Chapter 15

Although she said she wasn't hungry, Zhu Youxiang had already sat down at the table and opened the lunch box—Xu Yan and Liu Yang exchanged glances and both snickered: girls are just shy, Zhu Youxiang kept saying that missing a meal or two wasn't a big deal, but seeing how quickly she acted, she must have been hungry too.

While Zhu Youxiang was eating, Xu Yan wasn't idle either. He was considering a problem: today, he made over 40,000 yuan from selling the gold ingot. Should he tell Zhu Youxiang about this?

Logically, the gold ingot was already a gift from Zhu Youxiang to Xu Yan, and it was now his property. How Xu Yan chose to handle it was none of Zhu Youxiang's business, but Xu Yan still felt uneasy.

Xu Yan was born into a well-off family. Although his parents weren't wealthy, they were upright and kind. Growing up under their influence, Xu Yan also developed some rare qualities for his time: kindness, integrity, and a lack of greed. He always strove to act without regret, which had been his motto all along.

Although Zhu Youxiang had given it to him, Xu Yan felt that it was only because she didn't know the true value of the gold ingot. Giving a friend a craft item was a small matter, but giving someone tens of thousands of yuan was a big deal. Accepting such a large gift without cause, he felt he had to explain himself.

Seeing Zhu Youxiang finish her meal and start to tidy up, Xu Yan called her over: "Xuan Yun, can you come here for a moment?"

"What's up?" Zhu Youxiang, mimicking Xu Yan, wrapped the lunch boxes in plastic bags and put them in the trash before walking over. She sat on the sofa next to Xu Yan, her beautiful eyes fixed on him: "Is there something you want to say, sir?"

Xu Yan took out the plastic bag containing the money from behind him and placed it on the coffee table. He opened the bag, revealing several bundles of red banknotes.

"Xuan Yun, today I exchanged your gold ingot for money. I got 46,000 yuan. The money is all here. You should take it and deposit it in the bank tomorrow."

Zhu Youxiang frowned slightly. She looked at the money on the coffee table, then at Xu Yan, and asked in confusion: "Sir, I don't quite understand. The gold ingot was already a gift to you, and from that moment on, it belonged to you. Whether you keep it or sell it is entirely up to you, and it has nothing to do with me. Why are you giving me the money from the sale? If I'm not mistaken, this is your property, isn't it?"

"Xuan Yun, 40,000 yuan is a significant amount. When you gave it to me, you probably didn't know how valuable the gold ingot was. Now that I know, I can't take such a big advantage of you..."

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiang smiled—she looked very cute when she smiled, her small nose twitching slightly, her eyes narrowing beautifully, and two shallow dimples appearing on her cheeks.

Zhu Youxiang's expression was cute, but her words were anything but gentle: "Sir, although I am a woman, I understand the ancient principle of a promise being worth a thousand pieces of gold. Not to mention a mere gold ingot or 40,000 yuan, even if it were worth ten times as much, once I have given my word, I cannot take it back. I know you are an upright gentleman, but by doing this, what do you think of me? Do you see me as someone who changes her mind for profit and breaks her promises? A person without integrity cannot stand, and if I were to do such a thing, how could I face the world?"

No one expected that Zhu Youxiang, who was beautiful and gentle, would be so sharp when she got serious. Xu Yan was at a loss for words and stammered: "It's not that serious, you're overreacting..."

Liu Yang, who had been watching the exchange, interjected: "Yeah, Yanzi, I think the lady has a point. Since she gave it to you, it's yours now. Returning it would be improper and disrespectful. Are you not treating Miss Zhu as a friend?"

Zhu Youxiang glanced at Liu Yang and smiled: "This... fat gentleman is quite reasonable. Sir, let's not talk about this anymore, okay?"

"Ah, Xuan Yun, I'm Liu Yang, 21 years old, a second-year student in the Business and Economics Department at Shudu University..."

Zhu Youxiang was polite: "Fat gentleman, hello, I am Zhu Youxiang."

Xu Yan turned his head, unable to bear the sight of Liu Yang's dejected expression. However, our fat lord was as resilient as a cockroach and wouldn't be so easily defeated. He quickly found a second way to chat with the girl: "Xuan Yun, do you know what happened today? We actually planned to bring you something to eat, but some things came up and delayed us, making you hungry."

Sure enough, this piqued Zhu Youxiang's curiosity, and she looked at Xu Yan: "Sir, what exactly happened to delay you?"

Xu Yan hesitated for a moment and then said: "Don't listen to the fat guy's exaggerations. It wasn't a big deal. We encountered some scammers, and some ruffians caused us trouble..."

Xu Yan briefly recounted the events of the day: "Then, these people extorted 80,000 yuan from us, and it even came to blows. The fat guy took a few hits..."

Liu Yang angrily retorted: "Nonsense! It was my fat lord's benevolence that prevented me from retaliating against those miserable fellows. Otherwise, with my skills, they wouldn't have stood a chance!"

As Xu Yan and Liu Yang recounted the events, Zhu Youxiang wasn't surprised. She had traveled extensively and seen even more bizarre things. She said calmly: "The gates of the government are open, but without money, you can't enter. The government is corrupt everywhere. Those ruffians dared to act so shamelessly in broad daylight because they have connections in the government. The officials often share the spoils with them."

She sighed regretfully: "If this had happened in Shaanxi, I could have handled it for you, Sir. I would send a note, and the local government wouldn't dare to be biased. A few beatings would take care of those ruffians. But here, I am powerless."

