Chapter 5: The Twin Mystery
Only twenty bucks for a sentence like that?
I’m supposed to find someone, and he tells me to look for a tree?
His sister isn’t a bird!
I shouldn’t have trusted that old scammer!
I wandered around all morning. Earlier, I asked the water seller about the person and even bought a bunch of drinks to get on their good side.
Now, I don’t want to find anyone or look for a tree—I just need to find a bathroom.
Following the signs, I sped off on my electric scooter to the restroom.
When I came out, I found the empty bottles and my raincoat missing from the scooter basket.
Who’s that shameless?
I could tolerate the empty bottles being taken, but my raincoat?
A cleaning lady nearby pointed in a direction, furious:
“That old lady in the red clothes did it. She’s always pretending to be clueless. Don’t she know all bottles inside the park belong to us cleaners to sell?”
“Comes here every day, just outright stealing!”
“Girl, chase her east, catch her, hand her to our manager. This time, we’ll deal with her properly. Let’s see if she dares again!”
I chased her nearly two kilometers before getting my raincoat back.
The signs said I was at the park’s east exit. Outside the park was the Xishan Rehabilitation Center.
Rehabilitation Center?
Curious, I went inside.
All the doctors’ profiles were related to mental illnesses.
I quickly showed a photo of Chen Chengwu and his sister to the nurse on duty. She warmly said, “Oh, little Chen? She’s in good condition and can have visitors. I’ll take you to her.”
“Strange, her brother used to visit her every day. He hasn’t been around the last few days. Are you her brother’s girlfriend?”
My heart skipped a beat.
Chen Chengwu hasn’t visited his sister in days? Then what about the Chen Chengwu back at my place?
The rehabilitation center was well landscaped, full of trees around the wards—pretty much fitting that old scammer’s twenty-buck riddle.
No, I can’t call him a scammer—that’s a master.
Could Chen Chengwu have been possessed?
After years of knowing him, we were at least friends. If I don’t stand up for him now, what kind of person am I?
Seeing little Chen herself, my heart clenched painfully.
She wore a checkered hospital gown. Her once pure white neck was now ringed with dark brown scars.
Little Chen blinked her big innocent eyes at me, then timidly hid behind the nurse.
I felt ashamed of my recklessness. I had planned to take her back to expose the fake Chen Chengwu, but I stopped immediately.
What if she got triggered and got worse?
I forced a smile and said, “I’m your brother’s friend. You can call me Sister Wu. Your brother recently changed jobs, so I’m here to check on you.”
Little Chen’s unease eased. She nervously fiddled with the bedsheet and asked, “Sister Wu, are you my brother’s girlfriend? He said after I get discharged, I’ll stay at your place.”
I awkwardly smiled, “I’m his friend and landlord. You’re both my benefactors—I already prepared a room for you. When your brother has time, we’ll pick you up together.”
Little Chen blinked her long eyelashes and seemed lost in thought before she said, “Last Thursday, my brother took me to a café at the park’s east gate. It was our first time having coffee. It was so bitter. My brother only didn’t spit it out because of the money.”
“He said he’d bring me back to live a normal life this month, that I could go wherever I want and eat whatever I want.”
I swallowed hard to hold back tears.
Now I’m certain Chen Chengwu is gone.
He never liked coffee—so why does the house smell like it?
I didn’t want to upset little Chen and said a few soothing words before leaving.
The nurse hinted that the fees for little Chen’s care were paid only until the end of this month. If she doesn’t stay on, she needs to be taken away soon.
She could be discharged now, but if she wanted to continue rehab, she’d have to pay more.
I just played dumb and left for now.
While I was brushing off the nurse, I sensed someone spying on me outside.
I turned around and saw a silhouette—but when I blinked, it was gone.
With all these strange things happening at home, my nerves were even more on edge.