The Arrival of My Cousin (Part Five)

Shi Jing was older than most, and after posting two dance videos online, not even a ripple was stirred. Disheartened, she returned to teaching dance to children as before.

By chance, she met A Feng, a young and handsome nineteen-year-old art student. Before long, A Feng moved into the apartment Shi Jing shared with Qian Hui.

Shi Jing and Qian Hui bore a striking resemblance to each other in both figure and appearance; even the birthmarks on their arms were nearly identical, and, coincidentally, both had the rare "panda blood" type. These fortuities convinced them that their meeting in this lifetime was destined.

But fate struck again. A fire broke out in the building where the dance school was located, resulting in the tragic deaths of two children. Shi Jing, who happened to have the day off, escaped unharmed. However, the incident caused a major public outcry, and the dance school was forced to close. Once more, Shi Jing found herself unemployed.

A Feng was still a student from a poor family, with no source of income but considerable expenses. Shi Jing herself felt compelled to maintain appearances—buying bags, shoes, clothes, cosmetics—and she also had to support A Feng.

One day, Shi Jing stumbled upon news online about Mr. Mo and his family attending a fashion gala. She casually mentioned it to Qian Hui, who then realized that Mr. Mo’s wife—his ex-wife—was none other than the illustrious triple-award-winning actress.

Years before, the actress had intended to pursue a career in Hollywood, but Mr. Mo objected. In anger, she divorced him, and Mr. Mo quickly found comfort with the gentle and demure Shi Jing. A few years later, the actress returned in defeat, dispirited. Mr. Mo once again proposed to his ex-wife, investing heavily to commission a custom film for her from industry titans. The actress used this film as her grand comeback in the domestic market and accepted Mr. Mo's second proposal, reuniting the broken mirror.

Qian Hui asked Shi Jing how much Mr. Mo had given her. On hearing the amount, she told Shi Jing she was both foolish and pitiable.

Originally, Shi Jing thought the money Mr. Mo gave her was already quite generous. But after Qian Hui’s remarks, she began to feel she had been shortchanged. However, years had passed since they parted ways, and Mr. Mo had already paid her a breakup fee; Shi Jing was at a loss, unsure what to do.

Qian Hui analyzed the situation and called in another close friend, Li Qing, who was also a former dancer.

Three heads, they said, are better than one, and so the three women quickly hatched a comprehensive plan.

Back then, after his divorce from the actress, Mr. Mo had a brief but intense affair with a car model. Later, after meeting Shi Jing, he found her even more obedient and docile, and soon began a relationship with her. But Mr. Mo never deleted the car model from his contacts; she was loath to lose such a wealthy patron and occasionally sent him provocative photos.

Mr. Mo was no naïve youth, and his conversations with the car model were explicit. Later, Shi Jing discovered these messages, leading to a cold war between her and Mr. Mo, which only ended when he finally blocked the car model.

This was the only stain on Mr. Mo’s character that Shi Jing could recall.

Qian Hui used her connections in the modeling world to quickly locate the car model. The woman had since become a full-time escort, but with age catching up and business waning, she had started to frequent nightclubs in search of clients. Upon learning that someone wanted information about Mr. Mo, she immediately agreed.

The car model had a habit: she kept every chat record with men who had flirted with her. For one hundred thousand yuan, she sold her chat logs with Mr. Mo.

The money was lent to Shi Jing by Qian Hui.

Shi Jing confronted Mr. Mo and demanded five million. If he refused, she threatened to release the chat logs between him and the car model, as well as those between him and herself, online.

But Shi Jing had not anticipated that their meeting would be monitored from start to finish. No sooner had she left than the actress immediately reported the matter to the police, engaging her private lawyer to handle the situation.

The next day, Shi Jing was taken to the police station. She could not reach Qian Hui or A Feng. In the end, it was a former colleague from the dance school who helped her secure bail.

The police continued their investigation. Upon returning from the station, Shi Jing hurried to consult with Qian Hui, only to find her apartment deserted—Qian Hui had moved out.

When Shi Jing finally managed to reach Qian Hui by phone, Qian Hui sneered, "Shi Jing, I told you long ago to earn your living honestly and not to seek shortcuts. Why wouldn’t you listen? By the way, when will you repay the one hundred thousand you owe me?"

Shi Jing was filled with regret, but there was nothing she could do. The actress was determined to see her prosecuted, so she turned to Li Qing, who, of course, was equally powerless.

Just then, Qian Hui called again, this time threatening to testify for Mr. Mo if Shi Jing failed to repay her immediately.

Driven to desperation, Shi Jing remembered that she and Qian Hui shared the same rare blood type, and an idea began to form.

She had Li Qing mislead Qian Hui, making her believe that Shi Jing was arranging a private settlement with Mr. Mo, to take place in the city where Shi Jing and Mr. Mo had once lived—a city that was also Shi Jing’s hometown.

Eager to recover her money and perhaps get a cut from Mr. Mo, Qian Hui hurriedly left the metropolis for that city.

Qian Hui died beneath the wheels of a car, her head crushed repeatedly, the accident site devoid of surveillance, the driver fleeing the scene.

That driver was A Feng.

Qian Hui was indeed mistaken for Shi Jing. Upon learning of Shi Jing’s supposed death, the actress’s lawyer withdrew the lawsuit. Even the few paparazzi privy to the truth were swiftly silenced by the actress’s team.

At first, Li Qing also believed Shi Jing was dead. She was only puzzled as to why she could not reach Qian Hui. Not long after Shi Jing’s "death," Li Qing met a boyfriend and followed him abroad.

Last year, after breaking up with her boyfriend, Li Qing returned to the city and unexpectedly ran into A Feng.

One night, A Feng got drunk and confessed the truth of the past. With empty pockets, Li Qing recognized a lucrative opportunity.

Li Qing and Shi Jing had once been close friends. She knew about Shi Jing’s family and that a famous photographer was Shi Jing’s cousin.

She searched the photographer’s name online and found photos shot at the Waterside Inn, accompanied by a caption stating that her own cousin was the proprietor.

Shi Jing’s parents had both passed away. Though her photographer cousin was famous, Li Qing could not find her address or contact information. But for this dear cousin, a simple search on any travel app would yield the address of the Waterside Inn.

A Feng had initially agreed to cooperate, but upon hearing they were to visit that small town, he changed his mind. With no choice, Li Qing, knowing about his role in Qian Hui’s death, forced him to accompany her—just this once.

So, when he realized Li Qing had been exposed, A Feng sped off in his car.

In Li Qing’s eyes, people—especially women—are terrified of ghosts. In the inn, there were only elders and children, save for one skinny young man who posed no threat. As far as she was concerned, a little ghostly scare would be enough to make Waterside hand over the money.

After all, she only wanted one hundred thousand yuan—a trivial sum for an innkeeper, easily produced.

Li Qing never imagined that not only were the people at this inn unafraid of ghosts, but there was someone there who specialized in catching them.