It was a minor issue, just a few dozen strings of copper coins. With Zhu Youxiang's status, she didn't take such trivial matters seriously. Xu Yan went to make tea, and the three of them sat on the sofa, watching TV and chatting.

Xu Yan and the fat guy were very interested in Zhu Youxiang's background, but out of politeness, they couldn't directly ask her. They could only try to probe indirectly.

But tonight's Zhu Youxiang was not the same as last night's. Knowing that this was an uncivilized and wild place and that the people here were not fellow citizens of the empire, Zhu Youxiang couldn't be as open as before. She became more cautious and vague in her responses, and when she couldn't answer, she just made things up.

Both sides had their own thoughts, making the conversation tonight quite awkward.

"Xuan Yun, you said you're from Shaanxi. Where is Shaanxi? Is it in Shaanxi Province?"

Zhu Youxiang hummed and hawed: "I guess so, but I'm not sure."

"Xuan Yun, how did you get to our Shudu Jincheng? Did you fly, take a train, or a long-distance bus?"

There were too many unfamiliar terms in the question, and Zhu Youxiang became suddenly wary—were they suspecting her? Investigating her background? She replied vaguely: "I don't remember. I think I used all of them."

"All of them? You took a plane, a train, and a long-distance bus?"

"Yes, all of them."

"Where are your family members? Did you come alone without any family or friends?"

"I came alone, without any family."

"How do you contact your family?"

"I forgot."

"Why did you come to Shudu?"

"I came to travel, to wander and enjoy the scenery."

"Where have you been staying these days?"

"I stayed at an inn—no, I don't remember."

"Where did you get the gold ingot?"

"It was given to me by my family."

"How could your family have so much gold?"

"I forgot."

The more they asked, the more surprised Xu Yan and Liu Yang became. But in the end, it was Zhu Youxiang who couldn't bear it first: although she was lying, it wasn't easy to keep up the act, especially for a girl with self-respect and who wasn't good at lying. She excused herself, saying she was tired, and retreated to the guest room.

Xu Yan and Liu Yang looked at each other in surprise.

Xu Yan whispered: "Is this really such a cliché plot? Could she have amnesia?"

Liu Yang, propping his fat chin, pondered seriously: "Based on my 20 years of experience, this lady not only has amnesia but severe amnesia. She has forgotten her hometown and family, how she came to Jincheng, and even what a real handsome guy looks like—" Clearly, the fat guy was still upset about Zhu Youxiang's earlier rejection.

Xu Yan was silent. Although he had suggested the amnesia theory, he didn't believe it himself: even if Zhu Youxiang had amnesia, there were too many unexplainable things about her, such as the gold ingot, her manners, and her clothing.

Xu Yan asked in a low voice: "Fat guy, have you ever heard of a real Great Ming Empire?"

Liu Yang looked at him in surprise: "Yanzi, you can't really believe that girl's nonsense, can you? Did you forget everything you learned in history class? The Ming Dynasty was overthrown by the Qing Dynasty hundreds of years ago. That's common knowledge."

Xu Yan blushed: "I know that, but how do you explain the strange things about this girl?"

"Simple... she has amnesia!"

"Bullshit! I saw it with my own eyes—she has dozens of gold ingots, each as big as the one we just sold! That's probably a million yuan. Amnesia can't explain that much money."

Liu Yang said with authority: "Yanzi, you don't understand the life of rich people. If someone has a lot of money, spending a few million to make some gold ingots for fun is no big deal.

From my fat lord's perspective, this girl must come from a very wealthy family. She loves ancient costumes and styles, so she dresses in Hanfu, carries some gold ingots, and wears a sword, pretending to be an ancient female knight.

But something must have gone wrong. Maybe she played the role for too long and got lost in it, thinking she was really an ancient knight. So she talks about the Great Ming and the government. This kind of thing is not rare. My brother's wife works at the Second Hospital in the southern part of the city, which specializes in mental health. If you go there, you'll see all kinds of strange people—men who think they are ancient emperors or generals, and women who think they are beauties like Xi Shi or Diaochan, charming and captivating men.

This Xuan Yun girl, who claims to be from the Great Ming, might seem rare to us, but in the hospital, her condition is quite common. My sister-in-law calls it 'mild delusion with amnesia,' which is not unusual."

Hearing the fat guy's logical and authoritative explanation, Xu Yan's doubts were dispelled. He had to agree with Liu Yang: Zhu Youxiang must have some mental issues.

With Zhu Youxiang's identity confirmed, the next question was how to deal with her. The two college students had no idea, and they discussed in low voices:

"Zhu Youxiang probably hasn't contacted her family. They must be worried sick."

"We should check the newspapers and TV for any missing person notices. Xuan Yun's family is wealthy, and losing such a young and beautiful girl, they must be very anxious."

"Maybe we should report her to the police?" Xu Yan had a sudden idea: "I heard the police have a population database. We can take Xuan Yun to the police station and let them help find her family and household registration!"

"Yanzi, Xuan Yun has forgotten her home and doesn't have an ID card. How can they find her?"

Liu Yang said: "What if the police, because of her unknown identity, lock her up somewhere? We would be doing her a disservice. Although she has some mental issues, she is not crazy or violent. She is considerate and doesn't cause trouble. We are all getting along well. Why involve the police?

Let her stay at your place. She has already paid you in advance for food and lodging—this much money is enough to cover her for a year with some to spare."

The fat guy grinned: "If you don't want to keep her, let her stay at my place!"

"Go away, I know you have ulterior motives!"