The girl with long hair cascading down her shoulders, dressed in slightly ill-fitting clothes, caused a flurry of questions to race through Xia Qingtian’s mind.
Why did this girl look so much like Erya?
Could she possibly be the Tang family's Mingzhu?
Holy crap! No way!
Did Li Xiaoxiao find a Tang family Mingzhu during her morning run?
What kind of unbelievable luck was this?
“Do I look a bit like Erya?” Li Xiaoxiao asked softly. “Especially those big eyes, the more I look, the more alike she seems.”
“Indeed…” Xia Qingtian nodded.
As Xia Qingtian sized up the girl, the girl was also observing Xia Qingtian. She then shifted her gaze from Xia Qingtian to Li Xiaoxiao and asked, “Who is she?”
“She’s my good friend, and she’s very smart,” Li Xiaoxiao explained. “You couldn’t remember who you are, and you wanted to go to the police station, so I asked her to help figure things out.”
“You can’t remember who you are? Do you even know your last name?” Xia Qingtian frowned, pressing for an answer.
“I don’t know,” the girl shook her head. “I can’t remember.”
“Then we need a name. How about… we call you Daya?” Li Xiaoxiao clapped her hands.
Since she looked so much like Erya, calling her Daya was quite fitting.
“That sounds terrible,” the girl frowned.
“Then… Sanya?” Li Xiaoxiao wasn’t sure who was older between the girl and Erya, as they looked quite similar.
The girl furrowed her brow, seeming to hesitate between the two unappealing names for a long moment before saying, “Then Daya it is.”
“Alright, Daya it is,” Li Xiaoxiao settled on the name. Then she turned to Xia Qingtian and asked, “Qingtian, what do you think we should do about her?”
“You’re asking me out of the blue, I…” Xia Qingtian’s mind was also a bit jumbled at the moment. “Do your parents know she’s at your place?”
“Don’t even mention it. My parents haven’t been back for days. They went to the capital, saying there was a mine with enough raw materials. They’re going to survey it and record any fluctuations during mining,” Li Xiaoxiao had been confused when she heard it. “It’s just me and my brother at home now.”
“Uh… I see.” Xia Qingtian immediately understood. She estimated in her mind that the project had just begun, and the mining was only in its early stages. If Dr. Li and his wife were to return, it would take at least two to three months. “Then let her stay at your place for now.”
“I do have spare rooms, but her…” Li Xiaoxiao hesitated. “If she’s lost, wouldn’t her family be worried? And I didn’t take her to the hospital after I found her, I just bought her some breakfast. What if there are any after-effects?”
“I’ll arrange for someone to come and examine her shortly. Don’t let anyone know she’s at your place, and tell Li Xiaozhong not to mention it to anyone either,” Xia Qingtian asked. “When you picked her up, were her clothes still with her?”
“Yes, I put them on the balcony, thinking I’d wash them when I got back,” Li Xiaoxiao replied.
“Let me see.” Xia Qingtian immediately headed towards the balcony. Pushing open the sliding door, she saw the pile of clothes in the sink.
Putting on the cleaning gloves hanging by the sink, Xia Qingtian began to search through Daya’s clothes, hoping to find something that could prove her identity.
“What are you doing?” Daya asked, frowning, as she stood by the balcony.
“I’m checking if there’s any identification or similar items in your clothes,” Xia Qingtian replied while searching. “It seems there aren’t any.”
“What’s your name?” Daya asked, looking at Xia Qingtian.
“My name is Xia Qingtian,” Xia Qingtian finally turned to look at Daya. “Do you have anything else?”
“I don’t think so,” Li Xiaoxiao scratched the back of her head. When she found Daya, she had seen wild dogs approaching her. Li Xiaoxiao, worried about Daya’s safety, had chased the dogs away and carried Daya back.
Even if she had a bag or something, it might have been taken by stray cats or dogs.
“There’s one more thing.” Daya took out a golden button from the pocket of the loose pants she was wearing. “This, I woke up with it in my hand.”
“!” Seeing the ancient and exquisite golden button, Xia Qingtian’s body jolted. “This is yours?!”
“I don’t know, I can’t remember,” Daya shook her head and looked at Xia Qingtian. “Do you recognize it?”
“I’ve seen it before, but…” Xia Qingtian said. “Can you give me this button? I want to investigate.”
“Can I trust you?” Daya asked Xia Qingtian.
“Do you have any other choice?” Xia Qingtian countered, not directly answering Daya’s question.
Daya was silent for a moment before handing the button to Xia Qingtian. “I just want to know who I am.”
“If I get any news, I’ll tell you immediately,” Xia Qingtian took the button passed by Daya, twirling it between her fingertips, and then said, “Stay here for a few days with peace of mind. I’ll come back.”
“Okay,” Daya nodded, looking at Xia Qingtian.
After that, Xia Qingtian left Li Xiaoxiao’s house. Before long, a doctor arrived. After a brief examination of Daya, the doctor informed them that there were no problems, just a slight chill and weakness, and she would be fine with a few days of rest.
After seeing the doctor off, Li Xiaoxiao finally felt relieved. She looked at Daya, who was sitting on the sofa, and sighed.
Up to this point, she still didn’t know if what she did was right or wrong.
“Li Xiaoxiao,” Daya turned to look at Li Xiaoxiao and said, “I’m hungry.”
“Oh my goodness! Look at my brain. I’ll order takeout right now. What do you want to eat?” Li Xiaoxiao took out her phone and sat next to Daya.
Daya casually said, “Braised Fish Fin in Yellow Stew, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Stir-fried Phoenix Tongues, Crab-stuffed Oranges, Cloves Duck, Sansan Nian, Peony Fish Slices, Braised Sea Cucumber, hmm… and a bowl of clear bird’s nest soup to cleanse my palate.”
“Uh…” Li Xiaoxiao, holding her phone, blinked and asked, “Spicy Mala Pot or Shaxian Snacks, choose one.”
“Huh?” Daya blinked, looking a bit confused. What were those? She hadn’t eaten them before.
In the end, Li Xiaoxiao ordered a Mala Pot and some light wontons and soup noodles from Shaxian Snacks.
When the food arrived, Daya was seated by the dining table by Li Xiaoxiao. Holding chopsticks, she looked at the unappetizing presentation of the takeout, unsure where to start or how to eat it.
But her stomach was growling. After a tentative bite, the spicy and numbing yet fresh and fragrant flavors opened a new world for Daya.
This thing didn’t look good, but the taste was truly excellent!
“Eat up quickly! We need to destroy the evidence before my brother gets back, or he’ll get angry again when he sees I’ve ordered takeout,” Li Xiaoxiao said softly while eating.
“Destroy the evidence?” Daya gasped for air, sticking out her tongue, and asked, “Who do you want to kill? You kill them, and I’ll handle it. I’m very quick.”
Although Daya couldn’t remember who she was or what she could do, she had an instinctual feeling that dealing with disposing of bodies was her specialty.
“???”