Chapter 15: My Mother-in-Law Is Missing

Shen Chujin got home at 8:20 p.m.

After resting for a bit, she started today’s live stream.

As soon as the stream opened, hundreds of viewers flooded in instantly.

【Waiting for the stars, waiting for the moon, finally waiting for the streamer!】

【Really excited to see what happens today! Since watching the streamer’s live streams, I can’t even focus on TV dramas or variety shows anymore. If only the streamer could broadcast for eight hours every day!】

【Hahaha, the streamer says she’s tired and doesn’t want to sleep, but still wants me to treat the stream like a job—no way!】

【Streamer, yesterday was the premiere. For fortune-telling, we only needed to tap the lantern icon. How about today? How much is the fee? Also, how can I get you to read my fortune?】

Shen Chujin said, “Before fortune-telling, I will release a ‘Luluo Lucky Bag.‘ Whoever grabs it first can connect with me. As for the fortune fee, just one Luluo Crown will do.”

【One Luluo Crown costs 1000 Luluo Coins, worth a thousand yuan. So expensive!】

【Poor me, I only have two hundred yuan in my pocket, so I’m silently holding back my impulse to be scammed.】

【Who would be dumb enough to spend a thousand yuan on fortune-telling? Isn’t that just asking to be ripped off?】

【You upstairs don’t understand anything! The streamer is really good at fortune-telling and ghost catching. Anyone who watched yesterday’s stream wouldn’t say things like you do!】

【Huh? Even a fraud has fans now, so ridiculous. Just wait till you get scammed and lose everything, then end up in social news—that would be embarrassing!】

Shen Chujin naturally saw all the comments, but she didn’t interfere much.

Those who understand don’t need explanation, those who don’t understand, no explanation helps.

She directly sent out a Luluo Lucky Bag.

In less than a second, the bag was grabbed.

【Ahhh! Who is so fast with their hands?!】

The comment section filled with many cries of frustration.

Shen Chujin opened the backend and saw that the lucky bag was grabbed by a user named ‘Xiao Xingfu’.

She clicked to connect.

Soon, the screen split into two.

On the video appeared a woman with a haggard face.

Next to her sat a man about the same age—both looked around thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old.

“Streamer, please, help me find my mother-in-law.”

As soon as the video connected, the woman’s eyes reddened.

She took out a photo of the elderly woman and continued, “My mother-in-law has Alzheimer’s. I usually take care of her. A few days ago, I planned to take her and the child downstairs in our neighborhood to get some sunlight and a walk to relax. But at that time, the child was crying non-stop, so I went to soothe the child. Before I realized it, when I turned back, my mother-in-law was gone. We reported to the police and asked relatives and friends to help, but no matter how hard we searched, we couldn’t find her.”

The woman wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and looked at Shen Chujin pleadingly.

“Streamer, you really have to help us.”

Her face was full of worry and anxiety.

【Streamer, please help this young lady quickly, she looks like she’s about to break down.】

【Don’t be sad, young lady, you’ve done your best. There’s a saying—'^[1]“No filial son at the sickbed after a long illness” (久病床前无孝子) is a Chinese proverb. It means: When someone is seriously ill for a long time, even the most devoted children may grow … Continue readingNo filial son at the sickbed after a long illness.’ If it were someone else taking care of a dementia patient, they’d probably have run away by now.】

【This young lady is really great. Nowadays, few daughters-in-law care so much about their mother-in-laws.】

【So why do women get married? Taking care of kids and also taking care of a husband’s mother with dementia—aren’t they basically just nannies?】

【Why are you speaking so harshly? It’s her husband’s mother, isn’t it normal to take care of her?】

【It’s her husband’s mother, not her own. If anyone should take care of her, it’s the husband. Why should she be involved?】

【Speaking as someone who has cared for a person with Alzheimer’s, it’s truly like living through years in a day—a real torment.】

Looking at the distressed woman, Shen Chujin slowly spoke.

“Where is your mother-in-law? Aren’t you the one who knows best?”

At this, Xiao Xingfu’s eyes flickered with surprise.

Could it be that the streamer actually figured it out?

In fact, she had just opened her phone today and randomly found a fortune-telling livestream. Seeing Shen Chujin was young, she thought the streamer wouldn’t actually be able to figure anything out, so she just pretended in front of her husband…

The viewers were also confused.

【What does the streamer mean? What does ‘the young lady knows best’ mean? Could there be some hidden truth behind this?】

Xiao Xingfu hurriedly swallowed her surprise, pretending to be calm and continued with a bewildered look.

“Streamer, what are you talking about? How could I know? If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking you for help. Our whole family is really worried about my mother-in-law. If you can’t figure out where she is, there’s no need to make excuses like that.”

After saying this, she turned disappointedly to the man beside her.

“Husband, I’m sorry. Looks like I’m just grasping at straws in desperation. Let’s try something else.”

She then acted like she was about to hang up the call.

“You got married to your husband at twenty-eight. Two years after marriage, you had a daughter. The following year, your mother-in-law began to fall ill, and two years later, she became completely senile. Since your mother-in-law started getting sick, you’ve been taking care of both your daughter and your mother-in-law.”

Shen Chujin’s words made the man beside her frown tightly and hold Xiao Xingfu’s hand.

Because everything Shen Chujin said matched perfectly!

“At first, you were sincere, but gradually, resentment grew stronger and stronger in your heart. Recently, it reached its peak. That’s why… you planned this disappearance. The reason you can’t find your mother-in-law is because you disguised her and sent her on a long-distance bus. She left your area long ago, so no matter how much you dig, you won’t be able to find her locally.”

“Is that so?”

The man looked at Xiao Xingfu in disbelief.

Xiao Xingfu did not answer but asked back, “You doubt me? You actually believe a stranger and not me?”

Her eyes were full of hurt.

The man’s lips moved, uttering, “I just want the truth.”

That was his birth mother who raised and nurtured him, he couldn’t remain indifferent.

“Hahaha… What a truth!” Xiao Xingfu suddenly burst out laughing.

As she laughed, her expression gradually turned fierce.

“Yes, that’s right. I was the one who took your mother away. What, can’t believe it? Think I’m utterly evil and heartless?

Don’t look at me like that. I reached this point all because of you—you’re the trigger of everything!

You promised to love me for life, never let me suffer, and spoil me like a princess, didn’t you?

But what happened?

After marriage, you worked day and night, treating home like a hotel.

I felt sorry for your hard work, so I took on the household chores voluntarily.

At first, you’d occasionally help and say, ‘Wife, you’ve worked hard,’ but gradually, you took it for granted!

Sometimes, when I didn’t do things to your satisfaction, you’d even grumble.”

Xiao Xingfu’s emotions grew more intense as she spoke, her voice trembling with tears.

“Do you know how exhausting it is to care for the baby and your mother at the same time?

Do you know how desperate I feel wiping your mother’s mess, feeding her, dragging her 120-plus-pound body to bathe her? She resists, splashing water everywhere, yelling—I’m completely helpless.

You don’t care at all, and when you come home, you just crash into bed.

When I asked to hire a nanny, you said it’s too extravagant for our family and told me to be patient and endure, wait for your promotion and raise first.

I kept telling myself to hang on a little longer.

But…”