Chapter 302: A Family with Two Very Different Stories

2022-05-20

I’d imagined all sorts of possibilities. Maybe Deng Xuemei was a beautiful girl. Maybe she was stubborn and quiet. Maybe her family wasn’t well-off. But never once did I expect that the very first impression this woman would give us about Deng Xuemei was that she was rich—especially when her own father was bedridden. That just didn’t fit the image I had of Deng Xuemei.

Yet from the look of things, Song Ying clearly didn’t know much about Deng Xuemei’s family situation. I decided not to bring it up. Instead, I asked, “So Deng Xuemei was well-off?”

Song Ying nodded and said, “Back in college? Deng Xuemei definitely had more money than any of us. Honestly, I never really knew what her family did, but I always guessed they were into some big business or something. I remember when Nokia released that new N97 phone—it was thousands, and everyone was super jealous when she got one.”

Zhao Mingkun and I exchanged a look, both of us picking up on each other’s confusion.

“She really had that much money?” I asked, “I remember that phone was expensive. Did she always act so rich?”

Song Ying thought it over, clearly puzzled herself. “She always wore fancy clothes and expensive shoes. That much I remember.”

“What was she like? Personality-wise?” I pressed.

Song Ying shrugged. “Aren’t most rich people like that? They’ve all got their quirks. One minute she’d say the dorm beds weren’t as comfy as hers back home, the next, she’d brag about what she ate yesterday. She never joined us in the cafeteria or anything. Honestly, she always seemed like she came from a totally different world.”

Despite everything, the person Song Ying described didn’t match the Deng Xuemei in my mind at all.

Scratching my head, I asked seriously, “Are we sure we’re talking about the same person?”

Thinking of this, I pulled out my phone and showed Song Ying a picture of Deng Xuemei. She glanced at it and nodded confidently. “That’s her, no doubt. We went to university together for four years, and we worked at the same company too—different departments, but I know what Deng Xuemei looks like. That’s her in the photo.”

If that was true, though, things started to get interesting. When Old Zhang and the others described Lao Deng’s family, they talked like the two were dirt poor, barely getting by in a run-down shack. But in Song Ying’s eyes, Deng Xuemei came from a wealthy family—rich enough to buy the fanciest phone out there.

How could there be such a huge gap between father and daughter? It just didn’t add up.

“So you’re saying Deng Xuemei wasn’t the friendly type?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Song Ying replied, “she usually looked down on us and hung out with other rich kids. When she started working, she immediately got together with her boss. A few months back, they broke up, and then she quit her job. Nobody really knows what she’s up to now.”

I nodded. “Do you know her phone number?”

“Yeah, I do.” Song Ying nodded, pulled out her phone, and found Deng Xuemei’s number.

“Want to try calling her?” I suggested.

Song Ying shrugged, dialed, but the call didn’t go through—the number was already out of service. Scratching her head, she muttered, “We haven’t talked in ages, so maybe she changed numbers.”

“By the way,” I remembered something, “could people at your company date co-workers?”

“Nope.” Song Ying smiled, “The rule mostly applied to new male employees, though. When it came to bosses and female employees, everyone just looked the other way. Not our problem, so we didn’t care much.”

I nodded. If Deng Xuemei’s ex was her boss, maybe he’d know where she was.

“About that ex,” I asked, “since he’s your senior, he’s older than you, right? Is he married?”

“Yeah.” Song Ying said, “That was an open secret. I heard his wife didn’t care what he did, so they could show off their relationship. But he’d never divorce his wife. Deng Xuemei probably realized there was no future, so she left.”

I looked out the window. “What’s his name? He might know more about her than anyone.”

Song Ying glanced outside, then lowered her voice, “Don’t tell anyone I said this—I’ve still got to keep my job. The HR manager seemed chummy with you; why not ask him? That guy’s always acting high and mighty, yet buttered you up pretty quick.”

I smiled. No way was I telling her the manager owed me a favor.

We tracked down the manager again and got him to help us find Deng Xuemei’s boss. He moved fast—just a few minutes later, a man showed up. Judging by his age he had to be over forty. He was a bit on the heavier side but still looked energetic.

He nodded at us, then sat down and said, “So, you’re here about Deng Xuemei? First, I’ve never done anything illegal. If she’s done anything, that’s her business, not mine. Second, even my wife doesn’t care about my personal affairs, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

He tapped his fingers on the table. “So now that I’ve cleared those up, what do you want to know?”

His name was Pei Dongqiang. The way he spoke—decisive and logical—made it clear he liked to stay in control.

I explained, “We’re not here to investigate you, we’re looking into Deng Xuemei. We’ll ask you a few questions about her. Just tell us what you know. This all stays between us—we won’t say a word to anyone else. Please cooperate.”

“Alright?” Pei Dongqiang nodded and gestured for us to continue.

“Since we’ve found you, you probably know why. When did you and Deng Xuemei get involved?”

Pei Dongqiang thought for a moment. “If you mean a romantic relationship, it’s been a few years. We started not long after she graduated. But that’s private. Please only ask about it if it’s truly important.”

I nodded. “Did you ever learn anything about her family background?”

“No.” Pei Dongqiang shook his head, waving his hand. “We agreed from the start—no questions about each other’s families. Our relationship was just convenient for both of us. For a long time, she was spending my money anyway.”

“Was she pretty free with money?” I asked.

“Definitely,” Pei Dongqiang said. “Even before we got involved, you could see it—her clothes, makeup, phone, all luxury brands. She cared about material things. Honestly, that’s how we clicked.”

I tapped my knee, deep in thought.

Once Lao Deng couldn’t work anymore, all his medical bills had to fall on Deng Xuemei. With just her salary, I doubted she could cover her father’s ever-growing treatment costs. Maybe finding a rich man became her quickest way to get by.

If that was the case, spending money to dress up and make herself look presentable made sense. Was she only with Pei Dongqiang so she could pay for her father’s treatments? But then, Song Ying made it sound like Deng Xuemei had money even back in university. Did she always have a wealthy boyfriend?

But if she was that well-off, why ask Lü Zhiqiu for money?

I couldn’t figure it out. Deng Xuemei just seemed too mysterious.

So I asked, “Do you know why she quit her job? It seemed like she did it right after the breakup.”

Pei Dongqiang frowned. “First off, quitting the job and breaking up are two different things. Don’t mix them up. Second, there was never any legal bond between us—either of us could leave, no strings attached. For the record, she left me. We’d been together a while; it’s normal to get bored and move on.”

“She mentioned she was getting older and wanted to get married,” Pei Dongqiang added, looking me in the eye. “Apparently, she found some rich, handsome guy—maybe she was aiming for marriage this time. After that, she just left. Changed her number, stopped logging into QQ. She probably left the City altogether.”

I stroked my chin. Listening to Pei Dongqiang, I could tell he still had some feelings for her. But it seemed like Deng Xuemei was set on starting a completely new life.

A new life, as if she had to kill off everyone from her past to start over. Where could she be now?

“Oh, right!” Pei Dongqiang suddenly remembered something. “She lived at my place for a while, but before moving out, she rented a small apartment. Last time I saw her was in that apartment—must have been two months ago. You could try asking around there.”