Chapter Fifty-Five: Attracting Bees and Butterflies

Many thanks to Mage Zuo'er, Beautiful Eyes YXQ, and jiackqu6248 for their generous rewards! Tomorrow, which is Friday, Mo's book will be officially launched. As usual, after the launch, there will be 3,000 words every day at noon. Rolling on the floor to beg for your first subscription support~! And rolling around to ask for February’s pink tickets! For every ten pink tickets, there will be an extra chapter! Mwah!

Perhaps the compliments from Changpu An earlier had greatly satisfied the innkeeper’s sense of self-worth. After a few rounds of conversation, his mood quickly improved, and he enthusiastically shared with them—though most of what he said was subjective conjecture, lacking concrete evidence. Other than noticing from "Lu Bing’s" previous words and actions that she had come to T City for matchmaking, there was little valuable information. He couldn’t even specify which matchmaking agency "Lu Bing" had visited.

Given these circumstances, they couldn't waste time endlessly here. After exchanging a few polite words with the innkeeper, the three finally left the hotel.

“How many matchmaking agencies are there in T County?” An Changpu asked Xiao Wei as they stepped out of the dilapidated “dangerous building.” Xiao Wei was a local police officer, so he was the most reliable source for matters concerning T County.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Wei spread his hands helplessly: “If it weren’t for the innkeeper mentioning it just now, I would have doubted whether matchmaking agencies even exist in T County! I thought nowadays everyone meets online—even for marriage, there are so many dating websites. How could there still be matchmaking agencies?”

An Changpu looked at Xiao Wei with a hint of resignation, unsure what to say. In truth, he should have anticipated this. Young people like Xiao Wei, just barely in their twenties, given their age and work nature, were unlikely to ever interact with such places—ignorance was inevitable.

So, they had no choice but to go to the T County Bureau of Industry and Commerce for information, where they could only find records for two general agencies. These agencies handled matchmaking as well as other services like housing rentals. The staff explained that some businesses in T County operated beyond their licensed scope, but as for which ones secretly provided matchmaking services, he couldn’t give a clear answer.

With no luck there, they tried other ways to gather information, leading to several awkward and amusing incidents. Especially An Changpu and Xiao Wei—one stood out in appearance, the other was clearly very young—when they asked about matchmaking agencies, they tended to approach older, more locally knowledgeable residents. The people they questioned often responded with surprise and then began probing their ages, jobs, and family situations, all while disparaging the reliability of matchmaking agencies.

A few times, An Changpu and Xiao Wei had to give up and escape from the enthusiastic interrogations.

By contrast, Qin Ruonan’s efforts went much more smoothly—though this brought her a touch of wounded pride. Many middle-aged and elderly people she asked were eager to provide information, and some even bluntly told her that, for women, age was crucial—the consequences of being left over were serious. Qin Ruonan’s face turned pale at their bluntness.

Regardless, progress was good. After speaking to many people, the three roughly identified the names and addresses of several matchmaking agencies in T County. They began visiting each one, starting with the two officially registered general agencies. After careful inquiry and verification, they confirmed that neither had any record of Lu Min, or “Lu Bing.”

Before leaving, a staff member at one of the agencies told them that most people seeking partners through matchmaking agencies nowadays were middle-aged or elderly, mostly men, few women. If there was a registration, it would be easy to find.

With no luck at the two reputable agencies, they moved on to smaller, unregistered matchmaking agencies, which proved even more challenging. These places were tucked away and hard to find. When they finally located one and said they were looking for someone, the staff’s welcoming smiles instantly vanished. They refused to even glance at the photo, brusquely denying any knowledge of the person.

This response was unsurprising. Such informal agencies were even more wary of trouble than the official ones. If someone came in with a photo asking about someone, it was unlikely to be for any good reason, so denying involvement was a predictable act of self-preservation.

Given these circumstances, An Changpu and Qin Ruonan began to doubt—should they reveal their identities and intentions? Would that only make these agency owners more evasive and fearful of trouble or retaliation?

