SES Chapter 121 Part 1

Chapter 121

Luo Ren and Cao Yanhua were the first to reach Ma Chao’s hospital room.

Fortunately, everything seemed normal. Hospitals during the day were far busier than at night—people constantly moving through the halls, family members sitting anxiously on the benches outside the rooms. At Ma Chao’s door, his relatives were gathered, stealing nervous glances inside whenever the door cracked open, worry written all over their faces.

Would someone really go as far as keeping Ma Chao unconscious just to frame Little Master? Maybe. Cao Yanhua figured it was worth keeping watch. Better safe than sorry.

“I’ll take the first shift,” he offered.

He shook his phone. “Brother Luo, if anything happens, just post it in the group.”

He opened the chat and shared what they’d discovered earlier, then reported that he’d be covering the first watch. Yan Hongsha quickly replied: I’ll take the second shift. Guess we’ll have to rotate three shifts between us.

Since Ma Chao’s family held some resentment toward Yi Wansan, he couldn’t show his face here. Mu Dai wasn’t in a position to help either. That left only Cao Yanhua, Yan Hongsha, and Luo Ren to take turns.

Mu Dai, using Luo Ren’s account, replied with a teary-eyed cartoon girl avatar: Thanks for your hard work, everyone! Mwah!

Paired with Luo Ren’s usual avatar, the message looked absurdly out of place.

Cao Yanhua was just about to snicker when another message popped up from Yan Hongsha: a video clip.

Luo Ren leaned over to watch too.

The surveillance footage was of poor quality—shot from above, mostly showing the tops of people’s heads. The phone recording of it made it even worse. But watching it through, two details stuck with Cao Yanhua: Yi Wansan, and a woman who left the scene suddenly and alone.

He muttered the same thing Yan Hongsha had thought earlier: “Who leaves in such a hurry and doesn’t even stay to watch the drama?”

He typed in the group: Could it be this woman?

Yan Hongsha shot back: You can’t just suspect her because she’s the only one you can see clearly.

Yi Wansan replied: Agreed.

Then, out of nowhere, someone who hadn’t spoken in days chimed in.

The Mystic: What’d you send? Bad signal, can’t see it.

Cao Yanhua perked up. Master Shen, are you at Hangu Pass?

The Mystic: Hangu Pass isn’t any fun.

So he’d arrived. Excited, Cao Yanhua waited for him to say more. But just like always, the man went silent again, vanishing without a trace.

Cao Yanhua sighed. That’s what it means to be a true master. Like a dragon—showing its head but never its tail. Even the way he speaks is cryptic and unfinished.

He turned and noticed Luo Ren frowning.

“Brother Luo?”

Luo Ren said, “Actually, people who are too eager to watch the drama, and people who are too unwilling to—both are suspicious.”

“What?” The Mystic’s interruption had nearly made Cao Yanhua forget the issue entirely.

Luo Ren just smiled. “Never mind. You keep watch. I’m going back to check on Mu Dai.”

On the way back, he picked up food for her. As he paid, he thought: The rest of us eat whenever we’re hungry. Only Mu Dai sits in that hotel room, waiting patiently, hoping someone will show up with food at the right time.

He couldn’t help but laugh.

At the hotel, he knocked on her door.

“Come in,” she called.

The door was unlocked. He pushed it open and found her sitting on the sofa, chin tilted up, tossing his phone in the air and catching it with quick, deft fingers—sometimes even flipping it midair.

It looked like she was ready to interrogate him.

Luo Ren shut the door, set the takeout on the coffee table, and reached out. “Give me that.”

Too slow. She snatched the phone back, tucking it behind her and pressing it tight against her back.

She shot him a sidelong glance. “This time I caught you red-handed.”

That smug little look made Luo Ren’s teeth itch. Caught me at what, exactly?

He dropped to one knee on the sofa, reaching around her to pry her arm loose. Mu Dai twisted left and right, refusing to let go.

“Your little sister called,” she taunted.

“Pingting called me?” Luo Ren frowned. “Shouldn’t Uncle Zheng be the one calling?”

“Don’t play dumb. I mean the other pretty little sister.”

Ah.

Luo Ren smiled, amused. He leaned close and pinched her chin. “My dear girlfriend, if you’re trying to trip me up, you’re still too green.”

Mu Dai laughed, dropped the phone onto the sofa, then slipped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder.

He hugged her with one arm and, with the other, picked up the phone. Sure enough—an incoming call from Ma Tuwen.

In his ear, Mu Dai whispered, “You asked Wan Fenghuo to help look for my mom, didn’t you?”

Luo Ren nodded. “The way you were searching wasn’t right. Since Wan Fenghuo’s here, he has the resources.”

They sat down on the sofa. Mu Dai’s hair was tousled from nuzzling against him.

“Come here,” Luo Ren said gently.

He pressed her head down slightly, smoothing her hair back along her parting line, strand by strand.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.

“Because I don’t have a good impression of your mother.”

A woman like that, who had only raised Mu Dai for three or four years, had left scars on her character that still lingered.

Whether they found her or not, no matter what information turned up, Luo Ren wanted to see it first—filtering if necessary.