“I’m on a mission, why did you change your look? At first, I didn’t even dare recognize you.” Lu Yuan was surprised. He hadn’t expected that the person he rescued that day was such a pretty girl.

“Yesterday my mom cut my hair,” Jiang Wanting touched her hair. “You haven’t eaten yet, right? Let’s eat together.”

“No, thanks. I’m waiting for someone.”

Lu Yuan asked her briefly about what happened after that day and also brought her the latest news.

After they finished giving their statements and left that day, his friend Zhou Jie had stayed behind at the public security bureau to follow up. Because the evidence was overwhelming, the two robbers confessed and were sentenced to death.

“If you run into danger in the future, just go straight to the county public security bureau and find Gao Feng—the man you saw last time—just say I sent you!” Lu Yuan said loyally.

Jiang Wanting was about to reply, but at that moment Lu Yuan stood up. “You eat first, I’m going to meet someone.”

Looking at the vibrant and energetic Lu Yuan, Jiang Wanting once again recalled that cold tombstone from her previous life.

If possible, she never wanted to lay eyes on that tombstone again in this lifetime.

The meal was very pleasant. Jiang Wanting felt that she could still muster up all her energy to do business. She secretly decided that today she would visit a few more villages. If she could collect more lingzhi mushrooms, she could sell them to more restaurants.

“Bill, please.” After finishing the meal, she called the waiter.

The same waiter who had taken her order came over. “Comrade, your bill has already been settled.”

Jiang Wanting, who was just about to pay, froze. Who had paid for her—Zhang Shengli?

“It was the gentleman who was sitting across from you earlier.”

Oh, it was Lu Yuan.

“Where is he?” Jiang Wanting looked around the restaurant but didn’t see him.

“He left through the back door.”

Jiang Wanting figured it must have had something to do with the mission he mentioned.

She rolled the money back up, wrapped it in a handkerchief, and tucked it into the hidden pocket inside her clothes.

“Please tell Manager Zhang that the lingzhi cream mushroom soup was a big success.” Before leaving, Jiang Wanting left the message.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to tell him.” The waiter served Jiang Wanting with extra courtesy.

Because she couldn’t quite figure out Jiang Wanting’s background, she didn’t dare slack off at all. Even though the people who came to dine at the Western restaurant were never ordinary, she was especially attentive to Jiang Wanting.

Not long after Jiang Wanting left, the couple Zhang Shengli had mentioned arrived right on time. “Today’s lingzhi cream soup—you still have it, right?”

“Yes, Professor Jiang, you’ve come at just the right time. The quality of today’s lingzhi is especially high.” The waiter greeted them warmly.

Professor Jiang and his wife sat down at their usual spot, placing the freshly bought lingzhi mushrooms at the side. “The usual,” he said.

Professor Jiang’s wife still looked aloof and indifferent. She wore a shawl and showed no smile.

When the waiter went to place their order, Professor Jiang said to his wife, “The food here really is the best. No matter what, we can’t get this flavor at home.”

Madam Jiang gave a slight nod. “It is delicious. If only it were truly effective.”

“Don’t rush, don’t rush. These things can’t be hurried. As long as your health improves, that’s more important than anything. Children aren’t everything. If it doesn’t work out, we can always adopt one.”

Madam Jiang shook her head. “Forget it. You and I simply don’t have the fate to have children. Eating all the lingzhi in the world won’t change that.”

“As long as it’s good for your health, then it is useful!” Professor Jiang said firmly.

“Tired of it already. Tomorrow don’t ask Xiao Zhou to buy any more lingzhi. If we crave it again, we can just come here for the soup.”

Professor Jiang nodded. “Alright, I’ll listen to you.”

Jiang Wanting had eaten until she was stuffed. While digesting, she walked toward the bus station. Along the way, she kept looking around for Lu Yuan. She wanted to return the money to him. She was fully capable of paying for herself, and Lu Yuan didn’t look like someone who could afford to throw money around casually.

As fate would have it, just when Jiang Wanting was disappointed not to have seen him and was about to buy a ticket at the station, someone bumped hard into her from behind, almost knocking her over.

A surge of anger shot up instantly. She turned around, ready to scold, only to see that the person who had bumped into her was Lu Yuan.

“What a coincidence?” Jiang Wanting’s anger turned immediately into delight. “Thank you for paying just now—”

Before she could finish, she noticed something was wrong. Lu Yuan’s gaze was unfocused. “What’s wrong with you?” She quickly touched his forehead—it was indeed hot.

She pulled him into a quieter corner and let him lean against the wall. She could already feel that his legs were weak, his body losing strength, and his breathing was growing heavier.

“You’re sick? I’ll take you to the hospital!”

Jiang Wanting hooked Lu Yuan’s arm over her shoulder and forced herself to support him up.

“How did you suddenly fall so seriously ill? You were perfectly fine at lunch.”

Amid Jiang Wanting’s nagging, Lu Yuan regained a little clarity. “No—no hospital!” he gasped between breaths. “Can’t go!”

“Sick and not going to the hospital…” Jiang Wanting instinctively wanted to scold him like an elder caring for a junior, but she immediately realized something was wrong. Lowering her voice, she asked, “Did someone… set you up?”

Lu Yuan lowered his head and looked at her. “Mm.”

