Chapter 26: Spiritual Sustenance

Chapter 26: Emotional Sustenance

This request was not entirely unreasonable, so An Changpu readily drove the car to the entrance of a nearby residential compound. Mao Xinyi poked her head out and greeted the security guard. It was evident that she was indeed very familiar with the personnel here; the automated gate opened, and their car was granted entry.

"Upon learning our identities just now, why was your first reaction to worry that something had happened to your husband?" Qin Ruonan asked Mao Xinyi.

Mao Xinyi offered an awkward smile and said, "There is nothing strange about that, is there? Usually, when the police show up at one's door, it is never for anything good. It must mean something has happened to a family member. My husband has a rather unpleasant temper and loves to drink, so it is quite normal for me to worry."

An Changpu parked the car near the main entrance of the compound, turned off the engine, and turned around to face Mao Xinyi, who was sitting in the back seat.

"We previously visited the slimming center to gather information, and we also heard a few things about your past dealings with Song Chengliang," he said to Mao Xinyi.

Mao Xinyi wore an unnatural expression, a hint of mild displeasure in her tone as she asked An Changpu, "Did those people there wag their tongues about me? What did they say about me?"

"We are merely conducting a routine inquiry into everyone who was closely associated with Song Chengliang. As for whether their accounts of you and Song Chengliang were statements of fact or embellished gossip, we can only determine that after comparing them with your own version of the facts," An Changpu smiled slightly at her, making it feel as though, on a personal level, he had already chosen to trust Mao Xinyi.

Seeming greatly encouraged by this friendly smile, Mao Xinyi sighed and said to him and Qin Ruonan in a very helpless tone, "Actually, if you want to find people closely related to Song Chengliang, there are plenty who rank ahead of me; finding me makes no sense at all. Even if you don't say it, I know the people at the slimming center must have claimed that I had an improper relationship with Song Chengliang, and that my husband even came over to pick a fight, right?"

Neither An Changpu nor Qin Ruonan answered, which she took as confirmation of her guess.

Mao Xinyi's face flushed slightly at her own words. She gave a couple of dry coughs, fell silent for a moment, and then continued on her own, "Actually, I really had nothing to do with Song Chengliang. There was nothing between the two of us. If I had truly been involved with him, I suppose I would be feeling terribly upset right now. But I am not upset; I just find it hard to believe that a living person I once knew suddenly ceased to exist. That is all."

"Then why did your husband come into conflict with Song Chengliang?" Qin Ruonan grew somewhat suspicious upon hearing her completely dissociate herself from Song Chengliang.

Mao Xinyi awkwardly wrung her hands, as if answering such questions in front of two completely unfamiliar police officers made her feel extremely embarrassed. Even so, she spoke up: "I only said that there was no improper relationship between Song Chengliang and me. I didn't say our interactions lacked aspects that could be misunderstood."

"I don't understand what you mean." Mao Xinyi's words left Qin Ruonan rather baffled.

"You know how it is. Sometimes, aside from physical relations, men and women might just indulge in verbal flattery. Song Chengliang has always been sweet-talked with women. From beginning to end, I knew he was only buttering me up to boost his sales figures, but I rather enjoyed that feeling of being valued and cherished. My husband and I have been married for ten years, and we are both busy with our own affairs. As time went on, I grew quite lonely. Unfortunately, my man is not the type to dote on or pamper a woman. Day in and day out, he is either busy outside for his business, eating and drinking with his good-for-nothing friends, or playing cards. He never once considers my feelings. That is why I went to the slimming center to pass the time. At first, I thought that if I made myself look pretty, perhaps my husband would pay a little more attention to me. But later on, I realized my calculations were wrong," Mao Xinyi said with a bitter smile, sighing. "And later still, Song Chengliang started working at that slimming salon. He had an exceptionally sweet tongue and always amused me, so I simply stopped using my original high-and-mighty consultant and switched to him. In truth, I just wanted someone there to sweet-talk me, to cheer me up and lift my spirits. To put it more bluntly, I was too lonely and wanted a bit of romance-like passion. But I never once thought of betraying my husband, and Song Chengliang could never truly fancy a woman of my looks and age; he had plenty of twenty-something girls surrounding him."

At this point, Mao Xinyi shook her head with a trace of sorrow, speaking either to the two police officers or to herself: "Some women are simply fortunate, basking in all forms of affection, while others are rather pitiful—their husbands treat them like pieces of furniture, and men outside only see the money in their pockets! Well, I suppose it's still better to have the money safely in one's own pocket, otherwise, being neither wealthy nor attractive, loved by neither heaven nor earth, would truly be miserable!"

With that, she let out a hollow chuckle, though there wasn't a shred of genuine mirth in the sound.

