Chapter 85

Just as An Hui had anticipated, Gao Hong's case was picked up by sharp-nosed paparazzi. Some of these journalists had long been lurking outside the police station, while others even bought information through insiders. So naturally, they were the first to learn about this bizarre case. When Gao Hong went to the police station in the morning to give her statement, she was hounded by reporters as she left and could barely get away. After finally getting into her car, the paparazzi gave chase. She managed to shake them off, but she had no doubt that even without getting any information from her, they would still use their own resources to write stories more sensational than the next. Sigh, she was destined to become the butt of jokes over tea and coffee. But Gao Hong had come to terms with it. Having survived death and terror, she now took everything in stride. She just wanted to get things done quickly. After giving her statement, she immediately set about raising funds. That bastard Liang Wenkai had squandered most of her money during that period and had also transferred a good deal out. So when she said she couldn't come up with much, she meant it. As for the company's money, if not for legal restrictions and Liang Wenkai's lack of capability, it would have been emptied long ago. After wiring the money, Gao Hong drove the remittance slip to the Medical Clinic. Learning that Doctor Su had gone to the Orphanage for a follow-up, Gao Hong felt once again that this was truly a kind person. 'I've transferred the Honorarium into the account. Please let Doctor Su know,' she said, handing the transfer slip to Chen Shasha. Chen Shasha replied, 'Just give it to me. I'm Doctor Su's finance person now.' She was about to record it when she saw the number of zeros. Thinking she had misread, she looked again—still that many zeros. The account was correct; it was indeed a transfer to Doctor Su. Chen Shasha looked at Gao Hong. 'Ms. Gao, is this the right amount?' Gao Hong thought she was implying it was too little, so she explained, 'It's correct. I discussed it with Doctor Su. She knows.' Chen Shasha was stunned. What kind of favor did this woman do that Doctor Su would accept her money? If her brother found out, he'd be green with envy. It seemed Doctor Su had put in a lot of effort to exorcise the evil for her, hence the high fee. She just didn't know when Doctor Su had performed the exorcism—she hadn't noticed a thing. Chen Shasha said, 'Alright, I'll tell Doctor Su.' Gao Hong left relieved. Not long after, Su Fuling returned, with Zhao Facai walking ahead, attentively guiding her: 'Master, watch your step.' Su Fuling said, '... Uncle Facai, I'm still young.' 'I've walked many roads, I have experience. I won't fall,' Zhao Facai laughed. Su Fuling was speechless. What had gotten into him? Was he shaken by Hu Er's behavior? Chen Shasha couldn't stand his bootlicking, so she deliberately shoved him aside. 'Doctor Su, Ms. Gao just sent over the remittance slip. Thirty thousand Hong Kong dollars credited.' Su Fuling was about to enter the consultation room when she froze. 'How much?' Chen Shasha said, 'Thirty thousand Hong Kong dollars.' Zhao Facai muttered, '... What's the big deal? Master has taken money before—last time it was over a million.' Master never seemed to be short of cash! Su Fuling came over, took the slip, and examined it closely. It was indeed thirty thousand. So when Ms. Gao said this morning that she didn't have much liquid capital, it meant something different from what Su Fuling had understood. Even with limited funds, she could still come up with thirty thousand. But did she really need to give thirty thousand? The five thousand from An Hui earlier was market rate. Was thirty thousand also market rate? Su Fuling felt there must be some misunderstanding between her and Ms. Gao. She knew the property prices in Harbor City—her aunt had once mentioned wanting to buy the Thousand-Square-Foot Mansion they were living in once they saved enough. At Yau Ma Tei prices, thirty thousand could buy two apartments like the one they lived in. Paying the price of two apartments for a simple consultation? That was different from the over a million from the Longhu Association—that money was taken to rob the wicked and aid the good, used for free clinics. This was actual consultation fees. She thought it over and went out to call An Hui. An Hui was enjoying a beauty treatment and was delighted to hear from Su Fuling. When Su Fuling explained that Gao Hong had given thirty thousand as an Honorarium and thought it was too much, An Hui thought to herself that A Hong was indeed even richer than she was—generous. But this was a life-saving fee; any amount was justified. If not for Doctor Su, A Hong would have been killed by that scumbag. 