NHWSG chapter 15

Sheng Zhao’s body broke out in goosebumps. He rubbed his arms, feeling as if something cold had just slid across the back of his neck.

He shivered, subconsciously reaching back, but all he felt were the wet droplets. He breathed a sigh of relief.

He pulled the message back to the top, clicked into the profile of the user who posted it, hoping to find any updates.

Fifteen minutes ago, the user had sent another message, forwarding the original post and attaching a new photo. It stated that Zhang Kaisheng’s family had already gone to the construction site but found no sign of him. They only discovered his phone near the construction site.

Since the site had been shut down, most equipment had been removed, and there were no surveillance cameras. The workers on the night shift had gone home by two in the morning, and no one saw how Zhang Kaisheng sneakily entered the construction site or how he suddenly disappeared.

The photo showed a young woman, quite lovely, holding a young girl anxiously searching near the construction site. The little girl clung to the woman’s neck, her eyes reddened, resembling a small rabbit.

Sheng Zhao felt a bit sympathetic as he looked at it. He thought that whoever was involved in this matter would find it unbearable.

After some contemplation, he opened a private chat window with the user and briefly described his flight with the man the night before. He also provided details about the man’s clothing and mental state that day.

Sheng Zhao wasn’t sure if the private message would be seen, but it was the limit of what he could do.

After sending the message, Sheng Zhao, like countless others who had seen the news, sighed for the man, feeling that his situation didn’t bode well.

With this delay, his time to leave became somewhat urgent. He hadn’t even finished changing his clothes when his phone rang like a reminder of his impending doom.

He was busy pulling a hoodie over himself. With one sleeve halfway on, he awkwardly tilted his head to answer the phone, then proceeded to grab his pants from the back of the chair.

“Are you awake?” a woman’s voice came from the other end.

“Awake, awake,” Sheng Zhao, feeling uneasy, licked his lips and said, “Um, I’ll be right over.”

The woman on the phone made a sound of acknowledgment and added, “You don’t have to move; I’ll have Li Yu come to pick you up. I’ll send you the phone number.”

“Ah?” Sheng Zhao was momentarily stunned, hastily saying, “No need, no need to pick me up. I’ll just take a cab myself…”

“It’s necessary,” the woman on the phone said. “Your step father said it’s not easy for you to come, so it’s not suitable for you to come on your own.”

Sheng Zhao hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something more to decline, but suddenly, he heard a commotion on the other end. The woman covered the phone and said a few words in a hurry before hanging up.

As the disconnected beeping sounded from the phone, Sheng Zhao sat on the edge of the bed, staring at his phone with a somewhat melancholy expression, grabbing a handful of hair.

His relationship with Mrs. Zhao had always been like this. Clearly, they were mother and son, but their interactions were awkward, almost like that of neighbors who got along well. Their conversations were always polite, as if any sign of intimacy would make things uncomfortable.

But this wasn’t Mrs. Zhao’s fault. Sheng Zhao was in his twenties, having spent less than six or seven years with her. It was strange for them not to feel estranged from each other.

Li Yu was the son of Li Liangfu, Sheng Zhao’s stepfather, seven or eight years younger than Sheng Zhao. Sheng Zhao could count the times he had seen him on one hand, and he didn’t know what to say when they met.

Mrs. Zhao had never had an easy time in her life. Her first marriage ended with a scoundrel, and after finally shedding that layer of skin, she ended up on a stolen boat.

Li Yu’s paternal grandfather passed away leaving behind a considerable fortune to his son. Li Liangfu used this windfall to do construction business and managed to live a prosperous life. Mrs. Zhao initially thought that following him would lead to a better life, but Li Liangfu, being shrewd, feared Mrs. Zhao might lay claim to his wealth. Thus, he cooperated with her but avoided any expression of intimacy in their many years together. Now, their children were already sixteen or seventeen, and he had not given Mrs. Zhao any indication of sharing the wealth.

Fortunately, Li Liangfu was quite generous, treating Mrs. Zhao well and taking care of Sheng Zhao. Mrs. Zhao managed to get by with him.

Now that they were getting older, and the scale of their calculating minds tipped to the other side, they decided to tie the knot. Sheng Zhao had no intention of getting involved in his mother’s love affairs. They didn’t interact much anyway, and living together in the future was even more unimaginable. They would just maintain a polite demeanor when they met.

He left his phone behind, hastily put on his clothes, packed his things, and neatly placed them back into his suitcase. After taking a final look around, he pulled out the key card, checked out, and left.

Li Liangfu had decent conditions, and a grand wedding was in order. He chose a four-star hotel, arranged for more than thirty tables, and the place was filled with relatives and friends. Except for a few relatives from  Mrs. Zhao’s side, Sheng Zhao didn’t recognize anyone.

Apart from introducing himself to a few “relatives” from Li Liangfu’s side and receiving polite comments like “Oh, he looks quite impressive,” “He’s a university student, quite promising,” and “This child is really polite,” Sheng Zhao spent most of his time finding a quiet spot to sit and waited for the ceremony to begin, where he could go through the motions and collect a nominal fee.

