Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The north plain region in Jinping.
The beginning of winter in the north brings bitingly cold winds that howl mercilessly. The morning was warm and sunny, but as soon as noon passed, the northerly wind began to blow, causing the temperature to plummet. The leaves were also blown about crazily.
A red taxi drove past the street that was now full of leaves, then parked in front of Bliss Nursing Home. After the door was opened, a woman in a brown windbreaker got out.
After she paid the taxi fare, she didn’t walk directly towards the main entrance, but walked along the outer wall of the nursing home toward the other side. The woman’s body was weak and, with the cold wind blowing so wildly, she was staggering, looking as though she would faint at any time.
However, she clenched her teeth and persisted onward. She then arrived before a small metal gate on the west side of the nursing home.
The metal gate had been abandoned for many years by the nursing home, so no one used it. The woman extended her hand through the gaps of the metal gate and quickly found a pair of keys from the inner side.
Squeak!
She then opened the metal gate with the pair of keys. The woman looked around, extremely vigilant. After she was sure that no one had seen her, she quickly entered the nursing home.
The woman walked into the central part of the nursing home, the repose building. Due to the serious gunfight the night before, the entire building was still sealed off. As such, most of the old folks that stayed there were moved to another place temporarily.
However, the police were done with the scene. So, although there were a few police that had stayed back to keep watch, they were merely doing so to follow procedural protocol. Hence, no one even noticed the woman.
After she entered the building, the woman went to the store room and opened one of the storage boxes, which had many items in it. The woman first changed herself into a set of clean clothes, which were some of the items in the box, and then she took out a phone and checked the messages.
Just as she was checking her phone, her gaze paused at her hands. She saw that the edges of both of her hands were wrapped with white bandages and her thumbs were gone!
That’s right, the woman was no other than the female cat burglar, Cui Lizhu! As she looked at her warped hands, she felt heavy-hearted.
However, due to the pressing of time, she couldn’t get stuck crying about the past. Instead, she hurried and checked her phone, finding the message that she was looking for. It turns out that the old man who was living in room 606 was relocated to the vice building.
Hence, Cui Lizhu quickly packed the items in the storage boxes and filled her backpack with a large amount of cash. She then carried her bag, exited the building, and walked to the vice building.
There were no police at the vice building, only the nursing home staff and the old folks that were relocated here temporarily. Within a few minutes, Cui Lizhu found the old man’s room on the second floor, its door wide open. She pushed the door open further and walked through it quickly.
“One: get promotion, two: good friends, three: Gods of happiness, wealth, and longevity struck, four: seasons of wealth…” She heard people playing drinking games in the room. Then, a loud voice shouted, “Wahaha, you lost, you drink!”
Cui Lizhu was surprised and quickly walked forward. She then saw that there were two men playing drinking games at the coffee table in the room. She was even more surprised to see that one of them was the old man, while the other man was Zhao Yu!
“Why did I lose again?” The old man took a gulp reluctantly and roared unwillingly, “Again, again! I don’t believe that I can’t win against you. Five: sons passing the imperial civil examination, six: smooth without a hitch, seven: clever skills…”
Zhao Yu had already seen Cui Lizhu enter, but continued to play games with the old man. Cui Lizhu looked around. Although she didn’t see any other policemen, she knew that it would be impossible for her to run away under Zhao Yu’s watch.
After dropping her idea of running away, Cui Lizhu forced herself to relax. She threw away her backpack and walked in front of Zhao Yu slowly.
“Girl, you’re here!” When the old man saw Cui Lizhu, he quickly waved at Zhao Yu and said, “Come on, let my girl play against you. With us together, I believe we just might win against you!”
“Dad!” Cui Lizhu complained. “The doctor said that you can’t drink! Don’t you want to get well?”
“It’s just apple cider vinegar!” Zhao Yu raised his cup and took a sip. He then told Cui Lizhu, “Let’s get down to business first, though. We are playing drinking games! So, hurry up and tell your dad to return my watch! It’s expensive, after all!”
“Mm…” Cui Lizhu creased her eyebrows. She wanted to walk towards the old man, but she felt a fit of dizziness and nearly fell to the ground.
Zhao Yu was swift and grabbed her just in time. Then, he carried her to the bed.
At that moment, Ran Tao extended his head into the room from the door, then pointed at the handcuffs in his hands. However, Zhao Yu sent him an eye signal, then shook his head, beckoning for him to leave.
“Sigh! Such silly games, yet not many of them know how to play,” Zhao Yu complained to Cui Lizhu. “I’m guessing that your dad was the king of thieves back then, right?”
“Eh? I’m drinking with you, so why did you scold me?” The old man was getting angry. “Who are you scolding? Isn’t it just a watch? Here, I’ll give it back to you!”
The old man dangled the watch at Zhao Yu, as though he was pulling a magic trick. As Zhao Yu extended his hands to retrieve it, the old man twisted his wrist quickly. Then, the watch was immediately clamped on Zhao Yu’s wrist firmly.
“Mm…” Zhao Yu creased his eyebrows and said to Cui Lizhu, “I don’t understand something. With your dad’s skill, he could rob all of the other old folks. How could a nursing home… Oh… No wonder you wanted to pay a hundred and seventy-thousand for the fees!”
“No… It’s not that way…” Cui Lizhu grew pale and said. “Not only does my dad need to rest, but he needs to be treated for a sickness, too!” Then, she pointed at her head, signaling Zhao Yu that the old man had mental issues.
“Police officer… Please, I beg you…” Then, Cui Lizhu suddenly cried. “My dad… If there is no one left to take care of him, he will surely die! Please, I beg you!” Then, Cui Lizhu struggled to get off of the bed. She wanted to kneel down before Zhao Yu.
“Hey hey hey…” Zhao Yu pressed her gently back onto the bed and said, “The rules of the world are to put yourself in another person’s shoes. If you want me to help you, you have to be honest with me first! So far, everything that you have done has been very disappointing…”
“No…No!” Cui Lizhu pleaded, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I didn’t want to lie to you. It was really difficult for me! If I was arrested, my dad would have no one left to take care of him! Please, I beg you…”
Cui Lizhu’s face was pale and her lips were cracked, but she was wailing. It was a wretched sight. As Zhao Yu looked at her palms, which were wrapped with bandages, he felt sorry for her.
“Alright, if that is the truth, then tell me everything now!” Zhao Yu said. “I swear this is your last chance! If you lie to me again, I will spread the news that your dad is the king of thieves!”
“Huh?! Don’t… Please don’t… I’ll tell you everything…” Cui Lizhu was obviously frightened.
However, the old man spat at Zhao Yu, then said, “Hey, are you asking for death? I told you so many times, don’t call me a ba*tard, and I’m no scumbag either…”
