9
Uncle Yang listed a whole bunch of chicken dishes, none of which Yun Li had ever heard of.
Just hearing the names made her mouth water with craving. She wished she could eat them all that very night.
Even though Yun Li looked small and thin, she had an enormous appetite.
As an elderly man, Uncle Yang loved seeing children eat their fill, after all, being able to eat was a blessing.
Yun Li got sleepy right after eating and kept yawning. She forgot all about finding her brothers. Since she now had a wealthy poop scooper, she decided to stay with him until she found them.
Just as she was about to fall asleep, Yun Li suddenly remembered something important.
Lailai had said to give your poop scooper some benefits, so he wouldn’t abandon you.
She sprang up from the bed in one swift motion, found her bundle, and dumped out all her treasures.
One stack was human money. Her poop scooper definitely had that already—he probably wouldn’t care about it.
She set the money aside and then picked up her other treasures, examining each one.
She hadn’t brought much this time, just a few random treasures.
Looking through her things, Yun Li selected a fist-sized night pearl.
This had been a gift from her eldest brother on her hundredth birthday.
She usually treasured it dearly, keeping it by her bedside as a source of light.
Cradling the night pearl in her hands, Yun Li ran to the next room and knocked on the door.
Fu Qingheng hadn’t gone to sleep yet. He had just stepped out of the shower and was looking at the messages Guo Ziyang had sent him.
He was still curious about Yun Li’s identity. Who was this woman? They had clearly never met before, yet he dreamed of her as a child.
While bringing Yun Li home, he had also asked Guo Ziyang to investigate her identity and find out why she had been there that night.
The results came back quickly, but the information was a complete blank.
No one knew who she really was or why she had been there that night.
The road into the city had long stretches without surveillance cameras. That night, with the heavy rain, the exact spot where Yun Li had appeared happened to have no cameras.
Just as he was absorbed in studying the information, a knock came at the door.
Fu Qingheng looked up. “Who is it?”
“Brother Fu, it’s me!”
Yun Li?
What did she want this late at night?
Almost immediately, Ding Zhen’s words came to mind. His brow furrowed deeply, and a mix of regret and annoyance rose within him.
This woman seemed innocent on the surface, but her heart was anything but.
First, she shamelessly latched onto him. Now, she was showing up at his door late at night—clearly trying to seduce him.
He really shouldn’t have let his curiosity get the better of him and brought this woman home.
As soon as morning came, he would kick her out.
Yun Li didn’t hear a response and knocked again. “Brother Fu, open the door! I have something to give you!”
Fu Qingheng refused coldly, “No need.”
“You haven’t even seen it yet—why say no?”
Yun Li looked down at the night pearl in her hand. She usually treasured this pearl dearly and wouldn’t even let Qing Ling touch it.
“No—”
“I’m coming in!”
Before Fu Qingheng could finish his refusal, the door suddenly turned. Yun Li poked half her body inside, a sweet smile on her face. “Great, Brother Fu, you’re still awake!”
The corner of Fu Qingheng’s mouth twitched. Usually, he was the only one living on this floor. Without his instructions, no one dared to enter, so he never locked the door.
That made it all too easy for Yun Li to open his door.
Fu Qingheng’s expression grew even colder. “What do you want at this late hour?”
If she dared to invite him to sleep with her, he would kick her out immediately.
Yun Li hid the night pearl behind her back, wanting to give her poop scooper a surprise.
This clumsy little movement of hers was clearly noticed by Fu Qingheng. The man furrowed his brow, wary of whatever unscrupulous tactics she might use.
“Brother Fu, since I’ve given myself to you, I should give you my treasure!” Yun Li said very seriously.
She had really come to offer herself to him?
Fu Qingheng’s expression immediately turned ugly. “Get out!”
Fu Qingheng took a step back. Seeing this, Yun Li took a big step forward, instantly closing the distance between them.
She looked at him in confusion. “Why not? A lot of people really like this treasure of mine and would love to have it. Besides, you haven’t even seen it yet—how do you know you don’t want it?”
This woman was simply… shameless.
He had told her to leave, but instead of going, she moved even closer. A faint, pleasant fragrance wafted off her, filling the air around him.
Fu Qingheng stepped back again, but Yun Li’s light fragrance seemed to have a mind of its own, clinging to him and refusing to disperse.
Taking a deep breath, he said, “Yun Li, listen to me. I don’t have any inter—”est in you.
Before the last word could leave his mouth, Yun Li suddenly pulled her hand out from behind her back.
Fu Qingheng’s heart tightened. He instinctively thought Yun Li was using some kind of cheap knockout drug and held his breath.
His cold, dark eyes widened when he saw that in her fair palm was not some suspicious substance, but a large pearl.
This pearl was probably bigger than Yun Li’s fist—perfectly round, translucent, and so clear that he could almost see the lines on her palm.
