Feng Shuangshuang had already yawned over a dozen times since entering the room. Liu Fengcheng pressed his finger against her forehead with a grave expression, his brows furrowed deeply.
“Boss Shi, your friend won’t last more than three days. We must find the curse caster immediately, or she will undoubtedly die.”
Upon hearing “undoubtedly die,” Feng Shuangshuang’s half-yawn froze mid-air, leaving her utterly stunned.
“W-What?!”
“Taoist Master, I don’t want to die! Wuwuwu… I haven’t lived enough yet…”
Feng Shuangshuang wept bitterly, tears and mucus streaming down her face.
Though constantly bullied, neglected by family, and looked down upon in her social circle, the thought of being able to afford the most expensive air-flown durians daily and save up for the latest LV bag kept her desperately clinging to life.
She truly didn’t want to die…
“Stop wailing. Check if there are any flights there today. The sooner we go, the more likely we can save on funeral urn costs.”
Wait…
Liu Fengcheng was undocumented—how could he possibly buy flight tickets?
“Take a taxi instead!”
Since this was to resolve Feng Shuangshuang’s problem, she would naturally cover the expenses.
With her life on the line, Feng Shuangshuang immediately opened her phone to find a suitable car. The distance to where her sponsored student He Xiaohua lived was a thousand kilometers away. With non-stop driving and two drivers alternating shifts, they could arrive in about ten hours.
After spending a considerable sum, Feng Shuangshuang finally arranged everything. The drivers would arrive in roughly two hours.
During this time, Shi Qing took Liu Fengcheng to purchase necessary items. Some were rare, eventually found in a hidden corner of an antique alley.
After gathering the equipment, Shi Qing had Liu Fengcheng change into ordinary clothes. The three then boarded the car and headed straight for their destination.
After ten hours on the road, dawn broke as they reached the county where the mountain village was located. They stopped at a breakfast shop for a meal before proceeding to He Xiaohua’s home.
He Xiaohua was a good student attending high school in the county.
Since sixth grade, all her educational expenses—including weekend rental costs after she claimed the commute from the county was too far—had been covered by Feng Shuangshuang. The annual rent amounted to eighteen thousand, a significant sum in such a small county, enough to rent a three-bedroom apartment.
Moreover, He Xiaohua had recently messaged Feng Shuangshuang saying the rent had increased to eighteen hundred per month.
“I’ve never seen anyone as foolish as you.”
Shi Qing glared at Feng Shuangshuang, who remained clueless about being exploited.
Simply because He Xiaohua said she wanted to express gratitude by braiding a hair accessory for her, Feng Shuangshuang had naively cut off a lock of her own hair and mailed it over.
“Wuwuwu…”
Feng Shuangshuang, both angry and upset, hid in a corner wiping tears.
How could she have known He Xiaohua would harm her like this?
“I’m just an ordinary person. What kind of fate could I possibly have? Why would she covet my insignificant luck?”
Feng Shuangshuang sobbed between tears, her voice choked with emotion.Liu Fengcheng shook his head disapprovingly. “You were born into a prominent family after all. Even if your luck isn’t outstanding, it’s still much better than ordinary people who toil their whole lives. By absorbing your fortune, she at least won’t suffer from financial scarcity in the future.”
As the three spoke, they had already arrived outside the residential compound where He Xiaohua rented her apartment. It wasn’t some old, dilapidated building but rather quite new.
When He Xiaohua first rented the place, she had given Feng Shuangshuang the address, though Feng Shuangshuang had never visited before.
Moreover, Feng Shuangshuang believed that in a big city, fifteen hundred yuan a month could only rent a slightly larger bathroom. So when He Xiaohua, who came from an impoverished mountain village, claimed the rent was fifteen hundred, Feng Shuangshuang never doubted it.
After all, Feng Shuangshuang had grown up in a major city—how would she know the local rental prices?
Arriving at the compound entrance, Shi Qing pulled out a pack of cigarettes she had just bought for over twenty yuan and handed it to the nearly toothless security guard.
“Uncle, I’m thinking of renting a place here. Could you tell me about the prices…”
Before long, the guard had shared everything he knew.
He Xiaohua’s rented apartment had three bedrooms and a living room. Currently, it could be rented for just nine hundred yuan per month, and it came fully furnished.
A few years ago, it would have cost only five or six hundred per month.
Hearing this, Feng Shuangshuang trembled with rage.
A place that rented for five or six hundred yuan, yet He Xiaohua had lied and claimed it was fifteen hundred. That meant for nearly a year, He Xiaohua had been swindling money from her!
“Let’s go!”
Fuming with anger, Feng Shuangshuang was no longer tired. She strode forward with determined vigor.
The building had no elevator and only went up to the sixth floor. He Xiaohua’s apartment was on the fifth.
The group climbed to the fifth floor and knocked. Soon, the door opened to reveal a middle-aged woman with a fierce expression.
“Who are you looking for?”
“I’m looking for He Xiaohua. Who are you? Doesn’t He Xiaohua live here?”
Feng Shuangshuang stated her purpose directly. She had never seen this middle-aged woman before; when she sponsored He Xiaohua, she had only met He Xiaohua herself.
Hearing she was looking for He Xiaohua, the middle-aged woman scrutinized the three of them. Her initially fierce expression suddenly blossomed into a beaming smile.
“Oh my, look at me—my eyesight’s failing. I didn’t recognize you! You must be Shuangshuang, the one who’s been sponsoring Xiaohua, right? I’m Xiaohua’s mother. Please, come in…”
He Xiaohua’s mother was sharp; she quickly deduced Feng Shuangshuang’s identity and hurriedly invited them inside.
After entering, Feng Shuangshuang quickly scanned the room. Besides He Xiaohua’s mother, He Xiaohua’s grandparents were also there.
Moreover, He Xiaohua had a younger brother, plus her father who wasn’t home at the moment.
All three bedrooms and the living room were fully occupied.
Incredible. So the money she spent on He Xiaohua’s rent was supporting the entire family!
Suppressing her fury, Feng Shuangshuang asked through gritted teeth, “Auntie, I rented this apartment for Xiaohua. Why are all of you living here?”
“Shuangshuang, are you angry?”
He Xiaohua’s mother stood up uneasily from her seat, looking at Feng Shuangshuang with a face full of guilt.
“It’s all my fault, it has nothing to do with Xiaohua. I said I’d come to take care of her while she studies, cook for her and such. And since her father found work here, we didn’t feel comfortable leaving the elders behind in the village, so we brought them all along…”
“Shuangshuang, if you’re unhappy about this, I’ll move back right away…”At Shi Qing’s signal, Feng Shuangshuang swallowed her anger and forced a smile onto her face.
“Auntie, you’ve misunderstood. I just didn’t rest well on the way here and was in a bad mood. It has nothing to do with you.”
“Oh, that’s good, that’s good. Auntie thought you were unhappy. You must be hungry—let me cook something for you…”
As she spoke, He Xiaohua’s mother came out of the kitchen holding a piece of cured meat that had already gone moldy.