Chapter 110: Missing Her, Aren’t You?

I rose and returned to my room for a sound sleep. This was the most restful I had felt in days. I slept for over ten hours, and when I woke, it was already dawn. The kid was still asleep. Early in the morning, I received a call from Wang Jianming. Since Luo Feng’s men had not yet delivered that person, I went to Wang Jianming’s siheyuan first.

This time, I finally caught my opportunity.

Coincidentally, while I was speaking with Wang Jianming, my mobile phone rang. My heart tightened when I saw the number; it was Wang Yazhuo. I hesitated for a moment before letting it ring. Wang Jianming asked who was calling, and on a whim, I told him it was Luo Feng.

I feigned a sense of conflict, as we had promised Wang Jianming our cooperation and were playing the part well. Wang Jianming seemed quite pleased these past few days. He waved his hand dismissively. "Go outside to take it. Everyone has their own secrets; we’re all in the same line of business, I understand." Wang Jianming spoke with a thick Beijing accent, and this was the most pleasant thing I had ever heard him say.

I smiled slightly and stood up to walk outside.

Finding a secluded corner, I watched as Wang Jianming gave orders for no one to approach me. I answered Wang Yazhuo’s call. She asked where I was, and I lowered my voice, telling her I was at her home. Wang Yazhuo sounded agitated, asking if I had come to save her. I told her that since it was daytime, it was impossible to get her out.

I asked Wang Yazhuo to describe the layout of the courtyard. Looking around, I realized she was being held in the back garden. She told me she had no way to get out and didn't know how many people were guarding her, but she estimated the number was small.

Wang Yazhuo certainly couldn't escape on her own. Wang Jianming surely never imagined anyone would be bold enough to break into his home to seize someone. What she said was likely true; the guard shouldn't be too heavy. Most of the Wang family members were scattered elsewhere. The difficulty wasn't getting Wang Yazhuo out of that room, but how to get her out of the siheyuan entirely.

Taking advantage of the lack of supervision, I crept around the courtyard. I soon located where she was being held, but I could only watch from afar because there were several people there—about five, by my count. I couldn't stay long, as people were constantly moving through the grounds.

I returned to the main hall, and Wang Jianming did not suspect a thing. After talking with him for a while longer, I took my leave.

When I returned to Luo Feng’s place, there was a new person there—a woman who looked quite aged, though I knew she was not yet fifty. She was terrified and asked who we were in Cantonese. I told her not to be afraid, and after whispering a few words in her ear, she suddenly acted as if she had lost her mind, accusing me of spouting nonsense and trying to strike me.

However, when I began to explain the details, she started to waver. She asked me if what I said was truly the case, and I just smiled, telling her she would know when the time came.

In the dead of night, I called Z. When she heard my voice, she asked if there had been any progress on the case. I said no.

Z asked, "Then why are you calling me?"

I smiled. "Are you sleeping at the hospital tonight?"

Z’s voice was filled with caution. "What are you up to now?"

"Haven't you heard? The rumors in Hong Kong are spreading like wildfire, claiming you’re keeping a Kuman Thong, and the intensity is much fiercer than before," I told her. Z and Charlie had faced many issues lately, and naturally, they were less aware of the situation in Hong Kong. Z seemed indifferent, saying it didn't matter.

"It might not matter to you, but I must see you tonight. I have something very important to tell you. You must help me distract the police guarding you," I said.

Z replied, "Can’t you say it over the phone?"

I sighed. "You can’t refuse to see me just because we slept together, can you? Aren't you afraid you might be in danger?"

Sure enough, once I said that, Z hesitated again. I deliberately tried to scare her a little. Finally, Z agreed. She said she would find an excuse to sneak out of the hospital and distract the police.

At the appointed time, I arrived outside the hospital with the woman we had brought to Beijing. I didn't let her get out of the car.

After waiting for a long while, Z finally ran out. She looked around as if afraid some unclean entity was watching her. Only when she reached me did she finally feel at ease. Z wore no makeup and had a sickly pallor, but despite her haggard appearance, she remained stunning. I reached out to touch her cheek. "This face of yours looks almost manufactured. Truly beautiful."

Z slapped my hand away. "Is that all you called me out in the middle of the night for?"

I shook my head. "No, I told you on the phone, the media in Hong Kong is making a huge stir."

Z said she didn't care and wasn't worried at all; all she was thinking about was how to avoid this disaster.

"Yes, you aren't worried, but someone else is," I replied.

Z looked at me, asking what I meant. I turned and opened the car door. When Z saw the woman sitting inside, she froze, her shoulders trembling. However, she quickly regained her composure, her expression turning into one of utter shock. "Mom? How did you get here?"

Z’s mother got out of the car. Seeing Z, she became emotional and wanted to embrace her, but Z backed away, waving her hands and saying she was cursed by unclean things and shouldn't be touched. I also told her mother not to get too close, so as not to distress Z.

Z’s mother stood by the car door, watching Z with tear-filled eyes. Z lowered her head and stepped back a few more paces.

"What’s wrong? Don't you miss her? It’s been nearly two years, hasn't it?" I asked calmly.

Z nodded. "I miss her, but she can't get close to me. I’m afraid of passing the curse onto my mother."

Z’s mother wept, saying over and over that Z had suffered. There wasn't a hint of complaint in her tone regarding the time Z had been away. Z asked me again how her mother had arrived, and I told her that with the reports in Hong Kong spreading so rapidly, her mother couldn't reach her, so she had rushed to Beijing.

Before coming, I had already gathered information. For the past two years, Z had occasionally called her mother, but only for brief conversations, always claiming she was too busy and would visit soon—yet two years had passed. Z’s mother felt her daughter’s life was difficult, so she had waited patiently.

I had discovered that the phone number Z left for her mother was completely different from the one she was currently using.

"I said I would give you a surprise. After arriving in Beijing and hearing what happened, your mother went to the police. She was worried about you, so I brought her," I said to Z with a smile. "I told you I had a surprise for you."

Z lowered her head and asked where her mother was staying. I told her I had arranged for her to stay in a residential complex to avoid being bothered by reporters. After telling her the address, I checked my watch and told Z to go back quickly before the police became suspicious.

As Z turned to head toward the hospital, I called out to her.

"After you and Charlie are discharged, come live in the complex where I’ve put your mother. It’ll be easier to look out for each other," I said to her retreating figure.

Z paused, nodded in acknowledgment, and went inside.

Back in the car, I asked Z’s mother if she missed her daughter. Sitting in the passenger seat, she wept and said she did.

Suddenly, Z’s mother grabbed my hand. I was still gripping the steering wheel and swerved sharply, nearly hitting the side of the road. Z’s mother begged me to find the culprit who had harmed her daughter, swearing that whether it was man or ghost, she would have them torn to pieces.

As I steered the car back onto the road, I told her not to be so anxious.

"The culprit will be caught, but before that, you must stay in the complex I’ve arranged for you," I said. "You are the key to solving the case."

Z’s mother looked puzzled, asking what she could possibly do.

As we spoke, I drove back to Luo Feng’s place. After hitting the brakes, I paused, then turned to her and said, "The case will be solved soon. All you have to do is nothing at all."

Just as Z’s mother was about to ask what I meant, she suddenly pointed ahead in terror and let out a scream. I looked toward the windshield, and in the distance, a human silhouette was drifting in the wind...