Ma Qi, with her sharp eyes, immediately noticed that Gu Xicao’s expression seemed off. She leaned forward on the table and asked, “Miss Gu, do you think something isn’t right too?”

“Does that even need checking?” Wang Laoshi couldn’t help but complain. “You can tell something’s wrong just by hearing the story!”

Gu Xicao tapped her fingers on the table and said, “This situation doesn’t seem quite right. Mr. Ma, how about we do a reading after all?”

“Exactly, Big Brother Dali. If you really trust that Xiao Bai, then you should do the reading. Once it’s done, everyone can have peace of mind,” Ma Qi urged, her expression filled with mischief.

On one hand, she was genuinely worried about Ma Dali; on the other, she just wanted to see the drama unfold.

Unable to resist her provocation, Ma Dali said angrily, “Fine, I’ll do it! But I’m telling you, Xiao Bai would never lie to me.”

Ma Qi eagerly paid for him. A mere 188 yuan to witness some drama was an absolute bargain.

Standing up, Gu Xicao said, “Seeing is believing. Let’s go meet this Xiao Bai.”

“Master, you know where Xiao Bai lives?” Ma Dali asked in surprise.

He was thrilled but then looked down at his outfit. He had left home in a rush that morning, dressed only in a plain long-sleeved shirt and jeans. How could he meet Xiao Bai like this?

“Why don’t you wait for me? Let me go home and change first.”

“No need. Just go as you are,” Gu Xicao said, glancing at his burly figure with some sympathy. “Be prepared—there might be a big gap between the Xiao Bai you imagine and the real Xiao Bai.”

The group piled into the car that Ma Qi had driven.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Ma Qi turned around, her voice brimming with suppressed excitement. “Don’t tell me this is going to be like the case of Young Master Li, where the online lover turns out to be a man?”

“You know about that?” Gu Xicao asked, slightly surprised.

Ma Qi perked up, ready to gossip. “Who doesn’t know? Young Master Li was so embarrassed by the incident that he hasn’t shown his face in ages. It’s hilarious!”

Ma Dali let out a snort through his nose and said irritably, “Xiao Bai isn’t a man. I’ve talked to her on the phone!”

“How do you know it’s not a man pretending to be a woman? Some men are really good at faking a feminine voice,” Ma Qi teased. “Big Brother Dali, I’m just saying, lower your expectations. Otherwise, if you end up meeting someone like yourself, you’ll probably die of anger.”

Arms crossed, Gu Xicao laughed. “Don’t worry, Xiao Bai is indeed a woman.”

“A woman?” Both Ma Qi and Wang Laoshi were taken aback.

Ma Dali brightened up immediately and smiled smugly. “See? The master said Xiao Bai didn’t lie to me!”

“I didn’t say that,” Gu Xicao corrected, glancing at the traffic outside the car window. “I only said she’s a woman.”

“Then what’s the truth?”

Ma Qi’s curiosity was almost unbearable, as if ants were crawling all over her heart.

But Gu Xicao, ever mischievous, simply said, “You’ll find out when we get there.”

The car drove from Mong Kok to the New Territories, the surroundings growing more and more remote.

Unlike its future prosperity, the New Territories at this time were poor. The cramped and narrow buildings were packed tightly together, leaving almost no gaps in between. Electrical wires stretched like spiderwebs across the buildings.

The car pulled up in front of a small convenience store.

The BMW stood out in this area, immediately drawing the attention of passersby and shop patrons.

“Xiao Bai lives in a place like this?”

It was Ma Qi’s first time in such a poor neighborhood. She got out of the car with her mouth half-open and couldn’t close it. The sour stench from the garbage heaps nearby made her cover her nose in disgust.

But Ma Dali seemed to find the area vaguely familiar.

“I think I’ve been here before.”

“You’ve been here?!” Ma Qi asked, her voice muffled by her hand. “Why would you come to a place like this?”

“My roommate…” Ma Dali began, but before he could finish, someone called out to him.

“Dali?!”

He turned to see a man walking toward them from the store. The man wore faded clothes and looked surprised to see him. “What are you doing here?”

“Shaogang! I thought this place looked familiar. Didn’t I give you a ride home here once?” Ma Dali recalled, clapping Shaogang on the shoulder. “It was during Typhoon Signal No. 8, right?”

Rubbing his shoulder, Shaogang smiled wryly. “Dali, take it easy. Are you trying to kill me with that strength?”

“Shaogang, who are you chatting with? Get back in here and help organize the goods!”

A woman, likely in her late forties, pulled aside the store’s plastic curtain and stepped out, wiping sweat from her forehead. She looked impatient as she called for Shaogang.

But when her eyes landed on Ma Dali and the others, her expression froze. She looked flustered, confused, and unsure of what to do.

“Dali?” the woman blurted out instinctively.

Ma Dali was startled. “And you are…?”

Shaogang quickly stepped in front of the woman and said to Ma Dali, “That’s my mom. Mom, go back inside and keep working. This isn’t a good place to host guests. I’ll take my friends somewhere else.”

“Alright, alright,” the woman replied, wringing her hands nervously. “Take good care of your friends. Should I give you some money?”

“No need, just go back and organize the goods. There’s a lot of stock today—if you don’t sort it quickly, how will you keep up later?” Shaogang said impatiently.

