Chapter 47: Heartless

“How did it happen? What’s the story? I’m not familiar with their family—what’s this about a ‘ladyboy’?” The pharmacy owner, upon hearing this, immediately left An Changpu and Qin Ruonan behind and hurried over to the group playing cards, curiosity written all over his face as he questioned the yellow-faced man.

An Changpu and Qin Ruonan remained silent by the counter, making no move to join the others. The card players had never paid much attention to them in the first place, and now the pharmacy owner was drawn in by the conversation, leaving An Changpu and Qin Ruonan thoroughly ignored—a situation they had hoped for.

The yellow-faced man looked at the pharmacy owner incredulously. “You haven’t heard? Such a big scandal and you missed it? You must spend all your time playing online games!”

The pharmacy owner, embarrassed at being called out, scratched his head. Not wanting to seem entirely uninformed, he quickly offered up what he knew: “I’m just not close with their family! It’s not like I know nothing about their troubles. That old Liu is really something! When his wife got sick, he refused to spend a cent on treatment, saying everyone has their fate and it’s pointless to drag the living down. Her siblings scraped together some money, but the father and son didn’t use any of it on medicine. She died, and they didn’t return a single coin. Instead, they went and bought a car with it!”

“Enough, enough! All those old stories are common knowledge. Anyone at this table could tell you that,” the yellow-faced man dismissed the pharmacy owner’s gossip.

“So what about this new scandal? Is it true about the ladyboy? Did old Liu really go to Thailand for a partner?” The pharmacy owner, feeling slighted, couldn’t resist a jab.

“Who says you have to go to Thailand to meet a ladyboy? Shows how clueless you are, always gaming!” The yellow-faced man retorted. “After his wife died, the old guy was desperate to find another. But everyone around here knows his reputation—no divorced or widowed woman would let anyone set her up with him. Not only would no woman marry him, they wouldn’t even agree to meet or spend time together! Then he claimed to have found a girlfriend, said she was pretty and had a great figure. Everyone thought he was bluffing, but then he brought her home! She really was attractive, so folks started speculating—maybe she had some secret, or some flaw. Otherwise, why would such a good-looking woman choose a man like him?”

“So how did people find out she was a ladyboy?” The pharmacy owner, now fully engrossed, forgot all about his earlier spat.

“It was Old Zheng, who runs the breakfast stall. He has a relative from the same village as the ladyboy, and she’s famous there. This relative was staying with Old Zheng, helping out at the stall. One morning, Old Liu and the ladyboy came to buy breakfast, and the relative recognized her immediately.”

“Tsk tsk! Old Liu really embarrassed himself! Probably meant to show off, but ended up losing face instead,” the bearded man clicked his tongue, more gleeful than sympathetic.

“Exactly! He slunk away, didn't even bother with the ladyboy. And Old Zheng is a notorious gossip—he told everyone who came for breakfast. Within days, the news was everywhere!”

“So, if he took her out for breakfast, do you think they were living together?”

“Who knows! If you’re so curious, ask him yourself!”

“What happened after that?”

“What do you think? Once everyone knew, he couldn’t show his face—had to hide to avoid being laughed at!”

After the yellow-faced man finished, the card players launched into a round of chatter, most of it mocking or gleeful at Liu Yuxiang’s misfortune. It was clear from their tone just how unpopular Liu Yuxiang was in the community.

The pharmacy owner, after a long gossip session, lost interest and stretched, walking toward his computer desk as if to return to his game. Turning, he noticed An Changpu and Qin Ruonan still standing at the counter and asked in surprise, “Why are you still here?”

“We wanted to ask, where is Xiao Yang’s father now? We’re looking for Xiao Yang and wondered if he might be with his father,” An Changpu replied calmly, using the excuse he’d prepared.

“Even if you find his dad, you might not find him! Old Liu spent a lot of money on that ladyboy, and the father and son ended up fighting over it!” The yellow-faced man glanced at them, curling his lip. “They have a relative in the city—used to visit often. Maybe try your luck there.”

After asking for the relative’s address in City C, An Changpu and Qin Ruonan wasted no time and drove back to the city.

Arriving in the city, An Changpu immediately drove to Liu Yuxiang’s relative’s house. They learned that Liu Yuxiang had indeed sought refuge there, but the relative had helped him get a night watchman job at a factory.

After much searching in the industrial area, they finally found a modest furniture factory. At the gate, they learned Liu Yuxiang worked nights and rested during the day in the factory’s dormitory.

The difficulty in finding him stemmed from the fact that Liu Yuxiang wasn’t using his real name here, but rather the half-fake name “Liu Xiang.”

Wandering the factory grounds, they eventually found a row of simple rooms by the wall. An Changpu went up and knocked, but after a long wait, there was no answer. He gently opened the door a crack, and a jumble of voices spilled out; the room sounded lively.

An Changpu pushed the door open and entered. He saw four men sitting around the bunks, faces flushed, the air thick with the smell of alcohol.

“Sorry to interrupt,” An Changpu raised his voice, successfully catching their attention. “I’m looking for Liu Yuxiang.”