Chapter 4: Abandoning his brother and running away by himself?

  Ma Pei and Zhang Sen left the entrance of "Dream Paris", a man flashed out from the corner, his cold eyes staring in the direction they left, then took out his mobile phone and dialed a number.

  "After the phone call, he said while walking forward: 'They may find you tomorrow.'"

  A crisp voice came from the other end of the phone: "That kid seems to be having a great time in the city, huh? That little white face thinks I'm his ex-girlfriend, what if they find me?"

  The man sneered: "I've seen it all, you said you weren't his girlfriend, but then pretended to react to what he said, that's how you got him interested in you, well done. Originally I was going to let you run into him again in G city later, but now, having them find you is indeed much more effective than you delivering yourself to their doorstep. Tomorrow morning I'll notify you of the next step."

  A sweet and charming laugh came from the other end of the phone, followed by a crisp "Got it, I'll wait for your call."

  He hung up the phone, lit a cigarette, and heard footsteps coming from behind. The man suddenly became drunk and staggered while walking, humming a tuneless melody in his mouth.

  The next afternoon at four o'clock sharp, Ma Pei received a call from Zhang Sen: "Come out, I'll take you to find her." Neither of them wasted any words and hung up the phone directly.

  After picking up Zhang Sen, Zhang Sen mentioned a place and Ma Pei, who was quite familiar with the city, didn't say anything and drove forward.

  On the road, Ma Pei asked Zhang Sen: "The Zheng Lao Da and Xu Lao Da you mentioned last night, who are they? Are they all triad members? And judging from that person's tone, it seems like they're not even from the same gang. How do you know them?"

  Zhang Sen smiled and said, "Zheng Datong is the head of the Municipal Public Security Bureau's Major Crimes Unit. How could someone who mixes with the underworld not know him? As for that Xu Lao Da, he is indeed the leader of the city's underworld. However, this person is quite righteous. A few years ago, I inadvertently saved him once, and he owed me a favor. Although because of our respective identities, it was inconvenient to interact, but I won't hide from you, we've had phone contact all along. This time when I came to the city, I went to his house to visit him once, and that little rascal last night might have seen me that day. Fortunately, he recognized me, otherwise last night's matter would have been difficult to resolve."

  Ma Pei nodded: "So that's how it is, so you let me pretend not to know you and go back to the hotel by myself at first? Damn! Am I the kind of person who abandons his brother and runs away with his tail between his legs?"

  Zhang Sen chuckled: "I'm not going to take the risk! You didn't go by yourself, in a place like that, I couldn't reveal my identity, what if we got into a fight? Should I be fighting or taking care of you? Don't forget, there's also a delicate little MM next to us!"

  Mentioning the girl, Ma Pei's expression became somewhat melancholy again: "You were the one who called Old Xu last night, weren't you? Was it him who helped find Mei Yu's whereabouts?"

  Zhang Sen nodded and said, "Right, in a place like this, it's much easier for him to find than Zheng Datong. He said that the venue was being watched by his brother, so Jiang Huai dared to be so reckless."

  Ma Pei smiled slightly, his eyes a bit dazed: "Go ahead and say it, I'm listening, don't worry about hurting me."

  Zhang Sen was taken aback for a moment, then understood Ma Pei's meaning and slowly opened his mouth: "Her name is Ling Ziwai, 25 years old, holding B city ID card, came to this city half a month ago, introduced by someone to work as a promoter of Scottish Whiskey in 'Dream Paris'. The introducer was the daughter of her landlord in this city, the resident singer of 'Dream Paris'."

  According to the introducer, she used to work for a wine wholesaler in her hometown, B City. She left B City after offending the boss of that company. The specific reason for the conflict with the boss is unknown, but the introducer speculates that it was because the boss tried to make advances towards her and she refused, so she angrily left home.

  She has a younger sister named Ling Kewei, who is 22 years old but looks like she's only 17 or 18. She's very pretty, unfortunately, she's disabled. Every day at 5 pm, she leaves home on time to go to work at "Dream Paris", and her sister is left in the care of their landlord. At night when it's time for rest, usually between 10 and 11 pm, the landlord will send her sister back home, take care of her until she falls asleep, then leave.

  "It is said that they lost their parents at a young age, and the two sisters have been dependent on each other ever since. Her greatest wish is to earn a sum of money one day to cure her sister's illness. Oh, right, I forgot to mention that it's not that her sister's illness can't be cured, but rather they don't have the money for treatment, which has delayed things. The above information is what Xu Lao Da was able to investigate."

  Ma Pei asked somewhat unexpectedly: "Sister? You say she has a sister?"

  "Right!" Zhang Sen said affirmatively, "You mentioned to me before that Mei Yu is an only child, so after I heard it, I specifically verified it and she indeed has a sister, a biological sister! Pei Shao, maybe she really isn't Mei Yu, there are too many people in the world who look alike."

  "It's impossible," Ma Pei shook his head stubbornly, "She can't not be Mei Yu! There are many people in the world who look alike, but it's impossible to find someone who looks exactly the same without any differences! And if she wasn't Mei Yu, why would she tremble when she heard my words? She doesn't recognize me, there must be a reason for that. As for the sister who is with her now, I don't know why it's like this either, but that's not the point. Five years have passed, anything can happen. Maybe this sister is someone she recognizes too."

  Zhang Sen looked at Ma Pei helplessly, sighed and said: "Pei Shao, let me say something you don't want to hear. Mei Yu has been missing for more than five years. Five years is a long time, but it's also not that short. It's enough to make a person completely change into another person, become a complete stranger to you. Have you ever thought of this?"

  "I've been thinking about it since I got back last night. I know that after going through such a big change, her personality would also be different from before. Otherwise, with her pride, how could she possibly go to such a place and do such a lowly job! But what I couldn't understand is why she didn't come to my house to find my parents at the time? In my parents' hearts, they had already accepted her as their daughter-in-law, so why did she disappear? This point, no matter what, I just can't figure it out."