Mo Lian
The next afternoon, it was a rare sunny day. Shi Youchen took advantage of the fact that he had no training plan and went to the cemetery information room again. On the way, he passed by the altar and saw a line of people in black clothes coming out. At first glance, their attire was similar to that of the people who took Mrs. Mo away that day.
In the archives, the administrator was browsing the latest jokes and news, grinning broadly, when Shi Youchen knocked on the door and entered. "You again? What's up?" He didn't sound particularly surprised.
Shi Youchen: "I'd like to ask you to check on another person. She's a person with special abilities, but her number is unknown. She's a female, and her name is Mo Lian." He got straight to the point without further ado, "Mo means Moxu, and Lian means pity."
The administrator nodded and operated the system, muttering, "Mo, the unfounded one... Lian, the compassionate one, a female mutant..." He quickly found the relevant information. "Got it, in Section C, row 11, seat 6."
Just as Shi Youchen was about to thank him and leave, he heard him say, "There's another one with the same name, in Area A, Row 1, Seat 8." The administrator poked his head out from behind several screens and said, "I'm not sure which one you're looking for. Go check for yourself."
"Okay, thank you." After the door of the data room closed, the news that had just been paused continued to sound, telling how the infidelity scandal of a middle-aged couple had caused unrest in four families.
Shi Youchen followed the sign to Block C, Row 11, Block 6. He bent slightly to carefully decipher the inscription. "New Calendar 133 to 149." These birth and death dates clearly didn't match those of Mollier's sister, so he looked elsewhere.
However, a few minutes later, he realized that the one in Area A was even less likely to belong to Madam Mo's daughter, Mo Lian. Shi Youchen looked at the clear inscription "New Calendar Years 89 to 117" with some bewilderment. After confirming that he had remembered Madam Mo's message correctly, he thought of a possibility.
Her daughter Mo Lian was not buried in the association's cemetery.
This realization weighed heavily on Shi Youchen. After all, it meant he had to go to the Mo family in person to explain. As for the idea of asking Morrill for help, Shi Youchen considered it a complete impossibility. First, according to Lin Zhouze, Morrill and her supposed mother weren't on good terms, far from being open and honest about each other's affairs. Second, Mrs. Mo's cautious demeanor last night, fearing discovery, coupled with the scene of her being forcibly taken away by bodyguards, made it absolutely clear that she didn't want the Mo family to know she had been there.
Furthermore, Molly is now a patient who needs treatment. Regardless of the relationship between Shi Youchen and her, it is not a good idea to let a patient worry about this matter.
So after careful consideration, Shi Youchen decided to go to the Mo family alone, but before that...
"Mrs. Mo?" Lin Zhouze put his fingers together to push up the frame of his glasses. He glanced at the person in front of him and said, "I only heard that she was an orphan adopted by the Mo family a long time ago. I don't know much else. People in families like theirs are very concerned about confidentiality. If it weren't for a major incident, the association wouldn't intervene in the background check."
Shi Youchen took a sip of hot milk and glanced at the pair of new tumbler dolls on the table: "Newly bought? They're quite cute."
Lin Zhouze: "Why are you suddenly concerned about the Mo family?" He reached out and poked the blue one on the left, causing their heads to bump against each other and then sway together. "This was given to me by Yan Zhiyuan when I was promoted to deputy minister. I found it while cleaning the dormitory a few days ago and put it out here."
From the back it looks like the most ordinary style, but the front is quite innovative.
The doll's eyes are hollowed out, and the eyeballs embedded inside sway with the movement of the doll, sometimes showing a curved smile, and sometimes a rounded look of anger. The way it switches between different emotions so effortlessly is really a way to brighten the viewer's mood.
Lin Zhouze seemed to be preoccupied. Looking at the pair of tumblers, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
Shi Youchen: "Actually, I ran into Madam Mo at the cemetery yesterday." Seeing that Lin Zhouze's attention was instantly diverted, "She asked me to help find her daughter's tombstone, and I agreed."
Lin Zhouze's eyes widened even further. "Huh? You ran into her at the cemetery and agreed to help her?" He braced his palms against the edge of the table and pushed back, sending the office chair careening half a meter backward. "That's weird. It's not something you would do at all. Are you the Shi Youchen I know? Or are you being threatened?"