In this situation, there was no way Jiang Wanting could just abandon him. “There’s a hotel nearby. Hold on, I’ll take you there.”

Leaning heavily on Jiang Wanting, Lu Yuan followed. His body felt unbearable—sometimes he had strength, other times his legs turned weak and useless. But since it was Jiang Wanting supporting him, he let his guard down.

Once outside the bus station, Jiang Wanting hailed a cycle rickshaw and handed over a yuan. “Binhu Hotel. Don’t pick up anyone else, just the two of us.”

The driver saw the girl paying generously while supporting a sick man and thought he had a chance to take advantage. “No way, the rickshaw holds five or six people. To hire it exclusively is at least three yuan. One yuan won’t do.”

Jiang Wanting didn’t have the time to haggle. She turned directly to another rickshaw driver nearby. “One yuan, straight to Binhu Hotel. Will you take us or not? It’s so close, you won’t miss another fare.”

“Of course, of course!” the other driver agreed readily. “Here, let me help your man up!” He carefully settled Lu Yuan onto the seat before Jiang Wanting squeezed in beside him.

“Hey—! You cowardly cheat!” the first driver cursed from behind. “That was my customer!”

“Ha!” the second driver pedaled furiously, then turned back with a deliberate laugh. “Doesn’t matter, they asked me, not you!”

In just two or three minutes, panting heavily, the driver brought them to Binhu Hotel. Right next to it was Binhu Restaurant, where Jiang Wanting had eaten earlier that day.

At the front desk, Jiang Wanting pulled out her letter of introduction. The receptionist glanced at it, then tossed it aside carelessly. “That’s no good here. We’re a foreign-related hotel—you can’t stay without proper documents.”

“Can I pay extra?” Jiang Wanting glanced at Lu Yuan. He was leaning against her with his eyes shut, his cheeks flushed, clearly burning up even more.

The receptionist also noticed his condition and said, “If you have foreign exchange coupons, you can check in directly. But you’ll need to register the purpose of stay and your itinerary.”

“Foreign exchange coupons…” Jiang Wanting frowned. She didn’t have any, and she didn’t know if Lu Yuan did. With no choice, she reached into his pocket. But as soon as her hand brushed inside, Lu Yuan’s eyes snapped open. He gripped her wrist with deadly sharpness.

“What are you doing?” His gaze was so fierce it was as if he might finish her off right there.

Enduring the pain in her wrist, Jiang Wanting quickly explained, “I wanted to see if you had any foreign exchange coupons.”

Realizing it was her, Lu Yuan eased his grip and closed his eyes again. That one movement had consumed all his remaining willpower. He gave no answer, only a slight shake of his head.

What now? Jiang Wanting suddenly remembered—Zhang Shengli counted as an insider. He had once given her a phone number. She fished the slip of paper from her pocket, borrowed the phone from the front desk, and dialed.

“Brother Zhang,” she said as soon as the line connected, “it’s Jiang Wanting, I’m at Binhu Hotel.”

“Huh? What are you doing there?” Zhang Shengli was baffled. How had a meal led her to a hotel?

“Here’s the thing, Brother Zhang—I need to open a room at Binhu Hotel, but I don’t have the work certificate or introduction letter. Could I trouble you to speak to the front desk for me?”

“Alright, put the phone to her.”

Thanks to the internal connection, Jiang Wanting easily secured a room. Supporting Lu Yuan, she got him to Room 203 and carefully laid him on the bed.

“Thanks!” Lu Yuan seemed to relax now, able to breathe loudly again. “Do… do me one more favor.”

“Tell me.” Jiang Wanting leaned close.

Lu Yuan reached into his inner pocket, fumbling for a long while before pulling out an envelope. “Take this. Guard it well. Don’t let anyone see it. Go to the third floor of the department store, south side men’s restroom. The last stall. The man there—his right ear is split. Give it to him. Remember, don’t hand it to anyone else!”

Jiang Wanting repeated it silently in her heart. “Alright, I got it. Rest here, I’ll be back after I deliver it.”

“Mm…” Lu Yuan seemed to fall asleep instantly.

Jiang Wanting carefully tucked the crumpled envelope into the inner pocket of her clothes, pressing it close against her body, and quietly slipped out.

Leaving the hotel, she walked as though nothing was unusual, but her eyes and ears were sharply alert, scanning for anything suspicious around her.

Every time someone brushed past her, she couldn’t help but press her hand against the pocket hiding the envelope.

Fortunately, she reached the department store without incident. She went up to the third floor and found the men’s restroom.

Someone was inside. Jiang Wanting pretended to wait for someone and stood outside for a while. When that person left, she ducked in quickly, heading straight to the last stall.

Each squat stall here had partitions. In the innermost one, she indeed saw a man—messy-haired, tall and burly, smoking a cigarette, looking nothing like a decent person.

Jiang Wanting worried she might have the wrong man, but she couldn’t see his ear clearly. She coughed lightly from behind him. The man turned at once.

When he saw her, he was clearly stunned. He glanced at the door, checking again and again that this really was the men’s restroom, then looked back at Jiang Wanting.

In that instant, as he turned his head, Jiang Wanting saw his ear—it was split clean into two halves from the bottom. This should be the man.

She pulled the envelope from her pocket and handed it to the intimidating stranger.