Today was  Mrs. Zhao’s day, and she was busy, so she had no time to worry about Sheng Zhao. Although Li Yu and Sheng Zhao were nominally stepbrothers, they didn’t know each other, and there was nothing to talk about when they were together. Each occupied one end of the couch, engrossed in their phones.

During the intervals while waiting for the ceremony to start, Sheng Zhao idly nibbled on a plate of nuts, thinking that it wasn’t as interesting as having barbecue with Xing Yingzhu at home.

Peeling a thin-skinned walnut and putting it into his mouth, he seriously considered whether he should reschedule his flight to an earlier time. Maybe he could fly back in the evening and even catch a late-night snack.

While he was contemplating the change fee, he suddenly heard a commotion outside the lounge. It wasn’t just one person; it sounded like several people, a mix of male and female voices. He put down his phone, listened for a moment, and heard cries. An old woman’s voice cried out, “I don’t want to live anymore.”

Startled by the cry, Sheng Zhao and Li Yu were taken aback. Li Yu’s dropped phone displayed a “Game Over” on the screen.

Li Liangfu thought he had already had enough bad luck this year. First, the project he undertook encountered problems, then someone went missing at the construction site. The police visited two or three times, causing him a lot of trouble. Now the project was halted, and he didn’t know where the remaining materials budget would go.

Unexpectedly, the families of those missing migrant workers couldn’t find the developers to seek justice. Somehow, they ended up finding him, the contractor. They even came to his wedding to cause trouble.

Although he didn’t take his second marriage seriously, it was still about his face. Being stepped on like this, Li Liangfu couldn’t endure it.

“I’ve said it many times; the missing person has nothing to do with us. If you want to report to the police or find the developer, it’s none of my business,” Li Liangfu said, suppressing his anger. “There’s more than one contractor; your family, your brothers, sons, and husbands, follow whichever foreman they worked under. Don’t cause trouble in front of my hotel. I’ll call the police.”

Li Liangfu was tall and thin, with a small face and eyes. Due to his leanness, his cheeks were somewhat concave, making him look like a bamboo pole gone crazy.

He had a small area of dark circles under his eyes, probably from lack of sleep. His whole face was waxen and had a fierce and evil appearance, resembling a drug addict.

The group of troublemakers, including several elderly women, were startled by him, showing a bit of fear.

The leading old lady, however, had remarkable combat power. She could take on ten people alone, giving the impression that she was invincible in the village. Even when buying eggs, she could grab the first batch on sale.

She pushed away the young man who was supporting her, sat down on the spot in front of Li Liangfu, crying and making a scene. She kicked her legs, cried and wiped her tears, exclaiming, “Son, mom can’t make decisions for you. Why don’t you take mom’s old bones away too?

With such high-level acting and quick reactions, Li Liangfu doubted whether the lost person was really her son.

Fortunately, there was also a construction team leader named Jiang beside Li Liangfu, who had more knowledge than Li Liangfu because he often mingled on the construction site.

“The two sons in this old lady’s family, the one who’s lost is the older one.” Jiang, the team leader, came over and whispered to Li Liangfu, “They’re probably here to extort money.”

Li Liangfu sneered.

He had no moral concept of respecting the old and loving the young. He didn’t want to bother talking about it and didn’t care about it. He just decided to grab the walkie-talkie from the host and call security to drag these people out. Meanwhile, he promptly reported it to the police.

When Sheng Zhao came out of the lounge, the security guards were dragging people out in pairs. Several of the middle-aged women had formidable combat power, struggling and cursing while causing a few scratches on the security guards’ faces.

After a lot of trouble, the security guards finally cleared these people out. Sheng Zhao was forced to watch the farce, feeling like he was getting an awkwardness overdose.

Mrs.Zhao didn’t seem to be in a good state either. She uncomfortably tugged at the red Tang suit she was wearing and explained to Sheng Zhao awkwardly.

“This is an accident… Your step father’s construction site has had some issues recently, so it’s not very peaceful.” Mrs.Zhao said, “Just don’t ask him about it later; it might make him unhappy.”

Sheng Zhao made a sound of acknowledgement and was about to agree when the radar in his mind was suddenly touched by the words “construction site,” making him instantly alert.

“What construction site? Is it the haunted one in Changning District?” Sheng Zhao asked.

Mrs. Zhao didn’t expect him to be so well-informed. She nervously looked back in the direction of Li Liangfu, then quickly pulled Sheng Zhao a few steps aside.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Your step father dislikes hearing about that thing the most.” Mrs. Zhao scolded, “There’s no such thing as ghosts or monsters in this world. Don’t listen to rumors.”

“Well…” Sheng Zhao asked in a low voice, “I heard someone say that they dug up an iron chain that instantly turned into ashes. Is that true?”

“What ashes?” Mrs. Zhao wrinkled her brow, asking.

Sheng Zhao scrutinized her expression and found that she genuinely seemed unaware, which puzzled him.

“I heard they dug up a chain,” he said.

“Yes, they did,” Mrs. Zhao whispered, “but it’s not iron, and it didn’t turn into ashes. It’s gold, and your step father took it.”