Chapter 61: The Intent Behind the Brotherly Sister

I was captivated by her sweet words. What a fool I was, blindly unaware of what she was up to. Just a moment ago, I was still hesitating, but upon receiving this bracelet, my heart yielded.

She was far from foolish; she had been calculating all along how to get her hands on me. Looking at me nonchalantly, she said, "Hand me your phone, let me take a look for you."

What was there to consider? I unhooked the phone from my neck, handed it over to her, and briefly explained the situation...

With a few casual taps of her fingers—so fast I couldn't even see what she did—she declared, "All done!"

I took it back, opened the browser, and typed a few words into the search bar. Instantly, a flood of content popped up... A new problem arose. I stared at her and asked, "How do I post a missing person notice on here?"

She gave my forehead a gentle poke and scolded, "You dummy; you have to register first!"

Yet I didn't want to register; I just wanted to post a single notice.

She knew how to handle it too. Taking the phone back, she asked me a moment later, "What should we write?"

Being an eighth-grader, I had never written anything of the sort, and whatever I had learned in the past was long forgotten. I had no choice but to go along with the current and say, "You help me!"

She was at a loss as well. Little as a missing person notice might seem, writing a good one actually required some thought. She searched the browser, which brought up introductions on how to write a missing person notice, along with templates and plenty of other related content...

I took the phone back and looked it over carefully. Having formed a clear idea in my mind, I typed in: "Searching for a relative."

The details below read: "Niu Zhenqing, male, 36 years old; height 1.72 meters; average appearance. Before leaving home, he was wearing a blue casual outfit; black, messy hair, and a bit troubled in the mind. If anyone sees him, please contact Ms. Xin. A hefty reward will definitely be given! Phone number..."

Supporting herself on my shoulder, she looked utterly perplexed and asked, "What do you mean by 'troubled in the mind'?"

I couldn't tell her that Niu Zhenqing was already senile. After a long pause, I replied, "Could someone leave home without something being wrong with them?"

This explanation made her frown for a long time, still unable to comprehend it. "I remember seeing your dad when we were at the hospital. He seemed completely fine, so how can you say something is wrong with him?"

I had no desire to bicker with her; I had to do things my way. "Never mind that, just write it like this!"

She took the phone back and carefully reviewed what I had written. "What is this about a 'hefty reward'? There has to be a specific figure!"

I was completely defeated by her. Without any money, where was the figure supposed to come from? "Just write it like that!"

However, she shook her head repeatedly, saying it wouldn't do at all! "If the reward isn't clearly specified, nobody will put their heart into looking for him! And if he is found by chance, a vague 'hefty reward' will cause trouble."

What seemed like a simple task was actually terribly complicated. I had naively thought that simply posting a missing person notice online would be enough... Pondering deeply, I recalled what she had said earlier and reluctantly swallowed my pride. "You have to help me!"

As for the matter of money, she had already thought it through—that wasn't the problem. The crucial question was: how much should the reward be?

Not knowing, I let my gaze fall upon her tender, youthful face. I noticed her makeup was exquisitely done—I had no idea how she managed it—and at first glance, I fell for it! Then there was the new purple sheer dress she wore, soft in tone and wonderfully matched... With her petite figure, slender arms, and delicate legs, if someone didn't know better, who would ever believe she was actually a guy? The more I looked, the more surreal it felt, stirring a whirlwind of thoughts within me. "You decide," I said.

***

This matter required proper clarification. She pondered for a moment: "If the reward is too small, no one will be willing to help; if the reward is too large, you won't be able to pay it."

Hearing her put it that way, I panicked a bit and quickly declared in advance, "I don't have a single penny!"

Without a moment's hesitation, she said, "I'll give it to you, won't I have it then?"

I found this rather intriguing. Although I had been cold toward her initially, as long as money was provided, wouldn't the problem be solved? "How much will you give? We can't just leave it unquantified, can we?"

Naturally, she had given it thought, harboring many ambitions of her own. "Didn't you say one hundred thousand? Let's make it one hundred thousand then!"

Human desires are often insatiable. I remembered Mo Liping rolling back and forth on the white hospital sheets and fiercely throwing her bank card out the door. Caught up in a similar impulse, I said, "One hundred thousand is too little, make it at least one hundred and fifty!"

Mo Liping didn't hesitate further. What was fifteen hundred thousand to her? It wasn't even a drop in the ocean. Shifting her gaze back to my face, she confirmed, "Then let's enter a reward of one hundred thousand, alright?"

At that moment, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. It would cost one hundred thousand just to look for Niu Zhenqing? What it felt like to not even have a single cent was something I understood all too well—didn't she realize that? "Ten thousand is enough."

Taking various factors into consideration, Mo Liping entered a reward of ten thousand. Just as she was about to upload it, she asked, "Do you have a picture of your uncle?"

This question stumped me. Why would I have a picture of him on my phone? I had no choice but to place the call to my ear. It rang without being answered, so I dialed a second time. In less than a minute, it connected, transmitting the sounds of my wife asleep in bed. "Can't you check the time? It's one o'clock in the morning, why are you calling?!"

