Chapter 13: The Blind Girl
Chapter 13: The Blind Girl
Lan Mu had completely left his job and now had no burdens.
Cheng Ming had also submitted his resignation report; he would officially have nothing to do with the newspaper next month.
The two of them were eating late-night snacks and drinking beer at a street-side stall. Before long, a chubby police officer walked over, put down his bag, sat directly down, picked up Cheng Ming’s glass, and gulped down several large mouthfuls.
“Yo! Detective Ma is here? Eww, you’re disgusting, using my glass directly? Boss! Bring another glass!” Cheng Ming shouted.
The chubby police officer wore a police uniform, but the clothes were stretched tight, and his fat seemed about to spill out from between the buttons.
“Ma Xiang, I heard you got engaged? When’s the wedding?” Lan Mu raised his glass with a smile.
“Applying for marriage leave! It’ll happen whenever it gets approved!”
Ma Xiang was Lan Mu’s high school classmate, and they were very close. After the college entrance exams, one studied journalism, and the other entered the police academy. No one knew how this physique could become a police officer.
As for Cheng Ming, he was Lan Mu’s university classmate. Lan Mu had introduced Ma Xiang to Cheng Ming, and these two turned out to be extremely compatible. Over the years of hanging out, they became even closer than Lan Mu himself was with either of them. It made one wonder if there was something beyond friendship between them.
However, Lan Mu was very surprised. Before his business trip, he remembered Ma Xiang was still going on blind dates. How had he suddenly gotten engaged in just a few days?
He voiced this question, and Ma Xiang said with a grin, “Hehehe, can’t help it—my charm is too big. Check out my wife.”
With that, Ma Xiang flipped through his phone’s photo album, which was filled with pictures of him and a beautiful woman.
“Really? This is your fiancée?” Lan Mu was shocked. He was still single, yet this dead fatty was engaged to a beauty?
“Of course it’s real. I didn’t believe it either at first, but that day I had dinner with the two of them and finally saw her in person. And you know what? It’s… really not a match!” Cheng Ming chimed in from the side.
“Get lost!” Ma Xiang glared at Cheng Ming and then said, “You’re just jealous of me! Wait till I lose weight; you’ll see how handsome I am.”
After the three of them chatted nonsense for a long time, Lan Mu finally got to the main topic.
“…That’s it. I want to start my own studio, temporarily partnering with Cheng Ming. You’ve got to help me!”
Ma Xiang widened his eyes in surprise. “No way? You want me to join? I’m a police officer!”
“I’m not asking you to join! Keep being a police officer. I mean, you provide me with news tips, and I’ll pay you.”
Ma Xiang said helplessly, “You want me to be an undercover?”
“What the heck? Just say whether you’ll help or not! If there are any major, big, or important cases, you have to think of me!” Lan Mu laughed.
Unexpectedly, Ma Xiang’s expression changed, and he said awkwardly, “Some cases aren’t made public. Don’t force me to break the rules!”
Lan Mu was taken aback. “There really is one? In Metropolis? What case is being kept so secret?”
“Can’t say, really. The higher-ups gave strict orders—not a single word can leak out. It’s been a month, and it’s still unsolved! It’s because of this case that I can’t even get leave to get married!” Ma Xiang said bitterly, downing another glass of beer.
Lan Mu didn’t press him further and said, “Alright, you have your rules. How could I make things difficult for you? If this case can be made public in the future, you have to notify me immediately!”
“Of course! No problem. I’ll also let you know if anything comes up in the future. As for payment, just give what you think is fair. Actually, never mind—don’t give me money. Just… treat me to meals instead!”
“I get it! How about this: I’ll keep the payment with me. If you need money for the wedding, just come to me!” Lan Mu said cheerfully.
After that, the three friends raised their glasses, drank together, and started chatting idly again.
Ma Xiang suddenly asked, “By the way, where are you setting up this studio? Rent isn’t cheap these days.”
“Right at home! There’s a photography studio downstairs where I can directly rent their darkroom for developing film. I just need to set up two computers at home. After buying the basic equipment, I’ll probably be broke. I’ll figure out earning money later.”
“Mu, you really have guts? You’re putting all your money into this at once?” Ma Xiang clicked his tongue.
Lan Mu smiled faintly and said calmly, “I have a career I want to pursue. Getting fired suited me just fine!”
“During those ten-some days in Fuzhou, I went through a lot. I realized how fragile humans are. At least three times, I nearly died. I feel I can’t keep muddling through life anymore. When facing death, money truly becomes just an external thing.”
“It’s just about a hundred thousand yuan. I’m putting it all in to chase a dream! Nothing about guts or not.”
