Chapter 118: Chapter 109: That Person

"My name is Mo Dan Ni," Xiao Man answered.

"Oh, so it’s Mo Xiaoni!" Zheng Shaolian said, his expression unchanging, though a mischievous glint flashed in his eyes.

"Don’t think you can just change people’s names because you’re from the city!" Xiao Man wasn’t flustered at all. "My turn to ask. What’s your name?"

"My name is... Zheng Shaolian."

"What? Zheng Little-Face?" Xiao Man clapped her hands and burst out laughing. ’Finally, some payback!’

Zheng Shaolian glared at her. "Are you deaf? It’s Zheng-Shao-Lian!"

"That’s right, Zheng Little-Face! That’s how we pronounce it with our local accent!"

Zheng Shaolian was about to explode with anger. A blush crept up his fair face as he reached out, grabbed Xiao Man’s two pigtails, and forced her to face him. "Watch my lips! Zheng-Shao-Lian! Zheng-Shao-Lian! Zheng-Shao-Lian!"

Xiao Man: "..."

’Does he have to be so serious? This is no fun at all!’

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Xiao Man gave him a shove, rescuing her braids from his demonic clutches. "Zheng Shaolian, what are you doing here?"

"That’s grown-up business. Kids shouldn’t ask."

As Zheng Shaolian spoke, he habitually pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his hands. Xiao Man rolled her eyes. ’My hair isn’t even dirty. I should be the one grossed out by you. You didn’t even wipe your hands after eating those grapes earlier!’

"Mo Xiaoni, which village are you from? Are there any more of those grapes on the mountain? I’ll give you money if you take me to pick them. How about it?"

"How much money?"

"Ten yuan."

Xiao Man pulled a wad of cash secured with a rubber band from her satchel. There were ten-yuan, five-yuan, two-yuan, and one-yuan bills, plus all sorts of smaller change, adding up to eighty or ninety yuan. She slapped it down between them. "It’s all here. I already picked all the mountain grapes and sold them. There are none left! If you want to eat them, you’ll have to wait until next year. They’ll start to ripen around July or August. You can come find me then, or leave me an address, and I’ll pick some and send them to you!"

Zheng Shaolian’s expression soured. "Mo Xiaoni! Just how desperate for money are you? Those grapes were so delicious, and you picked and sold every last one! Couldn’t you have saved some to sell to me?"

Xiao Man told a bald-faced lie. "How was I supposed to know someone like you existed in this world? Besides, you only have ten yuan!"

Zheng Shaolian: "..."

’This little girl is a monster. Can she read minds or something? I really do only have about ten yuan on me. She guessed it!’

"Next year... I don’t even know if I’ll still be here next year," he said, his face scrunching up.

"Then where are you going? Can you tell me?" Xiao Man leaned in so close her face was almost touching his, tilting her head. Her wide eyes were filled with questions, each more urgent than the last.

"Why should I tell you?" Zheng Shaolian said disdainfully, but he felt a strange sense of delight. ’This strange and noisy country girl is actually pretty interesting. And besides, she trusts me and likes me so much!’

If Xiao Man had the Mind Reading Technique, she would have rolled her eyes so hard they’d fall out. ’What is there to like about you? The fact that you’re insulting me one minute and then acting like a lunatic the next, dragging me back to my room and ordering me to change just because my clothes offended your eyes? You even ignored the difference between men and women, went through my closet, threw out all the off-brand clothes I bought for myself, and replaced them with your so-called designer brands?’

’Don’t you know? In my last life, you were a venomous-tongued demon king whose sole purpose was to tear me down! You were a monster! We ended up as mortal enemies who never saw each other again until the day we died!’

’Seeing you again in this life actually makes me very happy, because meeting you means I’ll be able to find *him* soon!’

That’s right. Xiao Man’s urgency in asking about Zheng Shaolian’s whereabouts was for a very specific purpose.

She couldn’t just ask about that person directly during her first meeting with Zheng Shaolian. That would be too strange and illogical. She had to get him on the hook first, then naturally get to know the people around him.

They were all young masters from the big city, each with a powerful background—either rich or noble. They were on a completely different level from Xiao Man. If she hadn’t run into Zheng Shaolian today, she would have had no idea how to even begin looking for or getting to know *him*.

She could now retrieve the various Amulets from the Treasure Pearl Space. Her original plan had been to use winter break as an excuse to travel, find that person, and look for an opportunity to place an Amulet on him. To that end, she had even begged the Spirit Lord to teach her a special incantation: an Amulet, once attached, could not be removed by any means! It would only fall off automatically once its mission was complete.

Since they weren’t in the same social class and there was such a large age gap between them, there would surely be few opportunities for their lives to intertwine. Therefore, this was the only way.

It wasn’t that her heart didn’t ache, but in her previous life, Xiao Man had long since come to terms with it—even though he was disabled, he was still far beyond her reach in her eyes. She was not worthy of him.

In her past life, Xiao Man worked in a factory in a coastal city. She only came to the attention of her female workshop supervisor after doing her a huge favor. The supervisor found her trustworthy and liked to assign her important tasks. Later, the supervisor had a falling out with someone else in management and resigned, taking all the staff she had trained with her. Xiao Man was just an odd-job worker, but the supervisor worried she would be dragged down and bullied by others because of their association. So, she had Xiao Man quit too, and pulled some strings to get her a job in the service department of a high-end residential complex. Her duties included sweeping fallen leaves from the large wooded area within the complex, and she could also take on extra work as a laundress or a delivery runner. Her monthly salary, combined with tips from the wealthy residents, was more than double what she earned at the factory.

Although she was busy from morning till night, Xiao Man actually quite liked the job.

And it was in this residential complex that she met that person.

She had gone to deliver some clothes. The gate to the small garden was open, so she walked straight in. The entire villa was silent. She called out twice, "Is anyone home?" After waiting for a moment, she was just about to turn and leave when a man’s voice drifted down from upstairs. It was steady, cool, yet clear and pleasant to the ear. "You, come up for a moment!"

Hearing that voice, Xiao Man imagined he must be a vibrant, healthy man. But having suffered so much in the past and having worked odd jobs for two or three years, she had finally learned to be a bit smarter. She didn’t dare go upstairs rashly and simply replied, "I’m here to deliver the clothes. I’ll leave them on the sofa. I’m going now!"

She then tried to leave quickly, but the man upstairs seemed to guess her thoughts and said, "I’m a patient. Please, help me with something!"

Xiao Man stopped in her tracks, conflicted. The man continued, "You only need to come up to the landing. You’ll be able to see me from there! Please!"

Xiao Man gritted her teeth and finally decided to go up and see.

It was just as he had said. When she reached the second-floor landing, she saw the man. But even now, the memory of that scene made Xiao Man’s heart ache for him.

He and his wheelchair had fallen to the floor. He had knocked over a water cooler, and the floor was flooded. He lay in the puddle, wrapped in a soaked cotton pajama set and a blanket, half of his body pinned beneath the wheelchair. He couldn’t move at all and could only turn his head to the side to say to her, "It’ll be a lot of trouble if I catch a fever. Please, can you help me?"

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