SES Chapter 26 V1

Chapter 26

Mu Dai stammered awkwardly, “I-I… I’m just afraid of getting infected. I’ll find somewhere close by, Luo Ren. If you call, I’ll come right away.”

She was practically jumping with anxiety.

Luo Ren laughed and let go of her arm. “Don’t put too much trust in people, Mu Dai. No matter what, your safety should always come first.”

Back in her room, Mu Dai couldn’t stop thinking about what Luo Ren said.

What did he mean by that? Was he implying she was too naive, too easy to fool? What a joke—she had her judgment. She didn’t just trust anyone. Otherwise, why didn’t she trust Yi Wansan?

Early the next morning, Li Tan had already left. Luo Ren had to stay behind to watch over Ping Ting, so Uncle Zheng drove Mu Dai and Yi Wansan to the nearest inn.

While checking in, Yi Wansan grumbled, “Why can’t we just stay at their place? It’s so spacious.”

Mu Dai glared at him. “Because you ate too much lamb yesterday and got on everyone’s nerves!”

Seriously, everything was always his fault. Yi Wansan trailed behind her with his luggage, grumbling all the way: Where the hell did the human traffickers disappear to?

They reached Mu Dai’s room first. Just as she pulled out her key card, the door across the hall opened. A man stepped out, humming a tune, but when he saw them, he gave a startled yelp and ducked right back inside.

Too late—Mu Dai had already seen him. She looked from Yi Wansan to the half-shut door. “Come out.”

After a moment’s struggle, Cao Yanhua emerged, head hanging.

Mu Dai hadn’t even opened her mouth when Yi Wansan beat her to it, throwing his arms wide like he’d just spotted an old friend. “Brother Cao! What brings you here?”

Cao Yanhua quickly picked up the act. “Fancy running into you! After I left Yunnan, I figured I needed a change of pace, something rougher to clear my head. Didn’t expect to see you two here!”

Mu Dai had only two words for this performance:

Yeah, right.

She waved them on. “Go ahead, keep acting.”

Then she swiped her card, stepped into her room, and kicked the door shut behind her.

The audience had left. Yi Wansan and Cao Yanhua stared at each other and immediately started bickering.

—“What the hell, you didn’t even tell me you were staying here!”

—“Damn it! I was gonna tell you once I arrived. And how was I supposed to know you guys had moved out of Luo Ren’s place already? My hopes of becoming your disciple are shot, huh?”

…

Trying to make up for it, Cao Yanhua insisted on treating them to lunch.

A whole table of dishes, but Mu Dai didn’t touch her chopsticks. “Yi Wansan’s at least got a reason to be here. Why are you following us? Didn’t you just find a job?”

“It was just… waiting tables. Missing a month or two won’t ruin my career.”

Mu Dai couldn’t help but laugh—only Cao Yanhua could turn every job into a so-called “career.”

Yi Wansan chimed in, “Boss Lady, Brother Cao’s got a kind heart and a good nature. If your master won’t take him, you should. Teach him a few basic moves—it could cause a butterfly effect! If he saves someone someday, you’d be doing a good deed!”

Mu Dai shot him a look. “You’re all about the butterfly effect, huh? What if he ends up hurting someone instead? Learns some skills and uses them to steal? That’d be on me, too.”

Cao Yanhua’s round face flushed bright red. “Mu Dai, I got caught and educated last time. I swear I won’t steal anymore. If I do, after you take me in, you can cripple me—cut my tendons, whatever!”

Clearly, this guy had read way too many martial arts novels.

Mu Dai frowned. “Why do you even want to learn martial arts so badly?”

Cao Yanhua turned an even deeper shade of red. After a moment, he pulled a wallet from his pocket.

What now? Mu Dai took it, thinking maybe it was like Li Tan’s wallet, with a picture of her Auntie Hong inside. Did Cao Yanhua also have a long-lost childhood sweetheart?

She opened it and realized she was way off. There was a photo, sure, but that iconic nose was instantly recognizable to any Chinese person in the world.

Jackie Chan.

Cao Yanhua stammered, “I’ve always had a dream…”

This can’t be good. Mu Dai quickly cut him off. “Alright, time to eat.”

Cao Yanhua blinked, confused about why he’d been interrupted so abruptly. Yi Wansan gave him a meaningful look: Just eat, bro.

As they ate, Yi Wansan leaned over to ask, “Boss Lady, that Ping Ting—is she Luo Ren’s sister?”

“I think she’s his girlfriend.”

Yi Wansan’s eyes almost popped out. “Not his sister? They both have the last name Luo!”

“I just think they’re not siblings. I’m good at sensing these things.”

So it was just a hunch. Yi Wansan was relieved, but still played along. “If she’s his girlfriend, then why would she go crazy? It’s gotta be Luo Ren’s fault. He probably hurt her feelings—”

Mu Dai slammed her chopsticks on the table.

“Call her Miss Luo or Luo Pingting. Don’t just ‘Pingting’ this, ‘Pingting’ that. You’re not that close to her. Keep a respectful distance from other people’s girlfriends, and don’t have any inappropriate or overstepping thoughts!”

Yi Wansan looked wronged. “What did I do? I was just asking.”

Mu Dai smiled at him so chilly it sent shivers down his spine. “I’m telling you, I’m usually spot on.”

The rest of the day was quiet. Mu Dai wandered around Xiaoshanghe alone. She eventually ditched both Yi Wansan and Cao Yanhua. Yi Wansan was happy not to tag along, but Cao Yanhua looked genuinely worried. “Mu Dai, you’re not familiar with this place—be careful.”

Honestly, having a disciple like that wouldn’t be so bad.

Mu Dai wandered to the outskirts of town, where the dunes surrounded a single road in and out. She asked someone nearby, “Why aren’t there any camels around?”

The person laughed so hard they nearly wheezed. “Girl, what year do you think this is? Who keeps camels for fun anymore? You’ll only see those at tourist spots—Zhongwei’s Shapotou, or maybe Shahu.”