19:38this. How can you expect me not to
19:40grieve? I'm a doctor myself, and I can't
19:43even cure my best friend. I'm so
19:44useless." My nose stung. All I could do
19:47was keep comforting her. "Auntie, you're
19:49a doctor, not a god. Besides, medicine's
19:52so advanced now. It's not like there's
19:54no hope. Yes, there's hope." She lifted
19:57her head and wiped at her tears, the tip
19:59of her nose bright red. "The reason I
20:01went to the capital this time was to
20:03consult the top breast cancer specialist
20:05in the country. But even after he'd gone
20:07through all the reports, the only option
20:09he could offer was still removal. She
20:11loves her look so much. If she really
20:13loses it, how is she supposed to go on
20:15living?" I sighed. "I think staying
20:17alive matters more than anything. Auntie
20:19Bai can't accept it right now, but give
20:21her some more time, and she'll come
20:22around." "I hope so." Yilan's sobs
20:25gradually quieted. She leaned against
20:27the doorframe in silence for a moment,
20:29then suddenly said, "Maybe if someone
20:31went through the removal alongside her,
20:33she'd accept it more easily."
20:35My heart lurched. "Auntie, you're not
20:38thinking of having yours removed along
20:39with Auntie Bai, are you? I know you two
20:41are close, but that's going too far."
20:43She gave a bitter smile and tucked her
20:45loose hair back. "It just crossed my
20:47mind. I'm not getting married anyway. It
20:49wouldn't matter if I lost it." My mouth
20:51opened, but no words came out. My aunt
20:54was the kind of person who always meant
20:55what she said. If she said she'd have
20:57hers removed alongside Baijia, she was
21:00fully capable of actually doing it. She
21:02sniffed, her expression a little calmer
21:04now, and warned me, "Oh, and little
21:06Feng, whatever you do, don't let it slip
21:09in front of Baijia. We have to find the
21:10right moment to tell her. I understand.
21:13I nodded firmly. Yilan pulled herself
21:15together and opened the door and went
21:17out. I kept cooking, but my thoughts had
21:19already drifted elsewhere. I'd actually
21:21diagnosed Baijia's illness, which meant
21:23all the extra things crammed into my
21:25head were real. That homeless man hadn't
21:27been lying. After I'd eaten my fill, I
21:30went back to my room, shut the door, sat
21:32on the edge of the bed, and carefully
21:34combed through the information in my
21:35mind. What held my attention most was a
21:38medical text. I settled myself and read
21:40through it. Recorded inside was a
21:42needling technique, the Nine Celestial
21:44Needles. The text claimed this technique
21:46could clear the meridians, regulate qi
21:49and blood, and expel disease. Said to
21:51raise the dead and put flesh back on
21:53bones. It was absurd. But then again, I
21:56was a nursing graduate, and overnight my
21:58head had sprouted all this knowledge out
22:00of thin air. That alone was absurd
22:02enough. What was a little more
22:03absurdity? What if it really could cure
22:06Baijia's breast cancer? Over the next
22:08while, I poured over the Nine Celestial
22:10Needles, the verbal formulas, the
22:12needling paths, the depths of insertion,
22:14going over them again and again. This
22:17technique emphasized guiding the needle
22:19with qi. Once the needle tip entered an
22:21acupoint, a current of inner energy had
22:23to lead the qi through the meridians,
22:25breaking through the blockages and
22:27forcing out the disease qi. I sprang up
22:29off the bed. I hadn't yet cultivated
22:31this so-called qi, but I could at least
22:33give it a try first. Though my aunt was
22:35trained in Western medicine, she loved
22:37studying Chinese medicine in her spare
22:39time. A whole row of medical books lined
22:41her shelf, and there was a complete set
22:43of silver needles in her cabinet. I went
22:45into the study, dug out the silver
22:47needles, then came to the master
22:48bedroom, and gently pushed open the
22:50half-closed door. My aunt wasn't there.
22:53Only Baijia was inside. She was leaning
22:55against the headboard, her face still
22:57pale, her lips drained of color,
22:59listless all over. She looked up at me
23:02and forced a smile. Little Feng, did you
23:04need something? I walked over to the
23:06bed. Auntie Bai, are you feeling any
23:08better? Much better. Not hurting like it
23:10was before. She propped herself up on an
23:13arm and sat up straight, and the blanket
23:15slipped from her shoulder, revealing a
23:17sliver of slender collarbone. She had
23:19thought about telling my aunt what
23:20happened last night, had even considered
23:22calling the police. But once she calmed
23:24down, her heart softened. All these
23:26years, in her eyes I'd always been a
23:28child. To err is human, and I'd been so
23:31drunk I couldn't tell up from down, and
23:33it looked like someone else had wronged
23:34me, too. She couldn't ruin a kid's whole
23:37life over this one thing. So, she
23:38decided to forgive me, to act as if
23:41nothing had happened. Auntie Bai, I was
23:43thinking I clutched the case of silver
23:45needles, not knowing how to begin. I was
23:47a nursing student. If I suddenly
23:49announced I knew acupuncture, anyone
23:51would think I'd lost my mind. Thinking
23:52what? Seeing me hem and haw, Bai Jia's
23:55heart tightened, and she instinctively
23:57shrank back. Little Feng, last night was
23:59a misunderstanding, and since you were
24:01drunk, I can forgive it. But you're
24:03sober now. If you're thinking of doing
24:05that to me again, then I really will get
24:07angry. I realized Bai Jia had
24:09misunderstood. I quickly flipped open
24:12the leather case, revealing the row of
24:13silver needles inside. Auntie Bai, I'm
24:16not that much of an animal. What I mean
24:18is, to be honest with you, I studied
24:20nursing, but I also learned acupuncture
24:22from an old Chinese medicine doctor.
24:24Your chest hurts whenever you get upset
24:26because your qi is stagnant and not
24:28flowing. I want to put in a few needles
24:30to open up the stagnation, and then it
24:32won't hurt anymore. You know
24:33acupuncture, too? Bai Jia looked at me,
24:35astonished. In her memory, I'd never
24:38been the ambitious type. She'd never
24:40imagined I'd secretly picked up
24:41something like this. Let me try. I set
24:43the case on the nightstand, my tone
24:45earnest. But you have to keep it a
24:47secret for me. Don't let my aunt know,
24:49or she'll definitely scold me. Bai Jia
24:51had breast cancer. Even if I hadn't
24:53studied nursing, even even a genuine
24:55master of Chinese medicine showed up, my
24:57aunt still wouldn't have trusted it. She
24:59hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Mhm,
25:02all right. It wasn't that she was
25:03willing to be a guinea pig. It was just
25:05that it hurt so much. That pain bored
25:07out from deep in her chest, throbbing in
25:09waves, until even breathing was an
25:12effort. A try wouldn't cost her
25:13anything. And what if it actually
25:15worked?" "Auntie Bai, you'll need to
25:17open your collar." I said it gingerly,
25:19keeping my eyes from wandering. I'd made
25:21that mistake once. I wasn't about to
25:23make it twice. Bai Jie's face reddened.
25:26She lowered her head and tugged open her
25:28collar bit by bit, exposing a patch of
25:30smooth, fair skin above her left breast.
25:33"I know you can't do it through the
25:34fabric, and anyway, you've already seen
25:36it all." That last part came out so
25:38soft, it was almost inaudible. But my
25:41ears were sharp, and I caught every word
25:43of it, my face burning hot. I sat on the
25:45edge of the bed, ran the essentials of
25:48the nine celestial needles through my
25:49mind once more, and then began. Every
25:52needle I placed with the utmost care.
25:54The tip entered the acupoint, and
25:56following the method, I gave my
25:57fingertips a faint twist. Bai Jie
25:59frowned at first, but as the seconds and
26:01minutes ticked by, the boring pain in
26:04her chest began, bit by bit, to ease.
26:07Then a pleasant warmth spread through
26:08her chest, a comfort beyond words. After
26:11that, even the ache and weakness
26:13throughout her body dissolved, and
26:15strength seemed to seep back into her,
26:17little by little. She stared at me
26:19wide-eyed. This little punk really had
26:21secretly learned acupuncture, and he was
26:23this good at it. I didn't notice her
26:25expression. When the treatment was done,
26:27I collected the needles one by one back
26:29into the case, wiped the sweat from my
26:31forehead, and asked expectantly, "Auntie
26:34Bai, how do you feel?"
26:36She got right out of bed, took a few
26:37steps around the room, her face full of
26:39delighted surprise. "Much better, and
26:42I'm not putting it on. Look, I'm just
26:44like normal. It doesn't hurt at all
26:45anymore, and I've got my strength back.
26:48Little Feng, you're amazing. Thank
26:50goodness you gave me that treatment, or
26:51I feel like it would have taken me days
26:53to recover. Watching her step so
26:55lightly, the color returned to her face,
26:58looking like a completely different
26:59person from the sickly figure of moments
27:01ago. I let out a long breath, a weight
27:03lifting from my chest. That's a relief.
27:06The Nine Celestial Needles really
27:07worked, and they worked on her illness.
27:09Just give me a little more time to
27:11cultivate the chi, pair it with this
27:13technique, and maybe I really could cure
27:15her without the operating table, without
27:17the removal. Just then, the sound of the
27:19lock turning came from outside the door.
27:21Lan Lan's back. Bai Jia straightened her
27:23collar and walked out of the room
27:25without delay. Yi Lan pushed the door
27:27open, and the moment she looked up and
27:29saw Bai Jia standing in the living room,
27:31she panicked, tossed the package aside,
27:34and hurried over in a few quick strides.
27:36Bai Jia, who told you to get out of bed?
27:38Didn't I tell you to lie down and not
27:40move? Bai Jia spun around in a little
27:42circle. I'm fine now. It's not some
27:44serious illness. Look how worked up you
27:46are. Fine. Yi Lan paused, looking her up
27:49and down. Her expression shifting from
27:51alarm to astonishment. Bai Jia's face
27:54was rosy, her lips had color again, and
27:57most of that sickly air had lifted from
27:58her features. She looked even more
28:00energetic than Yi Lan herself. But it
28:03had been barely 10 some minutes since
28:04she'd stepped out. What on earth had
28:06happened? What did you buy? Bai Jia
28:08leaned over to rummage through the
28:09package. All the Hong Kong style
28:12pastries you love. You didn't need this
28:13morning. You must be hungry. Yi Lan
28:16pushed down her bewilderment, opened the
28:18box, and pulled Bai Jia down onto the
28:20sofa. Put chai ko, Malay sponge cake,
28:23egg tarts, all arranged neatly in a row.
28:25Delicious, so delicious. Bai Jia's
28:28appetite had come roaring back. She
28:30stuffed the pastries into her mouth one
28:32after another, cheeks bulging. Where's
28:34Little Feng? Come try the pastries, Yi
28:36Lan said, looking up and not spotting
28:38me. By then I'd long since slipped back
28:40to my room and locked the door. Hearing
28:42her call, I hurried to answer. Auntie, I
28:45just ate. Couldn't eat another bite. I
28:47start my hospital internship Monday, so
28:49I've got to get ready.
28:51With that, I shoved the case of silver
28:53needles as far back under the bed as it
28:54would go, then dragged a few pairs of
28:57old shoes in front to block it from
28:58view. I couldn't let my aunt find it,
29:00and absolutely couldn't let her know I'd
29:02given Bai Jia acupuncture. I sat
29:04cross-legged on the bed, closed my eyes,
29:07and searched my mind for a cultivation
29:08technique. Only by cultivating chi could
29:11I unleash the full power of the nine
29:14celestial needles. Only then would there
29:16be any hope of curing Bai Jia. I had
29:18nothing better to do anyway. No time to
29:20waste. Ultimate Yang Divine Art. Draw
29:22the spiritual energy of heaven and earth
29:25into the body. Circulate it through the
29:27meridians. Refine essence into chi.
29:29Refine chi into spirit. A manual
29:32unfolded in my mind. Its contents
29:34dizzying. Fortunately, I wasn't slow on
29:37the uptake. Following the guiding
29:38technique, I settled my mind and sensed
29:41the air around me. At first, there was
29:43nothing. Just silence all around, and
29:45the sound of my own breathing. But a few
29:47minutes later, a faint coolness suddenly
29:49rose on the surface of my skin, like the
29:51thin mist over a lake at dawn, drifting
29:54faint and formless across my pores.
29:56Spiritual energy. My heart leaped.
29:59Following the technique's guidance, I
30:00began drawing that coolness inward. Thin
30:03wisps of spiritual energy threaded in
30:05through my pores and into my meridians,
30:07slow and grating, like needle tips
30:09forced through my blood vessels. An
30:11agony almost beyond bearing. I gritted
30:14my teeth and endured it, guiding the
30:16energy over and over. At last, it began
30:19to flow through my meridians. Up the
30:21governing vessel, down the conception
30:23vessel, circling round and round. By the
30:25time one complete lesser heavenly
30:27circuit was done, it was already past
30:293:00 in the afternoon. I slowly opened
30:31my eyes and exhaled a long breath of
30:33stale air. Clear-headed, refreshed,
30:36without a trace of fatigue. On the
30:38contrary, I felt fully charged, my arms
30:40and legs brimming with inexhaustible
30:42strength. The only problem was that my
30:44body felt sticky giving off a strange
30:47odor. I looked down. A layer of grayish
30:49black grease had seeped out of my skin
30:52clinging to my body hair. So foul it
30:54nearly made me gag. So rank. I bolted
30:56off the bed in one leap, yanked the door
30:58open, and rushed out. My aunt and by Jia
31:01were nowhere to be seen. The living room
31:03was empty. A few half-eaten pastries
31:06left on the coffee table. I ducked into
31:08the bathroom and turned on the shower.
31:10Cold water poured down over my head.
31:12After scrubbing hard a couple of times,
31:14that layer of grease finally began to
31:15come off. I lifted my head and looked
31:18into the mirror through the steam and
31:19froze. The man in the mirror had broader
31:22shoulders, a thicker chest, the muscles
31:24along his arms carved out line by line.
31:27Even the contours of his abdomen sharp
31:29and clear. The whole of him was more
31:31solid now, radiating a rugged
31:33masculinity. Damn, is that really me? I
31:35blinked and the man in the mirror
31:37blinked, too. It was like a dream, so
31:39unreal. Knock. Knock. Knock. The
31:42bathroom's glass door rattled and by
31:44Jia's soft voice came from outside.
31:46Little Feng, are you in the shower? That
31:48college girl wants to meet me at a cafe
31:50to hash things out. The nerve of her. I
31:52think I should go or she'll think I'm
31:54afraid of her. Long Lan had something to
31:56take care of and can't get back for a
31:58while. Once you're done, could you come
32:00with me? Inside the bathroom, listening
32:02to all this from by Jia, I truly seen it
32:04all now. I'd met shameless people
32:06before, but never anyone this shameless.
32:09A mistress. And instead of keeping her
32:10head down and out of sight, she was
32:12brazenly throwing it in the wife's face.
32:15Where did she get the gall? I wanted to
32:16see for myself just who this college
32:18girl thought she was. Without even
32:20drying off, I threw on a pair of boxers
32:22and charged out. Andy by, I'm coming.
32:24How could I sit out something like this?
32:26But by Jia, who had looked so aggrieved
32:28a moment before, stared at me the
32:30instant she saw me. Her face full of
32:32disbelief. This morning I'd also worn
32:34nothing but boxers, thin and lanky,
32:37utterly ordinary in a crowd. But now, my
32:40shoulders were a span broader, my chest
32:42swelling with muscle, the groove between
32:44my two rows of abs deep enough to pinch
32:46a coin, the lines of my waist tapering
32:49down into my waistband, my whole body
32:51lean and hard. That rugged strength lent
32:53definition even to my features. The
32:55boyish look about my eyes and brows was
32:57still there, but now it carried a layer
32:59of something undeniably masculine. For a
33:02married woman like her, taking it in,
33:04her heart actually skipped half a beat.
33:06How was I to know what she was thinking?
33:08Seeing her say nothing, I asked dumbly,
33:11"Andy Bai, what's wrong?" "No, nothing."
33:13She snapped back to herself and,
33:15guilty-hearted, made to turn away and
33:17cover it up. But her legs had gone soft
33:19as noodles. She tripped over her own
33:21feet and lurched sideways. "Careful."
33:24Quick as a flash, I caught her around
33:25the waist and pulled her into my arms.
33:28She'd only turned because she didn't
33:29dare look at me, and now her face was
33:31all but pressed against my chest. A wave
33:34of masculine scent flooded her nose,
33:36leaving her dizzy, her whole body nearly
33:38melting. That scene from the night
33:40before floated up in her mind again,
33:42beyond her control, and a little flame
33:44flickered in her heart, burning hotter
33:46and hotter until it fanned an outrageous
33:49thought. "Wouldn't it be wonderful to
33:50make that mistake with Li Feng one more
33:52time?" "Andy Bai, are you feeling unwell
33:55again?" I could feel the heat radiating
33:57off her, her face flushed red, and
33:59thought her illness was flaring up
34:01again. My face filled with worry. "Mhm."
34:03Bai Jia snapped back to reality,
34:06hurriedly pushed me away, and took two
34:07steps back, putting distance between us.
34:10"Heavens. Bai Jia, Bai Jia, what wild
34:13nonsense are you letting into your head?
34:14Remember, Li Feng will always be a child
34:17of the younger generation, a boy you
34:19watched grow up." She shook her head
34:21hard, and it took her a good while to
34:22steady her breathing before the flush
34:24slowly faded from her face. She cleared
34:27her throat and put on a show of
34:28irritation. "Little Feng, Long Lan only
34:31told you this morning to be mindful
34:32about wearing clothes at home. Can't you
34:34get properly dressed before coming out?
34:37Sorry, I'll be careful next time for
34:38sure. I scratched my head, a little
34:41embarrassed myself. It was all because
34:42I'd been too eager to get in on the
34:44action. I got worked up and charged out
34:46in my boxers. All right, go get dressed.
34:49I'll wait for you downstairs. She turned
34:51and fled out the door. Only once she was
34:53in the elevator did she dare gasp for
34:55breath. She leaned back against the cold
34:57wall of the car, both hands pressed to
34:59her chest. Her heart still pounding like
35:01mad. You little punk, you have no idea
35:04how much charm you've got. You nearly
35:06made your auntie lose control. You
35:08You're an absolute heartbreaker for
35:09older women. A few minutes later,
35:11dressed, I came downstairs and headed
35:13straight for that white Volkswagen. Bai
35:15Jia was leaning against the car door,
35:17far calmer than before, the flush gone
35:19completely from her face, back to her
35:21gentle self. Only, there was still a
35:24trace of girlish shyness when she looked
35:25at me. Auntie Bai, I'll drive. I held
35:28out my hand. Hold as you please. I got
35:30my license the summer after sophomore
35:32year, but had never had a chance to get
35:34behind the wheel. Today was the perfect
35:36chance to practice. Okay. She nodded,
35:38went around to the passenger side, and
35:40pulled the door open. Just as she was
35:42about to get in, she suddenly turned
35:44grave and admonished me. Little Fong,
35:47I'm only bringing you along for moral
35:48support. When we meet this girl, no
35:51matter what she says or does, you have
35:53to keep your head. Don't you dare do
35:54anything rash on my account, understood?
35:57Relax, my temper's way better than my
35:59aunt's. I grinned and climbed into the
36:01driver's seat. I wasn't joking. With my
36:03aunt's hot temper, if she'd come along,
36:06one wrong word and it'd have come to
36:07blows. Lan Lan's temper really is worse.
36:10Bai Jia got in, secretly grateful she
36:13wasn't here. Otherwise, there'd have
36:14been no stopping her. I adjusted the
36:16seat and mirrors, turned the ignition,
36:19put it in gear, and with a press of the
36:20gas, the car rolled smoothly out of the
36:22complex. We hardly spoke the whole way.
36:25By the time we reached the cafe, it was
36:27nearly 5:00 in the afternoon. Before I'd
36:29even parked, Bai Jia, peering through
36:31the window, locked onto a booth by the
36:33glass. A young, pretty girl sitting
36:35there. That's her. I saw her photo in
36:38Chun Jiaojiao's phone. There's no
36:40mistaking it. Bai Jia lowered her voice,
36:42her fingers tightening around her bag
36:44strap. I looked over, too. The moment I
36:46saw the girl's face, my eyes nearly
36:48popped out of my head. Damn, how could
36:50it be her? Chun Jiaojiao, same
36:53graduating class as me from the business
36:55administration department. Fair-skinned,
36:57beautiful, with legs for days. The dream
37:00girl of plenty of guys. Right up until
37:02graduation, she'd been president of the
37:04Yuncheng University Student Union, an
37:06entourage trailing her wherever she
37:08went. A real campus celebrity. Who could
37:11have guessed that a girl so dazzling
37:12was, behind the scenes, a mistress, the
37:15kind everyone despises? Bai Jia keenly
37:18sensed something was off about me.
37:19Little Feng, what's wrong? Don't tell me
37:21you know her. She hadn't had a chance to
37:23look into which university the girl
37:25attended, what her name was, where she
37:27lived. She knew none of it. I didn't
37:29rush to answer, just let a knowing smile
37:31cross my face. Andy Bai, you go in first
37:34and talk to her. I'll go park the car.
37:36Bai Jia's heart tightened. Huh? You want
37:38me to go in alone? She brought me along
37:40precisely for the moral support. Now,
37:43being made to face the girl by herself,
37:45she couldn't help but balk. What are you
37:47afraid of? I encouraged her. Don't
37:49forget, you're the legitimate wife. But,
37:52she still wanted me to go in with her.
37:54She had the nerve to summon you here. If
37:56you're not tough about it, you'll lose
37:57the upper hand before you even open your
37:59mouth. How will that do? Just treat her
38:01like one of the troublemaking students
38:03in your class. Bring out that teacher's
38:05authority of yours. That jolted
38:07something in Bai Jia. Right. She'd been
38:09a teacher for all these years. What kind
38:11of student hadn't she seen? No matter
38:13how brazen this mistress was, at the end
38:15of the day, she was just a slip of a
38:17girl fresh out of school. What was there
38:19to be afraid of? All right, then. She
38:21drew a deep breath and got out of the
38:22car. Reaching the door, she did her best
38:25to put on Yilan's brisk, no-nonsense
38:27air, pushed the door open, and strode
38:29inside. I followed at a distance, parked
38:32the car, slipped in quietly, and took a
38:34seat at the next table. The cafe wasn't
38:36crowded, just a few scattered tables.
38:39The moment Bai Jia walked in, she drew
38:41several appreciative glances from the
38:42men. She hadn't dressed up on purpose.
38:45Her hair hung loose, no heavy makeup on
38:47her face, still in the same plain dress
38:49from this morning. But that scholarly
38:51air of hers, gentle and clean, caught
38:54the eye more than any woman done up in
38:56heavy makeup. Compared to that mistress,
38:58aside from being a decade or so older,
39:00she really didn't fall short in any way.
39:03Bai Jia walked over to the window booth,
39:05her face cold, and without a word pulled
39:07out the chair and sat down. Chun Jiao
39:09Jiao was playing on her phone. She
39:11didn't rise when Bai Jia arrived, just
39:13unhurriedly set the phone face down on
39:15the table, lifted her eyelids, and
39:17curved her lips into a smile. "Auntie,
39:20you're here. What would you like to
39:21drink?" "Don't be so chummy. Since when
39:23are we close?" Bai Jia gave no ground.
39:26"But by age, aren't you just an auntie?"
39:29Chun Jiao Jiao arched a brow,
39:31deliberately drawing out the word.
39:32"You!" Bai Jia clenched her teeth. Any
39:35other woman would have slammed the table
39:37at that single auntie. But born into a
39:39scholarly family, Bai Jia simply
39:41couldn't pull off the shrieking shrew
39:42routine. She pressed down the churning
39:45anger and kept her voice as even as she
39:47could. "Say it, then. What is it you
39:49want to discuss?" Chun Jiao Jiao was in
39:51no hurry. She picked up her latte, took
39:53a sip, set it down, and ran her finger
39:56along the cup's rim. Then she suddenly
39:58looked up, her smile ambiguous. "You
40:00really don't remember me?" "What do you
40:02mean?" Bai Jia was baffled. She studied
40:04the girl's face carefully, but couldn't
40:06dredge up the slightest trace of
40:08recognition. Chun Jiao Jiao seemed to
40:10have anticipated this and went on at a
40:12leisurely pace. "You and Uncle Chun held
40:14two weddings, one in the city, one in
40:17the countryside. After the one in the
40:18countryside, you were wandering around
40:20the village and came across a little
40:22girl crying behind a haystack. Her
40:24family was poor. She couldn't afford to
40:26go to school. Your kind heart got the
40:28better of you, and you went straight to
40:30the village head and said you'd be
40:31willing to fund her education all the
40:33way through college graduation. And you
40:35kept your word. That little girl walked
40:37out of the mountain village on your
40:38money, got into a prestigious
40:40university, and has now graduated, too.
40:43Hearing this, Bai Jia's face went pale,
40:45her lips parting slightly, her pupils
40:48contracting again and again. A suspicion
40:50had begun to dawn on her, but she didn't
40:52dare believe it, didn't want to believe
40:54it. At last, she said, in a trembling
40:56voice, "You, don't tell me you're that
40:58little girl." Over the years, she had
41:00indeed funded a girl from Chun
41:02Jiaojiao's hometown. Every year, she'd
41:04send a sum of money to the village head,
41:06who passed it along. She and the girl
41:08had never been in direct contact. She
41:10couldn't even clearly recall the name.
41:12All she knew was that the girl had made
41:14good, had gotten into college. "That's
41:16right. I'm that little girl. My name is
41:18Chun Jiaojiao." She admitted it openly,
41:21without a shred of gratitude on her
41:22face, nor a shred of guilt. Bai Jia's
41:25mind burst, as if it might burst. The
41:27child she had kindheartedly supported
41:29for over a decade. Not repaying the
41:31kindness was one thing, but to so
41:33brazenly wreck her marriage, to become
41:35the third party intruding on her family.
41:38Was there anything in the world more
41:39ironic than this? "Why? You'd already
41:42walked out of that mountain village,
41:43gotten into a top university. Why
41:45couldn't you value yourself? You and
41:47Chun Jiaojiao aren't just from the same
41:49village. You even share the surname
41:51Chun. If word of this got back home,
41:53aren't you afraid of being talked about
41:55behind your back?" But Chun Jiaojiao
41:57couldn't have cared less. She even
41:59laughed, utterly shameless. "Love is a
42:01hard thing to pin down. I came to
42:03Yuncheng for school, and Uncle Chun gave
42:05me money to spend, bought me clothes,
42:07bought me gifts. A man that rich and
42:09powerful, who wouldn't love him?" Bai
42:11Jia couldn't believe her ears. Huh, you
42:13call that love? Mark my words, Shin Ji
42:16Zhong is only toying with you. He'll
42:18never marry you. Not necessarily.
42:20Unhurried, Chun Jiao Jiao opened her
42:22bag, pulled out a sheet of paper, and
42:25slapped it down on the table, wearing
42:26the triumphant air of a victor flaunting
42:29her spoils. See for yourself. I'm
42:31already carrying his child. By Jia's
42:33chest tightened. She looked down, a
42:35hospital examination report in black and
42:38white, 12 weeks pregnant. 3 months. And
42:40she'd only discovered her husband's
42:42affair yesterday. Had she really been so
42:44oblivious? Or had Shin Ji Zhong hidden
42:46it that well? Chun Jiao Jiao lightly
42:48stroked her flat belly, her smile
42:50growing ever more smug. An Yi you've
42:53been married to Uncle Chun for all these
42:55years and haven't given him so much as a
42:56son or daughter. Back in our hometown,
42:59having no heir is something to be
43:00laughed at. Since you can't bear
43:02children, stop hogging the position.
43:04Vacate it sooner rather than later. By
43:06Jia was trembling all over. The tears
43:09she could no longer hold back spilling
43:11down one drop at a time. Before coming,
43:13she had sworn to herself over and over
43:15that no matter what, she would not cry,
43:18would not show weakness in front of the
43:20other woman. But in this moment, she
43:22truly couldn't hold it in. Chun Jiao
43:24Jiao, then what was all those years of
43:26supporting you for? Do you not feel the
43:28slightest bit of guilt toward me? It's
43:30precisely because you supported me that
43:32I've been this patient with you, this
43:33polite. Otherwise, a flash of venom
43:36crossed Chun Jiao Jiao's eyes, the rest
43:38of the sentence left unspoken.
43:40A voice rang out from the side, neither
43:42loud nor soft, but with a smoldering
43:45anger underneath. Otherwise what? I
43:47walked over, step by step, and looked
43:49down at her from above. Chun Jiao Jiao,
43:52you really are vile to the bone. Chun
43:54Jiao Jiao looked up, saw me, and froze
43:57for a moment, her brows knitting. Li
43:59Feng, what are you doing here? I wasn't
44:01a campus celebrity like her, the student
44:03union president. But I was the only guy
44:05in the entire nursing department, Hard
44:07not to be recognized. Of course, what
44:09had really made my name was the whole
44:12business of getting my girlfriend stolen
44:13by Yang Wei. I ignored her. First, I
44:16pulled a tissue from the table, bent
44:17down, and gently wiped Bai Zhi's tears.
44:20"Any Bai, it's not worth ruining your
44:22health getting worked up over an ingrate
44:24like this." I'd heard every word of
44:26their conversation just now. I'd assumed
44:28she was just some girl trading on her
44:30youth and looks to seduce a married man.
44:32I never imagined she was 10,000 times
44:35more loathsome than an ordinary
44:36mistress. Someone had kindly supported
44:38her for over a decade, and not only did
44:40she fail to repay it, she bit the hand
44:42that fed her. That there could be a
44:44woman this shameless in this world. I
44:46was furious, but even more worried about
44:48Bai Zhi's health. She had breast cancer.
44:51She couldn't afford to get upset. Strong
44:53emotions did real damage. Across from
44:55me, Sun Jiaojiao saw me wiping Bai Zhi's
44:58tears and understood in an instant. She
45:00gave a contemptuous snort and sneered,
45:03"Li Feng, so you two know each other."
45:05"No wonder you called me vile the moment
45:06you walked up." Calling you vile is
45:08putting it mildly. I straightened up and
45:10looked down at her from on high, the way
45:12you'd look at a pile of dung, nauseating
45:14with even a second glance. "Li Feng, how
45:17dare you talk to me like that?" She
45:19slammed the table and shot to her feet.
45:21"What's there not to dare? We've
45:23graduated. Still putting on that
45:24stinking student union president airs?"
45:27I gave a mocking laugh, the corner of my
45:29mouth curling into a slant. "You!" She
45:31was so furious she couldn't get a word
45:33out, and then it hit her. Right, they
45:36graduated. She was no longer that
45:38imperious president. But even so, it
45:40wasn't the place of a lowlife like Li
45:42Feng to pass judgment on her. I ignored
45:44her rage, calmly took out my phone,
45:46tapped it twice with my thumb, and said
45:49slow and easy, "We may have graduated,
45:51but the class group chat hasn't been
45:53disbanded. On a whim just now, I
45:55recorded your whole conversation with
45:57Any Bai. Then my finger slipped, and it
45:59went out to the group." Sun Jiaojiao,
46:01barring any surprises, everyone who's
46:03graduated from Yunchang University and
46:06plenty who haven't is feasting on your
46:07drama right now. Congratulations. You're
46:10even more famous than when you were
46:12student union president. What? Her face
46:14changed drastically and she scrambled
46:16for her phone. And sure enough, dozens
46:18of group chats, class groups, club
46:21groups, big ones and small ones were all
46:24blowing up. Every message like a knife
46:26stabbing into her eyes. Damn, Xun Xiao
46:28Xiao is this kind of person? So
46:30disgusting. Someone funds her education
46:33and she turns around and steals the
46:34woman's husband? The ingrate herself. To
46:37think I used to worship her as a
46:38goddess. Blech. No wonder she had a new
46:41designer bag every day. Turns out she's
46:43a kept woman. Her whole image is in
46:45ruins. Don't call her a goddess anymore.
46:47Call her a viper. Some close friends
46:50even messaged her privately to ask if it
46:51was true, but far more just sent mocking
46:54memes. The rich and beautiful persona
46:56she painstakingly cultivated for years
46:59collapsed in that instant with a crash.
47:01The poorer a person's origins, the more
47:03they tend to care about face. On Xun
47:05Zhizhong's money, she packaged herself
47:08inside and out into a well-off golden
47:10girl basking in the envy and adulation,
47:13convinced she'd finally escape the
47:15backwater village and become one of the
47:16elite. Now it was all over, all of it
47:19destroyed by me. Li Feng, you bastard.
47:21She lunged at me like a woman gone mad,
47:24raising her hand to slap me across the
47:26face. Smack. My hand struck first, a
47:29hard slap to her face heavy with force.
47:31She staggered, lost her footing and fell
47:34to the floor. Half her face swelled up
47:36in an instant, a thread of blood seeping
47:38from the corner of her mouth. Covering
47:40her face, she looked up at me, her eyes
47:43full of hatred as if she wanted to tear
47:45me apart and swallow me whole. Li Feng,
47:48you ruined me. I won't let you get away
47:49with this. You think I'm scared of you?
47:52I scoffed, my eyes full of contempt.
47:54Back in school, I'd never given a damn
47:56about that student union crowd. A bunch
47:58of nobodies acting like petty tyrants
48:00over nothing. Now that we graduated,
48:02they were worth even less. You're not
48:04scared of me? Then are you scared of
48:06Yang Wei? I'm his sworn little sister.
48:08She climbed up off the floor with a
48:10vicious sneer. She thought dragging out
48:12Yang Wei's name would scare me so badly
48:14I'd wet myself. But I didn't so much as
48:16blink. I nodded, bland as could be. Oh,
48:19Yang Wei? I really am scared. Scared he
48:21won't dare come find me. If I'd actually
48:23been afraid of Yang Wei, I wouldn't have
48:25been thinking about cuckolding him last
48:27night. Besides, the me of now was not
48:29the me of before. With all that
48:31mysterious inheritance crammed into my
48:33head, forget Yang Wei. Even if his
48:36official father came, he'd have to stand
48:38aside. Little Feng, let's go. Bai Jia
48:40tugged at my arm, her voice shaking. The
48:43slap that had just knocked the girl down
48:44had scared the life out of her. Xuan
48:46JiaoJiao was still carrying a child. If
48:49something went wrong, I'd be in serious
48:51trouble. Mm. I nodded, not sparing Xuan
48:54JiaoJiao a single glance, and supporting
48:56Bai Jia, headed for the door. Xuan
48:58JiaoJiao stood rooted to the spot,
49:00staring at our retreating backs. Her
49:02gaze venomous enough to be laced with
49:04poison. She drew a deep breath, sat back
49:07down in the booth, pulled out her phone,
49:09scrolled to a number, and dialed. The
49:11call connected, and in an instant she
49:13put on a different face, her voice soft
49:15and aggrieved. Brother Wei, someone's
49:17bullied me. You have to get payback for
49:19me. Yuncheng, a certain upscale
49:21apartment. Last night Yang Wei had
49:23gotten dead drunk at a bar, and hadn't
49:25come home until 3:00 or 4:00 in the
49:27morning. Right now he was soaking in the
49:28bathtub when Xuan JiaoJiao's call came
49:31through. He swiped lazily to answer,
49:33casually put it on speaker, tossed the
49:35phone aside, and spoke with a note of
49:37amusement. My dear little sister, first
49:39tell me, what's the deal with that video
49:41clip going around the class group chats?
49:44Dozens of groups were blowing up. It was
49:46impossible not to see it. All along,
49:48he'd assumed Xuan JiaoJiao was a rich,
49:51powerful golden girl, and that a sworn
49:53little sister like her had use value.
49:55Turns out she was nothing but a country
49:57girl, her lavish spending all funded by
49:59being kept, which left him as disgusted
50:01as if he'd swallowed a fly. A mistress
50:03was just someone else's plaything, used
50:06and discarded. To him, she was now
50:08utterly worthless. You didn't you see it
50:10already? Why even ask? In the face of
50:12the ironclad truth, Chen Jiao Jiao had
50:14no comeback. Oh, so it's all true then.
50:18Yang Wei gave a mocking laugh, giving up
50:20on her entirely, and reached out to hang
50:22up. Brother Wei, does it really matter
50:24whether it's true or not? She caught the
50:26coldness in his tone and hurried on.
50:28Everyone knows I'm your sworn little
50:30sister. Someone doxxed your little
50:32sister and left her too ashamed to show
50:34her face. Can you, as her sworn big
50:36brother, really just stand by and watch
50:39without getting even She naively
50:41believed that all those years of
50:42partying together had bought a little
50:44loyalty. But Yang Wei was a man who
50:46always put his own interests first. Grab
50:48the advantage where there was one. Toss
50:50aside anyone who offered none. He
50:52clicked his tongue impatiently, his tone
50:54dropping several degrees colder. Shun
50:56Jiao Jiao, I took you on as a sworn
50:58sister because you told me your dad was
51:00the richest man in the county, that your
51:02family owned a factory. Turns out you
51:04lied to me. A country girl so poor she
51:06couldn't even pay her own tuition, who
51:08had to live off someone's charity. What
51:10use are you to me? Don't call me again.
51:12From now on, we don't know each other.
51:15Shun Jiao Jiao's heart went utterly
51:16cold. Over her four years of college,
51:19most of the money she'd squeezed out of
51:21Chen Ji Zhong had gone to playboys like
51:22Yang Wei, just to force her way into a
51:24circle that was never meant for her. In
51:27the end, connections built on money were
51:29this fragile. The world was cold, human
51:31feeling thin. She gritted her teeth, and
51:34before he could hang up, shouted, Yang
51:36Wei, you can't just ignore this. His
51:39hand paused, as if he'd heard the
51:41funniest joke in the world. Huh? And if
51:43I do ignore it, what are you you're to
51:45do about it? Shun Jiao Jiao said darkly,
51:48"Three months ago, you called me over to
51:50the apartment to play Werewolf. In the
51:52middle of the game, you I really can't
51:54guarantee that the baby in my belly
51:56isn't yours. You're so crazy about Zhao
51:58Yuching, about to propose any day now.
52:01If I tell her about this, do you think
52:02she'd still say yes?" "What? You're
52:04saying the baby in your belly might be
52:06mine?" The smile froze on Yang Wei's
52:08face, and he sat bolt upright in the
52:10tub. He rubbed his forehead, racking his
52:13brain over that night three months ago.
52:15He had indeed drunk quite a bit that
52:17day. A whole group of them had gone
52:19wild, and things had gotten out of hand
52:21afterward. He remembered he hadn't taken
52:23any precautions. But so what? A country
52:26girl pregnant with God knew whose
52:27bastard thought she could get a grip on
52:29him? Impossible. His face darkened, his
52:32eyes turning vicious, and he lowered his
52:34voice with a threat. "Xing Xiaoxiao, are
52:36you threatening me?" "For old time's
52:38sake, I'm warning you. Don't play with
52:40fire. Get rid of the baby right now, and
52:43then get as far away from me as you
52:44can." Xing Xiaoxiao paid it no mind.
52:47"Old time's sake? Have you ever felt one
52:49shred of old time's sake toward me? I'll
52:51give you 10 seconds to think it over, or
52:53I'll call Zhao Yuching right now. 1 2 3
52:56You" Yang Wei clenched his fist, his
52:59gaze murderous. No woman on Earth could
53:01tolerate her boyfriend fooling around,
53:03let alone fathering a child. Zhao
53:05Yuching already treated him with
53:07indifference. If not for his
53:08shamelessness and his family background,
53:10she'd never have spared him a second
53:12glance. And yet he genuinely liked her,
53:15and under no circumstances wanted to
53:16lose her. His mind spun quickly,
53:19weighing the pros and cons, and he
53:20forced down his anger, his tone making a
53:23180° turn. "Xiaoxiao, we're brother and
53:26sister. Why take it to this extreme?
53:28Tell me, who posted that video in the
53:30group chat? I'll get even with them for
53:32you." Now that's more like it. Xing
53:34Xiaoxiao couldn't help feeling smug. She
53:36may have come out of a village, but she
53:38was no pushover. Otherwise, she'd never
53:40have lived so large over four years of
53:42college. She said through gritted teeth,
53:44"The one who posted the video is Zhao
53:46Yuchin's ex-boyfriend, Li Feng." Yang
53:49Wei paused, then laughed so hard his
53:51stomach hurt. "Who? Li Feng? Haha. Why
53:54didn't you say so sooner? I thought it
53:56was some tough nut. Li Feng? That
53:58pushover? I can squash him anytime I
54:00like. Just wait, I'll make him pay the
54:02price." "Good. I'll be waiting for your
54:04good news." Qin Xiaoxiao couldn't be
54:06bothered to say more and hung up.
54:08Soaking in the tub, Yang Wei started
54:10humming a little tune. He had no
54:12interest in whatever beef Li Feng and
54:14Qin Xiaoxiao had. Call it not getting
54:16even for anyone's sake, purely itching
54:19for it, wanting to teach Li Feng a
54:20lesson. That kid, after all, he'd
54:23bullied for four years. He was well in
54:25the habit of it. He stretched, braced
54:27himself on the edge of the tub, and was
54:29about to stand, when out of the corner
54:31of his eye, he caught a figure reflected
54:33in the smooth tiles across from him. At
54:36some point, someone had come to stand in
54:37the bathroom doorway. A shudder ran
54:40through Yang Wei. He whipped his head
54:41around, his heart skipping a beat.
54:43"Yuchin? When when did you get here?"
54:45Standing in the doorway was none other
54:47than Zhao Yuchin. A head of long,
54:49jet-black, perfectly straight hair set
54:51off a face all the more fair and
54:53exquisite. Slender willow brows, eyes
54:56that tilted faintly up at the corners, a
54:58tall, straight nose, thin lips. A simple
55:02black dress, yet on her it carried an
55:04air impossible to put into words.
55:06Beautiful, just too cold. That coldness
55:08radiated from the marrow of her bones.
55:10In her eyes, there wasn't a trace of
55:12feeling. That was just how cold Zhao
55:14Yuchin was. Cold as a block of ice that
55:16no warmth could melt, holding everyone
55:19at arm's length. And it was precisely
55:21this coldness that made her
55:22one-of-a-kind. By rights, a dissolute
55:24playboy like Yang Wei should have
55:26changed girlfriends more often than he
55:27changed clothes. But in front of Zhao
55:29Yuchin, he became an utter simp through
55:31and through, and seemed to enjoy it at
55:34that. "The moment you picked up Qin
55:35Xiaoxiao's call, I was already here.
55:38Zhao Yuching's tone was cold without a
55:40shred of warmth, as if he were nothing
55:42but a stranger to her, as if nothing he
55:44did had anything to do with her at all.
55:46Yang Wei panicked, flailing to get up
55:48out of the tub, but the tub was too
55:50slippery. His feet slid out from under
55:52him, and he crashed back down, his
55:54tailbone smacking the bottom, pain
55:56making him grimace, water splashing
55:58everywhere. He couldn't spare a thought
56:00for the pain, frantically explaining,
56:02"Yuching, hear me out. It's not what you
56:04heard. There's really nothing going on
56:06between me and Qin Jiaojiao. She's the
56:08one who keeps clinging to me." Zhao
56:10Yuching lifted a hand and waved it
56:12lightly. "No need to explain. I came
56:14today to tell you I don't like the
56:15Western restaurant. Change the proposal
56:17venue to the Taibai restaurant." Yang
56:20Wei froze, blinking. He'd assumed that
56:22after hearing all that she would surely
56:24blow up, storm out, maybe even break up
56:26with him. He'd fully prepared himself to
56:28drop to his knees and beg. And yet she
56:30didn't take it to heart at all. The
56:32heart that had been hanging in his
56:33throat finally dropped back into place.
56:36Right. Though Zhao Yuching was cold to
56:38him, wouldn't even let him touch her
56:39hand, no matter what mistakes he made,
56:42she was always especially tolerant of
56:43him. Perhaps this was just her way of
56:45loving him. At that thought, a bit of
56:47happiness welled up in him again, and he
56:49nodded over and over. "Okay. Okay,
56:52whatever you say. We'll change it to
56:53Taibai restaurant. I'll arrange it right
56:55away." "Then it's settled." Zhao Yuching
56:58turned, her black skirt tracing an arc,
57:00and was just about to step away.
57:02Suddenly, as if remembering something,
57:04she stopped, walked back into the
57:06bathroom step by step, and looked coldly
57:08at Yang Wei in the tub. "Oh, and stop
57:10giving Li Feng trouble. On the day of
57:12the proposal, I want to invite him. Can
57:14you manage that?" The smile on Yang
57:16Wei's face stiffened for a moment.
57:18"Invite him to witness our happiness?
57:20Fine. I'll do as you say on that, too."
57:23On the surface, he was all smiles, but
57:25inside he hated her guts. For years
57:27together, and on the surface, she'd
57:29seemingly drawn a a line between herself
57:31and Li Feng. Yet, behind his back, she
57:34was always going to see him. Did she
57:35think he didn't know? He didn't get it.
57:37He had the looks, he had the family
57:39background. In what way did he fall
57:41short of that broke loser Li Feng? But,
57:43all of that he could swallow. As long as
57:45Zhao Yuching ended up his in the end,
57:47the process didn't matter. Good boy,
57:49since you're being so good, I've got a
57:51little gift for you. The corner of Zhao
57:53Yuching's mouth twitched up. Whether it
57:55counted as a smile was anyone's guess.
57:57She reached into her bag and rummaged
57:59around. Yuching, this is the first time
58:01you've ever given me a gift. Yang Wei
58:03was startled and delighted, his eyes
58:05lighting up. But, the next second, he
58:08nearly dropped dead on the spot. A small
58:10black snake slithered leisurely out of
58:12her bag, winding its way up her wrist,
58:14flicking its blood red tongue, a sight
58:16to make your scalp crawl. You Yuching,
58:18you. His tongue tied itself in knots.
58:21Zhao Yuching bent down, and the snake
58:23slid off her wrist and down into the
58:24bathtub. Ack, Yuching, snakes are what I
58:27fear most. Take it away, take it away
58:29now. Yang Wei screamed until his voice
58:32nearly cracked, frozen rigid in the tub,
58:35not daring to move a muscle. He'd never
58:37known Zhao Yuching had this kind of
58:38hobby, that she'd dare carry a live
58:40snake around with her. Zhao Yuching had
58:42already turned to leave, her tone airy
58:45and light. Caught it hiking a few days
58:46ago. Isn't it adorable? If you weren't
58:48my boyfriend, I wouldn't have the heart
58:50to give it away. Oh, right, it's a
58:52short-tailed pit viper, highly venomous.
58:55But, don't worry, I cleaned out all the
58:56venom. Not a drop left. Venom or no
58:59venom, I'm still scared. Yuching, don't
59:02go, come back. She didn't look back, her
59:04footsteps fading farther and farther
59:06away, until finally came the sound of a
59:08door. Yang Wei had no choice but to
59:10steel himself. The moment the snake
59:12wasn't looking, he shot out of the tub,
59:14scrambled and crawled out the door, then
59:17slammed it shut behind him and collapsed
59:19in a heap on the floor. His back was
59:20drenched in cold sweat, his heart
59:22pounding like a drum. He'd even wet his
59:25pants. It took him a good while to
59:27recover. Then, livid, he pounded the
59:29floor. "Zhao Yuejing, you still have Li
59:31Feng in your heart, don't you?
59:33You just can't let him go. That's why
59:35you gave me a gift like this, isn't it?
59:37Fine. On the day of the proposal, I
59:39won't give Li Feng trouble. But if he
59:41comes looking for it himself, then don't
59:43blame me." The East Bank Residences. By
59:46the time Bai Jia En got home, it was
59:48already completely dark. My aunt was
59:50nowhere in sight. I called to ask, and
59:52she said she had an emergency surgery
59:54and probably wouldn't be back tonight. I
59:56threw together four dishes and a soup,
59:58and Bai Jia En sat at the dining table
1:00:00to eat. My phone buzzed. I set down my
1:00:02chopsticks, picked it up, and looked a
1:00:05text from Zhao Yuejing. "Li Feng, you
1:00:07offended Qin Xiaoxiao, didn't you? She
1:00:09got Yang Wei to take revenge on you. But
1:00:11I've already warned Yang Wei off. 3 days
1:00:13from now, Taibai Restaurant, you have to
1:00:15come. I'll tell you everything,
1:00:17including why 4 years ago I suddenly
1:00:20broke up with you and chose Yang Wei." I
1:00:22stared at the message, my brow slowly
1:00:24furrowing. Back then she proposed to
1:00:26break up out of nowhere and gotten
1:00:28together with Yang Wei. Everyone assumed
1:00:30she was vain, that she'd set her sights
1:00:32on his family background. But over these
1:00:344 years, everything about her conduct
1:00:36had nothing to do with vanity. The
1:00:38designer bags, the jewelry, the clothes
1:00:41Yang Wei gave her, she'd accepted none
1:00:43of them, returning them all. She was as
1:00:45frugal with money as ever, never
1:00:47extravagant. The only change was that
1:00:49she no longer liked to smile. No, to be
1:00:51exact, she'd stopped smiling almost
1:00:53entirely. The Zhao Yuejing who loved to
1:00:56laugh and play seemed to have died the
1:00:57moment we broke up. All that lived on
1:00:59was a cold, lifeless shell. Could there
1:01:02really be some hidden reason? I was lost
1:01:04in thought when Bai Jia leaned over,
1:01:06curiously stealing a glance at the
1:01:07screen. "Qing, is this the girl from
1:01:10last night, the one called Zhao
1:01:11Yuejing?" Strange as it was, Bai Jia was
1:01:14my aunt's closest friend and dropped by
1:01:16every few days. And Zhao Yuejing often
1:01:18came here to see me, too. Yet it wasn't
1:01:20until last night that the two of them
1:01:21had met for the very first time. Yeah,
1:01:23that's her. I I smiled. After the
1:01:25breakup, I changed her contact name to
1:01:27her full name. She'd secretly gone
1:01:29through my phone and changed it back to
1:01:31Qing. Lan Lan mentioned her to me
1:01:33before. She's the one who dumped you,
1:01:35right? Bai Jia was a little puzzled.
1:01:37They'd broken up, yet I still called her
1:01:39by such an affectionate nickname, still
1:01:41in such frequent contact. In her eyes,
1:01:44surely this kid wasn't so pathetic as to
1:01:46be a simp. Yeah, it's all in the past. I
1:01:49set the phone aside and picked up my
1:01:50chopsticks again. Really in the past? I
1:01:53think you're just saying that. Deep down
1:01:55you've never let her go, have you? She
1:01:56watched my expression as she spoke.
1:01:58Maybe. I gave an ambiguous answer. A
1:02:01first love is the most beautiful, most
1:02:03unforgettable thing for anyone. If I
1:02:05truly let her go, these four years I
1:02:07could have firmly drawn a line between
1:02:09us. But I hadn't. Instead, I tacitly
1:02:12allowed her to barge back into my life
1:02:14time and again. It's understandable.
1:02:17She's so pretty. When I saw her the
1:02:18first time last night, I was struck by
1:02:20it, too. Bai Jia forced out a faint
1:02:22smile, yet inexplicably her mood sank
1:02:25low. She caught herself at once, and
1:02:27afraid I'd read something in her face,
1:02:29hurriedly lowered her head. What was
1:02:31going on? The moment she heard I hadn't
1:02:33let Zhao Yuqing go, her chest felt like
1:02:35it had taken a punch, a faint sourness
1:02:37welling up. Heavens, was she jealous?
1:02:40She mustn't be. They'd agreed she would
1:02:42forget last night entirely. From now on,
1:02:44she should go back to treating Li Feng
1:02:46as a child. And that being so, how could
1:02:49she be jealous that another woman lived
1:02:50in his heart? This feeling absolutely
1:02:53had to be tucked away. Otherwise, if
1:02:55Yulan found out, the consequences would
1:02:57be unthinkable. Andy Bai, these shrimp
1:02:59are good. Why aren't you eating? I
1:03:01picked one up and set it in her bowl.
1:03:03She snapped back to herself. Her little
1:03:05face flushed pink, even her ears tinged
1:03:08red. Ahem. You eat it. I'm full. I'll
1:03:11head back. Head back to my room to rest.
1:03:13With that, she set down her chopsticks
1:03:15and fled into the master bedroom,
1:03:17shutting the door tight. I looked at the
1:03:19better half bowl of rice she'd left
1:03:21behind, baffled. I didn't think I'd said
1:03:23anything wrong. How had she gone from
1:03:25eating to not eating just like that? A
1:03:27woman's mind was too hard to read. By
1:03:29the time I'd finished eating and washed
1:03:31the dishes, my GS still hadn't come back
1:03:33out. I returned to my room. It was still
1:03:35early, so I sat cross-legged and resumed
1:03:38cultivating the ultimate Yang Divine
1:03:40Art. After running two lesser heavenly
1:03:42circuits, boom. The true chi within
1:03:45surged toward my dantian like a tide and
1:03:47with a sudden rush broke through a
1:03:49barrier. It was as though the dantian
1:03:51had been expanded into a new space, warm
1:03:54and cozy. The true chi slowly spinning
1:03:57within, condensing into a mass. Done.
1:04:00According to the records of the ultimate
1:04:02Yang Divine Art, I had finally broken
1:04:04through to the first layer of chi
1:04:06refinement. I opened my eyes and looked
1:04:08down. No more foul stench on my body
1:04:11this time, which clearly meant the
1:04:12marrow cleansing and meridian purging
1:04:14had passed. The true chi inside me was
1:04:16more than a notch stronger than it had
1:04:18been this afternoon. This afternoon it
1:04:20had been thin as a strand of hair,
1:04:22scattering at the slightest lapse of
1:04:24attention. Now it coiled steadily in my
1:04:26dantian like a warm little stream,
1:04:29flowing endlessly. I had no idea whether
1:04:31this speed counted as fast or slow, but
1:04:34progress was progress and that was good
1:04:36enough. I glanced at my phone. It was
1:04:38past 1:00 in the morning and my aunt
1:04:40still wasn't back. That was how it went
1:04:42for doctors. Often they couldn't leave
1:04:44the operating table for a dozen hours
1:04:45straight. Next week I'd be reporting to
1:04:47her hospital for my internship, too.
1:04:49Nurse still I was, the workload was sure
1:04:51to be heavy. By rights, having received
1:04:54a mysterious inheritance, I could have
1:04:55quit this job and devoted myself to
1:04:57cultivation, to achieving something
1:04:59greater down the road. But I couldn't. I
1:05:02didn't want to let my aunt down. The
1:05:03life she'd mapped out for me was nothing
1:05:05more than what ordinary people had,
1:05:07school, a job, marriage, children, a
1:05:10steady, uneventful life. I yawned and
1:05:13laid down flat. Then out of habit slid
1:05:15an old, yellowed photograph out from
1:05:17under the pillow and gazed at it, lost
1:05:19in thought. My aunt had dropped it 10
1:05:21years ago when we moved. I'd picked it
1:05:23up and secretly hidden it away. In the
1:05:25photo were two girls, 15 or 16. The one
1:05:28on the left was clearly Yulan. The one
1:05:30on the right, I didn't recognize. But
1:05:32every time I picked up this photo, a
1:05:34feeling I couldn't quite name stirred in
1:05:36my heart. Could she be my mother? The
1:05:38thought had surfaced more than once. Of
1:05:40all the children in the orphanage back
1:05:42then, my aunt had singled out the dark,
1:05:44scrawny me, as if she'd come
1:05:46specifically for me. Later, when I
1:05:48occasionally tried to broach the subject
1:05:50of my origins, her expression always
1:05:52turned uneasy. Every sign pointed to it.
1:05:55My aunt very likely knew where I came
1:05:56from, but had some hardship she couldn't
1:05:58speak of. I gathered up my thoughts,
1:06:01tucked the photo back under the pillow,
1:06:03and rolled over to sleep. Creak. The
1:06:05bedroom door was suddenly pushed open
1:06:07from outside. Standing in the doorway,
1:06:09who else but Baijia? She'd changed into
1:06:11a light pink silk nightgown, the smooth
1:06:14fabric clinging to her body, outlining
1:06:16her slender waist. Her whole being
1:06:18exuding the charm of a mature woman.
1:06:21Once again, I cursed Qin Zhijiang
1:06:22inwardly. To have a wife this gentle and
1:06:24beautiful and not cherish her, out there
1:06:27picking flowers instead. A man who had
1:06:29no idea how good he had it. Absolute
1:06:31dumbass. I sat up. "Auntie Bai, it's so
1:06:34late. Why aren't you asleep?" She acted
1:06:36as if she hadn't heard a thing, walking
1:06:38straight in, her steps unsteady, her
1:06:40gaze vacant, staring fixedly ahead. The
1:06:43next second, she lay right down on my
1:06:45bed and closed her eyes to sleep. Is
1:06:48Auntie Bai sleepwalking? I froze, leaned
1:06:50in to observe, and finally concluded she
1:06:53was most likely sleepwalking for real.
1:06:55I'd heard people say you shouldn't force
1:06:57a sleepwalker awake. It could go wrong.
1:06:59Might even scare them into some kind of
1:07:01illness. But she'd taken my bed. Where
1:07:03was I supposed to sleep? Then it hit me.
1:07:05I'd just broken through to the first
1:07:07layer of chi refinement and true chi had
1:07:09built up inside me. Why not take the
1:07:11chance and give her another treatment
1:07:13while I was at it? Yesterday, before I'd
1:07:15even cultivated any true chi, the nine
1:07:18celestial needles had worked quite well.
1:07:20Now that I had true chi, the effect of
1:07:22the needling was sure to go up a level.
1:07:24I eased off the bed, shut the door, and
1:07:26dug the case of silver needles out from
1:07:28underneath. Everything was ready, but
1:07:30then I hit a snag. Acupuncture couldn't
1:07:32be done through clothing, yet she was
1:07:34fast asleep. For me to undo her collar
1:07:37without permission, no, no. In the eyes
1:07:40of a healer, there should be no
1:07:41distinction of man and woman, only
1:07:43patients. Besides, what there was to see
1:07:46and what there wasn't, I'd already seen
1:07:47it all. I undid the top two buttons of
1:07:49her nightgown and nudged it aside,
1:07:52keeping my mind as clear of stray
1:07:53thoughts as I could. I pinched up a
1:07:55needle, gathered true chi at my
1:07:57fingertip, aimed at the acupoint, and
1:07:59pressed it in. Meanwhile, Yilan dragged
1:08:01her exhausted body home. Tonight's
1:08:03surgery had taken nearly 6 hours. The
1:08:06patient was the family member of some
1:08:07high official, and every hospital
1:08:09higher-up had kept vigil outside the
1:08:11operating room. As the lead surgeon, she
1:08:13born unprecedented pressure, but
1:08:15thankfully it had gone off without a
1:08:17hitch. She was so tired she didn't even
1:08:19want to shower. She just wanted to drop
1:08:21into bed and sleep. But when she pushed
1:08:23open the door to the master bedroom, the
1:08:25nightlight was on, yet there was no sign
1:08:28of Bai Jia. Where did Bai Jia go? She
1:08:30frowned, and suddenly, faintly, she
1:08:33heard a soft moan. "Mm-hm, mm-hm,
1:08:35mm-hm." No mistaking it. That was Bai
1:08:37Jia's voice, and it was coming from Li
1:08:39Feng's room. Yilan's spirit jolted, all
1:08:42her drowsiness vanishing. Past 1:00 in
1:08:44the morning, Bai Jia had run into Li
1:08:46Feng's room and was making those sounds.
1:08:48Surely the two of them weren't. In that
1:08:50moment, she felt as if the sky had
1:08:52fallen. Bai Jia, Li Feng, you two are
1:08:55more than a decade apart in age, and
1:08:57you're both the people closest to me.
1:08:59How could you do this? Yilan bit her
1:09:01lip, all but losing her reason, about to
1:09:04twist the door handle and burst in to
1:09:06get to the bottom of it. One was a child
1:09:08she'd raised to adulthood, the other a
1:09:10close friend of over 20 years, and the
1:09:12two of them behind her back. But soon,
1:09:15she hesitated again. Bi Jia had breast
1:09:17cancer. Before long, she might have to
1:09:19have her breast removed and would no
1:09:21longer be a whole woman. Shen Shi Jong
1:09:23had cheated and the divorce was a done
1:09:25deal. Whether any man in the future
1:09:27could accept a Bi Jia like this, no one
1:09:29could say. So, perhaps this was Bi Jia's
1:09:31last chance at happiness. As her best
1:09:33friend, how could she bear to burst in
1:09:35at a time like this and ruin it, making
1:09:37things awkward for everyone? And
1:09:39besides, what era was this? As long as
1:09:41the two of them truly loved each other
1:09:43and there was no blood relation, what
1:09:45was wrong with them being together?
1:09:47Taking 10,000 steps back, the rice was
1:09:49already cooked. Saying more would do no
1:09:51good. Once Yilan had reasoned it all
1:09:53through, she ultimately gave up on
1:09:55confronting them. With a complicated
1:09:57heart, she backed away bit by bit,
1:09:59crossed the living room, walked out of
1:10:01the apartment, went down to the
1:10:03underground parking garage, and made do
1:10:05for the night in her car. And I,
1:10:07absorbed in the needling, and Bi Jia,
1:10:09lost in sleep, were utterly oblivious to
1:10:11all of it. My fingertips were wreathed
1:10:13in wisps of green true qi, pouring
1:10:16steadily through the silver needles into
1:10:18Bi Jia's body. Whether it was because it
1:10:20felt too good, I don't know, but she
1:10:22kept letting out muffled little moans
1:10:24from her lips, one after another, like a
1:10:26cat mewing. Though my mind was free of
1:10:28stray thoughts, I was, after all, a
1:10:31red-blooded young man. Those sounds
1:10:33boring into my ears still sent my blood
1:10:35rushing, my face turning red. I gritted
1:10:38my teeth and endured. A dozen or so
1:10:40minutes later, the needling finally
1:10:42ended. I let out a long breath, swiftly
1:10:44pulled the needles and packed up the
1:10:46case, stashed it back under the bed, and
1:10:48not daring to linger, tiptoed out and
1:10:50pulled the door shut. In the living
1:10:52room, I turned the air conditioning down
1:10:54to its lowest, letting the cold wind
1:10:56blast until it finally beat down the
1:10:58heat burning through me. There was no
1:11:00going back to my room now. I'd just have
1:11:02to make do on the sofa for the night.
