Chapter 10

Wang Chuan listened to Xiao Yuchu's account.

He felt he still didn't fully understand his ex-wife—she was so young, yet incredibly bold. This book is originally published on Tiantiankan Xiaoshuo, ttks. tw, offering you a flawless reading experience with no missing or out-of-order chapters.

She traveled alone across provinces with thirty thousand yuan to rescue her brother, Xiao Rongyue.

What about her father-in-law? Her uncles? Her cousins?

Wang Chuan muttered inwardly, then declared firmly: "This is fraud—fabricated hit-and-run, exploiting family fears to extort money."

Xiao Yuchu said: "My brother called me himself—I was supposed to arrive here at ten-thirty."

"He said someone would be waiting at the hospital entrance to collect the money."

"We arrived over an hour late—could my brother already be in police custody?"

The more she spoke, the more her voice trembled with tears.

Wang Chuan guessed Xiao Rongyue had been coerced into making the call, so he said: "I suggest we report this to the police first. Wait at the police station for the scammers to call—they only want money."

"My phone just died..."

"There's a police station just three blocks ahead."

"What if they're not scammers? My brother said not to call the police. Right now, it's about paying to settle privately—if we call the police, there's no private settlement."

Wang Chuan never imagined that after growing up, Xiao Yuchu and Xiao Rongyue—whom he saw as bitter enemies—had once been deeply affectionate siblings.

"Let's go."

"Where to?"

"Inside the hospital to ask around."

Wang Chuan approached the nurse at the reception desk, face tense, voice shaking: "N... Nurse, did any elderly woman come in today... after a car accident?"

"Let me check."

Half a minute later, the nurse replied: "No elderly woman was admitted today due to a car accident."

The three sat on the hospital's waiting benches. Li Wei spoke up: "Little sister, now do you believe it? It's fake."

"Then why did my brother say that?" Xiao Yuchu still wasn't convinced.

Wang Chuan said: "Your brother might have something incriminating in the scammers' hands."

"Call the police," Wang Chuan said. Seeing Xiao Yuchu's reluctance, he added: "Charge your phone first. Wait for one more call, then decide whether to report it. Is that okay?"

As he spoke, Wang Chuan pulled out his Nokia charging cable, but Xiao Yuchu pulled out a Sony Ericsson T618—no, an upgraded model, the T628, in cold frost white.

"Li Wei, does your phone charger have this round port?"

In 2004, each manufacturer's phone charging cables were largely incompatible, tied to proprietary accessories to squeeze extra profits.

"No, mine's Nokia too. You should've just not sold that Sony Ericsson T618 today."

Wang Chuan glared at Li Wei, voice louder: "We should call the police."

"All of you, get out and don't shout in the hospital."

The nurse at reception grew flustered.

The three reached the hospital entrance. Wang Chuan walked forward several steps, but Xiao Yuchu stood still.

Xiao Yuchu looked up and said: "Would calling the police hurt my brother? This thirty thousand isn't much—just give it to them."

'A rich man's daughter—Xiao Yuchu, 2004—thirty thousand yuan isn't money.'

In Wang Chuan's memory, Jiangcheng's provincial per capita annual income in 2004 was around 18,000 yuan.

Wang Chuan had never known about Xiao Yuchu's trip to Xinzhou in his past life—she never told him—but at least the trip carried no physical danger; it was almost certainly a financial scam.

Thinking of this, Wang Chuan turned back and said: "Yu Yue, how about this: tomorrow morning, when the phone store opens, buy a charging cable. Contact the scammers, hand over the money."

Xiao Yuchu nodded. Throughout this journey, she felt Wang Chuan was a good, trustworthy person.

The three got into a taxi and arrived at the Xinzhou Grain Bureau Family Compound.

Wang Chuan pulled out his keys, opened the door, and turned on the lights.

The three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment had originally been divided: his parents in one room, his grandmother in another, and himself in the third.

"Li Wei, you take this room—it has the bigger bed, can fit two people. Yu Yue, you take my room—it has a single bed."

After assigning the rooms, Wang Chuan added: "Do you want to shower? There's only one bathroom—you'll have to wait your turn."

