Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Can you eat by yourself?” She indicated the bowl of porridge with her eyes.
Although it was indeed quite difficult, Jing Jihan nodded, afraid that she would be irritated and drive him away again. “Yes.”
“Then feed yourself.”
Shi Su turned and exited the room in a hurry.
Outside, she called the nearby police station and asked if there had been any missing persons in Jiang City recently. The policeman directly laughed and replied, “There are missing persons every day; Jiang City is a big city. Probably a dozen or a hundred cases of missing family members or relatives are reported daily.”
“Can you check if there’s a person named Jihan? Is the person within your search range; has anyone reported his disappearance?” Shi Su looked at the two words on the paper and requested this seriously. She deliberately slowly enunciated the words ‘Ji Han’ so that the other party could hear it clearly.
“The surname is Ji and the given name is Han.”
The police officer was quiet for a while as if he was looking through his files. After a while, he directly replied, “There’s no such person.”
After hanging up, she looked at the two particularly beautiful characters again and walked back home in doubt.
It seemed that this was not his real name; had the man really randomly chosen a name?
When she pushed open the door and entered, the man was already done eating the porridge. He was now sitting next to the bed, seemingly wanting to stand up but obviously struggling to do so.
“You really don’t remember anything?” She approached the man and sized him up.
Jing Jihan looked at her with calm light in his eyes. “There’s no need to lie to you.”
“You’re way too calm. Since you don’t remember anything, shouldn’t you be panicking?”
His eyebrows twitched. “If I were to make a fuss and cry like a madman, would you drive me away?”
Shi Su answered with a cold face, “Yes.”
“That’s why, as an injured person who has difficulty even getting out of bed and walking, I can only maintain this status quo, no matter what, for now. I’ll have to wait until my injury is better.” Jing Jihan turned sideways because the woman was standing in front of the door. “If I don’t stay calm, I’ll be kicked out to sleep on the streets with my injuries. Even though I don’t remember anything, I still know how to weigh the pros and cons.”
Shi Su: “…”
She quickly returned to her senses. “What did you just say; ‘maintain your status quo’? You want to keep living with us?”
The man directly looked at her. “I’ll be very quiet and not disturb you. I’ll leave once I get better.”
“No, I’m only living here with my daughter. It’s impossible for me to keep a strange man at home. You’ve been in a coma before, but now that you’re awake, it’s impossible!”
“Just take it that I’ve rented your bed. I’ll repay you by a hundredfold when I find my family.”
Shi Su sneered. “Do I look like someone who lacks money?”
Glancing at the four-lattice windows upstairs in this old-fashioned house, the man replied lightly, “Yes.”
Her eyes twitched. “…”
In the past, she had to borrow from a loan shark to escape the country smoothly. She had studied and worked part-time abroad, having to make a living to raise her child, up until recently. Even though she had become involved in the entertainment industry and had appeared in many dramas these past few days, it was still difficult for her to earn a high pay as a little-known actress.
Following her return to China, she bought this small apartment in an old residential area on the outskirts of Jiang City. The houses in the city were scarily expensive, so she had no money left now yet still owed the mortgage.
Recalling his expensive suit, she surmised that his so-called one hundredfold repayment should be cashable. Even though he did not remember anything, with such a rich person missing, someone was bound to look for him. Sooner or later, he would be sent home.
In fact, it was not impossible for her to sleep on the sofa. She could just squeeze in her daughter’s tiny bed if it came to it…
“This bed in my house costs 200 yuan a day, so it’ll be 2,000 yuan in ten days. You’ll have to multiply it by a hundred as repayment; are you sure?”
The man put his injured hand on the bed and glanced at her. “Sure.”
From the look in his eyes to his tone, it did not seem to be empty words. His reliable tone also inexplicably gave her a sense of assuredness.
She nodded. “Fine, then. You can continue sleeping there. By the way, you still have to pay me for the medical expenses—”
“By a hundredfold repayment.”
Shi Su nodded and decisively stepped forward to pack her things, moving her clothes and supplies out of the room first.
Seeing her quick and straightforward actions, Jing Jihan remained silent up until she took away the white teddy bear that Shi Mianmian liked. He said, “Your daughter is very cute.”
While wedging the plushie in her arm and packing her other things, she concurred. “Yes, her cuteness, as well as her beauty, was inherited from me. I don’t know whom she inherited her overbearing and stubborn temper from, though. She has attracted a bunch of little fanboys in her kindergarten, but she always plays coy and ignores them…”
Jing Jihan glanced at the woman, noticing how there was nothing belonging to a man in her bedroom.
“Your daughter’s father…”
“He’s dead.” Over the years, Shi Su had used this excuse to solve the question easily. Now, she could reply with this simple explanation sans hesitation.
Jing Jihan did not look surprised as his gaze remained fixed on her.
“By the way, your range of activities is limited to this bed. I’ll charge rent for other places.” Shi Su pointed to the bathroom. “On account of the physiological needs of human beings, I won’t charge you for bathroom and toilet use.”
He asked thoughtfully, “Are you charging for the kitchen?”
The woman glanced at him strangely. “Why? Are you going to cook?”
He faintly smirked. “I want to eat something. Can I have another bowl of porridge?”
“One bowl wasn’t enough?”
“If you haven’t eaten for five days, will a bowl of porridge be enough?”
She suddenly threw the things in her hand onto the ground and declared while heading to the kitchen, “The kitchen is 100 yuan a day!”