Chapter 14: Tea Leaves Are Not Necessarily Just Tea Leaves

Chapter 14: Tea Leaves Are Not Necessarily Just Tea Leaves

When Fang Xiaoling returned home, the scolding she had anticipated never came. Instead, her mother held her in a long, silent embrace, tears quietly streaming down her face. After a while, her mother’s trembling voice finally broke the silence: “Where is your sister?”

“She… went to a friend’s house,” Fang Xiaoling replied. Hearing no response, she hurried to add, “It’s a girl—her elementary school classmate. She had moved to another city but just came back recently, so my sister wanted to see her. So… that’s why…”

Her fabricated excuse faltered, and still her mother said nothing. Xiaoling braced herself, thinking her mother’s temper might finally erupt, but instead, she heard a long sigh—a sigh heavy with relief, as if a great burden had been lifted from her mother’s heart.

“It’s all right,” her mother said softly.

Hearing this, a pang of heartache washed over Xiaoling. She longed to wrap her arms around her mother in comfort, but her hands stopped short, hovering some distance from her mother’s back. She forced herself not to reach out, silently reminding herself who she truly was—Fang Xiaoling, returned to her original world to pick up the pieces and start anew. She could not afford to harbor illusions of emotional attachment toward the woman before her. Sympathy might only drag her deeper into the perilous mindset that had nearly consumed her: the belief that she was Li Mengling, always had been, and that by some twist of fate, she had acquired the memories of someone named Fang Xiaoling from another world. Her sister, Li Mengli, likewise carried the memories of Roland, leading them both to believe they were others, when in truth, they were still Li Mengli and Li Mengling.

Her mother held her close for a long time before suddenly remembering something. She took out her phone and called Li Mengling’s father.

Since less than twenty-four hours had passed since the disappearance of the two sisters, the police had yet to file a case. Their father was out frantically seeking help and leveraging connections, hoping to use the city’s surveillance system to track down his daughters. His persistence paid off when he found an old high school friend and discreetly slipped him a box of tea.

“Look at you—do you think I’m an outsider? No gifts, no favors?” Chen Lixin leaned back in his chair, pushing the box of tea toward the edge of the table. “Tea leaves aren’t worth much, but don’t cause me trouble. Don’t think this detective captain is some big shot—he’s just working for the people. First, the surveillance staff have already clocked out. Second, you can only report a missing person after twenty-four hours—this isn’t just my rule.”

“Come on, old friend, it’s been ages since we last met. Can’t I just show a little affection?” Li Hai smiled wryly. With three years of public relations experience from his younger days and plenty of street smarts, he hadn’t made much money running his business in Canglan City, but he’d gathered a wealth of social experience. He pushed the seemingly ordinary box of tea toward Chen Lixin with a meaningful look. “This tea isn’t just tea—you should see it as a symbol of my great friendship!”

“Li, are you not hearing me? Losing kids is a serious matter, and you’re still messing around here! I said no, and I mean no. Don’t cheapen our friendship! Let’s just get to the surveillance room.” Chen Lixin opened a drawer, only to find it empty. He rifled through the desk, muttering, “Where did I put those keys? I even forgot to lock the door when I left home yesterday—lucky nothing got stolen. Found it! Come with me.”

With that, he stood and walked out. Li Hai glanced at the open, empty drawer, placed the tea box inside, closed it, and hurried after Chen Lixin.

By the time Li Hai received a call from his wife informing him that Li Mengling had returned home, the two men had just arrived at the surveillance room’s entrance.

“Found her?” Chen Lixin heard a faint voice through his phone. Pocketing the keys once more, he patted Li Hai on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. Parents often rush in to report missing kids, only for them to come home shortly after. It’s understandable—parents naturally worry about their children’s safety.”

Li Hai nodded, about to bid farewell when a cold, familiar voice cut through the air: “Dad, help me.”

It was Li Mengli’s voice. Perhaps it was just a trick of his mind, but the words echoed relentlessly inside his head, unsettling him deeply.

“I still want to check inside,” Li Hai said without beating around the bush. “The younger one is home, but the elder hasn’t returned. I want to see where she’s been.”

Though reluctant, Chen Lixin understood the unspoken meaning behind Li Hai’s leaving the tea behind—it was an unspoken agreement, a customary exchange: money for favors. He nodded and let him proceed.

The surveillance footage tracked the taxi all the way to the Canglan International residential complex. After the sisters got out, the trail went cold. Learning that the complex had no cameras, Li Hai asked Chen Lixin to rewind the footage further. He still suspected that Li Mengli had taken her sister to visit a classmate, then sent her home by taxi while she stayed at the friend’s house—a scenario matching the description Li Hai had just given his wife.

Just as Li Hai was about to stop watching, a shadow flashed across the screen.

“Stop! Rewind to just before that.” If it were a busy complex, Li Hai might not have paid much attention. But here, vehicles rarely passed through, and something about that fleeting shadow triggered a deep, unsettling intuition—his two daughters seemed to be within it.

“Where did that motorcycle come from?” Though the two people in the footage wore helmets, Li Hai was absolutely certain they were his daughters. Watching the footage closely, he grew increasingly perplexed. “Since when does Mengli ride a motorcycle? Impossible. She’s so quiet—she even listens mostly to soft, gentle music. She wouldn’t wear clothes like that. This isn’t her… personality.”

“Hey, Li, as parents you always think you know your kids. Let me tell you, three months ago we had a school violence case here. Even when the parents saw the video of their kids attacking someone, they refused to believe it!” Chen Lixin lit a cigarette. “Of course, I’m not saying your daughter’s bad. Kids get rebellious sometimes—maybe she’s been stressed lately and took up riding a motorcycle to vent. It’s normal. Once she lets it out, she’ll be fine.”

Li Hai shook his head slowly as he watched the motorcycle streak through the streets. The more he watched, the more bewildered he became. A creeping chill ran down his spine as the images unfolded. When he saw Li Mengli crouch to carry Li Mengling into a field of rapeseed, dizziness swept over him, and he almost lost his footing.

“Oh my, Mengli is allergic to pollen—that’s common knowledge.” Li Hai hastily fast-forwarded, eyes fixated on the screen until both girls emerged unharmed from the rapeseed. He sighed in relief, but the breath only seemed to drain his strength further. He shook his head, frowning deeply at the footage showing Li Mengli kicking the motorcycle to start it, racing through the city, parting ways with her sister, weaving through traffic, and finally entering the rooftop bar’s building.

He saw everything with perfect clarity. He tried to convince himself that Chen Lixin might be right—that maybe his daughter had secretly learned to ride a motorcycle and to sneak out to bars. But a stronger, darker feeling suppressed those reassurances. Struggling to contain it, he nevertheless asked Chen Lixin, “Brother, have you ever witnessed a possession?”

Before Chen Lixin could respond, Li Hai dashed out, determined to find his eldest daughter at the rooftop bar. On the way, he began to regret not the strange question he’d asked, but the fact that he might still have to rely on Chen Lixin in the future. It struck him as the most foolish thing he’d ever done in all his years navigating society.

Meanwhile, Chen Lixin sat at his desk, fingering the box of tea leaves. Beneath the top layer lay more tea leaves, and beneath those, more still. He emptied the entire can onto the desk, releasing a fresh, fragrant scent that filled the room. Yet, that very scent made Chen Lixin feel nauseous for a long time…

(End of Chapter)