Chapter 72: She Actually Hoped To See Her
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Soon after, Xi Mo's message came again: "Lunch was made by Tangtang, it was very delicious."
For once, it even included a picture of the food.
Ruan Yesheng looked at the brief text and the simple photo, and smiled.
However, the conversation in the living room continued. The content was particularly important to Ruan Yesheng. Although she wanted to reply to Xi Mo immediately, for the sake of the bigger picture, and to avoid distraction, she temporarily did not reply. Instead, she held the phone in her hand and continued to listen attentively.
Over there, Yan Tinghuan continued to question baseball cap: "Why did the person in the photo go to the hospital? Were they sick or injured? Did you follow up with the doctors or nurses to understand the situation?"
Ruan Yesheng seemed to get a bit nervous when she heard this. She moved slightly, waiting for baseball cap to answer.
Baseball cap lowered his eyelids and honestly admitted, "…I didn't find out."
Yan Tinghuan glared at him, "Cui Jiashu and I asked you to do something, and this is how you do it?"
Baseball cap shrank onto the sofa with a face full of grievance, "When I saw it, I was actually a bit dumbfounded, thinking how could it be such a coincidence. I just forgot to ask about the situation at that moment." Saying this, he quickly added in a small voice, "Besides, how could I be as smart as you and Brother Cui, knowing to ask? My brain just didn't catch up."
He was quite articulate, nearly making Yan Tinghuan laugh out of exasperation. She pulled down the brim of his baseball cap, covering half of his face.
Baseball cap pushed aside the brim, carefully observing Yan Tinghuan's expression. Seeing that she didn't pursue the matter further, he knew he had passed this test, so he shifted slightly along the edge of the sofa.
Yan Tinghuan asked, "Let me ask you again, weren't you supposed to be mainly active in this city? How come a few days ago you suddenly went so far, all the way to Changsha, to get into a fight?"
Baseball cap honestly confessed, "A friend of mine in Changsha invited me. He's been busy with some gigs recently and asked if I wanted to join in for some fun. I was a bit tight on cash at the time, and the pay seemed decent, so I went over. Little did I know, that after arriving in Changsha, my friend got into a conflict with some others at the venue. We're close, so of course I had to help him out and we ended up getting into a fight together."
As he spoke, perhaps fearing that Yan Tinghuan wouldn't believe him, or wanting to show his loyalty. He rolled up his sleeve to reveal bruises on his arm.
"Alright, put your sleeve down," Yan Tinghuan glanced at him and asked, "Which friend of yours?"
"Just one surnamed Ye."
"His name?"
"Ye Zhen," Baseball cap said, "Sister Tinghuan, you don't know him."
"I certainly don't know him now. Once I investigate and find out, then I will," Yan Tinghuan replied.
Baseball cap had seen Yan Tinghuan's methods before and knew she was capable. Even if she listened to the description once, she would still investigate to ensure that the facts aligned with what she heard. If anyone dared to deceive her, they would be in big trouble. He quickly said, "I answered truthfully, without a single lie."
"I didn't say what you said was false, don't be nervous," Yan Tinghuan grinned slyly. "So, what kind of job did this Ye Zhen take on? And why did he ask you to go?"
"I actually don't know much either. It was all secretive," Baseball cap explained, "He didn't explain clearly to me, just mentioned there was some job with a lot of money. I know their rules over there; I'm an outsider, so they only reveal details on the day we act, to keep things tight-lipped. That's why I didn't know much then. After I went and got into a fight, took a few days off, then Brother Cui caught me and I was out of the loop even more."
Cui Jiashu ignored him, focusing only on his beer.
Yan Tinghuan asked, "Aren't you close friends with this Ye Zhen? If you're so close, why would he keep things from you?"
Baseball cap smiled bitterly, "We are indeed good friends, but Ye Zhen isn't in charge over there. He's just a go-between, without much say. He has to follow the rules. If he leaked information to me beforehand, it would violate the rules of the underworld, and he would get into trouble. I understand his position. Normally, outsiders like me aren't well-received in these matters. He saw I was really short on money lately, so he pleaded with his superiors there to help me out."
"Who is in charge on Ye Zhen's side?" Yan Tinghuan asked.
Baseball cap replied, "All I know is there's a woman surnamed Ning who calls the shots there in Changsha. People at the venue in Changsha call her Sister Ning. But originally, Ye Zhen's boss was a guy known as Brother Dong. Sister Ning used to work under Brother Dong's command. Brother Dong has a scar on his face and is ruthless. I've heard he's capable of anything, even murder and other crimes. If he gets involved, someone's bound to suffer. However, it's strange. Nearly three months ago, right after summer vacation started, they took on a job, and something weird happened. Brother Dong was affected somehow, came back, and suddenly stopped calling the shots. Sister Ning took over."
Yan Tinghuan frowned, "Affected? Someone like him, ruthless as he is, could be affected?"
Baseball cap replied, "I don't really understand it myself, but I really haven't lied, every word is true. Besides Brother Dong, many others who used to work with him were also affected, like they were scared stiff by something terrifying. Ye Zhen was there at the time too, but when he mentioned it, his expression was extremely strange, and he was very vague. Despite his usually carefree demeanor, he seemed to stand up to the scare well, whereas Brother Dong's tough guys were really shaken."
"You said that the woman surnamed Ning was also working under Brother Dong back then. Did she go there at that time?"
"She went as well. She's quite formidable. After returning, she didn't show anything special, but she's been filling in for Brother Dong's position these past few months," Baseball cap replied.
"Oh, right," Baseball cap remembered something and added, "Although I don't know exactly what they were going to do, I saw the gear Ye Zhen prepared those days—mostly camping and mountaineering equipment. They're probably heading into the mountains."