I knew full well she was with the Scar-Faced Man. Why hadn't I understood it back then? Now it was finally crystal clear. A thirty-five-year-old woman couldn't live without a man around, and what they were doing together must be... The bruises on her back were definitely inflicted by the Scar-Faced Man. These people were completely insane! Why on earth must they subject themselves to such torment? Even someone as young as Jiang Meili had contracted it!

Hearing me remain silent for a long time, my wife's voice came through again. "Hello? Hello? Are you listening?"

After a long bout of deliberation, I finally spoke. "Mom, do you have a picture of Dad on your phone?"

Naturally, my wife understood what I meant. She merely uttered, "Let me look for it," and hung up the call.

I couldn't help feeling a sense of disappointment. Unable to restrain herself any longer, Mo Liping wrapped her arms around my head and kissed me deeply... I felt a strong aversion to this gesture and pushed her away to stop her. "Would you please not do that?"

Mo Liping's expression dropped instantly. Looking sour and displeased, she muttered under her breath, "People come looking for you to... otherwise, not a single penny!"

Money was of the utmost importance. If she had any, my wife wouldn't have chosen the Scar-Faced Man. Naturally, I was terrified of failing to get the money. "Didn't you just say it? Hand it over!"

Since she hadn't gotten what she wanted, Mo Liping felt somewhat cheated. "We need to... and then I'll give it to you!"

I wasn't that foolish. Last time I got nothing; this time I had to secure some compensation no matter what. "First... otherwise..."

Figuring that since she was already here, she would have to fork it over sooner or later, Mo Liping said, "I'll transfer it to you right now. What is your bank card number?"

What a dilemma for me! If I had a bank card, would I be this poor? I could only spread my hands in helpless resignation. "Can you give me cash instead?"

Mo Liping blurted out a scold, "You fool! Who keeps that much cash at home? You can buy things online, and having a few thousand on you is usually more than enough."

***

I turned it over in my mind. Since my goal was simply to get the money, I pressed on: "Go withdraw it then, however much you can get, that'll do!"

Mo Liping glanced at the time on her phone. "Who goes to withdraw cash at 2:00 AM? Besides, you can't withdraw that much out of nowhere."

What a troublesome affair. If the missing person notice went live and I couldn't produce the reward money for whoever found him, what would happen?

Mo Liping, however, had an idea and consoled me, "We'll just make a bank card first, and I'll transfer the money onto it. Isn't that it?"

The idea of making a bank card had never crossed my mind, nor did I know how to go about it. I would have to ask for guidance.

Mo Liping made it sound exceptionally simple: "You go to the bank, show your ID card, and the staff there will help you process it."

This remark reminded me. Unsure whether I even possessed an ID card, I dialed my wife's mobile number, only to be met with a automated response that the phone was switched off.

What a fool I was! The two of them were together, the dry tinder and raging fire blazing away—even if my wife wanted to look for the photo, the Scar-Faced Man wouldn't let her!

After all this commotion, coming here had yielded absolute zero. I wanted to go home; however, Mo Liping wouldn't let me, sweet-talking me with: "You can sleep beside me, just like at the hospital. I promise I won't touch you."

Really now, refusing to sleep here wasn't an option! This bed was two meters long and one meter eighty wide—luxurious, grand, and impeccably clean. I had no idea how Mo Liping managed it, but it was vastly superior to my little cot.

It was the dead of night, and it would be a lie to say I wasn't sleepy. Before turning in, we established ground rules: "We sleep at opposite ends, no getting close, and we'll talk after the money transfer goes through!"

The words were spoken, and she even swore an oath, but I remained deeply uneasy. In the middle of the night, with no car to drive me back, dawn would break by the time I walked home! To be frank, for a man and a woman to share a bed and do nothing while enduring the night required superhuman fortitude, unless... As the old saying goes: "Roosters fight head-to-head; bickering spouses bear no grudges; sharing meals by daylight, and sharing a pillow by night."

What a man thinks about, a woman contemplates as well; otherwise, she wouldn't consider marriage. Still, one's heart must be surrendered gradually; one can only marry after finding someone reliable.

Since the rules were set, she slept at one end of the bed while I slept at her feet. Being rather tall, there was no room for a pillow at the edge of the bed. A lingering sense of vigilance kept me awake, but as time wore on, I drifted off...

In the realm of my mind, I saw Mo Liping transform into a little honeybee, buzzing around and flapping her bright wings as she flew aimlessly. In my impression, I had turned into a magnificent cluster of peonies—pink, vibrant, and blooming toward spring—watching as the Mo Liping-headed honeybee flew down from the air to gather nectar.

Her little mouth tasted exceedingly sweet as she sipped blossom after blossom...

Anxious to stop her, I protested, "That is my nectar! Why are you harvesting so much?"

The Mo Liping-headed honeybee giggled stupidly at me for a moment and said, "You must learn to store it so you can take it out and eat it when there is none!"

I tried to stop her from gathering it, but being a flower, I couldn't move and was utterly powerless to intervene, watching helplessly as the little honeybee flew away...