Chapter 39: She Lost the One Whose Eyes Were Filled with Her

Guan Yueying, who was holding Lu Yixue’s phone, fell into thought. “That voice earlier really wasn’t Zheng Xiaoshi, right? Don’t tell me she was fooling us herself.”

“Wasn’t it?” The people around frowned as they recalled.

Lu Yixue stamped her approval and took back her phone. “It wasn’t.”

“If it wasn’t, then it wasn’t. It has nothing to do with us anyway.” Guan Yueying decided to put the matter behind her. She glanced sideways at You Ling. “What a wasted trip.”

“Could you give me this number?” You Ling looked at Lu Yixue. She kept more than a meter of safe social distance from her, but she was still irritated by the scent of the Barrier Agent on her body, her nose itching.

Lu Yixue stared at You Ling for a few seconds, then tapped her fingers and pushed the original Zheng Xiaoshi’s number to her. “Don’t harass her.”

She wasn’t close to You Ling, but a friend’s sister was different from a stranger.

“Thanks.” You Ling didn’t linger. Seeing the new contact card in the chat window, she turned and left immediately.

It wasn’t a complete waste of time, at least she had some information. The rest could be left to professionals.

As she walked out of the restaurant, the sky was blue with white clouds—Old Man Heaven was in a good mood, and so was You Ling.

Pei Shijin had gone out to buy something and only realized her phone was missing from her pocket when it was time to pay.

After apologizing to the owner, Pei Shijin left the items at the supermarket and went home to get her phone.

As soon as she touched the phone, the screen lit up, and a friend request popped up on a social account that hadn’t been touched in ages.

This was her pre-university account, mostly filled with high school and middle school classmates she no longer contacted.

After clicking in, Pei Shijin discovered that both Guan Yueying and the class monitor had reached out, inviting her to the class reunion and to visit their homeroom teacher after surgery.

Perhaps to stir up her memories, the class monitor had also sent photos of the teacher lying in a hospital bed, tubes inserted all over her body, wearing a ventilator.

Seeing these messages stirred complex emotions in Pei Shijin’s heart. The teacher from her memories—strict in class but kind outside, always full of energy—was now frail and weak.

Pei Shijin didn’t reply to them; otherwise, she wouldn’t have set everyone to do-not-disturb back then. But she did plan to visit the teacher quietly sometime, on her own.

After sorting out her mood, Pei Shijin grabbed her phone and headed back to the supermarket.

She ignored that friend request outright—the reason field was blank, probably a scam.

By the time Pei Shijin reached the supermarket and opened her phone to pay, several more friend requests had popped up.

[Please approve this, urgent matter.]

[Really urgent, Zheng Xiaoshi.]

[It’s about your mom.]

Pei Shijin frowned. After returning home, she took out a spare phone without a SIM card and headed out.

At a coffee shop outside the neighborhood, she connected to the shop’s WiFi, logged into the account, and approved the friend request.

As soon as she did, messages poured in from the other side.

[We’re handling a commission from your mom to send you a gift she prepared before your 28th birthday.]

[Send us your address and contact info.]

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Pei Shijin carefully recalled the details before her mother’s death—nothing hinted at any keepsakes.

Was her mom just that good at hiding it, or was this a scammer who knew her info?

Pei Shijin gave an address, but not her home one—instead, an unmanned automated cemetery in the suburbs.

[No contact info for you. Mail it to yourselves, and notify me when it arrives.]

With anti-fraud education everywhere these days, Pei Shijin was cautious. After all, she actually had money to be worth scamming.

If it were the Pei Shijin from university days, she wouldn’t have cared—except right after payday, she never had more than thirty bucks in her pocket.

The other side hadn’t expected Pei Shijin to be so cautious, but it didn’t matter—they had a backup plan.

That evening, Pei Shijin received a message with a mini-program link.

They said it had been shipped, and she could check the tracking on the mini-program.

Pei Shijin looked at the mini-program; it seemed like a normal logistics one, so she clicked without much suspicion.

It looked perfectly normal after entering, but they’d already obtained Pei Shijin’s phone location.

Pei Shijin had no idea, though she’d connected via the coffee shop’s WiFi.

The address You Ling got was the coffee shop’s.

