After the Early-Deceased White Moonlight of a Wealthy Family Returns (GL) - Chapter 4

“I’ll be back after my business is done,” Su Wu told the girl sitting obediently and properly on the sofa. “Wait for me here. If you’re bored, you can watch TV.”

Su Wu picked up the remote control placed on the small coffee table.

She softly called out the name ‘Little Qian Tongxue’ (Little Money Classmate), and a fluctuating light flashed across the black, hundred-inch screen. A voice echoed through the space: “I’m here.”

All the hairs on Shen You’an’s body immediately stood up. She quickly looked around vigilantly, looking exactly like a startled kitten.

Su Wu: “It’s the TV.”

Shen You’an looked up in confusion: “The TV?”

Su Wu tapped the remote control, and the TV set issued another friendly AI question.

“I am Little Qian Tongxue. How may I help you? If you need me to turn on, you can say to me, ‘Little Qian Tongxue, turn on.’”

Shen You’an hesitated. Under Su Wu’s gaze, she slightly opened her mouth and attempted to say: “Little Qian Tongxue, turn on.”

“Okay, activating for you.”

A dazzling start-up screen immediately appeared, and after it stopped, a colorful array of interfaces that Shen You’an had never seen before followed.

“Is there anything you want to watch?” Su Wu asked. “I remember you used to love watching TV shows and movies.”

Shen You’an scanned the new film catalog, completely unfamiliar with everything. Not a single actor was recognizable.

She shook her head: “Not yet. I’ll look around later.”

Su Wu said okay and told her to try it herself.

Shen You’an felt a bit like an old person who couldn’t keep up with the times, the only difference being that her learning ability in this area seemed much quicker than that of a typical elder.

She browsed the channels back and forth with the remote several times, but was uninterested in the programs on the TV. The long-lost feeling of being full and well-fed made her continuously sleepy. After a long yawn, Shen You’an was ready for bed.

“Sister Su, I’m going to sleep for a bit. Please take the room card with you later. I’m afraid I won’t be able to open the door for you when I fall asleep.”

Su Wu agreed, telling her not to sleep on the sofa.

The child was instantly sleepy the moment her head hit the pillow, her eyelids closing heavily. The instinct to seek warmth made her pull the plush quilt closer to herself. Su Wu stood by her side, tucked in the corner of the quilt by the bedside for her, and then turned to the bathroom.

Shen You’an had good habits, which was evidenced by the fact that after she showered, she collected and cleaned up all the hair from the drain.

Su Wu found a bag and picked up the clump of black hair from the trash can.

Before leaving, after repeatedly confirming the bulging form on the bed, Su Wu closed the door, walked a few steps away, and made a call.

“CEO Su.”

“I have a sample, and I need someone to deliver it within an hour,” Su Wu stated directly.

The person on the other end responded: “Have you found a new body?”

Su Wu: “No.”

The person: “Then—?”

Su Wu: “The analysis sample, besides hair, also includes residual saliva traces on tableware. Based on these comprehensive samples, how long will it take to get a result?”

The person: “We will give you an answer within three days.”

Su Wu: “Good, thank you.”

The person: “CEO Su, you are too kind. If it weren’t for you, our lab wouldn’t exist.”

Su Wu: “The usual rule: confidential testing.”

The person repeatedly assured her: “CEO Su, rest assured. After working with you for so many years, I definitely know this rule. However… forgive me for saying what I shouldn’t, CEO Su, the samples you’ve sent over the years are dozens, if not a hundred, and every result has been unsatisfactory. The police have long stopped searching, and even her family has accepted the death certificate. Why must you persist…”

Su Wu: “Old Wu, please examine this sample thoroughly for me. I’ll wait for your news.”

The person had no choice but to agree. After hanging up, they sighed repeatedly, then turned to make arrangements: “Attention everyone, a new sample will arrive in an hour. Pull up file S001 and proceed with testing and comparison.”

Shen You’an’s DNA had never been collected back then, even up until her disappearance. To initiate the search, the police used samples from Shen’s mother and Shen Huaijin for comparison, confirming the identity of potential subjects through kinship identification.

The comparison data in Su Wu’s hands came from this process.

Ending the call, Su Wu put away her phone.

She looked up. Across from the private hot spring hotel were distant mountains shrouded in mist and clouds. At four in the afternoon, the sky was changing from blue to red. The blue was gradually fading, like an unfinished ink wash painting.

The clouds moved so slowly.

Su Wu got into the car and told the driver: “To the meeting hall.”

The driver understood.

Life proceeded as usual: meetings, socializing, and discussing work. The leadership of Luoshui Village was eager to negotiate another few years of partnership for the film festival.

“This project has been trialed for three years, and the results are excellent. During this time, there has been a steady stream of talented young people returning home to run B&Bs and tourism. We also have abundant local tourism resources, and we will definitely work harder to keep up in this regard. CEO Su, how about reconsidering the contract for the next few years?” asked the very insightful cadre.

“Correspondingly, CEO Su, we will report and approve your other projects here for subsidies and assistance. We can benefit each other and work together to boost the economy of Luoshui and even the entire county. Perhaps, in the future, we could even be rated among the top 100 counties.”