1:11:04Early the next morning, I was sleeping
1:11:06soundly when, half dreaming, I heard the
1:11:08door open. I opened my eyes. My aunt was
1:11:10back. I quickly sat up. "Auntie, you're
1:11:13only just getting back?" "What? Were you
1:11:15expecting otherwise?" Yilan shot me an
1:11:18annoyed glare, then immediately pulled
1:11:20her gaze away. Though she'd talked
1:11:21herself into it, last night's scene
1:11:23still made it a bit hard for her to look
1:11:25me in the eye. "Huh. Wait. Why was this
1:11:28kid sleeping on the sofa? Had he
1:11:29anticipated her coming back at this hour
1:11:31and, afraid of being caught,
1:11:33deliberately put on an act?" Yilan
1:11:35grumbled inwardly, keeping her face
1:11:37impassive. She walked to the water
1:11:39dispenser to fill a cup and asked,
1:11:41feigning casualness, "Got a bed and
1:11:43don't use it. Why do you sleep on the
1:11:45sofa?" I stood and stretched. "Don't
1:11:47even ask. Last night, just as I was
1:11:50about to sleep, Auntie Bai came
1:11:51sleepwalking into my room. Nothing I
1:11:53could do. Had to sleep in the living
1:11:55room." It was all true. I just left out
1:11:57the part about the acupuncture. "What?
1:11:59Bai Jia sleepwalked again." Yilan was
1:12:02taken aback. As her best friend, she'd
1:12:04long known Bai Jia had a sleepwalking
1:12:06problem. At its mildest, she'd get out
1:12:08of bed and wander around the room, open
1:12:10the fridge looking for food. At its
1:12:12worst, she'd walk out into the street.
1:12:14The farthest time, two or three
1:12:16kilometers. Could it be that she'd
1:12:18misread the whole thing last night? At
1:12:20the thought, Yilan cursed herself a few
1:12:22times inwardly. Bai Jia came from a
1:12:25scholarly family, strictly raised,
1:12:27always proper and self-respecting. How
1:12:29could she possibly do that sort of thing
1:12:31with a child she'd watched grow up? As
1:12:33for that kid, Li Fan, even if he had the
1:12:35lust, he didn't have the nerve. "Auntie,
1:12:37what are you thinking about?" I was
1:12:39thirsty and came over to pour water,
1:12:40too, and saw her standing there spacing
1:12:42out. Yilan snapped back and said
1:12:44crossly, "Don't ask what you shouldn't."
1:12:47The next second, she froze again. Was
1:12:49something wrong with this little punk?
1:12:51Head to toe, once again in nothing but a
1:12:53pair of boxers. But strangely, in just
1:12:55one day, how had his physique gotten
1:12:57this good? The abs this defined? Ah, a
1:13:00scream suddenly came from the bedroom.
1:13:02Bai Jia, just awake, came running out,
1:13:05her hair a mess, one button of her
1:13:07nightgown done up wrong, her face full
1:13:09of panic. Seeing both me and my aunt
1:13:11there, she was so mortified she wished
1:13:14she could crawl into a crack in the
1:13:15floor. "I'm so sorry. I think I
1:13:17sleepwalked again, and even ran into
1:13:19Little Feng's room. I didn't scare him,
1:13:21did I?" Seeing that her reaction didn't
1:13:23look the least bit staged, Yilan became
1:13:26all the more convinced that last night
1:13:28had been a misunderstanding. She set
1:13:30down her water cup, took Bai Jia's hand,
1:13:32and comforted her tenderly. "What's
1:13:34there to be sorry about? This is my
1:13:36home, and it's your home, too. Sleep
1:13:38wherever you like." I chimed in as well.
1:13:40"Auntie Bai, I'm not a three-year-old.
1:13:42How could I be so timid? Once I saw you
1:13:44were sleepwalking, I just made do on the
1:13:46sofa for the night. It's fine." "Made do
1:13:48my ass. Go put some clothes on." Yilan
1:13:51turned and scolded me. I grinned and
1:13:53scampered off to my room.
1:13:54Guilty-hearted, Bai Jia lowered her
1:13:56voice again. "Long Long, I really was
1:13:58sleepwalking. Don't get the wrong idea."
1:14:01"What wrong idea? My mind isn't that
1:14:03dirty." Yilan pursed her lips. If her
1:14:05mind weren't dirty, she wouldn't have
1:14:07felt the sky was falling last night. Not
1:14:09even able to trust her best friend and
1:14:11the child she'd raised with her own
1:14:13hands. She really deserved a scolding.
1:14:15"Long Long's the best. Then I'll go wash
1:14:17up and change, too." Bai Jia stuck out
1:14:19her tongue playfully and turned to go
1:14:21into the master bedroom. The moment she
1:14:23shut the door, she let out a long
1:14:24breath. Waking up to find herself lying
1:14:27in Li Feng's room, she'd nearly lost her
1:14:29mind. Coming out to run straight into
1:14:31Yilan's return, she truly felt like
1:14:33she'd been caught in the act. Last
1:14:35night, she had, in fact, only been
1:14:38sleepwalking. Nothing had happened. But
1:14:40the night before last, and out in the
1:14:42living room, Yilan suddenly looked as if
1:14:44she'd discovered something, an
1:14:45expression of disbelief crossing her
1:14:47face. How was Bai Jia's complexion this
1:14:50good, radiant with energy, like she'd
1:14:52grown years younger? Yilan shook her
1:14:54head. A breast cancer patient, unless
1:14:56she'd swallowed some miracle elixir, how
1:14:58could she look like this? An illusion.
1:15:00It had to be an illusion. Just then I
1:15:02came out, dressed. "Auntie, what do you
1:15:04want for breakfast? Should I cook or go
1:15:07downstairs and buy something?" "No need
1:15:09to cook, no need to buy. The three of us
1:15:11will go out to eat in a bit." Yilan put
1:15:13away her thoughts. taken aback. Was my
1:15:16memory playing tricks? My aunt had
1:15:17worked in night shift straight through.
1:15:19In the past, she'd have been so
1:15:21exhausted she'd drop into bed and not
1:15:23wake if the sky fell. How did she have
1:15:25the energy to go out for breakfast
1:15:26today? Or did she have something else
1:15:28planned? "Long Long, little foam, you
1:15:30two go eat. I'm not hungry. I want to go
1:15:33for a run." Bai Jia came out, too,
1:15:35having changed into a purple athletic
1:15:37outfit, her hair in a high ponytail,
1:15:39neat and brisk, looking every bit like
1:15:41she was about to go running. "Bai Jia,
1:15:43stop fooling around. Who goes running in
1:15:46the dead of summer?" Yilan was beside
1:15:48herself with worry, but there were
1:15:49things she couldn't say outright. A
1:15:51breast cancer patient doing strenuous
1:15:53exercise, wasn't that a joke?
1:15:55"Exercising in the summer heat is even
1:15:57more effective." Bai Jia hugged her arm
1:15:59and wheedled, soft and sweet. "When I
1:16:02woke up this morning, I felt reborn,
1:16:04full of energy. Just let me go for a
1:16:06little run." Without a moment's thought,
1:16:08Yilan said flatly, "No. In a bit, the
1:16:11three of you are going to Zhugong Lane
1:16:12to eat those xiaolongbao you keep going
1:16:14on about. After that, we're going to see
1:16:16Physician Luo so he can take a look at
1:16:18your chest pain." "Physician Luo?" Both
1:16:20Bai Jia and I were startled. He was a
1:16:22towering authority in the nation's
1:16:24Chinese medicine world, hailed as a
1:16:26living Huatuo. Any number of important
1:16:29figures lined up for a consultation and
1:16:31had to wait their turn, meek as could
1:16:33be. Now past 80, his health much
1:16:35declined, he'd set a rule, barring
1:16:37special circumstances, he saw only one
1:16:39patient a day. How precious that single
1:16:41slot was, one can well imagine. "Lan
1:16:44Lan, my chest pain is just brought on by
1:16:46getting upset. It's a minor thing.
1:16:48There's no need to go all the way to
1:16:50Physician Luo, is there?" Bai Jia
1:16:52thought she was making too big a fuss,
1:16:54while at the same time deeply touched.
1:16:56Yilan was a doctor with a bit of a name
1:16:58in Yuncheng, yet to get an appointment
1:17:00with Physician Luo, who knew how much
1:17:02effort it must have taken. "No, listen
1:17:04to me. We're going, and that's final."
1:17:07Yilan's tone brooked no discussion. Ever
1:17:09since Bai Jia's diagnosis, she'd been
1:17:11trying every means to get an appointment
1:17:13with Physician Luo, but with her rank,
1:17:15it was about as likely as hitting the
1:17:17jackpot. Thankfully, last night's
1:17:19surgery, the patient's family member
1:17:21held a high position, had helped her
1:17:22secure this slot. "All right, I'll
1:17:25listen to you." Bai Jia nodded. With
1:17:27Yilan valuing her this highly, she truly
1:17:29couldn't find a reason to refuse. As for
1:17:31me, off to the side, I was thrilled
1:17:34first at the chance to meet Physician
1:17:35Luo, and second had noticed that Bai
1:17:37Jia's condition was better than
1:17:39yesterday by more than a little. It
1:17:41seemed the Nine Celestial Needles paired
1:17:42with True Qi really did double the
1:17:44effect. Right now, I was only at the
1:17:46first layer of Qi refinement. Once my
1:17:48realm grew higher down the road, and I
1:17:50treated her again, I just might work a
1:17:52miracle. Before long, the three of us
1:17:54drove to Zhugong Lane and found the
1:17:56Xialongbao shop. The storefront was
1:17:58small, the sign so old the color had
1:18:00faded, yet the crowd lined up outside
1:18:02was a dense swarm, all drawn by this
1:18:05decades-old establishment. We waited a
1:18:07dozen some minutes before getting a
1:18:08table, and ordered three steamers of the
1:18:10signature Xialongbao. Each bun here had
1:18:1318 pleats, a craft passed down through
1:18:15the family. So it was said, not one
1:18:17pleat more or less. With nothing better
1:18:19to do, I counted as I ate, and sure
1:18:22enough, 18 pleats. No false advertising.
1:18:25My mood had been pretty good, but
1:18:26halfway through the meal, a few
1:18:28shifty-looking guys at the next table
1:18:30got out of hand. First, they ogled my
1:18:32aunt and Bai Jia with their beady,
1:18:34roving eyes, then started whistling like
1:18:36hooligans. Finally, the bald one leading
1:18:38them, early 30s, a thick gold chain
1:18:41around his neck, sidled over with a
1:18:43smarmy grin. Hey there, ladies. Name's
1:18:45Biazi. Around these parts in Julong
1:18:47District, my word goes. How about doing
1:18:50me a favor and adding me on WeChat?
1:18:52Anyone gives you trouble from now on,
1:18:54just drop my name. And he pulled out his
1:18:56phone, QR code already up. Yeah, what
1:18:59era is this? Still playing the gangster
1:19:00act. Yilan sneered. Beat it, not
1:19:03interested. Huh, come on, pretty lady.
1:19:06You're making me lose face. As he said
1:19:08it, the bald man reached out and brushed
1:19:10his hand against Yilan's waist. I meant
1:19:13to get up. Harassing my aunt right in
1:19:15front of me. Forget the fact that I was
1:19:16reborn now. Even in the past, there was
1:19:19no way I'd just sit and watch. But my
1:19:21aunt shot me a glare, its meaning clear.
1:19:24Don't do anything rash. There was
1:19:26nothing for it. I couldn't disobey her.
1:19:28So I could only stay seated. Yilan set
1:19:30down her chopsticks, unhurriedly dabbed
1:19:33her mouth, then looked up at the bald
1:19:35man. Her presence overpowering his by a
1:19:37head. There's a police station right
1:19:39across the street. Want to go ask how
1:19:41much your face is worth? The smile froze
1:19:43on the bald man's face. He clearly knew
1:19:45there really was a police station across
1:19:47the way, and forced a couple of dry
1:19:49laughs. No, no, no. If you won't add me,
1:19:52you won't. I'll go back to my buns. And
1:19:55he slunk off, chastened. By Jia let out
1:19:57a breath of relief and gave Yilan a
1:19:59thumbs up. A few petty thugs, get them
1:20:01together and they don't know the first
1:20:03thing about their place. Yilan curled
1:20:05her lip, and seeing that I'd about
1:20:07finished eating, said, let's go. But I
1:20:09stayed seated, looked up, and smiled.
1:20:12Auntie, Auntie Bai, you two go wait in
1:20:14the car. I'll use the restroom. Come out
1:20:16as soon as you're done. Don't you go
1:20:18making trouble for me, understand? Yilan
1:20:20admonished me earnestly. Relax, I don't
1:20:23have the nerve for it, or the ability.
1:20:25My face was the picture of harmlessness.
1:20:27But the moment they'd left, the smile
1:20:29vanished from my face, a flicker of
1:20:31coldness passing through my eyes. My
1:20:33aunt had the kindness of raising me,
1:20:35pulling me up from childhood, closer to
1:20:37me than a real mother. For someone to
1:20:39harass her right in front of me, if I
1:20:41still did nothing, how was I any
1:20:43different from a coward? Perfect. I'd
1:20:45use these few fools who didn't know what
1:20:47was good for them to test the power of
1:20:49the first layer of Qi refinement. That
1:20:51bald Biawzi had only been released from
1:20:53the detention center this very morning.
1:20:55Half a month ago, just because a food
1:20:57delivery was a few minutes late, he'd
1:20:59beaten the delivery man so badly the man
1:21:01was hospitalized with fractures. He
1:21:03should have gone to prison, but he had a
1:21:04cousin who was the head of the streets
1:21:06police station. A round of
1:21:08behind-the-scenes maneuvering later, he
1:21:10hadn't paid a single cent in medical
1:21:11fees, served half a month, and swaggered
1:21:14right back out. Everything in detention
1:21:16had been fine, except there were no
1:21:18women. He was about to go stir crazy.
1:21:20Catching sight of beauties like Yilan
1:21:22and Bai Jia just now, his eyes had gone
1:21:24green. Normally, a woman he'd taken a
1:21:27fancy to, he'd have seized by force if
1:21:29he had to. Today he'd thrown out a
1:21:31couple of pick-up lines and stopped.
1:21:33Only because, fresh out, he didn't want
1:21:35to get locked up again so soon. Right
1:21:37now he'd sat back down with no appetite
1:21:39left for buns. He raised his left hand
1:21:41to the tip of his nose and sniffed hard
1:21:43at the lingering fragrance from where
1:21:45he'd brushed Yilan's waist, a nauseating
1:21:47smile on his face. So fragrant. I'll
1:21:50never be willing to wash this hand again
1:21:52for the rest of my life. A few of his
1:21:54underlings craned their necks over like
1:21:56a pack of drooling dogs. Brother Biaw,
1:21:58let us smell it, too. Brother Biaw, I'm
1:22:00begging you. Reluctantly, Biawzi held
1:22:02out his hand. One by one they sniffed at
1:22:05it, every face wearing a sleazy,
1:22:07lecherous grin. Whoosh. A xylon bao with
1:22:10one bite taken out of it flew over like
1:22:12a bullet and struck Biawzi square in the
1:22:14face, splattering grease everywhere.
1:22:16Biawzi slammed the table and shot up,
1:22:19flying into a rage. Who the hell is
1:22:21tired of living? Me. I stood up and
1:22:23walked, step by step, toward their
1:22:25table. I'd meant to just teach them a
1:22:27quick lesson and leave it at that, but
1:22:29the perverted way they'd sniff that hand
1:22:31just now had truly disgusted me. Time to
1:22:33get rough. Biazi wiped the bun off his
1:22:35face and flung it to the floor,
1:22:37sneering. So, it's that kid. Didn't dare
1:22:39make a peep just now. Itching for a
1:22:41beating now, are you? That depends on
1:22:43whether you've got what it takes. In my
1:22:45eyes, they were nothing but a pile of
1:22:47breathing garbage. Interesting. Biazi
1:22:50waved a hand. Boys, get him. Beat him
1:22:52till he hands over those two beauties'
1:22:54contact info. Anything goes wrong, I'll
1:22:56take the heat. With a cousin backing
1:22:58him, his few underlings charged in,
1:23:01howling. The owner and the other
1:23:02customers in the shop were all sweating
1:23:04on my behalf. This young man was really
1:23:07being foolish. Wouldn't it have been
1:23:08fine if he'd just left with the
1:23:10beauties? Biazi unhurriedly wiped his
1:23:12face, utterly self-assured. The next
1:23:14second, ack ack ack My fists and feet
1:23:18came down, one man per blow, so fast the
1:23:21eye couldn't follow. In the blink of an
1:23:23eye, all the underlings were rolling on
1:23:25the floor, screaming like slaughtered
1:23:26pigs, unable even to crawl back up. The
1:23:29shop went silent for a few seconds. The
1:23:32owner and the customers were all
1:23:33dumbstruck, mouths hanging open, unable
1:23:35to get out a word. Biazi was stunned,
1:23:37too. He'd been in the underworld half
1:23:39his life, counted as half a trained
1:23:41fighter, yet he couldn't even beat his
1:23:43own underlings. Watching me approach
1:23:45step by step, he panicked, backing up
1:23:48again and again, his voice cracking.
1:23:50Buddy, I was blind. I apologize. Can we
1:23:53just call it even here? Better to settle
1:23:54a feud than keep it going, right? No. My
1:23:57face was expressionless. The thing I
1:23:59hate most is an after-the-fact apology.
1:24:02Before the words were even out, I lunged
1:24:04forward and kicked him square in the
1:24:05chest. Biazi had no power to resist. His
1:24:08whole body flew backward, knocking over
1:24:11a table, bowls and plates shattering
1:24:13across the floor. Three ribs broken.
1:24:15Hurts to even breathe. He clutched his
1:24:17chest and curled up in a ball. That kick
1:24:20hadn't felt like it came from a human,
1:24:21more like he'd been rammed by a
1:24:23full-grown yak. And it wasn't over. I
1:24:25bent down, picked up a chopstick, aimed
1:24:28it at that left hand he'd stuck out for
1:24:29his wandering grope, and drove it down
1:24:31hard. Squelch. The chopstick pierced
1:24:34through his palm, blood gushing out.
1:24:36More terrifying still, a third of the
1:24:38chopstick had sunk into the hard
1:24:39concrete floor, like a nail pinning his
1:24:42hand to the ground. Ack. Biaoxi's face
1:24:44contorted in pain, and he nearly passed
1:24:47out. A chopstick driven into a concrete
1:24:49floor. Was that something a human could
1:24:51do? Only now did he understand what kind
1:24:53of monster he'd provoked today. Mercy. I
1:24:55just reached out my hand. Enough. That's
1:24:57really enough. I looked down at him and
1:24:59gave a cold snort. Next time, that hand
1:25:02of yours is getting a lot more than a
1:25:03few holes in it. With that, under a room
1:25:06full of horrified stares, I walked out
1:25:08of the bun shop without looking back.
1:25:10Felt good. No matter what happened
1:25:12before, my aunt always told me to hold
1:25:14back. Swallow it. It left me so bottled
1:25:16up I could barely breathe. Only today
1:25:18did I learn that not holding back feels
1:25:20this damn good. I'd only reached the
1:25:22first layer of chi refinement, and
1:25:24already I could beat a pack of thugs
1:25:26senseless without breaking a sweat. If I
1:25:28climbed to higher levels, how strong
1:25:30would I be? Full of anticipation, I
1:25:32walked toward the Buick SUV parked 100
1:25:35ft away, my aunt's car. The moment I
1:25:37pulled open the door and slid in, I
1:25:39slipped right back into my usual
1:25:40harmless demeanor, a smile on my face
1:25:43like nothing had happened. To my
1:25:44surprise, Yulan frowned and looked me up
1:25:47and down. Xiaofeng, what happened in
1:25:49that bun shop? Why was somebody
1:25:50screaming like that? If anyone was to
1:25:52blame, it was Biaoxi and his crew for
1:25:54yelling so loud. Bai Jia had heard it,
1:25:56too, and chimed in. Yeah, that scream
1:25:59was awful. Practically like a woman
1:26:01giving birth. Neither she nor Chen
1:26:03Zhizhong had anything wrong with them.
1:26:05Yet after all these years of marriage,
1:26:07she still hadn't gotten pregnant. She'd
1:26:09never had a child, but she could imagine
1:26:11the pain. I sure as hell wasn't going to
1:26:13tell the truth, so I spun a a on the
1:26:15spot. That bald guy just now, he got a
1:26:18call from a paternity testing center.
1:26:20Turns out none of his three kids are
1:26:21actually his. Right now, he and his
1:26:23buddies are bawling their eyes out,
1:26:25holding each other. Huh, all three of
1:26:27them. That is rough. Bai Jia bought it,
1:26:30naive as ever, shaking her head full of
1:26:32sympathy. Yilan shot me an exasperated
1:26:35look. Don't listen to his nonsense. He
1:26:37can't be serious for 5 minutes. With
1:26:39that, she hit the gas and the car pulled
1:26:42out of Jugong Alley. Half an hour later,
1:26:44the car turned into a stretch of
1:26:45single-story houses in the old part of
1:26:47town. Don't let the low houses fool you.
1:26:50This place cost way more than the
1:26:51high-rises nearby. Quiet in the middle
1:26:54of the bustle, with everything close at
1:26:55hand. Yilan parked and pointed at a
1:26:57courtyard house up ahead. That's where
1:26:59Divine Doctor Luo lives. Two guards
1:27:02stood at the gate, ramrod straight as
1:27:04javelins, clearly well-trained. Fitting
1:27:07for the towering authority of the
1:27:08traditional Chinese medicine world. Bai
1:27:10Jia, just the two of us will go in.
1:27:12Xiaofeng can wait in the car. Yilan said
1:27:15as she got out. Auntie, let me come,
1:27:17too. I swear I won't say a single word.
1:27:19I was still angling for it. Of course, I
1:27:21wanted to see Divine Doctor Luo with my
1:27:23own eyes, but my aunt had no intention
1:27:25of bringing me in. Then what was the
1:27:27point of coming all this way? No. You
1:27:29think just anybody gets to see Divine
1:27:31Doctor Luo? Stay put in the car and
1:27:33don't wander off. Yilan refused without
1:27:35a second's thought. And so, taking Bai
1:27:38Jia by the hand, she walked straight
1:27:40toward the courtyard. I slumped into the
1:27:41car seat like a deflated balloon.
1:27:44Nothing better to do. So, I shut my
1:27:46eyes, folded my legs, and began
1:27:48cultivating the Pure Yang Divine Art. I
1:27:50noticed something was off almost right
1:27:51away. Before breaking through to the
1:27:53first layer of Qi refinement, the
1:27:55spiritual energy in the air had been
1:27:57thin, but at least enough to get by.
1:27:59After the breakthrough, though, when I
1:28:01tried to channel it, there clearly
1:28:03wasn't enough to go around. At this
1:28:05rate, who knew how many ages it would
1:28:07take to break through to the second
1:28:08layer? Thankfully, I had other tricks in
1:28:11my head, alchemy for one. I molded over
1:28:13for a good while, only to have my hopes
1:28:15dashed. With my current strength, even
1:28:17if I could refine a pill, it'd be the
1:28:19lowest grade junk imaginable, about as
1:28:22potent as a piece of candy. I sighed.
1:28:24Bored out of my mind, I pushed open the
1:28:26door and got out to stretch my legs. I'd
1:28:29only taken a few steps when I froze. A
1:28:31thick, rich current of spiritual energy
1:28:33came drifting from somewhere. Who knew
1:28:35how many times more than what I just
1:28:37strained with all my might to gather? My
1:28:39spirits perked up instantly. Following
1:28:41the scent on instinct, I walked ahead
1:28:44and finally stopped before a small
1:28:45garden. The garden wasn't large. A girl
1:28:48about my age sat in a wheelchair, eyes
1:28:50closed, one earbud in, quietly listening
1:28:53to music. She had an ethereal,
1:28:55otherworldly beauty, skin so pale it was
1:28:57almost translucent, delicate features,
1:29:00in a plain-colored dress. The kind of
1:29:02beauty meant to be admired from afar. A
1:29:04shame she was in a wheelchair, something
1:29:06seemed wrong with her legs. I stepped
1:29:08closer, and my gaze drawn to the hairpin
1:29:11on her head. It was a silver hairpin,
1:29:14ordinary in style, dull in color,
1:29:16nothing special at first glance. But in
1:29:18my eyes, that hairpin was wrapped in a
1:29:20dense cloud of spiritual energy. To me,
1:29:23it was like a starving man set before a
1:29:25banquet. If I could drain every bit of
1:29:27that energy, might I have a shot at
1:29:29breaking through to the second layer of
1:29:31chi refinement? But I was no thief. No
1:29:33matter how badly I wanted it, I couldn't
1:29:35just go and snatch it. I pulled back my
1:29:38greedy stare, sat down on the bench
1:29:40beside her, cleared my throat, and
1:29:42opened with, "Miss, your legs." She
1:29:44opened her eyes and looked at me, her
1:29:46voice flat. "Polio. I've basically lost
1:29:49the ability to walk." I sighed,
1:29:51genuinely feeling sorry for her. "Miss,
1:29:54you wouldn't happen to be here to see
1:29:55Divine Doctor Luo, too, would you? He
1:29:57only takes one patient a day. No telling
1:29:59what year you'd get your turn." "Mm-mm,
1:30:01it's hard, all right." She smiled
1:30:03faintly, as if it didn't matter, and was
1:30:05about to close her eyes again to listen
1:30:07to her music. For the sake of that
1:30:09hairpin, I quickly spoke up. I can't
1:30:11help you get an appointment with divine
1:30:12Dr. Luo, but I know a thing or two about
1:30:15medicine myself. Why don't you let me
1:30:16take a look at your legs? She studied me
1:30:18with interest. You're a doctor, too?
1:30:20Something like that. I rubbed my hands
1:30:22modestly. Forget it. She shook her head
1:30:25with a bitter smile. My legs will never
1:30:27stand again. Even if I saw divine Dr.
1:30:29Luo, there'd be no hope. I wasn't ready
1:30:31to give up and leaned in. Let me take a
1:30:33look. You've got nothing to lose. What
1:30:35if I work a miracle? But the moment my
1:30:37eyes fell on the hem of her dress, my
1:30:39heart sank. I'd bitten off more than I
1:30:41could chew. Even through the fabric, I
1:30:44could tell her two legs were
1:30:45terrifyingly thin, skin and bone,
1:30:48hanging limp on the footrest without the
1:30:49slightest contour of muscle. This was
1:30:51far worse than I'd imagined. You're a
1:30:53funny one. She seemed to see right
1:30:55through me and said it plainly. I'll let
1:30:57you look, but first tell me straight.
1:30:59What are you buttering me up for? A
1:31:01little embarrassed, I scratched my head,
1:31:03and my eyes drifted out of my control
1:31:06back to that hairpin. You're a sharp
1:31:07one, Mississippi. Buttering up isn't
1:31:10quite it. I just think your hairpin's
1:31:12rather unusual, and I'd like to take a
1:31:13closer look. A puzzled look crossed her
1:31:16face, and she reached up to touch the
1:31:18pin in her hair. Maybe she decided I
1:31:20didn't seem like a bad sort, because she
1:31:22showed no weariness at all. Such a small
1:31:24thing. No need to go all around the
1:31:26houses. You want to see it? Here. With
1:31:28that, she simply pulled out the silver
1:31:30hairpin. Her jet-black hair spilled down
1:31:32at once, and her small face grew even
1:31:35prettier. I was taken aback and didn't
1:31:37reach for it, waving a hand instead. No
1:31:40reward without effort. Let me look at
1:31:41your legs first, then we'll talk. You
1:31:44really are a stubborn one. She didn't
1:31:45know whether to laugh or cry. This
1:31:47stranger in front of her, maybe he
1:31:49really was a doctor. But she'd just said
1:31:51even divine Dr. Luo couldn't cure her.
1:31:54An ordinary doctor? There was even less
1:31:56reason to hope. Stubborn? Yeah,
1:31:58sometimes I really am. I grinned,
1:32:00unbothered, and crouched down in front
1:32:02of her. Miss, pardon the intrusion. I'd
1:32:05studied nursing for years, and I knew
1:32:07that with today's medicine, polio simply
1:32:09couldn't be fully cured. She'd never be
1:32:12free of that wheelchair in her life. But
1:32:14now I'd received a mysterious
1:32:15inheritance and mastered the almost
1:32:17supernatural nine mystic heaven needles.
1:32:20Maybe I could pull off a miracle. And
1:32:22even if I couldn't, I should at least
1:32:24examine her legs first. We were complete
1:32:26strangers. I couldn't just take her
1:32:28hairpin to study for nothing. Even
1:32:29though I braced myself, when I carefully
1:32:31lifted a corner of her dress, I still
1:32:34drew a sharp breath. The nerves in both
1:32:36her legs had died off over a wide area.
1:32:38The limbs were atrophied and deformed, a
1:32:41hundred times worse than I had thought.
1:32:43My heart sank. But right then, a flood
1:32:45of diagnostic information about polio
1:32:47flashed through my mind unbidden.
1:32:49Exactly how the nine mystic heaven
1:32:51needles should be applied, which
1:32:53acupoints to target, how deep to insert
1:32:55the needle. It all surfaced, crystal
1:32:57clear. I kept my composure, sorted
1:32:59through it carefully, and from my shirt
1:33:01pocket pulled out a toothpick case about
1:33:03as thick as a pencil with a single
1:33:05silver needle inside. I made a point of
1:33:07bringing it with me today, just in case,
1:33:09and to think it would actually come in
1:33:10handy. Maybe I ought to get into the
1:33:12habit of carrying needles from now on.
1:33:14You're going to give me acupuncture? She
1:33:16looked at the needle without a trace of
1:33:17hope, yet now fully believed I was a
1:33:19doctor. Who would a physician carries a
1:33:21silver needle on them? "Mm, don't worry.
1:33:24It's sterilized." I nodded, took aim at
1:33:26an acupoint on her right leg, and
1:33:28inserted it steadily. "It won't work.
1:33:31Really, it won't." Unable to talk me out
1:33:32of it, she just closed her eyes and fell
1:33:35silent. Of course, she hoped for a
1:33:37miracle, but the needle pierced her
1:33:38flesh and her leg felt nothing at all.
1:33:41Besides, her family had brought in the
1:33:43nation's top acupuncture masters, and
1:33:45the result was always the same. What she
1:33:47didn't notice was that, after she closed
1:33:49her eyes, a wisp of azure true chi had
1:33:51begun to coil around my fingertips,
1:33:54flowing down the silver needle and
1:33:55seeping bit by bit into her withered
1:33:57leg. The nine mystic heaven needles were
1:33:59nothing like ordinary acupuncture. It
1:34:02was called channeling chi through
1:34:03needles. What mattered wasn't the needle
1:34:05itself, but the stream of true chi the
1:34:07needles tip carried in. 10 odd minutes
1:34:09later, I slowly withdrew the needle and
1:34:12let out a long breath, a faint sheen of
1:34:14sweat on my forehead. Miss, your
1:34:16condition is severe and my strength is
1:34:18limited. This is all I can do for now,
1:34:21barring complications. In about 4 hours
1:34:23your right leg should regain a little
1:34:25feeling. We'll see. She opened her eyes
1:34:27again, flat as ever, clearly not taking
1:34:30it seriously. The nation's top masters
1:34:32couldn't cure her, and some young man
1:34:34poke her a couple of times and she'll
1:34:35get feeling back? Who'd believe that?
1:34:37Here. She hadn't forgotten our deal
1:34:40though, and held out the hairpin.
1:34:42Thanks. The instant I took the hairpin,
1:34:44my whole body lit up with excitement. An
1:34:46extremely dense stream of spiritual
1:34:49energy surged out of the pin and before
1:34:51I could even channel it, it burrowed
1:34:53into me on its own right through my
1:34:55fingertips, as if it recognized me as
1:34:57its master. In a blink, the hairpin
1:35:00surface looked no different, but that
1:35:02cloud of energy inside it, I'd already
1:35:04drunk it down near enough to the dregs.
1:35:07Quietly, I converted all of it into true
1:35:09chi and stored it in my dantian,
1:35:11noticeably fuller than before. I was
1:35:13thrilled. If I could get my hands on a
1:35:15few more hairpins like this, breaking
1:35:17through to the second layer of chi
1:35:18refinement would be no trouble at all.
1:35:20Miss, this hairpin of yours is a real
1:35:22treasure. I handed it back and shifted
1:35:25gears. Mind telling me where it came
1:35:27from? It's a family heirloom. My
1:35:29grandmother says it dates back to the
1:35:31Ming Dynasty. She explained offhandedly,
1:35:34sliding the pin back into her hair. With
1:35:36one gather of that black hair, she
1:35:38returned to her cool, otherworldly self.
1:35:40The Ming Dynasty? Then it was an
1:35:42antique. Was it possible that any
1:35:44antique, having been steeped in the
1:35:45passage of time, held spiritual energy
1:35:48inside it? If that were true, my
1:35:50cultivation would have a shortcut from
1:35:51here on out. Meanwhile, inside the
1:35:54courtyard house, Yilan and Bai Jia sat
1:35:56upright in their chairs, barely daring
1:35:58to breathe, watching the old man across
1:36:00from them. A full head of white hair,
1:36:02yet a ruddy, glowing complexion,
1:36:05spirited and alert, sitting upright in
1:36:07his grand chair like an old immortal.
1:36:09This was none other than the famous
1:36:11Divine Doctor Luo. A moment ago, after
1:36:13he'd finished taking Bai Jia's pulse,
1:36:15those deep eyes of his had betrayed
1:36:17profound shock. That shock had lasted a
1:36:19good two or three minutes, and still
1:36:21hadn't faded. Even now, Yilan hadn't yet
1:36:24dared tell Bai Jia the truth. With her
1:36:26heart in her throat, before Divine
1:36:27Doctor Luo could speak, she said in a
1:36:30low voice, "Bai Jia, go back to the car
1:36:32first. I need to talk with Divine Doctor
1:36:34Luo alone." "Hm?" "Okay." Bai Jia
1:36:37trusted her unconditionally and didn't
1:36:39think twice. She stood, bowed slightly
1:36:42to Divine Doctor Luo, and slowly
1:36:44withdrew. Only once she'd confirmed Bai
1:36:46Jia had left the courtyard did Yilan
1:36:48force out a small smile. "Divine Doctor
1:36:50Luo, I'm sorry. She doesn't know about
1:36:53her condition yet." "Understood." Divine
1:36:55Doctor Luo gave a slight nod, the shock
1:36:58still lingering in his eyes. "So, is
1:37:00there any better approach for her
1:37:01illness?" Yilan held her breath, full of
1:37:04hope. Divine Doctor Luo was her last
1:37:06sliver of hope. No, Bai Jia's last
1:37:09sliver of hope. If even he had no way,
1:37:11then all they could do was stop
1:37:12struggling. Divine Doctor Luo shook his
1:37:15head with a bitter smile. "Miss Ye, I
1:37:17hear you're a doctor yourself. Among
1:37:19colleagues, I won't beat around the
1:37:21bush. The world has set me on too high a
1:37:23pedestal, calling me a living Hua Tuo,
1:37:26but I alone know that there are far too
1:37:28many difficult, stubborn illnesses in
1:37:30this world that I'm powerless against.
1:37:32Otherwise, last night I wouldn't have
1:37:34advised that high official's family to
1:37:35switch to Western medicine. And what's
1:37:37more, your friend has cancer.
1:37:39Traditional Chinese medicine is, in the
1:37:41end, only a means of treating illness,
1:37:44not a divine power." Yilan's heart sank,
1:37:47and all her hope dissolved in an
1:37:48instant. He'd made it plain enough. What
1:37:50remained was that last resort option.
1:37:52Tell Bai Jia the truth as soon as
1:37:54possible, switch to Western medicine,
1:37:56and have the breast removed. She
1:37:58couldn't bear to think about whether Bai
1:37:59Jia could hold up when that time came.
1:38:01But just as she'd told Li Feng, she
1:38:03would never let Bai Jia face it alone.
1:38:05"Thank you, Divine Doctor Luo. I'll take
1:38:08my leave." She forced a smile, stood,
1:38:10bowed, and turned to go. "Miss Ye,
1:38:12please wait." Divine Doctor Luo suddenly
1:38:15called out to her, his eyes full of
1:38:17sincerity. He hesitated a moment, then
1:38:19slowly rose, his voice trembling
1:38:21slightly. "You don't need to rush her
1:38:23into surgery. Based on what I just
1:38:25diagnosed, your friend may well have
1:38:27encountered a true master." "A master?"
1:38:29Yilan looked baffled. "Yes, a master."
1:38:32He nodded firmly, his tone certain. "A
1:38:34master who can channel qi through
1:38:36needles. His medical skill is far beyond
1:38:38mine. In his hands, your friend may soon
1:38:41see a miracle." Yilan's mind went blank
1:38:43with a buzzing roar. "Channeling qi
1:38:45through needles?" Though she trained in
1:38:47Western medicine, she studied Chinese
1:38:49medicine in her spare time and vaguely
1:38:51remembered the term. A legendary,
1:38:53supremely profound needling art that
1:38:55required a certain kind of qi to
1:38:57perform. It had never appeared in
1:38:59reality. It existed only in ancient
1:39:01texts. "Wasn't that just a legend?
1:39:03Divine Doctor Luo, how could you tell?"
1:39:06She couldn't help asking, then felt it
1:39:08was impolite and quickly added, "Sorry,
1:39:10I only want to confirm. I'm not doubting
1:39:12you at all." Hands clasped behind his
1:39:14back, Divine Doctor Luo paced a couple
1:39:17of steps across the room. "When I took
1:39:18her pulse just now, I found that the qi
1:39:21and blood that had been blocked near her
1:39:22breast had clearly been unclogged by
1:39:24some external force. That technique is
1:39:27not something ordinary acupuncture could
1:39:29achieve. I looked closer. The acupoints
1:39:31chosen for the needling were
1:39:32extraordinarily tricky and precise, and
1:39:35the needles' path shifted in
1:39:37unpredictable ways. Most crucially, the
1:39:39breath left by the silver needle still
1:39:41roams through her meridians, soft yet
1:39:44firm, continuous and unbroken. This is
1:39:47unmistakably the trace of channeling qi
1:39:49through needles. Channeling qi through
1:39:51needles. I witnessed it once in my youth
1:39:53in an old Daoist. In the decades since,
1:39:56I've never seen it again. Who would have
1:39:58thought that little Yunxing harbored
1:39:59such a master? Yilan's heart pounded,
1:40:02and it was a long moment before she
1:40:03could gather herself. Someone had given
1:40:05Bai Jia acupuncture, but Bai Jia hadn't
1:40:08breathed a word of it to her. Miss If
1:40:10I'm right, I'd like to ask a favor of
1:40:12you. Divine Doctor Luo suddenly cupped
1:40:15his hands, lowering himself to a
1:40:17remarkably humble posture. Plead with
1:40:19your friend on my behalf. Let me pay a
1:40:21visit to that master. Would that be
1:40:23possible? Huh. Yilan's mouth fell open.
1:40:26Divine Doctor Luo, please don't be like
1:40:28this. If she really does know such a
1:40:30master, I'll do everything I can to make
1:40:32the introduction. This was the towering
1:40:34authority of the Chinese medicine world.
1:40:37Anyone who could make him this eager to
1:40:38meet them wouldn't that be a true deity
1:40:41come to earth? Oh, Bai Jia, Bai Jia, you
1:40:44really do have the luck of the heavens.
1:40:46But why would you hide this from me and
1:40:47let me worry myself sick all these days?
1:40:50Yilan said her hurried goodbyes, walked
1:40:52out of the courtyard, and got back in
1:40:54the car. The moment she pulled the door
1:40:56open and sat down, she glared at Bai
1:40:58Jia, fuming. Bai Jia had been staring
1:41:00off into space. Seeing that look, her
1:41:03heart lurched, and tears came welling up
1:41:05in a rush. Boohoo. Long Long, what did
1:41:08Divine Doctor Luo say? Do I have some
1:41:10terrible illness? Is there no hope for
1:41:12me? She was only kind-hearted, not
1:41:14stupid. These past days she'd thought it
1:41:16all through carefully. At some point,
1:41:18the slightest discomfort from her would
1:41:20set Yilan on edge. For something to make
1:41:22an expert that anxious, it couldn't be a
1:41:24minor ailment. And today Yilan had
1:41:26pulled out all the stops to secure her
1:41:28an appointment with Divine Doctor Luo,
1:41:31and sent her away to talk alone at the
1:41:32end. Even if she were dense, she could
1:41:35guess. This illness of hers was probably
1:41:37serious, maybe even terminal. Before
1:41:40seeing Bai Jia cry like this, Yilan
1:41:42would have hugged her tight in distress
1:41:44and comforted her. But this time, she
1:41:46smacked the steering wheel and demanded,
1:41:49"Bai Jia, cut the act. We've known each
1:41:51other over 20 years. I've always thought
1:41:53of you as my best friend, and yet
1:41:55something this huge, you actually kept
1:41:57it from me." Bai Jia's crying stopped
1:41:59dead, her heart leaping into her throat.
1:42:01Weren't they talking about her illness?
1:42:03How had it jumped to something else? "Oh
1:42:05god, that night, what she and Li Feng
1:42:07did, had Yilan found out?" Bai Jia and
1:42:10Yilan had known each other for years and
1:42:12told each other almost everything. The
1:42:14one thing she'd kept hidden was the
1:42:15mistake she and I had made that night.
1:42:17So the moment something seemed off, her
1:42:19guilty conscience jumped straight to
1:42:21that. "Lan Lan, I'm sorry. Xiao Feng and
1:42:24I, we shouldn't have." Bai Jia bit her
1:42:26lip hard enough to nearly draw blood and
1:42:29decided to come clean. But before she
1:42:31could finish, Yilan cut her off. "What?
1:42:33Xiao Feng already knew?" Yilan was even
1:42:36angrier now. Something this enormous,
1:42:38and Bai Jia hadn't told her, but she
1:42:40told me. How could they call themselves
1:42:42best friends anymore? "Huh?" Bai Jia's
1:42:44tears nearly spilled over and she froze
1:42:47in place. It wasn't just her fault, it
1:42:49was something the two of them had done
1:42:50together. "So of course I knew." Or did
1:42:53Yilan mean not that night at all? "Bai
1:42:55Jia, oh Bai Jia, someone gave you
1:42:57acupuncture and you didn't say a word to
1:42:59me, but you were willing to share it
1:43:01with Li Feng. You've really hurt me."
1:43:03Yilan pursed her lips and turned her
1:43:05face away. These past days she couldn't
1:43:07sleep or eat, her hair falling out in
1:43:09clumps, haggard and worn, and all for
1:43:11Bai Jia's sake. Yet when something good
1:43:13happened to this girl, she didn't say a
1:43:15thing. Hurt? No, she was so thrilled she
1:43:18could barely contain it. The sulking was
1:43:20all for show. "Huh? You mean the
1:43:22acupuncture?" Bai Jia didn't know
1:43:24whether to laugh or cry, nearly done in
1:43:26by her own foolishness. As for that
1:43:28night, as long as she didn't tell and I
1:43:30didn't tell, Yilan could never know. But
1:43:33the acupuncture, how had Yilan found out
1:43:35about that? Divine Doctor Luo said so.
1:43:38Someone gave you acupuncture using the
1:43:40legendary art of channeling chi through
1:43:42needles. Do you understand what that
1:43:43means? It means even Divine Doctor Luo
1:43:46would bow in reverence. You little fool,
1:43:49you really do have the luck of the
1:43:50heavens. With this master you're
1:43:52Yilan nearly let it slip and hastily
1:43:55changed course.
1:43:56That problem of yours, where your chest
1:43:58hurts whenever you get upset, might just
1:44:00never flare up again. So it was Divine
1:44:02Doctor Luo who told you. But Baijia
1:44:05instinctively pressed a hand to her
1:44:06chest. She didn't understand channeling
1:44:09chi through needles, but from the way
1:44:11Yilan described it, it sounded so
1:44:13formidable that even Divine Doctor Luo
1:44:15looked up to it. Only, there was no way
1:44:17she could connect me to any master.
1:44:20Could Divine Doctor Luo have been
1:44:21mistaken? Baijia, hurry and tell me,
1:44:24where exactly is this master? First, so
1:44:26we can ask him to continue the
1:44:27acupuncture, and second, Divine Doctor
1:44:30Luo wants to meet him. You heard me
1:44:32right. He wants to pay his respects.
1:44:34Yilan's expression turned earnest. He
1:44:36sees, Baijia stammered. I had
1:44:39specifically warned her never to let
1:44:40Yilan find out about the acupuncture.
1:44:42How could she sell me out? She couldn't
1:44:44tell, absolutely couldn't. Just as she
1:44:46floundered for a way to bluff through
1:44:48it, the car door opened. I slid in,
1:44:50grinning.
1:44:51Auntie, let me tell her. I'd been
1:44:53standing outside the car a few minutes
1:44:54earlier and had heard every word of
1:44:56their conversation. Living up to his
1:44:58name, Divine Doctor Luo had actually
1:45:00detected that someone had given Baijia
1:45:02acupuncture and recognized it as
1:45:04channeling chi through needles. He
1:45:06wanted to pay his respects to me? I was
1:45:08flattered, truly, but he was the
1:45:10towering authority of the Chinese
1:45:11medicine world, and I was a green nobody
1:45:14just starting out. If I didn't want to
1:45:16shorten my own lifespan, better to pass.
1:45:18Besides, I was a nursing graduate. If I
1:45:20announced I possessed some
1:45:21heaven-defying technique, my aunt would
1:45:23only take it for bragging. This had to
1:45:25stay hidden. Once I'd actually cured by
1:45:27Jia, there'd be time enough to explain.
1:45:30I thought for a moment and spun a tale
1:45:31on the spot. Yesterday evening, while
1:45:34you were at the hospital, I went for a
1:45:35walk with Auntie Bai in the neighborhood
1:45:37park. Out of nowhere, this grimy beggar
1:45:39rushed up and insisted on giving Auntie
1:45:42Bai acupuncture. We refused at first,
1:45:44but he wouldn't let up, kept pestering
1:45:46us, so we let him put in a couple of
1:45:48needles. Who'd have thought I had eyes
1:45:50but failed to see a mountain? That
1:45:51beggar was using channeling qi through
1:45:53needles. Ah, if only I'd known, I'd have
1:45:56begged to take him as my master. Off to
1:45:58the side, Bai Jia's face darkened with
1:46:01exasperation. This little rascal lies
1:46:03rolling off his tongue. It was you who
1:46:05gave me the acupuncture, and yet he'd
1:46:07conjured up a beggar out of thin air and
1:46:09told it so convincingly that even she
1:46:11nearly believed it. A master like that,
1:46:13disguised as a beggar? Yilan was a bit
1:46:15skeptical, but then she thought of all
1:46:17those sweeping monk-type hidden masters
1:46:19from the TV dramas, and it no longer
1:46:21seemed strange. Smack. She brought her
1:46:24palm down on my forehead. You little
1:46:26punk, you didn't look down on him and
1:46:27offend him, did you? No way. I called
1:46:30him grandpa every other breath. I rubbed
1:46:32my forehead, protesting my innocence. It
1:46:35had better be so. Yilan breathed a sigh
1:46:37of relief. Bai Jia's illness was riding
1:46:39entirely on this master. They couldn't
1:46:42afford to offend him. You two buckle up.
1:46:44We're going to the park to find him
1:46:45right now. However long it takes, we're
1:46:47finding him. She floored the gas as if
1:46:50she could teleport straight to the park.
1:46:52Bai Jia and I exchanged a glance, both
1:46:54of us at a loss. I'd thought the
1:46:56explanation would be the end of it. I
1:46:58hadn't expected her to actually go
1:46:59looking. The master was far away, yet
1:47:01right under their noses. It was me. The
1:47:03beggar was pure invention, right? I
1:47:06actually had met a beggar once, and it
1:47:07was because of him that I received the
1:47:09mysterious inheritance. But that beggar
1:47:11wasn't this beggar, and who knew where
1:47:13he'd drifted off to. Where would we even
1:47:15look? Meanwhile, back at Divine Doctor
1:47:17Luo's courtyard house, in the study, Luo
1:47:20Tu Shan stared blankly at a potted
1:47:22ladder to heaven plant. The shock still
1:47:24unfaded in his deep eyes. To witness
1:47:27channeling qi through needles again
1:47:29after decades, his heart couldn't settle
1:47:31for the longest time. "Grandpa." A
1:47:33beautiful girl rolled slowly into the
1:47:35study in an electric wheelchair, a
1:47:37silver hairpin in her hair, none other
1:47:39than the girl I'd met in the garden. Her
1:47:41name was Luo Qingha, Luo Tu Shan's most
1:47:43beloved granddaughter. "Qingha." Luo Tu
1:47:46Shan set aside his thoughts and went to
1:47:48greet her with a smile. Though a trace
1:47:50of guilt hid in his eyes. The world
1:47:52called him a divine doctor, yet who knew
1:47:54that he was helpless against the very
1:47:56polio of his most beloved granddaughter.
1:47:58The irony of it cut deep. "Grandpa, what
1:48:01were you thinking about just now, lost
1:48:03so deep in it?" Luo Qingha tilted her
1:48:05small face up, full of curiosity. "It's
1:48:08nothing." He switched off her wheelchair
1:48:10and pushed her to the doorway of the
1:48:11study. In the yard set a small pond, its
1:48:14water clear, tiers of pink and white
1:48:16lotus blossoms unfurling, nearly
1:48:18translucent in the sunlight. Dewdrops
1:48:21glistened on the round lotus leaves, and
1:48:23dozens of goldfish drifted lazily along
1:48:26the bottom. Now darting under a leaf,
1:48:28now surfacing to blow a bubble, sending
1:48:30out ring after ring of ripples. "I don't
1:48:33believe you. I've never seen Grandpa
1:48:35like this. There must be something." Luo
1:48:37Qingha shook her head, the silver
1:48:39hairpin swaying gently. At his age,
1:48:41Grandpa had weathered every kind of
1:48:43storm and had always kept his composure
1:48:45even if a mountain crumbled before him.
1:48:48But just now, she'd seen antici- pation,
1:48:50excitement, even shock on his face. In
1:48:53all her memory, it was the first time.
1:48:55"You You're just too clever. Nothing
1:48:57gets past you." Luo Tu Shan sighed with
1:48:59a smile. Though this granddaughter had
1:49:01been born with polio and could only sit
1:49:03in a wheelchair, she'd never given up on
1:49:05herself. While other children were still
1:49:07playing in the mud, she was already
1:49:09pouring over thick books for hours.
1:49:11Before she was 13, she'd taught herself
1:49:14through the entire high school
1:49:15curriculum and scored nearly 700 points
1:49:17to get into Tsinghua or Peking
1:49:19University. At 17, she entered a
1:49:21combined master's doctoral program. Now,
1:49:24at 21, she was already working at the
1:49:26Chinese Academy of Sciences. She was the
1:49:28pride of the whole family. Yet, every
1:49:30time he saw his granddaughter's frail
1:49:32figure in that wheelchair, Luo Tushuan's
1:49:34heart felt as if pierced by needles.
1:49:37That was exactly why, upon discovering
1:49:39today that someone had channeled qi
1:49:41through needles, he'd been so moved.
1:49:43First, because the technique hadn't
1:49:45appeared in the world for so long. And
1:49:47second, because the first person he'd
1:49:49thought of was Qinghua. If he could
1:49:51truly meet that master, he'd kneel and
1:49:53beg him to treat Qinghua. Then perhaps
1:49:55this girl might have a chance to stand.
1:49:57But without full certainty, he didn't
1:49:59want to raise her hopes only to dash
1:50:00them. So, he hadn't meant to tell her.
1:50:02Only this girl was too clever to
1:50:04deceive, and he had no wish to lie. Luo
1:50:07Tushuan pondered for a moment, then
1:50:09braced himself on the armrest, bent
1:50:11down, and spoke with heartfelt gravity.
1:50:13Qinghua, two women came for treatment
1:50:15just now. One is breast cancer, and even
1:50:18grandpa is helpless. She ought to switch
1:50:20to Western medicine and have the breast
1:50:22removed. But inside her body, grandpa
1:50:24caught a trace of a current, the mark of
1:50:26channeling qi through needles. She'd
1:50:29encountered a master. That technique,
1:50:31grandpa hasn't seen it in decades.
1:50:33That's why I couldn't calm down. In the
1:50:35end, he didn't steer the conversation
1:50:37toward Qinghua, afraid that one more
1:50:39word would make him pour out all the
1:50:41hopes swelling in his heart. But when
1:50:43Luo Qinghua heard it, her lovely eyes
1:50:45suddenly lit up, as if a beam of light
1:50:47had leapt from their depths. That light
1:50:49shone only for an instant before swiftly
1:50:52dimming. She lowered her head to look at
1:50:54her legs, withered down almost to bare
1:50:56bone, and said dejectedly, "Channeling
1:50:58qi through needles. I read about it once
1:51:01in an ancient book, a miraculous art.
1:51:03But does it really exist in reality? If
1:51:05it does, I wish I could be as lucky as
1:51:07that woman. Maybe then my legs could."
1:51:09As she spoke, her eyes reddened, and a
1:51:11single tear rolled down her cheek and
1:51:14dripped onto the back of her hand. All
1:51:16these years, she'd only been strong on
1:51:18the surface. In front of others, she
1:51:20always smiled graciously, gentle and
1:51:22polite, never letting anyone worry. But
1:51:25she alone knew how many deep nights
1:51:27she'd spent before the mirror, staring
1:51:29at those two senseless legs, biting the
1:51:31corner of her quilt and crying until
1:51:33dawn. If she could choose, she'd gladly
1:51:35give up this extraordinary gift to be an
1:51:37ordinary girl with four working limbs,
1:51:40living a plain and simple life. Qingha,
1:51:43Grandpa has already asked a Miss Ye to
1:51:44help introduce me to that master. Don't
1:51:46worry. So long as there's a sliver of
1:51:48hope, Grandpa will do everything in his
1:51:50power to beg him to give you
1:51:52acupuncture. Luo Tushan's heart ached
1:51:54terribly. As he spoke, he absently
1:51:57rested his hand on her right leg,
1:51:59meaning to give a gentle, comforting
1:52:00pat. But out of habit, he gave it a
1:52:02squeeze, and not paying attention, he
1:52:04used a bit too much force. Ah, Grandpa,
1:52:07gently, that hurts. Luo Qingha cried
1:52:10out, her brow knitting into a knot. Oh
1:52:13dear, Grandpa's getting senile. Why did
1:52:15I use that much force? Luo Tushan
1:52:18hurriedly drew back his hand, wringing
1:52:20them in self-reproach. But in the next
1:52:22second, grandfather and granddaughter
1:52:24met each other's eyes and went wide at
1:52:26the same time. Something Something
1:52:28wasn't right. Luo Tushan froze in place,
1:52:31as if struck by lightning. Divine doctor
1:52:33though he was, even with all his
1:52:35strength, he could only slow the
1:52:36worsening of his granddaughter's
1:52:38condition. He could never halt it. By
1:52:40now, Qingha not only couldn't stand, but
1:52:42both her legs had long lost all
1:52:44sensation. Once, a fruit knife had
1:52:46fallen from the table and cut her leg,
1:52:48drawing blood, and she hadn't felt the
1:52:50slightest pain. Just now, he'd only
1:52:52given a squeeze, a little too hard, yes.
1:52:55But by all reason, Qingha should have
1:52:57felt nothing at all. And yet this girl
1:52:59had cried out in pain. How could that
1:53:01be? Qingha, did Grandpa hear right? Just
1:53:03now, did you say the word hurts? Luo
1:53:06Tushan's voice trembled, his hands
1:53:08hovering in midair, wanting to touch
1:53:10her, yet not daring to. "Grandpa, it
1:53:13seems you did hear right." Luo Qingha
1:53:15was so dazed, she couldn't even be sure
1:53:17herself. Her heart raced. Holding her
1:53:19breath, she looked down and, with all
1:53:22her strength, gave a hard pinch to that
1:53:24right leg that had long since lost all
1:53:26feeling. In an instant, a clear,
1:53:28distinct pain shot up. 1 minute, 2
1:53:30minutes, 3 minutes. Seeing that she
1:53:33still said nothing, Luo Tu Shan finally
1:53:35couldn't hold back and asked, ever so
1:53:37carefully, "Qingha, tell Grandpa, that
1:53:40pinch just now, does it still hurt?"
1:53:43"Mm-mm." Luo Qingha nodded hard, tears
1:53:45bursting from her eyes and rolling down
1:53:47her cheeks one after another. It didn't
1:53:50just hurt, it was still hurting, and
1:53:51that pain made her so happy, she could
1:53:53nearly go mad. Yet she was also afraid,
1:53:56afraid this was a dream, that when she
1:53:58woke, both legs would turn back into
1:54:00dead wood, feeling nothing at all. "Let
1:54:02Grandpa examine you. Let's see exactly
1:54:05what's going on." Unable to wait, Luo Tu
1:54:07Shan pressed his fingers to her wrist,
1:54:10three fingers on her pulse, closed his
1:54:12eyes, and focused his mind. The
1:54:14courtyard fell utterly silent, broken
1:54:16only now and then by the splash of a
1:54:18goldfish flicking its tail. His brow
1:54:21furrowed tighter and tighter, his
1:54:22breathing growing rapid. His puzzlement
1:54:25quickly turned to disbelief. It was
1:54:27exactly the same as that Miss Bai.
1:54:29Inside Qingha's body, he too sensed a
1:54:31current, soft and unbroken, like a warm
1:54:34little stream flowing inch by inch along
1:54:36her meridians. Everywhere it passed,
1:54:39those long dormant nerve endings seemed
1:54:41to awaken, bit by bit reviving. The very
1:54:44same breath, the very same technique.
1:54:46This, too, was the trace of channeling
1:54:49qi through needles. Good heavens, in a
1:54:51single day, he'd encountered channeling
1:54:53qi through needles twice. In years past,
1:54:56he wouldn't have dared even dream of it.
1:54:58"Qingha, tell Grandpa, did someone give
1:55:01you acupuncture today?" Luo Tu Shan's
1:55:03heart hammered like a drum. Luo Qing
1:55:05He's mind flashed instantly to that
1:55:07scene in the garden and she answered
1:55:08truthfully, "Mhm, a little while ago I
1:55:11went out for some air and in the small
1:55:13garden about a hundred yards east of our
1:55:14gate, a man about my age came over and
1:55:17struck up a conversation." He said my
1:55:19silver hairpin was unusual and wanted to
1:55:21take a closer look. I told him not to
1:55:23beat around the bush and handed it to
1:55:25him, but he said there's no reward
1:55:26without effort, insisted he knew a bit
1:55:29of medicine and wanted to look at my
1:55:30legs first. Then he took out a silver
1:55:32needle and started putting needles in
1:55:34me. When he finished, he said with such
1:55:37confidence, "Barring complications, in
1:55:39four hours my right leg would regain a
1:55:41little feeling." I thought he was all
1:55:43talk since even grandpa is helpless
1:55:45against my condition. Could it be that?
1:55:47Her voice trailed off growing fainter.
1:55:50If that man's acupuncture truly had
1:55:52brought feeling back to her right leg,
1:55:54then he'd done her a kindness beyond
1:55:55measure. Thankfully, she'd only doubted
1:55:58his skill in her heart and hadn't said a
1:56:00single unkind word. A young man? You're
1:56:02saying the one who gave you acupuncture
1:56:04was a young man about your age? Luo Tu
1:56:06Shan's eyes went wide. When she nodded,
1:56:09his shock was beyond words. He'd always
1:56:11assumed that anyone capable of
1:56:13channeling chi through needles would be
1:56:14at least his own age, if not older. And
1:56:17yet it was a young man barely into his
1:56:18twenties. In that moment, the
1:56:20understanding he'd built over most of
1:56:22his life was utterly overturned.
1:56:24Grandpa, is something wrong? Luo Qing He
1:56:26felt more and more that something was
1:56:28off. Grandpa's state was bordering on
1:56:30frenzy. Qing He, that young man who gave
1:56:33you acupuncture was using the very art
1:56:35of channeling chi through needles. He
1:56:37too is a master. Luo Tu Shan said,
1:56:40enunciating each word. Huh? This? Even
1:56:43Luo Qing He couldn't stay composed.
1:56:45Channeling chi through needles was a
1:56:47technique even her grandfather couldn't
1:56:49hope to match. And grandpa was already
1:56:51hailed as a divine doctor with countless
1:56:53officials and dignitaries lining up to
1:56:55see him. For that man to have mastered
1:56:57it so young, money, status, fame should
1:57:00all have been his for the taking. Yet,
1:57:02the man had been dressed plainly, his
1:57:04manner low-key, utterly unremarkable in
1:57:06a crowd. No one who saw him would
1:57:08believe he was a doctor, let alone a
1:57:10master of channeling qi through needles.