Ma Dali frowned, his honest face showing some dissatisfaction. “Shaogang, that’s your mom. How can you talk to her like that? And we’ve been college roommates for so many years. Why are you being so distant? If you’re busy with the shop, let us help.”

“What?” Shaogang’s eyes filled with panic.

He quickly said, “No, no, you can’t. This is rough work—you wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

“Who says we can’t? Don’t worry, Auntie. Just tell us what needs to be done,” Ma Dali said, brushing past Shaogang and addressing the woman directly.

Gu Xicao, meanwhile, rolled up her sleeves with a smile. “We might not be as strong as Dali, but we can still help out with some smaller tasks. Don’t be shy, Auntie.”

The woman, who Shaogang called his mother, became even more flustered and looked at her son for help.

Seeing everyone’s determination, Shaogang had no choice but to lead them into the store.

The shop wasn’t small. Six rows of metal shelves were stocked with various household items, snacks, and drinks.

Being tall and strong, Ma Dali easily carried four or five boxes of cola at once, moving them from the back door to the shelves in no time.

Thanks to his help, the mountain of goods piled near the back door was quickly cleared.

“You’ve worked hard. Have some tea,” the woman said, bringing over some disposable cups filled with tea.

Ma Dali took a cup and drank it in one gulp like a cow chewing on peonies.

Gu Xicao sipped hers but paused, then wiped her forehead with a tissue. “Why does this tea taste so familiar?”

“Familiar?” Wang Laoshi asked. “Don’t all green teas taste the same?”

For some reason, both Shaogang and his mother stiffened.

Mrs. Dong hurriedly said, “It’s just an ordinary tea bag, nothing special.”

“That can’t be right. There are tea stems floating in the cup—there’s no way a tea bag could brew that,” Ma Qi said as she pointed to the floating tea stems in the cup, confused. She glanced at Mrs. Dong, wondering why this minor matter would make her lie.

Cold sweat appeared on Mrs. Dong’s forehead, and her tongue seemed tied, unsure of how to respond.

In a moment of desperation, Shaogang quickly explained, “My mom meant that it tastes similar to tea bag tea, very common.”

“Yes, yes, that’s exactly what I meant,” Mrs. Dong heaved a sigh of relief and nodded quickly in agreement.

Gu Xicao took another sip of tea, looked up in thought, and then shook her head. “No, this doesn’t seem right. This tea tastes very familiar. It’s very similar to the tea Ma Sheng brought us earlier—the one he paid 100,000 yuan for. How could it be ordinary?”

Ma Qi, always quick to catch on, immediately realized something. That so-called Xiao Bai was likely connected to this store.

She raised her head and asked Mrs. Dong and her son, “Where did you get this tea?”

Mrs. Dong’s heart almost leaped out of her chest.

She glanced at Shaogang, signaling for him to say something.

Caught off guard, Shaogang stammered, “Ah… this tea… someone gave it to us.”

“Someone? Who?”

Ma Qi wasn’t going to let them off easily. She looked at Ma Dali. “Big Brother Dali, wasn’t the roommate who met Xiao Bai this guy?”

Ma Dali nodded. His dark face turned slightly red as he looked at Shaogang. “Shaogang, let me be honest with you. We’re here today to meet Xiao Bai. You know where she lives, don’t you?”

Shaogang was on the verge of tears, trembling all over.

“I… I…”

He couldn’t deny knowing Xiao Bai’s address—after all, he had already claimed he knew her. But now, where was he supposed to find a Xiao Bai to show them?

“Xiao Bai… Xiao Bai…”

At that moment, an elderly man with a cane and graying hair walked into the store.

The old man paid no attention to anyone else. He went straight to Mrs. Dong, pulled a few paper money out of his pocket, and said cheerfully, “Xiao Bai, your old man earned this much money today. It’s all for you to buy clothes and look pretty, alright?”

The old man was all smiles, but anyone with a discerning eye could see that he wasn’t quite in his right mind—clearly suffering from dementia.

“Dad, why are you out here again? Didn’t the doctor tell you to stay in bed and rest?” Mrs. Dong quickly went over to help him sit down. “Why don’t you ever listen?”

“What rest? I’m perfectly fine. You’d better be careful saying that kind of thing—if your mom hears it, she’ll scold you for sure,” the old man said slyly. “But don’t worry, Dad will keep your secret.”

Mrs. Dong forced a smile.

“Xiao Bai? You’re Xiao Bai?”

Ma Dali’s mouth fell open as he stared blankly at Mrs. Dong.

Mrs. Dong froze in place, her body stiff.

The old man leaned forward and peered around Mrs. Dong to look at Ma Dali. “Hey, young man, whose family are you from? So tall and strong, not bad, not bad. Do you have a partner yet? My Xiao Bai doesn’t have a husband yet.”

Ma Qisheng was just as dumbfounded as Ma Dali.

She pulled the photo from Ma Dali’s wallet and held it up to Mrs. Dong for comparison. “Is this you?!”

The old man smiled and nodded. “That’s right, that’s my little girl, Xiao Bai. I didn’t realize she’s grown up so much. In my memory, she was still so tiny. Now she’s old enough to be looking for a husband.”

Wang Laoshi’s lips twitched, thinking, Looking for a husband? She’s old enough to be a mother-in-law!