Chapter 12 Pancake Roll Delicious and Generous

Bai Yuanzhi watched with great interest the interaction between Zhou Xiangmei and the middle-aged man in a suit.

To be honest, Zhou Xiangmei’s reaction looked particularly suspicious.

—She was guilty, her face instantly turned deathly pale, and her eyes kept darting toward the Wu family’s gate behind her.

And when she realized that Wu Hao, Wu Jiayin, and Li Yongzhen were all standing behind her, watching her intently,

Zhou Xiangmei panicked even more!

The reaction of the middle-aged man in the suit, on the other hand, seemed much simpler and more straightforward.

He looked genuinely happy and delighted!

So much so that he tried his best to maintain his composure,

but was overwhelmed by immense joy,

so he clenched his thighs, swung his calves like windmills, while keeping his upper body perfectly still. In this effeminate posture, he quickly rushed up to Zhou Xiangmei, swiftly composed his facial expression, and said with great emotion:

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Wu! Although it’s not yet the time we agreed to meet and discuss in detail, I simply couldn’t resist telling you this wonderful news!”

The man in the suit raised his little finger and said happily:

“There’s a vacant apartment in Shilan Haoting that perfectly matches your requirements! The neighborhood has a great environment, is close to the subway, a three-elevator, twelve-unit building, an 800-square-foot (about 80 square meters) luxurious large flat with three bedrooms. Every room has a window, and the living room is huge—it can even be partitioned into a maid’s room!”

“Most importantly, because the current owner is about to immigrate to the UK, the asking price is incredibly low!”

“Mrs. Wu, I think you must seize this opportunity!”

“Mrs. Wu, I’m just a small agent in the real estate industry. This apartment is so good—not only do I want to recommend it to you, but my colleagues also want to recommend it to their clients!”

“Mrs. Wu, if you’re interested, why don’t we go take a look now? Or perhaps you could pay a small deposit first to secure the apartment!”

…

After this man rattled on for a while, his identity finally became clear.

So he was a real estate agent!

But Bai Yuanzhi sensed something off.

In her previous life, she had come to Hong Kong City three years later.

By then, Zhou Xiangmei already owned two luxury properties, one of which was an 80-square-meter, three-bedroom apartment in Shilan Haoting.

At that time, her second sister, Zhou Nian’er, had also been in Hong Kong for three years. She had been competing with Wu Jiayin for favor, and the two had fought fiercely over one of the bedrooms.

Back then, Wu Hao and Wu Jiayin’s attitude toward Zhou Xiangmei was nothing like the current mockery and sarcasm.

Bai Yuanzhi had once asked Zhou Xiangmei where she got the money to buy the apartment and when she bought it.

Zhou Xiangmei vaguely replied, “I used the assets I got when I divorced your Uncle Li,” brushing it off.

Now, thinking back, it was full of suspicious points.

After all, Zhou Xiangmei had already been divorced from Uncle Li for three years and had been married to Wu Hao for three years! If she really had received assets from Uncle Li, why hadn’t she used them earlier?

So, in her previous life, was Zhou Xiangmei buying a luxury apartment in Shilan Haoting at this very moment, exactly 800 square feet (about 80 square meters) in size?

Could it be that she was using Zhou Sier’s blood money?

The more Bai Yuanzhi thought about it, the more she felt her speculation was plausible.

The appearance of this real estate agent not only surprised Bai Yuanzhi,

This also came as a great surprise to Wu Hao, Wu Jiayin, and Li Yongzhen.

Wu Hao asked, “Ah Xiang, when did we decide to buy a new house?”

Wu Jiayin added, “Poet’s Orchid Court? That’s a high-end residential area. Are we really that wealthy?”

Li Yongzhen sneered, “Hmph, and she still has the nerve to deny she’s selling herself… If she weren’t, where would she get the money to buy a luxury mansion?”

Zhou Xiangmei’s face instantly paled!

She pushed the real estate agent, “Go! Just go, I’m busy right now! I’ll come find you to discuss it later when I have time…”

But the real estate agent caught sight of Wu Hao.

