Chapter 87: Chapter 85: Finding the Couple’s Daughter

Zhang Xin ended the live stream call in the courtyard and pushed open the door to his home.

He planned to take a shower and get a good night’s sleep, setting his alarm for 7:30 in the morning.

After getting that sorted, he messaged his boss to ask for a day off.

Zhang Xin was jolted awake by his alarm. After getting out of bed, he ate some leftovers to quiet his stomach and went to find his mother, who had already left for her morning square dancing. He stood to the side, listening to the energetic music. As he watched the middle-aged and elderly folks dance with passionate enthusiasm, he felt like a wooden dummy.

Mrs. Zhang spotted her son, who was still standing in the same spot after she’d gone through two dance routines.

She could only sigh and step out of the dance line. "Son, what are you doing here? Are you supervising me? I promise I’m not looking for some old man! You can rest assured!"

Zhang Xin felt a little awkward at her words, but his mind was completely preoccupied. "Mom, I have something important to talk to you about. Let’s talk on the way home."

Her son or her square dancing? Which was more important?

Mrs. Zhang naturally made her choice in an instant.

On the way home, Zhang Xin told Mrs. Zhang what had happened the previous night and showed her the photograph.

The moment Mrs. Zhang saw the photo, her hand trembled, and a wave of emotion washed over her.

"Xiuhua... she was such an ill-fated person! We were friends back then—good friends, in fact. I never thought I’d befriend someone almost a full twelve years my junior. But what happened later... it was just too much for me to accept. That’s why your father moved our family away." Mrs. Zhang’s voice grew heavy as she recalled the past.

"You want to find her daughter... That should be possible. When a child loses their parents, they can only be sent to be raised by relatives. Their family owned a house, so the relatives who took the property wouldn’t have sent the child to an orphanage. I’ll go with you today to look for her!"

Mrs. Zhang thought for a moment. "But you can’t tell anyone else about what happened yesterday. What era are we living in? No one would believe it! Besides, if the child isn’t living well, bringing this up might just make her suffer more. I know of that Master Liu. We could go see him first, if you want. Then you can decide whether to trust this Master Liu or that psychiatrist you mentioned."

Mrs. Zhang was clearly very open-minded about the matter.

Zhang Xin didn’t quite understand. Why didn’t his mother doubt his story at all?

"Son, I know what you’re thinking. I carried you for ten months and endured a difficult birth. I know your character very well. You’re not the kind of person to lie about something like this, so I believe you."

Mrs. Zhang saw right through her son’s thoughts.

"I’m getting on in years. The older you get, the more you think about things. If this stuff is real, it’s not that big of a deal. I’ve long since come to accept the possibility."

Zhang Xin thought about it and decided to first see what skills this "master" actually possessed.

They arrived at the master’s house at 9:30 AM. The moment the master saw Zhang Xin, he frowned. "You’ve run into something unclean, haven’t you?"

Neither Zhang Xin nor Mrs. Zhang expected the master to see it at a glance. It seemed he wasn’t a fraud after all.

After hearing Zhang Xin explain the situation, Master Liu sat in his chair and sighed. "A baleful bond! Since you were the one to encounter this, you must fulfill their request to save your own life."

"Master, is there no other way?"

"There is another way, but it will cost a hundred thousand." After stating his price, Master Liu fell silent, waiting for Zhang Xin and his mother to decide to pay up.

Zhang Xin was stunned by the number.

’Doctor Wen only charged a thousand yuan per session, and this guy wanted a hundred thousand in one go?’

"Master Liu, can one hundred thousand solve this completely? Can you guarantee my son won’t encounter something like this again?"

But upon hearing Mrs. Zhang, Master Liu replied, "That will only solve it this one time. If you want a permanent solution, it will cost more. This is no small matter. The two of you should think carefully: is it your money or your life?"

"How much?" Zhang Xin blurted out. ’Let’s see what kind of outrageous price this guy can come up with!’

"Five hundred thousand! For five hundred thousand, I can solve it for good!"

Mrs. Zhang was instantly dumbfounded. "Five hundred thousand? Where would we get five hundred thousand?!"

"Madam Zhang, you say you don’t have the money now. Seeing as we’re acquainted, I can take a step back. You can sign your house over to me. That would also work."

"You’ve gone too far!" Zhang Xin couldn’t hold back any longer.

’This damned con artist was already demanding an exorbitant price, and now he wants their house?’

’Their house itself wasn’t worth that much, but the land was!’

The plot of land had been passed down through their ancestors. It was private land, completely different from the properties in the city today. Hearing the man’s demand, Zhang Xin finally snapped.

"Young man, don’t be rash. You have to understand, your situation is very tricky! I’m risking my own life to help you."

"My ass!"

"Mom, let’s go! This guy is just a con artist!"

Zhang Xin pulled his mother away. Master Liu just smiled, unconcerned. In his eyes, the two of them would definitely be back.

’And when they do, the price will go up!’

’That’s the price for offending him!’

’Young people needed to suffer a bit to learn their lesson.’

"Mom, that man is definitely no good! Doctor Wen is so capable and only charges a thousand yuan a session. This guy? He opens his mouth and asks for a hundred thousand, then he wants our house! He’s disgusting!"

Mrs. Zhang was hesitant. If this really was a life-or-death situation, she would help her son even if it cost her everything she owned.

But was this Doctor Wen truly reliable?

"Mom, don’t overthink it. Let’s go find Aunt Xiuhua’s child now. If anything happens, I can contact Doctor Wen."

Seeing that her son seemed to have great confidence in this Doctor Wen, Mrs. Zhang didn’t object.

They went to the house where Xiuhua used to live, but it had been turned into a neighborhood committee office.

After asking around, they learned that because a murder had occurred there, no one had lived in the house. After the property was transferred to the relatives taking care of Xiuhua’s daughter, the relatives had turned around and sold the land.

They got the relatives’ address from the neighborhood committee. Zhang Xin bought two cases of milk and headed over.

The relatives lived in the city in a rather nice-looking house. The door was opened by a girl who looked to be about nine years old. After they introduced themselves, the girl looked at them timidly, then glanced toward the living room. "Auntie, it’s my mom’s friends."

The person who had taken her in was her paternal aunt.

A woman immediately walked over and looked at Zhang Xin and his mother. "What do you want with us?"

"Xiuhua and I used to be close. I don’t know why, but I’ve been dreaming about her constantly these past few days, so I tracked her daughter down to your home to come and see how she is. You’re such good people. If it weren’t for you, Xiuhua’s little girl would have been sent to an orphanage."

Flattered by the praise, the girl’s aunt immediately broke into a smile. "We’re all family, no need to say all that. Please, come in."

As she spoke, she took the cases of milk from Zhang Xin’s hands and placed them in a corner.

"Yingying, doesn’t your auntie treat you just like her own daughter?"