1:57:12Qingha, did you ask that master's name
1:57:15or where he lives? Luo Tu Shan could
1:57:17hardly wait to go pay his respects that
1:57:19very instant. No, he left right after
1:57:22looking at the hairpin. He didn't give
1:57:23his name and I didn't ask. Luo Qingha
1:57:26pulled out the silver hairpin, looking
1:57:28at the dull silver sheen of its head,
1:57:30and shook her head. No matter, there are
1:57:32cameras all over this area. They must
1:57:34have caught him. I'll go pull the
1:57:35surveillance footage right now. I'll
1:57:37find him no matter what and beg him on
1:57:39my knees to continue your treatment. As
1:57:41long as he agrees, Qingha, you'll have a
1:57:43chance to stand. Luo Tu Shan lifted his
1:57:46foot to go. In that moment, he was more
1:57:48anxious than anyone. There was only one
1:57:50chance. Miss it and there might never be
1:57:53another in this lifetime. To his
1:57:54surprise, Luo Qingha grabbed a corner of
1:57:57his robe. Grandpa, don't. Qingha, you He
1:58:00stopped and turned back. She shook her
1:58:02head gently, her voice soft. I want him
1:58:04to keep treating me, too. But a master
1:58:06like that, we really shouldn't go
1:58:08disturbing him unbidden. What if we
1:58:10upset him and ruin everything? But Luo
1:58:12Tu Shan still wanted to press. Grandpa,
1:58:15listen to me just this once. Luo Qingha
1:58:18smiled sweetly. I don't know why, but
1:58:20somehow I have a feeling he and I will
1:58:22meet again. And if we don't, then it
1:58:24simply wasn't meant to be and I'll
1:58:26accept that. Luo Tu Shan gazed at his
1:58:28granddaughter for a long while, then
1:58:30heaved a sigh and nodded firmly. All
1:58:32right, grandpa will do as you say.
1:58:35Elsewhere, Yilan, Bai Jia, and I drove
1:58:38back to East Bank Mansion. But instead
1:58:40of heading straight home, we went
1:58:41directly to the park beside the complex.
1:58:43Naturally, it was because Yilan insisted
1:58:46on finding that beggar who could channel
1:58:48qi through needles. But Bai Jia and I
1:58:50both knew full well that beggar was
1:58:52something I conjured out of thin air. We
1:58:55could dig the park up 3 ft and never
1:58:57find him. We searched from day into
1:58:58night and it was nearly 10:00. By Jia
1:59:01couldn't hold out any longer and clung
1:59:03to Yilan's arm. Lan Lan, I'm tired and
1:59:06starving. I can't take anymore. Let's go
1:59:08home. Please, I'm begging you. I chimed
1:59:11in, too. Auntie, a master's like a
1:59:13dragon. You glimpse the head but never
1:59:15the tail. Searching like this won't get
1:59:17us anywhere. Fine. We'll come back first
1:59:19thing tomorrow. I refuse to believe we
1:59:21can't find him. Yilan nodded, full of
1:59:24reluctance, and helped By Jia toward
1:59:26home. I stumbled, nearly taking a
1:59:28spectacular fall. My aunt was dead set
1:59:30on it, determined to lock horns with a
1:59:32beggar who didn't even exist. And she
1:59:35was true to her word. The next day, the
1:59:37moment the sky began to lighten, she
1:59:39woke By Jia and me one by one. Up, up,
1:59:42eat breakfast, and then it's back to the
1:59:44park to find him. By Jia rubbed her
1:59:46bleary eyes and gave a listless reply.
1:59:48As for me, I was fighting back tears,
1:59:51dressing as slowly as I could, half
1:59:53wishing I could just bash my head
1:59:54against the wall. What do you call this?
1:59:56Reaping what you sow. If I hadn't run my
1:59:58mouth and invented a beggar out of
2:00:00nothing, I wouldn't be suffering like
2:00:02this. The three of us grabbed a quick
2:00:04bite, got ourselves ready, and prepared
2:00:06to set off. Yilan pulled open the front
2:00:08door. The instant it opened, all three
2:00:10of us froze. A middle-aged man stood
2:00:12outside, gold-rimmed glasses, neither
2:00:15fat nor thin, refined and scholarly in
2:00:18appearance, but with eyes bloodshot and
2:00:20a haggard face, as if he hadn't slept
2:00:22for days. Wasn't this By Jia's husband,
2:00:24that bastard Qin Jizhong? Qin Jizhong,
2:00:27you heartless scum. You had a good life
2:00:29and threw it away to fool around,
2:00:31leaving By Jia to cry her eyes out every
2:00:33single day. If it weren't for By Jia's
2:00:35father back then, you think you'd have
2:00:37what you have today? And you've got the
2:00:38nerve to show up here. I'll slap you
2:00:40senseless. The rage Yilan had bottled up
2:00:43for days detonated the instant she laid
2:00:45eyes on Qin Jizhong. The moment she
2:00:47finished her tirade, she lunged to
2:00:49strike him. Lan Lan, Bai Jia reached out
2:00:51to stop her. Yilan's face flushed
2:00:54crimson with anger. He's this much of a
2:00:56scumbag and you're still protecting him?
2:00:58I'm not protecting him. Bai Jia shook
2:00:59her head, her eyes already misting over.
2:01:02I've given up on him completely. I just
2:01:04think someone like this isn't worth it.
2:01:06The marriage had been arranged at their
2:01:07parents bidding in the first place. The
2:01:09moment she learned he'd been fooling
2:01:11around, she'd pronounced it dead without
2:01:13a shred of lingering attachment. She was
2:01:15soft by nature, but she couldn't abide a
2:01:17speck of grit in her eye. She could take
2:01:19things up and she could let them go. Bai
2:01:22Jia forced her tears back and looked at
2:01:24him coldly. Her voice calm without the
2:01:26slightest ripple. Chen Zizhong, leave. I
2:01:28don't want to see you right now. Once
2:01:30I've pulled myself together, we'll talk
2:01:32about the divorce. Outside, Chen Zizhong
2:01:34froze as if he'd never expected the
2:01:37soft, gentle Bai Jia to utter the word
2:01:39divorce and so resolutely. Thud. His
2:01:42knees buckled and he dropped straight to
2:01:44the ground. His face full of remorse.
2:01:47Divorce? No, I'll never divorce you. Not
2:01:49if it kills me. Bai Jia, I'm scum, but I
2:01:52only made the mistake every man in the
2:01:54world makes. For the sake of all our
2:01:56years together, give me one more chance,
2:01:58please. It was that Cheng
2:02:00Xiaoxiao. She got me drunk at first,
2:02:03climbed into my bed on her own and took
2:02:05photos and recordings. She threatened
2:02:07me, said if I didn't give her what she
2:02:08wanted, she'd use them to report me. I
2:02:11work a government job. One report of
2:02:13moral misconduct and my iron rice bowl,
2:02:16my whole future, gone. I clawed my way
2:02:18to where I am today. I couldn't just
2:02:20accept losing it. That's why she had me
2:02:22over a barrel time and again against my
2:02:24will. But every time I was with her, the
2:02:27one in my mind was you, my wife.
2:02:29Weeping, he pulled out his phone with
2:02:30trembling hands and opened a WeChat chat
2:02:33log. A few indecent photos, string after
2:02:35string of threatening messages, truly
2:02:38unbearable to look at. Bai Jia frowned
2:02:40and instinctively asked, Chen Zizhong,
2:02:43is all of this the truth? You're not
2:02:45lying to me. If a single word of it is
2:02:46false, may I die a horrible death." He
2:02:49raised his right hand, swearing so
2:02:51earnestly that anyone would have
2:02:52believed at least part of it. "But, that
2:02:55Chen Jiaojiao, she's already pregnant
2:02:57with your child." Bai Jian remembered
2:02:59the medical report from the cafe and
2:03:01began to tremble all over with anger
2:03:02again. "I know, but I kept pressuring
2:03:05her to get rid of it. She refused. Don't
2:03:07worry, I'll find a way. I love children,
2:03:10but the children I want are the ones you
2:03:12and I have together." He seized Bai
2:03:14Jian's hand, tears streaming down his
2:03:16face. "Wife, you have to believe me. No
2:03:19matter how beastly I am, I could never
2:03:21forget the kindness your parents showed
2:03:22me. Come home with me. Let's both calm
2:03:25down, deal with this mess, and get back
2:03:27to a good life together." At this point,
2:03:2990% of women would probably have been
2:03:31moved. Slam. Just then, I abruptly shut
2:03:34the door, barring Chen Zijiang outside.
2:03:37"Xiao Feng, what are you doing?" Yilan
2:03:39was baffled. "Auntie Anyi Bai, you can't
2:03:41believe a single word Chen Zijiang
2:03:43says." My tone was firm and absolute.
2:03:46"What do you know? You're a kid fresh
2:03:47out of school." Yilan shot me a glare.
2:03:50"Move aside and open the door. We can
2:03:52tell for ourselves what's true and what
2:03:53isn't." She reached for the door handle.
2:03:56I leaned against the door sideways,
2:03:57refusing to budge. "Auntie, hear me out.
2:04:00Chen Zijiang has clawed his way up
2:04:02through officialdom all these years, a
2:04:04sly old fox who's thriving. Would he
2:04:06really be so easily outmaneuvered by
2:04:08some college girl? Even if he truly let
2:04:10his guard down, he'd have a hundred ways
2:04:12to get rid of Chen Jiaojiao. How could a
2:04:14mere slip of a girl have him over a
2:04:16barrel for so long?" Yilan was taken
2:04:18aback. The more she thought it over, the
2:04:20more sense it made, and she hesitantly
2:04:22withdrew her hand. "So, everything he
2:04:25just said, all that evidence, it's
2:04:27fake?" I didn't answer directly.
2:04:29Instead, I turned to Bai Jian and asked
2:04:30in earnest, "Anyi Bai, let me ask you
2:04:33something, and don't be embarrassed.
2:04:35Before all this happened, how long had
2:04:37it been since Chen Zizhong last touched
2:04:39you? Huh? Bai Jia's face went instantly
2:04:41scarlet. She bit her lip, thought for a
2:04:44moment, then answered honestly. He was
2:04:46busy with work, often away from home,
2:04:49and when he did come back, he'd be too
2:04:50tired and just drop off to sleep. I
2:04:52rarely took the initiative. The last
2:04:54time was about 4 years ago, I think. 4
2:04:57years? Hearing that number, Yilan and I
2:04:59both found it absurd beyond belief. A
2:05:02married couple for years without sharing
2:05:04a bed? Was that normal? He says that
2:05:06every time he was with Chen Xiaoxiao, he
2:05:08was thinking of Any Bai. But 4 years
2:05:10without touching Any Bai, isn't that a
2:05:12load of crap? I paused. And here's the
2:05:15cruelest part. 4 years ago was exactly
2:05:17the year Chen Xiaoxiao started college.
2:05:19That line was like a knife cutting
2:05:21through every disguise. So, Chen Zizhong
2:05:24had stopped touching Bai Jia precisely
2:05:26because he had Chen Xiaoxiao? That
2:05:27bastard. He was treating us like fools.
2:05:30Yilan trembled with rage, making as if
2:05:32to shove me aside and rush out to have
2:05:34it out with him. I grabbed her. "Auntie,
2:05:37don't act rashly. Let go. I'm going to
2:05:39make him pay today." Yilan simply
2:05:41couldn't calm down. I lowered my voice.
2:05:43"A man this shameless will never admit
2:05:45to any of it. He'll just keep hounding
2:05:47Any Bai. But I've got a way to make him
2:05:48show his true colors." "What way? Out
2:05:51with it." Yilan forced down her fury,
2:05:53her chest heaving violently. "Haha." I
2:05:56gave a wicked little smile and leaned
2:05:58close to her ear to whisper. When Yilan
2:06:00heard it, her lovely eyes went round.
2:06:03"You little punk. You really are rotten
2:06:05to the core." Curse me as she might, she
2:06:07still drew a deep breath, pulled open
2:06:09the door, and strode out. Bai Jia was
2:06:11left utterly confused. I'd spoken too
2:06:14quietly for her to hear anything. Seeing
2:06:16Yilan go out and pull the door shut
2:06:18behind her, she sidled over and asked,
2:06:20"Xiaofeng, what did you tell Lanlan?"
2:06:22"Auntie Bai, you'll find out soon
2:06:24enough." My tone turned grave. "The
2:06:26method's a bit nasty, yes, but first,
2:06:29it'll make Chen Zizhong show his true
2:06:30face, so he can't keep playing the
2:06:32devoted husband in front of you. And
2:06:34second, it'll make you give up on him
2:06:36for good, so you won't be taken in by
2:06:38him again. I've already given up on him.
2:06:41Bai Jia said, but her words lacked
2:06:43conviction, and her eyes darted away.
2:06:45Have you? I crossed my arms and leaned
2:06:47against the door frame.
2:06:48If I hadn't shut the door just now, I
2:06:50bet you'd have already fallen for his
2:06:52nonsense, wouldn't you?
2:06:54No, I wouldn't. I'm not that foolish.
2:06:56Bai Jia turned her back, her fingers
2:06:58unconsciously twisting the hem of her
2:07:00clothes. For one brief moment just now,
2:07:02she had wavered, but that was entirely
2:07:04out of consideration for her parents.
2:07:06Outside, Yilan had already suppressed
2:07:09all her fury. The instant the door
2:07:11closed, the anger vanished clean from
2:07:13her face, and the look she gave Chen
2:07:15Zizhong even carried a trace of apology.
2:07:18Zizhong, let's go downstairs to talk.
2:07:20Yilan's voice was impossibly gentle, a
2:07:23completely different person from usual.
2:07:25Huh? Okay. Chen Zizhong couldn't believe
2:07:27his ears. This woman was his wife's best
2:07:30friend, hot-tempered, never once this
2:07:32gentle, and now she was calling him
2:07:34Zizhong.
2:07:35He was a little dazed, his steps
2:07:36unsteady. Downstairs, Yilan stopped
2:07:39beside an osmanthus tree, her back to
2:07:41him, silent for a few seconds before she
2:07:43spoke. Zizhong, I thought you were just
2:07:45a lecher who'd wronged Bai Jia. I never
2:07:47imagined you'd been threatened, carrying
2:07:49so much grievance. The way I cursed you
2:07:52just now, without hearing you out, I'm
2:07:54truly sorry. So, Yilan, you believe me,
2:07:57don't you? Chen Zizhong's heart leaped
2:07:59with joy. This was exactly his purpose
2:08:02in coming today, to dress himself up as
2:08:04a devoted man and con his way to
2:08:06forgiveness. It seemed to be working.
2:08:08Mm-mm. And not just me, Bai Jia believes
2:08:10you, too. Yilan nodded firmly. Chen
2:08:13Zizhong let out a huge breath, secretly
2:08:15pleased with his own acting, and rubbed
2:08:17his hands with an ingratiating smile.
2:08:20Then why hasn't Bai Jia come out to see
2:08:21me? Don't be impatient. Yilan remained
2:08:24gentle. After all, that Chen Jiaojiao is
2:08:26still carrying your child. Bai Jia needs
2:08:29a little more time before she can face
2:08:30you like before and come home with you.
2:08:32Good. Good. Good. As long as she doesn't
2:08:35divorce me, I'm in no hurry. Qin
2:08:38Zhizhong nodded again and again, then
2:08:40politely added, "In the meantime, let
2:08:42her stay at your place. Sorry for the
2:08:44trouble." Suddenly, Yilan turned around
2:08:47and looked straight at him, something
2:08:48indefinable in her gaze. "Bai Jia is my
2:08:51best friend. I'd gladly take care of her
2:08:53my whole life. What's more, I toward
2:08:56Yui." Qin Zhizhong's heart gave a
2:08:58violent jolt. Why did the look in
2:09:00Yilan's eyes resemble so exactly the way
2:09:02Qin Xiaoxiao had looked at him in the
2:09:04beginning? Adoring, worshipful, fervent?
2:09:07He couldn't be sure, so he probed.
2:09:09"Yilan, we know each other so well. Just
2:09:12say what's on your mind. Why leave it
2:09:13half spoken?" Yilan bit her lip hard,
2:09:16two patches of red rising on her fair
2:09:18cheeks, as if locked in a fierce inner
2:09:20struggle. A full 10 odd seconds later,
2:09:23her voice came soft and trembling.
2:09:25"Zhizhong, do you know why I've stayed
2:09:26single all these years? Because of you.
2:09:29The very first time Bai Jia brought you
2:09:30before me, I fell for you at first
2:09:32sight. But Bai Jia and I were so close
2:09:35that no matter how much I liked you, I
2:09:36could only bury it and never dare
2:09:38speak." "Well, what? You fell for me at
2:09:40first sight all that time ago?" Qin
2:09:43Zhizhong's eyes went wide. He'd never
2:09:45imagined that Yilan, who'd always
2:09:47treated him like an enemy, had secretly
2:09:49harbored feelings for him. But then
2:09:51again, he, a poor boy from the
2:09:53countryside, had married Bai Jia, had
2:09:55Qin Xiaoxiao throwing herself at him,
2:09:58and several other women willing to be
2:09:59his mistresses on the side. Winning
2:10:01Yilan's heart along the way made perfect
2:10:03sense. It seemed he'd underestimated his
2:10:05own charm. "Zhizhong, I'm telling you
2:10:08all this today with no ulterior motive."
2:10:10Yilan turned her back to him again.
2:10:12"Liking you is one thing, but I would
2:10:14never do anything to wrong Bai Jia. I
2:10:16only hope you won't be so distant with
2:10:17me from now on." "No, Lanlan." Qin
2:10:20Zhizhong's heart surged with warmth, and
2:10:22even his form of address changed. A
2:10:24lecher like him, how could he not be
2:10:26stirred by a beauty like Yilan? He'd
2:10:28fantasized about her more than once, had
2:10:31even nearly thought of forcing himself
2:10:32on her, only lacking the nerve. Now that
2:10:35she was confessing of her own accord, it
2:10:37was exactly what he'd been hoping for.
2:10:39Yilan, you should have said so long ago.
2:10:42Then you wouldn't have had to endure all
2:10:43these years of being single. He took a
2:10:45big step forward, his voice full of
2:10:48emotion. How could I not like you, too?
2:10:50It was only to spare Bai Jia that I
2:10:51never dared pierce that paper window
2:10:53between us. Really? Yilan tilted her
2:10:56head slightly. Of course. Chen Jijong
2:10:58thumped his chest. Once I've dealt with
2:11:00that Chen Jiaojiao, I promise,
2:11:02from now on, my only women will be you
2:11:05and Bai Jia. I'll love Bai Jia well, and
2:11:07I'll love you well, too. You two are so
2:11:09close. Maybe she'll even accept the
2:11:11three of us forming a little family of
2:11:13three. The three of us are bound to be
2:11:15so happy. Yilan had her back to him, so
2:11:18Chen Jijong couldn't see the expression
2:11:20on her face at all. That's right. The
2:11:21nasty trick I'd come up with was to have
2:11:23her use the beauty ploy. So not a single
2:11:25word she'd just said was true. She
2:11:27nearly made herself sick to her stomach.
2:11:29She'd anticipated Chen Jijong was
2:11:31shameless, but never that he'd be
2:11:33shameless to this degree. Her this, Bai
2:11:35Jia that, and now a family of three? Her
2:11:37world view shattered. Her goal
2:11:39accomplished, there was no need to keep
2:11:41up the act. She squeezed out one
2:11:43sentence through gritted teeth. Chen
2:11:45Jijong, close your eyes. Okay, closing
2:11:47them. Chen Jijong didn't catch the shift
2:11:50in her tone at all, thinking she was
2:11:51about to kiss him. Full of anticipation,
2:11:54the corners of his mouth curled up.
2:11:56Little did he know that the instant he
2:11:57foolishly shut his eyes, Yilan slipped
2:12:00off a stiletto heel, turned around, her
2:12:02lovely eyes practically spitting fire.
2:12:05Chen Jijong, you sick pervert. I can
2:12:07barely stomach you. Me like you? Scummed
2:12:09through and through, and still putting
2:12:11on a show of devotion in front of Bai
2:12:13Jia. I'll beat you to death. She swung
2:12:15the nearly 4-in stiletto heel and
2:12:17brought it down on him, blow after blow.
2:12:20"Ow, stop hitting me. Stop." Shen
2:12:22Zhijong covered his head, unable to fend
2:12:24her off, and scrambled on hands and
2:12:27knees toward the complex gate, utterly
2:12:29disheveled and ridiculous. Instead of
2:12:31the kiss he'd been waiting for, he'd
2:12:33taken a beating. So, this woman had been
2:12:35toying with him all along. He'd let his
2:12:37guard down. He didn't dare stop until
2:12:39he'd run a good 50 ft, then clutched his
2:12:41head and shouted back, "Yilan, I, Shen
2:12:44Zhijong, am a man of some standing. If
2:12:46I'm diagnosed with a concussion later,
2:12:48you can just wait for the lawsuit, and I
2:12:50will never divorce Bai Jia, never."
2:12:52Hurling his vicious words, he left the
2:12:54complex with a belly full of rage. "You
2:12:57beast, from now on, every time I see
2:13:00you, I'll beat you." Yilan put her shoe
2:13:02back on. If he hadn't run so fast, she'd
2:13:04have kept at it. Bai Jia came rushing
2:13:07out of the building entrance, her face
2:13:08full of worry. "Long Long, he didn't hit
2:13:11you back, did he?" He wouldn't dare.
2:13:13Yilan clapped her hands, then turned
2:13:15around, and suddenly her nose stung with
2:13:17emotion as she threw her arms around Bai
2:13:19Jia. "Bai Jia, from now on, don't
2:13:22believe a single word that man says."
2:13:24"Mm-mm, I heard everything you two said
2:13:26just now from upstairs. I won't be that
2:13:29foolish again." Bai Jia gazed toward the
2:13:31gate, her eyes as calm as still water,
2:13:34her heart gone completely cold. A few
2:13:36minutes later, Yilan composed herself,
2:13:38took Bai Jia by the hand, and said with
2:13:40feigned cheer, "All right, let's toss
2:13:43all the unpleasantness aside. We still
2:13:45got business to attend to. Come on, to
2:13:47the park." "Huh." Bai Jia knew what she
2:13:49was after. She hadn't cried earlier, but
2:13:52now she felt like crying. "Long Long,
2:13:54we're going to look for that beggar
2:13:55again, know that master?" "Of course,
2:13:58for your illness. We have to find him no
2:14:00matter what." Yilan was ready to drag
2:14:02her off then and there, but at the
2:14:04thought of yesterday's hours of
2:14:05searching, leaving them exhausted, Bai
2:14:07Jia felt utterly drained of the will to
2:14:09live. The crucial thing was, that master
2:14:12was pure invention on Li Feng's part.
2:14:14They could search a lifetime and never
2:14:16find him. She knew exactly how stubborn
2:14:18Yulan was, and it seemed there was only
2:14:20one way to end this farce. Turn traitor.
2:14:23Bai Jia gritted her teeth. "Long Long,
2:14:25stop looking. Let me tell you the truth.
2:14:27There's actually no master at all. It
2:14:29was Li Feng who gave me the
2:14:30acupuncture." Yulan was taken aback for
2:14:32a moment, then burst out laughing. "Bai
2:14:35Jia, that joke isn't funny in the
2:14:37slightest." She'd sooner believe the old
2:14:39security guard at the complex gate could
2:14:41do acupuncture than believe Li Feng
2:14:43could. "Long Long, I mean it. It really
2:14:45was." Bai Jia felt more helpless than
2:14:48she ever had in her life, stamping her
2:14:50foot in frustration. Something suddenly
2:14:52occurred to Yulan, and she stopped and
2:14:54looked around. "Huh, where'd that kid Li
2:14:56Feng go?" "I don't know. He definitely
2:14:59came downstairs with me just now." Only
2:15:01then did Bai Jia realize I was gone. A
2:15:03kilometer south of the complex, at the
2:15:05entrance of a community clinic, I
2:15:07watched as Qin Zhijiang got out of a car
2:15:09and stumbled inside, clutching his head.
2:15:11This beast had betrayed his marriage,
2:15:13broken Bai Jia's heart, and still had
2:15:15the gall to feign devotion and beg
2:15:17forgiveness. My aunt had taught him a
2:15:19lesson, but I hadn't had my turn yet.
2:15:21Inside the clinic, Qin Zhijiang plopped
2:15:23down furiously into a waiting room
2:15:25chair. Only once he gotten in the car
2:15:27had he discovered the heel had cut his
2:15:29head open and drawn blood. The wound was
2:15:31small, but it still needed tending. A
2:15:34staff member disinfected it and put on a
2:15:36bandage, done in no time. He pulled out
2:15:38his phone and snapped several shots of
2:15:40the wound, saying venomously, "Yulan,
2:15:43this is the proof of your malicious
2:15:44assault. Stick your nose in my business
2:15:46again, and see if I don't sue you." His
2:15:49refusal to divorce wasn't out of love
2:15:51for Bai Jia. It was because Bai Jia
2:15:53still had her uses. On top of that, the
2:15:55Jiulong District Government would soon
2:15:57have a leadership position opening up,
2:15:59and he'd long since greased the right
2:16:01palms, determined to have it. At this
2:16:03critical juncture, he could not afford
2:16:05any trouble. Ring ring. His phone rang.
2:16:08It was his younger brother, Qin Jia, who
2:16:10had only a middle school education and
2:16:12whom he'd long ago maneuvered into the
2:16:13Culture and Tourism Bureau. "What is
2:16:15it?" The voice on the other end dropped
2:16:17low. "Big brother, as you instructed, I
2:16:20took Qin Jiaojiao to the next city over.
2:16:22Found a place that's not exactly
2:16:24licensed but reliable. But they say Qin
2:16:26Jiaojiao's only 3 months along, and a
2:16:28paternity test means a needle puncture
2:16:30to draw amniotic fluid. There's a risk.
2:16:33Could harm the fetus. This test, do we
2:16:35do it or not?" Qin Zhijiang didn't
2:16:37hesitate. "Nonsense. Of course we do it.
2:16:40All I care about is whether what's in
2:16:41her belly is mine. Forget an unborn
2:16:43child. I don't give a damn whether Qin
2:16:45Jiaojiao lives or dies, either." The
2:16:48higher the rank, the deeper the
2:16:49suspicion. If it was his, everything was
2:16:52fine. If it wasn't, if she'd cuckolded
2:16:54him, then she couldn't blame him for
2:16:55turning cold and cutting her off. He
2:16:58hung up and stood, only for a wave of
2:17:00dizziness to hit him. Never mind. There
2:17:02was nothing urgent at work. Better to
2:17:04catch a quick nap. He leaned back
2:17:06against the chair, closed his eyes, and
2:17:08soon began to snore softly. Not long
2:17:10after he'd dozed off, a figure appeared
2:17:13silently behind him. Who else could it
2:17:15be but me? I looked coldly at Qin
2:17:17Zhijiang. Thrashing him the way my aunt
2:17:19had was letting this beast off too easy.
2:17:21I rested my hand on his shoulder,
2:17:23gathered a wisp of true chi at my
2:17:24fingertips, and quietly channeled it
2:17:26into him. In his sleep, he seemed to
2:17:28sense something. His eyelids twitched,
2:17:31but the next instant he fell into an
2:17:32even deeper sleep, his snoring louder.
2:17:35How could I let him wake so easily?
2:17:37Within 10 odd seconds, I had it figured
2:17:39out. This beast had gout. Gout is it?
2:17:42Then let me show you what it means to
2:17:43wish you were dead. I gave a cold laugh,
2:17:46took precise aim at the uric acid
2:17:48crystals deposited in his joints, and
2:17:50shattered them with a sudden jolt of
2:17:51true chi, sending them coursing along
2:17:54his meridians to every joint in his
2:17:56body. That done, I turned and slipped
2:17:58away quietly. I'd barely He out of the
2:18:00clinic when Qin Zhijiang woke. He'd
2:18:02always been a light sleeper, and he'd
2:18:04clearly felt someone approach. He'd
2:18:06wanted to open his eyes and look, but it
2:18:08was as if he were pinned down by a
2:18:09ghost. He couldn't open them no matter
2:18:11how he tried, and couldn't move a
2:18:13muscle. "Damndest thing." He muttered,
2:18:15rubbing his heavy temples. Bracing
2:18:17against the armrest, he stood, about to
2:18:20leave. The moment he put weight on his
2:18:22feet, a searing pain exploded from his
2:18:24toes, then his knees, wrists, elbows,
2:18:27shoulders, every joint in his body felt
2:18:30as though it were being gouged over and
2:18:32over with a knife. "Ah!" Chen Jizhong
2:18:34screamed, lost his balance, and crashed
2:18:37straight to the ground, rolling and
2:18:39howling like a pig at slaughter. He did
2:18:41have gout, but it had never been severe.
2:18:43At worst, a flare-up meant a sore big
2:18:45toe, enough to affect his walking. But
2:18:47this time, every joint in his body ached
2:18:50at once. The agony magnified tenfold and
2:18:52more. "It hurts. It's killing me.
2:18:55Doctor! Doctor!" The clinic staff came
2:18:57running at the sound, bewildered at the
2:18:59sight of him. He'd been fine a moment
2:19:01ago, just a little cut on his head. So,
2:19:03how had he suddenly fallen into such
2:19:05mortal agony? No one knew this was my
2:19:07handiwork. I hadn't gone far. At that
2:19:10moment, I was leaning against a plane
2:19:11tree by the roadside, hands in my
2:19:13pockets, listening to the howls drifting
2:19:15out of the clinic. Music to my ears,
2:19:18deeply satisfying. From now on, this
2:19:20beast would have a gout flare-up every
2:19:22few days. And barring the unexpected,
2:19:25unless I intervened personally, even
2:19:27someone of divine Doctor Luo's caliber
2:19:29would be helpless against it. Betraying
2:19:31An Yibai and lusting after my aunt, this
2:19:34is what you deserve. I turned and
2:19:36flagged down a taxi, but I didn't head
2:19:38back to my aunt's place. I knew her too
2:19:40well. Until she found that so-called
2:19:42beggar master, she'd never let it rest.
2:19:44And I had no desire to suffer alongside
2:19:46her, buzzing around the park like a
2:19:48headless fly in search of a beggar I'd
2:19:50made up on the spot, one who didn't
2:19:52exist at all. Driver, to Antique Street.
2:19:5520 minutes later, the car stopped at the
2:19:57entrance of Yunqing's famous antique
2:19:58street. I got out and looked at the
2:20:00shops and sidewalk stalls lining both
2:20:02sides, my heart stirring with
2:20:04excitement. Yesterday, at Divine Doctor
2:20:06Luo's, I'd found abundant spiritual
2:20:09energy in a young girl's silver hairpin.
2:20:11I'd come today to test a theory. Was it
2:20:13true that any antique, more or less,
2:20:16held spiritual energy inside it? But
2:20:18from one end of the street to the other,
2:20:20not sparing a single shop or stall, I
2:20:22came up empty-handed. Damn it. This
2:20:24antique street couldn't be all fakes
2:20:26without a single genuine piece, could
2:20:28it? Even where there were genuine
2:20:30articles, they were just worthless old
2:20:32odds and ends, nothing that qualified as
2:20:35an antique. There's a good line online.
2:20:37An antique is something valuable from
2:20:39ancient times grown old, not some
2:20:41worthless ancient trinket that becomes
2:20:43an antique just by surviving to the
2:20:44present. Just as I was growing
2:20:46disheartened, debating whether to turn
2:20:48back, I suddenly seemed to sense
2:20:50something, and my gaze locked onto a
2:20:52small bridge not far off. A vendor who
2:20:54just arrived was spreading a drab,
2:20:57dust-colored old cloth across the
2:20:59bridge, laying out his wares one by one,
2:21:01unhurried. The man was 40-ish, with
2:21:04shifty eyes and a sharp, simian face, a
2:21:07profiteer if ever there was one. The
2:21:09goods on his stall were either blue and
2:21:10white porcelain vases, small bronze
2:21:13tripods, or mounted calligraphy and
2:21:15paintings by famous masters. Any one of
2:21:17them would fetch a sky-high price at
2:21:19auction, which even a fool could see
2:21:21meant they were all fake. But what
2:21:23thrilled me was that in the farthest
2:21:24corner of the stall sat a rusty lump of
2:21:26iron, about the size of an adult's palm,
2:21:29like something salvaged from a
2:21:30scrapyard. And it was precisely this
2:21:32unremarkable chunk of iron that held an
2:21:34extraordinarily dense concentration of
2:21:37spiritual energy inside it, several
2:21:39times richer than that silver hairpin.
2:21:41Absorb it all, and I just might break
2:21:43through to the second layer of chi
2:21:44refinement. I drew a deep breath, hid my
2:21:47excitement without a trace, and
2:21:49sauntered over like an ordinary browsing
2:21:51customer, crouching down to pick up this
2:21:53and examine that. Touching everything
2:21:55except that lump of iron. You've got a
2:21:57good eye, young man. That piece in your
2:21:59hand is none other than Tang Bohu's
2:22:01Mountain Path and Pine Wind. Seeing me
2:22:04look without a word, the stall owner
2:22:06hurried to strike up conversation. Is it
2:22:08the original? I played dumb. The
2:22:10original? The owner waved a hand as if
2:22:12he'd heard a tremendous joke. The
2:22:14original would go for tens of millions
2:22:16at the least. You think it'd be here?
2:22:18This was copied by a great master of the
2:22:20Qing Dynasty. Very collectible. Even an
2:22:22expert might not be able to tell. If you
2:22:25want it, I'll give you an unprecedented
2:22:27rock-bottom price. 30,000. 30,000? I
2:22:30didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I
2:22:32know nothing about art, but I'm not
2:22:34blind. This thing wasn't even a hand
2:22:36copy. It was clearly mass-produced by a
2:22:38print shop. Seeing me hesitate, the
2:22:40owner's eyes rolled and the drama king
2:22:43in him emerged as he laid it on thick.
2:22:45Young man, you remind me of my little
2:22:47brother. My little brother drowned in a
2:22:49pond when he was eight. If it weren't
2:22:50for that, I'd never part with it at this
2:22:52price. My mouth twitched. I nearly lost
2:22:55it, but couldn't be bothered to bicker
2:22:57and simply held up three fingers. 300.
2:23:00Deal, and I'll take it. Slashing his
2:23:02price a hundredfold right off the bat,
2:23:04I'd expected him at least to haggle a
2:23:06few rounds. Instead, without a word, the
2:23:09owner whipped out a payment QR code.
2:23:11Deal. WeChat or Alipay? Boss, you You're
2:23:14really a decisive man. I immediately
2:23:17realized that even 300 was too much. I
2:23:19played the sucker after all. But the
2:23:21painting wasn't my focus anyway. Before
2:23:23scanning to pay, I pretended to glance
2:23:25idly at the lump of iron in the corner
2:23:27and said offhandedly, "Boss, I feel like
2:23:30I got fleeced, but I'll live with it.
2:23:32Could you throw in that chunk of iron as
2:23:34a freebie? I'll sell it at the
2:23:35scrapyard. Might fetch enough for a pack
2:23:37of cigarettes." Sure, sure, sure. Take
2:23:39it. The owner didn't think twice,
2:23:42bending down to grab the lump of iron
2:23:43and hand it over. I took it, forcing
2:23:46down my wild elation, scanned to pay,
2:23:48picked up the painting, and turned to
2:23:50leave. If I'd gone straight for the
2:23:52iron, the owner would surely have gotten
2:23:53suspicious. 300 yuan to provide cover
2:23:56was no loss at all. I'd only taken a few
2:23:58steps when the owner actually hung up
2:24:00another identical mountain path and pine
2:24:02wind, wholesale for 10 yuan, a tidy 290
2:24:06in pure profit. Little did he know, as
2:24:08soon as I rounded a corner, I tossed the
2:24:10painting into a roadside trash can.
2:24:13Then, cradling the lump of iron like a
2:24:15priceless treasure, I walked out of the
2:24:17antique street and found a hillside park
2:24:19nearby. The park was sparsely peopled,
2:24:21shaded with green trees, birdsong all
2:24:24around. I settled cross-legged on a
2:24:26large rock in a shady spot and quickly
2:24:28slipped into a cultivation state. Just
2:24:30like last time, the moment I began to
2:24:32channel my power, the spiritual energy
2:24:35flowed into me through my fingertips of
2:24:36its own accord. It was just that the
2:24:38spiritual energy inside this lump of
2:24:41iron was far denser than that of the
2:24:42silver hairpin. So dense, I nearly
2:24:44couldn't bear it. My meridians swelling
2:24:47with a faint ache from the strain. I
2:24:48gritted my teeth and poured everything
2:24:51into circulating the supreme yang divine
2:24:53art, guiding that surging spiritual
2:24:55energy through my meridians. I'd assumed
2:24:58that once I had enough spiritual energy,
2:25:00I could break through to the second
2:25:01layer of chi refinement, but reality was
2:25:03otherwise. From morning until evening,
2:25:06eight or nine hours passed. I sat
2:25:08motionless on the big rock and tried
2:25:10three or four times, failing at every
2:25:12attempt. I was so close, just a hair's
2:25:15breadth away. Yet an invisible barrier
2:25:17always stood before me, like a wall of
2:25:20bronze and iron, utterly immovable, no
2:25:22matter how I threw myself against it. On
2:25:24the last attempt, the true chi in my
2:25:26body suddenly ran wild, careening
2:25:29through my meridians. The chi vortex in
2:25:31my dantian trembled violently, on the
2:25:33verge of spinning out of control at any
2:25:35moment. If this kept up, I'd surely fall
2:25:38into chi deviation. A chill ran through
2:25:40me, and I hurriedly stopped the
2:25:42exercise, slowly opening my eyes,
2:25:45wondering whether my aptitude was simply
2:25:47too poor. But how was I to know that
2:25:49succeeding at Qi refinement at all was a
2:25:51one in 10,000 feat to have touched the
2:25:53threshold of the second layer in just a
2:25:55few days. That speed could already be
2:25:57called heaven-blessed genius. Ding. My
2:25:59phone buzzed, a text message popping up
2:26:01on the screen. It was from Zhao Yuchin,
2:26:03just a single line. "7:00 tonight,
2:26:06Taibai Restaurant. You have to come."
2:26:08Only then did it hit me. Today was the
2:26:10day Yang Wei was proposing to Zhao
2:26:12Yuchin. My ex was about to agree to
2:26:14marry someone else, and she was
2:26:15insisting I be there. What was that
2:26:17supposed to mean? Still, I'd always had
2:26:19the feeling that when she'd abruptly
2:26:21broken up with me four years ago, there
2:26:23was more to it than met the eye. To get
2:26:25to the truth, this was a trip I had to
2:26:26make. I tucked the phone back into my
2:26:28pocket and rose to leave, but my steps
2:26:31suddenly halted. Looking down at the
2:26:33lump of iron, I froze. The spiritual
2:26:35energy inside it, I'd clearly drained it
2:26:37bone dry. Yet now, it had somehow
2:26:40gathered up a faint wisp of spiritual
2:26:42energy again. Holy, this thing, don't
2:26:45tell me it can draw in the spiritual
2:26:46energy of heaven and earth endlessly? I
2:26:49held the lump of iron up to my eyes,
2:26:51turning it over and over. If that were
2:26:53really the case, then from now on,
2:26:55cultivating would be like carrying a
2:26:57mobile reservoir of spiritual energy.
2:26:59Never again would I have to worry about
2:27:01running short. I'd originally figured
2:27:03that once the spiritual energy was
2:27:05drained, it'd be nothing but scrap iron
2:27:07to toss aside. Now I'd have to hold on
2:27:09to it carefully and find a way to polish
2:27:11it down later and see just what treasure
2:27:13lay wrapped inside. Luckily, it was only
2:27:16palm-sized. Stuffed into my pants
2:27:18pocket, it was no different from
2:27:19carrying an extra phone, apart from a
2:27:21bit of weight. At 7:00 that evening, I
2:27:23arrived at Taibai Restaurant as agreed.
2:27:26This was the most bustling district in
2:27:27Yuchin's old town. Legend had it the
2:27:29poet Li Bai had lived here for years,
2:27:32which was how it got the name. In
2:27:33Yuchin, it ranked among the very highest
2:27:35in class. Ordinary folks proposing, just
2:27:38invite a few good friends and throw
2:27:40together a casual dinner. But who was
2:27:42Yang Wei? A bonafide official son, and a
2:27:44show he wanted that. Tonight, besides
2:27:47his pack of good-for-nothing friends
2:27:48from off campus, he'd invited over 100
2:27:50university classmates. Looking out all
2:27:53three floors of Ti Bai restaurant. "Li
2:27:55Feng, over here." I'd barely entered the
2:27:57first floor lobby when someone called
2:27:59out to me. I turned to look, it was Sun
2:28:01Tao, one of Yang Wei's most devoted
2:28:03lackeys. Everyone close to Yang Wei was
2:28:05on poor terms with me. But today Sun Tao
2:28:08was acting like he'd taken the wrong
2:28:09medicine, scurrying over with a face
2:28:11full of smiles, whipping out a pack of
2:28:13Zhonghua cigarettes to offer me. "Li
2:28:15Feng, reported in at the hospital yet?
2:28:17The little nurses there are prettier one
2:28:19than the next. You're going to be living
2:28:21the dream." "Not yet. How about you?"
2:28:23You don't slap a smiling face, so I took
2:28:25the cigarette and asked offhandedly.
2:28:28"Me?" "Don't even get me started." Sun
2:28:30Tao lit his own and took a hard drag,
2:28:32his brows knitting into a knot. Back
2:28:34when we started college, civil
2:28:36engineering was all the rage. Who'd have
2:28:38guessed that by graduation the
2:28:39construction industry would be in the
2:28:41toilet. I sent out applications to over
2:28:43a dozen places. I got a few offers,
2:28:45sure, but the terms are worse one than
2:28:47the next. I just gave up looking for
2:28:49now. Going to grad school instead."
2:28:51"Then here's hoping you land on your
2:28:53feet soon." I gave a perfunctory reply
2:28:55and made to leave. The construction
2:28:57industry really was in a slump, but this
2:28:59kid didn't need my sympathy. Both his
2:29:01parents held stable jobs, his family was
2:29:04comfortably above average. And he could
2:29:06go his whole life without working and
2:29:07never go hungry. "Li Feng, wait up." Sun
2:29:10Tao caught up again, grinning. "You're
2:29:12the guest of honor tonight. Yang Wei
2:29:14specially sent me to meet you on the
2:29:15first floor, and he set up the best
2:29:17private room for you. Let me take you
2:29:19there." My steps faltered slightly. My
2:29:21ex was going to accept another man's
2:29:23proposal tonight, and I'd become the
2:29:24guest of honor, with the best private
2:29:26room to boot? Why did that grate on my
2:29:28ears so much? Well, since I was here, I
2:29:31might as well take it in stride. We'd
2:29:33all graduated. We weren't kids anymore.
2:29:35No point fussing over it. We got on the
2:29:37elevator and Sun Tao led me to the door
2:29:39of the Evening Maple Chant private room
2:29:41on the eighth floor. He pushed it open
2:29:43and stepped aside. Go on in, have a cup
2:29:46of tea and rest a bit. I'll come get you
2:29:48when the ceremony starts. Not thinking
2:29:50much of it, I stepped inside. But the
2:29:52moment I crossed the threshold, Sun Tao
2:29:54shut the door behind me. The next
2:29:56second, my brow furrowed. In the room,
2:29:59besides me, there was one other person.
2:30:01To be precise, a fellow Yuncheng
2:30:03University alumna, Gu Shumin. This Gu
2:30:05Shumin was plain-looking, but at
2:30:07Yuncheng University, everyone knew her
2:30:08name. During our sophomore year, she'd
2:30:11been killing time at a cafe outside the
2:30:13school gates when a male academic
2:30:14counselor sat down a few tables away.
2:30:17He'd merely scratched his thigh a few
2:30:18times, and she secretly photographed it,
2:30:21then insisted it was molestation from a
2:30:23distance. The public outcry snowballed,
2:30:26and the counselor, unable to clear his
2:30:28name no matter what he said, was
2:30:30eventually forced to resign. To this
2:30:32day, there's never been a clear verdict.
2:30:34Was the counselor really guilty, or was
2:30:36Gu Shumin slinging mud? In the hearts of
2:30:38nearly every male student, it was the
2:30:40latter. For one, she was so plain it was
2:30:43hard to imagine anyone feeling any kind
2:30:45of urge. For another, what grown man
2:30:47would be stupid enough to risk his
2:30:49livelihood pulling something like that
2:30:50right outside the school gates. After
2:30:52that, the male students treated her like
2:30:54a plague god, keeping their distance for
2:30:56fear of being pinned with some
2:30:58trumped-up charge. And Yang Wei, it
2:31:00seemed, had deliberately arranged for
2:31:02her and me to be in the same private
2:31:04room, just the two of us. A lone man and
2:31:07a lone woman, alone together in one
2:31:09room. Sure enough, the moment I sensed
2:31:11something was wrong, before I could even
2:31:13react, Gu Shumin abruptly ripped open
2:31:16the collar of her dress, baring half a
2:31:18shoulder, then raked her hair into
2:31:19disarray, making herself look utterly
2:31:22disheveled. Then she skirted around me,
2:31:24rushed to the the
2:31:25pried it open a crack, and screamed at
2:31:27the top of her lungs, "Someone help.
2:31:30Somebody come quick. Li Feng's trying to
2:31:32rape me." I stood where I was, watching
2:31:34it all with cold eyes. Whether it was a
2:31:36honey trap, I couldn't say for sure, but
2:31:38this woman was clearly out to frame me.
2:31:40And just as clearly, it was Yang Wei's
2:31:42doing. It seems Zhao Yuchin's warning
2:31:44hadn't worked. Yang Wei still wanted to
2:31:46stand up for Qin Xiaoxiao, which was why
2:31:48he'd cooked up such a low-down scheme.
2:31:50Any other man in this situation would
2:31:52surely have panicked, but I remained
2:31:54perfectly calm. plopping down into a
2:31:56seat and pouring myself a cup of tea. It
2:31:59was, after all, a gathering thrown by an
2:32:01official's son. Even the tea was top
2:32:03grade, the amber brew clear and bright,
2:32:06a faint, elegant orchid fragrance
2:32:08wafting to my nose. I took a sip, my
2:32:10gaze settling on Gushuman, still putting
2:32:13on her strenuous performance at the
2:32:14door. "Gushuman, what did Yang Wei offer
2:32:17you to make you stoop to such a low-down
2:32:19trick to frame me?" "Frame? I have no
2:32:21idea what you're talking about." She
2:32:23turned around, her face full of alarm,
2:32:26but inwardly, she was astonished. How is
2:32:28this guy so calm? Whatever. From the
2:32:30moment I'd walked through that door, I
2:32:32was fated not to escape. To make it
2:32:34airtight, she had to bring out her very
2:32:36best acting. Gushuman shrank into a
2:32:38corner, hands shielding her chest, tears
2:32:41coming on command, gazing at me
2:32:42piteously. "Li Feng, I only asked you a
2:32:45question out of curiosity, how you felt
2:32:47about coming to your ex-girlfriend's
2:32:49proposal, with not the slightest hint of
2:32:51mockery. But I truly never thought you'd
2:32:53fly into such a rage that you'd even try
2:32:55to rape me with no one else in the
2:32:57room."
2:32:58So full of feeling, it'd be a shame if
2:33:00she didn't walk away with a best actress
2:33:02award. I couldn't be bothered to watch.
2:33:04I pulled the phone and the lump of iron
2:33:06from my pocket, set them gently on the
2:33:08table, pressed my thumb to power the
2:33:09phone off, and said, still calm,
2:33:12"Gushuman, I've turned off my phone, so
2:33:14you don't need to worry about me
2:33:15recording evidence. Before anyone bursts
2:33:18in, why don't the two of us lay our
2:33:19cards on the table and have a nice,
2:33:22honest chat. Gu Shuman froze, her
2:33:24sobbing cutting off at once. She'd been
2:33:26seen through, even caught out as acting
2:33:28on Yang Wei's orders. Yet, she'd still
2:33:30been acting her heart out, terrified I
2:33:32might be secretly recording evidence.
2:33:35She'd never expected me to turn the
2:33:36phone off right in front of her. She
2:33:38eyed me warily, hesitating. Well, she'd
2:33:41already cried for help. The people
2:33:43outside had surely heard and would rush
2:33:45in any moment. And with the phone off,
2:33:47there was nothing to hold her back. To
2:33:49be safe, she still walked over, snatched
2:33:51up my phone, examined it carefully to
2:33:53confirm it was really off, then patted
2:33:55down every pocket on my body to make
2:33:57sure there wasn't a second one. Only
2:33:59then did she drop the act, curling her
2:34:01lips in a cold sneer, idly picking up
2:34:04the lump of iron from the table, her
2:34:05face full of contempt. Li Feng, what did
2:34:08you bring this rusty hunk of junk for?
2:34:10You weren't planning to bash your own
2:34:12brains out at the proposal and die for
2:34:14love, were you? Don't touch my things. I
2:34:17frowned and snatched it back. Her hands
2:34:19were too filthy for it. Answer me. What
2:34:21did Yang Wei give you? She folded her
2:34:23arms, half sitting on the edge of the
2:34:25table, her expression playful. Of
2:34:27everything you could have done, you
2:34:29should never, ever have crossed Qin
2:34:31Jiaojiao. She's Yang Wei's sworn little
2:34:33sister. Yang Wei's dad holds high office
2:34:36and real power. Crushing you would be as
2:34:38easy for him as squashing an ant. As for
2:34:41what he gave me, would you believe me if
2:34:42I said not a single thing? No. I shook
2:34:45my head. For her to go to such lengths,
2:34:47she'd have to have water on the brain to
2:34:49get nothing out of it. Gu Shuman arched
2:34:51a brow, a trace of smugness in her tone.
2:34:54Believe it or not, that's up to you. Not
2:34:56many people know this, but Yang Wei and
2:34:58I go way back. My dad is his dad's
2:35:00driver. Whether my family lives well or
2:35:02not depends entirely on his dad's mood.
2:35:05So, whether it's my parents or me, as
2:35:06long as we can keep the Yang family
2:35:08happy, there's nothing we won't do. All
2:35:10upside, no downside. Realization dawned,
2:35:13and I gave a self-mocking smile. I see.
2:35:16I was being shallow. I thought it was
2:35:18like one of those idol dramas that you
2:35:20worked yourself to the bone for Yang Wei
2:35:21because you were in love with him. I'm
2:35:23not in love with him. She gave a cold
2:35:25snort, though a flicker of longing
2:35:27crossed her eyes. But if he were willing
2:35:29to marry me, I'd be glad to, of course.
2:35:32No woman can turn down an official's son
2:35:34and a life of silks and feasts. Pity
2:35:37that luck landed on your ex-girlfriend,
2:35:39Zhao Yueqing. As she said this, her eyes
2:35:41were full of envy and jealousy, her very
2:35:44features warping. Not every woman is as
2:35:46cheap as you. I didn't want to defend
2:35:48Zhao Yueqing. Defending her? No one
2:35:49would believe me anyway. Calling me
2:35:51cheap? Say what you like. She wasn't
2:35:53angered. Her smile only grew smugger.
2:35:56Tonight your ex is marrying someone else
2:35:58and you've landed yourself in an
2:36:00attempted rape mess and are headed for a
2:36:01cell. A little temper's only natural.
2:36:04But take my advice, stop struggling in
2:36:06vain. I don't know if you still
2:36:07remember. There was once a male
2:36:09counselor who merely walked into the
2:36:11same cafe as me and sat down several
2:36:13tables away. I took a few photos of him
2:36:15scratching an itch and I pinned a charge
2:36:17of molestation from a distance on him.
2:36:19He tried everything to clear his name
2:36:21and couldn't. And in the end he slunk
2:36:23out of Yunxing University in disgrace.
2:36:25My brow furrowed and my gaze turned
2:36:28several degrees colder. I hadn't even
2:36:30asked about that incident, yet she'd
2:36:31confessed to it herself. So, that whole
2:36:34affair really had been her slinging mud
2:36:36and the counselor had been innocent? Gu
2:36:38Shuman, the counselor business, that was
2:36:40Yang Wei's doing, too, wasn't it? I
2:36:42said, holding down my fury. By
2:36:44comparison, that counselor was even more
2:36:47pitiable than me. She nodded without the
2:36:49slightest restraint. You're pretty
2:36:51sharp. If you want to blame someone,
2:36:52blame him. He just had to scold Yang Wei
2:36:55for speeding on campus in front of all
2:36:56those people, making Yang Wei lose face.
2:36:59After I won that face back for Yang Wei,
2:37:01my dad's salary went up by a third and
2:37:03his family stopped working us like dogs.
2:37:06Pitiful. I lifted my tea and took
2:37:08another sip. I'm not talking about you.
2:37:10I mean your whole family. You're all
2:37:12pitiful. You'd better save the pity for
2:37:14yourself. Gushuman dropped the smile, a
2:37:16flash of venom crossing her eyes. She
2:37:19yanked her collar down again, bearing
2:37:21even more of her shoulder, then bent her
2:37:23knees and dropped to the floor, once
2:37:25more screaming at the top of her lungs.
2:37:27Someone help. Somebody come quick.
2:37:29Leafeng's trying to rape me. Before the
2:37:31words had even faded, bang, the door was
2:37:34kicked open from outside and five or six
2:37:36people burst in. At their head was a
2:37:38bald man. His face a mass of ugly flesh,
2:37:41his left hand wrapped in thick bandages.
2:37:43He craned his neck and bellowed, "Damn
2:37:45it, I'm Jean Biao, the big boss of
2:37:48Jiulong District, and if there's one
2:37:49thing I can't stand, it's a man bullying
2:37:52a woman. Come on, let me see which
2:37:54little son of a is courting
2:37:55death." Seeing people rush in, Gushuman
2:37:58scrambled to her feet at once and went
2:38:00to meet them, wiping her tears and
2:38:02keeping up her strenuous performance.
2:38:04"Big brothers, thank goodness you came,
2:38:07or I'd have been
2:38:08Don't be afraid, little miss." Jean Biao
2:38:10puffed out his chest, striking the pose
2:38:12of some chivalrous Jianghu hero.
2:38:15"I, Jean Biao, may be no saint, but when
2:38:18I see something like this, I'll never
2:38:19stand by and do nothing." With that, he
2:38:22glared viciously at my back, but the
2:38:24next second, Jean Biao suddenly felt a
2:38:27wave of disorientation. This back, why
2:38:29did it seem a little familiar? He
2:38:31instinctively glanced down at his
2:38:32bandaged left hand. The bloody hole
2:38:34where a chopstick had been driven clean
2:38:36through his palm gave another faint
2:38:38throb of pain. He shook his head. There
2:38:41was no way he'd be so unlucky as to run
2:38:43into that monster again. So, he put on
2:38:45his fierce face again and demanded of
2:38:46Gushuman, "Little miss, is this the kid
2:38:49who tried to take advantage of you?"
2:38:51"Yes." Gushuman wept like a rain-soaked
2:38:53pear blossom, nodding hard. "Damn it,
2:38:56brothers, get him." At Jean Biao's
2:38:58command, the few lackeys behind him
2:39:00rolled up their sleeves, ready to
2:39:01charge. Gushuman hurriedly stopped them.
2:39:04"Big brothers, I know you're furious,
2:39:06but I don't want you breaking the law on
2:39:07my account. Just help me subdue him, and
2:39:09then we'll all go to the constabulary
2:39:11together.
2:39:12>> The little miss is right. Jean Biao
2:39:14rubbed his bald head as if struck by
2:39:16sudden wisdom. We live in a society of
2:39:18laws now. Can't go breaking the law
2:39:20unknowingly. Brothers, grab this little
2:39:23punk and take the little miss to the
2:39:24constabulary to file a report.
2:39:27>> The lackeys closed in together, but when
2:39:28they rounded the dining table and got a
2:39:30clear look at my face from the front,
2:39:32every one of them froze stiff as if hit
2:39:34by a petrifying spell, then recoiled
2:39:36several steps as though they'd seen a
2:39:38ghost, scared witless.
2:39:40>> Jean Biao, incensed, cursed, "The hell?
2:39:43What are you doing?"
2:39:44>> More dramatic than seeing a ghost, the
2:39:46lackeys' faces were ashen as they nodded
2:39:48frantically. "Biao Ge, come see for
2:39:50yourself. Biao Ge, we're not lying to
2:39:52you. He He He He's scarier than a ghost.
2:39:56Yunxing's not that big, but it's only
2:39:58been a few days. How do we keep running
2:40:00into him?"
2:40:01>> Jean Biao's heart lurched, an ominous
2:40:03premonition surging up. These lackeys of
2:40:06his couldn't amount to much, but they
2:40:07were masters at putting on airs, ready
2:40:09to bark at even the toughest customers.
2:40:12Yet right now they were scared to this
2:40:13state. It didn't look like an act at
2:40:15all. He looked at my back again, and
2:40:17that sense of familiarity grew stronger
2:40:19and stronger. Before he could step
2:40:21forward to investigate, I unhurriedly
2:40:23picked up an empty cup, lifted the pot
2:40:25to pour myself some tea, and slowly
2:40:27turned my head.
2:40:28>> "Biao Ge, what a coincidence. Once a
2:40:30stranger, twice old friends. I guess
2:40:32we're acquaintances by now. Come, sit
2:40:35down and have a cup of tea."
2:40:36>> Jean Biao got a clear look at my face,
2:40:39and instantly his eyes went wide. His
2:40:41mouth fell open, and every hair on his
2:40:43body stood on end.
2:40:44>> "Son of a bitch."
2:40:45>> The monster who tortured him at the bun
2:40:47shop last time. Tonight he'd actually
2:40:49run into him again. No wonder his
2:40:51lackeys were scared to that state. He
2:40:53was terrified, too.
2:40:54>> "B- B- B- Big Brother I"
2:40:56>> Jean Biao's tongue tied itself in knots.
2:40:59The lackeys behind him hung their heads
2:41:01and shrank toward the corner, not daring
2:41:03to so much as breathe loudly. Off to the
2:41:05side, Gushumin was utterly dumbfounded.
2:41:08Just now she'd only been pretending not
2:41:10to know Jean Biao. In truth, this bunch
2:41:12had been arranged by Yang Wei in
2:41:14advance, just waiting for her to cry for
2:41:16help so they could feign righteousness
2:41:18and haul me off to the constabulary. But
2:41:20who could have guessed Jean Biao and his
2:41:22crew actually knew me and looked
2:41:24positively terrified of me. Big
2:41:26Brother's you. Gushumin wanted to get a
2:41:27clear answer. Before she could finish,
2:41:30smack. Jean Biao, humiliated into a
2:41:32rage, backhanded her hard across the
2:41:35face.
2:41:36Big Brother my ass. Who the hell is your
2:41:38Big Brother? Gushumin lost her footing
2:41:40and crashed to the floor, half her face
2:41:42swelling up in an instant, blood seeping
2:41:44from the corner of her mouth. Clutching
2:41:46her cheek, she stared at Jean Biao in
2:41:48shock and fear, completely stunned. But
2:41:51however baffled she was, she didn't dare
2:41:53say another word. She was just a fresh
2:41:55graduate, a college girl, and across
2:41:58from her was a pack of gangsters. She
2:42:00could only watch as Jean Biao walked
2:42:02over to me on trembling legs, his face
2:42:04plastered with an ingratiating smile.
2:42:06Big Brother, please don't be angry. My
2:42:08brothers and I were just having dinner
2:42:10in the room next door. We heard a woman
2:42:12crying for help, and our sense of
2:42:14justice got the better of us. We
2:42:15honestly didn't know it was you, or we'd
2:42:17never have dared come running over. Jean
2:42:20Biao bowed and scraped as lowly as could
2:42:22be, a completely different man from the
2:42:24swaggering big boss of moments ago.
2:42:27Naturally, I didn't believe a word of
2:42:29this nonsense. These dregs of society,
2:42:31there wasn't a shred of justice in their
2:42:33hearts. My eyes turned cold, my voice
2:42:35dropping a notch. Jean Biao, do I look
2:42:38like an idiot to you? You really think I
2:42:39don't know Yang Wei booked all three
2:42:41floors for his proposal? You dare tell
2:42:43me you don't know each other. We know
2:42:45each other, but it's only that we know
2:42:47each other. That's why he lent us a room
2:42:49to have dinner in. Jean Biao's smile was
2:42:51uglier than crying. Are you sure you
2:42:53weren't acting on Yang Wei's orders, in
2:42:55cahoots with Gushumin, out to pin an
2:42:58attempted rape charge on me and ship me
2:43:00off to the constabulary. As I spoke, I
2:43:02put a slight force into my fingers and
2:43:04gave the tabletop a light flick. Crack.
2:43:07The 20-cm thick solid wood tabletop
2:43:09actually split with lines of cracks
2:43:11spreading out like a spider's web. Jean
2:43:14Biao stared at those cracks, his soul
2:43:16nearly fleeing his body. That was a
2:43:18solid wood table, not paper. He opened
2:43:20his mouth, still wanting to hold out a
2:43:22little longer, but his lackeys cracked
2:43:24first. Biao Ge, this big brother's no
2:43:27fool. You can't trick him. Just tell the
2:43:29truth. Otherwise, we're in for another
2:43:31beating, and I'm really scared of that.
2:43:33Jean Biao nearly fainted from anger.
2:43:36These useless wretches talking like
2:43:38that, wasn't that as good as confessing
2:43:40everything? If he kept up the tough act
2:43:42and pushed this monster too far, chances
2:43:44were it wouldn't just be one more bloody
2:43:46hole in his hand. Big brother, I'll
2:43:48talk. I'll tell you everything. Jean
2:43:50Biao's knees went weak, nearly dropping
2:43:53him to the floor. That's right. Yang Wei
2:43:55called me here. The plan was to wait for
2:43:57Gushumin to cry for help, and I'd be in
2:43:59charge of delivering the guy to the
2:44:00constabulary. He even told me to leave
2:44:02by the back door, so I wouldn't alarm
2:44:05anyone. Big brother, I just got out of
2:44:07the clink. I'm short on cash, and Yang
2:44:09Wei promised me 50,000 if the job got
2:44:11done. I just couldn't resist the
2:44:13temptation. I honestly never imagined
2:44:15this Li Feng he mentioned was you. I'm
2:44:17out. I won't do it. I beg you, let me
2:44:20and my brothers go. Jean Biao called me
2:44:22big brother with every other breath, his
2:44:24head nearly bowed to the floor. Only
2:44:27when he'd confessed did I withdraw the
2:44:28killing intent from my eyes. You're
2:44:30lucky it's me today. A more honest man
2:44:33pinned with a trumped-up charge like
2:44:34this might never recover for the rest of
2:44:36his life. Exactly. That Yang Wei is too
2:44:39despicable, and this little tramp's just
2:44:42as despicable. Jean Biao immediately
2:44:44latched onto the thread, pointing at
2:44:46Gushumin cowering in the corner,
2:44:48offering his services like an eager
2:44:50flatterer. Big brother, just say the
2:44:52word and I'll torture her till she can't
2:44:54live and can't die. Guaranteed to vent
2:44:57your anger. I waved a hand, turning my
2:44:59gaze toward the door, my tone mild. No
2:45:02need. You lackeys wait outside for now.
