Chapter Thirty-Three: Sister Yinxiang in Distress

Sha Leer still sent Ruan Ying away. It would have been easy to deceive this simple-hearted girl, but that could very well have ruined her life. Heaven had treated him well; he could not do such an unconscionable thing.

After seeing Ruan Xiang off, Sha Leer went to the Tianhe Book City and bought several books on snake breeding. Then, nursing his aching heart, he checked into the Prince Holiday Hotel. Li Ying had once said that money was made to be spent. Only those who know how to spend money know how to earn it. He hadn’t yet learned how to make money, but he decided he might as well spend some and experience a taste of the high life.

Money never lies—a pricey hotel room was truly comfortable.

Afterwards, he began to wander about Guangzhou, strolling aimlessly through the streets, taking in the city’s scenery. When he grew tired, he would rest on a bench by the roadside and watch the beautiful women pass by. In the past, the city’s beauties had seemed to him as unattainable as fairies in the sky. Now, he felt he wasn’t so different from them after all.

For compared to Li Ying, these city beauties seemed a tier lower.

Still, city women were indeed more striking than those from the countryside. Their figures were well-defined, their clothes eye-catching, their skin porcelain-pale and smooth as china.

Having had his fill of admiring pretty faces, he resumed his wandering. Unknowingly, he found himself by the Pearl River.

“What a mighty river,” he thought.

The scenery along the Pearl River was lovely—lawns, flowering trees, benches, and railings lined the riverbank. Boats plied the waters, occasionally sounding their horns in long, clear notes. Riverside restaurants, some resembling floating houses, dotted the shore.

He didn’t know how long he’d been walking. As dusk began to fall, he prepared to head back. Suddenly, he noticed a crowd gathered on the lawn by the river, with someone lying on the ground.

“Quick, call the police! This person’s passed out. Who knows who she is—she's been here for three days and two nights.”

“Three days and two nights? Is she mad?”

“Mad or not, it’s a woman. Didn’t you see?”

Sha Leer approached. A woman lay collapsed on the grass, and he thought she looked familiar. He hurried over.

“Yinxiang?”

The crowd, seeing someone who recognized her, quickly stepped aside. As Sha Leer drew closer, he saw it was indeed Yinxiang—her face pale, her clothes filthy and disheveled, her hair a tangled mess, her appearance almost unrecognizable.

“Young man, you know her? Take her to the hospital, quickly, or it may be too late.”

“Do you know where the nearest hospital is?”

“Go ahead and turn right—there’s a small clinic just up the road.”

Sha Leer didn’t stop to ask questions. He lifted Yinxiang into his arms and hurried off. The jostling woke her. When she saw it was Sha Leer, she didn’t cry out, but tears welled in her eyes.

“Leer…”

“Sister-in-law, don’t speak. I’ll take you to the hospital.”

“I… I haven’t…”

She seemed to have no strength left, quickly fainting again. Fortunately, the clinic wasn’t far—a small, privately run place. Sha Leer laid her on a hospital bed.

“Doctor, please take a look—what’s wrong with her?”

The doctor, seeing the patient unconscious, took her pulse, checked her eyes, and listened to her heartbeat before looking at Sha Leer.

“She hasn’t eaten in several days, has she?”

“I… I don’t know. I just found her now.”

“Are you helping out of kindness?” The doctor eyed him. “So who’s paying for the treatment?”

“I am.” Sha Leer pulled out his wallet, taking out a thick wad of bills. “How much? Please treat her quickly—she’s my sister-in-law.”

The doctor’s eyes gleamed at the sight of the money, though he looked a bit embarrassed. He quickly set up an IV of glucose and then spoke to Sha Leer.

“What’s wrong with you relatives? She’s not ill, just starving. Hasn’t eaten in days, I’d guess.”

“Starving?”

“Yes.” The doctor sat at his desk, writing out a prescription. “Once the glucose is done, she should be fine—but I’ll prescribe some medicine, just in case.”