In this era, it was a widely accepted consensus that men handled external affairs while women managed the household.

The real estate agent was no exception.

Thus, he believed that a major decision like buying a house should be discussed with the male head of the household for greater certainty.

“Hey, hey! Mrs. Wu, don’t be like this!”

“Mr. Wu! Is that Mr. Wu? I’m Johnson. That unit in Poet’s Orchid Court is a real bargain—it’s going to appreciate quickly in the future. If you miss this opportunity, it’ll be hard to find another one that suits your taste…”

“Mr. Wu! Mr. Wu, an 800-square-foot, three-room unit in Poet’s Orchid Court only costs 700,000 Hong Kong Dollars! If you pay in full upfront, you can even get a 5% discount…”

“Mr. Wu! Mr. Wu, here’s my business card. You can contact me directly!”

“Mr. Wu—”

Zhou Xiangmei finally managed to drag the real estate agent to the elevator entrance, shoved him inside, and watched the elevator descend before letting out a sigh of relief.

She took a deep breath and turned around—

Only to see Jiang Yiming.

Jiang Yiming said, “Aunt Xiang, someone suspects you of murder for money…”

Zhou Xiangmei froze.

She instinctively glanced at Bai Yuanzhi.

Bai Yuanzhi smiled faintly at Zhou Xiangmei.

Zhou Xiangmei’s expression turned furious, “Zhou—”

She only uttered the first syllable before quickly correcting herself, “Bai Yuanzhi! You… you’re so vicious!”

Bai Yuanzhi sneered, “How am I vicious? I’m not like you. Zhou Sier was your own daughter, yet you were willing to harm her and use her blood money to buy a luxury mansion!”

“Even if I reported you to the police, so what? You’re just my aunt, not my birth mother… Besides, when I reported you, I didn’t take any reward! I was simply upholding justice!”

“How could I possibly be as vicious as you?”

Zhou Xiangmei was so enraged she nearly fainted. She stammered “you, you, you” for a long time but couldn’t utter a single word of rebuttal.

Jiang Yiming immediately asked, “Aunt Xiang, is what Ah Zhi said true? Did you… really take Sier’s blood money and plan to use it to buy a house? Who gave it to you? What was this person’s relationship with Zhou Sier?”

Zhou Xiangmei panicked, “That’s not true! I don’t know anything! I really don’t!”

Jiang Yiming pressed on, “Then why did that real estate agent named Johnson come looking for you just now? Was it because you wanted to buy a house, so you approached Johnson first, right? Aunt Xiang, where did you get the money to buy a house?”

Wu Hao also spoke up, “Yes, where did you get the money? You must explain this clearly today!”

Zhou Xiangmei was speechless.

Beside them, Li Yongzhen shot Zhou Xiangmei a disdainful glance and muttered under her breath, “She must have sold herself…”

Zhou Xiangmei immediately glared at Li Yongzhen.

“I… I…” Zhou Xiangmei began racking her brains for an excuse.

But in such a rush, she couldn’t think of anything!

Jiang Yiming took a deep breath and said to Zhou Xiangmei, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used as evidence in court…”

Zhou Xiangmei was stunned. “Ah Ming, have you gone mad? I’m your Aunt Xiang! How could you treat me like this?”

Jiang Yiming was utterly speechless. “I’m a Hong Kong City police officer! Zhou Xiangmei, come with me to the station and explain everything clearly.”

Zhou Xiangmei panicked and turned to call for Aunt Jiang. “Aunt Jiang, look at Ah Ming, he…”

Aunt Jiang smiled and said, “Mrs. Wu, in my opinion, you should just go with Ah Ming. Only by clarifying the money used to buy the house can you clear your name! Otherwise, people will start saying you sold yourself again!”

As soon as she finished speaking,

everyone’s gaze immediately turned to Li Yongzhen.

Zhou Sier also glared angrily at Li Yongzhen.

Li Yongzhen looked embarrassed. “I… I don’t know anything! I was just saying it casually. Auntie, if you explain it clearly, everything will be fine!”