2:45:04I shot Jean Biao another warning glance,
2:45:06then slowly rose, looking coldly at
2:45:09Gushumin, still sitting on the floor.
2:45:11This woman, I'll deal with myself. Jean
2:45:13Biao let out a breath of relief first,
2:45:15nodding like a chick pecking grain. Yes,
2:45:18yes, yes, Feng Ji, we'll wait outside.
2:45:21Whatever you need, just call for us.
2:45:23With that, he let his lackeys gingerly
2:45:25out of the room, not forgetting to pull
2:45:27the door gently shut behind them. The
2:45:29moment the door closed, a lackey sidled
2:45:31up to him and lowered his voice. Biao
2:45:34Ji, let's get out of here fast. What if
2:45:36he turns around and deals with us? Jean
2:45:38Biao mulled it over. Li Feng's attention
2:45:41was entirely on Gushumin, monster or
2:45:43not. He might not notice them slipping
2:45:45away, right? But just as he was about to
2:45:47nod, a voice suddenly came from within
2:45:50the room, very low and soft, yet
2:45:52deafening even through the door panel.
2:45:54Jean Biao, you try leaving and see what
2:45:56happens. Jean Biao and the others
2:45:59shuddered all over, their legs rooted to
2:46:01the spot, as if nailed there. The
2:46:02thought of slipping away utterly
2:46:04extinguished. Inside the room, Gushumin
2:46:06climbed up off the floor, tidied her
2:46:08mussed hair and clothes, picked up her
2:46:10bag, and glared at me with
2:46:12unwillingness. Tonight's plan had been
2:46:14for her to falsely accuse me of
2:46:16attempted rape, with Jean Biao and the
2:46:18others as witnesses. At which point I
2:46:20could have had a hundred mouths and
2:46:22still not cleared myself. But now
2:46:24everything had gone to pieces. Jean Biao
2:46:26had been scared out of his wits and
2:46:27clearly wouldn't dare testify against me
2:46:29anymore. Even if she went to the police
2:46:31now, on her word alone, she couldn't pin
2:46:34a crime on me. The plan had failed
2:46:36completely. Deal with me. Gushumin gave
2:46:38a mocking snort, her face full of scorn.
2:46:41Li Feng, Yang Wei stole your girlfriend
2:46:43and bullied you for four whole years,
2:46:45and you didn't dare so much as make a
2:46:47peep. Is there anyone at Yunching
2:46:49University who doesn't know what a
2:46:50spineless coward you are? Take my
2:46:52advice, just treat tonight as if nothing
2:46:54happened. I only wasted a bit of your
2:46:56time. I caused no actual harm. If
2:46:58anything, I'm the one who even took a
2:47:00slap from Jean Biao. And don't forget,
2:47:03this was a job Yang Wei gave me. If you
2:47:05dare keep pressing it, you're taking it
2:47:06up with Yang Wei. You You can't afford
2:47:09to cross him. With that, she picked up
2:47:11her bag and made to leave. Calm on the
2:47:13surface, inwardly she was in a complete
2:47:15panic. Though this was her first time
2:47:17dealing with Jean Biao, she'd heard from
2:47:19Yang Wei that the man had been in and
2:47:21out of prison several times. A real hard
2:47:23case. And a hard case like that, upon
2:47:26seeing me, had acted like he'd seen a
2:47:28ghost. Her instincts told her I was
2:47:30hiding some unknown secret, and staying
2:47:32any longer would do her no good. Just
2:47:34let it slide like that? Gu Shuman, I, Li
2:47:37Feng, am not that counselor from back
2:47:39then. I won't let the likes of you push
2:47:41me around so easily. I gave a cold
2:47:43laugh, slowly raising my right hand.
2:47:46Whoosh. A streak of cold light shot from
2:47:48my fingertips, fast as lightning,
2:47:50sinking instantly into the back of her
2:47:52neck. Gu Shuman felt only a light prick
2:47:54at the back of her neck, not painful,
2:47:57even a little itchy. But the unease in
2:47:59her heart grew stronger, and she whirled
2:48:01around to demand, "Li Feng, what did you
2:48:03do to me?" "Take a guess." I sat back
2:48:06down in my chair, unhurriedly pouring
2:48:08myself another cup of tea, settling in
2:48:10to watch the show. The Shantian Nine
2:48:12Needles could heal and save lives, and
2:48:14could also kill without a trace. But Gu
2:48:16Shuman's crimes didn't yet warrant
2:48:18death. Since I decided to deal with her
2:48:20myself, I wasn't going to simply ship
2:48:22her off to the constabulary. Even if she
2:48:24admitted to the false accusation, since
2:48:26no actual harm had been done, and with
2:48:28Yang Wei pulling strings behind the
2:48:30scenes, the constabulary would at most
2:48:32give her a verbal warning and let her
2:48:34go. A slap on the wrist. In the
2:48:36inheritance I'd found a needle technique
2:48:38called the Soul Hooking Needle, which
2:48:40could leave a person dazed and lost in
2:48:42an illusion, obedient to the one who
2:48:45wielded the needle. Sure enough, before
2:48:47long, the needle took effect. The scene
2:48:49before Gushumen's eyes gradually
2:48:51blurred, the whole world as if draped in
2:48:53a veil of mist. Her body swayed left and
2:48:56right. She couldn't even stand steady.
2:48:58The look in her eyes as she regarded me
2:49:00turned hazy, and an inexplicably
2:49:02seductive smile rose at the corner of
2:49:04her mouth. In her illusion, I had become
2:49:06Yang Wei. "Young Master Yang, you, what
2:49:09are you doing here?" Her voice was
2:49:11cloyingly soft as she staggered toward
2:49:13me, her legs as if stepping on cotton,
2:49:15barely two steps before she toppled into
2:49:17a chair. She slumped against the chair
2:49:19back, proof that for all her claims of
2:49:21not liking Yang Wei, her heart was
2:49:23perhaps not without thoughts of seducing
2:49:26him. I'd long since turned my phone back
2:49:28on, the camera trained on her. What was
2:49:30tonight all about? Utterly off her
2:49:32guard, she smiled, seductive and syrupy.
2:49:35"Young Master Yang, weren't you avenging
2:49:37Chun Jiaojiao tonight, having me falsely
2:49:40accused of attempted rape? Everything
2:49:42was going fine until that gang of
2:49:44gangsters you arranged showed up, right?
2:49:46Jin Biao and the others. They seemed
2:49:48terrified of Li Feng, and in an instant
2:49:50everything fell apart. I failed." Every
2:49:53word was captured on my camera. I didn't
2:49:55stop and asked again, "A few years ago,
2:49:57what was the deal with that male
2:49:59counselor?" "Young Master Yang, why are
2:50:01you suddenly asking about that?" She
2:50:03wagged her head as if suspicious, but
2:50:06the soul-hooking needle left her unable
2:50:08to resist any question, and she spoke
2:50:10anyway. "Don't you know it better than
2:50:12anyone? You were speeding in your car on
2:50:14campus, and that counselor scolded you
2:50:16in front of all those people, making you
2:50:18lose face, so you had me frame him. I
2:50:20ran into him at the cafe, took a few
2:50:22photos of him scratching an itch, and
2:50:24said he molested me from a distance.
2:50:26Later, he was pressured into resigning
2:50:27on his own and slunk out of the school
2:50:30in disgrace." As the last word left her
2:50:32lips, she could hold out no longer. Her
2:50:34head lolled to one side, and she sank
2:50:37into a deep sleep. Satisfied, I turned
2:50:39off the recording, pulled out the silver
2:50:41needle, and rose to leave. Tonight, Yang
2:50:44Wei had Sun Tao intercept me on the
2:50:45first floor, lure me into the private
2:50:47room, drop me into Gu Xiulan's trap, and
2:50:50finally have Jean Biao ship me off to
2:50:52the constabulary through the back door.
2:50:54This whole chain of maneuvers made it
2:50:55plain enough. He didn't want me
2:50:57attending the proposal ceremony. Fine.
2:50:59I'd come here only to find out why Zhao
2:51:01Yuching had broken up with me 4 years
2:51:03ago. But since Yang Wei insisted on
2:51:05provoking me, then I'd throw this
2:51:07proposal ceremony into glorious chaos.
2:51:10Feng Ji, seeing me emerge, Jean Biao and
2:51:13the others immediately crowded over,
2:51:15bowing and scraping. I swept a glance
2:51:17over them. Take that woman inside
2:51:19downstairs and have her wait. I'll give
2:51:21you your instructions on what to do
2:51:22next. Huh? Okay. However unwilling, Jean
2:51:26Biao didn't dare utter a single word of
2:51:28refusal. To make sure you behave
2:51:30yourself, I suddenly pulled a black
2:51:32object from my pocket and, before he
2:51:34could react,
2:51:35stuffed it straight into his mouth.
2:51:37Caught off guard, Jean Biao's Adam's
2:51:39apple bobbed, and he gulped it down,
2:51:41staring at me with wide, terrified eyes.
2:51:44Feng Ji, I'm already being so obedient.
2:51:47What did you just feed me? Poison. My
2:51:50expression was calm. If you don't get
2:51:51the antidote before nightfall tomorrow,
2:51:53you die. So in the meantime, don't get
2:51:56any funny ideas. Whatever I say, you do.
2:51:58With that, I turned and headed for the
2:52:00elevator, not looking back. Where would
2:52:02I get poison? It was just a piece of
2:52:04dark chocolate I'd grabbed off the
2:52:06dining table. But I was confident Jean
2:52:08Biao would never dare gamble with his
2:52:10life. Sure enough, the moment he heard
2:52:12it was poison, his legs went weak with
2:52:14fright, and he desperately jabbed his
2:52:16fingers down his throat, but of course
2:52:18nothing came up. I'm done for. I'm done
2:52:20for. A monster like that, nobody but him
2:52:23could possibly have an antidote. I'm a
2:52:25dead man. A lackey beside him hurried to
2:52:27comfort him. Biao Ji, don't be scared.
2:52:30We just behave ourselves and ask him for
2:52:32the antidote before nightfall tomorrow,
2:52:34right? Right. Whatever he tells us to
2:52:36do, we do it. A ray of hope rekindled in
2:52:38Jean Biao's despairing eyes. He jerked
2:52:41himself upright and glared viciously at
2:52:43the door of the private room. Go. Stuff
2:52:45that little inside into my trunk
2:52:47first. In Taibai restaurant's largest
2:52:50banquet hall, the Magpie Bridge Hall,
2:52:52both sides of the aisle from the
2:52:53entrance to the stage were strewn with
2:52:55vivid red roses, decorated on a
2:52:57magnificent scale. The spectacle was
2:52:59more extravagant than an ordinary
2:53:01person's wedding. Nearly a hundred
2:53:03people sat below the stage. Yang Wei's
2:53:05classmates from childhood through
2:53:07university, as well as his pack of
2:53:09good-for-nothing friends from the wider
2:53:10world. Amidst cheers and applause, Yang
2:53:13Wei knelt on one knee, drawing a
2:53:15delicate velvet ring box from his suit
2:53:17pocket. He opened it to reveal a ring
2:53:19set with small diamonds glittering in
2:53:22the light. He gazed up at Zhao Yuching,
2:53:24full of tender emotion. Yuching, marry
2:53:26me. But across from him, Zhao Yuching
2:53:29wasn't wearing the lavish white gown
2:53:30he'd specially prepared, only an old
2:53:33black dress. Had I been there, I'd have
2:53:35recognized it at a glance. It was the
2:53:37one I'd bought her with money I earned
2:53:39working that summer before college. Zhao
2:53:41Yuching was as cold as ever, no
2:53:43expression on her face. Those beautiful
2:53:45eyes calm as a pool of dead water. It
2:53:48was as if she regarded Yang Wei as thin
2:53:50air, and her gaze swept over the crowd
2:53:52one last time, still not finding any
2:53:54sign of me. Her lashes drooped slightly,
2:53:57an indescribable disappointment welling
2:53:59up in her heart. Yes. Four years ago,
2:54:02without any warning, she had asked to
2:54:04break up and broke my heart. Four years
2:54:06later, she had invited me to come
2:54:08witness another man propose to her. But
2:54:10she had a bitterness she could not speak
2:54:12of. Her gaze drifted slowly to Yang
2:54:14Wei's face, not a flicker of being
2:54:16moved, only revulsion. She drew a deep
2:54:19breath. It seemed I wasn't coming after
2:54:21all. She was just about to reach out and
2:54:23let Yang Wei slip the ring on. Yuching,
2:54:25wait. But Yang Wei suddenly called out
2:54:27to stop her, snapping his fingers
2:54:29smugly. The lights in the hall went
2:54:30abruptly dark, leaving only the big
2:54:33screen above the stage lit. Yang Wei had
2:54:35gone to great pains for this proposal.
2:54:37Beyond the lavish setup, he'd specially
2:54:39hired someone to compile photos from
2:54:41every date he and Zhao Yuching had been
2:54:43on over these 4 years into a short film.
2:54:46He'd imagined that upon seeing it, Zhao
2:54:48Yuching would surely be so moved she'd
2:54:50throw herself into his arms and say yes
2:54:52in front of everyone. But, after a
2:54:54beautiful piano piece came to a close,
2:54:56the big screen's tone shifted
2:54:58dramatically. There was no sweet little
2:55:00film. What cut in was none other than Gu
2:55:02Xiumin. On screen, she was slouched
2:55:04crookedly against a chair, her eyes
2:55:06hazy, as if drunk. And her words rang
2:55:09out, clear as day, throughout the entire
2:55:11banquet hall. "Young Master Yang,
2:55:14weren't you avenging Chen Jiaojiao
2:55:15tonight, having me falsely accuse Li
2:55:18Feng of attempted rape? You were
2:55:20speeding in your car on campus. That
2:55:21counselor offended you, and so you had
2:55:23me frame him."
2:55:25The whole hall erupted in an instant.
2:55:27Holy crap, Li Feng came to. Yang Wei's
2:55:29gone too far, hasn't he? Cooking up a
2:55:32scheme like this to get revenge on Li
2:55:33Feng for Chen Jiaojiao's sake? Without
2:55:35this recording, Li Feng really would
2:55:37have been thrown in prison for attempted
2:55:39rape, his whole life ruined. Listen to
2:55:42the rest. My god, years ago that
2:55:44counselor really was just scratching an
2:55:46itch, and she framed him for molestation
2:55:48from a distance. I heard that after the
2:55:50counselor went back to his hometown, he
2:55:52couldn't find work because of the stain
2:55:53on his record. That's so depressed he
2:55:55nearly killed himself. How can Gu Xiumin
2:55:58be such a lowlife? Though there were
2:55:59plenty present on good terms with Yang
2:56:01Wei, with the truth of such a vile and
2:56:03illegal affair laid bare, they couldn't
2:56:05help but voice a few words of
2:56:07condemnation. "Damn it, has Gu Xiumin
2:56:09lost her mind?" Yang Wei's face went
2:56:11white in a flash. He shot to his feet
2:56:14and roared at the staff below the stage.
2:56:16"Who played that? Kill it. Shut off the
2:56:18big screen. She's obviously drunk and
2:56:20talking nonsense." Yes, Gu Xiumin did
2:56:23look drunk, but as the old saying goes,
2:56:25in wine there is truth. Smack. Zhao
2:56:28Yuching suddenly swung her hand, a slap
2:56:31landing hard across Yang Wei's face,
2:56:33crisp and loud, cutting through the din
2:56:35below the stage by several degrees. Half
2:56:37of Yang Wei's face reddened and swelled
2:56:39in an instant as he stared at her,
2:56:41dumbfounded. Zhao Yuching's face was
2:56:43cold, her eyes blazing with fury. Yang
2:56:46Wei, what did I tell you that day? Stop
2:56:48making trouble for Li Feng. Have you
2:56:50forgotten? No wonder Li Feng hadn't
2:56:52come. He nearly been framed by Yang Wei.
2:56:55She was also grateful for this
2:56:56recording. Otherwise, Li Feng could have
2:56:58jumped into the Yellow River and never
2:57:00washed himself clean. Yuching, it's got
2:57:02nothing to do with me. Li Feng must have
2:57:04offended Gaxumen. This is all her doing.
2:57:06Yang Wei's mouth was harder than a dead
2:57:08duck's bill. You think I'd believe that?
2:57:11Zhao Yuching shot him an icy glance and
2:57:13turned to leave. Yuching. Yang Wei
2:57:15seized her wrist, his voice laced with
2:57:17groveling and pleading. Fine, say I put
2:57:19her up to it. But why did I do it? Isn't
2:57:22it because these four years you've never
2:57:23been able to let Li Feng go. I'm only
2:57:26human, too. I don't say it on the
2:57:27surface, but it eats at me inside. If I
2:57:30keep holding it in, I'll go mad. Are you
2:57:32done? Zhao Yuching was unmoved, not a
2:57:34trace of feeling in her eyes. Yang Wei
2:57:37clutched her tight, refusing to let go.
2:57:39No, let me ask you one last thing. Are
2:57:42you really going to just walk away over
2:57:43Li Feng and refuse my proposal? Zhao
2:57:46Yuching's lips moved. She wanted badly
2:57:48to shake off his hand and go, but she
2:57:50couldn't. Otherwise, she'd have endured
2:57:52in silence for four years for nothing.
2:57:55She still had to marry Yang Wei. Only
2:57:56then could she successfully infiltrate
2:57:58the family behind him. Yang Wei, let her
2:58:00go. A low voice suddenly came from the
2:58:03entrance of the banquet hall. Everyone
2:58:05turned to look in unison. The owner of
2:58:07the voice, who else could it be but me?
2:58:09Expressionless, I walked step by step
2:58:11toward the stage, my gaze fixed straight
2:58:14on Zhao Yuching. Well now, was this
2:58:16about snatching someone from Yang Wei's
2:58:18grasp in front of everyone? Such a
2:58:19melodramatic, pulse-pounding plot, and
2:58:22here it was colliding with real life. Li
2:58:24Feng, don't make trouble. A figure
2:58:26rushed over, arms thrown wide to block
2:58:29my path. It was Sun Tao. He couldn't
2:58:31fathom how a plan so airtight had
2:58:33failed. What had gotten into Gu Shuman,
2:58:35selling Yang Wei out so thoroughly? And
2:58:37Jean Biao's crew, those famously vicious
2:58:40hard cases, they couldn't even stop one
2:58:42Li Feng. What the hell were they good
2:58:43for? Out of my way, lackey. I couldn't
2:58:46be bothered to waste words, and kicked
2:58:48him square in the stomach. Sun Tao let
2:58:50out a muffled grunt, and flew backward,
2:58:52knocking over two chairs, and sprawling
2:58:55flat on his back on the floor, curling
2:58:57into a ball, and clutching his stomach,
2:58:59too pain to speak. I didn't even glance
2:59:01at him, walking straight up onto the
2:59:03stage. Li Feng, Sun Tao is my brother,
2:59:06not a lackey. Who gave you the guts to
2:59:08touch him? Yang Wei was so furious his
2:59:10eyes nearly spat fire. One kick is
2:59:12letting him off easy. I gave a cold
2:59:14snort, turning my gaze to Zhao Yueching,
2:59:17and extending my left hand, palm up. I
2:59:19looked into her eyes, my voice neither
2:59:21loud nor soft, yet carrying an
2:59:24undeniable firmness. Yueching, come with
2:59:26me. Everyone cast the big screen's
2:59:28contents clear out of their minds, all
2:59:30agreeing in unison. What came next was
2:59:33the real main event of the night. Damn
2:59:35it, Li Feng, are you out of your mind?
2:59:37Yueching is my girlfriend, and soon to
2:59:39be my fiance. Why the hell would she go
2:59:41with you? Clown. Ha. Yang Wei was so
2:59:44angry his face contorted. That's not for
2:59:46you to decide. I didn't even look at
2:59:48him, my gaze still fixed straight on
2:59:50Zhao Yueching, that hand held steady in
2:59:52midair. Zhao Yueching would come with
2:59:54me. She would. Zhao Yueching stared at
2:59:56me blankly, and for some reason, felt a
2:59:58strange, unfamiliarity. Back then, when
3:00:01she broke up with me out of nowhere, I'd
3:00:03only fallen silent for 10 odd minutes
3:00:05before nodding in agreement without a
3:00:07single word. Through 4 years of college,
3:00:09I'd run into her and Yang Wei out
3:00:11together countless times on campus and
3:00:13never said or did a thing. Yet tonight,
3:00:16with all eyes upon us, I charged up onto
3:00:18the stage as if I'd lost my reason,
3:00:20trying to take her away right in front
3:00:22of Yang Wei. Had this man changed? Or
3:00:24had his nature always been like this?
3:00:26Always forcibly restrained, and now he
3:00:29simply no longer wished to hold back? Li
3:00:31Feng, don't be rash. Go on down first,
3:00:34and we'll talk after the ceremony. All
3:00:35right. Zhao Yuching's voice was soft and
3:00:38gentle. From start to finish, she'd
3:00:40loved only me. Of course, she was
3:00:42willing to leave with me, to find a
3:00:44quiet place and pour out the secret
3:00:46buried in her heart. But she couldn't.
3:00:48If she left, all the painstaking effort
3:00:50she poured into Yang Wei these 4 years
3:00:52would be wasted, every bit of silent
3:00:54endurance for nothing. If you won't come
3:00:56with me, then there's no need for us to
3:00:58talk at all. From this day on, our paths
3:01:01part. You go your way, I'll go mine. A
3:01:03stab of pain shot through my heart. I
3:01:05slowly withdrew that hand, turned, and
3:01:08walked away. I'd made my last effort. If
3:01:10she chose to stay, it meant she'd still
3:01:12accept Yang Wei's proposal. And then I
3:01:14could only give up completely. To keep
3:01:16clinging on would be meaningless. Li
3:01:18Feng, I don't want our paths to part.
3:01:20I'll come with you. Watching my
3:01:22heartbroken back, Zhao Yuching felt a
3:01:24sudden sharp ache in her chest, as if
3:01:26something had wrenched at it violently.
3:01:28She immediately started after me. Even
3:01:30if she and I could never be together in
3:01:32the end, she absolutely did not want the
3:01:34two of us to become strangers from here
3:01:36on. Because without me, she might not be
3:01:39able to go on living. And if even her
3:01:41life were gone, what would she have left
3:01:42to accomplish that unfinished mission?
3:01:45The crowd below the stage erupted at
3:01:46once. What's going on? Zhao Yuching's
3:01:49really going with Li Feng. Yang Wei's
3:01:51got it rough. A meticulously planned
3:01:53proposal, and his fiance runs off with
3:01:55her ex?
3:01:56Tsk tsk, this drama is worth every
3:01:59second tonight. The buzz of discussion
3:02:01rolled in like a tide, some gloating,
3:02:03some furtively pulling out phones to
3:02:05record. Yang Wei's face turned ashen. He
3:02:08dashed forward in one stride, flinging
3:02:10his arms wide to block Zhao Yuching's
3:02:12path. Yuching, you can't go. There was
3:02:15no way he'd let me take her away so
3:02:16easily. For one, with so many people
3:02:18watching, if his woman got snatched
3:02:20away, where would his face go? For
3:02:22another, he truly didn't want to lose
3:02:24her. Zhao Yuching halted her steps,
3:02:27looking at that face still with nothing
3:02:29but disgust. She reached out and
3:02:31snatched the ring box from his hand.
3:02:33Yang Wei, I'll accept this. That's the
3:02:35same as the proposal ceremony being
3:02:37over. You know I hate crowded occasions
3:02:39like this most of all, and I hate even
3:02:41more when people interfere with my
3:02:43freedom. Move, or I promise you'll never
3:02:45see me again. Yang Wei, anxious and
3:02:48flustered, didn't dare harden his words.
3:02:50He even laced them with a hint of
3:02:52pleading. Accepting the ring, does that
3:02:54mean you're agreeing to my proposal?
3:02:55Then you're my fiance now, which means
3:02:57you really can't go off with him.
3:02:59Otherwise, when I go out, people will
3:03:01laugh me to scorn. His ultimate goal was
3:03:03simply to get Zhao Yuching's hand in
3:03:05marriage. Everything else he could
3:03:07endure. For my sake, you can't stand
3:03:09even a little grievance. Zhao Yuching
3:03:12didn't waver in the slightest. I can't I
3:03:14can't I can't. Yang Wei nodded
3:03:16frantically. But, since you can, then
3:03:19there's no but. Zhao Yuching couldn't be
3:03:21bothered to say more. She side stepped
3:03:23him and strode quickly to catch up with
3:03:25me, already at the door. The two of us
3:03:27walked out of the banquet hall, one
3:03:29ahead of the other, vanishing from
3:03:31everyone's sight. For a few seconds, the
3:03:33hall fell silent, and then utterly
3:03:35boiled over. Damn, what does Zhao
3:03:37Yuching mean by this? Taking Yang Wei's
3:03:39ring with one hand while running off
3:03:41with Li Feng, playing two sides. After
3:03:43graduation, Li Feng can only go be a
3:03:45nurse at a hospital. What's he got to
3:03:47compete with Yang Wei? Has Zhao Yuching
3:03:49got water on the brain? Yang Wei, if it
3:03:52doesn't work out, just dump her. My
3:03:54cousin's especially pretty. She'll come
3:03:56of age in a few months. Want me to
3:03:57introduce you? These words stabbed into
3:04:00Yang Wei's ears like knives, every one
3:04:02of them cutting him to the quick. He
3:04:04stood on the stage staring at the empty
3:04:06doorway, fists clenched tight. Yes, in
3:04:09every respect, Li Feng couldn't compare
3:04:11to him. He still couldn't understand why
3:04:13Zhao Yuching would admit to being his
3:04:15girlfriend while remaining hopelessly
3:04:16entangled with Li Feng. Any other woman
3:04:19carrying on like this and he'd have
3:04:20kicked her to the curb long ago. But he
3:04:22simply couldn't bear to let Zhao Yuching
3:04:24go. Not only because she was exactly his
3:04:26type, but because she seemed to possess
3:04:28an invisible magic drawing him in,
3:04:31leaving him unable to pull himself free.
3:04:33"Damn it, shut your mouths, all of you."
3:04:35Yang Wei spun around abruptly, his roar
3:04:38drowning out every murmur.
3:04:40"Can't you see Yuching accepted my ring?
3:04:42That means she said yes to my proposal.
3:04:44I, Yang Wei, am not so petty as to
3:04:46forbid my fiance from any contact with
3:04:49other men. And I firmly believe Yuching
3:04:51would never do anything to wrong me. If
3:04:53you love gossip, keep at it. If you
3:04:55don't, get the hell out. Quit your damn
3:04:57yapping." Having forced a face-saving
3:04:59excuse for himself, he looked at no one,
3:05:01turning and stepping down from the
3:05:03stage, heading straight for the evening
3:05:05maple chant room with a belly full of
3:05:07rage. Tonight, to avenge Chun Xiaoxiao,
3:05:10he'd thought up what he believed was a
3:05:11flawless plan. Have Gu Shuman falsely
3:05:14accuse Li Feng of attempted rape, then
3:05:16have Jean Biao and his crew quietly haul
3:05:18Li Feng off to the constabulary. By law,
3:05:21attempted rape meant at least 3 years.
3:05:24Picturing Li Feng about to be thrown in
3:05:25prison, he should have felt thoroughly
3:05:27satisfied. Yet now, not only had the
3:05:29plan failed, but that lowlife Gu Shuman
3:05:32had spilled all his dirty secrets,
3:05:34broadcast for everyone to see. This was
3:05:36surely Li Feng's doing. Even if Gu
3:05:38Shuman was useless at getting things
3:05:40done, wasn't there still Jean Biao's
3:05:41bunch? A pack of gangsters. How could
3:05:44they fail to handle a single Li Feng?
3:05:46Bang. Yang Wei quickly reached the door
3:05:48of the evening maple chant room and
3:05:50kicked it open with a vicious stomp. He
3:05:52wanted nothing more than to use Gu
3:05:54Shuman as a a bag and beat her
3:05:56senseless. But when he charged into the
3:05:58room, it was empty. With nowhere to vent
3:06:00his fury, he grabbed a chair and smashed
3:06:03it to the floor. where the hell
3:06:05did Gushumin run off to? He circled the
3:06:07room several times hoping to find some
3:06:10trace to piece together what had
3:06:11happened but came up with nothing.
3:06:13Beside him, Sun Tao held up his phone,
3:06:15his voice weak. Wei Ge, I called
3:06:18Gushumin three times. Nobody's picking
3:06:20up. Mf, the monk can run but the temple
3:06:23can't. Her old man drives for my dad. If
3:06:25I can't find her, I'll take it out on
3:06:27him. Yang Wei's face was so dark it
3:06:29could drip water. He swept his arm
3:06:31through the air. Try Jin Biao again. I'm
3:06:33going to get to the bottom of this no
3:06:35matter what. Sun Tao nodded repeatedly
3:06:38dialing rapidly making three calls in a
3:06:40row. Again, no one answered. Wei Ge,
3:06:43nobody's picking up either. What do we
3:06:45do? Yang Wei was beside himself with
3:06:47rage. To frame Li Feng, he'd shut off
3:06:50all the surveillance in the corridor and
3:06:51the private room in advance. To learn
3:06:53the truth, he could rely only on
3:06:56Gushumin and Jin Biao. But right now he
3:06:58couldn't reach either of them. It was as
3:07:00if he were trapped in a fog driving him
3:07:02frantic. Screw you. You'd better pray I
3:07:05never find you as long as I live. He
3:07:07snatched up a chair again and in the
3:07:09blink of an eye smashed the entire room
3:07:10to smithereens. Sun Tao watched heart
3:07:13pounding in alarm. Wei Ge, that's about
3:07:15enough. Trashing a whole private room
3:07:18like this is going to cost tens of
3:07:19thousands no matter how you slice it.
3:07:21You'll pay for it. Yang Wei flung aside
3:07:24the chair leg and whirled to glare at
3:07:26him. Clearly having made him the
3:07:27punching bag. Huh, Wei Ge, come on, stop
3:07:31messing around. Sun Tao still thought he
3:07:33was joking and forced out a smile. Where
3:07:35would I get that kind of money? Yang Wei
3:07:37strode over and grabbed him by the
3:07:39collar gritting his teeth. The idea was
3:07:41yours. Now it's blown, the people are
3:07:43nowhere to be found and I've been driven
3:07:45half to death with rage. I smash a few
3:07:48things, if you're not paying who is?
3:07:50That's right. Yang Wei was rotten to the
3:07:52core, but his brains fell a bit short.
3:07:54Everything tonight had been Sun Tao's
3:07:56scheme. But, Sun Tao opened his mouth to
3:07:59argue. Then, looking at that face
3:08:01twisted with rage, swallowed his words
3:08:03and nodded with gritted teeth.
3:08:05"Fine, I'll pay. Then about that
3:08:07arrangement to get me into the Housing
3:08:09and Construction Bureau." The whole
3:08:11world bustles for the sake of profit.
3:08:13Sun Tao was willing to play the despised
3:08:15lackey, naturally, because there was
3:08:16profit in it. This time Yang Wei had
3:08:18promised him that once the job was done,
3:08:20he'd get him into the Housing and
3:08:22Construction Bureau, even if not a civil
3:08:24service post, then at least a public
3:08:26institution one. Grad school? That was
3:08:28just a lie to fool Li Feng. "No rush."
3:08:31Yang Wei let go and patted his shoulder,
3:08:33the way one pats an obedient dog. "Once
3:08:36we find Ge Shuman and Jin Biao, we'll
3:08:38talk." With his father's position,
3:08:40getting someone into the Housing and
3:08:41Construction Bureau was no problem. But,
3:08:43the precondition was that the job got
3:08:45done. Now the job had failed, and he'd
3:08:47been left stewing in anger. Whether Sun
3:08:49Tao got in or not depended on his mood.
3:08:52"All right, I'll do as you say, Wei Ge."
3:08:54Sun Tao faintly sensed something was
3:08:56off, but still forced a smile, clinging
3:08:58to a last shred of hope. Ring, ring,
3:09:00ring. Just as Yang Wei was about to head
3:09:02out, his phone rang. It was the female
3:09:04owner of that bar near the restaurant he
3:09:06frequented. The moment he picked up, a
3:09:08coquettish voice came through. "Young
3:09:10Master Yang, our place just got a batch
3:09:12of new girls, each one more tender and
3:09:15fresh than the last. You were the very
3:09:17first person I thought of. Got time to
3:09:19come sample them?" With a belly full of
3:09:21rage and nowhere to vent it, Yang Wei's
3:09:23lips twitched into a smirk. "I'll come.
3:09:26Every single one of them. Save them all
3:09:28for me." "Will do. Once Young Master
3:09:30Yang arrives, take your pick." After
3:09:32Yang Wei left, the proposal guests also
3:09:35gradually dispersed. The once lively
3:09:37Magpie Bridge Hall stood empty, with
3:09:39nothing left but a floor strewn with
3:09:41flowers and tables of untouched food and
3:09:44wine. Suddenly, a head of dyed yellow
3:09:46hair poked in through the doorway,
3:09:48furtively scanning the room. It was one
3:09:50of Jean Biao's lackeys. Holy crap, it
3:09:52broke up this fast. Yellow hair blinked
3:09:55in surprise, then turned and bolted
3:09:57downstairs. He cut across the lobby and
3:09:59circled around to the back door. In the
3:10:01shadows of several big pagoda trees
3:10:03across the road sat a black Volkswagen
3:10:057-seater SUV with fake plates. Jean Biao
3:10:09and a few other lackeys were crammed
3:10:10inside. Yellow hair, panting, sidled up
3:10:13to the car window and lowered his voice.
3:10:15"Biao Ge, it's over. No sign of Li Feng.
3:10:18He's probably gone, too." "What? Li
3:10:20Feng's gone?" Jean Biao sprang up from
3:10:23his seat, nearly cracking his head on
3:10:24the car roof. Ever since swallowing that
3:10:27poison, he'd started feeling off. First
3:10:30weak, then a sore throat, and finally
3:10:32aching all over, as if needles were
3:10:34jabbing into the marrow of his bones.
3:10:36The poison had kicked in. If he didn't
3:10:38want to die, he could only obediently do
3:10:40as Li Feng said. So, after stuffing Ge
3:10:43Xiumin into the trunk, he'd been waiting
3:10:44here the whole time, figuring Li Feng
3:10:47would surely come out to find him. But
3:10:48now the man had slipped off without a
3:10:50word. How could he not panic? "Oh, for
3:10:52crying out loud. Feng Ge, no, I'll call
3:10:55you dad." Jean Biao slumped against his
3:10:57seat, slapping his thigh. "You didn't
3:10:59leave a contact number, and you didn't
3:11:01say what to do next. Don't tell me you
3:11:03don't plan to give me the antidote." The
3:11:05lackey in the passenger seat suddenly
3:11:06pointed out the window. "Biao Ge, is
3:11:09that Yang Wei?" Jean Biao started,
3:11:11pressing to the window to peer out. A
3:11:13figure was emerging from the back door,
3:11:15swaggering this way and that. Sure
3:11:17enough, it was Yang Wei. Yang Wei had
3:11:19come out the back door because it was
3:11:21closer to the bar he was headed for,
3:11:23just across the street. No need to even
3:11:25drive. But he was utterly oblivious that
3:11:27in the darkness a pair of eyes was fixed
3:11:29on him, their gaze turning ever more
3:11:31vicious. "Hand me the baseball bat under
3:11:33the back seat." Jean Biao's face set
3:11:36into cruelty. "Biao Ge, what do you want
3:11:38a baseball bat for?" The lackey,
3:11:40puzzled, still bent down, pulled out the
3:11:42bat and handed it over. Jean Biao tugged
3:11:45at his collar as if he'd made up his
3:11:47mind. Li Feng had to sway here for no
3:11:49other reason than to help him get
3:11:50revenge on his enemies. He's got two of
3:11:52them. Gu Shumans already in the bag.
3:11:55There's still Yang Wei left. If he
3:11:57didn't want to die, his only way out was
3:11:59to satisfy Li Feng and trade for the
3:12:01antidote. Since Li Feng had left without
3:12:03giving an order, he could only take the
3:12:05initiative himself. Huh, the lackeys
3:12:07were terrified. "Biao Ji, Yang Wei's an
3:12:10official son. If we or kill him,
3:12:13not one of us will get away. I'm not a
3:12:15dumbass. I know how to measure my
3:12:16strikes." Jean Biao wouldn't hear a word
3:12:19of it, shoving the door open and
3:12:20slipping out of the car in a crouch.
3:12:22This was a small lane, dimly lit, with
3:12:25few people about. But there was a
3:12:26surveillance camera on the utility pole
3:12:28at the intersection. To be safe, Jean
3:12:31Biao didn't rush straight in. Instead,
3:12:33he circled around to the blind spot of
3:12:34the camera at the corner, hiding behind
3:12:36a heap of discarded cardboard boxes,
3:12:39quietly waiting for Yang Wei to draw
3:12:41near. The footsteps grew closer and
3:12:43closer. At the very moment Yang Wei
3:12:45rounded the corner, Jean Biao lunged out
3:12:47of the shadows, swung the baseball bat
3:12:49up, and brought it down hard on the back
3:12:51of his head. Thud. A dull thump. The
3:12:54utterly unguarded Yang Wei didn't even
3:12:56have time to grunt. His vision went
3:12:58black and he toppled straight to the
3:12:59ground, knocked out cold. In an old
3:13:02residential compound in Yunxing, the
3:13:03weeds grew half a person tall and only a
3:13:06scattered few units showed dim lights,
3:13:08making the whole complex look like the
3:13:10set of a horror film. This was former
3:13:12staff housing for the railway bureau,
3:13:14mostly abandoned now, facing demolition,
3:13:17with residents you could count on one
3:13:18hand. Xiao Yuqing lived right here.
3:13:20"Yuqing, you live here all by yourself?
3:13:23Aren't you scared?" I followed her in
3:13:25and glanced around. Two bedrooms and a
3:13:27living room, not large, simply
3:13:29furnished, the furniture old and
3:13:31yellowed, yet kept spotlessly clean. It
3:13:34seemed she lived here alone, and
3:13:35thinking of that eerie environment, even
3:13:38I found it unnerving, let alone a girl.
3:13:40In truth, thinking back now, after
3:13:42knowing her all these years, I knew
3:13:44almost nothing about Zhao Yueqing,
3:13:46whether her parents were living, what
3:13:48they did, whether she had siblings. I
3:13:50knew only that in our first year of high
3:13:52school, she transferred into Yunxing
3:13:54Number One Middle School as a midterm
3:13:56student with top grades, holding the
3:13:58number one spot in the whole grade the
3:14:00entire time. And she was beautiful.
3:14:02Campus belle was underselling it. Gifted
3:14:04lady was more like it. I'm not scared. I
3:14:07actually quite like it. Zhao Yueqing
3:14:09motioned for me to sit on the sofa, then
3:14:11turned and went to the kitchen to pour a
3:14:13glass of water, set it on the coffee
3:14:15table, and sat down right beside me. She
3:14:17lowered her head, silent for a good
3:14:19while, before speaking softly. Li Feng,
3:14:22for 4 years, I've wanted so badly to
3:14:24tell you I'm sorry. If not for me, you'd
3:14:27never have been targeted by Yang Wei,
3:14:29never have been reassigned from clinical
3:14:30medicine to nursing, and would never
3:14:32have suffered so many grievances
3:14:34throughout 4 years of college. And
3:14:36tonight, he nearly framed you. As she
3:14:38spoke, she turned her body and threw
3:14:40herself into my arms of her own accord,
3:14:43wrapping her arms around my waist,
3:14:45holding me very, very tight. Breathing
3:14:47in the faint fragrance of her hair, my
3:14:49heart churned with mixed feelings. Yes,
3:14:52at first, when I learned I'd been
3:14:54reassigned from clinical medicine to
3:14:55nursing, my dream crushed under Yang
3:14:58Wei's heel. To say I'd never blamed her
3:15:00would be a lie. Without her, a student
3:15:02like me, excellent in both character and
3:15:04study, might never in this life have
3:15:06crossed paths with a wastrel like Yang
3:15:08Wei. But as time passed, I'd long since
3:15:11made my peace with it. The only thing
3:15:12I'd never made peace with was why. Back
3:15:15then, she broken up with me and chosen
3:15:17Yang Wei. Qing'er, more than once you
3:15:19said I absolutely had to come tonight,
3:15:21and that you tell me why you broke up
3:15:23with me back then. It's just the two of
3:15:24us now, so tell me. I'm listening. My
3:15:27voice was gentle. Mm-mm. She stayed
3:15:29curled in my arms. Back then, I broke up
3:15:32with you because I'd suddenly learned
3:15:33certain things. What those things are, I
3:15:35still can't say. You only need to know
3:15:37this. My agreeing to be Yang Wei's
3:15:39girlfriend was for another purpose. Or
3:15:41rather, my target was never Yang Wei at
3:15:44all, but the entire Yang family behind
3:15:46him. On the surface, Yang Wei's father
3:15:48holds high office and real power. But
3:15:51few people know that even his father is
3:15:53an insignificant presence within the
3:15:54Yang family. Merely a connecting point
3:15:56between the Yangs and Yunxing's
3:15:58officialdom. So, the only way for me to
3:16:00infiltrate the Yang family was to be
3:16:02with Yang Wei. That is the reason I had
3:16:04to break up with you and choose him." I
3:16:06listened, stunned, only now realizing
3:16:09that this frail-looking girl before me
3:16:10harbored many secrets I knew nothing of.
3:16:13Secrets that could only be called
3:16:15earth-shattering. Beyond shock, what I
3:16:17felt more was heartache. I lowered my
3:16:19head and pressed a soft kiss to her
3:16:20forehead, my voice low and firm. "Silly
3:16:23Chinger, do you have a grudge against
3:16:24the Yang family? If you do, you can tell
3:16:27me and we'll face it together." "It's no
3:16:29use." She shook her head hard. "You've
3:16:31already been dragged through enough
3:16:33misery because of me. I don't want to
3:16:34pull you into an even deeper, even more
3:16:37dangerous whirlpool. The old me was
3:16:39useless, but as for now," I gave a small
3:16:41smile. "Before, I'd been just an
3:16:43ordinary man. Forget shaking an
3:16:45unfathomable family like the Yangs, even
3:16:48handling one Yang Wei was a strain. But
3:16:50now that I've received a mysterious
3:16:52inheritance, give me a little more time
3:16:54to cultivate to a higher realm, and
3:16:56sooner or later the day would come when
3:16:58I could stand against the Yang family as
3:16:59an equal." But just as I was about to
3:17:01lay my cards on the table, Zhao Yuching
3:17:03suddenly left my embrace. She rose and
3:17:06walked to the window, her thin
3:17:08silhouette outlined in the dim yellow
3:17:09light, falling silent for several
3:17:11seconds. Suddenly, she reached out a
3:17:14slender, jade-like hand and grasped the
3:17:16iron guardrail on the windowsill. It was
3:17:18a rusted, solid iron rail more than 2 cm
3:17:22thick, welded onto the window frame,
3:17:24hard and sturdy, the kind you couldn't
3:17:26necessarily bend even with a hammer.
3:17:28Yet, the next second, with just a light
3:17:30application of force, creak, a
3:17:33tooth-grating sound, and that iron rail
3:17:35actually bent little by little. My eyes
3:17:37nearly bulged out of my head. For me, at
3:17:40the first layer of chi refinement, this
3:17:42would be effortless. But, for an
3:17:44ordinary person, especially a girl who
3:17:46looked so delicate she might blow over
3:17:48in the wind, it was simply impossible.
3:17:50Unless, Zhao Yuejing, like me, was no
3:17:53ordinary person. Yuejing, you, how did
3:17:55you do that? I shot to my feet and
3:17:57crossed in a few strides to the window,
3:18:00leaning in close to examine the bent
3:18:01rail, confirming I hadn't seen wrong.
3:18:04The astonishment on my face was
3:18:05identical to any normal person's,
3:18:07perfectly reasonable. Zhao Yuejing
3:18:09turned around, looking at my face full
3:18:12of shock, the corner of her mouth
3:18:13curving with a trace of apology. "Li
3:18:16Feng, what I'm about to say may strike
3:18:18you as fantastical, but it's true. I am,
3:18:21in fact, a cultivator. Just like in the
3:18:23novels, once you cultivate to a certain
3:18:25realm, you can fly through the skies and
3:18:27tunnel through the earth. It's only that
3:18:29the world is so starved of spiritual
3:18:31energy now that, no matter how good my
3:18:33aptitude, for years of bitter
3:18:35cultivation have only brought me to the
3:18:37threshold of the first layer of chi
3:18:39refinement. I've long been unable to
3:18:41break through. Even so, I'm already
3:18:43different from ordinary people." As she
3:18:45finished, as if to make me believe her
3:18:47more, crack, she grasped the bent rail
3:18:49again and gave it a light tug. The whole
3:18:52thing snapped off clean at the base,
3:18:53held in her hand, as easily as snapping
3:18:56a chopstick. I stared at that severed
3:18:58length of pipe, then at her face, calm
3:19:00as still water, my mind in utter
3:19:02turmoil. A cultivator, according to the
3:19:05information in my head, the way I
3:19:07cultivated was also called being a
3:19:08cultivator. So, Zhao Yuejing really was
3:19:11the same as me? No, she said she'd
3:19:13cultivated for 4 years, setting foot on
3:19:15this path even earlier than I had. I'd
3:19:17received my fortune by meeting a crazed
3:19:19old beggar in a park, and her? Where had
3:19:22her inheritance come from? But Zhao
3:19:24Yujing had no idea that I was a
3:19:25cultivator, too. Having said all this,
3:19:28seeing my exaggerated expression, she
3:19:30assumed she'd frightened me, and
3:19:32burrowed back into my arms, wrapping me
3:19:34tightly. "Li Feng, don't be scared. A
3:19:36low-level cultivator like me is no
3:19:38different from a normal woman. I'm
3:19:40telling you all this to let you know,
3:19:42even though I'm different from ordinary
3:19:43people, I have to tread every step with
3:19:45caution before the Yang family, and even
3:19:48pretend to date a revolting creature
3:19:50like Yang Wei. But I swear to heaven, I
3:19:52have only ever liked you, and you alone.
3:19:55Past, present, or future, I will never,
3:19:58ever let Yang Wei lay a finger on me."
3:20:00Emotions surged within me. After a
3:20:02moment's hesitation, in the end, I still
3:20:04gave up on telling her that I, too, was
3:20:07a cultivator. Why not tell her? Zhao
3:20:09Yujing was brilliant and extraordinarily
3:20:11gifted, and even after four full years
3:20:14of cultivation, had only barely touched
3:20:16the threshold of the first layer of Qi
3:20:18refinement. Yet I'd broken through the
3:20:20first layer in a mere few days, and even
3:20:22brushed against the second. If I said it
3:20:24aloud, it would be her turn to be
3:20:26frightened. "Yujing, in the future, when
3:20:28you deal with the Yang family, if
3:20:30there's anything you need me for, you
3:20:32must tell me the very first moment. I
3:20:34don't want you in any danger. Do you
3:20:36hear me?" I said solemnly. By her
3:20:38account, the Yang family was so
3:20:40unfathomable. Could it be hiding
3:20:42cultivators of an even higher level?
3:20:44After all, such bizarre things had
3:20:46happened to both her and me. This
3:20:47seemingly ordinary world clearly
3:20:49concealed another world within it. I
3:20:51simply hadn't touched it yet. "There's
3:20:53nothing I need you for." She tilted her
3:20:55head up, her gaze soft as a pool of
3:20:58spring water. "If I absolutely had to
3:21:00name something, it would be just as I
3:21:02said in that text message the other
3:21:03night. I want to give myself to you.
3:21:05That way, even if I die, I'll have no
3:21:07regrets." With that, she resolutely rose
3:21:10onto her toes, her red lips pressing
3:21:13against mine. In that moment, the woman
3:21:15who was usually cold as frost and ice
3:21:17was gone. Her eyes brimmed with
3:21:19tenderness like a flame set ablaze,
3:21:22scorching and burning hot. Yuching,
3:21:24don't don't stop. A black Volkswagen
3:21:267-seater SUV with fake plates tore
3:21:29through the dark night. Leaving
3:21:30Yunching's urban district, it followed
3:21:32back roads westward, covering more than
3:21:34100 km in one stretch before finally
3:21:37turning into a remote mountain area and
3:21:39slowing to a stop. Seated inside were
3:21:41Jean Biao and his crew. Yang Wei and Ge
3:21:44Shumin were still in the trunk, out cold
3:21:46as dead pigs, yet to wake, utterly
3:21:49unaware of what had happened. "Biao Ge,
3:21:51why do we drive so far?" one lackey
3:21:53asked, trembling. Yang Wei was an
3:21:55official son, someone they couldn't
3:21:57afford to cross and didn't dare to. Jean
3:22:00Biao blew out a smoke ring, squinting at
3:22:02the desolate wilderness beyond the
3:22:04window. "To satisfy Li Feng, we've got
3:22:06to teach this pair of dirty dogs a
3:22:08lesson. But come down too hard and none
3:22:10of you as could bear the consequences.
3:22:12So this is the only way." To save his
3:22:14own life, there was nothing he wouldn't
3:22:16do, but he hadn't quite lost his reason.
3:22:19"The only way to do what?" The lackey
3:22:21was baffled. "Stop asking. Get out and
3:22:23you'll see." Jean Biao flicked his
3:22:25cigarette butt out the window and hopped
3:22:27out of the car. A few lackeys followed
3:22:29him to the trunk. Jean Biao flipped it
3:22:31open. Yang Wei and Ge Shumin lay curled
3:22:33inside, crammed together, unconscious.
3:22:36Say what you will, this pair of dirty
3:22:38dogs lying side by side actually made
3:22:40quite the matching set. Both still
3:22:42breathing, not dead. A lackey checked
3:22:45their breaths and let out a sigh of
3:22:46relief. "Haul them out." Jean Biao waved
3:22:49his hand. Several lackeys grabbed the
3:22:51two and dragged them out, dumping them
3:22:53on the ground. Without a word, Jean Biao
3:22:55bent down and rifled through both of
3:22:57them from head to toe. Phones, wallets,
3:23:00watches, rings, every valuable scavenged
3:23:03clean and stuffed into his own pockets.
3:23:05"Done." He split into a grin, bearing a
3:23:07mouthful of big yellow teeth. "Haha,
3:23:10this place is over 100 km from the city,
3:23:12and this pair of dirty dogs hasn't got a
3:23:14cent on them. Getting back won't be so
3:23:16simple. They'll be in for some
3:23:18suffering. Only then did the lackeys
3:23:20catch on. Biao-ji, you mean we dump them
3:23:22here and just take off? Brilliant. Just
3:23:25making them suffer a little. Even if
3:23:27they trace it back to us later, they
3:23:28can't do much to us. And the key thing
3:23:31is it'll satisfy Li Feng. Once Li Feng's
3:23:33satisfied, Biao-ji gets his antidote,
3:23:36right? Amid the chorus of flattery, Jean
3:23:38Biao beamed with smug pride. But the
3:23:41moment he thought of the poison in his
3:23:42body, his whole frame turned
3:23:44uncomfortable again. A dull ache gnawing
3:23:47at the marrow of his bones. Arc, it was
3:23:49fine till you mentioned it. Now you've
3:23:51brought it up, my poison's acting up
3:23:53again. Jean Biao clutched his chest,
3:23:55grimacing. Quick, find a place nearby
3:23:58and a woman to help me work off this
3:24:00poison first. The lackeys scrambled to
3:24:02help him into the car. A stomp on the
3:24:04gas, and the black SUV roared off in a
3:24:07cloud of dust, soon vanishing into the
3:24:09thick night. In this desolate
3:24:11wilderness, only Yang Wei and Gu Shumin
3:24:13lay on the ground unconscious. From deep
3:24:16in the distant forest, the low howl of a
3:24:18wild beast rose now and then. Yunxing,
3:24:21inside the railway bureau staff housing,
3:24:23a storm of wild passion had drawn to a
3:24:26close. Yu Ching, is something wrong? Are
3:24:28you hurt anywhere? I'm sorry, I was too
3:24:30rough. I rolled onto my side, looking at
3:24:33Xiao Yu Ching curled up in the corner of
3:24:35the bed, full of self-reproach. Her body
3:24:37was slightly curled, arms hugging her
3:24:40knees. A thin film of sweat on her
3:24:41forehead, her brows knit tight. She was
3:24:44indeed in agony at this moment, but not
3:24:46because of my roughness. Rather, it was
3:24:49that the true qi inside her had suddenly
3:24:51ignited, as if set aflame, charging and
3:24:53surging wildly through her meridians,
3:24:55careening everywhere. The sensation was
3:24:58scorching and violent, leaving her whole
3:25:00body burning. Every inch of skin as if
3:25:03about to catch fire. Four years of
3:25:05cultivation, and this was the first time
3:25:07anything like this had happened. Li
3:25:08Feng, step out for a bit. Better yet, go
3:25:11up to the attic and come back down when
3:25:13I call you, all right? Zhao Yuching said
3:25:15through gritted teeth, her voice
3:25:17trembling. Her brows knit tighter and
3:25:19tighter, fingertips clutching the corner
3:25:21of the blanket with all their might, as
3:25:23if the next second she'd lose control
3:25:25entirely. Only then did I realize Zhao
3:25:28Yuching's condition was no simple
3:25:30matter, and I hurriedly leaned in.
3:25:32"Qing'er, let me take a look. Tell me
3:25:34what's wrong. I've got a secret I
3:25:35haven't told you either. The truth is I"
3:25:38Whether she'd fallen ill or hit a snag
3:25:40in her cultivation, the me of now could
3:25:42probably resolve it. But before I could
3:25:44finish, she shut her eyes, gritted her
3:25:46teeth, her voice carrying a
3:25:48brook-no-argument firmness. "Li Feng,
3:25:50quit babbling. Out now."
3:25:52"Fine, I'll go to the attic. Call me the
3:25:54moment anything happens." Unable to win
3:25:57against her, I could only throw on my
3:25:59clothes and back out of the room,
3:26:01glancing over my shoulder with every
3:26:02step. Her home was on the top floor, and
3:26:05in the corner of the living room a
3:26:06narrow wooden staircase led up to the
3:26:08attic. I climbed up and pushed open the
3:26:10door to find it tidied spotless inside.
3:26:13A single bed, an old-fashioned writing
3:26:15desk with books stacked neatly on top.
3:26:17The terrace was full of flowers and
3:26:19plants, tended with great care. But I
3:26:21had no heart to admire it. My mind was
3:26:23still on her. Yet right at the height of
3:26:25my worry, the true chi inside me
3:26:27suddenly went haywire, too. It came with
3:26:30no warning, the true chi charging and
3:26:32surging through my meridians, more than
3:26:3410 times as violent as the forced
3:26:36breakthrough that afternoon. Ngh. I let
3:26:39out a muffled grunt, my legs buckling,
3:26:41dropping to one knee, one hand braced
3:26:43hard against the floor, veins bulging at
3:26:46my temples. What was happening? Gritting
3:26:48my teeth, I forced myself up, stumbled
3:26:50over to the bedside, settled into a
3:26:52cross-legged posture with my five
3:26:54centers facing the heavens, drew a deep
3:26:56breath, and channeled the Supreme Yang
3:26:59Divine Art with all my might to soothe
3:27:01the runaway true chi. The result went
3:27:03far more smoothly than I'd expected.
3:27:05That wildly careening true chi, like a
3:27:08herd of wild horses running loose that
3:27:10had met a tamer, gradually quieted,
3:27:12flowing once more along the tracks of
3:27:14the meridians. What delighted me even
3:27:16more was this. The second layer chi
3:27:18refinement bottleneck that had stuck me
3:27:20the whole day before now actually
3:27:22loosened. Boom. Seizing the chance, I
3:27:24guided all the true chi within me to
3:27:26slam fiercely against that invisible
3:27:28barrier. Once, twice, three times. The
3:27:32barrier gave a crisp crack like
3:27:33shattering glass and collapsed with a
3:27:35roar. Surging true chi burst forth like
3:27:38a river breaking its dikes, forcing open
3:27:40new meridian channels, pouring into my
3:27:43dantian. The dantian swelled a ring
3:27:45wider and the warm true chi slowly spun
3:27:48within it, condensing into a pure, more
3:27:51refined vortex. I'd done it. The second
3:27:53layer of chi refinement. My eyes snapped
3:27:56open and I exhaled a long breath of
3:27:58turbid air. That breath was a milky
3:28:00white, shooting out like a sharp arrow
3:28:02for a good distance before slowly
3:28:04disappearing. I looked down at my hands,
3:28:06my whole body brimming with
3:28:08inexhaustible strength, as if even my
3:28:10bones had been reforged. I clenched a
3:28:12fist, crack, and a visible current of
3:28:15air burst from between my knuckles. My
3:28:17strength was at least two or three times
3:28:19that of the first layer. Hearing, smell,
3:28:22sight, every sense had risen a full
3:28:24tier. So, this is the second layer of
3:28:26chi refinement. I rolled my shoulders,
3:28:29leapt down from the bed, and only then
3:28:31noticed the sky was faintly brightening.
3:28:33Without realizing it, I'd cultivated for
3:28:35several hours. Oh, no. So caught up in
3:28:38cultivating that I forgot Zhao Yuechi.
3:28:40Is that girl all right? I smacked my
3:28:42forehead, thinking of the agonized state
3:28:44she'd been in before I went up. I grew
3:28:46worried again and got ready to head down
3:28:48and check. Just as I reached the top of
3:28:50the stairs, a petite figure came running
3:28:52up them and dove straight into my arms,
3:28:54locking both arms around my waist as if
3:28:57to melt herself into my body. Li Feng,
3:29:00she tilted her face up, her little face
3:29:02glowing rosy, her eyes sparkling, full
3:29:04of excitement she couldn't hide. Do you
3:29:07remember what I said last night? That
3:29:08I'm a cultivator, and it took me 4 years
3:29:11just to barely touch the threshold of
3:29:13the first layer of Qi refinement? I
3:29:15remember. What's got you this happy? I
3:29:17was being hugged so tightly I could
3:29:19barely breathe. After we did that, I
3:29:22cultivated in the room, and I never
3:29:24expected I broke straight through the
3:29:25first layer of Qi refinement. By the
3:29:28end, her voice caught, her eyes brimming
3:29:31with tears. For 4 years, how much had
3:29:33she poured into her cultivation, only to
3:29:35stay stuck in place, unable to break
3:29:37that bottleneck no matter what? She'd
3:29:39been close to giving up. And then last
3:29:41night, dawn had finally come, and that
3:29:44dawn was something I had brought her.
3:29:45Uh, it's connected to the two of us
3:29:47doing that. I was astonished inside.
3:29:49Though on the surface, I kept a
3:29:51perfectly measured curiosity. I'd broken
3:29:53through the second layer of Qi
3:29:54refinement, and she'd broken through the
3:29:56first. It was hard not to suspect it had
3:29:59something to do with that act. It is. It
3:30:01absolutely is. She nodded hard, gazing
3:30:04straight at me. Her eyes full not only
3:30:06of deep affection, but of the look of
3:30:08someone who'd stumbled on a priceless
3:30:09treasure. My master once said I'm an
3:30:11extremely rare Phoenix Ice Constitution.
3:30:14To speed up my cultivation, I'd have to
3:30:16find someone with a Dragon Fire
3:30:17Constitution to serve as a cauldron. But
3:30:20the Dragon Fire Constitution is just as
3:30:22rare, and even if you found one, they'd
3:30:24most likely be male. I'd rather
3:30:26cultivate slowly than go against my
3:30:27heart. Who could have guessed you turn
3:30:30out to be a Dragon Fire Constitution?
3:30:32Truly, I wore out iron shoes searching
3:30:34in vain, only to find it without the
3:30:36slightest effort. It was as if yet
3:30:38another door to a new world had been
3:30:40opened before me, and the corner of my
3:30:42mouth twitched violently. Huh, what are
3:30:45the odds of that? Maybe it's fate. It
3:30:47really is that much of a coincidence.
3:30:49She was utterly certain. As long as
3:30:51you're happy. I grinned. Since starting
3:30:53college, I'd never seen her this happy.
3:30:56I'd almost forgotten what she looked
3:30:57like when she smiled. Li Fong Um, her
3:31:00little face suddenly flushed and she
3:31:02lowered her head growing bashful. What
3:31:04is it? We've already done that. What's
3:31:06left that's too embarrassing to say? I
3:31:08teased. She let go of my waist and
3:31:11turned her back. Her voice as faint as a
3:31:13mosquito's hum. It's just from now on I
3:31:15might um, do that with you often. But
3:31:18don't get the wrong idea. I'm not
3:31:19addicted. It's only for cultivation. And
3:31:22here I thought it was something serious.
3:31:24No problem at all. Even if you want to
3:31:25right now, we can do it right now. I
3:31:28said, pulling her into my arms and
3:31:30lowering my head to kiss her. Don't. You
3:31:32can't rush a good thing. She reached out
3:31:34a slender finger and gently pressed it
3:31:36against my lips. Also, even though I
3:31:39really am using you for cultivation,
3:31:41treating you as a cauldron, I do
3:31:42genuinely like you. Please don't take it
3:31:44to heart. All right. Like I said, as
3:31:47long as you're happy, I'll do whatever
3:31:48you ask. A faint pang of guilt stabbed
3:31:51at my conscience. I felt I truly
3:31:53deserved to be damned. She was using me
3:31:55as a cauldron to break through the first
3:31:57layer. But in breaking through the
3:31:58second, wasn't I treating her as a
3:32:00cauldron all the same? And worse, I was
3:32:03keeping it hidden. Dragon Fire
3:32:04Constitution? Phoenix Ice Constitution?
3:32:07Fascinating. Utterly fascinating. Go
3:32:09wash up. I'll make you breakfast. She
3:32:11rose onto her toes and pecked my left
3:32:13cheek, then ran happily downstairs.
