Chapter 59: Impostor

“You think Elder Gu looks familiar?” Ji Duo had never heard of this before.

Lin Qiao nodded, “The first time I saw him at the hospital, he seemed familiar, but I couldn’t remember it, so I didn’t mention it.”

That was her nature. Ji Duo looked at her with deep eyes but didn’t press further.

They were still in the car on their way back, and Lin Qiao didn’t rush to explain. The more she compared, the more she felt there was a resemblance.

Both of them were patient. It wasn’t until they got home and went upstairs that Ji Duo asked in a low voice, “Who does he look like?”

“My neighbor Guo Yan’s cousin,” Lin Qiao said without hesitation. “The eyebrows and eyes are very similar, especially the eyebrows, which are as sharp and defined as Elder Gu’s.”

“The Guo Yan who’s dating your cousin?” Ji Duo’s memory was impeccable.

“That’s her,” Lin Qiao confirmed. “Her uncle has an only daughter named Yue Hua, who lives in town. She used to visit our village often when we were kids. But I haven’t seen her in the past two years. She repeated her studies twice and got into college. People in the village say Guo Yan’s family is lucky to have raised a college student.”

Girls with such sharp eyebrows are rare. Lin Qiao hadn’t thought of it earlier because she hadn’t interacted much with Yue Hua and had moved to Yandu after her time travel.

Elder Gu and Shaozhen didn’t look particularly alike. Yue Hua resembled Shaozhen’s childhood photos more than Elder Gu did.

Sun Xiuzhi didn’t think much of Guo Yan but had a higher opinion of Yue Hua. Unfortunately, despite several attempts, Guo Yan’s mother and aunt didn’t respond.

“But her family lives in town. I grew up with Guo Yan and never heard she was adopted or found.”

“Has she always lived in your town, or…” Ji Duo began, and they both realized they thought the same thing.

It seemed they always had this kind of tacit understanding when discussing anything but themselves. Whether it was there from the start or developed over time, they didn’t know.

Lin Qiao spoke first, much calmer than when she first remembered. “Yue Hua’s age doesn’t quite match. She’s only two years older than me, while Shaozhen is three years older. I just think they look alike. I’ll have to ask my mom. She should know if Yue Hua is her biological daughter.”

“Then we’ll go to the old house tomorrow and call your mom,” Ji Duo decided without hesitation.

It was late, and no one would answer at the village office. It wasn’t appropriate to borrow Commander Liang’s phone for this.

The next day, Sunday, they went to the old house early and called Liu Yulan’s village with the number they had found.

Ten minutes later, Liu Yulan answered, slightly out of breath. When Lin Qiao asked about Yue Hua, she was surprised, “Of course, she’s her mother’s biological daughter. I held her before she turned one. Why are you asking about this suddenly?”

Although they hadn’t hoped for much, the couple exchanged a glance and fell silent.

“I was just curious,” Lin Qiao said calmly. “Did Yue Hua ever get lost or stay away from home for a long time when she was a child? Do you remember?”

Since they were asking, they might as well be thorough and rule out all possibilities.

“I’ve never heard of that,” Liu Yulan said, clearly unaware. “If she had gotten lost, you and Guo Yan were so close, you would have known.”

Lin Qiao genuinely didn’t know. Shaozhen went missing when she was five, and even if she had memories, there wouldn’t be many. Besides, she wasn’t the original Lin Qiao.

But Liu Yulan’s response made it clear. Lin Qiao hung up and shook her head at Ji Duo.

Ji Duo didn’t seem disappointed. “If it’s not her, it’s not her. At least we ruled out a wrong answer.”

Having helped Elder Gu search for so many years, he had encountered this situation before. Compared to previous hopes and disappointments, this was nothing.

Xu Li, who had overheard, tried to change the subject to ease the young couple’s discomfort. “Since you’re talking to your mom, Qiao Qiao, do you want to chat a bit more?”

“My mom’s using the village phone. It’s not good to occupy it for too long,” Lin Qiao declined with a smile.

She didn’t have much to say to Liu Yulan. Occasionally, writing a letter was just right—not too distant, but there was no need to force awkward conversations.

Xu Li didn’t say anything more but whispered to the old man in private, “The issue with Shaozhen and Shaoping has almost become a heartache for the second son. It’s good if someone can talk to him about it.”

“I didn’t expect him to talk to Qiao Qiao about it. We usually don’t dare mention it in front of him,” the old man sighed. “Since Shaoping’s death, his temperament has become more and more somber. Sometimes, I worry he’ll get stuck in a rut. Fortunately, he’s stayed on the right path all these years.”

“That’s why it’s good he got married,” Xu Li smiled. “Since getting married, he’s not as gloomy.”