She’d followed the navigation there early and saw the coffee shop, still closed and locked.

The shop was on the edge of the neighborhood, in a residential building with over a hundred households across thirty-seven floors above.

You Ling ground her teeth. Location tech really needed to improve—why only latitude and longitude, not altitude?

She went in, ordered a coffee, and sat by the window. She contacted the person, asking her to pinpoint the location more precisely.

The other side was about to snap back when a five-figure transfer blinded her. [Can’t get more precise. You could ask the neighborhood security if they’ve seen her, or bribe the residents’ committee to check the building’s residents. Or install cameras at every entrance—bound to catch her eventually.]

You Ling was desperate to find the person now. Perverts had their own burning obsessions; if she couldn’t find her, she didn’t know what she might do to Pei Shijin.

She sat in the coffee shop all morning without spotting anyone with striking eyes, growing thoroughly irritated.

Just as she was about to leave, a message came: [Sponsor, check around quick! She’s super close to you, not even twenty meters!]

You Ling shot to her feet and looked around. No Zheng Xiaoshi, but she spotted Pei Shijin.

Wearing a hat, she stood at the counter ordering from the server.

Those eyes were stunning, even from the side.

You Ling swallowed hard, clenched her fists, and walked out of the coffee shop.

Better leave the professional stuff to professionals.

You Ling first had someone use a high school photo of Zheng Xiaoshi to predict possible current appearances, then investigate the building’s residents. If no luck, impersonate property management and knock on every door. That way, even if Zheng Xiaoshi was a shut-in who never left for ten days or half a month, they’d find her.

You Ling lay at home waiting for news, not even going to the clinic.

But the people she hired searched for ages without finding anyone matching, or anyone named “Zheng Xiaoshi.”

[High chance she changed her name and got plastic surgery.]

You Ling stared at the message in a daze, her mind flashing to Pei Shijin’s eyes and her reaction when Pei Shijin first mentioned Zheng Xiaoshi.

Could Pei Shijin be Zheng Xiaoshi?

The package from the strangers lay in the cemetery’s delivery locker for four days. Pei Shijin planned to pick it up in ten days or half a month—the locker fees at the supermarket were no issue.

Even if they were scammers, she doubted their patience would hold.

You Ling had people on rotating 24-hour watch at the delivery locker. Aside from mosquito bites, they saw not a single soul.

That day, Pei Shijin was brewing medicine at the clinic—some for herself, some for patients.

The clinic door was shoved open forcefully. A male Alpha, reeking of cigarette smoke mixed with pheromones, barged into the warm, clean space.

Behind the counter was Song Zonghui. She couldn’t smell pheromones, only the smoke and sweat, and she instinctively frowned.

“Where’s Zheng Xiaoshi? Get her out—her dad’s here!” Zheng Guoli’s fist slammed the counter, making it creak.

“No Zheng Xiaoshi here. No doctor or patient by that name.” Song Zonghui pegged him as a nutcase instantly. “Get out, or I’ll call the cops.”

You Yi came out of the restroom and sensed another Alpha’s pheromones. She immediately released her own to suppress them.

Zheng Guoli, who had been about to throw his weight around, was instantly silenced, his mouth hanging open.

You Yi walked behind the counter and said disdainfully, “Put away your pheromones. Don’t you know you can’t release them in public?”

Zheng Guoli meekly withdrew them, then knocked the counter again. “I’m looking for Zheng Xiaoshi! She’s here—don’t try to fool me!”

“Zheng Xiaoshi, you ungrateful wretch, denying your own dad! You money-losing goods, I raised you all those years for you to defy your father?!”

“Get out here, Zheng Xiaoshi! Or I’ll smash this place!” Zheng Guoli threw a tantrum, yelling.

Pei Shijin heard the commotion and came out, only to see Zheng Guoli. She felt a momentary daze.

It had been over a decade since they’d last met. Pei Shijin thought she’d forgotten the past, but now she realized she could never forget that detestable face.

“You’re finally out! Zheng Xiaoshi! Your dad’s lost his ability to work, no income—you have to support me! Give me money!” Zheng Guoli didn’t even remember what his daughter looked like, only those eyes full of hatred and disgust when she looked at him.

With one glance, she was convinced Pei Shijin was her daughter.