“Mu! We all support you! I’ve saved up tens of thousands over the years—I’m all in with you!” Cheng Ming shouted loudly.
“All in your head! Keep it for finding a wife!” Lan Mu said, laughing and scolding, but he was still deeply moved.
Since meeting Cheng Ming in university, they had been good friends. They graduated together, worked together, and were partners who could be utterly trusted. This time, when Lan Mu decided to strike out on his own, Cheng Ming quit without a second thought. Lan Mu knew he couldn’t stop him and felt quite guilty, secretly determined to bring Cheng Ming to success with him.
Ma Xiang was just as close with both of them. Seeing the two of them pursuing their dreams with such courage, he felt moved too, but as a police officer, he could only help in other ways.
“Mu, have you thought of a name for your studio? From what I remember, your naming skills are out of this world… terrible!”
Lan Mu knew he was terrible at naming things and said awkwardly, “Uh, tentatively… it’s called Lan Cheng Studio.”
“Pfft!” Ma Xiang spat out his drink. Looking at the speechless, bitter-smiling Cheng Ming, he stared blankly. “Really?”
Cheng Ming nodded helplessly, confirming that was really the name.
“Lan Cheng… My god, Mu, if I partnered with you, would it be called Lan Xiang?” Ma Xiang couldn’t help but tease.
Lan Mu shouted angrily, “Get lost!”
…
When Lan Mu woke up the next day, his head ached as if splitting open. He didn’t know how much he drank last night, but managing to get home was impressive enough.
However, the hangover felt extremely awful. Getting out of bed to wash up, he suddenly stumbled, nearly falling.
“My nose is blocked, throat hurts, forehead feels hot—seems like I have a fever.”
Lan Mu touched his forehead and couldn’t help but cough twice.
“Haven’t drunk this much in a long time. Maybe I caught a cold and got sick last night.”
“Tsk tsk, haven’t even started striving yet, and my body collapses first. I’m really something…”
Lan Mu laughed at himself. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he transformed into the White-maned Lion.
Feeling the surging power in his body, the earlier symptoms of a stuffy nose and dizziness vanished completely.
“Ah! So refreshing! Just… I’m starving!”
In his White-maned Lion form, Lan Mu opened the fridge and ravenously ate all the stored sausages, cured meat, and such.
“Still not full! The taste is far worse than wild game. Seems like I’ll need to keep meat stocked at home regularly. After transforming, I’m a huge eater—hope I can afford it?”
After replenishing some energy in his White-maned Lion form, Lan Mu transformed back into a human.
Looking at his human form now, the hangover was gone, the dizziness was gone, the fever was gone, and his nose wasn’t blocked either.
Restored to the healthiest physical state, he felt clear-headed and refreshed.
“So convenient!”
“Gurgle…”
Lan Mu’s stomach growled loudly with hunger. Only then did he remember he hadn’t eaten anything in his human form. The late-night snack from last night was probably all vomited out.
“Forget it, I’ll go out to eat. It’s already noon anyway.”
Lan Mu was now unemployed, no longer needing to run around for interviews and write articles every day like before. It had been a long time since he felt so relaxed.
He lived in a good location, with a small square nearby filled with many malls, supermarkets, and fast-food restaurants.
Walking into a fast-food restaurant, after finishing a single serving, he actually still felt unsatisfied.
“Could the White-maned Lion’s hunger be transferring to my body?”
Lan Mu ate another fast-food meal. Still not enough. He added a third serving and only felt just full after finishing it.
“My appetite is much bigger than before. Does using the ability to repair my human body require replenishing energy through eating?”
“But it’s not bad this way. At most, I’ll just eat two more servings of fast food than before.”
Leaving the fast-food restaurant, Lan Mu headed straight to the nearby computer market.
He planned to set up two decent computers and also go to the telecom office to get fiber internet.
Taking a shortcut, Lan Mu turned onto two small streets when he suddenly heard arguing ahead.
Looking up, he saw a young girl with closed eyes, holding a cane, struggling incessantly.
A middle-aged couple pulled at her, saying, “What are you running around blindly for? Hurry up and come back with us!”
The girl was about eighteen or nineteen years old, looking like a high school student. She had delicate features and a plain face, with her hair tied up simply, which was completely different from the image of a typical high school girl in Lan Mu’s mind.
Her clothes were very plain too, probably just a thirty-yuan T-shirt and jeans. Her most noticeable feature was her very fair skin, as if she rarely went outside in the sun.
Her voice was soft, but at that moment, she spoke with stubborn determination, “I’m not going back! I want to find my mom!”
“Your mom died long ago!” the middle-aged woman screeched, and with that, she kicked away the stick the girl was holding.
