SES Chapter 49 V1

Chapter 49

By the time they got back to the dock, it was already past midnight.

Luo Ren had rented a wheelchair from the hospital for Yan Hongsha, but getting in and out of the car still required carrying her. She was extremely uncooperative—every time he picked her up, she’d raise her hands high above her head like she was surrendering and made sure to speak loudly enough for Mu Dai to hear: “It’s not my fault, I didn’t want this either!”

Luo Ren looked at her, baffled. “Didn’t want what?”

“Don’t take advantage of me!” Yan Hongsha snapped at him.

He shot her a look and then just dropped her. First onto the car’s back seat, and then onto a bunk in the boat’s cabin.

The first time she was dropped, she screamed in pain. The second time, she screamed even louder—but this time, with excitement: “A boat! A boat! It’s my first time sleeping on a boat!”

As she spoke, she started lifting the mattress and peering underneath, as if boat beds were somehow different from regular ones.

Yi Wansan gave her a long look and muttered, “Nutjob.”

There was a small shower room on the boat. Two of them quickly washed up. The cabin was given to the girls, while Luo Ren and Yi Wansan bunked in the control room. The plan was to rest for the night and head to the waters near Wuzhu Village in the morning.

When she heard they were going to Wuzhu Village, Yan Hongsha couldn’t sleep.

In the middle of the night, she propped herself up. “Mu Dai? Mu Dai?”

“Are you asleep? Say something, will you?”

In the dark, Mu Dai rolled her eyes. Don’t you know I can’t speak?

She knocked on the bedboard twice in frustration.

Yan Hongsha finally remembered and started mumbling to herself.

—“What do you think grabbed me underwater? Could it be that giant clam my uncle showed me in the video?”

—“Do you think something’s happened to my uncle?”

She suddenly got choked up. “If my uncle’s dead, my grandpa will cry himself blind…”

Mu Dai sighed and crawled out of bed to sit next to her. In the dark, Yan Hongsha’s eyes glistened. She was crying.

Mu Dai didn’t know how to comfort her, so she copied Luo Ren and gently stroked Yan Hongsha’s hair.

Yan Hongsha whispered, “Do you think that clam’s been doing this for a long time? Could there have been other victims before me?”

Probably, yes—if they included all the previous disappearances in Wuzhu Village.

But…

Mu Dai’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

What about the time after the villagers left? Could there have been scattered pearl divers who went down into those waters?

The next morning, the boat didn’t head straight for Wuzhu Village as planned.

While the girls were still asleep, Luo Ren had already driven into the city.

He and Yi Wansan had talked late into the night. If that clam was the culprit, they’d need the right tools—going in unprepared would be a huge mistake.

Without Luo Ren around, Mu Dai seemed out of sorts. Yi Wansan had gone to a nearby village and bought congee and savory pancakes. Being a coastal area, the congee was filled with little shrimp.

Mu Dai opened the vinegar-marinated snow fungus from last night and ate it with the others. Afterward, she practiced vocal exercises. Her voice was already improving, and she could now make soft “mm” and “ah” sounds.

She sat on the lowered water ladder at the edge of the boat, frequently glancing toward the road, hoping Luo Ren’s car would show up soon.

One glance happened to catch Yi Wansan looking at her too.

“He’s not back yet,” he said.

“Hmmph!” she grunted.

“Hmmph” had become her third mastered sound, after “mm” and “ah.”

Yi Wansan came over. “I called Uncle Zhang and told him what happened to you.”

He added, “When your phone fell in the water, they couldn’t get through. They were freaking out.”

Oh, right. With everything that had happened, she’d completely forgotten.

Yi Wansan sat down beside her. After a moment, he asked, “What’s going on between you and Luo Ren?”

He and Cao Yanhua had both witnessed Luo Ren declare Mu Dai as his girlfriend, and her smug refusal: “Did I say yes?”

Back then, they thought it was just a lovers’ quarrel. Luo Ren had even gone to the bar for days, leaving huge tips to show his regret.

Mu Dai stayed silent.

Yi Wansan said, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think Luo Ren’s the right guy for you.”

“He’s complicated. You don’t know what’s going on in his world. And frankly, you probably can’t get in.”

Mu Dai bit her lip. She already knew. She’d always known.

She had told her martial senior she wanted more life experience, that she liked people who had presence, calm and cool types, because she felt like Luo Ren deserved someone like that by his side.

“Boss lady, I’m not saying he doesn’t like you. He does. You’re likable. I mean, even I had a thing for you at first—until you beat it out of me. But did you notice? Ever since he admitted liking you, he’s been holding back.”

Mu Dai listened quietly.

“From a guy’s perspective, once you like someone, the next question is whether you can pursue it seriously. I liked a girl once too, on the road. But I thought, what the hell do I have to offer? I’m a con artist. I’m not good enough for her. So I acted like I didn’t care. She was hurt, but she moved on. I checked in on her once—she got married, has a kid now. Looked happy.”

He paused. “I’d bet anything Luo Ren’s way more complicated than me. Last night, he was talking about how to deal with that clam. The stuff he mentioned—I wouldn’t have even dreamed of it. You and he aren’t from the same world. If you step into his, who knows what kind of pain you’ll face.”

Thunk! A slipper came flying from above and smacked him on the head.