Early in the morning, Murong Yan was roused from sleep by someone bursting into her bedroom. Yuan Shanshan, clad in pajamas, flung off Murong Yan's blanket: "Cousin, the dog is better, it's really better."
If it had been a stranger who dared to flip off her blanket, the scissors on the nightstand would have already flown at them, but she was at a loss with this younger cousin: "Shanshan, what happened to the dog again? Didn't it take medicine?"
"Cousin, the dog's condition kept going back and forth. It was already better, but last night it relapsed again, I was so worried. Thank goodness I used the medicine that person gave me in the park, and this morning when I got up, the dog was better and even running around everywhere. Look if you don't believe me." Yuan Shanshan placed the dog on the bed, and the lively little dog immediately ran over.
After examining the dog, it indeed seemed much better: "Is the medicine really that effective?"
"Of course, cousin, hurry and find this person. With this kind of medicine, the dog won't have to suffer anymore. It will be completely healed, and I can buy more of this medicine to have on hand. Those vets are all liars, none of the medicines they prescribed worked at all, I don't believe them."
Murong Yan tossed the dog onto the bed and collapsed back to sleep: "What's the use in looking, Shanshan, it's like finding a needle in the ocean." She lay down and covered her head with the blanket again, not having had enough sleep.
"Cousiiiiin!" Yuan Shanshan drew out the last word as she pulled the blanket off again: "Cousin, without this medicine, the dog could die…"
"Cousiiiiin, hurry."
"Cousiiiiin, please."
"Cousiiiiin, if you don't go look, I won't eat."
"Cousiiiiin…"
Pressured by a mix of persistence and plaintive pleas, Murong Yan, who felt like her head was about to explode, could only say: "Alright, alright, I'll help you look."
Fine, let's look. When she found that bastard, she'd give him a piece of her mind, that shameless jerk.
On the way to work, Murong Yan made a call to Yang Huiru. When it came to finding someone, the police were the most reliable.
...
"Achoo, who's talking about me?"
Early in the morning, after sneezing, Yang Fan sat up from bed and checked the time – eight o'clock. He was thinking of sleeping in a bit more, but his phone rang.
"Brat, did you find your senior sister or not? There are only fourteen days left. What in the world are you doing every day?"
It was from his old master. As soon as Yang Fan heard about finding his senior sister, his head began to throb: "Master, it's like finding a needle in the ocean, where do I even start? I, your disciple, have been tirelessly devoted, working to the point of death, utterly exhausted in both mind and body…"
"Enough. I can't count on you. Go find someone; I've already made arrangements, they will help you."
"Really." Yang Fan was instantly energized by the prospect of having another person to help.
"What's this 'really' or 'not really', I've already sent the address to you. Remember, you don't have much time," Yang Fan's master gave a final reminder.
After hanging up, Yang Fan received a text, and the person his master had instructed him to find was Murong Bo.
...
Standing for the first time in front of such a beautiful house, Yang Fan stood in front of the Murong Family's villa, marveling that if he could live in such a nice place in this lifetime, it would be worth it.
He pressed the doorbell, and an old man who clearly looked like a butler answered the door: "Whom are you looking for?"
"I'm here to see Mr. Murong," Yang Fan replied.
"You are Yang Fan, aren't you?"
"How did you know?" Yang Fan asked, puzzled and surprised.
"The master has been waiting for you, please come in."
Following the butler into the villa, they made their way to the living room; a man in his forties or fifties was sitting on the couch, put down the newspaper in his hand, and glanced at Yang Fan: "Yang Fan, take a seat. Your master has already called me."
Yang Fan walked over and sat down opposite the man, letting out a sigh of relief. His master still had these connections; wealthy people have many ways to find someone. He should be able to find his senior sister, but why didn't his master speak up sooner? Had he known earlier, would he have needed to spend half a month homeless and eating on the go?
After simple pleasantries, Murong Bo changed the subject, "Yang Fan, time flies, and you've grown up. Do you still recognize me? When you were six or seven, I brought a chubby girl to live in the mountains for a while."
This reminded Yang Fan indeed, he would never forget. When he was six or seven, the then middle-aged Murong Bo brought a chubby girl to Kongming Mountain and stayed for about a month.
Thinking of that chubby girl, a slight smile hung on Yang Fan's face. She had cried often from his bullying, for which his old master had beaten him several times.
"I'm almost retired and have been staying at home. My daughter, the chubby girl you met, is now in charge of the company. Regarding finding your senior sister, go to her; half a month should be enough. I will certainly do everything in my power to help you find her," this was Murong Bo's final statement.
After leaving the Murong household, Yang Fan immediately called his master. The first thing he said was, "Master, are you becoming senile? If you had this connection with the Murong family, why didn't you tell me sooner? I could have gone straight to the Murong family when I came down from the mountain; that would have saved so much trouble. I have been looking for such a long time..."
"Silence, you rascal. Your senior sister's matter is complex, and having more people know could complicate things further. Do you think I didn't want to? It's only out of sheer necessity that I would tap into my connections with the Murong family."
There was not a hint of joking in the master's voice, and any resentment Yang Fan had harbored completely dissipated. It seemed that his senior sister's situation was indeed very complicated.
After the call ended, Yang Fan took a taxi for the first time to the Ming Guang Group of the Murong family.
The skyscraper with over a hundred floors was so tall that one couldn't see the top. At the entrance, he was stopped by a security guard: "Do you have an appointment?" The guard was looking down his nose at the somewhat rustic Yang Fan.
"No." Yang Fan had just come from the Murong's; where was he supposed to get an appointment?
"Then you can't go in." The unsympathetic guard was blunt.
Feeling helpless, Yang Fan remembered that Murong Bo had said he had taken care of everything and told him to come and find the "chubby girl." Was he lying? Without giving up, Yang Fan responded: "Your chairman asked me to come. If you don't believe it, call and ask."
Upon hearing this, the guard laughed, "The chairman, huh? Where did this guy come from? He doesn't even know what place this is: Sorry, we only have one chairman here, not an old chairman. Hurry up and leave, or I'll call the police."
The guard aimed his electric baton at Yang Fan, ready to take action.
"Stop." A woman's voice came from the entrance, accompanied by the sound of high heels tapping. An office lady (OL) beauty approached. "You are Yang Fan, right?"
"Yes," Yang Fan replied.
"Come with me."
The two guards were dumbfounded as they watched Yang Fan follow her; the chairman's secretary had personally come to the entrance to escort him. They had looked down their noses at him just moments ago and now beads of sweat formed on their foreheads. They feared for their jobs and wished they could rush over and cling to Yang Fan's legs, pleading, "I was wrong." They couldn't understand how this guy managed to get inside and what made the chairman's secretary come out to take him in personally.
Yang Fan was led all the way to the chairman's office. The OL beauty knocked on the door, and after someone inside said "Come in," she gestured for Yang Fan to enter. He opened the door and walked in.
When he stood face-to-face with the woman inside, it was as if time stood still; both of them stood frozen. At that moment, only two words were on Yang Fan's mind: chubby girl!