As a woman herself, Qin Ruonan felt a twinge of empathy upon hearing her words. However, because An Changpu was present and they were on official business, she did not express excessive concern or understanding for Mao Xinyi's predicament. She simply remained silent for a moment to give Mao Xinyi time to adjust her emotions before asking, "Were you present when your husband went to the slimming center and beat up Song Chengliang? What was the situation like at the time? How was the matter handled afterward?"

Expecting Mao Xinyi to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable recalling that incident, Qin Ruonan was surprised to see a genuinely heartfelt smile appear on her face this time.

"To be honest, when I saw Shi Wei—oh, that's my husband—charge in aggressively and grab Song Chengliang to beat him up, I was startled at first. But right after that, I felt wonderful, very happy." As she spoke, Mao Xinyi could not help pursing her lips. Even recalling it today, that joyful feeling seemed undiminished. "Please don't take me for some sort of weirdo. I don't hate Song Chengliang, and I didn't enjoy watching him get beaten. I went running over there in the first place to dispel my loneliness. My loneliness stemmed from my husband not valuing me. But that day, when Shi Wei threw a tantrum there, I suddenly felt as though I had regained that past sensation—I realized that although he is rather cold to me, he is still terrified of losing me! Anyway, Shi Wei didn't beat Song Chengliang very severely, and the slimming center stepped in to mediate, so the matter was settled. They refunded my membership fee, I promised Shi Wei I wouldn't go there anymore, and afterward, peace was restored. Nothing else happened."

"Did Song Chengliang ever contact you again?"

"Not unless he wanted to get beaten again. I reckon he must have deeply regretted it later—getting kicked a few times over a woman like me was hardly worth it! How could I possibly compare in value to the young, pretty girls around him?" While she claimed not to care about Song Chengliang or like him, Mao Xinyi's tone still carried a faint trace of sour jealousy as she spoke. This was presumably driven by the inherent possessiveness of women; when a male acquaintance showed excessive favor and attention to a younger, more attractive female peer, a woman would naturally feel displeased.

"By the way, you mentioned that Song Chengliang had other close female relationships?" An Changpu recalled the information Mao Xinyi had dropped repeatedly in her conversation.

"Of course, and there was more than one!"

"Very close relationships?"

"I wouldn't dare guarantee it, but speaking with a woman's intuition, I dare say the relationship those young girls had with him was definitely not as simple as mine." Mao Xinyi left some leeway in her words, refusing to sound too absolute.

"Do you know any of those women who were close to Song Chengliang?" An Changpu asked.

"I'd recognize them if I saw them. Their names... I think I've heard them before, but it's been so long, I can't quite recall them right now." Mao Xinyi wrung her brains for a moment without managing to unearth any useful information. "Don't rush me, let me think a bit more."

Neither An Changpu nor Qin Ruonan spoke, allowing her time to slowly reminisce. If there were other women closely associated with Song Chengliang, perhaps one of them was entangled in this case, or at least possessed specific information currently unknown to the police.

The car was very quiet. Mao Xinyi frowned in deep thought. A moment later, she was suddenly startled by something, nearly jumping out of her skin. The next second, An Changpu and Qin Ruonan faintly caught the sound of a subdued vibration.

Hastily, Mao Xinyi fished her cell phone out of her pocket and pressed the answer button. The receiver's volume was turned up high, and a man's furious interrogation immediately burst forth, loud enough for both An Changpu and Qin Ruonan to hear clearly: "Where the hell have you died off to?! Not watching the shop in broad daylight, where have you gone gallivanting again?!"

"Where the hell could I go?! If I were dead, would a ghost be answering your phone?! Besides, you've planted several pairs of prying eyes around me to monitor me, where would I even dare to gallivant?!" Mao Xinyi snapped back unyieldingly. The lonely, fragile woman from a moment ago had instantly transformed into a sharp-tongued, formidable character.

"Get back here immediately!" the voice on the other end barked harshly before abruptly cutting off.

"Heh, this bastard! After making a scene with Song Chengliang, he's actually learned to keep tabs on me now! And watching me so closely!" Though she complained with her mouth, not a trace of displeasure could be seen on Mao Xinyi's face. Noticing the two police officers looking at her with astonishment, she smiled somewhat sheepishly, "Pardon the embarrassing display. That's just how the two of us are—always yelling at each other. We're used to it. We can only stay together by bickering like this. If one day neither of us even felt like fighting anymore, we'd probably be divorced!"

"Is your husband at the supermarket? May we go over with you and talk to him?" An Changpu politely solicited Mao Xinyi's opinion.

Knowing she had no grounds to refuse, Mao Xinyi nodded immediately and said, "Alright, let's head back then, or he'll start getting impatient!"