After paying the medical fees, Sha Leer watched over Yinxiang. Her surname was Luo, from Xiao Luo Village, famed as the local beauty. She had married into Xiasha Village when Sha Leer was fourteen. Rural folk believed in marrying young to enjoy life earlier; Yinxiang had wed his cousin Sha Jinhai at eighteen. At the time, everyone said Sha Jinhai was lucky to marry such a beauty. Even little Sha Leer had secretly adored his sister-in-law, sneaking with his pal Gangzi to try to spy on her bathing. But the bathhouse walls were solid and revealed nothing—he’d only ever heard the sound of water.

Yinxiang was only twenty-one now.

The village’s famed beauty now lay on a hospital bed, her face streaked with dirt, as if it hadn’t been washed for days, her clothes filthy and disordered, her feet in battered slippers, toes black as soot. Her eye sockets were sunken—where was the beauty now? She looked like nothing more than a beggar woman.

But after half a bottle of glucose, color returned to her cheeks, and she was visibly better. Yinxiang stirred and woke.

“Yinxiang, don’t move. Lie still.”

At the sight of Sha Leer, tears flowed again, even as she closed her eyes. But closing them could not stop the tears, which ran tracks through the grime on her face.

“Sister-in-law, rest here. I’ll buy you some clothes—yours are too dirty.”

Yinxiang said nothing, only wept. Sha Leer instructed the doctor to look after her. Having paid, the doctor was unconcerned about him running off and readily agreed.

Soon, Sha Leer returned with a women’s t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He wasn’t sure if they’d fit—he’d simply described Yinxiang’s height to the shopkeeper. The clothes weren’t anything special; he’d bought them nearby, unwilling to stray far and leave Yinxiang alone.

“You were quick, young man,” the doctor remarked with a smile.

“I didn’t go far, just over there,” Sha Leer replied with a smile of his own. “Doctor, could I get some water? I want my sister-in-law to wash her face.”

“Fetch some over there.”

Sha Leer brought back water, along with a towel he’d purchased alongside the clothes. Yinxiang was still weeping, so he wet the towel and began to gently clean her face.

“Leer, let me do it myself.”

At last, Yinxiang stopped crying and took the towel from him to wash on her own.

“Yinxiang, what happened to you? How did you end up like this?”

At his words, Yinxiang paused, then began to weep again.

“All right… Good sister-in-law, I won’t ask.” He glanced at her feet, at the worn slippers, and frowned. “Sister-in-law, you can’t keep wearing those—I’ll buy you a new pair.”

“Leer… don’t bother. I… I don’t want to live anymore.”

With that, she broke down, sobbing once more. Sha Leer was at a complete loss, but he still managed to ask her shoe size before running out. Soon, he returned with a pair of heels.

By now, the glucose drip was finished, and Yinxiang’s complexion had improved considerably. She had regained some strength and tried to get up, but Sha Leer quickly supported her.

“Sister-in-law, rest a bit longer. Once you’ve changed into your new clothes and shoes, I’ll take you to eat.”

Yinxiang wiped away her tears and nodded. The clinic had no other patients—she was alone in her room. Sha Leer closed the door and went to chat with the doctor.

“Young man, your sister-in-law seems to have suffered some great shock. Take good care of her, make sure nothing happens.”

“A shock?” Sha Leer touched his forehead. That seemed likely—why else would she keep crying? When a woman is traumatized, it can be serious—she might take poison, hang herself, or jump into the river. If she did anything like that, it would be a disaster.

“And don’t let her eat solids right away—her stomach can’t handle it. Take her out for some porridge first.”

The doctor was professional, as long as he was paid. If not, he wouldn’t care.

Just then, Yinxiang emerged unsteadily from her room. Dressed in the new clothes, she looked far better—especially in the heels, her shapely legs and firm hips outlined by the jeans, the light green t-shirt giving her a touch of city flair. Though not quite as dazzling as the urban women, the former beauty of Xiasha Village was returning.

Bidding farewell to the doctor, Sha Leer noticed she was still a bit unsteady and reached out to support her, only for her to lean fully against him. From a distance, they might have been mistaken for a loving couple strolling the city—shoulder to shoulder, inseparable.