The two of them lived in the courtyard house left to Zhuo Yang by his grandfather, a relatively quiet place. When Lu Yang first moved in, he hadn't expected Zhuo Qiang to be someone who would settle down and practice calligraphy. That same year, they attended an antique auction, and Zhuo Qiang bought a painting for ten million yuan. Although the auction house repeatedly emphasized that it was a masterpiece by a famous artist, Lu Yang couldn't understand why he would buy a useless object. He simply didn't believe Zhuo Qiang had such a high level of artistic appreciation.
Zhuo Qiang's father, who had a son late in life, doted on him, and his love for him was well-known. No matter what Zhuo Qiang wanted to do, his father would support him. Zhuo Yang once spent tens of millions of yuan to buy a car from abroad and gave it to his new girlfriend, which made headlines.
Lu Yang called Mu Zishan in the yard: "I... have arrived in Beijing."
"A-choo!" She sneezed. "Oh."
"What’s wrong with you?"
"Maybe I have a cold," she blocked her nose with paper, "It's okay."
Zhuo Qiang leaned against the door, holding back his laughter at him being so pretentious.
"Then you should go to bed early." Lu Yang hung up the phone and walked back.
Mu Zishan felt baffled and continued to watch TV with the volume turned up. It was rare to see Chinese TV in the UK, but she hadn't expected China to develop so rapidly, with high-speed rail, express delivery, and the internet all developing so rapidly. She collapsed on the sofa, pulled herself under the covers, and thought for a moment. She had never properly visited Beijing, but Zhongguancun, they say, is China's Silicon Valley, and she really wanted to see it.
So, a week later, she showed up at Lu Yang's school, standing boldly at the classroom door. Everyone looked at her. Her mouth was grinning, her eyes were wide, and she was wearing a windbreaker. Her ankles were red from the cold. Her attire was completely out of character for northern women. Lu Yang was completely flattered. He packed up his things on the table and left the classroom.
"Lu Yang! Wait for me." Zhuo Qiang also ran out.
She didn't know that the snow in the north was so heavy and so cold. Her nose and eyes were red from the cold. She left her luggage at the school gate. She came all the way here holding Lu Yang's photo.
"Why didn't you call me?" Lu Yang took off his coat and quickly put it on her.
"Look at your phone!" Mu Zishan glared at him unhappily.
He quickly took out his phone and looked at it: "Sorry, I turned it off during class."
Zhuo Yang ran out and looked her up and down: "Who is this?"
"Her name is Mu Zishan, my friend." Lu Yang introduced.
"Oh, she is..."
"Hello!" Mu Zishan stretched out his red, frozen hands.
"Hello, he and I are close friends. Feel free to come to me if you need anything." Zhuo Qiang shook her hand, which was much smaller than it looked and so cold it was almost freezing. "Let's go to the courtyard first."
That was the first time Mu Zishan saw a real courtyard house. He was a little excited and looked around the living room, just like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
"I'll ask my aunt to help you clean up the room. You can sit in the living room first, or continue your tour." Zhuo Qiang asked.
"No, I'm hungry." She sat aside and didn't have the energy to appreciate it anymore.
"Well, I'll ask the kitchen to make something to eat. What do you want to eat?" Zhuo Qiang asked from the side.
She blinked and swallowed. "It's too slow. I'd better just have some bread and milk first."
"I'll get it!" Lu Yang went to the kitchen.
For the first time, Zhuo Yang felt a little awkward sitting in his own home. He wanted to say something, but found that she was lying on the table with her eyes closed.
When her food arrived, her eyes lit up. She was almost starving to the point of hypoglycemia. Zhuo Yang poked Lu Yang, wanting to know something.
"Zishan, why did you decide to come to Beijing?"
"Oh, I asked a friend to help me register a company here." She wiped her mouth and said. "Company?" Lu Yang was a little surprised. "What for?"
"Private detective."
"How many people are there in your company now?" Zhuo Qiang asked curiously.
"I'm the only one here right now," she said, opening the box and pulling out some cash. "How much is the cost of my stay here?"
Zhuo Qiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He had become the landlord. "I'm not the landlord. Since you are Lu Yang's friend, you are also my friend. You can stay as long as you want."
"How can I be so embarrassed!" She looked at Lu Yang. "In that case, if you can use me, just let me know. It's free."
"Are there still characters in novels nowadays? Conan or Sherlock Holmes? I think those who are looking for mistresses nowadays can also say that they are private detectives." Zhuo Qiang said.
Mu Zishan was not angry. She looked him in the eye, gazing at him from top to bottom, with the corner of her mouth raised in an evil smile: "The woman you slept with yesterday made you unhappy, and she almost had a car accident this morning and went to the hospital. Do you need to tell me why?" His car with some scratches and some things in the car betrayed him, and coupled with the test report in the room, her guess was completely correct.
"Okay, I'm sorry for being rude." Zhuo Qiang's face changed and he turned around and went back to his room.
This was the first time Lu Yang saw him get humiliated, and he burst into laughter. He took Mu Zishan to the room and told her that tomorrow was the weekend and he could take her out for a walk.
During breakfast in the morning, Mu Zishan came back from outside and it seemed that things were not going well.
"What are you doing out so early?"
"I gave it to a friend." The aunt next to her poured her a glass of milk.
"What friends?" Lu Yang asked.
"A British friend, he just left on a plane," she raised an eyebrow. She had wanted him to stay and help, but she hadn't expected him to leave so quickly. His warning to her was still lingering in her mind. The situation in China was indeed different from that abroad. She had donated all the money her brother left to the hospital where he used to work. Now that she had very little money, she began to consider whether it was necessary to rent a place outside.
"Are you going out now?" Zhuo Qiang asked, noticing that she was not in a good mood.
She suddenly realized that she could do the same as she did in the UK. There was no need to set up a company. She could just register a website online and let people know her. This would save her from all the trouble and she could use the remaining money to buy a car.
The two looked at her varied expressions, feeling very confused.
"Of course you go out!"
They first went to a car dealership, where she bought a red sports car. She felt a little distressed when she swiped her credit card, wondering why a car made in a foreign country could fetch such a high price in China. However, the dealership was very efficient, and all the registration procedures were completed that same day.
She took the two of them to the bar her British friend had recommended before leaving. It didn't look like anything special from the outside, but once she entered, she realized its uniqueness. This bar was a gathering place for people from all over the world, and naturally, since the British recommended it, most of the people were British. She introduced these people to Lu Yang and Zhuo Qiang, telling them stories about their time in England.
Zhuo Qiang sat next to Lu Yang and curiously asked how he and Mu Zishan met. He found the story both amusing and entertaining. The two of them sat drinking, watching the bird-like Mu Zishan flit around the bar like the star of the show. Zhuo Qiang was reluctant to interact with the men and women. He was clearly the host, but this woman, whom he had only known for less than a day, was the host instead.
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