3:32:16Watching her bustling figure below, I
3:32:18felt such happiness. Wishing I could
3:32:20freeze time forever in this moment. But
3:32:22I knew full well I couldn't freeze time,
3:32:25nor could I stop the thing she was bound
3:32:27to do in the future. Meanwhile, in the
3:32:29desolate wilds over a hundred kilometers
3:32:31away, Gu Xiumin was the first to open
3:32:33her eyes. She sat up, stretched, and let
3:32:36out a long yawn. Haven't slept this
3:32:37soundly in ages. But the next second,
3:32:40taking in the unfamiliar surroundings,
3:32:42she was utterly dumbstruck. Before her
3:32:44was a barren mountain slope overgrown
3:32:46with weeds, distant ranges rolling on
3:32:49and on, not a soul in sight. My god,
3:32:51where is this? How did I end up here?
3:32:54Her mind was a jumble of question marks,
3:32:56yet her memory had gone blank. She
3:32:58couldn't recall a thing. Until she
3:32:59looked down and saw someone still lying
3:33:01beside her, out cold as a dead pig. Who
3:33:04else could it be but Yang Wei? Young
3:33:06Master Yang, wake up. Hurry and wake up.
3:33:09Did you bring me out camping? Under Gu
3:33:11Shuman's repeated calls, Yang Wei
3:33:13finally came to. First, he felt a
3:33:15splitting pain at the back of his head
3:33:17and instinctively reached up to rub it.
3:33:19The moment his fingertips touched the
3:33:20spot, he winced and hissed through his
3:33:23teeth in pain. Young Master Yang, you're
3:33:25awake. Gu Shuman's voice was so gentle
3:33:27it could wring water, a sweet smile
3:33:29plastered on her face. Before Yang Wei,
3:33:32she was always like this, gentle,
3:33:34submissive, ingratiating. A pity her
3:33:36looks were too plain. Yang Wei had never
3:33:38shown her the slightest interest. Yang
3:33:40Wei lifted his head and, making out her
3:33:43face, found last night's memories
3:33:45flashing back in a rapid blur, like a
3:33:47reel of film. He grabbed a fistful of
3:33:49her hair and yanked it back hard,
3:33:51gritting his teeth. Gu Shuman, talk.
3:33:54What the hell happened last night? Ack.
3:33:56Young Master Yang, that hurts. Gu Shuman
3:33:58was in such pain that tears nearly
3:34:00spurted out. Her scalp, as if about to
3:34:02be torn clean off, her whole body
3:34:04wrenched backward. She'd never imagined
3:34:07that the instant Yang Wei woke, he'd
3:34:08treat her like an enemy. Last night,
3:34:10what exactly had happened? Through the
3:34:12splitting pain of a scalp near tearing,
3:34:14she racked her brain and only in fits
3:34:17and starts managed to piece things
3:34:18together. Last night, I followed Young
3:34:20Master Yang's instructions and went to
3:34:22the Evening Maple Chant Room at the
3:34:24Taibai Restaurant, waiting until Li Feng
3:34:26showed up. Up to that point, it was all
3:34:28fine. But the moment Jean Biao's bunch
3:34:30appeared and laid eyes on Li Feng, they
3:34:32went white as if they'd seen a ghost.
3:34:35Every last one of them scared witless.
3:34:37Without their cooperation, I alone
3:34:39couldn't possibly pin the charge of
3:34:40attempted rape on Li Feng. So, I wanted
3:34:43to leave, and then I don't know what
3:34:44happened after that until I woke up just
3:34:47now and found the two of us out in this
3:34:49wilderness. Yang Wei knit his brows,
3:34:51eyeing her with suspicion. This woman
3:34:53didn't seem to be lying, nor would she
3:34:55dare lie to him. So, the plan had
3:34:57failed, and the problem lay with Jean
3:34:59Biao and his crew? But Jean Biao was a
3:35:01gangster. Why would he be so terrified
3:35:03of Li Feng? He couldn't make sense of
3:35:05it. He could only track Jean Biao down
3:35:07again later. As for Gu Shuman, so the
3:35:09plan failed, so what? Why did she have
3:35:12to expose his old dirty laundry? The
3:35:14moment he thought of that recording
3:35:15broadcast before over 100 people last
3:35:17night, his rage flared from nowhere.
3:35:20Yang Wei's eyes went bloodshot, as if
3:35:22murder had stirred in him, and he
3:35:24roared, "Gu Shuman, do you have any
3:35:26goddamn idea?
3:35:28Years ago, I had you frame that
3:35:29counselor for molesting from a distance,
3:35:31and last night I had you frame Li Feng
3:35:33for attempted rape, and you spilled
3:35:35every bit of it. Even filmed it and
3:35:37played it before over 100 people at my
3:35:39proposal. Talk. What are you really
3:35:41after? What?" Gu Shuman was shocked,
3:35:44racking her brain, yet she had no
3:35:46recollection of any of it. "Young Master
3:35:48Yang, haven't you got it wrong? How
3:35:49could I possibly sell you out?" "Fuck.
3:35:52Still making excuses at a time like
3:35:54this. You really are begging for a
3:35:55beating." Yang Wei flew into a complete
3:35:58rage, yanked her down to the ground,
3:36:00climbed on top of her, and swung his
3:36:02palm. Smack. Smack. Smack. One after
3:36:05another, landing viciously across her
3:36:07face. Though this woman was plain
3:36:09looking, her skin was still soft and
3:36:11tender. How could it withstand being
3:36:13struck like this? "Ack. Young Master
3:36:16Yang, stop hitting me. I swear it wasn't
3:36:18my intention. It must be Li Feng's
3:36:19doing. Stop. I'm begging you stop." She
3:36:22thrashed about blindly, hands shielding
3:36:25her face, but a frail woman with no
3:36:27strength to truss a chicken, facing a
3:36:29grown man out of control, couldn't
3:36:31possibly break free. She could only
3:36:33plead piteously. A few more blows and
3:36:35she'd surely be beaten to death.
3:36:37Luckily, after 20 or 39 slaps, Yang
3:36:40Wei's strength gave out, and he slowly
3:36:42stopped, rolling off to sit at the side.
3:36:44Li Feng, Jin Biao saw him like he'd seen
3:36:47a ghost. And he could force you to obey
3:36:49and expose my old secrets. His abilities
3:36:51are that great? I don't buy it. Gu
3:36:53Shumin covered her nearly ruined face,
3:36:56both cheeks swollen like steamed buns,
3:36:58searing with pain. She hurriedly scooted
3:37:01far away, curling herself into a ball,
3:37:03grievance written all over her for her.
3:37:05Young Master Yang, I truly never once
3:37:07thought of betraying you. Enough. Yang
3:37:10Wei waved his hand impatiently, not
3:37:12believing a word of such nonsense. In
3:37:14truth, he knew full well. People like Gu
3:37:17Shumin and Sun Tao weren't slaving away
3:37:19for him. They were slaving away for his
3:37:21status as an official son. The day his
3:37:23father fell from power and the family
3:37:25collapsed, these so-called loyal lackeys
3:37:28would be the first to kick him when he
3:37:29was down. where the hell is this
3:37:31place? Only now did Yang Wei take a
3:37:33serious look around. Barren mountains
3:37:35rolled on without end, and apart from
3:37:37the two of them, there wasn't a ghost in
3:37:39sight. I don't know either. I thought
3:37:41you brought me out camping. Gu Shumin
3:37:43said in a small voice. Screw you. Yang
3:37:46Wei spat, his face full of disdain. Any
3:37:49woman I've played with is hundreds of
3:37:50times prettier than an ugly like
3:37:52you. Bring you camping? I'd have to be
3:37:54insane. Rubbing the wound on the back of
3:37:56his head, he strained to recall last
3:37:58night. After failing to find Gu Shumin
3:38:00and Jin Biao, he'd been stewing with
3:38:02rage and no outlet. When he happened to
3:38:05get a call from the bar's female owner,
3:38:06saying a batch of new girls had come in
3:38:09and inviting him to sample them. So he'd
3:38:10gone out the back door of the Taibai
3:38:12restaurant and hadn't walked far when
3:38:14Damn, I think I got hit with a club.
3:38:16Which bastard was tired of living? Not
3:38:18only ambushing me, but dumping me in
3:38:21this godforsaken place. It all came back
3:38:23to Yang Wei, and he wanted nothing more
3:38:25than to charge straight back to Yunxing,
3:38:27drag the culprit out, and hack him to
3:38:29pieces. Young Master Yang, so what do
3:38:32the two of us do next? However much
3:38:34hatred and fear Gu Shuman felt, for now
3:38:36she had no choice but to tie her fate to
3:38:38his. A moment ago, she thought she'd
3:38:41heard the cry of some wild beast. Yang
3:38:43Wei felt through every pocket on his
3:38:45body, his face growing uglier by the
3:38:47second. Sure enough, my phone, my money,
3:38:50all gone. Mine are all gone, too. Gu
3:38:52Shuman checked herself. Forget her phone
3:38:54and money, even the bracelet she bought
3:38:56on an online loan had vanished. Yang Wei
3:38:59had expected as much and couldn't be
3:39:01bothered with her. He stood, patted the
3:39:03dirt off his backside, and strode off
3:39:05down the mountain. Young Master Yang,
3:39:07where are you going? Don't leave me
3:39:09alone. Wait for me, please. Gu Shuman
3:39:11hurriedly scrambled up and chased after
3:39:13him over the rough ground. Obviously, we
3:39:16can't just sit here waiting to die, can
3:39:17we? Yang Wei didn't even turn his head.
3:39:20Of course, I'm finding somewhere with
3:39:21people to make a call and have my family
3:39:23come get us. Right. Gu Shuman kept close
3:39:26behind, then suddenly sidled up again.
3:39:29By the way, Young Master Yang, I think
3:39:31whoever dumped us here, Li Feng's
3:39:33definitely got a hand in it. Think about
3:39:35it. Who else would want revenge on us
3:39:36last night but him?
3:39:38Shut up. Yang Wei cursed, but once he
3:39:40calmed down and thought it over, there
3:39:42was something to what this ugly woman
3:39:44said. He gritted his teeth, a flash of
3:39:46viciousness in his eyes. If this really
3:39:48is Li Feng's doing, once I'm back in Yun
3:39:50Cheng, I'll kill him 800 times over. Yun
3:39:53Cheng, inside the railway bureau staff
3:39:55housing. Achoo. Achoo. Achoo. I just
3:39:58finished the breakfast Zhao Yu Cheng
3:40:00made when I let out three big sneezes in
3:40:02a row, rattling the dining table. So
3:40:05early in the morning, who's being so
3:40:06rude, cursing me behind my back? Yu
3:40:09Cheng, it's Monday today. I've got to
3:40:11report in at the hospital. Before I
3:40:13could finish, I suddenly froze, staring
3:40:15fixedly at Zhao Yu Cheng, my pupils
3:40:17contracting sharply. What was this? I
3:40:20could actually see the true qi inside
3:40:22her, flowing slowly through her
3:40:23meridians, see the bones and meridians
3:40:26throughout her whole body, Even make out
3:40:28faintly the outlines of her internal
3:40:30organs. It was as if I had an x-ray
3:40:32machine built into me. Everything before
3:40:34my eyes so clear it made my scalp
3:40:36tingle. Could it be that last night's
3:40:38bout of lovemaking not only broke me
3:40:40through the second layer of chi
3:40:41refinement, but unlocked some other
3:40:43supernatural power as well? Like x-ray
3:40:45vision. Pretty damn impressive. Nasty
3:40:48little foam. Wickedly foam. Didn't you
3:40:50look your fill last night? Still
3:40:52staring. I'm not speaking to you
3:40:53anymore. Zhao Yuching's little face
3:40:55flushed red. She thought I was eyeing
3:40:58her body again. And grabbing the bowls
3:41:00and chopsticks, she fled into the
3:41:01kitchen as if escaping. Say what you
3:41:03will, she really did live up to the
3:41:05Dragonfire Constitution. Her stamina was
3:41:08absurdly strong. Even a cultivator like
3:41:10her had struggled to keep up last night.
3:41:12Finally, I'm seeing the adorable side of
3:41:15Chinger again. Watching her bashful
3:41:17back, my heart nearly melted. But just
3:41:19now I wasn't lusting after her body
3:41:21again. I discovered I'd unlocked a
3:41:23supernatural power. According to the
3:41:25records in my mind, this was the insight
3:41:27pupil, not x-ray vision, yet better than
3:41:30it. The insight pupil had three tiers,
3:41:32and even at the first tier I was now, it
3:41:34could pierce through fabric to see
3:41:36bones, meridians, and internal organs. I
3:41:39couldn't begin to imagine how terrifying
3:41:40it would be once it rose to the third
3:41:42tier someday. A moment later, reluctant
3:41:44to part, I bid Zhao Yuching a temporary
3:41:47farewell and left the staff housing. It
3:41:49was Monday, and I still had to report in
3:41:51at the hospital. Be late, and with my
3:41:53aunt's temper, she'd give me a thrashing
3:41:55for sure. Luckily, when I got back to
3:41:57East Bank Mansion, it wasn't yet 8:00,
3:41:59and my aunt hadn't left for work. But
3:42:01the moment I walked in, I saw her
3:42:03sitting on the living room sofa with a
3:42:04stern face, lecturing by Jia. And laid
3:42:07out on the coffee table was that set of
3:42:09silver needles I'd hidden under my bed.
3:42:11Xiao Feng, you're back. The instant by
3:42:13Jia saw me, she latched on like I was a
3:42:15lifeline, full of grievance. Yesterday
3:42:18Lan Lan and I spent another whole day
3:42:19searching the park, and today Lan lands
3:42:22even taking leave to keep looking. I had
3:42:24no choice but to tell her it was you who
3:42:25did my acupuncture, but she won't
3:42:27believe it. Come over quick and help me
3:42:29prove it. A wave of relief washed over
3:42:31me. Thank goodness I'd slipped away
3:42:33yesterday, or I'd have had to go to the
3:42:35park searching with them, too. Shall
3:42:37phone talk. Why did you mess with my
3:42:39things and hide this set of silver
3:42:41needles under your bed? Yilan crossed
3:42:43her arms, her face stern. Auntie, didn't
3:42:46Auntie Bai already tell you? I walked
3:42:47over, putting on a serious face. That's
3:42:50right. There was never any beggar. I
3:42:52made it all up. The truth is, I was the
3:42:54one who did Auntie Bai's acupuncture. I
3:42:57didn't want my aunt to keep wasting time
3:42:58and energy on this, either. The trouble
3:43:00was, even if I laid my cards on the
3:43:02table, she had to believe it. Sure
3:43:04enough, Yilan looked at Bai Jia, then at
3:43:07me, her eyes flickering with doubt and
3:43:09disbelief. A master who could control
3:43:11needles with qi, one even the divine
3:43:14physician Luo had to bow to in
3:43:15reverence, turned out to be the
3:43:17good-for-nothing brat she'd raised with
3:43:19her own hands, who never did anything
3:43:21proper all day, and whose college major,
3:43:24no less, was nursing. How she wished it
3:43:26were true, but the reality was, it
3:43:28simply wasn't possible. Enough. The two
3:43:30of you singing the same tune. Isn't it
3:43:33just so you can slack off and avoid
3:43:34going to the park to search? Yilan said,
3:43:37exasperated, "Huh? Lan Lan." Bai Jia was
3:43:40beside herself. "Don't give me that
3:43:42pathetic look. The reason I'm so set on
3:43:44finding that master is all for your
3:43:46sake." Yilan rolled her eyes.
3:43:48"But it's Monday today, and I have to
3:43:50take this brat to report in at the
3:43:51hospital, so you get the day off." I
3:43:53shrugged helplessly. Short of completely
3:43:56curing Bai Jia, my aunt would never
3:43:57believe it. Then my gaze fell on Bai
3:43:59Jia's chest, and I instinctively
3:44:01activated the insight pupil. Though her
3:44:03condition had improved after two
3:44:05acupuncture sessions, a mass of gray
3:44:07sickness qi still clung deep in her
3:44:09chest, coiled around the breast tissue
3:44:12like thick fog, with faint signs of
3:44:14spreading. I just didn't know, having
3:44:16broken through the second layer of chi
3:44:18refinement, what effect my Shantian Nine
3:44:20Needles would have now. But this wasn't
3:44:22the time. I'd see to it after we got
3:44:24back from reporting in. Before long,
3:44:26Yilan and I drove off to Yunchin Number
3:44:28One People's Hospital. On the way, Yilan
3:44:31suddenly remembered something else. It
3:44:33seemed this brat hadn't come home last
3:44:34night. "Xiao Feng, where'd you go last
3:44:36night?" she asked, driving while
3:44:38shooting me a sidelong glance. "I spent
3:44:40the night at Qinger's place." I didn't
3:44:42want to lie, but I couldn't say much
3:44:44about the cultivation business. "Who?"
3:44:46"Qinger." "Xiao Yuching." Yilan nearly
3:44:49hit the gas instead of the brake, the
3:44:51car lurching violently. "The two of you
3:44:53are really something. Broken up for over
3:44:554 years and still sticking to each other
3:44:57at the drop of a hat. And the key thing
3:44:59is, she's already got a boyfriend.
3:45:01Honestly, it's beyond me." "Auntie, you
3:45:03don't understand. There's a lot more to
3:45:05this than meets the eye." I didn't know
3:45:07how to explain. "I don't understand."
3:45:10Yilan's forehead creased with
3:45:11frustration. "I've crossed more bridges
3:45:13than you've walked roads." "Auntie, I
3:45:16All right, all right." She waved a hand.
3:45:18"I can stay out of your love life, but
3:45:20I'm not staying out of your work. I wore
3:45:22my lips thin fighting to win you this
3:45:23internship spot. When you meet the
3:45:25director in a bit, put on a good show,
3:45:27you hear me?" "Absolutely. Auntie,
3:45:30you're amazing, taking me straight in to
3:45:32meet the director." I grinned. With
3:45:34competition in society so fierce these
3:45:36days, if not for my aunt, how would a
3:45:38fresh graduate like me ever get the
3:45:40chance to intern directly at the best
3:45:42public hospital in Yunchin? "Quit the
3:45:44flattery." Yilan pursed her lips, though
3:45:47inwardly she felt a sense of relief, as
3:45:49if a weight had lifted. Having raised
3:45:51this brat, arranged his work, and now
3:45:53just waiting for him to marry and have
3:45:55children, then her task would be well
3:45:57and truly complete. Before long, Yilan
3:46:00parked in the underground lot and took
3:46:02me up in the elevator, straight to the
3:46:03floor where Director Zhao Weimin's
3:46:05office was. Yilan knocked, and as she
3:46:08led me in, Zhao Weimin seemed to have
3:46:10just finished a phone call. This
3:46:11middle-aged man of just over 50 held a
3:46:13high position, yet at this moment his
3:46:15brows were tightly furrowed, his
3:46:17expression grave, clearly weighed down
3:46:19with worry. Only when he looked up and
3:46:21recognized Yilan, did he force out a
3:46:23trace of a smile. "Dr. Ye, Director
3:46:26Zhao, have I come at a bad time?" Having
3:46:28worked at this hospital for years, Yilan
3:46:30still had her knack for reading people.
3:46:32"Sigh." Zhao Wayman heaved a heavy sigh.
3:46:34"This afternoon, the old secretary is
3:46:36being transferred back to Yuncheng from
3:46:38the capital. The old secretary." This
3:46:40referred to the man who had once been
3:46:42Yuncheng's top official, honest and
3:46:44incorruptible, devoted wholeheartedly to
3:46:46the people. He'd made great
3:46:48contributions to Yuncheng's development,
3:46:50and even in retirement remained deeply
3:46:52beloved. Heartbreakingly, a year ago
3:46:54he'd been diagnosed with lung cancer,
3:46:56and after treatment in Yuncheng proved
3:46:58fruitless, he transferred to the
3:47:00capital. Yilan was taken aback, a look
3:47:02of regret crossing her face. "Just a
3:47:04year. Even the specialists in the
3:47:06capital couldn't buy the old secretary
3:47:08more time."
3:47:09As a respiratory physician, she knew
3:47:11better than anyone that this kind of
3:47:13illness couldn't be cured. One could
3:47:15only try to control it, and extend life
3:47:17somewhat. That it had come to the point
3:47:19of transferring him back meant the
3:47:20capital had well and truly run out of
3:47:22options. To put it bluntly, the old
3:47:25secretary intended to return to his
3:47:26roots to die. Zhao Wayman shook his
3:47:28head. Things had come to this. There was
3:47:30nothing to do but accept it. He managed
3:47:33another forced smile. "Dr. Ye, you're
3:47:35the backbone of our respiratory
3:47:36department. When the old secretary comes
3:47:38back, it'll have to be you in charge.
3:47:41All right. I'll do my best to ease the
3:47:43old secretary's suffering." Yilan nodded
3:47:45readily. To be assigned by Zhao Wayman
3:47:47to take charge of the old secretary was
3:47:50a tremendous affirmation of her
3:47:51professional ability. Then she turned
3:47:53aside, letting me step forward. "By the
3:47:55way, Director Zhao, this is the young
3:47:57man I recommended earlier, Li Feng, a
3:48:00fresh nursing graduate from Yuncheng
3:48:02University. He's here to report in
3:48:04today, so I'm bringing him by to make
3:48:05your acquaintance first." Hello,
3:48:07Director Joe. I was filled with genuine
3:48:09respect. From what I understood, Joe
3:48:11Wayman had climbed up from the
3:48:13grassroots step by step on the strength
3:48:15of solid professional skill and enjoyed
3:48:17considerable prestige in medical
3:48:18circles. I'd seen his interviews on the
3:48:20TV news long ago. Now, meeting the man
3:48:23in person, I hadn't expected him to be
3:48:25so kindly. Joe Wayman looked me up and
3:48:27down and nodded with satisfaction. A
3:48:29fine-looking young man. Once you're on
3:48:31the job, be sure to measure up to Dr.
3:48:33Ye. She's been named an outstanding
3:48:35worker 10 years running. Rest assured,
3:48:38Director Joe, I'll take my aunt as my
3:48:40role model. I said earnestly. Joe Wayman
3:48:43hesitated a moment, then looked to Ye
3:48:45Lan with a chuckle. Dr. Ye, the OB/GYN
3:48:47department's been shorthanded lately.
3:48:49They've come to me grumbling about it
3:48:51more than once. How about we start Li
3:48:53Feng off in OB/GYN for a while, and if
3:48:55it doesn't suit, switch him later. What
3:48:57do you say? The words caught me somewhat
3:48:59off guard. Male nurses were a rarity,
3:49:02mostly assigned to the most grueling
3:49:03departments. I had been mentally
3:49:05prepared for that, but I never expected
3:49:07to be placed in OB/GYN. That was where
3:49:09women gave birth. For a grown man like
3:49:12me to go there, meaning every patient
3:49:14I'd deal with from then on would be a
3:49:15woman. Just thinking about it was
3:49:17awkward. Of course, I have no objection.
3:49:20Ye Lan seemed to sense something off
3:49:21about me and discreetly nudged me with
3:49:23her elbow. And he has no objection
3:49:25either. Yes, I'll do whatever Director
3:49:28Joe arranges. I could only grit my teeth
3:49:30and nod. As a newcomer, it wouldn't do
3:49:32to be picky. Besides, my aunt wouldn't
3:49:34allow me to be so willful. After a few
3:49:37more pleasantries, Ye Lan took me to the
3:49:39HR department to handle the onboarding
3:49:40paperwork, then placed the intern badge
3:49:43in my hand. All right, you officially
3:49:45start tomorrow. Grab a cab home
3:49:46yourself. Auntie, what about you? It's
3:49:49Monday today. Of course, I have to stay
3:49:51and work. And besides, the old
3:49:53secretary's being transferred back this
3:49:54afternoon. Ye Lan said, exasperated.
3:49:58Then you get to it. I'll head off first.
3:50:00I grinned, turned, and walked toward the
3:50:02elevator. Yilan headed the other way,
3:50:04but a few steps on she turned back and
3:50:06called after me. "Oh, and don't laze
3:50:09around when you get home. Remember to
3:50:10bring by Jia Long and go search the park
3:50:12again." My steps stuttered, and once
3:50:15more I couldn't help but let the corner
3:50:17of my mouth twitch violently. Search for
3:50:19someone. Who was there to search for?
3:50:21I'd already laid my cards on the table.
3:50:23The one who did by Jia's acupuncture was
3:50:25me. Yet my aunt flatly refused to
3:50:27believe it. Walking out the hospital's
3:50:29main gate, I was just about to hail a
3:50:30cab when my phone rang, an unknown
3:50:33number. I picked up and a familiar,
3:50:35hurried voice came through. "Li Feng,
3:50:37it's me, Sun Tao. Where are you?"
3:50:40"Something you need?" My tone was ice
3:50:41cold. Last night I'd nearly had the
3:50:43charge of attempted rape pinned on me,
3:50:45and Sun Tao had a share in that
3:50:47accomplishment. A single kick was
3:50:49nowhere near enough to vent my anger.
3:50:51"Well, I spoke a bit harshly last night,
3:50:53and I wanted to apologize to you in
3:50:55person." I let out a cold laugh, not
3:50:57believing a single word. As one of
3:50:59Yang's most loyal lackeys, Sun Tao
3:51:02coming to apologize of his own accord?
3:51:04Not unless the sun rose in the west.
3:51:06Still, I was rather curious just what he
3:51:08was scheming. My gaze swept across the
3:51:10street and settled on a little tea house
3:51:12with a weathered old sign. "Across from
3:51:14Yun Cheng Number One People's Hospital,
3:51:16there's a Zhang's Tea House. I'm here."
3:51:18"Great. I'm on my way. 10 minutes tops."
3:51:21There was a hint of barely concealed
3:51:23excitement in Sun Tao's voice. Outside a
3:51:25residential compound in Yun Cheng, a
3:51:28black Volkswagen SUV sat parked. Sun Tao
3:51:30was in the car. Besides him, there were
3:51:32several familiar faces, none other than
3:51:35Jin Biao's crew. Early that morning, Jin
3:51:37Biao and the others had rushed back to
3:51:39Yun Cheng. What they had to do next,
3:51:41naturally, was find Li Feng and get the
3:51:43antidote. Knowing was a fresh graduate
3:51:46of Yun Cheng University, finding him on
3:51:48that basis alone wasn't hard. So they'd
3:51:50sought out Sun Tao, and sure enough, Sun
3:51:53Tao had managed to reach Li Feng. "Biao
3:51:55Ge, Li Feng's at the tea house across
3:51:57from number one people's hospital. Let's
3:51:59go. Sun Tao hung up and turned around.
3:52:01His face wreathed in smiles. Last night,
3:52:04after he'd led Li Feng to the evening
3:52:06maple chant room and left, why hadn't
3:52:08Jin Biao's bunch cooperated with Gu
3:52:10Shuman to take Li Feng down? And in the
3:52:12end, couldn't even find the man? He
3:52:14didn't know and didn't dare ask. Still,
3:52:17a pack of gangsters this eager to find
3:52:18Li Feng, what good could it mean for
3:52:20him? Surely the job had gone wrong and
3:52:23they wanted to make up for it. To give
3:52:24Young Wei something to show for it. This
3:52:26time Li Feng was really in for it.
3:52:28Thinking of the kick he'd taken last
3:52:30night and then picturing the scene of
3:52:31Jin Biao and the others teaching Li Feng
3:52:33a lesson, Sun Tao felt invincibly,
3:52:36supremely good inside. Jin Biao was
3:52:38being tormented by the poison into a
3:52:40wilted, half-dead heap, out of sorts and
3:52:43irritable. And of all times, Sun Tao was
3:52:46there bearing his big teeth and grinning
3:52:48like he'd found money on the ground. A
3:52:50nameless fury shot up and Jin Biao
3:52:52backhanded him across the forehead. The
3:52:54hell are you grinning at? Jin Biao
3:52:56had known Young Wei for seven or eight
3:52:58years. Back in high school, Young Wei
3:53:00would drag him to the school every other
3:53:02day to beat someone up and Sun Tao had
3:53:04been Young Wei's lackey since high
3:53:05school, too. So, the two of them went
3:53:07way back. Struck for no reason, Sun Tao
3:53:10only dared shrink his neck. Once the car
3:53:12pulled out, he couldn't hold back in the
3:53:14end and asked gingerly, "Biao Ge, what
3:53:17exactly happened last night? Not only
3:53:19did you fail to take Li Feng down, but
3:53:21Young Master Yang got turned on his
3:53:23head, nearly fuming himself to death.
3:53:25And when he went looking for you and Gu
3:53:27Shuman, he couldn't find either of you."
3:53:29At the mention of Young Wei, the
3:53:31lackeys' mouths all twitched, biting
3:53:33back laughter. This Sun Tao still had no
3:53:36idea that his own master had already
3:53:38been shipped off to the wilderness a
3:53:39hundred plus kilometers away. A pampered
3:53:42official's son who wakes up to find
3:53:43himself in the middle of nowhere, his
3:53:45valuables all stripped clean. What kind
3:53:47of reaction would that be? Normally, Jin
3:53:50Biao wouldn't have bothered with him.
3:53:52But this time, to keep anyone from
3:53:53suspecting him, he swallowed his
3:53:55impatience and pretended to spit in
3:53:57annoyance. "Fuck, don't even bring it
3:54:00up. Last night, us brothers heard
3:54:02Gushumen calling out and were about to
3:54:03charge in when we got a phone call. The
3:54:05guy claimed to be Young Master Yang's
3:54:07attendant and said the plan was
3:54:09canceled, so we had no choice but to
3:54:11drop it. By the time we left the Taibai
3:54:13restaurant, the more we thought about
3:54:14it, the more something felt off and we
3:54:17doubled back, but everyone had already
3:54:19cleared out." Sun Tao took it for the
3:54:21truth and immediately said with venom,
3:54:23"Biao Ji, you got played. No doubt about
3:54:25it. Someone tipped Li Feng off ahead of
3:54:27time, so he knew about the plan and
3:54:29pulled this lure the tiger from the
3:54:31mountain trick. And that so-called
3:54:33attendant of Young Master Yang was
3:54:34definitely someone Li Feng got to
3:54:36impersonate him." He spoke with spittle
3:54:38flying, putting on the air of having
3:54:40seen through it all, wishing he could
3:54:42pin every spark of the blame on Li Feng.
3:54:45"Oh." Jin Biao nodded perfunctorily, not
3:54:48bothering to engage. He could see it.
3:54:50Sun Tao was going all out to fan the
3:54:52flames, trying to egg him on into going
3:54:54another round to the death with Li Feng.
3:54:56Little did Sun Tao know that everything
3:54:58he just said was pure fabrication. Then
3:55:00again, having stumbled twice, Jin Biao
3:55:03hated Li Feng even without anyone
3:55:05fanning the flames. But his hatred was
3:55:07nothing next to his fear. When you meet
3:55:09a monster like that, playing the turtle
3:55:11with your head tucked in is the wisest
3:55:13move. He wasn't thick-headed enough to
3:55:15go court death again. Seeing him
3:55:17uncannily calm, without the slightest
3:55:20sign of flaring up, Sun Tao assumed the
3:55:22hatred hadn't been stoked high enough
3:55:24and laid it on thicker. "Biao Ji, Li
3:55:26Feng dared to play you. When you see him
3:55:28in a bit, whatever you do, don't go easy
3:55:31on him. Don't worry, as long as you
3:55:33don't actually kill him, Young Master
3:55:35Yang's side can cover for you." "You're
3:55:37teaching me how to do my job." Jin Biao
3:55:39glared, his eyes blazing with menace. He
3:55:42was rushing to find Li Feng to beg for
3:55:44the antidote, to beg for his life. And
3:55:46don't go easy? As if he could actually
3:55:48do anything to Li Feng. Besides, last
3:55:50time he'd gotten into trouble, he'd
3:55:52called Yang Wei, too. And what came of
3:55:54it? Did Yang Wei bail him out? He did
3:55:56not. Okay. Okay. Okay. Yang Jie's got
3:55:59his own ideas. I'll keep my mouth shut.
3:56:02Frightened by that glare into a shudder,
3:56:04Sun Tao hurriedly shrank back into his
3:56:06seat and didn't dare make another peep.
3:56:08Before long, they reached Yunxing Number
3:56:10One People's Hospital. Through the
3:56:12window, Jin Biao spotted Jiang's Tea
3:56:14House across the street at a glance. You
3:56:16all wait in the car. I'm going in alone.
3:56:19Nobody follow me. With that, he pulled
3:56:21open the door and strode toward the tea
3:56:23house. After so many years in the game,
3:56:26he really didn't want his lackeys seeing
3:56:27his cowardly, scared, witless face
3:56:29again. What's more, for the antidote's
3:56:31sake, when he got in front of Li Feng in
3:56:33a moment, he'd surely have to act
3:56:35groveling and pitiful, and that was a
3:56:37scene even less fit for anyone to see.
3:56:39Pushing open the glass door, he found
3:56:41only one person seated in a corner of
3:56:43the tea house, Li Feng. Jin Biao strode
3:56:46over and dropped to his knees with a
3:56:48thud, straight as a board, a sob in his
3:56:50voice. Feng Jie, I don't want to die.
3:56:53I'm begging you. Please give me the
3:56:55antidote. The owner behind the counter
3:56:57immediately shot over an astonished
3:56:59look. This bald, fearsome-looking thug
3:57:02dropping to his knees at the drop of a
3:57:04hat before that delicate, handsome
3:57:06customer. Now that was something new. Li
3:57:08Feng saw it was Jin Biao who'd come,
3:57:10with no sign of Sun Tao, and was taken
3:57:12aback. Wasn't it Sun Tao who called
3:57:14wanting to see me just now? Why is it
3:57:16you? Feng Jie, I couldn't find you. So I
3:57:19found that kid Sun Tao first and had him
3:57:21get in touch with you. Jin Biao knelt on
3:57:23the floor, utterly pitiful. I see. Li
3:57:26Feng understood. The one wanting to see
3:57:27him was never Sun Tao at all, but Jin
3:57:30Biao. Thinking of how what he'd fed Jin
3:57:32Biao last night was nothing but a piece
3:57:34of chocolate, which Jin Biao had
3:57:36forcibly taken for poison, and then
3:57:38seeing him scared half to death like
3:57:39this, Li Feng nearly lost his composure.
3:57:42Get up, sit, have a cup of tea. Quit
3:57:45this pathetic act. Catching the owner
3:57:47still glancing their way, he felt
3:57:48thoroughly uncomfortable and wrapped the
3:57:50table. Right, how could Jean Biao dare
3:57:53disobey? He scrambled up at once and sat
3:57:55across from Li Feng, zealously filling
3:57:57Li Feng's cup, then cupped his own in
3:57:59both hands, and took a careful little
3:58:01sip. He glanced outside, confirmed that
3:58:04his lackeys, mainly Sun Tao, hadn't
3:58:06followed, and only then lowered his
3:58:08voice. Feng Ji, last night I waited and
3:58:11waited and your orders never came. So, I
3:58:13sent a lackey in to scout. Turned out
3:58:15the proposal had already broken up and
3:58:17you were gone. I was frantic. Just as I
3:58:19had no idea what to do, I saw Yang Wei
3:58:22coming out the back door all alone. I
3:58:24figured it was Yang Wei and Gu Shumin
3:58:26trying to frame you, and you'd surely
3:58:28want to teach them a lesson. So, I took
3:58:30it upon myself, knocked Yang Wei out
3:58:32cold with one club, stuffed him and Gu
3:58:34Shumin both into the trunk, drove the
3:58:36car over a hundred kilometers through
3:58:37the night, and dumped them in the
3:58:39wilderness. Before leaving, I even
3:58:41lifted both their phones and valuables a
3:58:43hundred plus kilometers. So, if they
3:58:45want to get back to Yunxing, they're in
3:58:47for some suffering. He got it all out in
3:58:49one breath, his eyes full of
3:58:50anticipation. Feng Ji, the way I handled
3:58:53it, are you satisfied?
3:58:55Having listened, Li Feng's forehead was
3:58:57already lined with black. Last night,
3:58:59after he and Zhao Yuching left the
3:59:01Taibai restaurant, he'd forgotten all
3:59:03about Jean Biao and simply grabbed a cab
3:59:05and left, never imagining this fellow
3:59:07would not only abduct Gu Shumin, but
3:59:10bundle Yang Wei off along with her, and
3:59:12ship them to a wilderness a hundred plus
3:59:13kilometers away. Thinking of how much
3:59:16suffering these two would endure to get
3:59:17back to Yunxing, this scheme really was
3:59:19rotten beyond measure, and leave it to
3:59:21Jean Biao to come up with it. Well done.
3:59:24After bottling it up for a good while,
3:59:26Li Feng finally squeezed out just that
3:59:27one line, but it was sincere. Though he
3:59:30wanted nothing more than to kill Yang
3:59:31Wei, that was only a passing thought.
3:59:34Yang Wei had a high-ranking official for
3:59:36a father, and his family was no ordinary
3:59:38one. Forget taking his life. Even a
3:59:40missing arm or a broken leg would throw
3:59:43all of Yun Xing into turmoil. Now that
3:59:45he'd received a mysterious inheritance,
3:59:47he wasn't afraid of trouble finding him.
3:59:49But for Zhao Yuxing's sake, he couldn't
3:59:51do such a thing either. She poured four
3:59:53whole years of effort into Yang Wei. A
3:59:55casually tossed off affirmation, yet it
3:59:58left Jean Biao as excited as if he'd
4:00:00been shot full of adrenaline. "Feng Ji,
4:00:02so that means you're satisfied?" Then
4:00:04the antidote. "Open your mouth." Li Feng
4:00:07said, putting on a show. "Ack. Feng Ji,
4:00:09is this wide enough?" Jean Biao
4:00:11instantly opened his mouth as wide as he
4:00:13could, his jaw aching. "That's fine." A
4:00:16mint candy appeared in Li Feng's hand,
4:00:19lifted from the hospital's HR
4:00:20department, and with lightning speed, he
4:00:22popped it down Jean Biao's gullet.
4:00:24Unlike last night, Jean Biao swallowed
4:00:27and let out a burp, a minty taste rising
4:00:29back up. He smacked his lips.
4:00:31"Feng Ji, this is the antidote, right?
4:00:33Got a minty flavor. Pretty tasty, too.
4:00:35Haha." "Mm-hm, there's a bit of mint in
4:00:37it." Li Feng spun the nonsense with a
4:00:39straight face. "So, how many times do I
4:00:41have to take the antidote?" Jean Biao
4:00:43rose again to top off his tea, zealous
4:00:46as ever. "Once is enough." Li Feng
4:00:48didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
4:00:50"So, that means the poison in my body's
4:00:52been cleared out completely?"
4:00:53Seeing Li Feng nod, Jean Biao believed
4:00:56it without a doubt, tears nearly
4:00:58spilling out. The taste of surviving a
4:01:00brush with death was truly hard to bear.
4:01:02Still, the antidote really was
4:01:04something. The moment he swallowed it,
4:01:06all the discomfort throughout his body
4:01:08vanished, and he was restored to full
4:01:10health in an instant. "Thank you, Feng
4:01:12Ji, for sparing my life. From now on,
4:01:15I'll never offend you again. No, from
4:01:17now on, Feng Ji, whatever you need, just
4:01:20say the word, and I, Jean Biao, will go
4:01:23through fire and water without
4:01:24hesitation." He thumped his chest. He
4:01:27was no fool. Following an official son
4:01:29like Yang Wei, the most he'd make was
4:01:31some pocket change. But, following Li
4:01:33Feng with those monstrous abilities,
4:01:35sooner or later Li Feng would make a
4:01:37name for himself across the region. If
4:01:39he could become Li Feng's underling, how
4:01:41glorious would that be down the line?
4:01:43"Where's Sun Tao?" Li Feng picked up his
4:01:45teacup and asked offhandedly. "Right in
4:01:47my car." Jean Biao pointed outside. "Mm.
4:01:50You help me teach Yang Wei and Gu Shumin
4:01:52a lesson. Don't leave Sun Tao out,
4:01:54either." Li Feng sipped his tea, a
4:01:56thought-provoking smile curving the
4:01:58corner of his mouth. "As for how?"
4:02:00"That's for you to decide." "Feng Ji,
4:02:03I'll go deal with that kid right now."
4:02:05Jean Biao was just about to rise when he
4:02:07suddenly remembered something, fished a
4:02:09business card from his pocket, and
4:02:10presented it with both hands. "Oh, Feng
4:02:13Ji, here's my card. It's got my number.
4:02:15If anything comes up down the road, just
4:02:18give your humble servant an order." Li
4:02:20Feng had just taken a sip of tea and
4:02:21nearly choked. These days, even
4:02:23gangsters were into printing business
4:02:25cards? He took it and gave it a glance,
4:02:27and was struck even more dumbfounded.
4:02:30General Manager of Tianyu Group, Jean
4:02:31Biao. Little did he know, Jean Biao had
4:02:34printed these to pick up girls. After
4:02:36all, out in the world, your identity is
4:02:39whatever you make it. Soon, Jean Biao
4:02:41returned to the car. Sun Tao immediately
4:02:43stuck his head over, bursting with
4:02:45impatience. "Biao Ji, did you see Li
4:02:47Feng? Wasn't that kid real cocky? Should
4:02:50us brothers all go in and give him a
4:02:51vicious beating?" "Vicious my ass." Jean
4:02:54Biao grabbed him by the collar, gritting
4:02:56his teeth. "Sun Tao, you know what Li
4:02:58Feng told me?" Sensing something wrong,
4:03:00Sun Tao went taut and shook his head
4:03:02frantically. "Biao Ji, what could he
4:03:05possibly have told you?" Jean Biao's
4:03:07eyes were full of malice, and he said
4:03:09word by word, "He said it was you who
4:03:10tipped him off last night. That's why he
4:03:13was on his guard. Sun Tao, oh Sun Tao, I
4:03:15never figured you'd have the guts to
4:03:17betray Yang Wei. Did Yang Wei treat you
4:03:19badly? And that guy who called me saying
4:03:21the plan was canceled, that was your
4:03:23goddamn arrangement, too, wasn't it?" In
4:03:25just a few sentences, he'd flatly made
4:03:27Sun Tao out to be a traitor. That way,
4:03:30he had every justification to teach the
4:03:31kid a lesson, not for Yang Wei's sake,
4:03:34but for Li Feng's. Saddled out of
4:03:36nowhere with such a hat, Sun Tao felt
4:03:38more wrong than Dou Yi herself. So
4:03:40aggrieved, he wanted to curse out loud,
4:03:42but didn't dare at all, and could only
4:03:44say with a sob in his voice, "Biao Ge,
4:03:47Li Feng's talking pure nonsense. You
4:03:49can't believe a word he says. I've
4:03:51followed Young Master Yang for all these
4:03:53years. How could I possibly be a
4:03:55traitor? Besides, I've got no reason to
4:03:57help Li Feng." "Still trying to pull one
4:03:59over on me at a time like this? You
4:04:01think I, Jin Biao, am an idiot?" "Fuck."
4:04:04Jin Biao spat, let go of the collar, and
4:04:06leaned back, sweeping a cold smirk over
4:04:09the lackeys beside him who were cracking
4:04:10their knuckles. "A traitor like this,
4:04:13just beating him won't satisfy me. Drive
4:04:15to the busiest part of Yuncheng, strip
4:04:17him naked, and make him run a lap in the
4:04:19buff." "What? Run naked?" Sun Tao went
4:04:22off like a bomb. He had a shameful
4:04:24secret about his body, earning him the
4:04:26nickname "3 cm." If he were really
4:04:28stripped and made to run a lap through
4:04:30the streets, it'd spread across all of
4:04:32Yuncheng. How could he go on living
4:04:34after that? He panicked completely and
4:04:36pulled out his phone. "Biao Ge, I'm
4:04:38Young Master Yang's man. You can't treat
4:04:40me like this. I'm calling Young Master
4:04:42Yang right now." "Call your ass. If Yang
4:04:45Wei knew you'd turn traitor, he wouldn't
4:04:47just make you run naked. He'd have you
4:04:49castrated on the spot." Jin Biao
4:04:51snatched the phone away in a quick-eyed,
4:04:53quick-handed move, smirking coldly
4:04:55inside. "Call Yang Wei." If that call
4:04:57went through, it'd be a bloody miracle.
4:05:00Meanwhile, over 100 km away, Yang Wei
4:05:03and Gu Shumin struggled over two
4:05:05mountain ridges, exhausted and starving,
4:05:07more dead than alive. Just as the two of
4:05:10them slumped onto a large rock by the
4:05:11roadside, on the verge of collapse, the
4:05:14honk of a car horn suddenly sounded not
4:05:16far off. Beep, beep, beep. The two
4:05:18looked toward the sound at the same
4:05:20time. A battered old van was wobbling
4:05:22its way along the mountain road, and
4:05:24they were instantly wild with joy. Young
4:05:26Master Yang, look, a car. Gushumin cried
4:05:29out in excitement. I'm not blind, Yang
4:05:32Wei snapped and struggled up from the
4:05:33rock, throwing his arms out to block the
4:05:35middle of the road. Terrified of being
4:05:37left behind, Gushumin scrambled after
4:05:40him and stood close behind him. The van
4:05:42rolled to a slow stop less than 10 m
4:05:44away. The door opened and out stepped a
4:05:46young man in his mid-20s, wearing
4:05:48black-framed glasses, thin of build,
4:05:50scholarly in manner. The cuffs of his
4:05:52washed-out plaid shirt frayed at the
4:05:54edges, at first glance like a bookworm
4:05:56from some university. You, too. Why are
4:05:58you blocking the road? The bespectacled
4:06:00man took a few steps closer, pushing up
4:06:03his glasses. Brother, my name's Gushumin
4:06:05and he's Yang Wei. We were done wrong by
4:06:07villains. That's how we ended up here
4:06:09from Yunqi. Our phones and valuables
4:06:11were all stripped clean. Quick-tongued,
4:06:14Gushumin poured it all out in one go.
4:06:16Could you do us a kindness and lend us
4:06:17your phone to contact our families? Yang
4:06:20Wei ground his teeth in fury. One must
4:06:22never be without a guard against others.
4:06:24Yet this foolish woman blurted out
4:06:26everything. What if they'd run into
4:06:28someone with ill intent? Still, seeing
4:06:30how honest and simple the man looked, he
4:06:32probably wasn't a bad sort. Otherwise,
4:06:34Yang Wei would have pinned her down and
4:06:36pummeled her. Oh, is that so? No
4:06:38problem. The bespectacled man showed not
4:06:41a trace of suspicion, pulling a battered
4:06:43old flip phone from his trouser pocket.
4:06:45He was about to hand it over when he
4:06:46drew his hand back and looked down at
4:06:48the screen. Oh dear, I'm sorry. My
4:06:51phone's out of battery. Out of battery?
4:06:53Gushumin's heart sank to the bottom, her
4:06:55smile crumbling in an instant. Yeah, us
4:06:58country folk don't have money. This
4:07:00phone's seven or eight years old, drains
4:07:02fast and breaks down at the drop of a
4:07:04hat. The bespectacled man gave a
4:07:06self-deprecating laugh and tucked the
4:07:08phone back into his pocket. What do we
4:07:10do now? Gushumin was so anxious, she
4:07:12stamped her feet. Just one phone call
4:07:15and someone would come at top speed to
4:07:16carry her and Yang way away from this
4:07:18godforsaken place. But after finally
4:07:20catching a passerby, his phone was dead.
4:07:23Ahem. Yang Wei cleared his throat, stuck
4:07:26both hands in his pockets, and stepped
4:07:28forward. Buddy, dead phone's no big
4:07:30deal. Then you drive us somewhere with
4:07:32people. Though he was clearly asking a
4:07:34favor, he struck not the slightest
4:07:36favor-asking posture. His tone like he
4:07:38was giving orders. As if a pampered from
4:07:41birth official's young lord humbling
4:07:43himself to a country bumpkin? This is
4:07:45Whitebone Ridge. It's over 20 km to the
4:07:47nearest village, and I've got things to
4:07:49do. The bespectacled man looked
4:07:51troubled. Buddy, let me put it plainly.
4:07:53My dad's an official, and a big one at
4:07:55that. You help me out, and later
4:07:57whatever perks you want, just name them.
4:07:59Running into me might well be an
4:08:01important turning point in your life.
4:08:03Get it? Yang Wei puffed out his chest
4:08:05and tilted his chin up slightly. Gu
4:08:07Shumin chimed in. He's not lying. Help
4:08:09us this once, and good fortune's waiting
4:08:11down the road for you. The bespectacled
4:08:13man hesitated for a few seconds,
4:08:15scratched his head, and finally nodded.
4:08:18Fine. I'll give you a lift partway, but
4:08:20it's not for any perks. Purely because I
4:08:22pity you. Get in. Hearing this, Yang Wei
4:08:25was immediately displeased. He, an
4:08:27official's young lord, needed the pity
4:08:29of some country hick? Young Master Yang,
4:08:32in a situation like this, don't bother
4:08:34squabbling with him. Just get in the
4:08:36car. Gu Shumin urged in a low voice. A
4:08:38hick's a hick. Running into me, his
4:08:40ancestors' graves must be smoking with
4:08:42good luck. Yang Wei muttered under his
4:08:45breath, and only then grudgingly got in.
4:08:47The van was shabby outside and shabbier
4:08:49within. The seat leather was split in
4:08:51several gashes with the foam poking out.
4:08:53The AC was broken, stuffy as a steamer,
4:08:56and most nauseating of all was a reek of
4:08:58livestock stabbing straight up the nose.
4:09:00Even Gu Shumin couldn't stand it,
4:09:02covering her nose and frowning. Brother,
4:09:04why does your car stink so badly? Oh, I
4:09:07usually use this van to haul livestock
4:09:09to town to sell. The The
4:09:11man answered casually. "Quit dawdling.
4:09:13Hurry and drive. I'll get you a new one
4:09:15later." Yang Wei urged impatiently.
4:09:18"Haha, okay." The bespectacled man
4:09:20shifted gears and stepped on the gas,
4:09:22and the van sped off. Yet, after driving
4:09:24for a good while, not only did they fail
4:09:26to get out of the wilderness, they drove
4:09:28deeper and deeper into it. Outside the
4:09:31windows were nothing but endless
4:09:32mountain ridges and impenetrable forest,
4:09:35the road growing narrower and more
4:09:36pitted, the bumps jolting their
4:09:38backsides numb. A faint unease stirred
4:09:41in the two of them. Just as they were
4:09:42about to lose their composure and open
4:09:44their mouths to ask, a few brick
4:09:46buildings finally appeared ahead, ringed
4:09:49by a high wall, the entrance piled with
4:09:51red bricks and sand. Not like a home,
4:09:54but more like a brick kiln. "Brother,
4:09:56what is this place?" Gushumin leaned
4:09:58forward to ask. "Didn't you want to make
4:09:59a call?" The bespectacled man slowly
4:10:02drove the van into the yard. "This is a
4:10:04brick kiln I run. Charge up your phone
4:10:06and you can make your call." "I never
4:10:08would have guessed. So, you're a
4:10:09businessman, too, brother." Gushumin was
4:10:11a little surprised. "A small operation,
4:10:14though. There's plenty more you haven't
4:10:15guessed." As the bespectacled man got
4:10:17out of the car, a barely perceptible
4:10:19flash of grim malice crossed his eyes.
4:10:22The two followed him out, and before
4:10:24they'd even found their footing, three
4:10:26or four burly, hulking men suddenly
4:10:28burst out from the side and seized them
4:10:30without a word. "Ack! Who are you?"
4:10:32Gushumin screamed in terror. "Damn it!
4:10:34That guy with the glasses is no good at
4:10:36all." Yang Wei realized things had gone
4:10:39wrong and tried to resist, but a frame
4:10:41like his was no match. He was pinned
4:10:43down tight, unable to budge. The
4:10:45bespectacled man walked over, a
4:10:47rust-covered steel pipe now in his hand,
4:10:49a playful, savage grin on his face, a
4:10:52completely different man from a moment
4:10:54ago. He stepped up to Yang Wei, hefting
4:10:56the pipe, and jeered, "Begging me for a
4:10:58favor, yet all high and mighty about it.
4:11:01So, you're pretty hot stuff, kid." "I'm
4:11:03no kid. I'm your daddy." Yang Wei
4:11:05gritted his teeth, putting up a brave
4:11:07front, though his voice had begun to
4:11:09tremble. In Yuching, there's hardly
4:11:11anyone who dares cross me. You dare
4:11:13touch a single hair on my head and see
4:11:15what happens. See what happens. Let's
4:11:17find out. The bespectacled man swung the
4:11:20steel pipe and brought it down viciously
4:11:22on Yang Wei's right leg. Once, twice,
4:11:25three times. Yang Wei let out a scream
4:11:27like a pig being slaughtered. His right
4:11:29leg a mangled mess of flesh and blood.
4:11:32His trousers soaked through and stuck to
4:11:33the leg. Who knew how many bones broken.
4:11:36The pain nearly knocked him out several
4:11:38times. Every ounce of the official son
4:11:40airs was gone. His face smeared with
4:11:42tears and snot. Ack. Brother, stop. I'm
4:11:46begging you, stop. I was wrong, okay?
4:11:48Only then did the bespectacled man stop,
4:11:50tossing the steel pipe to the ground and
4:11:52instructing the brutes, "Throw this kid
4:11:54in the kiln. Keep a close eye on him. If
4:11:57he dares to slack off, work him half to
4:11:59death." A few of the hulking men hauled
4:12:01up the limp Asmod Yang Wei and dragged
4:12:03him into the brick kiln like a dead dog.
4:12:05Inside the kiln, heat rose in waves. The
4:12:08temperature so high it was hard to
4:12:10breathe. The floor stacked with freshly
4:12:12fired red bricks, dust mingling with
4:12:14coal smoke. There were another dozen or
4:12:1620 workers inside with their heads down,
4:12:18laboring with mechanical, numb
4:12:20movements. Looking closer, these people
4:12:22were either missing an arm or a leg or
4:12:25had vacant, dull eyes, clearly mentally
4:12:27impaired. Dumped on the ground, Yang
4:12:29Wei's face was ashen, in too much pain
4:12:32even to move. Only in this moment did it
4:12:34fully dawn on him. He'd landed in an
4:12:36illegal brick kiln. Damn it. What era
4:12:39was this? That places like this still
4:12:41existed. And of all people, it had to be
4:12:43him who stumbled into it. How could he
4:12:45be this unlucky? As for Gashuman, she'd
4:12:48already been dragged by the hair into a
4:12:50room. Inside were a filthy wooden plank
4:12:52bed, a battered table, the floor
4:12:54littered with instant noodle cartons and
4:12:56empty liquor bottles. The stench
4:12:58overwhelming, flies swarming everywhere.
4:13:01Brother, I'm begging you, Let us go.
4:13:03Flung onto the bed, she curled up in
4:13:05terror. In your dreams. The bespectacled
4:13:08man unbuckled his belt, his eyes full of
4:13:10greedy light, and lunged like a beast.
4:13:13Gushumin was pinned fast against the
4:13:15bed, and a few desperate struggles did
4:13:17no good. Gradually, she gave up
4:13:19resisting. As long as she could stay
4:13:21alive, being defiled was no matter. But
4:13:23in the instant she turned her head
4:13:25aside, her gaze happened to sweep over a
4:13:27few boxes of medicine scattered on the
4:13:29table, and her pupils shook violently.
4:13:32Those boxes of medicine, she recognized
4:13:34them. They looked exactly like the free
4:13:36medication aids patients collect from
4:13:37the disease control center. Yunshi. As
4:13:40noon approached, I bought two take-out
4:13:42meals and headed home, meaning to call
4:13:44by Jie to eat together, but she was
4:13:46still sleeping in, and no amount of
4:13:48calling would rouse her. These past two
4:13:50days of being dragged all over the park
4:13:52by my aunt searching for someone. Forget
4:13:54a breast cancer patient, even a healthy
4:13:56person couldn't withstand that kind of
4:13:57ordeal. I finished lunch alone, went
4:14:00back to my room, shut the door, took out
4:14:02that lump of iron I'd picked up at the
4:14:04antiques market, and studied it
4:14:05carefully. In under two days, a small
4:14:08amount of spiritual energy had gathered
4:14:10inside it again. But having already
4:14:12broken through the second layer of chi
4:14:13refinement, to advance another step
4:14:16would require more time and more
4:14:17spiritual energy. This lump of iron
4:14:19alone was nowhere near enough. Looks
4:14:22like I'll have to find a way to earn
4:14:23more money. I sighed faintly. In an age
4:14:25starved of spiritual energy, only
4:14:27alchemy could fill the gap in one's
4:14:29cultivation. But the rare and precious
4:14:32materials alchemy required were
4:14:33expensive, and my meager intern's wages
4:14:35at the hospital were pitifully small,
4:14:38barely enough to cover living costs. I
4:14:40couldn't possibly afford it. I put the
4:14:42lump of iron back in the drawer, sat
4:14:44cross-legged on the bed, and closed my
4:14:46eyes to cultivate. Though the spiritual
4:14:48energy wasn't enough, it still beat not
4:14:50cultivating at all. By the time I
4:14:52finished, the sky was nearly dark. Soft,
4:14:55soothing music drifted in from the
4:14:56living room. I went out to find Bi Jia
4:14:58up and doing yoga. A pink, form-fitting
4:15:01yoga outfit clung to her body, tracing
4:15:03her every curve in full view. Her waist
4:15:06so slender, she hardly seemed a woman
4:15:08nearing 40. I knew I couldn't keep
4:15:10looking and quickly ducked into the
4:15:11bathroom, stripped off my clothes,
4:15:14turned on the shower head, and let the
4:15:15cold water pour over my head, barely
4:15:18managing to press that surge of improper
4:15:20fire down bit by bit. But after the cold
4:15:22shower, dressed and about to head out,
4:15:24my gaze happened to sweep across the
4:15:26small basket beneath the sink, and I
4:15:28nearly gushed blood from my nose. Lying
4:15:30in that basket was a black undergarment.
4:15:32The fabric thin, the pattern cut with
4:15:35openwork. If I remembered right, my aunt
4:15:37had complained this was the very style
4:15:39she disliked most. So, this had to be Bi
4:15:41Jia's. Honestly, Auntie Bi, how could
4:15:44she just toss this anywhere? I grumbled
4:15:46inwardly, hastily pulled my gaze away,
4:15:48and flushed to the ears, opened the
4:15:50door, and walked out. I'd barely taken a
4:15:53step when I ran head-on into Bi Jia, who
4:15:55just finished her yoga. She was wiping
4:15:57the fragrant sweat from her neck with a
4:15:59towel, and seeing my flushed face, she
4:16:01paused and asked with concern, "Hm,
4:16:04Xiaofeng, your face is abnormally red.
4:16:07You're not running a fever, are you?"
4:16:09And she reached out to feel my forehead.
4:16:11I hurriedly dodged back. That
4:16:12undergarment in the bathroom had already
4:16:14got me worked up enough. Another touch
4:16:16from her, and I couldn't bear it.
4:16:18"Auntie Bi, I I'm fine. I'm going to do
4:16:20laundry." Guilt-stricken, I bolted into
4:16:22the laundry room. "What's gotten into
4:16:24that boy, acting so strange?" Bi Jia was
4:16:27utterly puzzled. The next second, as if
4:16:29something had struck her, she let out a
4:16:31small shriek and dashed into the
4:16:33bathroom, so mortified she wished she
4:16:35could find a crack in the floor to crawl
4:16:36into. She'd showered before her yoga and
4:16:39had actually left the undergarment she'd
4:16:41taken off in the little basket. Nine
4:16:43times out of 10, I'd seen it. "Xiaofeng,
4:16:46he he didn't do anything indecent, did
4:16:48he?" Bi Jia covered her face, the base
4:16:51of her ears burning red, her mind
4:16:53helplessly conjuring up certain images.
4:16:55Even if he really had done something,
4:16:57she could only blame her own
4:16:58carelessness. At top speed, she scrubbed
4:17:01the undergarment clean and hung it out
4:17:02on the balcony. Ding dong. As it
4:17:04happened, the food delivery arrived. Bai
4:17:06Jie brought it in, drew a deep breath,
4:17:09and feigning nonchalance, called toward
4:17:11the laundry room. "Xiao Feng, I ordered
4:17:13a big portion of stir-fried chicken.
4:17:16Come eat." "Coming." I walked out, the
4:17:18feverish heat already cooled. Looking at
4:17:20the big, bright red basin of stir-fried
4:17:22chicken on the table, I sniffed. "Anye
4:17:25Bai, this stir-fried chicken looks
4:17:26great, and smells great, too." "Of
4:17:29course. It's from an old shop that's
4:17:31been open more than a decade, right by
4:17:32our school gate. If it weren't summer
4:17:34break right now, I'd go eat there every
4:17:36two or three days." As Bai Jie spoke,
4:17:39she looked up at the clock. "O mai, it's
4:17:41already 6:30. How is Lan Lan still not
4:17:43back? Should we wait for her?" "No need.
4:17:46When I went to report in, Director Zhao
4:17:47said a very important patient was being
4:17:49trans- ferred back to Yuncheng from the
4:17:51capital this afternoon for treatment,
4:17:53and he specially put my aunt in charge,
4:17:55so she'll probably be back quite late."
4:17:57I waved a hand and sat down. "All right,
4:17:59then. Let's eat first." Bai Jie sat
4:18:01down, too. "Delicious, truly delicious."
4:18:04I picked up a piece of chicken, the meat
4:18:06tender and fresh, spicy and numbing and
4:18:09full of flavor. This chicken hadn't died
4:18:11in vain. "If it's good, eat up." Bai Jie
4:18:13smiled gently. But the moment she
4:18:15thought of that undergarment in the
4:18:16bathroom, she lowered her head in
4:18:18embarrassment again, her mind in a
4:18:20tangle. I mustn't think about it
4:18:22anymore. Just pretend nothing ever
4:18:23happened. Just as we were halfway
4:18:25through, I suddenly set down my
4:18:27chopsticks. "Anye Bai, how did it feel
4:18:29last time? Did it feel good?" "Huh? Last
4:18:32time?" Bai Jie's exquisite face flushed
4:18:34red in a flash, scorching hot, as if
4:18:36licked by flame. Despite herself, the
4:18:39scene of that night, when I'd mistaken
4:18:41her for Zhao Yuqing, rose up in her
4:18:42mind. She couldn't fathom why I'd
4:18:44suddenly bring this up, and wanted to
4:18:46give a denial, but the words against her
4:18:48true feelings wouldn't come out. In the
4:18:50end, she could only nod faintly, her
4:18:52voice as small as a mosquito's.
