Chapter 35: Chapter 32: The Chill Behind
Jiang Mo squatted down, slowly picking up the scattered clothes, cosmetics, and some small miscellaneous items on the ground.
She stopped several times midway, her hand outstretched and staying in place. After a while, she would continue tidying up.
Zhou Wang instinctively wanted to step forward and help, but as he took a few steps closer, he remembered his current situation, so he stopped.
Taking advantage of the pause, Zhou Wang took out his phone and searched for “Jiang Yunfei.”
There were many people with the same name online, but Zhou Wang quickly locked onto the right person in the local news.
“Ponzi scheme,” “involved amount over ten million,” “first trial sentenced to thirteen years in prison”…
...
Just glancing at it and seeing those keywords, combined with the recent happenings, Zhou Wang roughly understood the situation.
The earliest news was from last year, indicating that Jiang Mo’s father had been in prison for quite some time.
By then, Jiang Mo had finally packed up the things on the ground. Whether it was because her belongings were few or she didn’t take everything, surprisingly, all her clothing fit into one suitcase, even though she was a young woman.
Jiang Mo stood up somewhat sluggishly, taking a tissue and a handheld mirror out of her YSL bag. She carefully wiped away the tearstains on her face.
After finishing this, Jiang Mo dragged the suitcase past Zhou Wang and slowly walked out.
Zhou Wang saw that she really was unaware of his presence, so he didn’t deliberately keep a distance, just silently walked beside her.
To this moment, Zhou Wang still hadn’t figured out what he was supposed to do in this “Hidden Round,” but since the system interface showed “Round in Progress,” he decided to wait and see.
Soon, the two of them exited the community gate one after another, where Jiang Mo stopped by the roadside. Her previously hollow expression showed some signs of life.
Jiang Mo took out her phone, hesitated, and then made a voice call.
Zhou Wang stood beside her and clearly saw that the contact’s nickname was some nonsense English, but in parentheses, it said “Sisi.”
It took a while for the voice call to connect, then a somewhat languid female voice came through: “Sweetie, why did you suddenly think to call me?”
“Sisi… is it convenient for me to stay at your place for a few days?” Jiang Mo asked softly.
“Ah, it might not be very convenient here… Has something happened?”
“My, my home… water leakage, the property management… the property management said it would take several days to fix, so…”
Jiang Mo was obviously inexperienced in lying. Her sentences were awkward, and Zhou Wang felt anxious just listening.
“Oh, I see, but I really can’t help you. My boyfriend is coming over these days… Sorry, babe, how about I book a hotel for you?”
“That… that won’t be necessary, I’ll book it myself.”
“Okay, but take care while staying out there, check for cameras, and…”
Sisi went on and on with advice, but Jiang Mo was clearly disinterested.
After hanging up, Jiang Mo scrolled through her contacts again. She seemed to have no other friends besides this “Sisi,” only briefly pausing on “Ding Yi” before scrolling to the bottom without making another call.
Zhou Wang seized the moment to glance at her “127 friends,” shocked that it beat his own “253 friends” as a solitary male college student.
Surprisingly, Jiang Mo opened the chat window with him, but instead of calling him, she went to the “Contacts” screen and paused at the “Delete” button.
“?”
Zhou Wang couldn’t understand why being homeless had anything to do with deleting him as a contact.
But Jiang Mo ultimately didn’t delete Zhou Wang. She just stared blankly at his last message: “Is something wrong?”
Then Jiang Mo left the “Contacts” screen and moved to the “Wallet.”
Zhou Wang saw her balance totaled just over three hundred yuan. While he was thinking this was just WeChat, she opened her bank app, which showed quite a bit—over eighty thousand—but there was a glaring “Judicial Freeze” in the lower right corner.
Jiang Mo pressed her lips together, then put away her phone, dragging the suitcase forward, seemingly with a clear destination as her steps quickened.
Zhou Wang followed her out of curiosity, leading them to a shop called “Hongxing Consignment Shop.”
“Miss Jiang, what are you selling this time?”
The man behind the counter, wearing a gold chain, seemed familiar with Jiang Mo and asked smilingly as soon as she walked in.
Jiang Mo hesitated briefly, then took the YSL shoulder bag from her shoulder and placed it on the counter, “How much can I get for this bag?”
Zhou Wang suddenly realized why he had seen Jiang Mo several times with the same bag; it was probably her last one.
The man was visibly disappointed, looked at it briefly, then spoke: “I’ll give you 1800 for it.”
“What?”
Jiang Mo showed an incredulous expression, “I bought it for close to twenty thousand, and before…”
“Come on, Miss Jiang, not all luxury goods are the same. This isn’t one of the Hermes you brought before. YSL, when new, gets half the value. Plus, you’ve been using this for at least a year or two, right? The edges are worn.”
The man shook his head continuously, “1800 is only because you’re a regular, I can’t add a cent. You can check with other stores if you don’t believe me.”
Jiang Mo’s mouth opened, then closed in silence, only her eyelashes trembling slightly.
“So, are you selling it?”
“…I’m not selling.”
Jiang Mo forced out the words, grabbed the bag from the counter, and turned to leave, her movements hurried as if she was escaping something.
“Hey, Miss Jiang!”
The man suddenly called after her, “If you’re really in need of money, consider the path I mentioned before. The money comes fast, and you don’t have to sacrifice much. Contact me on WeChat if you decide!”
Jiang Mo’s body visibly tensed, then she quickly walked out of the store.
After turning the corner into an empty area, Jiang Mo suddenly stopped. She was breathing heavily, hugging her shoulders as she squatted down, burying her head, silent except for her body slightly shaking.
Zhou Wang also squatted down beside her, feeling a complex array of emotions.
Was this what the system meant by “exploring the truth”?
Was his task to uncover another side of this distant, cool sister, Jiang Mo?