The content of the conversation was within Su Wu’s expectations.

After only a little negotiation, the conditions offered by the other party were higher than her anticipation. She nodded, effectively finalizing the matter.

“I will have people from our company department prepare the detailed contract and send it over. I’ll trouble you to review it then,” Su Wu said.

“Of course, of course,” the cadre nodded repeatedly, unable to hide his smile, beaming with joy. The God of Wealth was willing to stay with them again—it was a huge blessing! “Come, come, let’s eat. CEO Su, these are our local specialty dishes, cooked over a wood-fire stove. The taste is different from what you find in the city, please try some. Also, these mushrooms are especially fresh, picked from the mountains after the rain. The chicken is also freshly killed, a free-range mountain chicken, the meat is tender and chewy. Please try it quickly.”

Su Wu consistently had a poor appetite. She picked up some dishes with her chopsticks and tasted them.

Someone at the table poured her wine, white liquor.

Su Wu raised her hand, placing her palm over the cup.

“CEO Su, please have some. This wine is good,” the person urged.

Su Wu didn’t say a word, only looked up at the person. The oppressive aura of being in a high position was fully expressed with just one look.

Secretary Zou quickly pulled the person who was pouring the wine away, snatched the bottle, and placed it on the table: “Don’t drink, come, come, eat the food.”

“There’s no business meeting where people don’t drink,” the person muttered.

Su Wu lifted her eyelids: “Since you are talking business with me, you must follow my rules. If this gentleman wants to drink, he is welcome to walk out and drink his fill.”

Secretary Zou was sweating profusely, cold beads forming on his forehead.

“Yes, yes, yes, CEO Su is right.”

The person was an old hand who had been mixing in officialdom for many years. It was the first time he had been put in his place by a thirty-year-old newcomer. His face turned an awkward liver-purple color, but he dared not say anything.

Su Wu was accustomed to such things.

Rules? Whoever stands higher is the rule.

To warm up the atmosphere, Secretary Zou racked his brain for a topic: “CEO Su, why didn’t the little girl who was with you today come?”

Su Wu: “She is resting.”

Secretary Zou: “Oh, oh. I saw the little girl wasn’t very old and was wondering how you two knew each other. I hadn’t heard that you had a younger sister, CEO Su.”

Su Wu sipped her tea, the silver needles swaying in the cup.

“I do now,” Su Wu put down the cup. “Secretary Zou, I would like to ask the kitchen to prepare a few dishes for takeout. Is that convenient?”

Secretary Zou: “Convenient! What’s inconvenient about such a small matter! CEO Su, here, this is the menu. Take a look at what you want to take.”

Su Wu scanned the menu, specifically ordering the dishes she had just tasted.

The food was indeed good. Shen You’an would probably like it very much.

When Su Wu returned, the moon and stars were out. The wind in the mountain town was cool. She rolled down the car window, taking the time to appreciate the surrounding scenery for the first time.

Upon arriving at the hotel, she got out, carrying a thick bag of takeout.

Di-doo—

The card swiped the door open. Su Wu held the takeout bag in one hand and the card in the other, using her back to push the door open.

There was no light in the room, and the card she had left in the electric slot was still there.

Asleep? Su Wu entered quietly, put down her things, and only turned on a small wall lamp.

She went towards the bedroom. The bed, which was bulging when she left, was now flat and empty.

Su Wu’s heart instantly leaped.

She immediately turned on all the lights in the room.

“Shen You’an?”

No one answered.

Su Wu pulled open the doors to all the rooms. They were still empty.

Her heart raced, caught in her throat. Su Wu repeatedly confirmed everything in the room: the newly unwrapped toothbrush, the folded bath towel, the clothes she had bought. This was not an illusion. Su Wu clenched her fist, her fingertips digging into her palm; the slight sting kept her clear-headed. She picked up the house phone and called the hotel management.

Doo—doo—

After the person on the other end answered with “CEO Su,” Su Wu immediately said: “Help me find someone.”

A moment later, Su Wu arrived at the hotel’s public recreation area.

In the children’s play area, the girl was sitting by a building block table, with a half-finished castle in front of her. A group of children surrounded her. A boy had just casually said a few words when a little girl next to him glared at him, telling him to be quiet and not disturb their sister.

Su Wu stood still, letting out a deep sigh of relief.

She relaxed her hand, leaving crescent-shaped indentations in her palm.

Shen You’an was very focused. After finishing the castle, she admired it contentedly for a moment, then moved aside for the children to see. Just as she was enjoying herself, she sensed a gaze, looked back, and her bright eyes immediately shone. She raised her hand and waved, then hurried over.

“Sister Su! You’re back!”

Su Wu composed the warmth in her eyes: “Mhm.”

She asked casually: “Why aren’t you in the room?”

Shen You’an answered innocently: “I woke up and said I’d go for a walk, but I forgot to take the card.” She scratched the back of her head and chuckled. “I didn’t know where to go, and passing by here, I figured I’d just do something until you came back. Then I was invited by the kids to play with building blocks, and I got lost in it. Sister Su, what about you? When did you get back?”

“I just arrived,” Su Wu said. “I happen to have some free time. Shall I take you to buy a few things?”