'Doctor Su, this is the market rate. It's correct.' Su Fuling asked, 'Is this the market rate for treating this kind of illness in Harbor City?' An Hui realized Doctor Su didn't understand the market, so she explained, 'Doctor Su, you've just arrived in Harbor City and don't know the market. Some people think their lives are very valuable. If they give too little, they feel they owe a debt of gratitude. You didn't just treat an illness—you saved her life. All she has now is money. She had hired many people before and spent even more, but none of them solved anything.' Su Fuling was speechless. What kind of place was Harbor City, where the wealthy had such ideas? She had been here a while, but she still couldn't understand this habit of voluntarily paying exorbitant fees. Having been frugal since childhood, she used to go into the mountains with her grandfather to gather herbs to save money for the villagers. Sometimes a consultation cost only a few cents. Here, it was completely different. Su Fuling asked suspiciously, 'Ms. An, does Ms. Gao still misunderstand? Does she still believe in the supernatural?' She couldn't believe a wealthy person would be that foolish—hadn't she explained everything clearly this morning? An Hui said, 'No, she understands. Doctor Su, whether you use one method or another to solve a problem, the problem is solved. In her eyes, it's the same. Doctor Su, there are many people like Gao Hong. This is the market. They're not afraid to pay money; they're most afraid of being indebted.' An Hui had to persuade Su Fuling this way because she herself was wealthy. Paying only twenty dollars for a check-up like everyone else didn't reflect her reverence for Doctor Su. Su Fuling was silent. She understood. To these wealthy people, thirty thousand was nothing, but it bought off the life-saving favor, and they wouldn't owe her anything anymore. She felt the vast gap between rich and poor, and the huge difference in mindset. It was like a world built on money, where the rich used money to buy everything. She would have to adapt to the rules here to avoid misunderstandings that might make the wealthy think she was holding a favor over their heads. 'I understand. Tell her she doesn't need to make up the difference. She doesn't owe me anything.' An Hui sighed in relief. 'Doctor Su, I'll pass that on.' After Su Fuling hung up, Zhao Facai said, 'Master, so we don't have to return it?' 'Mm.' Zhao Facai was thrilled—Master was finally a true rich person. With the money earned, Su Fuling decided to be a good master. She took out the limited cash she had and gave each of them a red envelope of five hundred Hong Kong dollars. She was now paying them salaries—one thousand per month per person, which was decent income in Yau Ma Tei. With the extra red envelopes, both were delighted. 'I'll treat you to dessert tonight,' Su Fuling said. Chen Shasha was very happy. Although she had also received a salary from the Sifang Association before, it was different from getting it from Doctor Su. One was from her brother, the other from Doctor Su—a world of difference. Zhao Facai said, 'Following you, Master, I'm really living the good life. It's just a pity I didn't get to see you exorcise demons earlier.' Su Fuling asked, '... What?' Chen Shasha said, 'It's what Ms. Gao said—that you caught something scarier than a ghost. Master, was it a demon or a devil?' Su Fuling was at a loss. How could she explain? She couldn't say it was Gao Hong's husband. Patient confidentiality applied. But her silence didn't matter, because after work, Zhao Facai bought an evening paper. The newspaper had already published this 'supernatural' news. The three of them sat in the dessert shop, reading the story in the paper, with Chen Shasha gasping 'wow' repeatedly. Zhou Huijuan brought over the desserts. 'What's up? Any big news?' 'Yeah, someone saw a ghost at night,' Chen Shasha said in a deliberately spooky tone. Zhou Huijuan's heart jumped. 