Yan Tinghuan thoroughly questioned Baseball cap about everything he had recently seen and heard, leaving no detail unexplored. When she had finished her inquiries, she handed him a can of beer. Thirsty from all the talking, Baseball cap gulped it down immediately.
After a brief rest, Cui Jiashu checked the time. Yan Tinghuan smiled and said, "Let's have lunch before you leave? I've ordered takeout. I hope you don't mind."
Cui Jiashu clearly valued her, saying, "You've ordered takeout, I wouldn't dare to complain. But I'll skip this meal, there's something urgent. I'll take him with me first, contact me if anything."
Knowing his temperament, Yan Tinghuan didn't detain him, instructing, "Afterwards, visit the hospital he mentioned earlier. See if you can get any clues from the doctors or nurses there. It's been so long, finding any lead is rare and not easy."
Cui Jiashu fell silent for a moment before saying, "I understand. Give my regards to Miss Ruan, I'll do my best."
Yan Tinghuan then handed a bank card to Baseball cap, saying, "Take this, check how much is inside yourself."
Baseball cap widened his eyes and hesitated to approach.
Seeing this, Yan Tinghuan pretended to put the card away. Cui Jiashu glanced at Baseball cap, who quickly understood and hurriedly took the card, saying, "Thank you, Sister Tinghuan!"
"This intelligence is quite valuable," Yan Tinghuan adjusted his cap with a smile, "Valuable information deserves a reward. Dare to deceive me, and you'll see."
Baseball cap shrunk his neck and nodded.
After seeing off Cui Jiashu and Baseball cap, Yan Tinghuan sat down on the sofa. Ruan Yesheng emerged from the room with a complex expression.
Yan Tinghuan asked, "You heard everything yourself?"
Ruan Yesheng sat down, her brows furrowed low. After a long while, she lifted her head, eyes rimmed with red, and in a trembling voice, she softly uttered, "...heard it, still alive... it's good that they're* still alive."
Note: the person was always referred to as “that person”, gender wasn't clearly stated, so we'll stick to the singular unknown they pronoun for now.
Yan Tinghuan could also understand her feelings at this moment, but still said, “ As I just said earlier, it was only a glimpse of a profile, they looked alike at best, but still not certain. I feel there are some doubts. If that person really is still in this world, why haven't they come to find you? Don't they know how worried and frightened you've been searching for so long, almost on the verge of collapse? Ruanruan, I don't need to remind you of these things, you actually understand them better than I do."
"...Maybe there's some unavoidable reason." Ruan Yesheng tried to find an excuse to convince herself.
"Do you believe that?"
"...I believe." Ruan Yesheng murmured, "I believe, as long as they're alive, everything will be okay."
She needed to give herself a reason to keep going, because people always hope for something good, even if sometimes they know it's self-deception, they still want to believe in the faint hope deep in their hearts.
Yan Tinghuan sighed.
Ruan Yesheng lowered her head, looking at the coffee table, her gaze seemed vacant, and said, "With my current appearance, I can't openly investigate. Can you keep an eye on it more from now on? As for my situation, I'll try to find a solution as soon as possible."
"You can count on me for that." Yan Tinghuan changed the subject, saying, "But what if you and Xi Mo continue to be like this in the future?"
"No." Ruan Yesheng's gaze finally became firm, shaking her head slowly. "I said I will find a way. I can't cause trouble for her."
Turning her hand over, she looked at her phone. She hadn't replied to Xi Mo's message yet.
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Her mind was in turmoil, and suddenly she didn't know what she should reply.
More than replying to the message, at this moment, she actually hoped to see her.
"Rest here for a while. The takeout will be here soon, I'll wake you up later." Perhaps wanting her to get some rest, Yan Tinghuan stood up and walked away, giving her some space to be alone.
Ruan Yesheng indeed felt an unprecedented exhaustion. She propped up a soft pillow and leaned on it to rest.
She kept holding onto her phone, and opened the message Xi Mo had sent her earlier, looking at it multiple times before replying, "Seeing the photos, I know it must be delicious."
Replying to Xi Mo so late, and with such a seemingly mundane reply, actually made Ruan Yesheng feel somewhat nervous. Her eyes remained fixed on the screen.
Would Xi Mo not reply anymore?
After all, she usually didn't like chatting much.
The message notification sounded immediately.
Xi Mo's reply came so quickly, it was as if she had been waiting all along: "Are you done?"
Author's Note:
------The following three important notes must be read carefully. Skipping them may cause confusion or misunderstandings in future plot reading, so please read them carefully. Thank you.------
[Director Jun's Important Note 1: There were some minor errors previously regarding the time and season. It is still the end of a warm summer, which was a mistake in my description. Some details related to time and age have also been corrected, but none of these affect the plot. When writing a long piece, small errors are inevitable, but they do not impact the storyline. I will find and correct these small bugs as I continue writing. Therefore, earlier chapters might occasionally be updated to refine details. Please refer to the corrected official version on Jinjiang for accuracy, to avoid any confusion in future reading. Thank you, everyone.]
[Note 2: This chapter involves several characters from another long novel I have written.]
[Note 3: Front row explanation: Ruan Yesheng is Ruan Yesheng, and has nothing to do with a character surnamed Ruan in another article I wrote. I emphasize once again that there is no connection. Please do not make assumptions based on a similar surname. There are many people with the surname Ruan in the world, and they are not related. Logical thinking is required when reading _(:з」∠)_ I hope everyone does not misunderstand and refrain from spreading such misunderstandings or rumors, which may lead to confusion for others. Thank you, muah muah.]