And so, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Zhou Xiangmei, her face pale, followed Jiang Yiming away.

Bai Yuanzhi turned to Wu Hao and said, “Hello, Uncle. I am Zhou Xiangmei’s niece.”

As she spoke, she pointed to the two large bundles on the ground and said to Wu Hao, “These two bundles are Sister Sier’s luggage. I may have to trouble you to help store them for a while.”

“Goodbye, Uncle!”

With that, Bai Yuanzhi walked away without looking back.

Li Yongzhen sneered sarcastically, “What’s there to be so proud of…”

Wu Hao still cared about his reputation.

No matter what, he and Zhou Xiangmei were publicly recognized as husband and wife, and he had to maintain at least a semblance of dignity.

Although he was annoyed by Zhou Xiangmei’s daughters appearing one after another…

But this Bai Yuanzhi was only Zhou Xiangmei’s niece, and she wasn’t here to freeload or take advantage. She just wanted to store Zhou Sier’s luggage, so there was no need to refuse.

“Ah Zhen, help bring your Sister Sier’s luggage inside!” Wu Hao instructed. “Also, since your aunt isn’t home, you can make dinner tonight and tidy up the house!”

Li Yongzhen immediately widened her eyes, indignant and surprised. “Me?”

==

After leaving the Wu family, Bai Yuanzhi immediately went to the bank.

She wanted to rent a safe deposit box.

But when she heard the teller’s quote, she couldn’t help but gasp.

—The rental fee for the cheapest and smallest safe deposit box was two hundred Hong Kong Dollars per month!

Fortunately, this was a brand-new service. To attract customers, the bank promised that anyone who opened an account would receive one month of free safe deposit box rental.

As it happened, Bai Yuanzhi needed to open a bank account.

However, having just moved from the mainland, she still had many procedures to complete at the immigration office before she could obtain her ID card and proof of identity.

After learning in detail from the teller about all the documents required to open an account, Bai Yuanzhi hurried to the immigration office.

Luckily, all her documents and procedures were in order.

Thus, Bai Yuanzhi took the temporary identity proof materials provided by the immigration office and rushed back to the bank.

She managed to complete the account opening process just before the bank closed and deposited two thousand Hong Kong Dollars into her account.

At the same time, she successfully rented a mini safe deposit box, about the size of a shoebox.

After locking Zhou Sier’s diary, documents, thesis, and study materials inside the safe deposit box,

Bai Yuanzhi hesitated for a moment before placing the newly opened bank passbook and temporary identification documents into the safe as well, finally letting out a long sigh of relief.

By now, the evening lights had begun to glow.

Exhausted, Bai Yuanzhi walked along the street, her attention drawn to the increasingly vibrant night scene as darkness fell.

Surrounded by towering skyscrapers, the illuminated lights created a sense of otherworldly, cyberpunk-like prosperity.

She paused for a moment to admire the view before continuing toward the subdivided flat.

In her previous life, after struggling in Hong Kong City for five years, she had finally accumulated a modest amount of assets.

But in this life, starting anew, she would one day make sure everyone in this bustling city knew her name!

Along the way, Bai Yuanzhi bought a jianbing guozi from a roadside stall.

Hong Kong City was a city of immigrants.

During this era, many people came from the mainland to Hong Kong.

To make ends meet, numerous vendors set up stalls at night to do business.

The jianbing guozi cost three yuan each—not exactly cheap.

But it was generously portioned and tasted excellent.

Bai Yuanzhi held the jianbing guozi, eating it slowly as she walked.

When she returned to the subdivided flat,

she saw Zhou Zhaodi crouching in front of her door.

Zhou Zhaodi first caught the scent of food, then heard footsteps.

Looking up,

it really was Bai Yuanzhi!

Zhou Zhaodi said with a mix of grievance and anger, “Third Sister, why did you only come back now?”

Then she snatched the remaining quarter of the jianbing guozi from Bai Yuanzhi’s hand, stuffing it hastily into her mouth while crying bitterly in distress, “…Third Sister, I’m starving, wuwu! What are we going to do from now on?”