The Arrival of My Cousin (VI)

He Lingyu and Shui Mei did not return to the inn immediately. Instead, they headed to the supermarket owned by Zhou Xiaojun's family—partly to have breakfast, partly to gather information about Shi Yini's car accident.

Zhou Xiaojun was sitting behind the cash register, absorbed in her phone. When she saw them, she waved enthusiastically. “Come over, quick! I was just about to look for you—there’s big news!”

He Lingyu and Shui Mei exchanged a glance. Had their timing turned out to be perfect?

The supermarket was empty of customers at this hour. He Lingyu bought tea eggs and eight-treasure porridge, and she and Shui Mei sat down in the rest area for breakfast. Zhou Xiaojun brought over a few tangerines, sat beside them, and began peeling fruit while recounting the latest gossip.

The police had notified Wu Ying’s family to come identify her body. They waited two days before Wu Ying’s mother finally arrived.

Everyone had assumed Wu Ying’s family lived deep in the mountains, but her village was less than twenty miles from town. When Wu Ying’s mother heard her daughter had died of a heart attack, she immediately denied any history of heart disease. But when the police presented Wu Ying’s medical records, the woman turned her anger on the yoga studio.

“My daughter was perfectly healthy for years—why did she drop dead from a heart attack at that yoga studio? The owner has to pay!”

The police kindly told her that the owner of the yoga studio had died in a car accident.

Wu’s mother was stunned, then rushed out wailing. She ran to Baofu Gold Shop, sat on the steps outside, and began making a scene. When the security guard tried to move her, she lay down on the ground, forcing them to carry her to the small park across the street.

Shui Mei asked urgently, “When did this happen?”

“Yesterday afternoon. You know how it is here—nothing much ever happens, so everyone’s got plenty of time. Half the town went to watch the commotion. I was there too,” Zhou Xiaojun said proudly.

He Lingyu sipped her porridge and asked, “And now? Has she left? Why doesn’t she go make a scene at Zhang Baofu’s house?”

“Exactly!” Zhou Xiaojun snorted. “Wu Ying’s mother is the classic shrew—she’ll throw a fit, roll around on the ground, the whole act. But when people in the crowd asked her why she didn’t go to Xucheng Garden, she acted like she didn’t hear. She knows perfectly well Zhang Baofu’s family lives there, but she only dares to make a fuss at the shop. Something’s fishy for sure.”

He Lingyu asked, “Aside from her mother, does Wu Ying have a brother or any other siblings?”

Zhou Xiaojun quickly swallowed her tangerine. “How did you know? She has three younger sisters and only one brother.

Wu Ying changed her name after coming to town. Originally, she was Wu Yingdi; her eldest sister is Wu Zhaodi. Just hearing those names, you know what’s going on. Except for her, all her siblings were born in violation of family planning. Two of her sisters were given away after birth, but not far—just to neighboring villages. When those girls grew up and started earning money, Wu’s parents shamelessly showed up to claim kinship, making a scene with tears and drama. The adoptive families, being neighbors, couldn’t refuse and had to let the daughters visit and even give money during the holidays. If they didn’t, Wu’s parents would go make trouble at their homes or workplaces until they got what they wanted.

As for her brother, the family had so many kids, they were notorious in the village and county for violating family planning policies. The authorities threatened to tear down their house if they kept having children. So Wu’s parents left Wu Ying and her elder sister at home and fled to another city to give birth. They had relatives in the provincial capital—an elderly couple with no children—so they raised the boy there. Back then, adopting was loosely regulated. The elderly couple registered the boy as their own and said he was adopted, but really, they were just raising him for Wu’s parents. The old couple won’t live forever, and then the estate will go to the boy. That’s the kind of calculations Wu’s family makes.”

Shui Mei and He Lingyu both stared, mouths agape—astonished at the family’s cunning and impressed by Zhou Xiaojun’s network of informants.

“Some of the people watching yesterday were from Wu’s village and knew all about them. Wu’s parents always brag in the village that their precious son is a university student, even an artist, and will earn a fortune someday.”

A university student? An artist?

He Lingyu found both identities oddly familiar. After their belated breakfast, the two caught a cab back to the inn. Everything there was as usual, and they each returned to their rooms to catch up on sleep.

Back in her room, He Lingyu drew the curtains and centered herself. In an instant, three figures appeared in the room.

One was a beautiful woman in a red cheongsam, her expression cold and distant. Another was a dark-skinned little boy. The third, with disheveled hair and twisted features, was Qian Hui, whom she’d just subdued the night before.

The woman in red was named Ashu; the boy was called Baldy. Both had long been residents of He Lingyu’s ring.

Ashu’s history was pitiful—she’d long since grown weary of the mortal world and refused to reincarnate. Baldy was a ghost-child, not yet fully formed or sentient; forcing him to be reborn would only result in a life of idiocy.

And so, these two—a grown woman and a child—had dwelled within He Lingyu’s ring for years.

The space inside the ring was vast; at its fullest, it had housed five residents, each with three bedrooms and two living rooms. Baldy could roll around to his heart’s content.

Now, Ashu scowled as she switched on the television. “I haven’t watched TV in two days and nights. I don’t know whether the Empress has killed the Emperor yet.”

He Lingyu pressed a hand to her forehead. “Isn’t there a TV inside the ring? Why do you have to come out to watch?”

She had spent the past two days either at the police station or on her way there—not exactly a place to let her spectral companions out for a TV show.

Ashu sniffed, “You may have burned a television for me, but you need a signal too. Unless you plan to burn down an entire TV station for me?”

He Lingyu replied, “If I did that, I’d also have to burn a few news anchors, wouldn’t I? And just news anchors wouldn’t be enough—we’d need actors, directors…”

No, such extravagant requests should be left to Si Kai’s family.

After all, this woman in red was Si Kai’s aunt, and He Lingyu resolved to have Si Kai burn an entire TV station for Ashu. The Si family could afford it.

As He Lingyu chatted with Ashu, Baldy had already climbed onto the chandelier and was making faces at Qian Hui from his lofty perch.

Qian Hui cowered in the corner, shivering—looking even more miserable than she had the night before. He Lingyu didn’t have to ask to know that Ashu must have given her quite a fright inside the ring.

Sure enough, as soon as He Lingyu stepped before her, Qian Hui fell to her knees. “Master, I beg you, please let me go. I swear I’ll behave—I won’t cause trouble for anyone.”