Chapter 37.5

Liu Zhongtong and Song Qianjin hit it off right away, though Song Qianjin didn’t reveal Luo Tianyuan’s true identity to him. Liu Zhongtong could still tell with vicious eyes that Luo Tianyuan was far from an average joe.

“By the way, what is Brother Liu doing in Ning City this time?” Song Qianjin asked after a few rounds of drinks.

Liu Zhongtong smiled helplessly. “For us employees, we go anywhere where our boss tells us to. Brother Song, Brother Luo, I won’t hide it from you. I haven’t done much while working for Mr. Lu all these years. I have traveled all over the world— I have been to the United Kingdom and the United States several times, and I have also been to many villages and towns. Don’t judge me based on how tan I look now. When I first graduated, I was very pale and white. My female classmates used to say that I was very handsome.”

Song Qianjin was surprised when he heard this: “Traveling all around the world? Has Shengyuan’s business spread all over the world?”

“Brother, you’ve got to be mocking me.” Liu Zhongtong wiped his face and continued, “I am merely Mr. Lu’s assistant.” Maybe after drinking some wine, he opened up. He sighed, “There are too many rumors going about regarding Mr. Lu’s wife in Beijing. Some people say that she died unexpectedly, and some say that she divorced Mr. Lu and went abroad. Up to now, the Lu family haven’t given any explanation. All in all, our Mr. Lu is a loyal and infatuated lover.”

To be honest, neither Luo Tianyuan nor Song Qianjin had any interest in another family’s affairs, but even if they lacked interest, since Liu Zhongtong obviously was full of desire to talk, they all tried to pay attention to his nagging.

Liu Zhongtong finally found a confidant. He was drunk, and since he trusted Song Qianjin’s character, he let loose.

“When Mrs. Lu disappeared unexpectedly, at first I thought she’d gone on vacation. However, she didn’t return home for several days, so Mr. Lu became anxious. It is no exaggeration to say that he almost turned the capital upside down while trying to search for her. Later on, we found Mrs. Lu’s personal belongings by the beach. Unfortunately, it had been several days and many traces were destroyed. I searched for a long time in the sea. Y’all can’t imagine how it was. We fished up a pair of Mrs. Lu’s shoes, and also found Mrs. Lu’s jewelry in the crevices of a reef. Our indomitable Mr. Lu fell apart and broke into tears immediately.”

“Actually, over the years, everyone knew that Mrs. Lu died in an accident. Only Mr. Lu thinks that as long as the body isn’t found, Mrs. Lu isn’t dead. In the past few years, Mr. Lu has sent people to look for her everywhere. He has searched countless cities, and even traveled abroad many times, but he still refuses to give up.”

“The old lady of the Lu family has fallen ill countless times due to this. I happened to come to Ning City this time.”

Ning City is a very small city, and it is far away from Beijing. It isn’t a coastal city, and it isn’t a key city on the list of cities that the Lu family is searching. This time, Liu Zhongtong was here because he was entrusted by someone.

When one of his relatives visited a village near Ning City, they couldn’t forget how good the pastries tasted. They heard that he would pass by the provincial capital city near Ning City, so they called him and asked him to bring some pastries back from Ning City. That’s why he didn’t go back to Beijing directly, and instead took a bus to Ning City.

“Brother Song, we are really destined.” Liu Zhongtong poured another glass of wine for Song Qianjin.

Song Qianjin also listened to what he said, and said casually, “So, you are also planning to ask around if Mrs. Lu is living here?”

“Mn,” Liu Zhongtong continued,”I’m used to asking people everywhere I go.” He paused, “Brother Song, you are a native of Ning City, and you probably have seen everyone here. Come on, Check out this photo.”

In fact, Liu Zhongtong was just carrying out his routine.

He found a photo from his briefcase and handed it to Song Qianjin, “Can you help me have a look?”

His tone was casual, since he had concluded in his heart that Mrs. Lu was dead. He definitely didn’t actually believe that anyone would actually see Mrs. Lu.

Song Qianjin took the photo and took a closer look. His originally unfocused eyes gradually became clear——

‘This, this, this! Isn’t this Luo Tianyuan’s neighbor, Shen Qingruo??’

Liu Zhongtong was eating with his head down, so he didn’t notice Song Qianjin’s expression.

Song Qianjin was shocked, but quickly controlled his expression, and handed the photo to Luo Tianyuan, who was beside him. “Tianyuan, check this out.”

Luo Tianyuan took a look. The woman in the photo had bright eyes and pearly white teeth. She was wearing a cheongsam embroidered with peonies, sitting on a swing in the lawn, and the sun was just right.

Although he knew for a long time that Shen Qingruo came from a rich family, Luo Tianyuan was still stunned to find out who she actually was.

Song Qianjin nudged him with his elbow, looking serious.

Luo Tianyuan shook his head.

Song Qianjin looked at him in disbelief, but still cooperated with him, and said to Liu Zhongtong, “Brother Liu, please lend me this photo for a couple of days, and I will ask around for you. After all, Ning City is a small city, and people here don’t like being bothered. If you go asking around, it will attract the attention of others. So, even if they have seen this person, they will say that they have never seen her. Just stay in Ning City for another two days, and I will ask around for you.”

Liu Zhongtong felt thankful for Song Qianjin’s thoughtfulness and righteousness, and shook his head with a smile: “No, I’m merely doing this out of routine. You don’t need to trouble yourself. I’ll just ask around when I’m buying things.”

Luo Tianyuan, who hadn’t spoken much all this time, opened his mouth in an unprecedented way, “Brother Liu, it won’t be troublesome. My girlfriend likes cheongsam very much, and the tailor shop doesn’t have a style she likes. I see that the lady’s cheongsam in the photo is very pretty. I’d like to borrow this photo from you and show it to the tailors. I hope they’ll be able to do something similar. I’ll ask the tailors for you too. Since it’s been a long journey for you, you should have a good rest in the hotel. Let us be a good host.” After saying that, he paused, and said, “From now on, if the two of us go to Beijing, we will have to trouble you too.”

These remarks are well-founded and reasonable.

Liu Zhongtong didn’t come to Ning City with the intention to find the lady. He’d just planned to find two random people on the street and ask them about her; merely to complete his job.

It was a pleasant surprise for him to meet an old acquaintance in a foreign city. He didn’t expect his friend to be so interested in his affairs. Impulsively, he raised his wine glass and said, “Okay, sorry for the trouble. I will treat you well when you come to Beijing in the future! ”

——————–

Want to read more chapters and support us? Please consider becoming a patron to read up to 16 chapters in advance!