Chapter 126: Poor Lu Liangting
“Ah, this…”
Zhao Mingyue stared at the shaky video on her phone, caught in a moment of silence. The video showed a deserted street, and apart from Lu Liangting’s hurried footsteps, she could vaguely make out some shouting in the background.
She could feel it clearly: Lu Liangting was really panicking.
If someone just saw this video, they might think he was being chased by a rabid dog.
“Two mad girls, are they really that insane? Even Lu Liangting’s good temper can’t handle this. What terrible thing did they do to him?”
What she didn’t know was that just moments earlier, Lu Liangting was casually walking down the street when suddenly, two women jumped out at him. One, dressed provocatively, pretended to be harassed by a drunken man, purposely leading him to “save her.” The other had sent some thugs to trouble Lu Liangting, then barged in to “rescue” her.
It was a simple tactic, designed solely to grab Lu Liangting’s attention.
Before trying to woo Lu Liangting, they had to meet him, right? If the conditions didn’t exist, they’d just make them—simple and brute force.
If they hadn’t seen failed attempts before, they would have just gone straight in, dragged Lu Liangting off, and boom! Instant acquaintances.
But the two girls ended up bumping into each other first.
The harassed girl didn’t wait for Lu Liangting and instead got confronted by a suddenly heroic little thug. After sending the drunken man flying with a kick—boom, what a plot twist! The girl was dumbfounded. The thug, tangled with the drunkard, rolled out of the way, and as fate would have it, she collided with Lu Liangting, who was spectating from the sidelines. Two pairs of eyes stared wide at each other.
At that moment, she had just kicked the thug out.
You could slice the tension with a kn*fe—so awkward, it’s unreal.
The two girls exchanged glances, instantly aware that each was after the same prize, and without further ado, they lunged for Lu Liangting.
Lu Liangting was still dazed, just trying to make sense of this chaotic spectacle when those two suddenly lunged at him, causing him to flee purely out of instinct. Who knew those two nutcases would ramp up their pursuit?
At this moment, the girls were merely “odd,” not quite reaching the level of “madwomen.”
That changed when Lu Liangting witnessed them both tossing knives at each other while simultaneously running after him. His expression changed completely. These two gals were tough! Sure, even experts sometimes get hit, but even with knives piercing their legs and chest, neither showed any sign of stopping.
The one with a kn*fe in her leg taunted the other, implying she was done for.
And the other replied with something absurd like, “Silly, I’ve got one more…”
As if that wasn’t enough trouble, a few knives sporadically flew in his direction, and he still didn’t know who tossed them!
In the convenience store, Zhao Mingyue had been waiting for news forever, and after twenty minutes, Lu Liangting’s message finally came through.
He sent a voice message that sounded like he was out of breath, clearly too busy to type.
“Mingyue, give me twenty more minutes, I’ll be there soon.”
Zhao Mingyue replied immediately, not wanting Lu Liangting to ‘d*e from worry’ over her lack of messages.
“Is my timing for messaging just off?” She put her phone down, feeling a tad self-doubtful.
She never expected Mr. Lu Liangting’s life to be so “exciting” that any time she messaged could happen to coincide with him being chased by girls.
“It’s fine, he’ll come on his own,” Bai Yu said casually.
Let them chase, it’s not like they’re going to take Lu Liangting down for good.
As time ticked away, nineteen minutes later, panting and sweating, Lu Liangting actually showed up at the convenience store, and he didn’t even take the full twenty minutes!
He burst through the door, practically flying in with his entire body drenched in sweat, gasping for air.
“Sorry, I’m late…”
“Nah, no worries! That was pretty quick, actually.” Zhao Mingyue scratched her cheek from behind the counter.
Moments later—
Clank!
A cocktail bottle landed on the glass table as Lu Liangting let out a long breath, finally stabilized.