One hand couldn’t quite hold it. The glassy orb wobbled precariously in her palm, so Yun Li hastily cupped it with both hands and presented it to Fu Qingheng. Showing it off like a treasure, she said, “Brother Fu, this is my most, most, MOST favorite night pearl of all. I’m giving it to you!”
It wasn’t a cheap drug, but a glass marble. The man’s tense heart relaxed. Then, hearing Yun Li call it a night pearl, he couldn’t help but scoff. “You call this a night pearl?”
He now truly thought Yun Li’s head had been damaged by the car accident. Otherwise, how could she say something so foolish?
Yun Li nodded. “Yes!”
“A night pearl that actually glows?”
Yun Li looked at Fu Qingheng in amazement. “Brother Fu, you know about night pearls too?”
Fu Qingheng pressed his lips together and looked at Yun Li as if she were an idiot. “There’s no such thing as a night pearl in this world.”
“Yes, there is. This is a night pearl,” Yun Li explained. “It gets really bright at night!”
Fu Qingheng: “…”
This woman must have completely lost her mind to think this was a night pearl.
“Brother Fu, if you don’t believe me—”
Before Yun Li could finish explaining, Fu Qingheng said, “I believe you.”
“You believe this is a night pearl?” Yun Li looked at him happily. The man grunted in acknowledgment. “This is a rare treasure. You really want to give it to me?”
The best way not to waste words on a fool was to just go along with what they said.
Yun Li carefully stuffed the night pearl into Fu Qingheng’s palm. “Mm-hmm, I’m giving it to you!”
Fu Qingheng really didn’t want this glass marble. It didn’t look like it was worth anything. But seeing how Yun Li treated it like a treasure, he accepted it.
Having achieved her goal, Yun Li said, “Well then, Brother Fu, I’m going to sleep now. See you tomorrow!”
Fu Qingheng had initially thought he would need to expend more effort to make Yun Li leave, but she actually offered to leave on her own. Relieved, he said, “Fine!”
Yun Li waved at him and walked toward the door, not forgetting to close it behind her.
Fu Qingheng stared at the glass marble in his palm. Had this woman come in just to give him this?
Just as he was about to throw it away, the door he had just closed immediately pushed open again, and Yun Li’s head popped back in. “Brother Fu, are you really sure you don’t want to sleep in my bed? It’s so soft!”
Fu Qingheng’s face darkened on the spot, and he said through gritted teeth, “No, thank you!”
Yun Li let out a disappointed “Oh,” utterly failing to understand why her poop scooper didn’t want to sleep with her.
Lailai had said that her poop scooper loved sleeping with her.
Having delivered the night pearl, Little Yun Li had no more worries. She happily lay down on the bed and rolled around.
Seeing that Yun Li had truly left, Fu Qingheng couldn’t help but sigh with relief and casually tossed the glass marble aside.
Some “night pearl”—that was the kind of thing you’d use to fool little kids.
Little kids?
Fu Qingheng thought of Yun Li’s naive expression. Her brain really must have been damaged by the car accident.
The night was deep. Fu Qingheng turned off the light and was about to go to sleep.
As soon as the light went out, he suddenly felt that something was off.
Hadn’t he closed the curtains?
Why was the room so bright?
He sat up and turned his gaze toward the window. The curtains were tightly shut. The light was coming from somewhere else.
Following the glow, Fu Qingheng traced its source.
He found a round orb on the soft carpet, radiating light.
The glow was bright enough to illuminate most of the bedroom, almost dazzling. Fu Qingheng squinted as he walked over and picked it up.
This was… the glass marble Yun Li had given him? Why was it glowing?
The light from the glass marble shone through his fingers and onto the ceiling.
He turned on the lamp, and the glowing orb in his hand immediately lost its light, reverting to an ordinary transparent glass marble.
As if everything that had just happened was an illusion.
Refusing to believe his eyes, Fu Qingheng turned the lamp back off. The marble in his palm promptly began glowing again.
Startled, his hand loosened, and the marble fell to the ground, rolling to a stop nearby.
Fu Qingheng quickly turned the lamp back on, walked over, and picked up the glass marble.
The transparent marble was perfectly intact, with no signs of any damage.
Was this really a night pearl?
Impossible!
He lived in a world of science. There was no such thing as a night pearl.
Therefore, this transparent marble must contain some kind of fluorescent material that lit up when it got dark.
Yes, that was it—exactly!
Yun Li’s brain had been damaged by the car accident, but that didn’t mean he had to lose his sanity too.
But still… did ordinary fluorescent marbles emit light this bright?
Fu Qingheng stared at the glass marble in his hand, lost in thought for a moment. Then he wrapped it in something and placed it in a drawer.
Early the next morning, Fu Qingheng left the house with the marble.
Yun Li, meanwhile, slept until the sun was high in the sky, finally woken up by a commotion.
A shrill voice came from downstairs. Filled with curiosity, Yun Li headed down.
Downstairs—
Yang Qing looked helplessly at the two women before him. “The young master really isn’t home today!”
**