It would be better if they gave her a grandchild, but the second son and Qiao Qiao didn’t seem to be in a hurry, so it might take some time.

With Yue Hua ruled out, they needed to investigate Chen Zhaonan more thoroughly. However, Lin Qiao felt that Chen Zhaonan didn’t seem genuine. If she were and had memories, why hadn’t she reported being abducted before? Even if one police station didn’t care, surely not all of them would ignore it?

Moreover, she could recall well-known facts but claimed to forget childhood events due to a head injury. However, since it concerned finding Shaozhen, even a slight possibility couldn’t be dismissed easily. They needed to wait for the results of the investigation.

Soon, the local police station reported back. Chen Zhaonan had indeed filed a report before but only mentioned domestic violence, not abduction.

However, when Lin Qiao asked her, she said she had mentioned it, but the local police didn’t care, so she went to the county public security bureau.

Clearly, one side wasn’t telling the truth. Lin Qiao asked Ji Duo, “Didn’t Su Zheng find out anything more?”

“No, he had an old lady who used to care for his mother to look after her. She’s not as scared as before but still doesn’t talk.”

“What about her parents? Have they been found?”

“No,” Ji Duo replied, his expression unchanged but clearly dissatisfied with the progress. “I’ve sent someone to her in-laws’ village to inquire.”

Just then, the newly installed phone in the living room rang.

Ji Duo, being closer, picked up the receiver. After a brief greeting, his eyes fell on Lin Qiao.

“Chen Zhaonan wants to see me?” Lin Qiao was still puzzled when they got out of the car at Su Zheng’s house.

Su Zheng frowned, “That’s what Grandma Zhou said. She has something to say and will only tell you in person.”

Was it because Lin Qiao was the first to interact with her and the only one she talked to, creating an attachment?

Lin Qiao didn’t want to overthink it. After understanding the situation, she went to the west room and found it had changed since a few days ago.

There were more feminine items, and Chen Zhaonan wore thicker clothes, indicating she was well cared for.

Lin Qiao sat on the chair opposite her and got straight to the point, “I heard you have something to tell me. What is it?”

Her tone remained gentle, and she spoke slowly, fearing the other person might not understand. Chen Zhaonan nervously tugged at her clothes, “I’m sorry, I didn’t tell the truth last time.”

This unexpected confession made sense, considering she had specifically asked Lin Qiao to come over to talk.

Lin Qiao responded with a calm “Hmm,” indicating she was listening. Her expression was neutral, showing neither surprise nor displeasure.

Chen Zhaonan glanced at her face cautiously and softly said, “I’m not Gu Shaozhen.”

So, she wasn’t Gu Shaozhen, either. How did she know so much information? It was intriguing, as even the police searching for her might not have known.

Lin Qiao pondered for a moment and then asked, “Can I call Ji Duo and Su Zheng in? She’s their childhood friend’s sister, and they have the right to know.” Seeing Chen Zhaonan tense up, she added gently, “They’ll just listen at the door. You don’t need to be nervous. We’re reasonable people.”

It was because these people were reasonable, unlike those she had encountered before, that Chen Zhaonan decided to tell the truth.

Hearing Lin Qiao’s words, she nodded, and Lin Qiao went outside to call Ji Duo and Su Zheng.

Two large men entered the room, making Chen Zhaonan visibly nervous. Fortunately, Lin Qiao kept her word and had them stay by the door.

“How did you know about Shaozhen? Can you tell us in detail?”

Lin Qiao still sat closest to Chen Zhaonan, cleverly positioning herself to block the two men behind her.

This helped Chen Zhaonan relax a bit. “I heard it from someone. I don’t have children, and my husband always beats me. I went to the police station several times, but no one cared. I can’t read, and I can’t run away. Recently, I was beaten again. Before I reached the police station, I saw my husband at the door…” As she spoke, her language shifted, and her words became a bit stammered. However, she managed to convey her story clearly.

Seeing her husband guarding the police station, she didn’t dare go in. She was about to go elsewhere when she bumped into a man. The man was initially angry but calmed down when he saw her face and asked her a few questions. Unfortunately, she couldn’t answer any of them. The man sighed, saying she looked so much like someone but wasn’t. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have suffered so much. Her husband was at the police station door, and she was terrified. She grabbed the man and asked if she was the person he was looking for.

“He told me about Gu Shaozhen, her age, when she went missing, and who was in her family. I knew he might not be a good person, but I thought if I could get to Yandu, my husband wouldn’t follow me there to beat me. So, I went to the county public security bureau to report it.”

Chen Zhaonan wasn’t foolish. She knew the man might not be trustworthy, but she still went to the county public security bureau. She remembered the information clearly and managed to deceive the authorities, successfully getting sent to Yandu.