In the store’s rest area, Zhao Mingyue sat opposite Lu Liangting, next to Miss Rabbit the Plush Toy. Only after seeing Lu Liangting’s condition improve did she start talking.
“Lu Liangting, what on Earth just happened? Who was chasing you?”
Lu Liangting shook his head. “I don’t know them, just two madwomen.”
Thinking back on those two crazies made his head ache—it was just terrifying!
“Madwomen?”
“Yeah, really scary madwomen.”
“Alright then, let’s skip that. I wanted to tell you about something related to your sister…”
Hearing that triggered Lu Liangting’s serious face, and he zeroed in like he was ready to catch every single detail, afraid of missing something crucial.
Starting from the strange dream he had last night, Zhao Mingyue did her best to recount every detail, ensuring she didn’t leave anything out. After finishing, she noticed the deep furrow in Lu Liangting’s brow and proceeded to recount what the store manager had mentioned that morning.
She went into so much detail because she realized this was critical for Lu Liangting.
If someone knew about her sister, she too would want details presented in such a thorough manner.
Still, she remained cautious, wary that Lu Liangting might be plotting against her.
After a lengthy silence, Lu Liangting bowed his head, fingers tangled in his hair, eyes reflecting his inner turmoil. Zhao Mingyue noticed his eyes were red; he managed to suppress impending tears, perhaps because he was a man and was trying to hold it together.
After a while, Lu Liangting’s voice emerged, “She… she really is my sister.”
“Lu Liangting, you…”
“I’m fine; just recalling some old memories.” He blinked, eyes still a bit wet, rummaging through his phone for a picture. A rather adorable girl flashed a peace sign, her sunny smile bright like a thousand suns.
Seeing the girl’s face, Zhao Mingyue was sure—the girl from her dreams was indeed Lu Liangting’s sister.
She was gone, transformed into a vengeful spirit in red, yet the sister still worried about her brother’s safety.
“Yes, the girl I dreamt about is definitely her. Lu Liangting, I think this is good news—she remembers you and is still somewhat aware. Once you find her, you can live together, just like me and Bai Yu…”
Zhao Mingyue thought it through and offered him a comforting word.
“Thank you. I will definitely find her!”
At least knowing something about his sister’s current state was enough.
As Zhao Mingyue said, he still had a chance, as long as he could track her down.
Their eyes met, a shared moment of sympathy mostly stemming from Zhao Mingyue’s own loss of family.
Forget about searching for her?
No way, he was going to find her!
Just as Lu Liangting was about to say something, his phone rang—a number with no contact name. Typically, a call like this meant a stranger, but the moment he saw it, his expression soured.
“Hello?” After a moment’s hesitation, he picked up the call with an icy tone.
“Lu Liangting, where are you right now?”
A woman’s voice came through, low and somber.
“Outside.”
“I need your exact address.”
“No need for you to come pick me up. I’ll get home myself. Tell Zhizi not to cook for me tonight.”
“You!” The woman on the other end started getting irritated but managed to calm herself down, softening her tone, “Liangting, you know what I want to say. You know you’re resistant to this, but listen to Mom. I only want what’s best for you.”
“Those women outside? Cut ties with them if you can. Your dad has been angry for days. While you’ve been gone, a certain Sun Hanyue sent something home. Do you know what it is?”
“It’s a heart, with both your names written on it.”
“Do you know whose heart that is?”
“You know Xia Wu, right? Your third cousin? The police are investigating, and they confirmed that heart is definitely his. They’re still chasing down the culprit.”
“And do you know what the letter in that package says?”
“The murderer, Sun Hanyue, addressed you as ‘dear’ and told you not to worry, that she would take care of everything as long as you stayed with her.”
“Your cousin just cursed you out a little in public, spreading all kinds of nonsense, and now he’s dead. Do you really think you can be with someone like her?”
Lu Liangting’s expression changed dramatically at those words.