4:18:55Even though the two of us shouldn't have
4:18:56done that, Annie can't help but admit um
4:18:59it felt good. Before that, Chen Ge Zhao,
4:19:02that heartless man, hadn't touched her
4:19:04in four years. No, going even further
4:19:07back, Chen Ge Zhao didn't come close to
4:19:09comparing. Did it really feel that good?
4:19:11Then after we finish eating, how about
4:19:13we do it once more? I said smiling.
4:19:15What? Bai Jia went rigid all over,
4:19:17nearly dropping her chopsticks. What on
4:19:20earth had gotten into this boy? Had he
4:19:21grown this bold just because my aunt
4:19:23wasn't home? Or was it all the fault of
4:19:25that undergarment? Once more might not
4:19:27be enough. We'll have to do acupuncture
4:19:29quite a few more times. My face was the
4:19:31picture of innocence. I was talking
4:19:33about acupuncture. How was I to know her
4:19:35mind had wandered off course? Bai Jia
4:19:37stared blankly for several seconds
4:19:39before it registered. Her forehead lined
4:19:41with black. Xiao Feng, you you meant
4:19:44acupuncture? Of course. I hope Annie
4:19:46hasn't locked that set of silver needles
4:19:48away, or I'll have to go out and buy new
4:19:50ones. I nodded. No, not locked. They're
4:19:53in the glass cabinet in the study. Bai
4:19:55Jia pinched the base of her thigh
4:19:57viciously, cursing herself up and down
4:19:59inside. Could she be blamed? It was all
4:20:02this rotten boy's fault for putting it
4:20:03so ambiguously. How did it feel last
4:20:05time? Did it feel good? How about we do
4:20:07it once more after we eat? Who could
4:20:09hear those words and not take them the
4:20:11wrong way? Thank goodness he hadn't
4:20:13noticed anything off about her. Or she'd
4:20:15have had no face left to show. After
4:20:17dinner, once the dishes were cleared, I
4:20:19went to the study to fetch the silver
4:20:21needles, then called Bai Jia into the
4:20:23room and had her lie flat on the bed. I
4:20:25didn't rush to apply the needles. First
4:20:27I channeled my true chi, focused my
4:20:29mind, and activated the insight pupil.
4:20:32Through her clothes and skin, I clearly
4:20:34saw the mass of gray sickness chi deep
4:20:36in her chest. Fainter than before, yet
4:20:39far from dispersed. The condition was
4:20:41neither good nor bad. Even with my
4:20:43second layer chi refinement strength
4:20:45paired with the Xiantian 9 needles, I
4:20:47still couldn't cure it completely. I
4:20:48could only keep easing it. Auntie Bai,
4:20:51you'll have to Before I'd finished, Bai
4:20:53Jia had already lowered her head
4:20:55knowingly and opened her collar. Her
4:20:57snow-white skin glowed with an alluring
4:20:59halo in the dim yellow light. I didn't
4:21:01dare let a single stray thought surface.
4:21:03I took up a silver needle, gathered a
4:21:05wisp of azure true chi at my fingertip,
4:21:08aimed at the acupoint, and inserted it
4:21:10steadily. My technique was far more
4:21:12practiced than before, the twisting and
4:21:14turning considerably more precise. Bai
4:21:16Jia only knit her brows slightly before
4:21:18they soon smoothed out. Auntie Bai,
4:21:20there's something that's troubled me for
4:21:22many years. Could you help me with an
4:21:24answer? I spoke as I worked the needles.
4:21:26You silly child, being so formal with
4:21:28me. Go on. Whatever I know, I'll tell
4:21:31you without reserve. I only know Auntie
4:21:33comes from the capital, but about her
4:21:35past or who's in her family, I know
4:21:37nothing at all. That's right. My aunt
4:21:40Yilan was from the capital and only
4:21:41later moved to Yuncheng. Yet in all
4:21:43these years, I'd never seen nor heard
4:21:46her mention any family. As a child, I'd
4:21:49even thought she was an orphan like me.
4:21:51Even though Lan Lan and I knew each
4:21:52other before she took you in, I'm just
4:21:54like you. I know nothing about her past
4:21:56or her family situation. At first I
4:21:58asked a few times, but she always
4:22:00clammed up and later I stopped asking.
4:22:02Bai Jia shook her head gently. She and
4:22:04Yilan had been best friends for over 20
4:22:06years. Yet looking back now, it seems
4:22:09she only knew the Yilan from after she'd
4:22:11moved to Yuncheng and not the Yilan of
4:22:13her capital days. But she didn't mind,
4:22:15chalking it up to Yilan having some
4:22:17unspeakable reasons of her own. Auntie
4:22:19Bai, I'll be honest with you. I've
4:22:21always felt that when Auntie went to the
4:22:23orphanage back then, it wasn't by chance
4:22:25that she chose me. I hesitated, then
4:22:27finally spoke the secret I'd buried in
4:22:29my heart for years. Those in the thick
4:22:31of it are blind, the onlooker sees
4:22:33clearly. I wanted to hear her view, too,
4:22:36to confirm whether I was overthinking
4:22:37things. Why do you feel that way? Bai
4:22:40Jian knit her brows slightly. She never
4:22:42thought about any of this. Think about
4:22:44it. Fengyang County, where I lived
4:22:46before I was eight, is several hundred
4:22:48kilometers from Yuncheng. If Auntie
4:22:50simply wanted to adopt an orphan,
4:22:52Yuncheng has orphanages of its own. Why
4:22:54go so far? Now that you put it that way,
4:22:56it does seem so. Bai Jian nodded in
4:22:58sudden realization. She remembered
4:23:00clearly, back then, Yulan had, without a
4:23:03word to anyone, brought a little boy
4:23:05back from out of town, namely me. She'd
4:23:07even stayed single all these years to
4:23:09raise me, with no intention whatsoever
4:23:12of marrying. That truly was beyond
4:23:14ordinary understanding. The main thing
4:23:16is, every time I bring up my origins,
4:23:18Auntie's expression turns noticeably
4:23:20odd. I gave a small smile, not a trace
4:23:23of complaint in my tone. My aunt had
4:23:25raised me through bitter toil. Even if
4:23:27she really had deliberately hidden my
4:23:29origins, I was in no position to
4:23:30complain. Then I pulled out the yellowed
4:23:32old photograph from under my pillow and
4:23:35handed it to her. Auntie Bai, take a
4:23:37look at this. Bai Jian recognized at a
4:23:39glance the girl on the left. It was none
4:23:41other than Yulan, and she couldn't
4:23:43resist teasing. Oh, by the age, this
4:23:45must have been taken when Lanlan was 15
4:23:48or 16. I've never even seen it. Where
4:23:50did you get it? Auntie dropped it by
4:23:52accident during a move once, and I
4:23:53picked it up and kept it. Then why
4:23:55didn't you give it back to her, instead
4:23:57of hiding it away?
4:23:58The girl beside Auntie. Auntie Bai
4:24:00doesn't recognize her, either? Only now
4:24:02did I get to the point. Bai Jian studied
4:24:04the girl on the right of the photo
4:24:05carefully. Delicate features, cool brows
4:24:08and eyes, an uncommon air, standing
4:24:11beside Yulan without being outshone in
4:24:12the least. But search her memory as she
4:24:15might, she drew a complete blank and
4:24:17could only shake her head. I don't
4:24:19recognize her. She must be a friend of
4:24:21Lanlan's from her capital days. Auntie
4:24:23Bai, I'll say it and not fear your
4:24:25laughter. Every time I take out this
4:24:26photo, I get a feeling I can't put into
4:24:29words. I've I've guessed that she might
4:24:31be my birth mother. I gave a
4:24:32self-deprecating laugh. Ugh, by Jie, I
4:24:35couldn't hold back a laugh. Silly boy, I
4:24:37understand your wish to find out your
4:24:39origins, but you can't just go making
4:24:41groundless leaps, seeing anyone by Lan
4:24:43Lan's side and leaping to that
4:24:45conclusion. Maybe I really am
4:24:47overthinking it. I scratched my head.
4:24:49That's what I said, yet a sliver of
4:24:50fantasy still lingered in my heart. By
4:24:53Jie, I tucked the photo back under the
4:24:54pillow and comforted me. All right, I'll
4:24:57find a chance to feel her out about it
4:24:58for you later. But you best not pin too
4:25:00much hope on it. The greater the hope,
4:25:02the greater the disappointment. She
4:25:04seemed to feel this was ill-chosen and
4:25:06hurriedly corrected herself. Don't
4:25:08misunderstand, Shaofeng. Sooner or
4:25:11later, one day, you'll find out your
4:25:13origins. We'll leave it to fate. I
4:25:15lowered my head. We'd reached the most
4:25:17crucial step of the acupuncture and I
4:25:19focused my full attention once more. I'd
4:25:21long since made my peace. Best if I
4:25:23could find out. If I truly couldn't, I
4:25:26wouldn't force it. A while later, the
4:25:28acupuncture ended. I returned the silver
4:25:30needles to the glass cabinet in the
4:25:31study and when I came back to the room,
4:25:34Bai Jie had already gotten off the bed
4:25:36and was carefully feeling the changes in
4:25:38her body, delighted. Shaofeng, your
4:25:40acupuncture is amazing. Not only is my
4:25:43chest smoother and more comfortable,
4:25:45even these past few days fatigue is
4:25:47swept clean away.
4:25:48Naturally, otherwise why would even the
4:25:50divine physician Luo call me a master? I
4:25:53grinned, indulging in a rare moment of
4:25:56immodesty. But Lan Lan simply refuses to
4:25:58believe it. The moment Bai Jie thought
4:26:00of this, she was overcome with
4:26:02helplessness. Rumble, rumble. Suddenly,
4:26:05a bolt of lightning split the night sky
4:26:07outside the window, followed at once by
4:26:09a thunderclap that set the glass buzzing
4:26:11and trembling. Ack! Bai Jie shrieked in
4:26:14fright and purely on instinct, threw her
4:26:17arms tight around me. Shaofeng, I'm most
4:26:19afraid of thunder. Can I go back to my
4:26:21room in a bit, all right? I naturally
4:26:24had no objection and was just about to
4:26:26nod. Creak. The door, left ajar, was
4:26:29suddenly pushed open from outside. Yilan
4:26:31stood in the doorway, looking at the two
4:26:33of us embracing in the room, and froze
4:26:35in place as if struck by lightning.
4:26:38Auntie, Auntie Bai's scared of the
4:26:40thunder. Caught off guard, I'd never
4:26:42expected that the moment I was in an
4:26:44embrace with Bai Jia, my aunt would come
4:26:46home and catch us right in the act. If
4:26:48nothing had ever happened between the
4:26:49two of us, that would have been that.
4:26:52But the fact was, on the night of the
4:26:53graduation party, I'd mistaken Bai Jia
4:26:56for Zhao Yuching, and then So right now
4:26:58I was terribly flustered, my face
4:27:00flushed red. And the same went for Bai
4:27:02Jia. Her heart nearly leaped out of her
4:27:04throat. She let go of my waist, steeled
4:27:06herself, and trotted to the doorway,
4:27:09throwing her arms around Yilan. Lan Lan,
4:27:12you know I'm most afraid of thunder.
4:27:14That's the only reason I I watched Xiao
4:27:16Feng grow up, too. In my eyes, no matter
4:27:18how old he gets, he's still a child.
4:27:21There's nothing between me and Xiao
4:27:22Feng. You mustn't think too much. Yilan
4:27:25looked at Bai Jia clinging to her
4:27:26tightly, then swept a glance over me
4:27:28still standing there at a loss, and knit
4:27:30her brow slightly. This afternoon, a
4:27:33little past 3:00, the old secretary had
4:27:35been transferred back to Yunxing from
4:27:36the capital, and Director Zhao had put
4:27:38her in charge. She'd been run ragged.
4:27:41She'd meant to stay at the hospital on
4:27:42duty, but had happened to see the
4:27:44weather forecast say there'd be
4:27:45thunderstorms in the night, and looking
4:27:47out the window, sure enough, a thick
4:27:49layer of dark clouds was bearing down
4:27:51from the west. She'd immediately thought
4:27:53of how Bai Jia feared thunder most of
4:27:55all, and only then hurried back. In
4:27:57truth, when she pushed open the door and
4:28:00seen the two of us embracing, apart from
4:28:02it being a bit of an eyesore, Yilan
4:28:04hadn't felt there was any big problem.
4:28:06But the problem lay precisely in these
4:28:07two's reactions. They'd all but written
4:28:10the words guilty conscience across their
4:28:12faces, and each rushed to explain to
4:28:14her. To explain is to cover up. These
4:28:16two, could they really be hiding some
4:28:18shameful secret? Yilan denied the
4:28:20conjecture over and over in her mind,
4:28:23utterly unable to accept it. One was her
4:28:25closest best friend, the other the child
4:28:28she'd raised. Would they really do
4:28:29something against all human decency? She
4:28:32held her composure and didn't ask
4:28:34directly, only patted by Jie's back
4:28:36gently and said warmly, "I came rushing
4:28:38back precisely because I was worried the
4:28:40thunder would scare you. Come, let's go
4:28:42to my room." Mm. By Jie breathed a sigh
4:28:45of relief, only for her heart to be
4:28:47flooded at once with guilt. Yilan
4:28:49treated her with such meticulous care,
4:28:51yet she'd been deceiving her all along.
4:28:54It was truly too much. Only after the
4:28:56two of them returned to the room did I
4:28:58come back to my senses, my heart still
4:29:00pounding. My aunt was so sharp, the way
4:29:02she'd looked at me just now, like she
4:29:04was looking at a lecture. Could she have
4:29:06sensed something? The more I thought
4:29:07about it, the more uneasy I grew. After
4:29:10hesitating a good while, in the end I
4:29:12slipped out of my room, tiptoed to my
4:29:14aunt's door, and pressed my ear against
4:29:16it. By this time, Yilan and by Jie had
4:29:18already gotten into bed. Rumble, rumble.
4:29:21Another string of thunderclaps rolled
4:29:22through, booming until the glass burst.
4:29:25Ack. "Long Long, I'm so scared." By Jie
4:29:28covered her ears and shrank into the
4:29:30quilt, curling into a ball. She truly
4:29:32was afraid of thunder, had been since
4:29:34childhood, and even in her 30s hadn't
4:29:36outgrown it. Right now, if not for
4:29:38having Yilan with her, she'd probably
4:29:40have been scared to tears. "Don't be
4:29:42afraid. It'll stop soon." Yilan rolled
4:29:45onto her side and patted her back
4:29:47gently, soothing her like a child. What
4:29:49could you do with a best friend this
4:29:50timid? Another dozen odd minutes passed,
4:29:53and the thunder gradually softened, the
4:29:55wind and rain letting up, too. Only then
4:29:57did by Jie poke her head out of the
4:29:59quilt, revealing a face flushed from the
4:30:01stuffiness, and said sheepishly, "Long
4:30:03Long, if you want to laugh, go ahead.
4:30:06Don't hold it in, or you'll give
4:30:07yourself an internal injury. 20-some
4:30:10years of friendship, and it's hardly the
4:30:12first time I've seen you scared of
4:30:13thunder. What's there to laugh about?"
4:30:15Yilan rolled her eyes. Hehe. Bai Jia
4:30:18threw her arms around Yilan's arm, her
4:30:20face full of bliss. Thank goodness I
4:30:22have you. If only you were a man. In
4:30:24this life, I'd marry no one but you.
4:30:27What kind of wild, ravenous talk is
4:30:29that? And besides, why should I be the
4:30:31man? Why can't you? Yilan didn't know
4:30:34whether to laugh or cry. Oh, please.
4:30:36With a personality like mine, I couldn't
4:30:38be a man. Even if you forced me to, I'd
4:30:41be a useless coward. Bai Jia blinked
4:30:43playfully. That's true enough. Yilan
4:30:45lowered her head with a smile, her gaze
4:30:47falling on Bai Jia's open collar. And
4:30:50without a word, she simply reached her
4:30:51hand right inside. Ack! Bai Jia recoiled
4:30:54violently, as if electrocuted. Lan Lan,
4:30:57I was only making a comparison. Why have
4:30:59you actually gotten hands-on? You You
4:31:01can't do this. She liked Yilan very
4:31:03much, liked her so much she could never
4:31:06part from her in this life. But that
4:31:07wasn't the kind of liking between a man
4:31:09and a woman. A woman and a woman. She
4:31:12couldn't accept it. Wait. Yilan was in
4:31:14her 30s, too. And not only had no
4:31:16intention of marrying, she'd never even
4:31:18dated a single boyfriend. Could it be
4:31:20that her sexual orientation really was
4:31:22different? You wicked girl, what are you
4:31:24imagining? I just wanted to feel whether
4:31:26you're normal here. Yilan withdrew her
4:31:28hand in exasperation. She just felt
4:31:31carefully and hadn't detected any lump
4:31:33or abnormal hard nodule. Could it be
4:31:35that that master who controlled needles
4:31:38with qi, with just a single acupuncture
4:31:40session, had completely cured a
4:31:42condition that even Western medicine was
4:31:44helpless against? Another day, she'd
4:31:46have to find a chance to take Bai Jia
4:31:48back to the hospital for another
4:31:49checkup. You reached right in and
4:31:51started feeling. How could I not imagine
4:31:53things? Bai Jia pursed her lips,
4:31:56hesitated, then couldn't help asking.
4:31:58Lan Lan, last time I went to the
4:32:00hospital for a checkup, you intercepted
4:32:02the report. You said I had nothing
4:32:04serious. But afterward, the moment I
4:32:06felt the slightest bit unwell, you'd get
4:32:08super nervous. Even took me to see the
4:32:10divine physician Luo. I keep feeling
4:32:12like I've got some serious illness. No,
4:32:14you don't have any serious illness and
4:32:16you never will in this life. Such
4:32:18unlucky talk. Say less of it from now
4:32:20on. Yilan's tone suddenly grew a few
4:32:22degrees heavier. She felt now still
4:32:24wasn't the time to reveal the truth. As
4:32:27a doctor, she knew full well that for a
4:32:29disease like breast cancer, the
4:32:30patient's emotional state was of the
4:32:32utmost importance. So she simply changed
4:32:34the subject. Bai Jia, look into my eyes.
4:32:37Huh? What is it? Bai Jia lifted her
4:32:39face. And in the instant their eyes met,
4:32:42her heart went uneasy again. Her gaze
4:32:44instinctively drifting elsewhere.
4:32:46Yilan's tone suddenly turned gentle. Bai
4:32:48Jia, I want to tell you a few heartfelt
4:32:50words. Although Shao Feng is the child
4:32:53we watched grow up, if you like him and
4:32:55he likes you too, I wouldn't object. The
4:32:57two of you are the closest, dearest
4:32:59people to me in this world. No matter
4:33:01how big a mistake you make, in my eyes
4:33:03it's never a mistake. Bai Jia stared
4:33:05blankly at Yilan. Her face paling
4:33:07slightly. Her heart skipping half a
4:33:09beat. She couldn't tell whether Yilan's
4:33:11words just now were sincere or a test.
4:33:14But one thing was certain. That scene of
4:33:16her embracing me earlier had, after all,
4:33:19roused Yilan's suspicion. Long Long,
4:33:22you, what are you talking about? Bai Jia
4:33:24knew she shouldn't deceive Yilan, but
4:33:26she had no other choice. If she told the
4:33:28truth, even if it didn't cost them
4:33:3020-some years of friendship, a rift
4:33:32would still form between them. So she
4:33:34could only summon the best acting of her
4:33:36life. She pretended to be furious,
4:33:38abruptly turned her back and wrapped the
4:33:40quilt tight around herself. Long Long,
4:33:43in your eyes, am I that kind of loose
4:33:45woman? Me and Shao Feng, my god, in my
4:33:48eyes he'll always be nothing but a
4:33:50child. Bai Jia, are you angry? Seeing
4:33:52her so worked up, Yilan instead grew
4:33:54pleased. She had to dispel her doubts,
4:33:57yet couldn't ask directly. So she could
4:33:59only test. The result left her very
4:34:01satisfied. In over 20 years of knowing
4:34:04her, she'd never once seen Bai Jia this
4:34:06angry. Angry? Of course I'm angry. I
4:34:09want to break off our friendship." "Bai
4:34:10Jie, halt. All right, I was teasing you.
4:34:13How could you take it seriously?" Yilan
4:34:15leaned in close against her fragrant
4:34:17shoulder, her tone no longer stern.
4:34:19"Mhm, I really don't know what goes on
4:34:21in that head of yours, making a joke
4:34:23like that." Bai Jie pouted, her tears
4:34:25nearly spilling. Yet inwardly, she
4:34:28heaved an enormous sigh of relief.
4:34:30"Rotten Lan Lan, wicked Lan Lan, so you
4:34:32really were testing me. Luckily, I was
4:34:34clever enough not to fall for your trap,
4:34:36but I truly am so sorry to you. I only
4:34:39lied because I was backed into a corner,
4:34:41not wanting to lose you. Xiao Feng's
4:34:43grown so big now, and the two of you
4:34:45were holding each other so tight just
4:34:46now. If it were me, I wouldn't have such
4:34:49intimate contact with a man I don't
4:34:50like." Yilan said, "But you know
4:34:52perfectly well that she really was
4:34:54scared half to death by the thunder.
4:34:56That's the only reason I burrowed into
4:34:58Xiao Feng's arms." Bai Jie rolled over
4:35:01to look up at her face and said word by
4:35:03word, "Anyway, you can rest easy. I
4:35:06won't fall for Xiao Feng, not ever." Yet
4:35:08as she said this, her heart gave a hard
4:35:11wrench. Did she really not like him?
4:35:13Ever since the madness of that night,
4:35:15every time she faced me, it was as if a
4:35:17little deer were bounding wildly in her
4:35:19heart. Every time she quieted down, my
4:35:22face would surface in her mind beyond
4:35:24her control. More than once, she'd even
4:35:26wanted to make that kind of mistake with
4:35:28me again. "I was wrong. From now on, I
4:35:30won't make jokes like that with you, all
4:35:31right?" Yilan felt somewhat guilty
4:35:33inside. One was the child she'd raised,
4:35:36the other her closest best friend. She
4:35:38shouldn't have thought of the two of
4:35:39them so shamefully. "If you want me to
4:35:41forgive you, you'll have to answer a few
4:35:43of my questions." Bai Jie put on an air
4:35:45of petulant pride. "Ask whatever you
4:35:47like." Yilan said without much thought.
4:35:50"Yun Qing isn't without orphanages of
4:35:51its own. Why did you go all the way to
4:35:53Feng Yan County, hundreds of kilometers
4:35:55away, to adopt a child back then?"
4:35:58Bai Jie hadn't forgotten her agreement
4:36:00with me and felt now was the perfect
4:36:02moment. Why do you suddenly ask this?
4:36:04Yilan knit her brows, her gaze
4:36:06flickering a moment. Oh, didn't you just
4:36:08say to ask whatever I like? Hurry and
4:36:11answer. By Jia pleaded coyly. No
4:36:13particular reason. I just happened to be
4:36:15passing through Fengyang County and on
4:36:17the spur of the moment adopted a child
4:36:19while I was at it. Yilan smiled, her
4:36:21expression a touch unnatural. Really?
4:36:24You just adopted Shao Feng at random
4:36:26with no idea at all of his origins. No
4:36:29idea. Back then he was dark and scrawny
4:36:31and I felt sorry for him so I chose him.
4:36:34Yilan shook her head. All right. By
4:36:36Jia's heart sank. Having failed to help
4:36:38me, she felt somewhat let down. On to
4:36:40the second question. There's more?
4:36:42Yilan's almond eyes went wide and she
4:36:45rather regretted having told By Jia to
4:36:47ask whatever she liked. By Jia leaned in
4:36:49closer. You're already in your 30s,
4:36:51don't intend to marry and don't look for
4:36:53a boyfriend. Are you really not
4:36:55interested in men? Oh, By Jia, you've
4:36:58learned to be naughty. Yilan stared
4:37:00blankly a moment then feigned anger. I
4:37:03really don't like men but I don't like
4:37:04women either. Asking me a question like
4:37:06that, watch how I deal with you. And she
4:37:09reached out to tickle her waist. Ack,
4:37:11Lanlan, I'm sorry. I was wrong. It
4:37:14tickles. I can't take it. Now you know
4:37:16you were wrong? Too late. Eavesdropping
4:37:18outside the door, my heart rode like a
4:37:20roller coaster swooping up and down.
4:37:23Only when I heard the two of them break
4:37:24into playful roughhousing did I quietly
4:37:27slip back to my own room. Phew, that was
4:37:29close. Almost got caught by Andy. I lay
4:37:32on the bed pillowing my head on my hands
4:37:34and stared at the ceiling. Still, if By
4:37:37Jia had just given an affirmative answer
4:37:39and been willing to be with me, I
4:37:40wouldn't have minded. Though we were
4:37:42more than a decade apart, what era was
4:37:44this? Older husband, younger wife. Older
4:37:47wife, younger husband. There were plenty
4:37:48of both. The two of us shared no blood
4:37:51ties and a woman like By Jia truly
4:37:53stirred my protective instincts so
4:37:55easily. And the main thing was that
4:37:57night everything that should and
4:37:58shouldn't have been done had been done.
4:38:01I rolled over, fished the yellowed old
4:38:03photo out from under my pillow, and
4:38:05gazed at that unfamiliar woman for a
4:38:07long while, finally sighing softly.
4:38:09Looks like Andy really doesn't know my
4:38:11origins. Lightly caressing that face in
4:38:13the photo with my fingertip, a bitter
4:38:15smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.
4:38:17Who on earth are you? Do you know that
4:38:19all these years I've kept fantasizing
4:38:21that you're my birth mother? But now it
4:38:23seems I was overthinking it. Meanwhile,
4:38:25in the old railway bureau staff housing,
4:38:27Zhao Yuching had finished her
4:38:28cultivation and turned off the light,
4:38:30about to sleep. Suddenly, her phone rang
4:38:33with an urgent ringtone, an unknown
4:38:35number. She hesitated a moment, then
4:38:37answered after all. To her surprise, the
4:38:39caller turned out to be Yang Wei's
4:38:41family. Sorry, I don't know where Yang
4:38:43Wei went. After he proposed to me that
4:38:45night, I never saw him again. But you
4:38:47could check a bar called Nightfall. He's
4:38:49a regular there. Not waiting for the
4:38:51other party to say more, Zhao Yuching
4:38:53decisively hung up. Yang Wei had gone
4:38:55missing, but in her view, that fellow
4:38:57had most likely gone off to some
4:38:58pleasure house to live it up. Woosh
4:39:00woosh woosh. A gust of fierce wind blew
4:39:03in through the window, flinging the
4:39:04half-open window wide, the curtains
4:39:07flapping and rustling. Zhao Yuching sat
4:39:09up and was about to go close the window,
4:39:11when out of the corner of her eye she
4:39:13suddenly caught sight of a figure that
4:39:15had appeared in the room at some unknown
4:39:17moment. By the build, it was
4:39:19unmistakably a woman, and Zhao Yuching
4:39:21seemed to recognize the person's
4:39:23identity at a glance. Delight surfaced
4:39:25on her face, and she hurriedly got off
4:39:27the bed, bent both knees, and knelt on
4:39:29the floor. This disciple greets master.
4:39:32The woman stepped forward and reached
4:39:34out to help Zhao Yuching up. The faint
4:39:36light from outside the window streamed
4:39:38in, falling on her stunning face. Around
4:39:4040 years of age, skin white as mutton
4:39:43fat jade, features so exquisite she
4:39:45hardly seemed real. To call her
4:39:47peerlessly beautiful would be no
4:39:49exaggeration. In a long black dress, her
4:39:52whole being gave off a cold that kept
4:39:53people at a thousand leagues. A cold
4:39:56that was cut from the very same mold as
4:39:58Zhao Yue Qing's. That's right. She was
4:40:00Zhao Yue Qing's master, surname Xiao,
4:40:02with the single given name Shu. Qing'er,
4:40:05you've broken through the first layer of
4:40:06Qi refinement. Xiao Shu looked at her
4:40:09beloved disciple with eyes full of
4:40:11doting, both astonished and delighted.
4:40:13The last time she'd come to Yun Qing,
4:40:15Zhao Yue Qing had still been stuck in
4:40:16place. For all her diligence and fine
4:40:19aptitude, she simply couldn't cross that
4:40:21threshold. Who'd have thought that in a
4:40:23mere three months, the girl would break
4:40:25through. Mm. Master, sit first and let
4:40:28me tell you slowly. Zhao Yue Qing nodded
4:40:30hard, drawing her to sit at the bed's
4:40:32edge, then hesitated, but still didn't
4:40:34turn on the light. Over four years as
4:40:36her disciple, her master had always come
4:40:39at night, saying she disliked too much
4:40:41brightness and had never let her turn on
4:40:43the light. She gathered her words before
4:40:45recounting it gently. Master, your
4:40:47disciple has cultivated for so long
4:40:49without progress. Once you said your
4:40:51disciple is a rare phoenix ice
4:40:53constitution, and that if I could find a
4:40:55dragon fire constitution to serve as a
4:40:57cauldron, my cultivation speed might
4:40:59advance a thousand leagues a day. Your
4:41:01disciple truly found a dragon fire
4:41:03constitution. I spent one night with him
4:41:05and broke through the first layer of Qi
4:41:07refinement. Xiao Shu was startled again.
4:41:10The dragon fire constitution is even
4:41:12rarer than the phoenix ice, and you
4:41:14actually ran into one. You girl, your
4:41:16luck is simply too good. Yes, I never
4:41:19expected to be so fortunate either. And
4:41:21what's more unexpected is that dragon
4:41:23fire constitution is my ex-boyfriend.
4:41:25Xiao Shu paused. Ex-boyfriend? So, the
4:41:28two of you have already broken up, yet
4:41:30you were still willing to be with him.
4:41:32As his master, she naturally knew that
4:41:34for a phoenix ice constitution to use a
4:41:36dragon fire constitution as a cauldron,
4:41:38there had to be the union of yin and
4:41:40yang. I was willing. Zhao Yue Qing
4:41:42lowered her head, her cheeks flushing,
4:41:45the very picture of bashfulness. Even
4:41:47though we broke up, I still love him.
4:41:49Even if he weren't a dragon fire
4:41:51constitution, I'd still be willing to
4:41:53give my body to him. Were it not for
4:41:55avenging the Zhao family, how could she
4:41:57have broken up with Li Feng and turned
4:41:59around to become Yang Wei's girlfriend?
4:42:01No, now it had been upgraded to fiance.
4:42:04Just thinking about it made her sick.
4:42:06Your master understands. It was for
4:42:07revenge that you were forced to break up
4:42:09with him. Xiao Shu sighed, her eyes full
4:42:12of tenderness and pain. She'd long known
4:42:14what kind of blood deep, sea deep hatred
4:42:16this beloved disciple of hers carried.
4:42:18Then she earnestly urged, "Qing'er,
4:42:21although you've broken through the first
4:42:22layer of Qi refinement, you're still far
4:42:25from able to shake your enemies. You
4:42:27must continue to hold your patience. But
4:42:29now that you found your cauldron, call
4:42:30him over often from now on for dual
4:42:32cultivation, and your realm will soon
4:42:34rise to a higher level. And if one day
4:42:37you're to make your move, remember you
4:42:39must notify your senior sister. She's
4:42:41also in Yunxiang, and her strength
4:42:43surpasses yours. With her aid, your odds
4:42:46of winning will be far greater." Zhao
4:42:48Yueqing was deeply moved, tears welling
4:42:50in her eyes. "Thank you, master. Your
4:42:52disciple understands." Xiao Shu took her
4:42:55hand, her eyes full of loving kindness,
4:42:57yet carrying a deep reluctance to part.
4:43:00"Qing'er, your master can't stay long. I
4:43:02still have to rush through the night to
4:43:04a place called Fengyang County."
4:43:06"Fengyang County?" Zhao Yueqing was
4:43:07taken aback. "What is master going there
4:43:10for in such a hurry?" "Have you
4:43:11forgotten? Your master has a son who's
4:43:13been lost for many years. Counting the
4:43:15age, he'd be about as old as you." Xiao
4:43:18Shu's tone turned sorrowful. "Huh? Could
4:43:20it be that master's son might be right
4:43:22in Fengyang County?" Zhao Yueqing held
4:43:24her breath. "It's not yet certain." Xiao
4:43:27Shu shook her head, her gaze turning
4:43:29toward the window, a film of mist
4:43:31veiling her eyes. "Yesterday your master
4:43:33received word that he may have stayed at
4:43:34an orphanage in Fengyang County. But by
4:43:37the orphanage's rules, once you turn 18,
4:43:39you have to leave and live
4:43:40independently. So even if the news is
4:43:42true, he isn't necessarily still in
4:43:45Fengyang County. Perhaps he left for
4:43:47elsewhere long ago. Still, as long as
4:43:49there's a sliver of hope, your master
4:43:51won't give up. Early the next morning,
4:43:53after breakfast, I hitched a ride in my
4:43:55aunt's car to the hospital for work. On
4:43:57the way, I reclined the passenger seat
4:43:59halfway and lay back, eyes half open,
4:44:02half closed, the very picture of
4:44:04listlessness. Yilan shot me an
4:44:06exasperated glance. "It's your first day
4:44:08of work today. Can you please not put on
4:44:10this pathetic act for me?" I yawned.
4:44:13"Auntie, going from student to beast of
4:44:15burden is just like plunging from heaven
4:44:17to hell. I really can't muster any
4:44:19enthusiasm." "You rotten boy, graduated
4:44:22and won't go to work. Do you want me to
4:44:24support you for the rest of your life?"
4:44:26Yilan was exasperated. "Not a chance." I
4:44:28sat up straight, grinning. "I'm no
4:44:30good-for-nothing. Down the road, I want
4:44:32to earn big money and take proper care
4:44:34of you, Auntie."
4:44:35"No, thanks. I've never counted on you
4:44:37taking care of me. As long as you work
4:44:39honestly and don't cause me trouble,
4:44:41I'll thank heaven and earth." Yilan said
4:44:43with disdain on her lips, yet inside she
4:44:46felt warm. This rotten boy still knew to
4:44:48be filial to her. She hadn't raised him
4:44:50all these years for nothing. Suddenly,
4:44:53as if remembering something, she turned
4:44:54her head to glance at me. "All right,
4:44:57there's a female nurse in your OB/GYN
4:44:59department named Gu Mingxi. She's
4:45:01gorgeous. To call her the belle of the
4:45:03whole hospital would be no exaggeration.
4:45:05However gorgeous she is, could she be
4:45:07more gorgeous than my aunt?" I couldn't
4:45:09rouse the slightest interest. "There you
4:45:11go with your glib tongue again." Yilan
4:45:13laughed and scolded. "I'm already a
4:45:15fading beauty past my prime. What have I
4:45:17got to compare with a girl barely into
4:45:19her 20s?"
4:45:20"Fine, fine, fine. Gu Mingxi is it. And
4:45:23I'm Simmons." I couldn't resist the pun.
4:45:25"Quit the cheeky grinning. This morning
4:45:27I already gave Gu Mingxi a heads-up on
4:45:29WeChat, asking her to show you the
4:45:31ropes, and she agreed. You'd better
4:45:33seize the chance. If you can win her
4:45:35over, Auntie will reward you with a
4:45:36car." Only now did Yilan get to the
4:45:38point. Although it had been her
4:45:40overthinking the night before, nothing
4:45:42had happened between me and Bai Jia. She
4:45:44still wanted to get me out of singlehood
4:45:46as soon as possible. And Gu Mingxi, an
4:45:48OBGYN, was the perfect candidate.
4:45:51"Auntie, I don't agree with that. Why
4:45:53does it have to be me chasing her? Why
4:45:55can't she chase me?" I smacked my lips.
4:45:57Barely graduated, and my aunt was
4:45:59already in a rush to set me up? What a
4:46:01textbook great xia style parent. Yilan's
4:46:03forehead creased with black lines, and
4:46:05she said through gritted teeth, "The
4:46:07guys chasing her could line up from
4:46:09OBGYN all the way to the Andrology
4:46:11Department, and you want her to chase
4:46:13you instead? Are you that handsome?" "So
4:46:15so, just third in the whole country."
4:46:18"You narcissist, I really can't stand
4:46:20you." Before long, Yilan drove the car
4:46:22into the underground parking lot. The
4:46:24two of us had just stepped into the
4:46:26elevator. From inside a black Hongqi
4:46:28sedan parked not far off, an excited
4:46:30voice rang out. "Grandpa, I I think I
4:46:33just saw saw that master who did my
4:46:35acupuncture last time."
4:46:37Seated in the back of the Hongqi were
4:46:38none other than Luo Qingha and her
4:46:40grandfather, Luo Tushan. Luo Tushan
4:46:43paused, not yet catching on, and asked
4:46:46reflexively, "Qingha, who did you see?"
4:46:49"That master who did my acupuncture last
4:46:51time. The one who can control needles
4:46:53with qi." Luo Qingha's eyes still
4:46:55sparkled with excitement. She'd come to
4:46:57the hospital today to visit an old
4:46:59friend of her grandfather's. But who'd
4:47:01have thought she'd run into that deeply
4:47:03hidden bone-deep low-key man here again.
4:47:05It seemed her intuition hadn't been
4:47:07wrong. Unbeknownst to them, she and he
4:47:09really did share some kind of fated
4:47:11bond. "What?" Luo Tushan was greatly
4:47:14startled, and immediately pushed open
4:47:16the door and got out. That anxious
4:47:18manner left not a trace of the
4:47:19steadiness of a man who wouldn't change
4:47:21his expression even if Mount Tai
4:47:23collapsed before him. Ever since
4:47:25learning that Yunxing actually had a
4:47:26master who could control needles with
4:47:28qi, he'd had no appetite for tea or
4:47:31food, even dreaming of the day he'd meet
4:47:33the man and express his admiration in
4:47:35person. Most of all, that master had,
4:47:38with a single acupuncture session,
4:47:40restored sensation to his
4:47:41granddaughter's right leg, even letting
4:47:43her move it slightly. Yet, Luo Tu Shan
4:47:46scanned every corner of the parking lot
4:47:48and saw not a single figure, and turned
4:47:50back to ask, "Qing He, could you have
4:47:52seen wrong?" "Grandpa, I saw it clear as
4:47:55day." Luo Qing He pointed toward the
4:47:57elevator, her tone certain. "But, he's
4:47:59already gone up in the elevator." "All
4:48:01right, grandpa believes you. As long as
4:48:03that master is still in the hospital,
4:48:05we'll surely find him. I'll contact
4:48:07Director Zhou right away." Luo Tu Shan
4:48:09struggled to calm himself. "Grandpa,
4:48:12don't." Luo Qing He shook her head.
4:48:14"He's so low-key, he surely wouldn't
4:48:16want us making a big fuss to find him.
4:48:17Let's do as I said before and let nature
4:48:20take its course." Luo Tu Shan thought it
4:48:22over. His granddaughter did have a
4:48:24point. The moment he contacted Zhou
4:48:26Wayman, the man would mobilize everyone
4:48:28to search, and in the end, the whole
4:48:30hospital would be in an uproar with
4:48:32everyone knowing, completely against a
4:48:33master's low-key style. It might well
4:48:36backfire. "Grandpa, let's set this aside
4:48:38for now and go up to visit the old
4:48:40secretary first." With the driver's
4:48:42help, Luo Qing He settled into her
4:48:44wheelchair. "All right, I'll do as you
4:48:46say." Luo Tu Shan personally pushed the
4:48:49wheelchair toward the elevator. That's
4:48:51right. The grandfather and granddaughter
4:48:52were here to visit none other than the
4:48:54old secretary, Qin Zhengrong, who'd been
4:48:57transferred back to Yuncheng from the
4:48:58capital the day before. Meanwhile, on
4:49:01the ICU floor where Qin Zhengrong was,
4:49:03Director Zhou Wayman, having learned
4:49:05from Qin Zhengrong's family that Luo Tu
4:49:07Shan was coming, had been waiting at the
4:49:09elevator entrance early to receive him
4:49:11respectfully. Besides him, there were Ye
4:49:13Lan and several authoritative
4:49:14respiratory medicine specialists.
4:49:16"Doctor Ye, I heard you went to see the
4:49:18divine physician Luo a few days ago. How
4:49:21did it go?" Zhou Wayman asked, turning
4:49:23his head. "Mm-mm, although the the
4:49:25physician Luo couldn't treat my friend's
4:49:27illness, he pointed us toward another
4:49:29path. Yilan's tone was full of
4:49:31gratitude. Were it not for the divine
4:49:33physician Luo, she and Bai Jia wouldn't
4:49:35even know to this day that they'd been
4:49:37fortunate enough to encounter a master
4:49:39who could control needles with chi. A
4:49:41pity she still hadn't tracked the man
4:49:42down. Oh, Zhou Weimin was intrigued and
4:49:45was about to ask more. Ding. The
4:49:47elevator door opened. Out stepped none
4:49:49other than Luo Tushan and Luo Qingha.
4:49:52Zhou Weimin included, every doctor and
4:49:54specialist the instant they saw Luo
4:49:56Tushan was filled with solemn respect.
4:49:59Though one practiced traditional Chinese
4:50:00medicine and the other's Western
4:50:02medicine, in their hearts Luo Tushan was
4:50:04an existence on par with a god. Divine
4:50:07physician Luo. Zhou Weimin was the first
4:50:09to step forward. Director Zhou, I've
4:50:11only come to visit the old secretary.
4:50:13There's no need for such a grand
4:50:15reception. Luo Tushan gave a slight nod,
4:50:18his tone mild, without reproach. It's
4:50:20only proper. Zhou Weimin smiled and
4:50:22bowed slightly. Haha. This is my
4:50:25granddaughter, Luo Qingha. Luo Qingha
4:50:27lowered her head slightly in a bow from
4:50:29the wheelchair, her voice gentle.
4:50:31Director Zhou, esteemed specialists, my
4:50:34legs are impaired and I can't rise.
4:50:36Please forgive me. Actually, no
4:50:38introduction was needed. Everyone had
4:50:40long heard of it. The Luo family had
4:50:42produced a gifted lady who, barely into
4:50:44her 20s, had already joined the Chinese
4:50:46Academy of Sciences, only sadly
4:50:49afflicted since birth with polio. Divine
4:50:51physician Luo, let me take over. Zhou
4:50:53Weimin was about to step forward and
4:50:55take the wheelchair. Director Zhou, let
4:50:57me do it. Yilan stepped forward and
4:50:59grasped the handles first. Luo Tushan
4:51:01recognized Yilan at a glance and smiled
4:51:04kindly. Miss Ye, have you found that
4:51:06master yet? What he was asking about, of
4:51:08course, was the master who could control
4:51:10needles with chi. As for whether it was
4:51:12the same one he'd mentioned to his
4:51:14granddaughter, he couldn't be certain.
4:51:16If it was the same, well and good. But
4:51:18if not, for little Yunxing to produce
4:51:20two masters who could control needles
4:51:22with chi one after another would be too
4:51:24astonishing. Not yet. Yilan shook her
4:51:27head with a trace of helplessness. If I
4:51:29find him, I'll contact you the very
4:51:31first moment, Divine Physician Luo. But
4:51:34no one noticed that at this moment Luo
4:51:36Qingha in her wheelchair was gazing
4:51:38fixedly at Yilan, her eyes full of
4:51:40ill-concealed excitement and surprise.
4:51:43Just moments ago, in the parking lot,
4:51:45she'd seen not only that master but a
4:51:47beautiful woman accompanying him. Who
4:51:49else could it be but this Dr. Ye before
4:51:51her? "Grandpa, was the Ms. Ye who
4:51:53brought a friend to you for treatment
4:51:55last time this very Dr. Ye?" Luo Qingha
4:51:57asked probingly. "Yes, it's this very
4:52:00Dr. Ye." Luo Tushan nodded. "Dr. Ye is
4:52:03so beautiful." Luo Qingha kept her
4:52:05composure on the surface, but a string
4:52:07of deductions had already formed in her
4:52:09mind. Last time, when Dr. Ye brought a
4:52:11friend to Grandpa for treatment, Grandpa
4:52:14had unexpectedly discovered traces left
4:52:16behind by chi-controlled needles in the
4:52:18friend's body. And she, on that very
4:52:20same day, had encountered a master who
4:52:22could control needles with chi. And just
4:52:24now she'd seen with her own eyes this
4:52:26Dr. Ye walking alongside that master.
4:52:29Clearly, they knew each other. Was there
4:52:30a possibility that the master who'd done
4:52:32the acupuncture on Dr. Ye's friend and
4:52:35the master who'd done hers were, in
4:52:37fact, one in the same? Only Luo Qingha
4:52:40couldn't figure out why when the master
4:52:42was clearly right by her side. Dr. Ye
4:52:44said she still hadn't found him. Did she
4:52:46truly not know? Or was she only
4:52:48pretending not to? Soon, Luo Tushan put
4:52:51on an isolation gown and, accompanied by
4:52:53Zhou Wayman, entered the ICU to visit
4:52:55the old secretary. Yilan stayed with Luo
4:52:58Qingha to wait in the corridor. "Dr. Ye,
4:53:01I saw you in the parking lot just now,
4:53:03and I saw a real hunk by your side." Luo
4:53:06Qingha hesitated a moment, then finally
4:53:08broke the silence with a smile. "A real
4:53:10hunk?" Yilan's mouth twitched violently
4:53:13a few times. The only one who'd appeared
4:53:15with her in the parking lot just now was
4:53:17Li Feng. But that rotten boy, what kind
4:53:19of real hunk was he? Surely the parking
4:53:21lot's poor lighting had kept Luo Qingha
4:53:23from seeing clearly, giving rise to a
4:53:25misunderstanding. Miss Luo, that boy you
4:53:28mean is named Li Feng. He's my nephew,
4:53:30currently working as a nurse at this
4:53:32hospital. A nurse? Another ripple
4:53:34stirred in Luo Qingha's heart. Who would
4:53:37dare believe that a master who could
4:53:38control needles with qi, one even her
4:53:41grandfather bowed to in reverence, would
4:53:43be so low-key as to work as a nurse?
4:53:45Yes. Yilon nodded. But with that cheeky,
4:53:49no-good look he wears all day, he hardly
4:53:51counts as any real hunk. She thought
4:53:53that putting it so plainly would clear
4:53:55up the misunderstanding. To her
4:53:56surprise, Luo Qingha shook her head
4:53:59resolutely. Beauty is in the eye of the
4:54:01beholder. I think he fully qualifies as
4:54:03a real hunk. Miss Luo, you Yilon didn't
4:54:06know whether to laugh or cry. The girl
4:54:08in the wheelchair before her was not
4:54:10only the divine physician Luo's
4:54:11granddaughter, but a gifted lady counted
4:54:13among the best in all of Yuncheng, who
4:54:16joined the Chinese Academy of Sciences
4:54:17barely into her 20s. Even Yilon felt
4:54:20herself inferior. And yet such an
4:54:22outstanding girl, bad eyesight aside,
4:54:24had taste so very peculiar. A real hunk.
4:54:27If that rotten boy, Li Feng, was a real
4:54:29hunk, then there'd be no ugly men left
4:54:32under heaven. Doctor Yi, if it's
4:54:34convenient, could you introduce me to Li
4:54:35Feng? Luo Qingha's little face flushed,
4:54:38her voice carrying a maiden's
4:54:40bashfulness. This was the first time in
4:54:42her life she'd taken the initiative to
4:54:44want to meet a member of the opposite
4:54:45sex. Convenient? Of course it's
4:54:48convenient. With that sorry character of
4:54:50his, being able to meet you, Miss Luo,
4:54:53would be his honor. But he never does
4:54:55anything proper all day and talks a load
4:54:57of nonsense. Please don't take offense
4:54:59when the time comes. Yilon really
4:55:00couldn't think of a reason to politely
4:55:02decline, so she could only put the ugly
4:55:04words up front.
4:55:06In your eyes, Doctor Yi, is he really
4:55:08that lousy? Luo Qingha covered her mouth
4:55:11and laughed, already having a clear
4:55:13answer in her heart. In her view, Yilan
4:55:15simply had no idea that Li Feng was
4:55:17deeply hidden and able to control
4:55:19needles with qi. So, coming from Yilan's
4:55:22mouth, Li Feng was almost nothing but
4:55:24floss. Could this count as playing the
4:55:26pig to prey on the tiger, like in the
4:55:28novels? Fascinating, utterly
4:55:30fascinating. I raised him from
4:55:32childhood, no one knows him better than
4:55:34I do. I'd still advise you to think
4:55:36twice, Miss Luo, lest meeting him ruin
4:55:38your mood. Yilan couldn't resist urging
4:55:40once more. Rest assured, Dr. Yi, if I
4:55:43can meet him, I'll only be happy, never
4:55:46regretful. Luo Qinghe's face was full of
4:55:48resolve. Yilan was utterly bewildered,
4:55:51beginning to doubt whether something was
4:55:53wrong with her own taste. Could it be
4:55:54that the rotten boy she'd always looked
4:55:56down on really counted as a real hunk in
4:55:59others' eyes? Just how handsome would he
4:56:01have to be to make even a gifted lady
4:56:03like Luo Qinghe swoon helplessly? A
4:56:05moment later, Luo Tushan and Joe Wayman
4:56:07walked out of the ICU, one behind the
4:56:10other. For some reason, Joe Wayman
4:56:12looked exceedingly agitated and tore off
4:56:14his mask to ask eagerly, "Divine
4:56:16Physician Luo, you said just now that
4:56:18there's still hope for the old
4:56:19secretary's illness?" Luo Tushan took
4:56:22off his mask and pondered a moment.
4:56:24"Based on my diagnosis just now, there's
4:56:27still room to turn the old secretary's
4:56:28condition around. It's only that my
4:56:30medical skill is wanting and I'm
4:56:32powerless." The light in Joe Wayman's
4:56:34eyes immediately dimmed and he smiled
4:56:36bitterly. "If even the Divine Physician
4:56:39Luo is powerless, I truly can't imagine
4:56:41whose medical skill could surpass
4:56:43yours." "Director Joe, you mustn't say
4:56:45that. There are people beyond people,
4:56:48heavens beyond heavens." Luo Tushan
4:56:50paused. "A few days ago, first Dr. Ye's
4:56:53friend encountered a master and then my
4:56:55granddaughter was also fortunate enough
4:56:57to meet one. Whether the two are the
4:56:58same person, I can't be sure, but they
4:57:01can control needles with qi. In terms of
4:57:03medical skill, even I fall far behind.
4:57:05If we could get one of them to step in,
4:57:07perhaps a miracle cure could save the
4:57:09old secretary. Joe Wayman listened,
4:57:11stunned. Like Yilan, though he practiced
4:57:14Western medicine, he'd also studied
4:57:16traditional Chinese medicine and vaguely
4:57:18recalled reading records about
4:57:19controlling needles with qi in ancient
4:57:21texts. Just how miraculous was it? In
4:57:24his decades of medicine, he never once
4:57:26encountered it in reality. He turned to
4:57:28look at Yilan, then at Luo Qingha.
4:57:31Though this sounded detached from
4:57:32reality, he couldn't question the divine
4:57:34physician Luo's authority. Divine
4:57:36physician Luo, then where can we find
4:57:38this master to ask for his help? That
4:57:40question truly stumps me. Take the
4:57:42master my Qingha met. Though young,
4:57:45barely into his 20s, he's extremely
4:57:47low-key. Even if we found where he was
4:57:49and rashly disturbed him, I'm afraid it
4:57:51would backfire. Luo Tuishan shook his
4:57:53head, his face full of difficulty. A
4:57:56human life hung in the balance, and Qin
4:57:58Jingrong was his old friend besides. Of
4:58:00course, he wished he could tell Joe
4:58:02Wayman that the master might be in this
4:58:04very hospital at this moment, and then
4:58:06mobilize all his resources to search.
4:58:08But thinking of his granddaughter's
4:58:09concerns, sigh. Short of absolute
4:58:11necessity, he could only hold his
4:58:13composure for now. Fortunately, Qin
4:58:15Jingrong's condition could hold out for
4:58:173 to 5 months without issue. Perhaps in
4:58:19that time, they could get acquainted
4:58:21with the master. Young, barely into his
4:58:2320s. Standing to the side, Yilan heard
4:58:26this and was immediately struck with
4:58:28astonishment. Unable to help recalling
4:58:30how that day Bai Jia had sworn up and
4:58:32down that there was no beggar at all,
4:58:34and that the so-called master was in
4:58:36fact No, impossible. With a personality
4:58:38like that rotten boy Li Feng's, if he
4:58:40had this ability, he'd have gone through
4:58:42the roof. How could he have kept it
4:58:44hidden until now? Yilan decisively
4:58:46rejected that utterly absurd conjecture.
4:58:49The one who did my friend's acupuncture
4:58:50was an elderly beggar. Clearly not the
4:58:53same person as the master Miss Luo met.
4:58:55A beggar. Luo Tuishan's face was full of
4:58:58surprise. He'd thought the master his
4:59:00granddaughter met was low-key enough. He
4:59:02hadn't expected there was one even more
4:59:04so. But the key point was that for
4:59:06little Yunxing to produce two masters
4:59:08who could control needles with qi at the
4:59:09same time, that was the most astonishing
4:59:11of all. "M, my friend met him in a park,
4:59:14and I've searched for several days
4:59:15running without finding him." Yulan said
4:59:18helplessly. Zhou Wen inside. "Sigh, one
4:59:21so low-key he can't be rashly disturbed.
4:59:23One who appears and vanishes like a
4:59:25divine dragon. Must the old secretary's
4:59:28illness be left to the will of heaven?"
4:59:30Everyone's expression was grave. Only
4:59:32Luo Qingha, as if she had a god's eye
4:59:34view, had long seen through it all, yet
4:59:37couldn't speak it plainly. She lifted
4:59:39her little face and once more said in an
4:59:41eager tone, "Doctor Ye, whatever you do,
4:59:44don't forget to introduce Li Feng to me,
4:59:47please." In the corridor outside the
4:59:49OB/GYN ward, I followed behind a young,
4:59:52pretty female nurse, already cursing up
4:59:54a storm inside. That's right. This
4:59:56female nurse was Gu Mengxi, whom my aunt
4:59:58had mentioned that morning. She did have
5:00:00a bit of looks, an oval face, big eyes,
5:00:03a figure curved front and back, but in
5:00:05my eyes, she was still 100,000 leagues
5:00:08from my aunt. Most of all, from morning
5:00:10until now, she'd worn a sour face the
5:00:12whole time, as if someone owed her
5:00:14money, and toward me, she couldn't be
5:00:16bothered to give me the time of day. I
5:00:18had no idea what she was being so
5:00:19haughty about. Whoosh whoosh whoosh. As
5:00:21we passed a window, a draft blew
5:00:23through, and I instinctively covered my
5:00:25nose, because I caught a strange odor,
5:00:28sour with a trace of fishiness,
5:00:30undetectable unless you smelled
5:00:32carefully. But I was now a second-layer
5:00:34qi refinement cultivator. My five senses
5:00:36keener than an ordinary person's by who
5:00:38knew how many times, and the smell shot
5:00:40straight to the crown of my head. And I
5:00:42quickly concluded, this strange odor
5:00:44seemed to be emanating from Gu Mengxi.
5:00:46Damn, this woman seemed to have a severe
5:00:49gynecological condition. "Li Feng, what
5:00:51are you covering your nose for?" Gu
5:00:53Mengxi stopped and turned around,
5:00:55looking at me with displeasure on her
5:00:57face as she spoke. She instinctively
5:00:59pressed her legs together as if
5:01:01reflexively concealing something. My
5:01:03rhinitis has been acting up lately.
5:01:05Feeling a bit uncomfortable, I pinched
5:01:07my nose red and played dumb with a
5:01:09made-up excuse. I didn't like Gooming
5:01:11See, but I wasn't about to expose
5:01:13someone's private matters to their face.
5:01:15A woman barely 26, not yet married or a
5:01:18mother, already afflicted with a severe
5:01:20gynecological condition. If it got out,
5:01:22how could she keep working here? Oh, I
5:01:25thought you couldn't stand the smell in
5:01:26the ward. Gooming See secretly breathed
5:01:28a sigh of relief and continued walking.
5:01:31Only, her steps were noticeably ill at
5:01:33ease. She considered herself a woman who
5:01:35kept herself chaste and self-respecting.
5:01:38From college until now, she'd only dated
5:01:40five or six boyfriends. Yet for some
5:01:42reason, she'd come down with this
5:01:44illness starting last year. At first,
5:01:46she hadn't taken it seriously, buying
5:01:48medicine to treat it herself based on
5:01:50what she'd found online, never expecting
5:01:52it to worsen the more she treated it. So
5:01:54that now, with the slightest
5:01:55carelessness, an unpleasant odor would
5:01:58waft from her body. She planned to go to
5:02:00the provincial hospital for proper
5:02:01treatment on her next leave. After all,
5:02:04working here, she didn't want the
5:02:05illness to become common knowledge.
5:02:07Ding-dong. The call bell rang. Gooming
5:02:09See stopped and looked back, immediately
5:02:12knitting her brows. Bed 46 again, so
5:02:15irritating. What's wrong with bed 46? I
5:02:17was baffled. That baby, who knows what's
5:02:20wrong with him. He cries every time he's
5:02:22breastfed, and from morning to night
5:02:24their family calls for a nurse more than
5:02:26anyone else. The more she spoke, the
5:02:28more impatient she grew, and she shot me
5:02:30an exasperated glance. You go check
5:02:33first. I'm going to the restroom. Not
5:02:35waiting for my reaction, she hurried off
5:02:37toward the restroom. She'd have to spray
5:02:39on more perfume, lest someone really
5:02:41catch that sour, fishy smell. I could
5:02:43only steel myself and walk alone into
5:02:45the bed 46 ward. Facing a patient
5:02:48independently for the first time, and a
5:02:50difficult one at that. To say I wasn't
5:02:52nervous would be a lie. The moment I
5:02:54walked in, I saw the infant cradled in
5:02:56his mother's arms. Freshly breastfed, he
5:02:59was wailing loudly. His little face
5:03:01flushed crimson from holding it in, his
5:03:03throat already hoarse. Both parents were
5:03:05there, in their 30s. The woman was
5:03:08absurdly fat. Her round face squeezing
5:03:10her features out of shape, probably
5:03:12around 170 or 180 jin. The man was thin
5:03:16as a bamboo pole, as if a gust of wind
5:03:19could knock him over. Two extremes.
5:03:21Seeing a male nurse walk in, the woman
5:03:23immediately complained. Why did a male
5:03:25nurse come? My son's crying again. You
5:03:27tell me what to do. This doesn't seem to
5:03:29be our responsibility. I stepped
5:03:31forward. Seeing the child cry like that,
5:03:34I felt sorry for him, too. If it's not
5:03:36your responsibility, whose is it? The
5:03:38woman raised her voice in a posture
5:03:40ready to pick a fight. It's been four or
5:03:42five days. My son cries every time he
5:03:44nurses, and you still can't find the
5:03:46cause. What good are you? Well, is it
5:03:49possible the cause is you? I knit my
5:03:51brows and secretly activated the inside
5:03:53pupil. My gaze pierced through the
5:03:55infant's tender belly. A mass of
5:03:57stagnant gas in his stomach and
5:03:58intestines constantly irritating the
5:04:01digestive tract. There was a problem
5:04:03with the breast milk. I'm in tip-top
5:04:04shape. I eat everything with relish. How
5:04:07could it be my fault? Don't talk
5:04:08nonsense. The woman was full of
5:04:10righteous indignation. I couldn't be
5:04:12bothered to argue with her and turned to
5:04:14look at the bamboo pole man. Brother, a
5:04:16newborn's digestive tract is very
5:04:18fragile. During breastfeeding, you must
5:04:21eat bland food. And spicy is the biggest
5:04:23taboo. If the mother really can't
5:04:25control her mouth, then let the child
5:04:27suffer a little and drink formula
5:04:29instead. I hadn't spelled it out, but
5:04:31even a fool could catch the meaning. The
5:04:33man's eyes went wide, and he turned to
5:04:35interrogate. Zhang Meilian, have you
5:04:37been eating junk? Husband, don't listen
5:04:39to his nonsense. I haven't been eating
5:04:41junk. The woman's face was full of
5:04:44grievance, but her confidence had
5:04:45faltered. I don't believe it. The man
5:04:48grabbed his phone and opened the food
5:04:49delivery app, immediately flying into a
5:04:52rage. Oh, really? Jiang Mianlian,
5:04:54secretly ordering takeout behind my back
5:04:57every day is one thing, but hot and sour
5:04:59noodle soup, deep-fried skewers, even
5:05:01marked extra spicy. With the evidence
5:05:03before her eyes, the woman could hardly
5:05:06argue further. That food was so bland, I
5:05:08just had no appetite. Screw you. The man
5:05:11slammed his phone hard onto the floor.
5:05:13You just gave birth. You know perfectly
5:05:15well you have to breastfeed, and you
5:05:17still eat this spicy stuff. The spice
5:05:19all goes through the breast milk into
5:05:21the child's belly. No wonder he cries
5:05:23every time he nurses. Turns out the
5:05:24problem is you. I'm sorry, husband. I'll
5:05:27change, okay? I won't eat it ever again.
5:05:30Tears streamed down the woman's face in
5:05:32an instant. If there's a next time, see
5:05:34if I don't beat you. The man held back
5:05:36in the end and didn't actually raise his
5:05:38hand, then looked at me with worry.