With a beep, the office door locked. Lin Zhouze put away the remote control and said in a softer voice, "Tell me about it. It's definitely not that simple."
The red coral bracelet was taken out and placed on the table. Shi Youchen glanced at him and said, "She said she couldn't come out recently, so she asked me to take this to the Mo family to find her, but there are many strange things." Lin Zhouze nodded seriously, motioning him to continue.
Shi Youchen: "She didn't know, or perhaps she didn't dare to go to the administrator herself, but she trusted me, a stranger she had just met. This is already very strange."
"What's even more confusing to me is that the two stele tablets she found according to the information she told me didn't belong to her daughter."
Lin Zhouze swallowed a mouthful of warm, sweet milk and reached out to stop her. "Wait, so what you're saying is that she doesn't know her daughter isn't even in our cemetery? That's not right. The Mo family's annual donations to the cemetery are enough for them to reserve a place in an entire district. How could they not make provisions for their direct descendants?"
"And the administrator didn't mention any unclaimed female psychic named 'Mo Lian'."
Lin Zhouze paused poking the tumbler's head with his fingertips and looked up in confusion: "Mo Lian?"
Shi Youchen: "Hmm? Madam Mo told me her daughter's name is Mo Lian, which means "Lian" in "compassion."
Lin Zhouze withdrew his hand and placed it before his forehead, interlacing his fingers as he closed his eyes and began to recall. He muttered, "Mo Lian... Mo Lian..." Suddenly, he looked up, picked up the red coral bracelet in front of him, and grabbed the floor lamp nearby, turning it on. The sudden burst of bright light forced Shi Youchen to tilt his head to the right. "Look!" Lin Zhouze exclaimed.
Shi Youchen half-closed his eyes and looked in the direction he said, and found that under the strong light, the bright glow originally emitted by the red beads on the bracelet was completely swallowed up, and the shadow of the red beads cast on the table was very clear.
In the middle of the shadow, there was a faint word "pity".
Lin Zhouze looked hesitant and said, "I've said before that I met Mrs. Mo twice a few years ago because of Morrill. If I remember correctly, the signature on the parent receipts on both occasions was 'Mo Lian'."
"The one named 'Mo Lian' is not her daughter, but herself."
Lin Zhouze turned off the lights. "I've seen Mollyer wear this bracelet before. She said it was a status symbol, probably made of rare materials, and it might even contain psychic abilities." Shi Youchen calmed down and asked, "Then why did Madam Mo do this?"
Lin Zhouze spread his hands and said, "Didn't she ask you to go to the Mo family to find her? It seems you have to go."
District 8, City Z, Mo Family.
A statue stood in the middle of the studio, its long, curly hair cascading to its shoulders. The graceful curve of its lower body indicated it was a female figure. Her features were blurred, as if not fully sculpted, with only the lines of her closed eyes remaining distinct.
However, even though her face was blurry, one could still tell that she looked extremely similar to the woman sitting opposite her.
"Knock knock" there was a knock on the studio door from outside, "Madam, a Mr. Shi is here to deliver something to you on behalf of the young lady." The voice of the butler came from outside the door.
Mrs. Mo was painting in the studio. She gently put down her brush, straightened her skirt, stood up and walked to the sculpture. She reached out and touched the cold face, and said in a gentle voice, "Please ask him to wait in the tea room."
"Yes." The footsteps outside the door gradually faded away. Mo Lian's fingertips rested on the sculpture's closed eyes. Her muttering to herself echoed in the studio: "Wait a little longer, it's almost there."
After making long preparations in Lin Zhouze's office, Shi Youchen finally decided to go to the Mo family the next day to keep the appointment.
To his surprise, he took out the red coral bracelet and explained to the security guard outside the villa that he was entrusted by Morrill to deliver something to Mrs. Mo. The other party neither checked the bracelet and backpack nor contacted Morrill who was far away in District 9. He led him into the gate and allowed him to move freely while the housekeeper went to ask for instructions.
When the housekeeper came back, he noticed the guest's awkwardness. He said very politely, "Please follow me," and then took Shi Youchen to the tea room. After closing the door for him, he left quietly.
The tea room was decorated in a rather elegant style, devoid of any incense. Shi Youchen was staring out the window, lost in thought, when Mo Lian knocked on the door and entered. She was still wearing cotton slippers, but the villa was heated, and even with only a cashmere shawl draped over her, she didn't seem to shiver at all, as she had that night.