He knew Xia Wu. Though that guy’s actions against him paled compared to what his mom claimed, he’d publicly declared he would ruin him and was messing around with his supposed fiancée.
That fiancée? Lu Liangting wasn’t even a tiny bit interested. It was all nominal.
But this nominal connection was enough. Outside, everyone knew this girl was the fiancée of the Lu family’s young master, but Xia Wu stole her away.
Many people claimed he’d become a cuckold without any action.
Who would have thought Xia Wu would end up killed, with his heart sent home?
“I don’t know, it has nothing to do with me. Haven’t you been digging into me? You’ve never heard of Sun Hanyue, have you?”
“Alright, let’s drop that for now. Just go home, it’s your dad’s wish.”
“Oh, and I also saw you mingling with those two strange women again. I mean…”
Lu Liangting cut the call, sitting in silence.
Mingling with two strange women…
Was that what he wanted?
His mind was tangled in confusion, and Lu Liangting suddenly felt lost in life.
What he most wanted to resolve was the issue with his sister. The only good news was that clues about her were piling up. Thank goodness for Bai Yu; without her, he’d probably be dead by now.
The atmosphere sank into silence when his phone rang again.
This time, it was Zhao Mingyue’s phone.
“Manager?” Seeing the caller’s name, she hurriedly picked up.
“Hey, Mingyue,” Li Tianan’s voice came through the line.
“Manager, it’s me. What’s up?”
“Well, here’s the thing—I’ve run into some trouble and can’t leave right now. Remember I mentioned I had something to deal with? I might not be able to make it; I need to go to the traffic police station.”
At that moment, Zhao Mingyue understood.
“Manager, you didn’t get caught for drunk driving, did you?”
“Cough, well, sort of…”
“…”
“Listen, Mingyue, I’ll increase the task’s reward for you—10,000 bucks—and you don’t have to work this afternoon. Just go out, relax a bit. And when you leave, help me lock the store up. The keys are still in the usual spot. Just make sure you get there by 8 PM.”
“Uh, can I really do this?”
“You can do it; it’s a small thing. I’ll send you a location, and you can take a cab. I’ll cover the fare.”
“Alright then,” she thought it through with Bai Yu in her mind and agreed.
“Okay, I’ll hang up now.”
Once the call ended, Zhao Mingyue blinked, surprised that Li Tianan really had been caught for drunk driving.
“Got a task?” Lu Liangting looked up.
“Yes, handling a supernatural case—it’s a job the manager took on.”
“Can I go?”
“Um…”
“I won’t take any reward, and you don’t need to take a cab; I’ll drive you there and back. Just be ready by 8 PM. We might not return until after 11, and there won’t be any cabs available then.”
Lu Liangting really wanted to get out and clear his head; he didn’t want to go home. He could already imagine the problems he’d face when he got back.
“Bai Mei!” Zhao Mingyue didn’t answer Lu Liangting right away. She was silently calling out to Bai Yu, knowing she couldn’t decide on this alone.
“Sure.”
“Alright, but why?”
“Testing a hypothesis.”
“A hypothesis?”
“Don’t ask right now; you’ll find out once we get there.” The eyes of the rabbit plush toy sparkled.
What Bai Yu was suggesting with this hypothesis was pretty straightforward—whether someone from the Ghost Domain was pulling strings behind this task. If there was, it suggested the manager had some issues; if not, it becomes hard to guess.
The last call had some problems, especially when connecting it to the previous two incidents.
One was the ghost from the youth hostel, and the other was Lu Liangting’s sister.
Once this current task linked them together, everything would align.
Meanwhile, on the street where Lu Liangting had bolted out, a girl with an embedded dark object in her chest casually walked along the sidewalk, mumbling to herself.
Suddenly, she heard a screeching halt as a black luxury car pulled up beside her.
The rear window slid down, revealing a weathered but still alluring face inside.
*
Sorry for the lateness, boohoo~
But thank you all for your votes!