Hearing this, the girl struggled even harder. The couple lost their grip for a moment, and she broke free, but as soon as she turned, she stumbled unsteadily and fell to the ground.
“My mom isn’t dead! You’re all lying to me, she definitely isn’t dead!”
Seeing that she had broken free but then fell on her own, the middle-aged woman sneered, rushed forward, and slapped her.
A red handprint appeared on the girl’s face. She covered her cheek but stubbornly refused to make a sound.
The middle-aged woman pulled her up from the ground, gripping her hand tightly, and said, “Haven’t hit you for a few days and you’ve forgotten your own name? We’ve raised you for over ten years for nothing? You’re always a member of the Su family, so you have to listen to us!”
Lan Mu walked closer. After hearing just a few sentences, he couldn’t stand to watch anymore.
Moreover, he noticed that the girl seemed unable to see—she was blind. The thing that had been kicked away earlier was her cane.
So he couldn’t help but say, “Hey, talk things out, don’t use your hands.”
As he spoke, he reached out to block the middle-aged woman’s raised hand, because she was about to slap the girl again.
Lan Mu seized the woman’s arm, and she shrieked, “What are you doing? Let go of me!”
“Okay, okay…” Lan Mu quickly let go, feeling disgusted.
Then the middle-aged man rushed up too, reaching out to push Lan Mu, but Lan Mu twisted aside and dodged.
“Who are you? Mind your own business! This is our family matter, you know?”
Lan Mu could roughly tell that this couple were some kind of relatives of the girl. If it really was someone else’s family matter, he shouldn’t interfere.
“I’m not interfering! I’m just telling you to let her go. Talk things out properly. What’s the point of forcing her?”
Perhaps because Lan Mu, an outsider, was watching, the middle-aged couple curled their lips and didn’t dare hit her again. So the middle-aged woman said, “Fine, Su Yue, did you hear that? I won’t hit you. Come home with me quietly, don’t embarrass me in public.”
But Su Yue stubbornly stepped back, shouting loudly, “No! Help! They want me to sell my body.”
Lan Mu had been about to leave, not wanting to get involved further, but when he heard this, he froze.
The middle-aged woman went into a rage, grabbing Su Yue’s hair and yelling, “What are you saying, you blind fool? We raised you all these years and even set you up for a match. Is this how you repay us?”
The middle-aged man roared too, “So ungrateful! What’s the use of raising a useless thing like you?”
“Help! They want me to entertain men at home, that’s why I ran away!” Su Yue cried out.
First she said selling her body, then it became a matchmaking setup. As an outsider, Lan Mu couldn’t figure out the situation, but hearing these two call her “blind” and “useless” constantly, they didn’t seem like good people. Lan Mu stepped in front of Su Yue, blocking the middle-aged woman’s clawing hands.
“I said, no rough stuff! Explain clearly! This better not be human trafficking!”
The middle-aged man snorted, “Kid, you’re really annoying me. I told you to mind your own business! I’ll show you some action right now!”
With that, he kicked out. Lan Mu wasn’t without a temper either; his anger flared and he kicked back.
He hit the man right on the shinbone. At the same time, his right hand shot out swiftly, two fingers aimed straight for the man’s eyes.
At the last moment, he changed his fingers into a fist and struck the man in the face. A cry of pain rang out as the man stumbled back and fell to the ground.
Lan Mu took a deep breath. He had almost used the White-maned Lion’s fighting killing move just then.
Luckily, he reacted in time and switched to a punch hitting the bridge of the nose.
He was young and strong, never afraid of a fight since childhood, always the leader among kids. The other man was older and was no match for him.
“Really, don’t provoke me, I don’t want to…”
Before Lan Mu could finish, the middle-aged woman lunged at him with both hands, her nails long and sharp.
Her sharp nails scratched Lan Mu’s face, then she grabbed his hair and tore at his skin, immediately using her ultimate move, the “Crazy Chicken Claws.”
Lan Mu didn’t want to hit her at first, which was why he suffered badly, leaving several bloody marks on his face.
No wonder people say fighting with such women is a losing battle—once she goes crazy, most men can’t handle it.
With his face scratched, Lan Mu angrily grabbed her hands, pushed her back hard, and sent her tumbling to the ground too.
The woman wouldn’t give up and tried to get up again. Lan Mu shouted angrily, “Stop going crazy! If you keep this up, I’ll cripple your husband!”
Hearing this, the woman glanced at her husband on the ground, beaten in just two moves, and didn’t dare reach out again.
“What business is it of yours, kid? I’ll call the police on you!”
Lan Mu sneered, “I’m making it my business now! And I’ll see it through to the end!”
“Call the police? Great! I’ll help you!”
With that, Lan Mu directly called Xiao Ma’s number.