"I'll go first!" Xiao Yuchu raised her hand. "Wang brother, will I wake up your parents?"

"My parents are dead. That room used to be my grandmother's—she now lives with my aunt-in-law. The bed was moved too. It's empty."

"I'm sorry," Xiao Yuchu replied softly.

Suddenly, Li Wei shouted: "There's a ghost! Chuanzi, look at this coffee table—no dust at all, so clean—who cleaned it?"

Xiao Yuchu shrank behind Wang Chuan in fright.

"Li Wei, stop yelling. My aunt-in-law comes once a week to clean."

When Wang Chuan was in college, his aunt-in-law, Luo Xiaomei, used to clean for him.

In his first year of college, Luo Xiaomei, who ran a restaurant, sent him monthly living expenses.

After Wang Chuan started earning money, he stopped accepting her money.

After his grandmother passed away in his past life, his uncle, Xie Ping'an, had an awakening, returned to Xinzhou, and remarried Luo Xiaomei, resuming restaurant operations.

Luo Xiaomei had been a top student in high school and a stunning beauty—she would've easily gotten into a prestigious university—but she dropped out after being charmed by her handsome uncle, Xie Ping'an.

After Wang Chuan started earning, he brought them to Shanghai to live and funded their travels across the country.

"Yu Yue, the washing machine is on the balcony, but I don't have any women's clothes. Check my closet in my room—make do for now. It's summer; your clothes will dry overnight."

After a while, Xiao Yuchu stepped out of the bathroom and asked: "Wang brother, why is there no hot water?"

Wang Chuan remembered—this old Grain Bureau Community had no gas pipelines.

"Wait a moment—I'll turn on the gas."

Wang Chuan walked to the small closet beside the bathroom, turned the gas cylinder, and said: "Yu Yue, test the water temperature and let me know when it's ready."

After all the fuss, Xiao Yuchu finished her shower, discovered the hair dryer was broken, and had to come out first to put her dirty clothes into the washing machine.

Walking to the door of Wang Chuan and the others' room, she said, "Brother Wang, I'm done washing; you guys can go wash now."

Having spoken, Xiao Yuchu entered Wang Chuan's single room; it was not large, containing a bed by the window, a very large desk, a wardrobe, and a bookshelf reaching the ceiling, packed densely with books.

Leaning against the wall on the desk was a photograph of Wang Chuan as a junior high student with his parents, taken at the Forbidden City.

Beside it were six red-covered books; Xiao Yuchu opened one to find it was the Illustrated General History of China, published in 1991 by a certain Children's Publishing House.

On the flyleaf of the first volume was written: "Wang Chuan, happy seventh birthday; studying history brings wisdom. From Dad, Wang Guming."

Right next to them were eight thick volumes, the upper and lower sets of the Four Great Classical Novels, with flyleaves bearing messages congratulating Wang Chuan on his eighth birthday.

There were more books beside those, continuing until Wang Chuan was fifteen years old, where they abruptly stopped.

'Did Brother Wang's parents pass away when he was fifteen?' Xiao Yuchu wondered. 'Arranging them like this, is it so Brother Wang can look at his father's handwriting and cherish his memory?'

Xiao Yuchu sighed, thinking of her own parents, and stared blankly for quite a while.

Only then did she remember she still had to wait for the washing machine to finish so she could hang the clothes out to dry.

So she stood up, browsed the bookshelf for a while, and took out a novel titled "First Intimate Contact," by author Pi Zi Cai.

She had heard that this novel was considered a phenomenal internet novel from the time when the web first rose to prominence.

Rustle-rustle—a pile of papers fell out.

Xiao Yuchu picked them up and glanced over them: "Dearest classmate Wang Chuan, I want to..."

"Back in high school, so many girls wrote love letters to Brother Wang! Is it really that exaggerated?"

Xiao Yuchu picked them up and stuffed them back in, muttering to herself, "Brother Wang, I didn't mean to look. I accidentally caught a glimpse and only read the first page."

Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door: "Is Yu Yue asleep? I'm here to get a novel called 'First Intimate Contact'."

Wang Chuan remembered that in high school he had received over thirty love letters from the entire school, all tucked inside that novel; he needed to retrieve them, as it would be too embarrassing if anyone saw them.