SES Chapter 37 V1

Chapter 37 

He asked her, “What’s wrong?” several times, but Mu Dai never answered. In the end, her legs suddenly gave out and she nearly fell. “Luo Ren,” she said, “I need to find a place to wash up.”

It was like she had just suddenly realized how filthy she was, covered in whatever had been dumped on her. She wiped her face furiously with the back of her hand and turned her back to avoid the stares of passersby. Luo Ren used a handkerchief to help clean her up—when one got dirty, he swapped in another.

“You brought so many handkerchiefs,” Mu Dai mumbled.

Luo Ren didn’t respond. It was just a coincidence—he’d picked them up earlier that evening while browsing. He normally didn’t carry any, but when he saw them, he thought: with a little tear jar like her around, it wouldn’t hurt to have one or two on hand.

He’d chosen them carefully—plain but tasteful, nothing that would make him look fussy. And now? All of them were stained with chili oil, crumpled into a greasy heap, and tossed in the trash. Just a moment ago, they’d been fresh and clean; now they were nothing but a pile of ruined rags.

He finally got her face clean, then started picking peppercorns out of her hair.

But there were too many, and they wouldn’t come out easily. One by one, they clung on. Mu Dai shook her head in a panic, eyes darting around like she didn’t know where she was. “I need to wash. I feel disgusting.”

She looked down and saw that some of the chili oil and food scraps had run into her boots. Nausea rose up in her, and without thinking, she ripped off her boots and tossed them straight into a trash can.

Luo Ren followed her lead. “My place is close. Come wash up there.”

He fetched a change of clothes for her from Ping Ting’s wardrobe. While Mu Dai was in the shower, he went back out to find the restaurant owner.

The heavyset man was doing his best to distance himself from the incident.

He claimed he had no idea what had started it. Said he’d just been busy clearing tables after a big group had left. He happened to glance up and saw Mu Dai standing in the doorway, face pale and eyes darting nervously. In front of her was a small, wiry woman in her forties, wearing a touristy cap.

Then the woman stormed into the restaurant and headed straight for one of the tables, like she knew the people sitting there. The owner thought she was just coming in to eat—until she picked up a soup bowl and walked right back out.

“Who’d expect her to dump it on someone?” the owner said. “At first, I was just thinking, hey, don’t walk off with my bowl. Then bam—she flings it right at that girl. And the girl didn’t even dodge. Just stood there with her eyes shut and took it.”

Luo Ren’s chest tightened—You silly girl. Even if it was your fault, at least get out of the way first, then apologize.

“Then the woman said, ‘Forget eating—who could eat after that?’ Tossed the bowl aside and walked out. The whole table she came from looked at each other, paid up, and followed her.”

At that point, the owner looked genuinely upset. “She chipped my soup bowl in a bunch of places. No manners at all.”

“Did you see which tour group she was with? Was there a logo on her hat?” Luo Ren asked.

The owner looked dumbfounded. “Tour groups in Lijiang come through like schools of fish. Their hats are all either red or yellow, and the tour flags are either square or triangular. How am I supposed to remember?”

Luo Ren left with a heavy heart. Could this have been just a random scuffle? It didn’t feel like it.

The door was slightly ajar when he got back. That gave him a jolt—he was sure Mu Dai had closed it when she went to shower.

He called out gently, “Mu Dai,” and pushed the door open.

She was curled up under a blanket in the corner of the couch. Luo Ren thought she was asleep, so he tiptoed closer, only to see her eyes wide open.

“I’m exhausted,” she said. “Didn’t have the strength to open the door when you got back. I figured it’d be easier to just leave it open.”

Luo Ren gave a faint smile, unsure what to say.

Then she added, “Mind if I sleep on the couch? I’m dead tired and I don’t have shoes to walk home.”

He nodded and gestured toward the bed—it’d be more comfortable than the couch.

He watched her settle into bed before quietly stepping out.

It was a bit chilly outside. Leaning on the railing, he could see rooftops stretching out in layers of darkness. He called the bar and asked for Uncle Zhang.

Uncle Zhang didn’t sound thrilled. “A young girl spending the night out—how improper. Back in the day…”

Back in the day, yes—it would’ve been scandalous. But times had changed. Uncle Zhang grumbled a bit more, then let it go. He trusted Mu Dai. Even if she stayed out all night, he knew she wouldn’t do anything inappropriate. “Anyway, Luo Ren, thanks for taking care of her.”

Luo Ren didn’t hang up. “Uncle Zhang, has Mu Dai ever made enemies with anyone?”

There was a pause. Then a forced laugh. “She’s just a girl—who could she possibly make enemies with?”

But Luo Ren wasn’t buying it. He calmly told him everything that had happened that night.

Uncle Zhang fell silent.

Luo Ren pressed again, “Uncle Zhang, do you know who did it?”

After a long silence, Uncle Zhang finally replied, “I don’t know who, but I have a good idea. It’s fine. Let her sleep it off—she’ll be better in the morning.”

He was being evasive, treating Luo Ren like an outsider. That was understandable. But what did he mean, “she’ll be better in the morning”? Since when was sleep a cure-all? Had something like this happened before?

Luo Ren couldn’t sleep. The house had spare rooms, so it wasn’t like he didn’t have a place to stay. But he just wasn’t tired.

He paced up and down the stairs, passed Uncle Zheng’s room, and heard the old man coughing and turning over in bed. Passed Ping Ting’s room and paused, listening to her steady breathing.

Then he stopped outside Mu Dai’s room. After a moment of hesitation, he opened the door quietly.

It was hard to see in the dark, but something was off.

The bed was empty. Not only that—no pillow, no blanket.

When had she left? Panic prickled his scalp. He turned, ready to chase after her, but after two steps, he suddenly stopped, hesitated, and crouched beside the wardrobe against the wall.

He hadn’t imagined it—the sliding door, which had been shut, was now slightly open, just wide enough to reveal a few strands of Mu Dai’s hair.

She… crawled into the wardrobe to sleep?

Just as he was piecing it together, there was a rustle inside. Mu Dai shifted and opened her eyes, peeking out through the narrow gap.

“Did I wake you?” Luo Ren asked.