5:05:40Nurse, should we take the child for an
5:05:42x-ray, just in case? No need. I've
5:05:44already examined the child. It's not a
5:05:46big problem. Just mind the diet from now
5:05:48on. I waved my hand. Those CT scanners
5:05:51at the hospital were far inferior to my
5:05:53insight pupil. Though the infant's
5:05:54digestive tract was fragile, no serious
5:05:57harm had been done. No excessive
5:05:59treatment was needed. Nurse, thank you.
5:06:01The man heaved a long sigh of relief,
5:06:04then shot the woman another vicious
5:06:05glare. Thank you for the reminder. The
5:06:08woman grumbled reluctantly. I nodded,
5:06:10turned, and walked out. The moment I
5:06:12shut the door, I saw Gu Mingxi standing
5:06:15in the doorway at some unknown point,
5:06:17looking at me with an expression of
5:06:18disbelief. The couple at bed 46 were
5:06:21old-time Yuncheng natives, famously
5:06:23difficult, forever blaming the child's
5:06:25crying on the hospital at the drop of a
5:06:27hat, overwhelming even the most seasoned
5:06:29nurses. She'd never imagined that I, a
5:06:32newcomer, would settle it in a few
5:06:33sentences, with the couple even thanking
5:06:36me. It seemed this fellow had quite a
5:06:37talent for nursing. But still, that was
5:06:40all. A nurse was a nurse, who'd never
5:06:42amount to anything in this life. In the
5:06:44blink of an eye it was noon. Gu Mengxi
5:06:46thought of the things Yulan had said on
5:06:48WeChat, and the more she thought, the
5:06:50more annoyed she grew. After hesitating,
5:06:52she called me over, still with that
5:06:54haughty air.
5:06:55Lifeng, there's a Japanese restaurant
5:06:57across from the hospital. Let's go eat
5:06:59there at noon. There are some things I
5:07:00need to make clear to you, to save
5:07:02trouble down the road. Sure. I nodded
5:07:05readily, having more or less guessed
5:07:06what she wanted to say. My aunt was
5:07:08blunt by nature. Since she meant to play
5:07:10matchmaker, she must have let slip a
5:07:12hint during their morning chat. Nine
5:07:14times out of 10 Gu Mengxi had realized
5:07:16it, and looked down on me from the
5:07:18bottom of her heart, which was why she'd
5:07:19worn a sour face from morning until now.
5:07:22Little did she know, I didn't feel a
5:07:24spark for her either. Getting it all out
5:07:25in the open was fine. It would spare us
5:07:27awkwardness later. Before long, the two
5:07:30of us walked to that Japanese restaurant
5:07:32across from the hospital. Just as I was
5:07:34about to push the door, a white Aston
5:07:36Martin pulled up at the entrance. The
5:07:37car door opened, and out stepped a young
5:07:39woman. Big wavy curls draped over her
5:07:42shoulders, an oval face set with
5:07:44sunglasses. Just from the line of her
5:07:46chin and the bridge of her nose you
5:07:48could tell she was a born beauty. Nearly
5:07:501.7 m tall, in stiletto heels, a brand
5:07:53name red dress, like a top model who
5:07:55just stepped off the runway. Passersby
5:07:58turned their heads one after another.
5:08:00Honestly, I couldn't help sneaking a few
5:08:01extra glances myself. If a perfect score
5:08:04was 10, Gu Mengxi was three at most, and
5:08:06this beauty at least a seven. Though, of
5:08:09course, my aunt was a 10. Qing He, is
5:08:11this the Japanese restaurant you
5:08:13mentioned? The beauty, named Sheen Xian,
5:08:16held up her phone and aimed the camera
5:08:17at the sign. Just yesterday, her gravely
5:08:20ill grandfather had been transferred
5:08:22back to Yuncheng from the capital, and
5:08:24she'd come back along with him. She'd
5:08:25come to keep her grandfather company
5:08:27today. The caretaker hadn't started work
5:08:29yet, and there was no food at home, so
5:08:31her friend had recommended this
5:08:33restaurant to her. Conveniently, it was
5:08:35right across from the hospital. The one
5:08:37on the video call with her was none
5:08:38other than Luo Qingha. On screen, Luo
5:08:41Qingha nodded. "Mm-mm, this one. I've
5:08:43got a membership card with over a
5:08:44thousand still on it. Use it freely."
5:08:47"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Qin
5:08:49Xian made to step inside. "After not
5:08:51seeing you for so long, hurry and eat,
5:08:54and come to the hospital right after."
5:08:56Luo Qingha's voice suddenly cut off,
5:08:58pausing for several seconds before she
5:09:00spoke again, full of surprise. "My god,
5:09:03it's him." "Who?" Qin Xian stopped. The
5:09:05two had grown up together since
5:09:06childhood, and she'd never seen Luo
5:09:08Qingha this agitated. Especially since
5:09:11Luo Qingha joined the Chinese Academy of
5:09:13Sciences, she'd grown even more
5:09:15unflappable in the face of things. What
5:09:17incredible figure could she have seen?
5:09:19"Qin Xian, see that man and woman in
5:09:21front of you? That man is the one I told
5:09:23you about a few days ago, the master who
5:09:25can control needles with qi." Luo
5:09:27Qingha's voice trembled. She was certain
5:09:29the back she saw on screen was Li
5:09:31Feng's. "What?" Qin Xian was startled,
5:09:34too. Luo Qingha had indeed mentioned
5:09:36this a few days ago. Though she didn't
5:09:38understand what controlling needles with
5:09:40qi meant, the man had, with a single
5:09:42acupuncture session, restored a little
5:09:44sensation to Luo Qingha's right leg,
5:09:47something even the renowned divine
5:09:49physician, Grandpa Luo, couldn't do. But
5:09:51when she followed Luo Qingha's cue and
5:09:53looked toward that man and woman, an
5:09:55indescribable sense of let down welled
5:09:57up. "Qingha, that man looks utterly
5:10:00ordinary. Toss him into a crowd and he'd
5:10:02be hard to notice. Are you sure you
5:10:04didn't mistake him?" It wasn't that she
5:10:06looked down on people. It was just that
5:10:08Luo Qingha had made him sound so
5:10:10miraculous that she'd long imagined him
5:10:12as a figure even she couldn't aspire to.
5:10:14Yet that man before her, well, he was
5:10:17just a man. "It's him. There's nothing
5:10:19for it. He's just that low-key." Luo
5:10:21Qingha paused. "If I told you his
5:10:23identity, you'd find it even more
5:10:25unbelievable." "What identity?" "His
5:10:27name is Li Feng, an intern nurse in the
5:10:30OBGYN department of Yuncheng Number One
5:10:32People's Hospital. Luo Qingha had turned
5:10:34her volume down in advance. OBGYN and
5:10:37intern nurse. Qin Xian strained to
5:10:40restrain herself. Were they not on the
5:10:41street, she'd have shrieked out loud
5:10:43long ago. A master, even Grandpa Luo
5:10:46fell far behind. Working as an intern
5:10:48nurse in OBGYN, no matter how low-key,
5:10:51surely it wouldn't come to this. That's
5:10:52just how it is. Luo Qingha's tone
5:10:55carried a trace of bewilderment, too,
5:10:57then turned earnest. Qin Xian, I know
5:10:59you want to meet him and ask him to
5:11:01treat Grandpa Qin's illness. But he's so
5:11:03low-key. We have to take it slowly and
5:11:05can't rush. Do you understand what I
5:11:07mean? Qingha, you're practically the
5:11:09tapeworm in my belly. Qin Xian covered
5:11:12her mouth and laughed. That's right.
5:11:14Though she hadn't yet fully believed it
5:11:15in her heart, the first thing she
5:11:17thought of was still asking the man to
5:11:19treat her gravely ill grandfather. Even
5:11:21the most authoritative specialists in
5:11:23the capital were at their wits' end. She
5:11:25was truly at a dead end. Did you
5:11:27actually take in what I said? Luo Qingha
5:11:29still wasn't reassured. I can ignore
5:11:32anyone else's words, but when have I
5:11:33ever ignored yours? This concerns
5:11:36whether my grandfather can live and
5:11:37whether you'll be able to stand up one
5:11:39day. I'll never botch it. Qin Xian
5:11:41nodded emphatically. Mm-mm, that's good.
5:11:44You still need to eat. Go on. Luo Qingha
5:11:46breathed a sigh of relief. As for me, I
5:11:49was completely in the dark about all
5:11:50this. Walking into the Japanese
5:11:52restaurant, Gu Mingxi and I sat down at
5:11:54a seat by the window. She seemed to come
5:11:57often, ordering with familiar ease, then
5:11:59turned her face toward the window,
5:12:01unwilling to spare me even an extra
5:12:03glance, and cut straight to the chase.
5:12:05Li Feng, I want to talk to you about my
5:12:07criteria for a partner. I'm all ears. I
5:12:10picked up my teacup and took a slow,
5:12:12leisurely sip. She turned her head, yet
5:12:14still didn't look at me, her tone
5:12:16arrogant. Someone like me, though my
5:12:18family conditions are average and I have
5:12:20two unmarried younger brothers, I'm
5:12:22fairly pretty myself and a staff nurse
5:12:24at a Grade A hospital. So my standards
5:12:26for a partner are a bit high. One, the
5:12:28other person's parents must have urban
5:12:30household registration and a pension.
5:12:32Two, the other person must have at least
5:12:34a bachelor's degree, a decent job, and a
5:12:37salary three to five times mine. Three,
5:12:40the other person must own, fully paid
5:12:42off, a large single-floor flat within
5:12:44the second ring, no less than 200 square
5:12:47meters. The car can be lower end, around
5:12:49500,000 will do. Four, the bride price
5:12:52must be no less than 880,000,
5:12:55entirely at my personal disposal, not to
5:12:57be used for post-marriage expenses.
5:13:00Five, after marriage, I won't live with
5:13:02his parents. I won't do housework or
5:13:04cook, and will have to hire a caretaker.
5:13:06Six, the other person's parents can't
5:13:08interfere in our lives. On holidays,
5:13:11each goes to their own home, and I'm not
5:13:12to be required to spend New Year at the
5:13:14man's family. Seven, the other person
5:13:17must hand over 2/3 of his salary to me.
5:13:20My family's conditions are average, and
5:13:22I have two unmarried younger brothers I
5:13:23occasionally need to subsidize, and he
5:13:25can't have any objection. Eight, I lean
5:13:28toward being career-focused. I won't
5:13:30have children within 5 years of
5:13:31marriage, and even if I do later, only
5:13:34one. Nine, I travel abroad at least
5:13:36twice a year, and the other person must
5:13:38accompany me and bear all the costs. 10,
5:13:41Gong Mingze laid out all her partner
5:13:43criteria in one breath before finally
5:13:45deigning to look me in the eye. She felt
5:13:47her demands weren't the least bit
5:13:49excessive. In fact, they were even lower
5:13:51than when she'd first graduated. She was
5:13:53very much looking forward to the
5:13:55crushed, back-awful and look I'd wear
5:13:56after hearing them. An intern male nurse
5:13:59was 100,000 leagues from her standards.
5:14:01Yet, I calmly asked, "Are you done?" "I
5:14:03only told you the most important ones to
5:14:05save time." Not seeing what she'd hoped
5:14:07to, she felt a bit deflated and turned
5:14:09her head back toward the window. Why was
5:14:11it like punching cotton? No, this fellow
5:14:14was definitely putting on an act.
5:14:16Inwardly, he must already be crushed to
5:14:18pieces. To be able to put on such a
5:14:19flawless act was a kind of skill, too.
5:14:22She just wondered whether he'd go find
5:14:23some empty corner and cry in secret
5:14:25later. I think with your conditions,
5:14:27your demands are actually a bit low. I
5:14:29gave a mocking laugh, naturally, saying
5:14:32the opposite of what I meant. A staff
5:14:34nurse at a grade A hospital with a
5:14:36stable job and a bit of looks was a
5:14:38decent choice in ordinary men's eyes.
5:14:40But she insisted on socializing outward,
5:14:42and those truly premium men wouldn't
5:14:44necessarily choose a woman who was
5:14:46high-maintenance, afflicted with a
5:14:47gynecological condition besides, and
5:14:50waiting on patients at a hospital. Low
5:14:52or not, I have my own standards. Gu
5:14:54Mengxi raised an eyebrow, her arrogance
5:14:56growing stronger, and took a sip of
5:14:58water. Li Feng, is Dr. Ye in the
5:15:01respiratory department your aunt? Mm,
5:15:03what about it? I nodded. Seeing how
5:15:05composed I was, neither groveling nor
5:15:07arrogant, really got under her skin.
5:15:09Working under the same roof, she hadn't
5:15:11wanted to speak too harshly, but now
5:15:13she'd changed her mind. This morning on
5:15:15WeChat, besides telling me to show you
5:15:17the ropes, Dr. Ye kept hinting that I
5:15:19should pay you extra attention. Putting
5:15:21it bluntly, she wanted to see whether
5:15:23there was any chance of us dating. Dr.
5:15:25Ye is so outstanding, so beautiful. The
5:15:27people chasing her range from
5:15:29middle-aged men in their 30s and 40s to
5:15:31a whole pack of young guys. I thought
5:15:33anyone she introduced would be
5:15:34impressive, too, until I met you. And
5:15:37that fantasy was utterly shattered. I've
5:15:39put it this plainly so you get my
5:15:40meaning, right? You're way below my
5:15:42standards. We don't suit each other.
5:15:44Things having been said that bluntly,
5:15:46what man wouldn't lose his cool after
5:15:48being torn apart by a pretty woman and
5:15:50reduced to nothing? However good this
5:15:52guy was at acting, he was bound to crack
5:15:54now. Yet I stayed unruffled and said
5:15:56offhandedly, "My aunt is the most
5:15:58textbook great Siya style parent. The
5:16:00moment her kid graduates, she's in a
5:16:02frenzy to set up a match. No shame in
5:16:05admitting it. Less than a month after I
5:16:07graduated, she'd already introduced me
5:16:09to a dozen odd girls. A supermarket
5:16:11cashier, someone from the neighborhood
5:16:13property management, even one whose
5:16:15parents sell pork at the wet market. All
5:16:17kinds. She's just casting a wide net. If
5:16:19it's caused you any trouble, don't mind
5:16:21it. Hearing this, Gu Mingxi nearly
5:16:23ground her teeth to stumps. She'd
5:16:25assumed she'd caught Ye Lan's eye
5:16:27because she was pretty enough. She'd
5:16:29never imagined the woman was casting a
5:16:31wide net. A supermarket cashier,
5:16:33property management, pork sellers. Were
5:16:35they even comparable to her? Li Fong
5:16:37hadn't said a single disparaging word,
5:16:39yet she felt as though she'd suffered an
5:16:41unprecedented humiliation. Infuriating.
5:16:44Utterly infuriating. Gu Mingxi had never
5:16:47been one to take abuse lying down, and
5:16:49she immediately shot back with barbs.
5:16:51"Doctor, you sure has a wide network.
5:16:53Could it be she has so little faith in
5:16:55you, thinking you can't find a partner
5:16:57on your own, that she's worn herself out
5:16:59over it? You mean to say that in my
5:17:01aunt's eyes I'm pretty worthless?"
5:17:03Knowing she was rattled, I started going
5:17:05on the offensive. "Just this little bit
5:17:06of depth? Seemed I'd given this opponent
5:17:09too much credit. I didn't say that. But
5:17:11still, delivery guys out there, even
5:17:13jobless punks with bleach hair can all
5:17:15find girlfriends. A male nurse does
5:17:17sound a bit freakish, but you're at
5:17:19least a tiny notch above them, so you'll
5:17:21surely find someone, too." Gu Mingxi
5:17:23tittered, fancying she'd clawed back a
5:17:25point. "Well, thank you for the
5:17:27flattery." I dug at my ear, not the
5:17:29least bit angry. "I never rank people
5:17:31into classes. Forget being a male nurse,
5:17:34even if I became a hospital director, I
5:17:36wouldn't think myself a hair nobler than
5:17:38a delivery guy or a jobless bleached
5:17:40hair punk."
5:17:41"Now you're thanking me." Gu Mingxi
5:17:43brought her water glass to her lips. "Li
5:17:45Fong, honestly, getting shot down the
5:17:47moment you walked in, it stings a little
5:17:49in there, doesn't it?" "Not really. By
5:17:51age, you're a few years my senior, so
5:17:54I'll treat you as an older sister. By
5:17:56work, I'll treat you as a senior.
5:17:58Anyway, now that it's all out in the
5:18:00open, I actually feel a bit relieved.
5:18:02After all, Sis Mingxi isn't my type." I
5:18:05was as placid as water. An unnamed flame
5:18:07shot up in Gu Mingxi's chest again. She
5:18:09nearly crushed the glass. She was this
5:18:12pretty, walking down the street. Eight
5:18:14out of 10 men turned to look, and this
5:18:16kid actually said she wasn't his type?
5:18:18Clearly all talk. She gave a derisive
5:18:20snort. Oh, men who aren't into my type
5:18:22are a rarity. You're the first. So, tell
5:18:25me, what kind of girl do you like? Maybe
5:18:27I know her and can introduce you. Uh, do
5:18:29I really have to say? I didn't know
5:18:31whether to laugh or cry, thinking, why
5:18:34won't this woman let it go? Little did
5:18:35the two of them know, this entire
5:18:37conversation had fallen word for word
5:18:40into the ears of Qin Xian in the next
5:18:42room. It was called a private room, but
5:18:44really it was separated only by a thin
5:18:46layer of washi paper. You couldn't help
5:18:48overhearing. No, Qin Xian also had the
5:18:51video call going, so Luo Qingha on the
5:18:53other end heard it all crystal clear,
5:18:55too. If they don't suit each other,
5:18:57fine, but why attack someone? That woman
5:18:59is truly blind and so sharp-tongued and
5:19:02mean. Luo Qingha's voice came through
5:19:04the phone, carrying rare anger. Qin Xian
5:19:07covered her gaping mouth and said in
5:19:08astonishment, my god, are you even Luo
5:19:11Qingha? The Luo Qingha I know never gets
5:19:14angry, let alone gets angry over a man.
5:19:17I'm angry because Li Feng restored
5:19:19sensation to my right leg. He's my
5:19:21benefactor. Realizing she'd lost her
5:19:23composure, Luo Qingha hastily explained.
5:19:26She'd always been calm and
5:19:28self-possessed, forever unflappable
5:19:30before others. Even she herself hadn't
5:19:32anticipated that split-second reaction.
5:19:34Right. Qin Xian nodded. With medical
5:19:37skills that impressive, he's not just
5:19:38your benefactor. He may well become a
5:19:40benefactor to the whole Qin family. So,
5:19:43Qingha, should I go out there and sort
5:19:45out that nasty woman for our benefactor?
5:19:47Had Luo Qingha not been watching, with
5:19:49her temper she'd have charged out and
5:19:51slapped that woman silly long ago.
5:19:53Outside the room, Gu Mengxi watched me
5:19:55with amusement, a mischievous smile at
5:19:57the corner of her lips. Just say what
5:19:59type of woman you like. It's nothing
5:20:01shameful. I don't find it shameful. It's
5:20:03just that if I say it, Sis Mingxi might
5:20:05not be able to handle it. I shrugged.
5:20:08Pfft. She laughed so hard she swayed
5:20:10like a flower in the wind. Thinking what
5:20:12was there she couldn't handle. If this
5:20:14kid had an ounce of self-awareness, his
5:20:16partner's standards should fall below
5:20:18hers. I can't handle it. Isn't it that
5:20:20you've set your standards so low? Lower
5:20:22than I'd ever imagined. She took a sip
5:20:24of water. Actually, those few you
5:20:27mentioned, the property management one,
5:20:29the supermarket cashier, the pork
5:20:30seller's daughter, they're a notch below
5:20:32me, sure, but not outrageously so. Most
5:20:35of all, I think girls like that suit you
5:20:37pretty well. I was floored. This woman
5:20:40wasn't young anymore. How could she
5:20:41still be living in her own little world?
5:20:44I rubbed my temples and said patiently,
5:20:46"Sisiming Xi is right. There's nothing
5:20:48unsuitable between me and those girls.
5:20:51But suiting isn't the same as fitting.
5:20:53Like other men, I'm a visual creature.
5:20:55So, I still hope to find someone like
5:20:57the one we ran into at the door just
5:20:58now, driving a luxury car, looking like
5:21:01a celebrity, a figure to rival a top
5:21:03model." The moment these words were out,
5:21:05Gu Mangxi, mid-sip, nearly choked to
5:21:08death and coughed several times in a
5:21:10row. She'd always been confident in her
5:21:12own looks, but the instant she'd seen
5:21:14that great beauty earlier, she had to
5:21:16admit she'd been thoroughly outclassed
5:21:18without a shred of a chance. The woman
5:21:20wore tens of thousands in haute couture,
5:21:22drove a multi-million yuan luxury car,
5:21:25probably the daughter of some wealthy
5:21:26family. And this guy, Li Feng, actually
5:21:28set his standards at such a height? A
5:21:30toad lusting after swan meat. She wiped
5:21:32her mouth, stifling a laugh. Li Feng,
5:21:35everyone loves beauty, but you've got to
5:21:37know your place, don't you? An intern
5:21:39male nurse, even I fall far short of the
5:21:42one at the door, and who knows how
5:21:43sky-high her standards are. So, quit
5:21:45daydreaming. I beg to differ. Think of
5:21:48the women around me, my aunt, Auntie
5:21:50Bai, Qingya. Which of them lost out to
5:21:52the one at the door? How is that
5:21:53daydreaming? Before I could retort, a
5:21:56woman's voice suddenly came from beside
5:21:58us. "Hello, handsome. My My is Qin Xian.
5:22:01May I ask, is the person sitting across
5:22:03from you your girlfriend? As Qin Xian
5:22:05asked, she looked down at Gu Mingsi from
5:22:07above, a smile on her face, but her eyes
5:22:10full of provocation. This out of nowhere
5:22:12approach left every other customer in
5:22:14the hall dumbstruck and caught Gu Mingsi
5:22:16and me off guard, too. No, just a
5:22:18colleague. I was the first to recover.
5:22:20With so many perfect tin beauties around
5:22:22me, I wasn't about to be flattered into
5:22:24losing my footing. So, just a colleague.
5:22:27Then I'll speak plainly. Qin Xian drew
5:22:29her gaze back from Gu Mingsi and turned
5:22:31to me, the adoration in her eyes
5:22:33practically overflowing. Handsome, would
5:22:35it be all right for me to get to know
5:22:37you? At this, every customer's jaw
5:22:39nearly hit the floor. Meeting a top-tier
5:22:41beauty like this, the men present,
5:22:43however outstanding, could only feast
5:22:46their eyes without the nerve to
5:22:47approach. Who'd have thought she'd
5:22:49proactively want to get to know that
5:22:50utterly ordinary-looking guy? Gu Mingsi
5:22:53couldn't accept it, either, her mouth
5:22:55twitching. Miss, are you joking? Someone
5:22:57like you, your admirers could line up
5:22:59all the way to the moon. What do you
5:23:00want to know him for? Because I think
5:23:02he's very handsome, totally my type. So,
5:23:05if possible, I don't just want to know
5:23:06him, I want to date him. Qin Xian tilted
5:23:09her head, her smile radiant. She paid no
5:23:12mind at all to the shocked eyes around
5:23:13her. Yes, she was standing up for the
5:23:15underdog, but what she said was her
5:23:17honest feeling, too. The low-key man
5:23:19before her was an existence even Grandpa
5:23:21Luo fell far behind. If she could land a
5:23:23boyfriend like this, the whole Qin
5:23:25family would go wild with joy. He's just
5:23:28an intern male nurse. Gu Mingsi was
5:23:30speechless. This was a man even she
5:23:32looked down on. What's wrong with an
5:23:34intern male nurse? It's a sacred
5:23:36profession. Qin Xian didn't mind in the
5:23:38least. Then what if he only makes two or
5:23:40three thousand a month? Not even enough
5:23:42for your car's gas. Gu Mingsi gritted
5:23:45her teeth. No problem. I've got money to
5:23:47burn. I'd even subsidize him. Qin Xian
5:23:50pulled a gleaming black card out of her
5:23:52bag. Ordinary clients weren't even
5:23:54qualified to hold a card of that tier.
5:23:56Clearly, she wasn't just rich, she was
5:23:58ultra-rich. You'd really take a
5:24:00boyfriend like him. Aren't you afraid
5:24:02your friends will laugh at you? Gu
5:24:03Mingxi was starting to lose it. Oh, then
5:24:06I could simply cut ties with those
5:24:07friends. Qin Xian didn't hesitate.
5:24:10Seeing that Gu Mingxi's face had already
5:24:12gone liver purple, her goal
5:24:13accomplished, she couldn't be bothered
5:24:15to waste more words and turned to me,
5:24:17handing over her phone, putting on a
5:24:19pitiful, drama queen look. "Handsome,
5:24:21this is the first time I've ever taken
5:24:23the initiative to want to know a man.
5:24:25Just give me this chance, please." Gu
5:24:27Mingxi and the other customers were all
5:24:29going mad. A plain-looking intern male
5:24:31nurse, by what right did he earn the
5:24:33favor of a top-tier beauty like this?
5:24:35Heavens above, you might as well strike
5:24:37me dead. Though I reckoned I had my
5:24:39charms, we were total strangers, hardly
5:24:42reason enough for this Qin Xian to be so
5:24:44forward. There had to be more to it. I
5:24:46just couldn't figure it out for now.
5:24:47Still, with the other party showing me
5:24:49such goodwill, I couldn't be ungracious,
5:24:52so I nodded. "All right, I can give you
5:24:54this chance." So saying, I took the
5:24:56phone and entered my number. "Huh,
5:24:58handsome, remember, my name is Qin Xian.
5:25:01We'll keep in touch by phone." Qin Xian
5:25:03was genuinely delighted, unable to
5:25:05resist planting a kiss on the phone
5:25:07screen, then, under everyone's
5:25:09flabbergasted gazes, waved me goodbye
5:25:12and turned to walk out of the Japanese
5:25:13restaurant. Just then, as it happened, a
5:25:16server brought over a plate of sliced
5:25:18salmon. As if nothing had happened, I
5:25:20smiled and picked up my chopsticks. "Sis
5:25:22Mingxi, this salmon's not bad, eat up."
5:25:25"Eat. I'll eat." Gu Mingxi nearly ground
5:25:27her teeth to stumps and savagely pinched
5:25:29up a slice. A man even she looked down
5:25:32on had been fancied by a beauty even she
5:25:34fell far short of. Was something wrong
5:25:36with her taste? Of course not. Clearly,
5:25:38that woman called Qin Xian had water on
5:25:40the brain. No, a whole flood. In the
5:25:43blink of an eye, it was evening. Gu
5:25:45Mingxi was still sulking. She just
5:25:47changed into her street clothes when her
5:25:48phone rang. Who else would be calling
5:25:50but Yulan? Gu Mingxi didn't want to pick
5:25:52up, but thinking of Yilan standing at
5:25:54the hospital, how well-liked she was by
5:25:56the leadership, and that she might come
5:25:58in handy someday, better not sour things
5:26:00too badly. She hit answer, squeezed out
5:26:02a smiling face, and said politely,
5:26:05"Doctor Ye, I was just about to call
5:26:07you." "Meng Xi, that rotten boy Li Feng
5:26:09didn't slack off today, did he?" On the
5:26:11other end, Yilan had already settled
5:26:13into her car in the parking lot, waiting
5:26:15for the dawdling Li Feng. A good moment
5:26:18to ask how the two had hit it off at
5:26:19first impression. "No, it was Li Feng's
5:26:22first day, and he's all thumbs at
5:26:24everything, but thankfully he's
5:26:25hardworking, eager to learn, and willing
5:26:27to put in the effort." Gu Meng Xi's
5:26:29voice even turned coquettish. Li Feng,
5:26:32all day she hadn't given me a single
5:26:34kind look, and now suddenly it was Li
5:26:36Feng dear. What a two-faced act. "So,
5:26:39how's your impression of him?" Yilan
5:26:41probed. "I think he's pretty nice, tall
5:26:43and well-built, with a bit of
5:26:44handsomeness, and a graduate of a
5:26:46prestigious university." Gu Meng Xi said
5:26:49against her conscience. "So, you're
5:26:50saying if he pursued you, he'd still
5:26:52have a chance?" Yilan's heart leaped
5:26:54with delight.
5:26:56"Doctor Ye, quit mocking me. How could
5:26:58he possibly pursue me?" "What do you
5:27:00mean?" Yilan was baffled. In her
5:27:02impression, this girl was pretty
5:27:04haughty. How could she say something so
5:27:06self-deprecating? "There's something you
5:27:07don't know, Doctor Ye. At noon, I
5:27:09treated Li Feng to the Japanese place
5:27:11across the street, hoping to get to know
5:27:13each other better. Who'd have thought
5:27:15that halfway through the meal, a great
5:27:17beauty came over and asked Li Feng for
5:27:19his contact info?" Gu Meng Xi
5:27:21conveniently left out every detail
5:27:23unfavorable to herself. "A great
5:27:25beauty?" Anyone Gu Meng Xi would call a
5:27:27great beauty had to be no slouch.
5:27:29"That's right. Looks like a starlet, a
5:27:31figure like a top model, and drives a
5:27:33multi-million yuan luxury car. Left me
5:27:35in the dust by who knows how many miles.
5:27:38With a great beauty like that
5:27:39proactively asking for his contact info,
5:27:41how could he still have eyes for someone
5:27:43like me?"
5:27:44Having said this, Gu Meng Xi suddenly
5:27:46felt unangry. Li Feng had rubbed her the
5:27:48wrong way, but this way she had an
5:27:50airtight reason to reject Ye Lan's
5:27:52matchmaking. All right, got it. Ye Lan
5:27:55hung up, still finding it unbelievable
5:27:57that a gifted lady like Luo Qingha would
5:27:59call Li Fong handsome and proactively
5:28:01want to meet him was already outrageous
5:28:03enough. And now another one popped up.
5:28:06Looks no worse than a starlet, a figure
5:28:08to rival a top model, driving a
5:28:10multi-million yuan luxury car, who also
5:28:12proactively asked for his contact info.
5:28:15Just why on earth? Could it be something
5:28:16really was wrong with her taste? Did
5:28:18this rotten boy she'd raised actually
5:28:20have real charm in young girls' eyes?
5:28:22Auntie, what are you thinking about?
5:28:24Just then, I pulled open the car door
5:28:26and slid into the passenger seat.
5:28:28Nothing. Ye Lan came to, turning to size
5:28:30me up in earnest, trying to figure out
5:28:32just where this rotten boy's charm lay.
5:28:35But the more she looked, the more
5:28:36ordinary I seemed. Mainly that slovenly,
5:28:39devil-may-care air of mine, which really
5:28:41was a bit asking for it. In the end, she
5:28:43could only give up and floored the gas
5:28:45to pull out of the parking lot. On the
5:28:47way home, I recalled the scene at noon
5:28:49and spoke up. Auntie, Gu Mingxi went
5:28:51over her partner criteria with me. My
5:28:53conditions fall 100,000 leagues short.
5:28:56She also flat-out said we don't suit
5:28:57each other, so quit thinking about
5:28:59setting us up. Suit yourself. Ye Lan
5:29:01pursed her lips. This rotten boy's luck
5:29:04with women was booming. He'd probably be
5:29:06off the market before long, so she
5:29:08needn't fret over it. After hesitating a
5:29:10moment, she finally couldn't hold back
5:29:12her curiosity. Gu Mingxi said a great
5:29:14beauty came up and asked you for your
5:29:16contact info at noon. Oh, that did
5:29:18happen. I nodded. I'd mulled it over all
5:29:20afternoon and still couldn't figure out
5:29:22what about me had drawn that great
5:29:24beauty named Qin Xian. Putting on your
5:29:26deep, brooding act for me, huh? Ye Lan
5:29:29rolled her eyes at me. Get hit on by a
5:29:30beauty like that, play it cool on the
5:29:32surface. Inside you must have been over
5:29:35the moon. Auntie, am I really that
5:29:37hopeless? Yes. In my eyes, you're
5:29:39exactly that hopeless. Ye Lan sniffed.
5:29:42This whole afternoon, who knows how many
5:29:44messages you've sent her. To her
5:29:46surprise, I pulled out my phone, opened
5:29:48my call log, and waved it before her
5:29:50eyes. I just gave her my number. There
5:29:52was indeed one missed call this
5:29:54afternoon. I didn't pick up, and I don't
5:29:56even know if it was her. Seeing me speak
5:29:58so matter-of-factly, not like an act,
5:30:01Yilan couldn't help being astonished.
5:30:03Good heavens, was it possible this
5:30:05rotten boy had been stirring up plenty
5:30:07of young girls behind her back, which
5:30:09was why even a beauty served up on a
5:30:10platter left him unfazed and reacting so
5:30:13flatly? Of course I can keep my cool.
5:30:15Who told me to have so many beauties
5:30:17around? Auntie's one, Auntie Bai's one,
5:30:20Qing'er's one. I counted off on my
5:30:22fingers. Counting even me and Bai Jia.
5:30:25Are you asking for a beating again?
5:30:27Yilan, taking advantage of a red light,
5:30:29thumped a fist into my chest. Ow.
5:30:32Auntie, you actually hit me. I clutched
5:30:34my chest and pretended to grimace. Of
5:30:36course, I raised you, so I'll hit you
5:30:39whenever I please. Yilan withdrew her
5:30:41hand, stifling a laugh, then suddenly
5:30:44remembered something. All right, I saw
5:30:46the Divine Physician Luo again today,
5:30:48and his granddaughter Luo Qinghe, too.
5:30:50She caught a glimpse of you in the
5:30:51parking lot, kept saying you were
5:30:53handsome, and wants to meet you as well.
5:30:55I had no idea Luo Qinghe was the girl in
5:30:58the wheelchair from that day, and a huge
5:31:00question mark rose in my mind again. In
5:31:02a single day, two women in a row want to
5:31:04meet me. Am I the last handsome guy left
5:31:06under heaven or something? Yilan's
5:31:08forehead creased with black lines, and
5:31:10she sized me up once more, still finding
5:31:12me not remotely connected to the word
5:31:14handsome. Before long we got back to
5:31:16Eastbank Mansion. The moment we stepped
5:31:18inside, Bai Jia, hearing the commotion,
5:31:21hurried out of the bedroom, her
5:31:22expression all wrong, as if something
5:31:25earth-shattering had happened. Long Long
5:31:27and I, I found out a secret. Yilan's
5:31:29heart leaped into her throat. This was
5:31:31it. Could Bai Jia have discovered the
5:31:33diagnostic report hidden in the study
5:31:35and learn she had breast cancer? By Jia.
5:31:37Yilan's eyes reddened instantly. Her
5:31:40legs like lead as she shuffled over step
5:31:42by step and held her tight. I'm sorry. I
5:31:44shouldn't have kept it from you. I'd
5:31:46long anticipated this scene. There was
5:31:48no keeping fire wrapped in paper
5:31:49forever. That report was hidden in the
5:31:51drawer of my aunt's study. And with By
5:31:53Jia having stayed here all this time, it
5:31:56was no wonder she'd found it. Though I
5:31:58was fully confident I could cure her, I
5:32:00felt just as guilty. So, I spoke up. An
5:32:02I By, I knew about it early on, too. If
5:32:04you're going to scold anyone, scold me
5:32:06along with her. But By Jia looked
5:32:08utterly bewildered, glancing from Yilan
5:32:10to me, blinking rapidly. Huh? Qin
5:32:13Zhizhong already told you, too? Who? Qin
5:32:16Zhizhong. Yilan knit her brows. Up to
5:32:18now, apart from her and me and two or
5:32:20three colleagues at the hospital, no one
5:32:22knew By Jia had breast cancer. She'd
5:32:25never told Qin Zhizhong. How would that
5:32:27heartless cat know? Besides, the report
5:32:29was hidden in a drawer at home. So,
5:32:31logically, there'd be no need for Chun
5:32:33Zhizhong to tell them. Or was it that By
5:32:34Jia's so-called found out a secret
5:32:36wasn't about this at all? Sure enough,
5:32:39By Jia nodded emphatically. Half an hour
5:32:41ago, Qin Zhizhong called me like a
5:32:43madman, saying he'd done a paternity
5:32:45test and the baby in Chun Xiaoxiao's
5:32:47belly isn't his at all. Only then did
5:32:49the two of us confirm it was a
5:32:51misunderstanding and heaved a long sigh
5:32:53of relief. By Jia, so that's what you
5:32:55meant. Yilan let go of her, walked over
5:32:58to the water dispenser, poured a cup of
5:33:00water, and couldn't help laughing out
5:33:02loud. Chun Zhizhong wronged you and
5:33:04ended up getting fitted with such a
5:33:05giant green hat. Serves him right. I
5:33:08chimed in, too. Even if the baby in Chun
5:33:10Xiaoxiao's belly isn't his, it doesn't
5:33:12erase the harm he did to An I By.
5:33:14Exactly. By Jia, you absolutely must not
5:33:17forgive him. A dog can't quit eating
5:33:19filth. Forgive him once, and he'll only
5:33:21get worse from here on. Yilan's tone was
5:33:24resolute. By Jia shook her head and
5:33:26smiled bitterly. Rest assured, I'm
5:33:28definitely getting this divorce. It's
5:33:30just Just what? Afraid Qin Zhizhong will
5:33:33be a cornered dog jumping the wall? He
5:33:35wouldn't dare. Yilan took her hand and
5:33:37sat down with her on the sofa. If Qin
5:33:39Zhizhong dared do anything to Bai Jia,
5:33:41she'd fight him to the death. It's not
5:33:43that I'm afraid of this. Bai Jia lowered
5:33:45her head, her voice dropping. I just
5:33:48feel Qin Zhizhong surely won't let Qin
5:33:50Xiaoxiao off easy, and I'm worried it
5:33:52might end up costing a life. Qin
5:33:54Xiaoxiao was detestable, true, but a
5:33:57girl who'd only made it out of a little
5:33:58mountain village thanks to someone's
5:34:00sponsorship failed to cherish it and
5:34:02straight onto the wrong path was
5:34:04pitiable, too. Bai Jia said it so
5:34:06quietly because she knew she'd catch a
5:34:07scolding from Yilan once she finished.
5:34:10Bai Jia, I know you're kind-hearted, but
5:34:12kindness has to have limits. Yilan
5:34:14didn't scold. Her tone turned even
5:34:16gentler instead. She understood this
5:34:18dear friend better than anyone. Her
5:34:20Madonna complex flared up at the drop of
5:34:22a hat. There was no helping it. Her
5:34:25upbringing from childhood had shaped a
5:34:26character like this. That's right, Nanny
5:34:29Bai. I picked up the thread, too. Qin
5:34:31Xiaoxiao brought her ruin on herself and
5:34:33can't be saved. But I think no matter
5:34:35how crazy Qin Zhizhong goes, he won't
5:34:37throw his own life away over this, won't
5:34:39push it to the point of a death. Bai Jia
5:34:41thought it over and found it reasonable.
5:34:43For Qin Zhizhong to get where he was
5:34:45today, he'd poured in so much blood and
5:34:47cost. How could he bear to bury it all?
5:34:50Forget it. We've already come to this
5:34:52point, he and I. Whatever becomes of him
5:34:54has nothing to do with me. Bai Jia let
5:34:56out a long breath as if to fling off all
5:34:59her worries. All right, no need to cook
5:35:01tonight. I ordered takeout, Lan Lan's
5:35:03favorite crayfish. Now that's more like
5:35:05it. Yilan smiled with relief. Thank
5:35:08heavens. This dear friend had finally
5:35:10come to her senses for once. After
5:35:12dinner, I went back to my room, got into
5:35:14bed, and began cultivating. I had to
5:35:17grow stronger and cure Bai Jia's illness
5:35:19as soon as possible so my aunt wouldn't
5:35:21have to knit her brows and tremble with
5:35:23dread every day. The next morning, I'd
5:35:25just changed into my work uniform,
5:35:27hadn't even sat down when Gumingsi came
5:35:29over leading a female colleague.
5:35:31Morning, Sis Ming Si. However much I
5:35:33disliked her inside, the surface
5:35:35courtesies still had to be done. I don't
5:35:37know what good fortune she'd come into.
5:35:39Gumingsi was smiling like a blossoming
5:35:41flower, her face all smug. Li Feng, the
5:35:45nursing department director has
5:35:46temporarily transferred me to another
5:35:48department, so I can't show you the
5:35:49ropes anymore. She'll take over for now.
5:35:52She meant the female colleague behind
5:35:54her. Were it not for Yi Lan's face,
5:35:56Gumingsi couldn't have cared less
5:35:58whether anyone showed me the ropes.
5:36:00Gumingsi had been transferred on short
5:36:01notice, out of sight, out of mind. I was
5:36:04naturally glad and turned to look at
5:36:06that female nurse, or to be precise, at
5:36:09the name tag on her chest. Jo Ling Xiu
5:36:11E. I smiled politely. Hello, Sis Ling
5:36:14Xiu E. My name is Li Feng. Please look
5:36:16after me. I'd noticed her the day
5:36:18before. For some reason, she always wore
5:36:20a mask as if deliberately covering her
5:36:22face tightly, always keeping her head
5:36:24down, not very sociable, barely
5:36:27communicating with colleagues. Mm. Jo
5:36:29Ling Xiu E only glanced at me, then
5:36:31immediately lowered her head again. Her
5:36:33voice thin and soft. Ling Xiu E, just
5:36:36hand any heavy or hard work to Li Feng.
5:36:39Give him plenty of training. I'm off.
5:36:41With that, Gumingsi left humming a
5:36:43little tune. Just which department had
5:36:45she been transferred to to be this
5:36:46happy? Li Feng, Jo Ling Xiu E kept her
5:36:49eyes down, never daring to meet my gaze.
5:36:52Come with me. Bed 51 just pressed the
5:36:54call bell. Okay. I nodded. Soon the two
5:36:57of us arrived at the bed 51 ward, one
5:37:00behind the other. The expectant mother
5:37:01was quite young, around 24 or 25. What
5:37:05was unusual was that she was already
5:37:06over two weeks past her due date with no
5:37:08sign of labor. Yet her family insisted
5:37:11on a natural birth, so with no
5:37:12abnormalities, there was nothing to do
5:37:14but wait it out. Ah, nurse, my belly
5:37:17hurts so much. Is it Is it time? At this
5:37:20moment she lay on the bed, one hand
5:37:22gripping the rail, the other clutching
5:37:24her high, swollen belly. Her face
5:37:26contorted with pain, her forehead beaded
5:37:28with sweat the size of soybeans. Zhou
5:37:31Lingxiao immediately said to me, "Li
5:37:33Fang, draw the curtain quick. I'll check
5:37:35whether she's dilating." To check
5:37:37whether an expectant mother is dilating,
5:37:39there's only one method, a manual exam.
5:37:42In a doctor's eyes, there's no
5:37:44distinction of male or female, only
5:37:46patients. The same goes for nurses.
5:37:48Having worked all this out, I was just
5:37:50about to reach for the curtain. Huh, how
5:37:53come there's a male nurse? In from the
5:37:54doorway walked a plump middle-aged woman
5:37:57in a floral short-sleeved top, her hair
5:37:59permed into tight little curls, none
5:38:01other than the mother-in-law of the bed
5:38:0351 expectant mother. The moment she
5:38:05spotted a male nurse, she went off like
5:38:07a cat whose tail had been stepped on,
5:38:09her voice shooting up an octave. "Is
5:38:11this even a proper hospital? A male
5:38:13nurse in OBGYN? Out, get out now." And
5:38:17with that, she came up and shoved at me.
5:38:18With a temper like this, no wonder bed
5:38:2051 still refused to C-section and
5:38:23insisted on a natural birth. It was most
5:38:25likely inseparable from this
5:38:26mother-in-law. "Li Fang, why don't you
5:38:28step out first? I can manage on my own."
5:38:31Zhou Lingxiao said hurriedly. "Fine,
5:38:33I'll wait at the door. If you really
5:38:35can't handle it, call me." I couldn't be
5:38:37bothered to argue with an unreasonable
5:38:38family member, so I drew the curtain and
5:38:40turned to go out. From inside the ward
5:38:43came relentless, heart-rending cries of
5:38:45pain, pleading over and over, "Mom, I
5:38:48really can't take it. It hurts too much.
5:38:51Let's do the C-section. I'm begging
5:38:52you." Far from comforting her, the
5:38:54mother-in-law spoke with barbs.
5:38:56"C-section, my foot. What woman doesn't
5:38:58hurt giving birth? You're just being a
5:39:00princess. Natural birth is better for
5:39:02the baby. Can't you, as a mother, even
5:39:05stomach this little bit of suffering?
5:39:07Why must women make things hard for
5:39:09women? Childbirth is a gauntlet run
5:39:11through the jaws of death. How could
5:39:13someone who'd been through it bear to
5:39:14turn that suffering into a yardstick for
5:39:16measuring others. About 7 or 8 minutes
5:39:19later, Joe Ling Xiu E finally came out,
5:39:22fine sweat beating on her forehead. Let
5:39:24me guess, she hasn't dilated yet, has
5:39:26she? I leaned against the corridor wall,
5:39:28my tone certain. "H m, you guessed
5:39:30right." Joe Ling Xiu E was taken aback.
5:39:33Indeed, the exam result was exactly
5:39:35that, not dilated at all. In 3 or 4
5:39:38years at this hospital, it was the first
5:39:39case of this kind she'd encountered. In
5:39:41her condition, a natural birth is
5:39:43completely impossible. By noon at the
5:39:45latest, she'll have to go in for a
5:39:47C-section. I raised an eyebrow. When I'd
5:39:49entered the ward earlier, I'd activated
5:39:51the Insight Pupil and already seen the
5:39:53problem. From a traditional Chinese
5:39:55medicine view, this was a case of qi and
5:39:57blood deficiency and an undernourished
5:39:59womb. The mother was constitutionally
5:40:01weak, poorly conditioned during
5:40:03pregnancy, with insufficient generation
5:40:05of qi and blood, the Chong and Ren
5:40:07meridians unsecured, and the womb
5:40:09lacking the strength to open and close.
5:40:12In Western medicine terms, it was
5:40:14uterine inertia. The cervix slow to
5:40:16dilate, the fetus long unable to engage,
5:40:19and the amniotic fluid gradually turning
5:40:21turbid. Drag it out any longer, and the
5:40:24risk of fetal oxygen deprivation would
5:40:26greatly increase. "You can foresee the
5:40:28future, too?" Joe Ling Xiu E teased, not
5:40:30taking it seriously at all. But
5:40:32listening to the ceaseless cries of pain
5:40:34from the ward, she truly couldn't bear
5:40:36it. "This can't go on like this. I'll go
5:40:38report to the head nurse." She'd just
5:40:40taken a step when suddenly there came a
5:40:42faint snap. The strap of the mask on her
5:40:45face broke, and her entire face was
5:40:47exposed in an instant. Joe Ling Xiu E
5:40:49had quite good features, delicate brows
5:40:51and eyes, a high nose bridge, a lovely
5:40:54lip line, with a touch of retro Hong
5:40:56Kong starlet elegance. But as it
5:40:58happened, her skin was in terrible
5:40:59shape. Both cheeks were densely covered
5:41:02with red, swollen pimples, some already
5:41:04festering, along with pockmarks of
5:41:06varying depths, a sight that was
5:41:09genuinely shocking. Only then did I
5:41:10understand why she wore her mask so
5:41:12tightly and never took it off all day.
5:41:14In her 20s, the age when a girl most
5:41:17loves beauty, yet with a face ruined
5:41:19like this that severely dragged down her
5:41:21looks. Anyone in her place would feel
5:41:23inferior. Sorry, did I did I scare you?
5:41:26Caught off guard, Zhao Linhua hastily
5:41:28turned her back, embarrassed beyond
5:41:30words. She pulled a spare mask from her
5:41:32pocket, put it on in a flash, and
5:41:34hurried toward the nurse's station as if
5:41:36fleeing. During the exam just now, the
5:41:39expectant mother, in agonizing pain, had
5:41:41inadvertently tugged at her mask, and
5:41:44that was how the strap had broken. What
5:41:45was on her face was stubborn cystic
5:41:47acne. Since her sophomore year of
5:41:49college, she'd tried traditional Chinese
5:41:51medicine, Western medicine, and folk
5:41:53remedies, all to negligible effect,
5:41:55recurring again and again with no cure
5:41:57at the root. Besides, even if it were
5:42:00cured, with so many pockmarks on her
5:42:02face, there was no way she'd regain her
5:42:04confidence and take off the mask. Scared
5:42:06me? Am I that timid? Besides, Sis
5:42:09Linhua, you're not ugly at all. Without
5:42:11those pimples, you'd be very pretty,
5:42:13prettier than Gu Mingxi. I stood where I
5:42:15was, watching her receding figure,
5:42:18feeling more than a little sorry for
5:42:19her. Right away, I began searching
5:42:21through my mind, and finally found a
5:42:23passage recorded in a text called the
5:42:25Scripture of Washing Away Turbidity. The
5:42:27book classified this kind of stubborn
5:42:29acne as heat accumulated in the lung and
5:42:31stomach, blood heat breeding source, and
5:42:34included a formula named Jade Visage
5:42:36Acne Clearing Powder. Its ingredients,
5:42:38all common agents for clearing heat,
5:42:40cooling the blood, and promoting
5:42:41circulation to resolve stasis. Sis
5:42:44Linhua, you're such a good person. I'll
5:42:46help you take off that mask. My eye for
5:42:48people is never wrong. Though I'd been
5:42:50around her only a short while, I was
5:42:52fully certain that in character, Zhao
5:42:54Linhua stood more than a whole Mount
5:42:56Everest above Gu Mingxi. With my mind
5:42:58made up, I headed to the ground floor
5:43:00lobby of the outpatient building and
5:43:02registered for the TCM department. If I
5:43:04was going to help her, I'd have to fill
5:43:05the prescription. Luckily, the
5:43:07ingredients were all the most common
5:43:09herbs, not hard to gather. Hospitals
5:43:11have plenty of rules, even internal
5:43:13staff have to go through the normal
5:43:15process, register, get examined, then
5:43:18have a prescription written. With
5:43:19Western medicine all the rage these days
5:43:21and traditional Chinese medicine in
5:43:23decline, masters like Divine Physician
5:43:25Luo were few and far between, and the
5:43:27TCM department was dead quiet, just a
5:43:29scattering of old folks in the hallway.
5:43:32I didn't have to wait. My turn came the
5:43:33moment I arrived. Reaching the doorway
5:43:35of consulting room number three, I
5:43:37looked at the nameplate and only then
5:43:39realized I'd registered with a young
5:43:41female TCM doctor. And she Xiao, a
5:43:43lovely name and a pretty person, too.
5:43:45She looked 26 or 29 at most. That's
5:43:48quite young in the TCM field to hold a
5:43:50practice at Yun City's best top-tier
5:43:52hospital. She must have some real skill.
5:43:55But just as I was about to push the door
5:43:56open, a heart-racing conversation
5:43:59drifted out from inside. This, isn't it
5:44:01a bit too Can you do it? I can. I've got
5:44:04plenty of experience. All right, then.
5:44:06You give it a try. Doctor Yin, why don't
5:44:08you stand up first? Okay, keep it quiet.
5:44:11Got it. My whole mind went haywire,
5:44:13instantly conjuring all sorts of
5:44:15outrageous images. Seemed I'd come at a
5:44:18bad time. Maybe I should go back in
5:44:19later. And this Doctor Yin, really,
5:44:22however dead quiet the TCM department
5:44:24was, it was still a public place. How
5:44:26could she be so uninhibited? Still, that
5:44:29voice sounded pretty sweet and gentle.
5:44:31Three minutes later, with a creak, the
5:44:33door opened. Out walked a man of about
5:44:3527 or 28, fair-skinned, his forehead
5:44:38drenched in sweat, panting hard, dressed
5:44:41in the hospital logistics staff's dark
5:44:43blue uniform. Having stood in the
5:44:44corridor the whole time, I felt more
5:44:47than a little awkward and turned my face
5:44:48aside, pretending to look elsewhere.
5:44:51Come on, buddy. Done in three minutes
5:44:53and still worn out like that? That's
5:44:54pretty pathetic. Think back to that
5:44:56night with Xiao Yuqing and me. We went
5:44:58at it for a solid hour or two. Only
5:45:00after that logistics guy had walked off,
5:45:02did I step into consulting room number
5:45:04three. At this moment, En Xi Xiao was
5:45:06sitting in her chair, head lowered as
5:45:08she tugged her white coat collar into
5:45:10place, grumbling under her breath with a
5:45:12pout. All that fuss, and in the end it
5:45:14didn't feel good at all. Young men just
5:45:16can't cut it. Older ones really do have
5:45:19the experience. I couldn't help my mouth
5:45:21twitching hard. Come on, lady. A quick
5:45:23job is hard to enjoy, sure, but didn't
5:45:26you see a patient walk in? Grumbling
5:45:27right in front of a patient. Is that
5:45:29really appropriate?
5:45:30I gave a dry cough to make my presence
5:45:32known. Hmm. Only then did En Xi Xiao
5:45:34turn her gaze to me, looking me up and
5:45:36down, her eyes visibly brightening. The
5:45:39hospital actually got a male nurse, and
5:45:41such a handsome one. I hadn't changed
5:45:43into my street clothes. I'd come
5:45:45straight in my nurse's uniform. Doctor
5:45:47En, I'm Li Feng from OBGYN. I handed
5:45:50over the registration slip. Handsome?
5:45:52No, Li Feng. Where are you feeling
5:45:54unwell? En Xi Xiao took the slip and set
5:45:57it aside, blinking. Men's health is my
5:46:00specialty. If you've got any unspeakable
5:46:02troubles in that department, you've
5:46:03really come to the right person. I'll
5:46:05guarantee I'll tune you up good as new
5:46:07and raring to go. My forehead creased
5:46:09with black lines. Why did I feel like I
5:46:11was being toyed with? This big sister,
5:46:14could it be she hadn't gotten her fill
5:46:15just now, and was setting her sights on
5:46:17me? Doctor En, there's nothing wrong
5:46:19with me. Here's the thing. I have a
5:46:21female friend with a lot of cystic acne
5:46:23on her face that keeps coming back and
5:46:25has never cleared up. Yesterday after
5:46:27work, while she was waiting for the bus
5:46:28at the stop, she ran into an old TCM
5:46:31doctor who gave her a prescription and
5:46:33said it could cure it for good. But
5:46:34she's busy with work, so she asked me to
5:46:36come fill it for her. En Xi Xiao nodded
5:46:38in sudden understanding. I see. So,
5:46:41where's the prescription? Here, take it.
5:46:43I pulled out a neatly folded sheet of
5:46:45paper. This was what I'd written while
5:46:46waiting in the corridor earlier, listing
5:46:48over 20 herbs. En Xi Xiao took it and
5:46:51scanned down line by line, growing more
5:46:53and more excited. Honeysuckle,
5:46:55Forsythia, dandelion, Chinese violet,
5:46:58wild chrysanthemum. These clear heat
5:47:35The old TCM doctor who wrote this for
5:47:37your friend is definitely a master. And
5:47:39Ji Xia was properly trained in the TCM
5:47:42academic track, having studied eight
5:47:44years at the provincial TCM university
5:47:46and apprenticed under several famous
5:47:48senior TCM doctors transcribing their
5:47:50prescriptions. It was precisely because
5:47:52of her breadth of knowledge that she
5:47:53could tell at a glance
5:47:55this formula was. Then may I trouble
5:47:57you, Dr. An, to write me a slip so I can
5:48:00go to the pharmacy and fill it? I kept a
5:48:02straight face on the outside, but inside
5:48:04I felt a touch smug. This was a formula
5:48:07pulled from my own mind, so how could it
5:48:09not be ingenious? The next second, An Ji
5:48:11Xia's smile faded a little and she shook
5:48:14her head looking troubled. Per the
5:48:16rules, the patient has to come in person
5:48:18and I can only write a prescription
5:48:19after I've diagnosed them. Otherwise, if
5:48:21something goes wrong, I can't shoulder
5:48:23that responsibility. The hospital has
5:48:26its rules. If it puts you in a bind, Dr.
5:48:28An, I'll bring that friend in later. I
5:48:30showed my understanding. After all, Zhou
5:48:33Ling Xue Wei was at this same hospital.
5:48:35Worst case, we could make another trip
5:48:36together. I was already about to turn
5:48:38and leave when, to my surprise, An Ji
5:48:41Xia suddenly changed her mind and waved
5:48:43a hand. Rules are dead, but people are
5:48:45alive. We're colleagues after all. I
5:48:48trust you. With that, she deftly tapped
5:48:50at the keyboard to enter the
5:48:51prescription, printed out a payment
5:48:53slip, and handed it to me. Pay the fee,
5:48:56then go to the pharmacy to collect the
5:48:57medicine. Thank you, Dr. An. I took the
5:49:00slip, turned, and walked out. What I
5:49:02didn't know was that the moment I left,
5:49:04the smile on An Jiao's face vanished at
5:49:06once. Sitting in her chair, she wriggled
5:49:09her bottom and grumbled with a look of
5:49:10disgust. Honestly, this chair's no
5:49:13different than before it was fixed,
5:49:15still uncomfortable to sit on. Forget
5:49:17it. I'll just order a new one online
5:49:19myself. That's right. The logistics guy
5:49:21she'd called over earlier was only there
5:49:23to fix this busted chair. It was nothing
5:49:25like what I'd imagined. Ring ring. The
5:49:27phone on the desk rang. Seeing the
5:49:29caller ID, An Jiao looked a bit
5:49:31surprised and answered with a tease.
5:49:33Little junior sister, did the sun rise
5:49:35in the west today? Even you, Zhao
5:49:37Yueqing, calling me first. Had I still
5:49:39been there, I'd surely have thought what
5:49:41a small world it was. On the other end
5:49:43of the line was none other than my
5:49:44ex-girlfriend, Zhao Yueqing, and An Jiao
5:49:47was her second senior sister. Second
5:49:49senior sister, a few days ago, I slept
5:49:52with a man without any protection. How
5:49:54high are the chances I'm pregnant? Zhao
5:49:56Yueqing was cold as ever, getting
5:49:58straight to the point. An Jiao was so
5:50:00thunderstruck, she nearly lost her grip
5:50:02on the phone. Little junior sister,
5:50:04could you be a little more subtle?
5:50:05Putting it so bluntly makes even me
5:50:07blush. You know I've never even had a
5:50:09boyfriend. Please answer my question.
5:50:11Zhao Yueqing sounded rather urgent. An
5:50:13Jiao pursed her lips. If that day
5:50:16happened to be your ovulation period
5:50:18other party's body has no issues, then
5:50:20the chances of pregnancy are quite high.
5:50:22You might hit the mark on the first
5:50:23shot. If you're really worried, come to
5:50:25the hospital in a while and I'll examine
5:50:27you. With my medical skills, a casual
5:50:29prescription could give you a painless
5:50:31abortion without harming your
5:50:32constitution one bit. Without a second
5:50:35thought, Zhao Yueqing declined. No need.
5:50:38If I'm really I'm pregnant, I'll just
5:50:39have it. And with that, she hung up just
5:50:42like that. Huh? An Jiao listened to the
5:50:44dial tone speechless. I wasn't finished
5:50:47yet. Little junior sister, when will you
5:50:49ever learn some manners? And wanting to
5:50:51keep the baby, have you even asked
5:50:53whether master and eldest senior sister
5:50:55approve? Meanwhile, slip in hand, I paid
5:50:58the fee, collected the medicine from the
5:51:00pharmacy, and carried the big bundle of
5:51:02herbs to a deserted corner outside. Just
5:51:04as in Zhixia had said, the formula
5:51:06really was ingenious. Only, to bring out
5:51:09its best effect, brewing the herbs the
5:51:11ordinary way wouldn't do. I had to use a
5:51:13special method to extract the essence
5:51:15from these herbs. That was the key. Good
5:51:17thing I broke through to the second
5:51:18layer of chi refinement. I've got enough
5:51:21true chi in my body to spare. I found a
5:51:23clean step, sat down cross-legged,
5:51:26placed the herbs between my two palms,
5:51:28and slowly closed my eyes. The so-called
5:51:30special method was to use my own true
5:51:32chi as a gentle fire, seeping it into
5:51:35every inch of the herbs to force out all
5:51:37the impurities, mustiness, and medicinal
5:51:39toxins, isolating only the purest
5:51:42medicinal essence, then condensing it
5:51:44into a liquid. From between my palms,
5:51:46wisps of azure true chi slowly seeped
5:51:49out, coiling like fine threads around
5:51:51the surface of the herbs, soaking in
5:51:53soundlessly. Wrapped in true chi, the
5:51:56herbs underwent a visible
5:51:58transformation. The once dry, coarse
5:52:00surfaces gradually turned moist and
5:52:02lustrous, their colors shifting from
5:52:04dull to vivid, as if renewed with life.
5:52:07Then, drop by drop, a milky white liquid
5:52:10was forced out of the herbs, trickling
5:52:12down past my fingertips, and all
5:52:14dripping into the glass bottle I'd set
5:52:16on the ground beforehand. The process
5:52:18lasted a good 10-plus minutes, until the
5:52:20herbs could yield no more liquid, at
5:52:22which point I withdrew my power. I
5:52:24opened my eyes, tossed the spent herbs
5:52:26into the trash, and picked up the glass
5:52:28bottle for a look. There was only a thin
5:52:30layer of milky white liquid at the
5:52:32bottom, not much by the look of it, but
5:52:34enough for Zhao Lingxua to use several
5:52:36times. Only, just as I was about to cap
5:52:39the bottle, I suddenly frowned. A
5:52:41strange smell shot straight up my nose.
5:52:43Huh, never mind that the liquid was
5:52:45milky white. It actually gave off a
5:52:47weird odor, too. Whether by look or by
5:52:49smell, it resembled, more than anything,
5:52:52I hope Sis Ling Shua won't let her mind
5:52:54wander to the wrong place later. I was
5:52:56rendered quite speechless. Well, with
5:52:58things as they were, I could only stand
5:53:00up, dust off my backside, and carry the
5:53:02glass bottle back up to the OBGYN floor.
5:53:05Only Zhao Ling Shua was at the nurse's
5:53:07station, head bowed as she sorted
5:53:09through medical records. Sis Ling Shua
5:53:11here. I handed her the glass bottle.