'How could that be? No way.' 'It's true, it's in the paper,' Chen Shasha pointed. Zhou Huijuan glanced at the headline and was startled. To grab attention, the newspaper had drawn a creepy ghost face next to the headline—really scary. Su Fuling laughed. 'Aunt, she's scaring you. The news is fake. Someone was pretending to be a ghost to murder for money. The newspaper is just sensationalizing.' Zhou Huijuan patted her chest. 'I knew it couldn't be real. Shasha, you're so mean. Next time, I'll put bitter melon juice in your dessert instead of sugar.' Chen Shasha quickly apologized. 'I won't dare again! I was just trying to lighten the mood for you, Aunt Juan. Next time I'll tell you a joke.' Zhou Huijuan laughed. 'Alright, I'll be waiting.' Then she went back to serving other tables. Chen Shasha said to Su Fuling, 'Doctor Su, so what's scarier than a ghost is this.' After reading the paper, she finally understood the truth. There were no monsters—it was Ms. Gao's husband pretending to be a ghost. Su Fuling said, 'See? Stop thinking about exorcising demons all the time. Read more medical books and learn something useful. Don't forget why your brother sent you here.' Chen Shasha nodded. 'I know.' She continued reading the paper. But after finishing, she was still a bit dissatisfied. The article didn't mention Doctor Su's name at all—only how the police had cleverly solved the case. 'Doctor Su, they didn't mention you. That's too much.' Su Fuling said, 'Why would I want to be in the paper? It's not a good thing.' Given how the paparazzi wrote to grab eyeballs, if she were in the paper, she'd be hyped as some demon-catcher. If they promoted her medical skills, that would bring more patients. But all that other nonsense—better to avoid it. Chen Shasha thought, Doctor Su really doesn't care about such things. Those people got off easy. Although Su Fuling didn't care, someone else did. Wang Sihua saw the newspaper and called his old classmate, complaining that he was ungrateful for leaving out Doctor Su. 'Ah, it can't be helped. Our superior gave the interview,' A Li explained, scratching his head. He felt awkward too—he had only done a little work, yet he ended up in the paper and even got a reward. This month, he was the image representative of Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station. Wang Sihua thought of his superior, Ma Sir, and understood A Li's situation. Ma Sir had been giving interviews all day yesterday and today. Because the Yau Ma Tei Police Station had been solving cases and even teamed up with Tsim Sha Tsui to catch the 'ghost,' they were in the spotlight. His promotion report had already been submitted; next month, he would lead his own team. But Wang Sihua didn't feel any sense of achievement. He knew who was really responsible. Yet he had no way to repay Doctor Su except through the reward money. Seeing Ma Sir walk out of his office again, beaming with pride, Wang Sihua immediately went over. 'Ma Sir, the informant's reward hasn't been approved yet.' Ma Sir was very pleased to see Wang Sihua now. Ah, this was his lucky star—the performance backbone of the entire Yau Ma Tei Police Station. 'Isn't it just a reward? Don't worry, it'll be issued tomorrow. Ahua, don't bother with other things. Focus on solving more cases. Try to clear all the cases in Yau Ma Tei. I've decided to set up a Cold Case Unit, and you'll be the leader, specializing in solving old cases.' Wang Sihua suspected Ma Sir was setting him up. Of course, old cases should be solved, but creating a special unit and putting him in charge was a challenge. Every unit had performance targets; if he couldn't solve cases for years, he'd face disciplinary action. Even if Wang Sihua was willing, he couldn't solve old cases every day. Without results, he'd soon be demoted or fined. Ma Sir smiled. 'Ahua, work hard.' Making Wang Sihua do this was part of Ma Sir's own plan. This young man was too good at solving cases; given time, he would surpass Ma Sir as the head of Yau Ma Tei. So young people needed more time to be tempered. Having him work on cold cases would both give him time to grow and show Ma Sir's commitment to nurturing talent—killing two birds with one stone. If Wang Sihua really did solve more cases, it would still be a credit to Ma Sir's leadership. Hahaha. Ma Sir thought himself very clever. Cheng Xiaodong, standing nearby, felt sorry for Wang Sihua. After Ma Sir left, he stood up and patted Wang Sihua on the shoulder. 