Chapter 89: Searching for the Eldest Sister-in-law

It was undeniable that Su Xue was exceptionally beautiful, her looks in no way inferior to Zhou Nan’s. Yet, knowing the truth about her, Zhang Can felt utterly repulsed; he lay on the sofa, not even bothering to summon the will to respond. Everything Su Xue did seemed awkward and inexperienced—if one didn’t know her true character, it would be hard to notice, but nothing escaped Zhang Can’s eyes. Every gesture of hers seemed to him a flaw, a tell.

All night, Su Xue tried to find topics to engage Zhang Can in conversation. He replied indifferently, sometimes not at all, and eventually pretended to be exhausted, falling into a deep sleep, leaving Su Xue to stew in her frustration.

Zhang Can spent the night on the sofa; Su Xue sat opposite him on her own. It wasn’t until dawn, when she finally nodded off in a daze, that Zhang Can breathed a sigh of relief. The spiritual energy in his mind, fused with the aura from Su Xue’s bead, left him feeling remarkably refreshed, entirely free of fatigue. When Su Xue finally succumbed to sleep, Zhang Can relaxed his mind, letting the energy circulate through his body. With every circuit, his weariness faded, and as the energy flowed through his face and hands, the pain there swiftly dissipated.

This discovery delighted him. Until Su Xue fell asleep, he had dared not act strangely—even though the energy was invisible, she was too sharp to risk it. But now, realizing that this spiritual energy could not only relieve pain but also seemed to have healing properties, Zhang Can was thrilled. He quickly calmed himself and directed the energy specifically to his injuries. To his amazement, not only could the energy grant him a kind of second sight, it could also analyze his wounded cells and, under its influence, accelerate their recovery at a startling rate.

As the first light of dawn crept in, Zhang Can rubbed his face and hands; every wound had completely healed, not a trace of pain remained. Even after lying still all night on the sofa, his body felt no stiffness. He got up, moved lightly to the door, opened it, and slipped out quietly.

Only once he had gently closed the door behind him did Zhang Can truly exhale, as if escaping from a prison. He took a few breaths to steady himself, then took out his keys and opened the door to his own apartment. It was still early; his younger sister hadn’t woken yet. Zhang Can tiptoed into his room and fell into a deep sleep.

He slept for nearly five or six hours, waking to the sound of his phone ringing. Glancing at the screen, he saw it was Liu Xiaoqin’s number. He answered, and her clear, melodious voice came through.

“Zhang Can, we’re about to board the plane now. The transfer took two extra days, but we’ll arrive in Jin City by three this afternoon!”

“That’s good. Take care, don’t rush. I’ll contact the hospital first—once you arrive, go straight for a checkup, then we’ll arrange the surgery.”

After getting up, Zhang Hua had already placed his breakfast and milk on the table under a cover, but now it was too cold after so long. Zhang Can skipped it, washed up, changed his clothes, and left the house.

As he locked the door and turned, he couldn’t help but glance toward Building B next door. The night’s risky adventure replayed in his mind, but fortunately, that door was tightly shut.

Zhang Can almost dashed into the elevator as if fleeing. If Su Xue had come out at that moment, he was certain—if she wanted, with any excuse, she could beat him until he couldn’t even crawl, then lock him up in her place. Of course, that wasn’t really her home, just a temporary rental.

After seeing so many movies, Zhang Can knew that hot-tempered cops would go to any lengths to solve a case—unconventional methods, breaking the rules, sheer destructive force. It was commonplace.

Su Xue didn’t appear before Zhang Can again. He touched his face and nose, flexed his right hand—there wasn’t the slightest stiffness. If not for the vivid memory of the previous night, he might have doubted whether it had happened at all.

On his way to the shop, Zhang Can called Zhu Senlin, who was busy that morning preparing for the sale of those four pieces of jade. Two of the shop assistants had been sent to help, leaving only Zhang Hua and another clerk to watch the store.

Zhu Senlin didn’t care how much business the shop did now. As long as it was open and looked after, that was enough. After all, a single deal from Zhang Can could make as much as the shop’s annual income, ten or a hundred times over. Besides, he had no intention of managing the place himself anymore. Zhang Can’s sister and fiancée could handle it—given Zhang Can’s character and ability, he would never cook the books. He was making far more money on his own anyway.

