Chapter Seventy-One: The Journey to Chengdu

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By the time Qu Mengmeng was picked up, it was already eight thirty in the evening. The three strikingly beautiful women huddled together in tears amidst the crowd, drawing countless curious gazes. Qu Mengmeng, Lu Jing, and Zheng Yi poured out their farewells in a cathartic embrace, but standing off to the side, the tall and upright Kang Ning felt quite uncomfortable under the barrage of angry or jealous stares from onlookers.

It took a long while before the three women finally parted. Zheng Yi, her spirits lifted, immediately teased Qu Mengmeng, “Mengmeng, let him give you a hug too. I love to see Jing get jealous.”

Lu Jing would not stand for such teasing; she seized Zheng Yi and retaliated playfully, the two of them falling into a carefree tussle.

Hearing Zheng Yi’s words, Qu Mengmeng looked at Kang Ning with a mix of longing and sorrow, her tears springing forth despite herself. Kang Ning’s heart ached at the sight; he stepped forward, gently took Mengmeng’s hand, and offered soft words of comfort. He then called out to the still-bickering Lu Jing and Zheng Yi, and together they walked toward the parking lot.

Their seating arrangement in the car was amusingly familiar, perhaps unconsciously preserved from their journey home from Guizhou. Kang Ning drove, Lu Jing sat in the passenger seat, and Mengmeng and Zheng Yi took the back. As soon as they got in, Zheng Yi relayed to Qu Mengmeng what Kang Ning had told her about Wang Zihan’s severe illness. Mengmeng grew pale and trembled as she listened, but by the end, she gazed with heartfelt gratitude at the back of Kang Ning’s head.

With the New Year holiday not yet over and Zheng Yi’s young aunt still on vacation, Qu Mengmeng was apprehensive about being seen by acquaintances if they ate out. Lu Jing suggested they just cook at her place instead. Zheng Yi, who was home alone, immediately agreed, and so Kang Ning drove them to Lu Jing’s building.

Once inside, Zheng Yi and Qu Mengmeng, who were frequent visitors, went to pour themselves some water. Kang Ning used the living room phone to relay some instructions to Yusheng, who was still at the factory. By the time he sat down, Mengmeng had already brewed him a cup of tea. Hearing Lu Jing’s call, Zheng Yi dashed into the kitchen to help, leaving Qu Mengmeng and Kang Ning sitting together in silence.

At last, Qu Mengmeng broke the silence. “Hey, how do you plan to find Wang Zihan?”

“Why don’t you and Jing go with me? It doesn’t matter which day, but the sooner the better, so your family doesn’t have to worry for too long,” Kang Ning replied, recalling Mengmeng’s mother’s haggard appearance and tears, and letting out a soft sigh.

Qu Mengmeng looked at Kang Ning with grateful, tear-filled eyes. “You’re so kind!”

It was nearly eleven by the time they finished dinner. After discussing the arrangements for their trip to Chengdu the next day, Qu Mengmeng and Zheng Yi, both feeling a deep sense of loss, walked home together. Kang Ning offered to see them off, but Zheng Yi refused, saying it was only a few steps within the same neighborhood.

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Lying on the spacious bed, after their intimacy, Lu Jing nestled in Kang Ning’s arms and murmured, “Ning, I think Mengmeng really likes you. The way she looks at you is different.”

Kang Ning turned and held Lu Jing tightly. “Jing, I feel like I’ve wronged you.”

Lu Jing pressed her hand over Kang Ning’s mouth and gazed at him with deep affection. “I already knew. On the third day after I got back, Zheng Yi secretly told me everything. In fact, that night, Zheng Yi deliberately made it possible for you and Mengmeng to be together. She couldn't bear to see Mengmeng in so much pain and knew she had fallen for you. Sigh... Afterwards, I wondered what I would have done in her place. So I understand what happened between you and Mengmeng. I just didn’t expect my beloved to confess it to my face so honestly. Ning, now I feel both comforted and happy.”

Kang Ning was deeply moved by Lu Jing’s words. He embraced her, sat up, and kissed her passionately, expressing his apology and love without words.

Perhaps it was a trace of jealousy in her heart or Kang Ning’s ardent touch that stirred Lu Jing. She broke from her usual passivity and gently pressed her ample, alabaster chest against Kang Ning, pushing him back onto the bed. Her burning lips fell on his broad forehead, then his proud nose, then his lips, and then his chest. After lingering there a moment, she slowly moved downward, finally pausing below his abdomen for a long while...