'It's okay. We'll cooperate when we have time. What can you do with a boss like that?' Wang Sihua remembered Doctor Su's encouragement to climb up and protect more people. That evening at home, Su Fuling decided to buy the apartment they were living in. With money in hand, why rent? Renting always lacked a sense of stability. When she returned to the Mainland later, she could sell it. Hearing her decision, Su Jueming and Zhou Huijuan were shocked. 'A Ling, is your clinic business that good?' Su Fuling laughed. 'I treated a wealthy patient. She was so grateful she gave me a lot of money—enough to buy this apartment.' Su Jueming was stunned. He thought of his own teacher, who used to receive red envelopes from wealthy patients, but never enough to buy an apartment. His voice trembled. 'A Ling, what kind of patient was it? Is it safe? Could it be a trap?' Su Fuling said, 'A patient introduced by Ms. An.' Hearing it was An Hui, the couple relaxed. An Hui was an acquaintance; she had helped them open the dessert shop and they were still cooperating. Relieved, they felt a dreamlike sensation. Zhou Huijuan said, 'I told you, A Ling has good fortune. She's rolling in it!' Su Jueming added, 'But you also need skill. If it were me... even if the opportunity came, I couldn't seize it.' He decided to stay up late reading medical books—there was gold in books! They both agreed with Su Fuling's plan to buy a house. It was a fixed asset, and property prices might rise. A Ling planned to settle in Harbor City, so owning her own home was best. Su Fuling asked, 'Should we buy this one or look for another?' Zhou Huijuan said, 'It depends on where you like.' 'I want everyone's opinion. We'll be living together.' Su Jueming said, 'Ah, won't we be a burden on you?' Su Fuling laughed. 'Little Uncle, what are you saying? You and Aunt are making good money now. You'll buy your own big house sooner or later. Living together for now is just for company.' Zhou Huijuan was confident—the dessert shop was doing so well, she felt they could open a branch next year. 'Why not buy this one? In Yau Ma Tei, this is a decent property. There aren't many new buildings; most are old. This one is relatively new.' Su Jueming agreed. 'We're familiar with the area, and it's convenient for work.' So the decision was made. Of course, it depended on whether the landlord was willing to sell. If not, it wasn't a big deal—they had money and could find another place. Su Jueming joked, 'From now on, A Ling will be our landlord.' Su Fuling said, 'Little Uncle, if you say that, I'll be upset. When I lived with you before, you never charged me rent. So don't mention rent anymore.' Zhou Huijuan said, 'Then you shouldn't talk about giving us household expenses either. We'll live together and eat together.' Su Fuling smiled and nodded. 'Alright, that's what family does.' Late at night, Wen Shuang, who had just gotten off the plane, wasted no time and returned directly to the Wen family home in Harbor City. Wen Shu had stayed up waiting for her. When he heard she was back, he asked to see her immediately. Soon, Wen Shuang, dressed in black, walked in. 'Grandfather, why aren't you resting yet?' 'Waiting for you. Tomorrow you'll start working at Doctor Su's clinic. I need to give you some instructions beforehand so you don't offend.' Wen Shuang was puzzled. 'Grandfather, do I really have to go? I always thought you'd bring me back to Harbor City to help fight for territory.' Wen Shu frowned. 'You're mistaking my kindness for ill intent. This is a rare opportunity. If others didn't know about it, it wouldn't even be your turn.' Wen Shuang said, 'Grandfather, I was wrong. I'll protect Doctor Su well.' Wen Shu said, 'Don't worry, Grandfather won't harm you. By Doctor Su's side, you won't be in any real danger. Doctor Su holds the power of life and death. You'll just be there to drive away petty troublemakers.' The power of life and death? Wen Shuang looked at her grandfather, shocked. Wen Shu looked at her. 'A Shuang, this is your chance. If you weren't a girl, this opportunity wouldn't come to you.' He would have liked to send one of the family's sons, but being close to such a figure would change their future. Clearly, a girl was more convenient. 'Don't disappoint your grandfather's expectations.'