“Don’t think changing to your mom’s surname lets you disown me—you have to give me money! All your money!” Zheng Guoli charged straight at Pei Shijin, reaching to grab her.

Song Zonghui was stunned but snapped to action, rushing over. No way was she letting this old geezer bully her friend.

You Yi was also stunned, but she muted and video-called Lu Yixue, stealthily live-streaming the scene.

Lu Yixue was in a meeting. You Yi never video-called her, so she stepped out to answer.

The screen shook a bit, but the scene was clear, and she could hear everyone.

Pei Shijin kicked Zheng Guoli square in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground. She then rushed up and unleashed a flurry of punches on his face—solid hits, leaving only his wails.

Song Zonghui, who had come to protect her friend, switched to peacemaker mode. She stepped on Zheng Guoli’s thigh, grinding her toe while peacemaking, “Don’t beat him too bad, okay?”

Lu Yixue, watching from the phone, was baffled and messaged You Yi for the backstory.

You Yi watched Pei Shijin’s ferocious form and reflected if she’d truly offended her—she couldn’t win, no way.

Seeing the message, she could only reply she didn’t know. [This old guy burst in yelling for Zheng Xiaoshi, saying she denied her dad. Then Pei Shijin came out and started beating him without a word.]

Lu Yixue stared at “Zheng Xiaoshi” on her phone, her pupils dilating sharply.

Her fingers trembled. [Zheng Xiaoshi is Pei Shijin?]

[No idea, we’ll see. But Pei Shijin hasn’t denied it now.] You Yi saw Zheng Guoli pass out and shoved her phone in her pocket, camera out, to stop Pei Shijin.

“Stop, stop! He’s out cold—what if Juzi hauls you in?” You Yi pulled at Pei Shijin, her heart aching at Pei Shijin’s red, bloody knuckles.

“It’s fine, I’ll treat him.” Song Zonghui kicked Zheng Guoli hard. “This guy’s no good—call the cops and who knows who they’d take.”

Pei Shijin stood with a cold face, grabbed Zheng Guoli’s arm, and dragged him to the back room.

Good thing there were no patients then, or they’d think it was a gang hideout, not a clinic.

Song Zonghui hurried after her—she felt Pei Shijin needed her now.

You Yi followed too.

Lu Yixue had her assistant take over the meeting and drove home.

She had never investigated Pei Shijin’s background because Gao Ye’an had brought her in, and she trusted Gao Ye’an’s judgment.

Two people who looked nothing alike, with such a height difference, one Beta and one Alpha, different names—how could they be the same?

Lu Yixue recalled the high school Zheng Xiaoshi. She thought her impressions were fuzzy, but upon reflection, all the features surfaced: 1.5 meters tall, bowl-cut hair, bangs always covering half her face, gloomy and transparent, top of the class.

And that occasional smile when she squatted in the sports field corner feeding and playing with cats.

How could it be the same person… Lu Yixue remembered what that classmate had said about Zheng Xiaoshi crushing on her, and her heart twisted in pain.

The tenderness she’d once lavished so freely turned out to be love.

The red light ended, green lit up, but the car ahead didn’t move. Lu Yixue slammed her fist on the horn, blaring “beep beep.”

The car in front, hearing the urging horn, had the driver stick out her right hand, thumb down, provoking her.

Lu Yixue had no mind to deal with it. Right now, she only wanted to rush to Gao Ye’an and ask if she knew that Zheng Xiaoshi was Pei Shijin.

But the driver ahead seemed to be in the late stages of road rage. Just because Lu Yixue had urged her to hurry across the intersection, she kept cutting her off repeatedly.

Lu Yixue took a deep breath. Her amber eyes blazed with anger, but she didn’t act rashly. Instead, she flicked on her turn signal, veered right, and took a detour to shake off the idiot.

With a loud bang, the idiot abruptly changed lanes at high speed and slammed straight into Lu Yixue’s car.

The airbag deployed, and Lu Yixue blacked out.

When she woke up in the hospital, Lu Yixue had already calmed down.

Confirming whether they were the same person no longer seemed to matter. It was just piling on the misery, making her even more certain of her own failures and mistakes.

She had lost the person whose eyes had once been full of her.