“Second brother, I bet you skipped breakfast again, didn’t you? Slept till now, I’m sure!” Zhang Hua pouted, annoyed, then brewed him a cup of hot tea, fetched a bread roll from her bag, and handed it to him with a huff. “Eat!”

Zhang Can grinned, took the bread, tore open the bag, and ate a few bites with the tea. “Hey, not bad! This tastes pretty good.”

After finishing, he checked the time—it was just one. By three, Liu Xiaoqin would be arriving. Suddenly recalling something, he stood up. “Third sister, you two watch the shop. I’ve got an errand.”

He hailed a cab to the old village where he used to live, lingering at the alley where he’d met Liu Xiaoli.

He hadn’t gotten Liu Xiaoli’s number last time, making her hard to find. It was probably work hours anyway. Zhang Can racked his brain, recalling that night’s conversation. She’d mentioned that she and her boyfriend both worked at a supermarket, but hadn’t said which one. In Jin City, supermarkets were everywhere.

Trying to find her with only that clue would be near impossible. He wanted to find Liu Xiaoli to give Liu Xiaoqin and her family a surprise. Since he saw Liu Xiaoqin as his future wife, he owed it to her to try. Liu Xiaoli was her real sister; regardless of her being Zhang Can’s first love, for Liu Xiaoqin’s sake, he ought to make the effort. If money could solve the problem, it was no trouble at all.

But how to actually find Liu Xiaoli? He didn’t know which building she lived in—he hadn’t seen clearly that night where she’d come from. The alley was pitch-black, and after she’d hurried off, he’d lost all sense of direction.

Thinking it over, Zhang Can walked into the alley where Liu Xiaoli had run out. Most buildings in the village were five or six stories, entry doors locked, tenants with their own keys. As he passed, most doors were shut tight—there was no one to ask. Based on the time she’d run out, it must have been close to the entrance. Zhang Can stood in the alley for a while; in ten minutes, only a few people came and went. When he tried to question them, each cast him a wary glance and walked off, guarded and silent.

In the city, people’s sense of caution was strong—not like in the countryside, where everyone smiled and doors were never locked. Even neighbors across the hall didn’t speak.

Zhang Can grew frustrated. Only one building’s door was open—a small grocery store. Inside, a teenage boy was playing on an old slot machine, its tinny music familiar—these machines were everywhere in the village.

He was about to give up and come back another time when a young man, about twenty-five or six, entered the alley while talking on the phone.

Zhang Can’s heart leapt. The man’s voice sounded just like the one who had yelled for Liu Xiaoli that night. His accent, too, was identical to Zhang Can’s own hometown dialect, the kind only spoken in their village—nowhere else.

Jin City was a prosperous coastal metropolis, with workers from all over the country. To run into a fellow villager in such a place was rare indeed. Zhang Can was certain—not only was this man likely Liu Xiaoli’s boyfriend, but even if not, he was definitely from the same place. Zhang Can could at least ask him about Liu Xiaoli; perhaps he’d know.

The man stopped at the doorway of an open building, still on his phone, pulled out a cigarette pack, but finding it empty, crushed it and tossed it to the ground.

Seeing this, Zhang Can hurried into the grocery store. “Boss, a pack of cigarettes!”

“What kind?” a head popped up from behind the counter, the man looking sly and at least in his forties.

“Anything, whatever,” Zhang Can replied, reaching for his wallet and glancing back to be sure the man didn’t disappear.

“Expensive or cheap?” the greasy proprietor asked—a standard question, after all.

“Whatever… the expensive ones, I guess!” Zhang Can waved impatiently. “Hurry up!”

The shopkeeper grabbed a green pack with two panda heads. “One hundred fifty. Premium hard-pack Panda.”

Zhang Can didn’t bother to haggle, tossed two hundred-yuan bills on the counter, snatched the cigarettes while keeping his eyes on the man.

The shopkeeper counted out fifty in old bills. “Here’s your change!”

Zhang Can stuffed the money into his pocket without looking, then walked over to the man, tearing open the cigarette pack as he spoke. “Brother, have a smoke? I wanted to ask you something…”