On the top page of Lao Feng's notebook, two large characters were written horizontally in red ink: "Little devil".
The page below shows a diamond drawn in red, with the number "9" written next to it.
There were three characters and one picture in total, taking up two pages of his notebook.
If Chuanliu hadn't seen the notebook that Lao Feng had found, she might have even thought that Lao Feng had written this message specifically for her.
But the result is already clear.
—This kid is actually "9 of Diamonds" Xu Zhi?!
Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Chuan Liu asked Lao Feng, "When did you write this message?"
Old Feng flipped to the notebook cover, pointed to the words on it, and said:
"Four years ago."
Four years ago! That was the time when Xu Zhi arrived on the island!
A surge of intense shock welled up in Chuanliu's heart, as if he had been struck by a giant wave.
She couldn't believe her eyes and ears, and she couldn't believe that the "Joker" she had been searching for might have been right beside her all along. So close, yet she hadn't even noticed!
This discovery was so unexpected that Chuanliu was speechless for a moment.
But soon, shock and doubt intertwined in her heart.
Old Feng's notebook says 4 years, but the shop assistant said 21 years.
Whom should we believe?
Regardless, once she gets back, she will observe Xu Zhi closely and try to find any clues.
Then she will be free!
Having obtained the information he wanted, Chuanliu thanked Lao Feng and prepared to leave.
Old Feng escorted her to the door and closed the wooden door again.
The blinding sunlight forced her to squint; the warm, damp alley was still deserted.
The girl suddenly paused, startled.
Did Lao Feng just call himself "little girl"?
She was so caught up in the shock that she didn't even notice the problem.
With such insight, and knowing things that even the largest Yorozuya couldn't find, how could this Old Feng be an ordinary person?
Chuanliu turned around and went back to the door, then pushed it open.
Old Feng was sitting in a rocking chair, leisurely looking at a newspaper from who-knows-when.
"Senior, may I ask your honorable name?"
The sound of flowing water broke the silence inside the room.
Old Feng seemed to only then notice Chuan Liu's presence. He looked up, his face suddenly filled with terror, and he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Who are you? What are you going to do to me?"
Chuanliu froze, a strong sense of disconnect washing over her. The scene before her seemed to rewind time, taking her back to when she first arrived at this shop.
Old Feng acted as if he didn't know her at all, looking at her as if she were a stranger.
She asked tentatively, "Old Feng, don't you recognize me?"
When Lao Feng heard his name called, he was first taken aback, then laughed heartily, seemingly much more relaxed.
He greeted him, "Oh, it's an old acquaintance! Come, come, have a seat. What can I do for you?"
As he spoke, he was about to lead Chuanliu back to his previous position.
A strange emotion welled up in Chuanliu's heart. She carefully observed Lao Feng's eyes and behavior, but she couldn't find any clues.
He has amnesia?
After gathering his thoughts, Chuanliu asked again, "Old Feng, what's your full name?"
Old Feng stroked his chin, thought seriously for a second, and said, "My name is Old Feng."
Chuanliu tried to guide him, "Your surname is Feng?"
Old Feng clicked his tongue and said, "Old Feng, Old Feng, of course my surname is Old."
Then, Old Feng sat down across from Chuan Liu again. "Little friend, what do you want to ask? I've been a professional gossip for 69 years, there's nothing I don't know about Paradise Island!"
It's the same words again, the same location, the same person.
Chuanliu stared intently into the old man's eyes. "Do you remember anyone who ever bought something from you on credit?"
"On credit?"
The latter slapped his forehead, "You know what, there really is a little girl who owes me a card."
Chuanliu frowned slightly and continued to press, "What question did she ask?"
Old Feng pursed his lips, looking puzzled. "Oh dear, I really don't remember. So many people come to ask me questions every day, how could I possibly remember them all?"
Chuanliu took out the "2 of Diamonds" card and placed it in front of Lao Feng. "I'm here to pay off her debts. Now can you tell me what she asked me?"
Old Feng suddenly flew into a rage, slamming his fist on the table. "Who do you take me for? Protecting client privacy is a basic requirement in our line of work, you know!"
After Chuanliu handed the "2 of Diamonds" to Lao Feng, his eyes immediately lit up, as if he had seen some rare treasure.
He snatched the playing card, stroking it with obvious affection, his anger vanishing instantly. He gazed at the card in his hand with a beaming smile, his eyes fixed on only that one card, muttering to himself:
““Two of Diamonds”, hehe, we have “Two of Diamonds”…
Looking at the focused old man, Chuanliu knew that she probably wouldn't get much useful information from Lao Feng.
So she stood up, greeted Old Feng, and then turned and left the Yorozuya.
As he walked onto the main street, Chuanliu turned back to look at the door deep in the alley, his heart filled with complex emotions.
After a long while, he slowly left.
Kawakami observed the surroundings for a while before leaving the area filled with Yorozuya shops.
Afterwards, in order to complete the performance, she went to the store and used the card that Huadie had given her to buy a new outfit. After changing into it, she went shopping around the neighborhood.
It was already evening when we got back to the hotel.
The lights in the room were not on, and the curtains were drawn, making the whole room extremely dark.
"Chasing Life?"
Chuanliu opened his mouth, but received no response.
As she found the switch and turned on the light, she saw Zhuiming sitting on the bed, staring at her without blinking.
The man said resentfully, "You went out to play by yourself, leaving me alone at home. How heartless of you."
Play?
Home?
heartless?
she?
Chuanliu pointed at himself, "Are you talking about me?"
Zhuiming snorted, "Who else could it be but you? Do you know that after seeing your student ID card spending records, Butterfly came all the way over to tell me you spent the whole day shopping! Why didn't you take me with you?"
As expected, Flower Butterfly checked the spending records and found that Chuanliu deliberately spent his own money at the Yorozuya to prevent such a thing from happening.
She offered a perfunctory consolation: "Next time, I'll take you next time."
Zhuiming acted like a bullied little wife, saying, "You're now my subordinate in public, how am I supposed to put my face?"
Chuanliu laughed it off, but he didn't really care at all.
She moved aside from where Zhui Ming was sitting and lay down on the bed.
Zhuiming lay down as well, turning to face her.
"Hey, wake up! Butterfly said there's an auction, want to go check it out?"
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