A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Afterwards, everyone went to the International Hotel where Wu Mingqiang had already booked a private room for a dinner party. Wu Mingqiang announced that Ah Guang would be the head employee at Juzhen Pawnshop in Hong Kong, while his younger brother Ah Zong would stay in Macau as the head employee to assist Chen Jingtang.

Gui'er knew that the two men had been with Wu Mingqiang since he first came to Hong Kong and were considered his confidants. So they were actually Wu Mingqiang's spies in the shop. But that was fine, to prevent the incident with the first squire from happening again.

After that, Gui'er stayed in Macau for a few days. This time was different from the last time. In addition to visiting tourist attractions and eating local delicacies, Wu Mingqiang also took Gui'er to visit some local businessmen, who were all warmly received.

Gui'er couldn't help but ask curiously, "Brother Wu, how do you know these people? You didn't know them when we came here last time."

Wu Mingqiang looked smug and said, "These people all have business dealings with me in Hong Kong. Now that I'm opening a pawn shop, they will naturally come to congratulate me."

Ah Cheng, who was standing nearby, said, "That's Miss's pawnshop. Miss is the owner."

Wu Mingqiang paused for a moment, then smiled somewhat awkwardly and said, "Miss Ziran is the boss."

After spending a few days in Macau, they returned to Hong Kong. This time, buying ferry tickets went quite smoothly, unlike last time when people were panicked after experiencing military exercises.

Wu Mingqiang said he has also bought property in Macau, purchasing several buildings to collect rent. He believes these buildings will definitely bring him profits in the future, and also provide a place for Chen Jingtang and Ah Zong to live.

Gui'er immediately replied, "Oh, then you should deduct the rent from the pawnshop's revenue. I can't let you stay here for free."

Wu Mingqiang chuckled softly: "Miss, why be so formal? There's no need to make such a distinction between us."

Gui'er thought about it and realized it made sense. It was Wu Mingqiang's idea to open the pawnshop; she only provided the money. All the management was handled by him—finding staff, attracting customers, it was all his job. The pawnshop didn't make any money at first. Later, it was because he followed Longxing and met more people, and also because of the military exercises, that the pawnshop's business picked up, and now they've opened a branch. Without Wu Mingqiang, she would probably have to carefully budget and use the money Sha Yanxiao left her to make ends meet. After all, living in a villa or mansion requires not only living there but also maintenance and manpower. So she hadn't checked the accounts since.

Back in Hong Kong, it was time for school to start, so Gui'er hurriedly went to the school to complete the registration procedures.

Afterwards, she went to see Zhu Zhiming at the apartment Wu Mingqiang had bought outside. Before his last trip to Macau, Zhu Zhiming had shown signs of regaining his memory, and she felt that he must have experienced something extraordinary. If he could remember, perhaps he could discover something.

When Ah Cheng heard that she was going there, he stammered, "Miss, actually, as soon as I returned to Hong Kong, I received a report from my subordinates saying that Zhu Zhiming had gone missing. I was afraid you would worry, so I didn't dare to tell you."

"What? When did it happen?"

"Just a few days after we left for Macau."

"How could such a big thing be concealed? The way he was injured was quite suspicious. How is it now? Have you sent anyone to look for him?"

"Brother Qiang sent people to look for him a long time ago, but they couldn't find him."

Gui'er understood what the missing person list meant, and quickly asked Acheng to drive her to Zhu Zhiming's residence.

The door is locked.

Have you gone inside to take a look?

“The two people who were taking care of him didn’t have a key. They would call him from downstairs to open the door every time. After we came back, they reported him missing to Brother Qiang. Brother Qiang went upstairs to check and said he didn’t find anything suspicious.” Acheng said as he opened the door.

They went straight up to the second floor, where a faint musty smell mixed with the fragrance of soapberry wafted towards them.

Wu Mingqiang locked the room where Gui'er had stayed, but the other rooms were open.

Zhu Zhiming's room was originally Ding Xiang's room, and it was also the room where Ouyang Bao died. It was small and the furnishings were simple to the point of being shabby: a wooden bed against the wall, covered with a coarse cloth mattress that had been washed until it was faded; there was a desk with peeling paint by the window, on which were piled several books, which should have been taken from the bookstore on the first floor.

“Miss, Brother Qiang said that nothing in the room has been touched, just like when he left.” Acheng stood at the door, his eyes sweeping over the wooden box in the corner—the luggage that Zhu Zhiming brought back from the hospital, still locked, with a thin layer of dust covering the brass lock.

Gui'er didn't speak, but walked straight to the bedside. The quilt was folded neatly, with the edges pulled straight, showing that the owner had left with relative composure. She reached out and touched the sheets; they were slightly cool, as if no one had slept in them for some time. Under the bed was empty, except for a pair of cloth shoes placed side by side, the toes stained with mud, probably from when they went out earlier.

"Have you seen the desk?" Gui'er asked, turning her head.

Acheng picked up the book on the table, flipped through a few pages, and found no notes or messages inside.

Gui'er walked to the desk, her fingertips tracing the yellowed pages. Suddenly, she noticed a faint scratch on the corner of the desk, as if repeatedly drawn with a fingernail, its shape crooked and twisted, resembling the character "仲" (zhong). A thought struck her, and she bent down to look under the desk, but found only thick dust, not even a footprint.

“Take another look at the box,” she said to Acheng.

Acheng pried open the copper lock and found only a few changes of clothes inside, folded neatly. At the bottom was a dark blue long gown with frayed cuffs and dark red stains on the collar—like bloodstains or old soy sauce stains, long since dried and blackened.

Gui'er's heart sank. She turned back to the bedside, her fingers unconsciously brushing against the pillow. The pillowcase was made of coarse cloth with patches on the edges, but it felt thicker than the rest of the pillow. Gui'er glanced under the pillow but found nothing, and was somewhat disappointed. Just as she was about to put the pillow back, a thought suddenly struck her. She reached into the pillowcase and, sure enough, pulled out a note.

"Found it!" Gui'er quickly picked it up, unfolded it, and saw that the paper was the most ordinary straw paper, with rough edges. Several lines of writing were written on it in pencil, the handwriting hurried, and in some places the ink had even smudged:

“Miss Gui’er: I’ve remembered something. Comrade Zhongyu’s death was not an accident; it’s inextricably linked to the Japanese. To avoid implicating you, I need to leave for two days to investigate. Don’t worry. If you don’t return, it means the mission has failed, and there’s no need to look for you. Zhu Zi.”

The handwriting was crooked and shaky, with the last stroke of the character "朱" drawn out extremely long, as if the hand was trembling when it was written. Gui'er held the note, her fingertips tracing the rough texture of the paper, and suddenly remembered the look in Zhu Zhiming's eyes when they last met—he probably remembered some things back then, but what he remembered was so heavy that he dared not speak of it.