But if they didn’t clarify, what pretext should they use to inquire?

“How about using Brother An’s earlier tactic—with a twist—claiming the person in the photo is your mother?” Xiao Wei suggested mischievously.

This proposal immediately earned him a roll of the eyes from Qin Ruonan.

The old trick wouldn’t work, but they needed a workable solution—they couldn’t let potentially knowledgeable people continue their evasions.

Qin Ruonan furrowed her brow, thinking for a moment, then reluctantly adopted part of Xiao Wei’s idea. She suggested the three claim to be family members of the person in the photo, who had lost contact long ago, and use Lu Min’s portrait to continue their inquiries.

Saying the woman had disappeared, the next few small agencies were still nervous, but once assured it wasn’t a case of being swindled out of money, their sense of responsibility lessened and their guard relaxed somewhat.

Even so, after visiting several struggling small agencies, they still had no results, prompting them to doubt the innkeeper’s words—perhaps they had been misled.

Just as they were about to give up hope, the situation finally took a turn. In a matchmaking agency sharing a storefront with a laundromat, someone recognized Lu Min.

“That’s Lu Bing!” the agency’s proprietress exclaimed as soon as she saw Lu Min’s portrait. “What’s wrong? Is she missing? When did she disappear?”

The agency occupied a ground-floor apartment converted for business, with the window turned into a door. The laundromat used one side; the agency occupied the living room. There was no real partition—so the roar of machines from the laundromat was constant.

To make herself heard, Qin Ruonan had to approach the proprietress and raise her voice: “It’s been over half a month without any news. We heard she registered here, so we wanted to ask if you’ve seen her recently or know who she’s been with.”

“What caused her to lose contact? Is it because you, as her children, oppose her finding a companion?” The proprietress scrutinized Qin Ruonan.

Qin Ruonan did not reply, and her silence was taken as tacit agreement.

“I really don’t know where she went or who she’s with! We arrange introductions, but we don’t guarantee success. I haven’t seen her for over a month—thought things might have worked out!” The proprietress showed little enthusiasm about helping them find her.

“Could you tell me the names of the people she met here?” Qin Ruonan asked, noticing the proprietress’s change in expression, and quickly added in a pleading tone, “I won’t let anyone know you told me.”

“Yes, please, we beg you!” An Changpu stepped forward, earnest. “She vanished without a word, and the whole family is anxious. We just want to find her and make sure she’s safe.”

The proprietress hesitated, weighing the matter, then finally moved behind her desk. She rummaged through a row of folders, eventually finding a form with another portrait of Lu Min attached and handed it to Qin Ruonan.

“I only have the names of the men she met for introductions—nothing else,” she said, as if she had gone above and beyond and could offer no further help. “As I said, we sell packages—so many meetings for so much money. Whether it works out or not isn’t our concern. All the men she met are listed here; you’ll have to investigate yourselves.”

Qin Ruonan frowned at the long list of names on the form. Normally, even though Lu Min had undergone cosmetic surgery to look like a woman, appearance was only skin-deep—he was still a man. To register at a matchmaking agency and be arranged for so many meetings, how had he managed to fool them?

An Changpu seemed to share her doubts. He took the list from Qin Ruonan and asked the proprietress, half amused, “She met so many people? How expensive was this premium package? Is our family that attractive?”

“I have no idea what your family’s situation is,” the proprietress replied, sizing him up—apart from his decent looks, his attire was quite ordinary. Her tone carried a hint of disdain. “To be honest, I don’t know what relation this woman has to your family. I didn’t charge her much—more than half off. Most people who register here are men, very few women. Your relative is quite delicate-looking, so I hoped she’d help attract more elderly men to meet her. As for your family background, I’ve never been curious.”

With that, the three detectives understood—the proprietress had hoped this “pretty woman” would be a lucky charm, drawing in more men seeking marriage.

But Lu Min went on so many dates with different men—what was his aim? Was he not afraid of being exposed?