“I know what I did wasn’t right, but I had no other choice. I wasn’t abducted; my parents sold me for ten yuan.” Chen Zhaonan rolled up her sleeves, showing the new and old scars on her body. “These are from my husband and mother-in-law. I have more on my body. I just want to escape. As long as you don’t send me back, I’ll do anything. I can do any kind of work.”

Her thin arms were covered in scars, both new and old, which were shocking to see. Ji Duo and Su Zheng politely looked away, and Lin Qiao quickly helped her roll down her sleeves.

After a moment of silence, once Chen Zhaonan had calmed down, Ji Duo turned his gaze back to her. “Do you remember the appearance, build, and accent of the person who told you about Shaozhen?”

They expected her to give a rough description, but she surprised them by nodding. “I remember. His accent was from my hometown area; otherwise, I wouldn’t have trusted him. He was about this tall,” she said, glancing at Lin Qiao. “Around thirty years old, with a square face…”

“Wait a moment. I’ll get some paper and a pencil,” Su Zheng said, quickly leaving the room and returning with a notebook.

As Chen Zhaonan described the man, Su Zheng sketched on the paper. Before long, he had a rough drawing. “Does this look right?”

“The mouth should be bigger,” Chen Zhaonan said, clearly surprised but thinking carefully. “He also had slightly uneven eyes, with the left eye bigger than the right.”

Su Zheng started a new sketch and soon had another drawing. “How about this one?”

“This one looks more like him,” Chen Zhaonan said, unable to hold back a small question. “Are all people from Yandu this skilled?”

“That’s my skill. How do you think I got these shoulder epaulets?” Su Zheng patted his shoulder and drew two more sketches, finally confirming the likeness.

The three of them returned to the east room and spread the drawing on the table. Su Zheng and Ji Duo examined it closely, confirming they didn’t recognize the man.

“Then it’s not the same group from back then,” Su Zheng said. “I remember clearly who handled the case and who beat my father.”

If it wasn’t that group, it must be someone from Yandu. The clumsy methods matched the previous letter, suggesting it was the same person. The question was whether they only created this one fake, hoping Elder Gu would find his granddaughter and stop pursuing the past, or if they were desperate and planned to spread Shaozhen’s information widely.

If it was the latter, with one fake after another, Elder Gu would be exhausted even if he wasn’t angered to death.

“That’s really despicable,” Su Zheng, usually cheerful, couldn’t help but curse.

Elder Gu only has this one relative left. Even if they know it might be a false lead, they can’t afford not to investigate. Missing the real one would be a lifelong regret.

But investigating requires manpower and resources, and it brings worry and disappointment. It seems they won’t have peaceful days ahead.

Ji Duo remained calm. “Let’s pretend Chen Zhaonan didn’t say anything today. We’ll act like we’re investigating her information while privately looking into this person,” he said, pointing to the sketch.

Su Zheng agreed. “With her as a decoy, the other side probably won’t make any new moves for a while, creating more fakes.”

Otherwise, it would be too troublesome. Just dealing with this one took many days. If Chen Zhaonan hadn’t confessed, it would have taken even longer.

Fortunately, despite being illiterate, Chen Zhaonan had an excellent memory and could describe the person she had only briefly interacted with.

Thinking about this, Su Zheng couldn’t help but glance at Lin Qiao. “I’ve been taking care of her for so many days. Why didn’t she tell me and insist on talking to you?”

“Maybe I look more pleasant,” Lin Qiao joked, seeing him choke on his words. Then she added, “She probably feels I can empathize with her as a young wife.”

Grandma Zhou, who Su Zheng had brought in, was good at caring for people but was from an older generation. The older generation often believed in enduring hardships and maintaining marriages at all costs. They might even think not having children was the woman’s fault.

Chen Zhaonan had likely heard such things many times over the years. So, she trusted Lin Qiao more than Grandma Zhou or Su Zheng, a man.

Leaving the Su family, it was another dark night. But compared to the last time, at least they had confirmed Chen Zhaonan wasn’t the one and had new leads.

Lin Qiao exhaled into the night sky, and the man beside her suddenly asked, “Are you relieved now?”

She was startled.

“You don’t have to send her back,” Ji Duo explained in a low voice. “I saw you were quite angry when you heard about her situation.”

Lin Qiao was indeed angry. Any girl from forty years in the future would be. “Even though she pretended to be Shaozhen, I wasn’t happy about it. But knowing it was a pit of fire, I couldn’t send her back after she escaped. I’d have nightmares about her being beaten.”

Domestic violence is something that, if one person is willing to hit and the other is willing to endure, there’s nothing anyone can do.