Just before dawn, Kang Ning, with his keen sense of time, awoke as usual. By the dim light by the wall, he glanced at Lu Jing, sleeping sweetly in his arms. He carefully shifted his waist and lay quietly, beginning his breathing exercises.

Ever since his breakthrough on Christmas Eve, Kang Ning had been delighted to discover that, whether standing or lying down, as soon as he focused his mind, the energy would follow. He finally understood the state that Old Master Kang had emphasized to him and his sworn brother Zhang Jianhan two years ago: “Preserve the intent, abandon the form.”

At seven, Lu Jing woke, her lovely eyes still hazy with sleep. Feeling Kang Ning’s heat, she hurriedly sat up, but as soon as she propped herself up, Kang Ning pulled her into a tight embrace. Knowing resistance was futile, Lu Jing gave up and pleaded pitifully in Kang Ning’s ear, “Spare me, Ning, I still have to go to Chengdu with Mengmeng later. Yesterday afternoon at the teahouse, Zheng Yi teased me for ages.”

Hearing this, Kang Ning stifled his desire, gave Lu Jing a kiss, and started to get up. But Lu Jing pinned him down playfully. “Ning, you’re too much for me. I can’t keep up. Maybe I should share half of you with Mengmeng?”

Kang Ning was shocked, staring at Lu Jing for a long moment before leaping out of bed and dashing to the bathroom without a stitch on, Lu Jing’s melodious laughter trailing behind him.

An hour later, Kang Ning and Lu Jing walked hand in hand to Zheng Yi’s door. Before they could knock, Zheng Yi opened it herself, greeting them cheerfully. Qu Mengmeng followed her out.

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Kang Ning accepted from Zheng Yi the keys to the garage and the BMW, opened the garage, backed the car out and let the engine warm, then checked the tire pressure and other details before calling everyone to get in. They drove straight to the highway entrance.

The two-hundred-kilometer journey flew by in an hour and a half, filled with the three women’s laughter. Yet it took another forty minutes to navigate through Chengdu’s city streets to the government residential complex near Xihua Gate. After parking, the four, all famished, entered a stylishly decorated teahouse for a meal.

After eating, Kang Ning hurried downstairs to a small shop offering typing and photocopying services. He dictated the content to a young woman, who typed it out on two A4 sheets. He paid her ten yuan, leaving her bemused, and returned to the teahouse.

Back at the table, Kang Ning took the Wang family’s phone number from Qu Mengmeng—only to find she didn’t know it, nor did she know their exact address. This left Kang Ning and the others dumbfounded. In the end, Kang Ning called the government duty office under the pretense of being from a convalescent home and managed to obtain Deputy Director Wang’s home number.

He dialed and politely introduced himself. The woman who answered, hearing he had confidential matters for Deputy Director Wang, hurried to fetch him. Over the phone, it sounded as if many people were chatting in the Wang household. After a while, Deputy Director Wang Zhongnian’s official voice finally came on the line.

After a brief greeting, Kang Ning got straight to the point. “Deputy Director Wang, I’m not sure if you’re aware of your son’s condition. From my assessment, this illness has been ongoing for more than two years, not just recently. I assume you’ve been using laser cauterization and antibiotics as treatment? Ha, let me be frank about the real situation. This is actually a rare variant of condyloma acuminatum. As far as I know, only two people in the country can cure it. One is in Beijing—but I doubt you have the connections to get inside those red walls. The other expert is retired in Guangxi; if you reach him in time, there might be hope. But I can assure you, if you keep delaying, within a year your only son’s life will be at risk.”

The short, thin, and deeply wrinkled Wang Zhongnian was shocked. He knew that to hide this shameful matter, his son had to fly to Xi’an every month for treatment, spending hundreds of thousands over the past year with no improvement. The recurring flare-ups left the whole family helpless, and lately, the condition had only grown worse. Now, hearing the mysterious Kang Ning accurately describe the illness, the usual treatments, and even pinpoint the duration, how could he not be both astonished and overjoyed?

At that moment, Wang Zhongnian clung to this lifeline, trembling with excitement. After a while, he covered the receiver, ushered seven or eight guests out of the living room, and then, voice quivering, pleaded:

“Sir, please hear me out. I want to meet you immediately. Tell me where you are and I’ll send a car, or give me your address and I’ll come at once. Sir, I, Wang Zhongnian, beg of you! Whatever you want—money, anything at all—just say the word, and my family will comply. If you can cure my son’s stubborn illness and preserve my family’s lineage, you will be my greatest benefactor!”