"Mr. Shi." After washing her hands, she sat down opposite Shi Youchen, looking very relaxed and contented. "Thank you for coming today. I've been waiting for you for a long time."
Shi Youchen felt that the woman before him was not the same person he had met at the cemetery, but he couldn't put his finger on what was odd. "Sorry to have kept you waiting, Madam Mo."
Mo Lian skillfully heated the cup and asked with downcast eyes, "So, what are you going to give me today?" The red Nanhong bracelet was quietly placed on the edge of the tea table. Shi Youchen said, "Mrs. Mo, can I confirm your daughter's name with you again?"
Mo Lian began to rinse the tea. A small cloud of mist rose above the mouth of the pot, which was then dispersed by the water. She poured out the first batch of tea and said in a natural voice, "Mo Lian." Shi Youchen frowned slightly and was about to speak when she heard her say, "We have the same name as each other."
Boiling water poured down into the pot, and as Mo Lian gently lifted and lowered her wrist, the tea leaves were splashed in the water. "So, where is she?" Shi Youchen raised his gaze to the window sill.
"She's not in the association's cemetery. You've got the wrong person." The sound of the water suddenly stopped. Mo Lian continued to hold the pot with both hands, her tone no longer calm: "Not in the cemetery?"
Shi Youchen was being stared at closely, his repetitive words replaced by silence. Mo Lian put the kettle down in frustration for a moment, then expertly and expertly placed three fingers on the lid to brush away the loose tea leaves before sealing it.
"It turns out he's really not here." Mo Lian's sigh was graceful. She poured the remaining boiling water over the back of the kettle and opened the water outlet again, letting the boiling water fill the kettle, and then began to use tea tongs to divide the tea into cups.
"It turns out he didn't lie to me." After saying this, she stopped talking until she finished all the tea orders and then offered the tea to Shi Youchen with both hands, "Thank you, please have some tea." Shi Youchen took it a little nervously and took a sip absentmindedly.
"Are you still looking?" Recalling the scenes along the way, the Mo family looked like a wealthy clan, just as Shi Youchen had known them before. However, the fact that such a family had a mother who didn't know where her daughter was was puzzling.
Mo Lian on the opposite side no longer had the composure she had when she came. She tightened her shawl and whispered, "No, I can't find it." The lonely look on her face was instantly hidden, and the room was quiet for a long time.
"Mr. Shi, how is your relationship with our Morrill?" Mo Lian asked after a long pause, her tea still half empty. Shi Youchen answered truthfully, "Just an ordinary colleague."
Mo Lian: "Is that so..." Upon hearing this, she picked up the teacup and drank it all in one gulp without refilling herself. "That's fine, so as not to cause you any trouble." Shi Youchen didn't understand why, but naturally ended the topic.
The conversation ended, and another cup of tea passed as both parties were preoccupied with their own concerns. Mo Lian came to her senses and found that the teacup in front of Shi Youchen had not been touched. So she said in understanding, "It's getting late. How did Mr. Shi get to City Z? Should I send someone to take you back?"
Shi Youchen: "No need to bother, I have a friend coming with me."
Mo Lian: "Okay, then I'll take you out."
Outside the Mo family villa, Lin Zhouze sat boredly reading a report in the driver's seat when he suddenly caught a glimpse of movement. He quickly looked up and saw Mo Lian personally escorting Shi Youchen out. After another round of polite farewells, Shi Youchen turned and got into the car.
"How's it going? So what's going on?" Lin Zhouze asked curiously, not rushing to start the car. Shi Youchen buckled his seatbelt and said, "Nothing much, just a mother and daughter with the same name. Madam Mo has also accepted the fact that her daughter isn't in the association cemetery quite smoothly, and it seems she was mentally prepared for it."
Lin Zhouze said "Oh": "Okay, a family like theirs doesn't shy away from this? But it's strange that the mother doesn't even know where her daughter is buried." Then he inserted the controller and started the car.
Shi Youchen, who was standing by, thought for a moment and then said, "The day after tomorrow, I'm going to City X."
Lin Zhouze: "Ah? What are you going there for?"
Shi Youchen looked at the blurry scenery outside the window that was rapidly receding and said, "Let's go and see how Lu Quezhi's mother is recovering."
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