But since she had escaped, Lin Qiao didn’t want to be like those who ignored her pleas for help, pushing her back into despair and numbness.

She had been restrained, but the man still noticed. She looked at Ji Duo, “Is that why you said to keep her?”

“Not entirely.” Xiao Fang had already driven the car over. Ji Duo opened the door and said, “Only men without skills hit women.”

That was true. The men in the Ji family didn’t seem to have this bad habit. Even the old man, with his violent temper, never laid a finger on anyone, let alone Ji Jun.

This improved Lin Qiao’s mood. If she hadn’t known the original male lead had good character, she wouldn’t have dared to come to Yandu to fulfill the marriage contract.

“We should teach her to read a few words,” she said softly to Ji Duo as they sat in the back seat. “Knowing a few words will make life easier than being completely illiterate.”

Many women in the past never left their homes because they couldn’t read. They didn’t even know where they were when they went outside.

If Chen Zhaonan knew a few words, she wouldn’t have had to seek help only at the local police station. To escape further, she wouldn’t have had to pretend to be Elder Gu’s granddaughter.

After returning, Lin Qiao found an elementary school primer and gave it to Su Zheng, suggesting that Chen Zhaonan could attend nearby elementary school classes when she had time.

Su Zheng had to work and didn’t have much time, and Grandma Zhou was illiterate. It was uncertain if Chen Zhaonan would be willing to go out.

Besides the primer, Lin Qiao also prepared a set of Journey to the West and Water Margin to bring to her class as the first batch of books for the reading corner. Even though there was only a semester and a half left, accumulating knowledge was never too late. Lin Qiao placed an empty desk at the back of the classroom, attached a borrowing log, and assigned someone to manage it.

“When borrowing or returning books, both parties must sign. You are not allowed to read during class time. If I catch you, the reading corner will be canceled. If you have books at home that you think are good, you can bring them to add to the reading corner and share them with your classmates.”

This was something new to the students. As soon as class ended, they gathered around, “Let’s see what books Teacher Lin has put out!”

Even those who usually get headaches from reading are curious. In no time, the first volumes of both sets were borrowed. As soon as they were logged, a crowd gathered around.

“Journey to the West” was more popular than “Water Margin.” During breaks, the student who borrowed it was always surrounded by others. Soon, Teacher Lan, who taught Chinese to the third and fourth classes, heard about it and brought two poetry collections from home for students to borrow. Other students also brought books from home. For example, Qi Huaiwen brought a copy of “Sherlock Holmes.” This was even more popular than “Journey to the West.” Even Vice Principal Qi heard about it and asked Lin Qiao in the hallway, “Trying something new again?”

The word “again” was used skillfully, implying that since Lin Qiao joined the school, she had been introducing things no one had tried before.

Experiments, test papers, and now even Chinese, with a reading corner.

“I’m just trying to improve the class’s Chinese grades,” Lin Qiao said frankly. “The students don’t read enough, and Teacher Lan also said that learning Chinese requires a lot of reading.”

“That’s true,” Vice Principal Qi nodded. “But be mindful not to interfere with their regular studies. I don’t need to remind you of that.”

This meant the school didn’t oppose it. Lin Qiao smiled and nodded, “Understood. By the way, I have another new idea. Would you like to hear it?”

She was referring to a reading room. Setting up a library wasn’t realistic, even forty years later, as some school libraries were still underutilized with few books. A reading room was different. It could hold books and periodicals, allowing students to read and study there.

This idea was still quite new. Vice Principal Qi pondered for a while and didn’t give an immediate answer. “I’ll discuss it with Principal Zeng.”

The fact that it could be discussed was good enough. Lin Qiao didn’t expect to implement everything immediately, so she nodded and returned to the office.

Unexpectedly, just as Lin Qiao sat down, a postman arrived with a telegram for her.

The telegram was from Liu Yulan, containing only two words: “Call me,” clearly indicating that Lin Qiao should give her a call.

With only one class left before school ended, Lin Qiao wondered why Liu Yulan needed to contact her. She waited until she got home in the evening to call Liu Yulan.

“Qiao Qiao, didn’t you ask me about Yue Hua last time?” Liu Yulan, who had evidently been waiting, answered quickly. “I’ve been asking around for you these past two days. Yue Hua is indeed Guo Yan’s aunt’s biological daughter; everyone in the village has seen her. However, she did spend over a year away when she was young, following her mother back to her hometown.”

This made Lin Qiao’s heart skip a beat. “When was that?”

“1966 or 1967, during the mass mobilization. Guo Yan’s aunt was isolated and stayed in her hometown. I had married your Uncle Yang by then and wasn’t in the village, so I didn’t know about this…”