5:53:13What's this? Zhao Ling Shua looked up,
5:53:15utterly puzzled. Haha, I scratched my
5:53:17head, a little embarrassed. Back in my
5:53:20hometown, there's a folk remedy made
5:53:21specially for treating acne. It's called
5:53:24Jade Visage Acne Clearing Powder. I had
5:53:26someone write out the formula, then
5:53:28processed it myself. Give it a try and
5:53:30see if it works. Huh, no wonder you
5:53:32disappeared earlier. So, you went to
5:53:34fill a prescription at the pharmacy.
5:53:36Zhao Ling Shua's nose stung, and her
5:53:38eyes reddened in an instant. Up to now,
5:53:41no matter who saw the pimples on her
5:53:42face, even if they didn't mock her to
5:53:44her face, they'd cast strange looks her
5:53:46way. I alone, this new colleague she'd
5:53:49known for less than half a day, had
5:53:51quietly gone and gotten medicine for her
5:53:53without a word. Jade Visage Acne
5:53:55Clearing Powder, pretty name. All right,
5:53:57I'll go try it now. Zhao Ling Shua took
5:53:59the bottle, gave a faint smile, and rose
5:54:02to head for the break room. In truth,
5:54:04she held no hope. Over the years, she
5:54:06tried far too many methods, almost none
5:54:08of which worked. But, this was Li Feng's
5:54:10heartfelt kindness. How could she waste
5:54:12it? No harm in trying. It wouldn't cost
5:54:15her a pound of flesh. Sis Ling Shua,
5:54:17apply it three times a day, just a thin
5:54:19layer to cover the pimples each time. I
5:54:22added. Got it. Oh, and thank you. Zhao
5:54:24Ling Shua glanced back with a smile, and
5:54:27pushed open the break room door. On the
5:54:29wall hung a mirror. When she took off
5:54:30her mask and saw the face in the mirror,
5:54:33tears again couldn't help spilling down.
5:54:35In this age that prizes good looks, no
5:54:37one knew how many cold stares and how
5:54:39much hardship she'd endured because of
5:54:41this face. Thankfully, there were still
5:54:43kind people like Li Feng willing to show
5:54:45her a little gentleness. This smell.
5:54:47Zhao Linhua wiped away her tears and
5:54:50unscrewed the cap. The next second, a
5:54:52weird odor hit her nose carrying a
5:54:54nauseating fishiness that made her
5:54:56unconsciously knit her brows. No, Li
5:54:59Feng is so kind. He wouldn't play a
5:55:01prank on me in such a disgusting way. I
5:55:03should trust him. It's just even if I
5:55:05apply it, it won't work. She held her
5:55:07breath, forcing down the churning in her
5:55:09stomach, dipped a finger in a bit, and
5:55:12spread it evenly over the pimples on her
5:55:13cheeks. It was cool with a faint slight
5:55:16sting. Someone, quick, someone come.
5:55:19Hurry, get the bed 51 expectant mother
5:55:21to the delivery room. We've got to do
5:55:23the C-section or both mother and baby's
5:55:25lives are in danger. A burst of frantic
5:55:28shouting suddenly came from the
5:55:29corridor. Zhao Linhua jumped, hastily
5:55:32put her mask back on, and rushed out.
5:55:34She saw several colleagues frantically
5:55:36pushing the bed 51 expectant mother
5:55:39racing toward the elevator as if every
5:55:41second counted. She was a step too slow.
5:55:44By the time she ran over, the elevator
5:55:45doors had already closed. Then something
5:55:48occurred to her and she turned to look
5:55:49at the clock on the wall. The hour hand
5:55:51pointed exactly to 12, not a minute
5:55:53more, not a minute less. My god, it
5:55:56really it really came true just as Li
5:55:58Feng said. And at this moment, I had
5:56:01already arrived at the staff cafeteria.
5:56:03I bought four dishes and a soup to my
5:56:05aunt's taste, found a seat by the
5:56:07window, and waited for her to come down
5:56:09while fiddling with my phone. But wait
5:56:11as I might, there was no sign of her.
5:56:13Didn't we agree this morning to eat
5:56:14together in the cafeteria at noon? I
5:56:16dialed several times in a row, all going
5:56:19unanswered, and felt more and more that
5:56:21something was off. A few female nurses
5:56:23at the next table were eating and
5:56:25whispering among themselves. The old
5:56:27secretary's illness was already pretty
5:56:29hopeless, but he was actually quite
5:56:30stable when he transferred back from the
5:56:32capital yesterday. I heard he even
5:56:34polished off two big meat buns last
5:56:36night. Yeah, and President Joe assigned
5:56:39Dr. Ye to take special charge of him.
5:56:41Not even a day later, his condition
5:56:43worsened. They even issued a critical
5:56:45condition notice. Word is it was caused
5:56:47by Dr. Ye's mistake, which is why
5:56:49President Joe flew into a rage and took
5:56:52her off the case. Sigh, Dr. Ye hasn't
5:56:54made a single slip in all these years.
5:56:56How did she get so careless the moment
5:56:58she handled the old secretary? To put it
5:57:01bluntly, if the old secretary doesn't
5:57:03pull through, Dr. Ye will truly become a
5:57:05sinner in the eyes of all Yin City. I
5:57:07can't bear to imagine what her days
5:57:09ahead will be like. The Dr. Ye in charge
5:57:11of the old secretary, wasn't that my
5:57:13aunt? No wonder I'd waited so long with
5:57:16no sign of her. Something really had
5:57:18happened. How could I be in any mood to
5:57:20eat now? I grabbed my phone and bolted
5:57:22out of the cafeteria. I searched all
5:57:24through the respiratory medicine
5:57:25department, but couldn't find a trace of
5:57:27my aunt. In the end, on a hunch, I came
5:57:30to the underground parking lot, and sure
5:57:32enough, I spotted her sitting alone in
5:57:33the car. Auntie. I pulled open the car
5:57:36door, flashed her a grin, and plopped
5:57:38down in the passenger seat. You rotten
5:57:40boy. How How did you get here? Ye Lan
5:57:42came to, and instinctively raised a hand
5:57:45to wipe the corners of her eyes. But
5:57:47those eyes were red and swollen. She'd
5:57:49clearly just been crying. In all her
5:57:51years in the profession, she'd never
5:57:53made a slip. Today, too, she'd treated
5:57:55the old secretary entirely by the normal
5:57:57procedure. Yet for some reason, his
5:57:59condition had suddenly worsened, even to
5:58:01the brink of death. And as the attending
5:58:03physician, she naturally had to shoulder
5:58:05the blame. I didn't rush to ask.
5:58:08Instead, I rubbed my belly and put on a
5:58:09wronged face. I got all the food at the
5:58:11cafeteria, but I waited and waited, and
5:58:14Auntie never came. With Auntie not
5:58:15there, how would I dare touch my
5:58:17chopsticks? So, I came looking for you
5:58:19on an empty stomach. You rotten boy. If
5:58:21you didn't touch your chopsticks, it
5:58:23means you're not hungry yet. Ye Lan's
5:58:25words had an edge, but the gloom in her
5:58:27heart lifted a little. This rotten boy
5:58:30ran his mouth all day long, but
5:58:31precisely because of that, whenever she
5:58:33was down, a couple of his lines could
5:58:35coax her into laughing out loud. Only
5:58:37today's trouble was too serious. She
5:58:40really couldn't bring herself to laugh.
5:58:41"Auntie, it's the middle of the day. Why
5:58:43aren't you at the cafeteria? What are
5:58:45you doing sitting alone in the car?" I
5:58:47played dumb, keeping my tone light. To
5:58:49my aunt, this matter was serious, but to
5:58:52me, it wasn't worth mentioning, and
5:58:54there was no need to make the mood too
5:58:55heavy. "I, it's nothing. I just suddenly
5:58:58felt like being alone for a bit." Yilan
5:59:00hesitated, but in the end didn't tell me
5:59:02the truth. Telling me would be useless
5:59:05and would only add one more person to
5:59:06worry needlessly. "Auntie, you're always
5:59:09like this. No matter how big the
5:59:11trouble, you bear it all alone in
5:59:12silence." I dropped the grinning act and
5:59:15turned serious. "That was fine before,
5:59:17but now I'm grown up and I can share the
5:59:19load for you." Since she wouldn't speak,
5:59:21I had no choice but to broach the topic
5:59:23myself. "You rotten boy, did you hear
5:59:26something?" Yilan's brows knit slightly.
5:59:28A matter this big had spread through the
5:59:30whole hospital, and Li Feng loved to
5:59:31pry. How could he not know? They said
5:59:34that because of a mistake by auntie, the
5:59:36old secretary's condition worsened, and
5:59:38he very likely won't pull through. "No,
5:59:41that's not how it is. I didn't make any
5:59:42mistake, but I don't know why either. It
5:59:45just turned out this way." Yilan shook
5:59:47her head hard, tears welling up in her
5:59:49eyes again. She fought them back with
5:59:51all her might, not wanting to cry in
5:59:53front of me. In all these years, she
5:59:55never once shed a tear before me.
5:59:57"Auntie, I believe you made no mistake,
5:59:59and I know you've been wronged. If you
6:00:01want to cry, then cry. Borrow my
6:00:03shoulder for a bit." I scooted left and
6:00:05leaned my shoulder toward her. Yilan
6:00:07hadn't wanted to show her fragile side,
6:00:09but she couldn't hold up against this
6:00:11rotten boy's determination to make her
6:00:13cry. On the spot, she could no longer
6:00:15hold it together, buried her face in my
6:00:17shoulder, and sobbed softly. "Xiao Feng,
6:00:20I really don't know what to do anymore."
6:00:22Seeing her cry like this, my heart ached
6:00:24terribly. However strong my aunt was,
6:00:26she was still a woman in the end. I
6:00:28waited patiently through a good long
6:00:30cry, still feeling there was something
6:00:32fishy about all this, and asked,
6:00:34"Auntie, can you tell me what exactly
6:00:36happened?" Yilan sniffled and struggled
6:00:38to steady herself. "This morning
6:00:40everything was normal when I
6:00:41administered the medication, but about
6:00:43an hour later, I went by the ward again.
6:00:45I really didn't do anything, just
6:00:47chatted briefly with the old secretary.
6:00:49And who would have thought he suddenly
6:00:51just perfectly fine, then a few words of
6:00:53chatting and he took a turn for the
6:00:55worse?" I was baffled, too. Suddenly, I
6:00:58frowned as if I had discovered something
6:01:00and leaned down close to her for a
6:01:01careful sniff. My expression changed
6:01:03abruptly. "Auntie, why is there a smell
6:01:06of ragweed flower on you?" "Ragweed
6:01:08flower?" Yilan was startled and
6:01:10immediately sniffed at herself. Sure
6:01:12enough, there was a faint, but
6:01:14unmistakable irritant odor. She flipped
6:01:16up her collar to check and actually
6:01:18found some fine powdery bits,
6:01:19yellowish-green, the grains minute,
6:01:22impossible to spot without looking
6:01:23closely, looking exactly like ragweed
6:01:26pollen. As a respiratory medicine
6:01:27specialist, Yilan knew better than
6:01:29anyone how harmful ragweed pollen was to
6:01:32lung disease patients. Inhaling even a
6:01:34trace amount could trigger airway spasms
6:01:36and difficulty breathing. For the old
6:01:38secretary, whose lungs already had
6:01:40serious lesions, it was salt in the
6:01:42wound. The more she thought, the more
6:01:44frightened she grew, her face going
6:01:46pale. Could the problem lie with this
6:01:48ragweed flower? But, "I've never come
6:01:50into contact with ragweed in my life."
6:01:53"If you've never come into contact with
6:01:54it, Auntie, then it can only mean
6:01:56someone deliberately framed you." I
6:01:58narrowed my eyes, my tone turning grave.
6:02:01"From this morning until it happened, I
6:02:03only came into contact with my
6:02:04department colleagues, and they're all
6:02:06good people, everyone. We've never even
6:02:08had a falling out. How could anyone
6:02:10frame me?" Yilan hadn't finished before
6:02:12something seemed to strike her, and her
6:02:14mouth flew open. "Could it Could it be
6:02:17that bastard Shin Ji-heon? Shin Ji-heon?
6:02:19I was taken aback. What was that bastard
6:02:21doing at the hospital? Yes, his scalp
6:02:24seems pretty bad. I ran into him once in
6:02:26the elevator and once more in the
6:02:28corridor. Yulan found it increasingly
6:02:30suspicious, too. I gave a cold laugh, a
6:02:32flash of frost in my eyes. Annie, last
6:02:35time you not only pranked him, but also
6:02:37split his head open with your high heel.
6:02:39A petty man like that, who takes revenge
6:02:41for the smallest grudge, is definitely
6:02:43holding it against you. The first time
6:02:45in the elevator was a chance encounter,
6:02:47but the second time in the corridor was
6:02:48most likely to seize the chance for
6:02:50revenge. He caught you off guard and
6:02:52secretly sprinkled ragweed pollen on
6:02:54you. You damn Shin Ji-heon. Seems the
6:02:57lesson at the clinic last time was
6:02:58nowhere near enough. You actually got
6:03:01reckless with your life again and dared
6:03:02mess with my aunt. But, when I went to
6:03:04see the old secretary alone, I was
6:03:07wearing isolation gear. Could it be I
6:03:08didn't put it on properly and that's how
6:03:10the pollen drifted out? If that's really
6:03:12the case, then it still comes down to my
6:03:14own mistake.
6:03:15Yulan sank back into self-blame. Annie,
6:03:18now isn't the time for self-blame. The
6:03:20pressing matters are, first, to
6:03:22stabilize the old secretary's condition
6:03:24and second, to drag out that chief
6:03:26culprit Shin Ji-heon. I, on the other
6:03:29hand, remained calm. President Joe seems
6:03:31to have already invited divine physician
6:03:33Luo over. I just don't know whether
6:03:35he'll be able to. Yulan's heart was in
6:03:37knots. Annie, leave this to me. You get
6:03:39a good sleep in the car. When you wake
6:03:41up, everything will be solved. I gently
6:03:44placed my hand on the back of her neck,
6:03:46gathered a whisper of true chi at my
6:03:48fingertips, and quietly channeled it in.
6:03:50Before Yulan could react, she only felt
6:03:53a warmth at the back of her neck and an
6:03:55overwhelming drowsiness washed over her.
6:03:57Her consciousness ebbed away like a
6:03:59receding tide and she slumped limply
6:04:01against the seat back. I reclined the
6:04:03seat flat, took a coat from the back
6:04:05seat and draped it over her, then got
6:04:07out of the car and strode toward the
6:04:09elevator. From childhood on, it had
6:04:11always been my aunt sheltering me from
6:04:13the wind and rain. This time, it was my
6:04:15turn to charge into battle for her. If
6:04:18divine physician Luo could stabilize the
6:04:20old secretary's condition, so much the
6:04:22better. If not, then I'd have to step in
6:04:24myself. After that, I'd go settle the
6:04:27score with that bastard Qin Zhijiang. I
6:04:29reached the ICU floor, and just as I
6:04:31stepped off the elevator, my phone rang.
6:04:33It was Zhao Linhua calling. After I
6:04:35answered, her tone was a bit anxious.
6:04:38"Li Feng, where are you?" Sis Linhua,
6:04:40what's up? My heart gave a lurch. Could
6:04:42it be she'd opened the bottle and
6:04:43smelled that weird odor, mistakenly
6:04:45thinking the Jade Visage Acne Clearing
6:04:47Powder was, and called to take me to
6:04:49task? But Zhao Linhua said not a word
6:04:51about the medicine. Instead, she said,
6:04:53"Two great beauties are looking for you.
6:04:55They seem to have something especially
6:04:57urgent. Could you come back for a bit?"
6:04:59"Oh, I see. Sis Linhua, I'm sorry, but
6:05:02I've got something very important of my
6:05:03own to deal with. Have them wait, or
6:05:06come find me another day." I breathed a
6:05:07sigh of relief. No sooner had I finished
6:05:10speaking than my phone screen went
6:05:11black. Dead battery, powered off. I had
6:05:14no idea where these two great beauties
6:05:16had come from, but however urgent,
6:05:18nothing was as pressing as my aunt's
6:05:20situation. On the other end, Zhao Linhua
6:05:22listened to the dial tone and could only
6:05:24look helplessly at the two great
6:05:26beauties, full of apology. "I'm sorry,
6:05:28you two. Li Feng says he's got something
6:05:30very important and asked that you wait,
6:05:33or come back another day." As she spoke,
6:05:35boundless envy involuntarily slipped
6:05:37into her eyes. Calling these two great
6:05:39beauties before her, stunning enough to
6:05:41topple cities and kingdoms, was no
6:05:43exaggeration. If she could have even a
6:05:45tenth of the looks of either one, she'd
6:05:47be perfectly content. "Boohoo. Qinghua,
6:05:49what do we do? Right now, he's the only
6:05:51one who can save my grandpa, but he's
6:05:53not even here." Hearing this, Qin Xian
6:05:56burst into tears on the spot. Just this
6:05:58morning, because of the attending
6:06:00physician's mistake, her grandfather's
6:06:02condition had worsened, and he hovered
6:06:04at death's door. Even though they'd
6:06:05promptly brought in Grandpa Luo, he was
6:06:08at a loss. In her desperation, she could
6:06:10only call up Luo Qingha and come
6:06:12together to OBGYN to find that master
6:06:15who could wield needles with qi, namely
6:06:17Li Fong. Who'd have thought Li Fong
6:06:19wouldn't even be here? Xin Xian, don't
6:06:22fret. Grandpa Shen has done good deeds
6:06:24all his life. Heaven will surely watch
6:06:26over him. Luo Qingha's eyes were just as
6:06:29red, but she forced herself to offer
6:06:31comfort. Then she turned to Zhou Lingxue
6:06:33and said softly, "Nurse, let me leave
6:06:36you a phone number. When Li Fong gets
6:06:37back, could you please let us know?"
6:06:39"Mhm, okay." Zhou Lingxue nodded
6:06:41hastily. Though the two great beauties
6:06:44hadn't explained their purpose, she
6:06:45vaguely gathered it seemed to be a life
6:06:47or death matter. And the only one who
6:06:49could turn the tide right now was Li
6:06:51Fong. But Li Fong was obviously just an
6:06:53OBGYN intern nurse, not a doctor. "Thank
6:06:56you." Luo Qingha left her number, called
6:06:58over Chen Xian, and could only return to
6:07:00the ICU for now. Little did the two
6:07:03women know that the very person they
6:07:04were looking for was on this very floor
6:07:06at this very moment. I tucked my phone
6:07:08into my pocket and had just made to step
6:07:10forward. "Huh? Li Fong, what are you
6:07:12doing here?" Suddenly, a familiar voice
6:07:15came from my left. I turned to look. The
6:07:17female nurse standing not far off, who
6:07:19else could it be but Gu Mengxi? As far
6:07:22as I knew, the ICU on this floor only
6:07:24admitted VIPs like the old secretary.
6:07:27Ordinary patients couldn't even get in.
6:07:29No wonder Gu Mengxi had been smiling
6:07:31like she'd won the lottery first thing
6:07:32this morning. Turned out she'd been
6:07:34temporarily transferred here. The crowd
6:07:36she'd rub shoulders with here was worlds
6:07:38apart from OBGYN. Without exaggeration,
6:07:41it was a little nurse stumbling into the
6:07:43halls of the mighty. "I I just started
6:07:45to explain." But Gu Mengxi strode over
6:07:48in a few steps, wearing a self-important
6:07:50look, and cut me off first. "I know. You
6:07:53came looking for me, didn't you?" "Sis
6:07:54Mengxi, I didn't even know you were
6:07:56here. How could I possibly come looking
6:07:58for you?" I was speechless, truly at a
6:08:01loss as to where this woman got her
6:08:02confidence. TCH, quit putting on an act.
6:08:05Several colleagues and OBGYN know I was
6:08:08transferred here. All you had to do was
6:08:09ask around and you'd know. Gooming See
6:08:12pursed her lips and crossed her arms.
6:08:14She looked down on me from the bottom of
6:08:16her heart, but having a man stick to her
6:08:18like a dog skin plaster was proof enough
6:08:20of her charm and it inevitably gave her
6:08:22vanity a small little boost. That didn't
6:08:24mean she'd lower her partner standards
6:08:26though. At most she'd grudgingly grant
6:08:29me the chance to be her simp. Le Feng,
6:08:31you've come at just the right time. I
6:08:33haven't had lunch yet. Go to the
6:08:34hospital entrance and buy me a barbecued
6:08:36pork rice box. Oh, and bring back a cup
6:08:39of milk tea. I only drink Chage. Sisming
6:08:42See, I've got something very important.
6:08:44I can't be delayed. If you're hungry, go
6:08:46downstairs and eat yourself. I couldn't
6:08:48be bothered to waste words and made to
6:08:50step around her. This woman was treating
6:08:52me like her errand boy. Never mind that
6:08:54I had something urgent right now. Even
6:08:56if I were bored to death, there was no
6:08:58way I'd go by any barbecue pork rice box
6:09:01or milk tea. Hey, Le Feng, I'm giving
6:09:04you a chance to show your worth. Don't
6:09:05fail to appreciate it. Miss this village
6:09:08and you won't find the inn. Gooming See
6:09:10chased after me flinging her arms wide
6:09:12to block my path. Sisming See, save the
6:09:15chance to be a simp for someone else. I
6:09:16don't need it. I pressed down my anger,
6:09:19my voice turning cold. Honestly, if it
6:09:21weren't for the fact that we'd still
6:09:23have to work under the same roof going
6:09:25forward, with my temper, I'd have long
6:09:27since been unable to resist slapping her
6:09:29across the face to knock some sense into
6:09:31her. You. Gooming See gritted her teeth
6:09:33and stamped her foot in fury. What was
6:09:35this supposed to mean? Could it be this
6:09:37guy hadn't come to simp for her, but
6:09:39really was here for something else? That
6:09:41dealt her vanity a heavy blow and she
6:09:43was utterly displeased. Just then, a man
6:09:46in a security uniform came walking over.
6:09:48Around 30, decently tall, sturdily
6:09:51built, his face tanned dark with a
6:09:53somewhat fierce look about him. But the
6:09:55moment he spotted Gooming See, his brows
6:09:57and eyes lit up, and he hurried over in
6:09:59two bounding strides. Xi Xi, why the
6:10:02pout? Who upset you? His name was Xiao
6:10:04Haibing, the hospital's security
6:10:06captain, a fellow townsman of Gu Mang
6:10:08Xi's, and furthermore, one of her most
6:10:10devoted simps. Gu Mang Xi rolled her
6:10:12eyes at me, still wearing that haughty
6:10:14air, and said with a sneer, "This is the
6:10:16new intern male nurse at our OB/GYN
6:10:19department, Li Feng. He clearly came
6:10:21looking for me, yet he's stubbornly
6:10:23refusing to admit it. Being stubborn is
6:10:25one thing, but his mouth is so nasty,
6:10:27too. It's only because I'm
6:10:29good-tempered. Any other girl pestered
6:10:31by him like this would have gone and
6:10:32filed a complaint with the higher-ups.
6:10:34Humph." Xiao Haibing believed every word
6:10:37Gu Mang Xi said without question. At
6:10:39this very hospital alone, the men
6:10:41chasing her numbered seven or eight.
6:10:44This male nurse before him surely wanted
6:10:45to be one of them, too, and had flown
6:10:47into a rage after being rejected. He
6:10:49shot me a sidelong glance, as if looking
6:10:52at a joke. A grown man working as a
6:10:54nurse in OB/GYN, no less. Just pathetic.
6:10:57"A rent-a-cop from an outsourced company
6:10:59has the gall to mock medical staff?" I
6:11:01immediately shot back. "Buddy, I'm not
6:11:04here to quarrel with you." Xiao Haibing
6:11:06stepped forward, raised a hand, and
6:11:08patted my left shoulder, putting at
6:11:10least 70% of his strength into it, and
6:11:12cocked a brow. "Xi Xi is the most
6:11:14beautiful nurse at Yun City First
6:11:16People's Hospital. Calling her the
6:11:18campus flower wouldn't be an
6:11:19exaggeration. So, liking her is nothing
6:11:22shameful. What's shameful is liking her
6:11:24and not daring to admit it. Brother, let
6:11:26me give you a word of advice. Say
6:11:28something sweet, get Xi Xi in a good
6:11:30mood, and maybe she'll be willing to
6:11:32give you the chance to be her simp."
6:11:34"You be the simp, then I won't." I gave
6:11:36a cold snort. I'd figured it out. This
6:11:39guy was a thoroughbred simp through and
6:11:40through, which was why he performed so
6:11:42eagerly in front of Gu Mang Xi. Only,
6:11:45he'd picked the wrong stepping stone.
6:11:46Humph. My shoulder jolted, releasing
6:11:49just the tiniest bit of true qi outward.
6:11:52Ack! Xiao Haibing jerked as if he'd
6:11:54touched a high voltage wire. His right
6:11:56hand resting on my shoulder suddenly
6:11:58flung off. His whole body stumbling back
6:12:00several steps. His right hand felt numb
6:12:02and painful. The sensation shooting from
6:12:05his fingertips all the way to his elbow.
6:12:07As though pricked by countless fine
6:12:09needles. His face contorted and his
6:12:11forehead was instantly beaded with
6:12:13sweat. "Captain Xiao, what's wrong with
6:12:15you?" Gu Mingxi sensed something off and
6:12:17asked with a frown. "No, nothing." Xiao
6:12:20Haibing swung his right hand hard behind
6:12:22his back saying it was nothing while his
6:12:24eyes looked like he'd seen a ghost. This
6:12:26kid had merely given his shoulder a
6:12:27slight jolt just now. How could that
6:12:29have hurt him? An illusion. It had to be
6:12:31an illusion. Whatever the case, he
6:12:33couldn't let himself be cowed by this
6:12:35kid in front of Gu Mingxi. He forced
6:12:37himself to bluster on. "Brother, don't
6:12:39say I didn't warn you. Lots of people
6:12:41like CC, including management. If they
6:12:43find out you upset CC, you won't come to
6:12:46any good end. Don't call me brother. I
6:12:48don't go sworn brothering with simps." I
6:12:50turned my head and looked coldly at Gu
6:12:52Mingxi. Since this woman's
6:12:54self-importance was endless, there was
6:12:56no need for me to keep sparing her
6:12:57feelings. "Gu Mingxi, I'll tell you this
6:13:00one last time. You don't fancy me and I
6:13:02don't fancy you. We're all just
6:13:04colleagues. If you keep making
6:13:05unreasonable scenes, I won't care
6:13:07whether you're a man or a woman. I'll
6:13:09hit you all the same." With that, I
6:13:12didn't spare her another glance, turned,
6:13:14and walked off toward the far end of the
6:13:16corridor. A person's patience has its
6:13:18limits and she'd already pushed me past
6:13:20the point of endurance. Gu Mingxi was
6:13:22dumbstruck, standing frozen in place for
6:13:24several seconds. Her mouth hanging open,
6:13:27unable to close it for the longest time.
6:13:29Actually, she'd already sensed from my
6:13:31coldness earlier that this guy might
6:13:33genuinely not fancy her. It was purely
6:13:35her vanity at work that she'd kept
6:13:37forcibly filing me under simp. But she'd
6:13:39never imagined I'd outright turn on her
6:13:41and put it in such blunt terms. "You you
6:13:43you." She was so furious she couldn't
6:13:46get a word out. And as if she'd suffered
6:13:48the greatest injustice, she whirled and
6:13:50shouted at Xiao Haibing. "Captain Xiao,
6:13:52this Li Feng has gone too far. Rejected
6:13:55by me and flying into a rage, he even
6:13:57tried to hit me." "CC, don't be angry. I
6:14:00heard it all. I'll go teach him a lesson
6:14:02right now. Damn it, when the tiger
6:14:04doesn't show its might, he takes me for
6:14:06a Hello Kitty." Seeing his goddess so
6:14:09wronged, Xiao Haibing instantly forgot
6:14:11that inexplicable fear from before,
6:14:13rolled up his sleeves, and made to give
6:14:15chase. But Gu Mengxi reached out to stop
6:14:17him, a flicker of cunning in her eyes.
6:14:20"Don't. Whatever you do, don't lay hands
6:14:22on him on my account. What if you get
6:14:24disciplined? President Joe said that
6:14:26without his permission, no outsiders are
6:14:28allowed on this floor, lest they disturb
6:14:30the old secretary. And Li Feng clearly
6:14:33hasn't gotten permission. Go stop him,
6:14:35quick." Xiao Haibing's eyes lit up,
6:14:37catching her drift. "Right, I nearly
6:14:39forgot about that. President Joe had put
6:14:41him in charge of security on this floor,
6:14:44so he had every right to make Li Feng
6:14:45scram. And if Li Feng wouldn't scram,
6:14:48then him laying hands on the guy would
6:14:49be perfectly justified." Making a
6:14:51mountain out of a trifle and wielding it
6:14:53as authority, he was all too skilled at
6:14:55that. So, Xiao Haibing swaggered after
6:14:58me, blocked my way in a few steps, and
6:15:00hollered, "Li Feng, who allowed you to
6:15:02go wandering around here? Scram now.
6:15:05Which room is the old secretary in?" I
6:15:07swept a glance around. The long corridor
6:15:09had a good dozen or more doors, all shut
6:15:11tight. I couldn't very well check them
6:15:13one by one. That'd have waste too much
6:15:15time. Xiao Haibing sneered, "You really
6:15:17talk big. An OBGYN nurse, a figure of
6:15:21the old secretary's rank is someone you
6:15:22can just see whenever you please." I'd
6:15:25completely run out of patience. I
6:15:27stepped forward, grabbed his collar, and
6:15:29shoved the burly man clean against the
6:15:31wall. "I'm the only one who can save the
6:15:33old secretary. If you don't want him
6:15:35dead, then answer me nicely, got it?"
6:15:37Holy, my spine's about to snap. Xiao
6:15:40Xiao back slammed into the wall. He
6:15:42nearly couldn't catch his breath, his
6:15:44vision going black for an instant. But
6:15:46glimpsing from the corner of his eye
6:15:47that Gu Mansi was still watching not far
6:15:49off, he could only force himself to
6:15:51bluster. "Laying hands on me, are you?
6:15:54I've had training. Let go of me." He
6:15:56tried to pry my hand off, but with all
6:15:58the strength he could muster, that hand
6:16:00of mine didn't budge an inch, like a
6:16:02pair of iron pincers. "Who is making a
6:16:04racket here?" Suddenly, a low, deep
6:16:07voice rang out, thunderous enough to
6:16:09split the ears. The three of us looked
6:16:11toward the source. A middle-aged man in
6:16:13a black suit stood not far off, tall and
6:16:15broad-shouldered, with a thick back. He
6:16:17stood ramrod straight as a pine, his
6:16:20eyes as sharp as an eagle's, radiating
6:16:22an intangible pressure. Mr. Xu Gu Mansi
6:16:25clearly knew him and hurried to greet
6:16:27him with a fawning smile. "President Joe
6:16:29said that without his permission, no
6:16:31outsiders are allowed on this floor. But
6:16:34this male nurse called Li Feng is
6:16:35possessed. He insists on forcing his way
6:16:38in, and no matter how we try, we can't
6:16:40stop him." "Mr. Xu, it's not just that
6:16:43we can't stop him. He even tried to hit
6:16:45me." Xiao Haibing chimed in. This Mr.
6:16:47Xu's name was Xu Changyue, a man at the
6:16:50old secretary's side. Even President Joe
6:16:52treated him with courtesy. Most
6:16:54importantly, he was specifically in
6:16:55charge of the old secretary's security,
6:16:58so he was surely a man of hidden depths.
6:17:00If Li Feng dared keep running wild in
6:17:02front of him, that'd be no different
6:17:04from courting death. However, for Xu
6:17:06Changyue to have been at the old
6:17:07secretary's side for years, he was no
6:17:10ordinary man. He didn't mindlessly
6:17:12believe Gu Mansi and Xiao Haibing's
6:17:13one-sided account. Those sharp eyes of
6:17:16his sized me up. A hospital nurse, not
6:17:18some street punk, wouldn't come stirring
6:17:20up trouble for no reason. After
6:17:22pondering a moment, he finally spoke.
6:17:24"Young man, let go of him first." "All
6:17:26right." I loosened my wrist and flung
6:17:28Xiao Haibing out several meters like a
6:17:30dead dog, then walked straight toward Xu
6:17:32Changyue. I've always held that if
6:17:34someone shows me respect, I'll repay
6:17:36them tenfold. He hadn't shown hostility
6:17:39and was in fact quite courteous. So,
6:17:41naturally, I wasn't going to treat him
6:17:42the way I treated Xiao Haibing. It's Mr.
6:17:45Sure, right? The doctor Ye who is in
6:17:46charge of the old secretary happens to
6:17:48be my aunt. I've come for her sake. I
6:17:51walked up close, my tone calm. I see.
6:17:53Sure Changwei nodded. You think we've
6:17:55wronged her, that it wasn't her mistake
6:17:57that worsened the old secretary's
6:17:59condition. So, you've come to demand an
6:18:01explanation? I shook my head. I'm not a
6:18:03three-year-old. I'm not that naive. The
6:18:05pressing matter is to save the old
6:18:07secretary's life first, then talk about
6:18:09anything else. And I can do that. Young
6:18:12man, you mean to say you know medicine
6:18:14and can pull the old secretary back from
6:18:16the gates of hell? Sure Changwei raised
6:18:18a brow slightly and seeing me nod,
6:18:21couldn't help feeling caught between
6:18:22laughter and exasperation. But he didn't
6:18:25mock me. He only sighed. Do you know of
6:18:27divine physician Luo? I've long admired
6:18:29his name. Then do you know we already
6:18:31brought divine physician Luo here? I
6:18:33know. Then do you know that divine
6:18:35physician Luo, with all his effort,
6:18:38couldn't pull the old secretary back
6:18:39from the gates of hell? Or are you
6:18:41claiming your medical skills surpasses?
6:18:43Sure Changwei's tone carried a note of
6:18:45helplessness. Having said all this, he
6:18:47assumed I'd back off, knowing better.
6:18:49Just moments ago, divine physician Luo's
6:18:52resuscitation of the old secretary had
6:18:54already concluded with the result that
6:18:56nothing more could be done. Yet I still
6:18:58wore a confident look, my voice neither
6:19:00loud nor soft, every word landing with
6:19:03weight. Divine physician Luo is the
6:19:05towering authority of the great Xia TCM
6:19:07world. I never said my skills surpasses.
6:19:10I only said I can cure the old
6:19:12secretary. Ah, young man, don't you
6:19:14think those two statements contradict
6:19:16each other?
6:19:17Sure Changwei rubbed his brow. Something
6:19:19even divine physician Luo couldn't
6:19:21accomplish. Yet this young man before
6:19:23him said he could. Wasn't that the same
6:19:25as claiming his skills surpassed divine
6:19:27physician Luo's? Du Mingxi and Xiao
6:19:29Haibing off to the side had never
6:19:31expected Sure Changwei to treat me this
6:19:33way. "Mr. Shi, he's an intern nurse from
6:19:35our OBGYN department, not a doctor at
6:19:38all. Don't listen to his nonsense."
6:19:40Gongsun Ce cut in. "Exactly. Talking
6:19:42such big talk, isn't he afraid of
6:19:44pulling a muscle in his tongue?" Xiao
6:19:47Haibing, clutching his sore bruised
6:19:48backside, echoed. I couldn't be bothered
6:19:51to spare those two a glance, and quietly
6:19:53activated my insight pupil, soon
6:19:55discovering Shi Qingyue's
6:19:56extraordinariness. This man's bone
6:19:58density was extremely high. His muscle
6:20:00fibers tightly arranged, clearly a bona
6:20:03fide martial practitioner. Within his
6:20:05body there also flowed, faintly, a
6:20:07feeble breath of energy, different from
6:20:09my true chi. He wasn't a cultivator, but
6:20:12more like someone who trained up
6:20:13internal force through hard external
6:20:15conditioning kung fu. Pity, though,
6:20:17around the dantian region in his abdomen
6:20:20coiled a mass of ashen black chi, like a
6:20:22patch of stagnant, clogged bog blocking
6:20:24the way. Clearly he'd suffered a grave
6:20:27injury in his early years, which left
6:20:29him unable to exert his peak strength
6:20:31now. "Mr. Shi, your old injury is from
6:20:33many years ago, isn't it?" I shut off
6:20:35the insight pupil and said mildly,
6:20:38"Mhm." Shi Changwei was taken aback, a
6:20:40flash of disbelief crossing his face. He
6:20:43had indeed suffered a serious injury in
6:20:45his youth, but very few people knew of
6:20:47it. "How did this young man before him
6:20:49know? Getting to know you today, Mr.
6:20:51Shi, counts as a kind of fate between
6:20:53us. Allow me a small favor, and
6:20:55incidentally, a chance to prove my
6:20:57medical skills." As I spoke, my left
6:20:59hand had already reached out, pressing
6:21:01steadily against his abdomen. "Young
6:21:03man, even if we're both men, you can't
6:21:06just grope me however you please." Cut
6:21:08off guard, Shi Changwei's face flushed
6:21:10crimson. This was the first time in his
6:21:12life a strange man had pressed a hand to
6:21:14his belly. The feeling was
6:21:16indescribable, just plain weird. But
6:21:18when he instinctively made to step back,
6:21:20astonishment flooded his face instead.
6:21:23He looked down at his own abdomen. His
6:21:25old injury dated back more than a
6:21:26decade, left by a heavy blow to the
6:21:29abdomen during a mission. Though he'd
6:21:30kept his life, his dantian had been
6:21:32damaged, his strength greatly
6:21:34diminished, and it still ached dully
6:21:36every few days. He'd sought out divine
6:21:39physician Luo for treatment, but even
6:21:41divine physician Luo had been helpless.
6:21:43At this moment, however, he could
6:21:45clearly feel a warm current pouring
6:21:47steadily into his body through my left
6:21:49hand. Those old, long-clogged meridians,
6:21:52like ice melted by warm water, unfurled
6:21:55inch by inch, giving him a sense of
6:21:57comfort he'd never known before. In a
6:21:59moment, I withdrew my left hand. "Mr.
6:22:01Sure, your old injury is healed. If you
6:22:04don't believe me, try throwing a punch,
6:22:06with full force, preferably." Even
6:22:08though still I don't quite believe it.
6:22:10Sure Chang Yue's words were a denial,
6:22:12but his tone had lost its conviction.
6:22:14Just now, after a few minutes of that
6:22:16pressing, he'd felt as though restored
6:22:18to full vigor, his whole body brimming
6:22:20with power. It was just that the matter
6:22:22was too dreamlike. It wasn't that he
6:22:24didn't believe it, but that he didn't
6:22:26dare believe it. He turned to face the
6:22:28wall, drew a deep breath, and smashed
6:22:30out a punch with all his might. Bang. A
6:22:33muffled thud, bits of plaster flying,
6:22:35and the hard concrete wall was forcibly
6:22:37dented with a crater nearly half a
6:22:39centimeter deep. Gu Mingsi and Xiao
6:22:42Haibing were so shocked their jaws
6:22:43nearly hit the floor. He was truly a man
6:22:46from the old secretary's side. One punch
6:22:48denting a concrete wall. If that landed
6:22:50on a person, what would become of them?
6:22:52Sure Chang Yue was already so moved his
6:22:55eyes had gone red, his whole body
6:22:57trembling. He looked down at his own
6:22:58fist, then at the crater in the wall,
6:23:01and in his heart had a clear answer. His
6:23:03old injury truly was healed. Otherwise,
6:23:05this punch could never have carried such
6:23:07power, fully a match for his peak years.
6:23:10A problem even divine physician Luo had
6:23:12been helpless against, this young man
6:23:14before him had resolved with a casual
6:23:16touch. It proved he not only knew
6:23:18medicine, but had reached the pinnacle
6:23:20of mastery. "Mr. Sure, can you take me
6:23:23to see the old secretary now? I still
6:23:25wore a serene smile, as though what I'd
6:23:27just done was a trifling little thing.
6:23:29Sure Changyue came to his senses, and
6:23:31out of gratitude bowed deeply to me
6:23:33first. It was I who failed to recognize
6:23:36Mount Tai before my eyes. I can take you
6:23:38to see the old secretary. Only, I'll
6:23:40have to ask for instructions first. He
6:23:43fully believed in me now, but some
6:23:44matters weren't his to decide. Uncle
6:23:46Sure, no need to ask for instructions.
6:23:49Suddenly, an excited voice came from the
6:23:51direction of the elevator. At some
6:23:53point, Qin Xian and Luo Qingha had
6:23:55already returned to this floor. Young
6:23:57Mistress, Miss Luo, you're back. Sure
6:23:59Changyue hurried to greet them, a touch
6:24:01of urgency on his face. Divine Physician
6:24:04Luo had done his utmost, yet couldn't
6:24:06pull the old secretary back from the
6:24:08gates of hell. But the Young Mistress
6:24:10and Miss Luo had said there was a master
6:24:12at this hospital who could wield needles
6:24:14with chi, and if he could be brought in,
6:24:16the old secretary would still have a
6:24:18sliver of hope. Yet right now, there was
6:24:20no one behind the two of them. The
6:24:22answer was already obvious. They hadn't
6:24:24brought him. Sure Qingyue's heart sank,
6:24:26but he squeezed out a comforting smile.
6:24:28You've already done your best. The old
6:24:30secretary won't blame you. Unexpectedly,
6:24:33Qin Xian stared at me without blinking,
6:24:35her excitement spilling over, urging,
6:24:37"Uncle Sure, don't waste time. Quick,
6:24:40take him in to save Grandpa."
6:24:42Where the mountains and rivers seem to
6:24:44leave no path, there appears a village
6:24:46amidst shady willows and bright
6:24:48blossoms. She never imagined that the
6:24:50very master they'd gone to fetch would
6:24:52turn up right here, and even volunteer
6:24:54to save her grandfather. Huh? Young
6:24:56Mistress, Sure Changyue suddenly formed
6:24:58a bold conjecture. Could it be that the
6:25:00person the Young Mistress and Miss Luo
6:25:02just went to fetch was was That's right,
6:25:05it's him. Luo Qinghan nodded heavily,
6:25:08feeling just the same as parting clouds
6:25:10to see the sun. Receiving the
6:25:11affirmative answer, Sure Changyue
6:25:13immediately smacked his forehead. Aya,
6:25:16this pig brain of mine. I should have
6:25:18known long ago. Even divine physician
6:25:20Luo had been at a loss over his old
6:25:22injury. Yet, this young man had cured it
6:25:24without the slightest effort. Wasn't
6:25:26that proof enough? In all of Yến City,
6:25:28the only one whose medical skills could
6:25:30surpass divine physician Luo's was that
6:25:32master who could wield needles with chi.
6:25:35Sir, this way, please. Xu Changwei
6:25:37walked up close, bent at the waist, and
6:25:39respectfully made a gesture of
6:25:41invitation. Mm. I nodded, cast another
6:25:44glance at Qin Xian and Luo Qingha from
6:25:46afar, then turned and walked toward the
6:25:48ICU ward where the old secretary lay.
6:25:51Miss Luo, so the girl in the wheelchair
6:25:53I'd met that day was divine physician
6:25:55Luo's granddaughter. Her name seemed to
6:25:57be Luo Qingha. No wonder when she later
6:25:59saw me in the parking lot, she not only
6:26:01called me handsome in front of my aunt,
6:26:03but also proactively wanted to meet me.
6:26:05Seemed the acupuncture last time had
6:26:07taken decent effect. As for Qin Xian,
6:26:09she called the old secretary grandpa,
6:26:12and Xu Changwei addressed her as young
6:26:14mistress at every turn. And the old
6:26:16secretary's surname was Qin. Clearly,
6:26:18they were grandfather and granddaughter.
6:26:20Presumably, she learned through Luo
6:26:22Qingha that I knew medicine, which was
6:26:24why she proactively wanted to meet me at
6:26:26that Japanese restaurant yesterday. One
6:26:28the granddaughter of divine physician
6:26:30Luo, the other the granddaughter of the
6:26:31old secretary, and both as beautiful as
6:26:34celestial maidens. Who wouldn't be
6:26:36dazzled? But the most important thing
6:26:38right now was to pull the old secretary
6:26:40back from the gates of hell. All those
6:26:41odds and ends could wait. Soon, led by
6:26:44Xu Changwei, I walked into the ICU. In
6:26:47the ward, all sorts of machines emitted
6:26:49faint beeping sounds. The curves of the
6:26:51vital signs on the screens fluctuating
6:26:54up and down. On the hospital bed lay an
6:26:56old man, so thin he was almost nothing
6:26:58but a bundle of bones, an oxygen tube in
6:27:01his nose, several four lines connected
6:27:03to his body. Though unconscious, a trace
6:27:06of a ruler's authority could still
6:27:07faintly be made out between his brows.
6:27:10Luo Tuohai was standing by the bedside,
6:27:12twirling a silver needle between his
6:27:14fingers, his brows knit into a tight
6:27:16knot, his face full of helplessness.
6:27:19Hearing footsteps, he looked up, and
6:27:21seeing Xu Changyue bring in a young man,
6:27:23his cloudy old eyes suddenly lit up.
6:27:26Instantly guessing something, he stood
6:27:27up in excitement. Changyue, no need for
6:27:30introductions. You go out first. Yes,
6:27:33Divine Physician Luo. Xu Changyue
6:27:35glanced at the unconscious old secretary
6:27:37on the bed, his heart clinching again,
6:27:39and backed out of the ward. No sooner
6:27:41had he shut the door than Qin Xian
6:27:43pushed Luo Qingha over to him. Uncle Xu,
6:27:46do you know why he why he came
6:27:48uninvited? Qin Xian held her breath. If
6:27:50the person had been fetched, fine, but
6:27:52the fact was Li Feng had come uninvited.
6:27:55Was he simply volunteering, or was there
6:27:57some other reason? Without knowing, she
6:27:59couldn't set her heart at ease. Young
6:28:01Mistress, do you still remember that
6:28:02Doctor Ye? Mhm, the one who was
6:28:04specifically in charge of my grandpa?
6:28:07Qin Xian nodded, not understanding how
6:28:09Doctor Ye came into this. Right now, the
6:28:11whole hospital is saying it was Doctor
6:28:13Ye's mistake that worsened the old
6:28:14secretary's condition, and he came
6:28:16precisely for Doctor Ye's sake. Xu
6:28:18Changyue explained earnestly. Huh? Qin
6:28:21Xian blinked. How come I'm a bit lost?
6:28:23It was Luo Qingha who had already
6:28:25furrowed her brows and picked up the
6:28:27thread. Qin Xian, that Doctor Ye is his
6:28:30aunt. So that's it. Qin Xian suddenly
6:28:32understood, then stamped her feet in
6:28:34anxiety. But no one in my Qin family has
6:28:37ever said Doctor Ye made any mistake.
6:28:39The Qin family didn't blame her, but
6:28:41President Zhou flew into a rage in front
6:28:43of so many people and took Doctor Ye off
6:28:46the case of Grandpa Qin. In others'
6:28:48eyes, that inevitably gives the
6:28:49impression it's all Doctor Ye's fault.
6:28:52Once it spreads from mouth to mouth,
6:28:54it's no longer something we can control.
6:28:56Luo Qingha sighed helplessly. Qin Xian
6:28:58knew full well how public opinion harms
6:29:00people. She glanced at the tightly shut
6:29:02ward door and said guiltily, "Even if he
6:29:05cures my grandpa, with his aunt having
6:29:07been so terribly wronged, he's bound to
6:29:09hate the Qin family. Qinghua, what do we
6:29:11do next? Luo Qinghua took her hand and
6:29:14patted it gently. With things as they
6:29:16are, we can only find ways to make
6:29:18amends. First, have President Zhou issue
6:29:20a statement to clear Dr. Ye's name, that
6:29:23this incident was absolutely not due to
6:29:25any problem with her professional
6:29:26competence. Second, you, on behalf of
6:29:29the Qin family, personally apologize to
6:29:32Dr. Ye. All right. As long as he doesn't
6:29:34hate the Qin family, I'll do anything.
6:29:37Qin Xian agreed without hesitation, her
6:29:39gaze involuntarily falling on Luo
6:29:41Qinghua's legs. Merely curing her
6:29:43grandpa wasn't enough. She was also
6:29:45counting on Li Feng to make Luo Qinghua
6:29:47stand again. If Li Feng, out of anger at
6:29:50the Qin family, took it out on Luo
6:29:52Qinghua, that would be disastrous. So,
6:29:54whatever it took, she had to win his
6:29:56forgiveness. In a corner of the
6:29:58corridor, Gu Mengxi and Xiao Haibing had
6:30:00witnessed the whole thing and exchanged
6:30:02dumbfounded glances. CC, didn't you say
6:30:05he's an intern nurse from OBGYN? But Mr.
6:30:08Sure, Young Mistress Qin, and Miss Luo
6:30:11seemed to treat him like a savior, and
6:30:13even let him into the old secretary's
6:30:14ICU. Xiao Haibing was full of confusion
6:30:17and unease. In his off hours, his
6:30:20biggest hobby was reading online novels.
6:30:22This Li Feng was a lot like those play
6:30:24the pig to prey on the tiger protagonist
6:30:27in the stories. Unassuming on the
6:30:28surface, but dazzling the crowd at the
6:30:30critical moment. And he himself was
6:30:32exactly like the kind of clownish
6:30:34buffoon who rushed up asking for a
6:30:36beating. You're asking me? Who do I ask?
6:30:38Gu Mengxi pursed her lips, feeling
6:30:41uneasy inside, too, when suddenly her
6:30:43eyes lit up. Is there a chance Li Feng's
6:30:45a big con artist who's fooled all of
6:30:47these people? Doesn't really look like
6:30:48it to me. Xiao Haibing wasn't entirely
6:30:51brainless. Who cares? Gu Mengxi waved a
6:30:53hand. Hurry and go notify President
6:30:56Zhou. That way, if Li Feng causes some
6:30:58massive disaster later, the hospital can
6:31:01wash its hands of it. Right. Xiao
6:31:03Haibing nodded, feeling that was the
6:31:05prudent move, too, and dashed off toward
6:31:07the elevator. Inside the ICU ward, Luo
6:31:09Tushaan faced me and gave a 90° deep
6:31:12bow, his voice brimming with heartfelt
6:31:14respect. Senior, please accept Luo
6:31:17Tushaan's bow. Divine Physician Luo,
6:31:20you're putting me to shame.
6:31:21Flattered and flustered, I hurried
6:31:23forward to help him up, both hands
6:31:25supporting his arms. You're clearly the
6:31:27senior and I the junior. But Luo Tushaan
6:31:30shook his head, straightened up, and a
6:31:32gentle smile rose at the corner of his
6:31:34mouth. Learning knows no order of first
6:31:36or last. The one who attains mastery
6:31:38comes first. Your medical skills are far
6:31:41above mine. You can even wield needles
6:31:43with chi. You fully deserve this bow of
6:31:45mine. Every word came from the bottom of
6:31:47his heart, without the slightest
6:31:49politeness for form's sake. All right,
6:31:51Divine Physician Luo, let's not keep
6:31:53flattering each other. Let me first take
6:31:55a look at the old secretary's condition.
6:31:58I scratched my head in embarrassment,
6:32:00pulling us back to the point. Yes. Luo
6:32:02Tushaan stepped aside, his expression
6:32:04turning grave once more. The lesions in
6:32:07the old secretary's lungs have already
6:32:09spread over a large area. His
6:32:11respiratory function is in severe
6:32:13failure, and on top of that there's an
6:32:14acute allergic reaction of unknown
6:32:16cause, triggering airway spasms and a
6:32:19sharp drop in blood oxygen. Most
6:32:21crucially, I've never been able to work
6:32:23out why he'd suddenly develop such a
6:32:24severe allergy. I didn't rush to speak.
6:32:27I first walked to the bedside and looked
6:32:29down at the emaciated old man. Then I
6:32:31closed my eyes, and when I opened them
6:32:33again, a nearly imperceptible azure glow
6:32:36flashed deep within my pupils. Insight
6:32:38pupil activated. My gaze pierced through
6:32:41skin and flesh, and the scene inside the
6:32:44old secretary's body fell fully into
6:32:46view. It was indeed as Luo Tushaan had
6:32:48said. The lesions had spread over a wide
6:32:51area. Ashen black disease chi entrenched
6:32:53among the alveoli like a dense fog that
6:32:55wouldn't disperse. The interiors of his
6:32:58trachea and bronchi were also covered
6:33:00with traces of congestion and swelling,
6:33:02clearly induced by some strong irritant.
6:33:05It really is ragweed pollen. I withdrew
6:33:07my gaze. I'd seen it. Trace residual
6:33:09pollen grains clinging to the mucous
6:33:11membrane of the old secretary's airways.
6:33:14Hearing this, Luo Tu Shan drew a sharp,
6:33:16cold breath, his face extremely grim.
6:33:19Ragweed pollen is highly allergenic. For
6:33:22an ordinary person, it might just mean a
6:33:23few sneezes. But for a patient with
6:33:25severe underlying lung disease, inhaling
6:33:28even a trace amount could trigger fatal
6:33:30anaphylactic shock. Whoever brought the
6:33:32pollen into the ward, no wonder the old
6:33:34secretary took such a sharp turn for the
6:33:36worse within a few hours. I felt it
6:33:38necessary to make things clear. It was
6:33:40my aunt who brought the ragweed pollen
6:33:42in. Luo Tu Shan's head snapped up. How
6:33:44could Dr. Ye? Because someone
6:33:46deliberately sprinkled the pollen on
6:33:48her. Luo Tu Shan's expression shifted
6:33:50several times, fury welling up in his
6:33:52eyes. Who would have such audacity? Did
6:33:55they not know Dr. Ye was specifically in
6:33:57charge of the old secretary? If anything
6:33:59happens to the old secretary, he'd be
6:34:01not only a sinner to all of Yun City,
6:34:03the Qin family would never let him off
6:34:05either. I gave a cold laugh. The culprit
6:34:07who framed my aunt and worsened the old
6:34:10secretary's condition, I'll root him out
6:34:12myself. The pressing matter is to
6:34:14stabilize the condition first. Let me
6:34:16try treating him. Yes. Fearing he might
6:34:18disturb me, Luo Tu Shan immediately took
6:34:21a small step back, folded his hands in
6:34:23front of him, and dared not even breathe
6:34:25too loudly. I drew a deep breath, my
6:34:28expression graver than ever before.
6:34:30Given the old secretary's condition,
6:34:32this was no longer treating illness. It
6:34:34was snatching a man back from the king
6:34:36of hell. I didn't know whether the true
6:34:38chi of my second layer chi refinement
6:34:40would be enough, but with things as they
6:34:42were, I could only give it everything. I
6:34:44was giving it everything not because it
6:34:46was the old secretary lying on the bed,
6:34:48but because I didn't want this affair to
6:34:50leave an indelible stain on my aunt's
6:34:51career. In a single lifetime, there are
6:34:54always things that matter more than fame
6:34:56and fortune, such as not letting the
6:34:58person you cherish most bear an unjust
6:35:00wrong. I reached out and took from Luo
6:35:02Tu Shan's hand the silver needles he'd
6:35:04long since prepared. They were no
6:35:06ordinary silver needles, but ones he'd
6:35:08treasured for decades. Each as fine as a
6:35:11strand of hair, giving off a faint
6:35:13luster. I pinched up the first one,
6:35:15gathering a wisp of azure true qi at my
6:35:17fingertips. This needle, the Biwi point.
6:35:20My wrist sank, and the silver needle
6:35:22pierced precisely into the Biwi point
6:35:24atop the old secretary's head. My
6:35:27fingertips twirled slightly, and true qi
6:35:29poured in along the needle tip like silk
6:35:31thread. Second needle, the Danzhong
6:35:33point. Third needle, the Qihai point.
6:35:36Fourth needle, my hand moved faster and
6:35:39faster. Each needle steady, accurate,
6:35:41and decisive, landing as if in flight.
6:35:44Holy focused, my forehead soon beaded
6:35:46with fine sweat, yet my hands never
6:35:48paused in the slightest. Until all 49
6:35:51silver needles, 7 * 7, not one short,
6:35:54were pierced into different acupoints on
6:35:56the old secretary's body. Each needle's
6:35:58tail wreathed in a faint, barely-there
6:36:01wisp of azure qi. My fingers roved back
6:36:04and forth among the needle tails, and
6:36:06with each one I flicked, a measure of
6:36:08true qi poured in along the silver
6:36:09needle. Meanwhile, the true qi within my
6:36:12own body was draining away madly. The qi
6:36:14vortex in my dantian growing thinner and
6:36:17thinner, like an oil lamp about to burn
6:36:19out. Yet my hand still didn't stop. An
6:36:21hour passed. Sweat trickled down my
6:36:23cheeks and dripped onto the white
6:36:25bedsheet. My face grew paler and paler,
6:36:27my lips drained of color. At last, the
6:36:30final wisp of true qi left my fingertips
6:36:32and sank into the old secretary's body
6:36:35along the last silver needle. I jerked
6:36:37my hands back, my whole body as if
6:36:39drained of all strength. My legs went
6:36:41weak, and I slumped into the chair
6:36:42beside me, gasping for breath in great
6:36:45gulps. My clothes soaked through with
6:36:47sweat, clinging coldly to my body.
6:36:49Divine Physician Luo, my voice was
6:36:51feeble, but I still squeezed out a trace
6:36:53of a smile. I've done all I can. Whether
6:36:56the old secretary lives or dies now is
6:36:59up to the will of heaven. With that, I
6:37:01closed my eyes, formed a mudra with both
6:37:04hands on my knees, and began circulating
6:37:06the Supreme Yang Spirit Art. I'd still
6:37:08have to go settle the score with Chen
6:37:10Zhizhong shortly, so I had to recover
6:37:12some true qi. Only then did Luo Tushan
6:37:14come to from his astonishment, his
6:37:16cloudy old eyes already brimming with
6:37:18tears. After several decades, he had
6:37:20once again witnessed needles wielded by
6:37:22qi. And what was more, the Taoist he'd
6:37:25seen in his childhood could set at most
6:37:27three needles at once. Yet just now I
6:37:29had set all 49, 7 * 7. This already went
6:37:33far beyond his comprehension. Luo Tushan
6:37:35gave me another 90° deep bow, then
6:37:38turned and quietly watched the old
6:37:40secretary on the bed, waiting for a
6:37:42miracle. Outside the ward, Zhou Wayman
6:37:44had long since rushed in a frantic hurry
6:37:46to the ICU doorway. When he learned from
6:37:49Gu Manshi that Li Feng was inside
6:37:51treating the old secretary, he felt as
6:37:53though the sky were about to collapse.
6:37:55Young Mistress Qin, Miss Luo, that Li
6:37:57Feng is a newly arrived intern nurse in
6:37:59our OBGYN department. Letting him treat
6:38:01the old secretary isn't that just
6:38:03fooling around? Zhou Wayman pleaded
6:38:05earnestly. Yet Qin Xian didn't waver in
6:38:08the slightest, her voice calm but
6:38:10resolute. President Zhou, it's my
6:38:12grandpa in there, not some stranger. I
6:38:14would never make a joke of my grandpa's
6:38:16life. Luo Qing has spoke up, too. That's
6:38:18right, President Zhou. Since Qin Xian
6:38:21and I have chosen to trust Li Feng, it
6:38:23means we have our reasons. There's no
6:38:25need for you to get yourself all worked
6:38:26up. Qin Xian added another line. Let me
6:38:29say this plainly, if anything really
6:38:31does go wrong, it has nothing whatsoever
6:38:33to do with your esteemed hospital. With
6:38:36these words out, Zhou Wayman's
6:38:37objections lost some of their force. He
6:38:39sighed, pulled out a handkerchief, and
6:38:41wiped his sweat. "Si, let me contact Dr.
6:38:44Ye first. She's Li Feng's aunt." But he
6:38:47made call after call, all going
6:38:48unanswered. Just then, Gu Mingxi and
6:38:51Xiao Haibing sidled over, ingratiating
6:38:54smiles plastered on their faces.
6:38:56"President Joe, have a sip of water." Gu
6:38:58Mingxi held out a cup of water with both
6:38:59hands. "I don't want any." Joe Wayman
6:39:02waved her off, flustered and irritated.
6:39:05"The fire's at our brows. Who's in any
6:39:07mood to drink water?" "President Joe,
6:39:09it's a foregone conclusion that Li Feng
6:39:11has stirred up a huge disaster. But
6:39:13didn't Young Mistress Qin and Miss Luo
6:39:15both say that if anything goes wrong, it
6:39:17has nothing to do with the hospital?" Gu
6:39:19Mingxi gloated. Xiao Haibing chimed in.
6:39:22"Exactly. President Joe, you've done
6:39:24your due diligence. Whatever happens in
6:39:26the end, no one can pin it on you.
6:39:28There's a good saying, you can't talk
6:39:30sense into a ghost that's bent on
6:39:31dying." Gu Mingxi immediately whirled
6:39:34around and glared at him. "Captain Xiao,
6:39:36what nonsense are you spouting? Even if
6:39:38these people are fooling around, we've
6:39:40still got to hope for the best. How can
6:39:42you go cursing the old secretary to
6:39:43death?" Xiao Haibing hurriedly slapped
6:39:46himself across the face. "Yes, yes, yes.
6:39:49I shouldn't have said that." The two of
6:39:51them sang in chorus, meaning to curry
6:39:53favor with Joe Wayman, but he wasn't
6:39:55buying any of it. He snorted coldly.
6:39:57"What did I transfer the two of you over
6:39:58here for? You couldn't even stop one
6:40:00person. If anything happens to the old
6:40:03secretary, you two won't escape blame,
6:40:05either." Gu Mingxi and Xiao Haibing were
6:40:07so frightened, they didn't dare let out
6:40:09so much as a peep, and obediently shrank
6:40:11off to one side. Time slipped by second
6:40:14by second, and nearly another hour
6:40:16passed. Creak. The door opened, and Luo
6:40:18Tu Shan walked out of the ICU.

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