Yuhua Road, Zhongtian Garden, Building 22, Room 2202.
On a bed covered in cash, Ma Siyu, dressed in pajamas, was sprawled out, her sleeping posture completely uninhibited.
Ma Siyu, who claimed to be uninterested in money, was very interested in spending it. In her own words: "I am who I am, a firework of a different color."
Recently, Wu Jun had borrowed and repaid money, clearing her debt of over a million yuan. He had also generously paid off her mortgage in full. As she put it, this particular investment was comparable to something the stock market god, Buffett, would pull off.
Now, she had become a well-off young woman with a million in savings and a fully paid-off property. All she needed was a car to make things perfect.
A while ago, she had sold her BMW X1, which she was paying for in installments, to scrape together some cash. Now, with the money she had on hand, she had more than enough to buy one outright. It was time to get a new car.
Today, she had filled in for another host and was taking the next day off in lieu. After work, she withdrew the cash for the car, planning to buy it tomorrow. On a weekday, she could get all the paperwork done in a single day.
In the middle of a deep sleep, Ma Siyu suddenly shot bolt upright in bed, clutching her chest and gasping for breath.
She reached for her phone, which was charging on the nightstand, and glanced at the screen. It was already 1:30 AM.
She had a terrible premonition. Unlocking her phone with her fingerprint, she found Wu Jun’s number and pressed the call button with a trembling finger.
"The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later."
"The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later."
"The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later."
After three failed attempts, Ma Siyu leaped out of bed. Without even changing out of her pajamas, she bolted from the bedroom, snatched her handbag from the living room sofa, and rushed for the door.
Just as she reached the entrance, she hurried back into the bedroom, grabbed handfuls of cash from the bed, and stuffed them into her bag. Once the bag was full, she charged out of the bedroom again, not even bothering to lock the front door, and pressed the down button for the elevator.
’It’s nothing, it’s nothing. I’m just being paranoid. I’m just losing my mind in the middle of the night, that must be it.’ Watching the elevator ascend, Ma Siyu muttered nervously, her voice trembling.
The elevator arrived. She rushed in, pressed the button for the first floor, and the doors closed as the car began its descent.
Inside the elevator, she hailed a taxi on her phone.
Once downstairs, she couldn’t wait for the taxi to arrive at the building. She bolted for the complex exit. As she ran, she felt a stinging pain in the soles of her feet and realized she wasn’t wearing shoes, but she couldn’t be bothered to go back for them.
Just as she ran out of the residential complex, a taxi approached from the left.
"Driver, I’m the one who called!" Ma Siyu frantically waved at the driver.
The taxi drew closer. Before it had even come to a complete stop, Ma Siyu yanked the door open with a CLICK and jumped into the passenger seat.
The driver was so startled by Ma Siyu’s ferocity that he nearly slammed on the gas and sped off.
"Lady, what’s wrong with you?!" Seeing Ma Siyu jump into his car with her messy hair and pajamas, the driver thought he’d run into a lunatic and shot her a wary look.
"Tianyuan Estate, and drive as fast as you can." Ma Siyu didn’t waste time with pleasantries. She grabbed a handful of cash from her bag, threw it on the center console, and said urgently.
"You’re... you’re... you’re Sister Yu, right? I’m one of your loyal listeners! You have to be Sister Yu!" The more the driver looked at Ma Siyu, the more familiar she seemed. Recovering from the shock of encountering a potential madwoman, he was now overwhelmed with the joy of meeting his idol. He pointed at her, his face alight with excitement.
"Drive, just drive! GO, GO, GO! Another word out of you and I’ll revoke your fan card!" Ma Siyu was frantic. She grabbed another handful of cash and threw it onto the console.
Seeing the anxious look on Ma Siyu’s face, the driver realized Sister Yu must be in some kind of emergency and paid no mind to her rough treatment.
"Hang on, Sister Yu." He shifted gears, released the clutch, and slammed on the accelerator.
The taxi sped toward Tianyuan Estate.
"Faster, go faster! Why are you driving so slow?" Ma Siyu urged him on relentlessly from the passenger seat.
The driver said awkwardly, "Sister Yu, I’m already doing 100 in the city. I wouldn’t drive like this for anyone else."
The traffic light at the intersection turned red. The driver hastily hit the brakes, preparing to stop.
At this time of night, there were very few cars on the road. Ma Siyu saw that the intersection was clear in all directions, but the light wouldn’t change for another fifty-odd seconds. She turned to the driver and said, "Ten thousand yuan per red light. Run it."
"Sister Yu, are you serious?" the driver asked, stunned.
Ma Siyu urged, "Cash, on the spot. Hurry up."
"Alright! For Sister Yu, I’ll risk it!" Unclear if it was for his idol or for the money, the driver floored the accelerator and sped through the intersection.
A drive that should have taken half an hour was completed in just over ten minutes. The taxi arrived downstairs from the small supermarket in Tianyuan Estate, having run four red lights along the way.
Before the taxi had even come to a full stop, Ma Siyu unbuckled her seatbelt and threw the door open. The moment she got out and saw the supermarket, burned beyond recognition, her legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground.
"Sister Yu, what’s wrong?" Seeing her suddenly fall, the taxi driver quickly got out of the car and rushed over to help her up.
Ma Siyu waved him away weakly. "Don’t worry about me. Help me shout for someone. Ask where the owner of the supermarket downstairs went."
"But... it’s the middle of the night. That’s not really appropriate, is it?" The driver sounded hesitant. The thought of disturbing the whole neighborhood was stressful.
Ma Siyu said, "A thousand yuan per shout."
"Sister Yu, you underestimate me! Do you think I’m doing this for the money?" the driver declared righteously. Then he looked up, cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone, and started shouting, "Anyone still awake?! Does anyone know where the owner of the downstairs supermarket went?!"
"Anyone still awake?! Does anyone know where the owner of the downstairs supermarket went?!"
"Anyone still awake?! Does anyone know where the owner of the downstairs supermarket went?!"
"The owner was taken to the burn hospital! He just left a little while ago!" After the driver had shouted three times, a window opened upstairs, and someone answered him.
The driver turned to Ma Siyu and said, "Sister Yu. Three shouts."
With the new destination, Ma Siyu stumbled back into the car, and they continued their journey to the burn hospital.
At 2:30 AM, Ma Siyu—clad in pajamas, her hair a mess, and her feet bare—pushed open the door to a hospital room on the fifth floor of the Shimen City Burn Hospital. Her sudden appearance startled Xu Fei and the others who had brought Wu Jun there.
"Did... did... did you get the wrong room?" Cui Zhishen was about to shoo her out when Xu Minli grabbed him and asked Ma Siyu nervously.
"I’m looking for Wu Jun." Ma Siyu said as she walked past, pushing aside the three people blocking the bed to see Wu Jun lying there.
"Little Auntie? How did you get here?" Wu Jun asked, looking bewildered that Ma Siyu had found him so quickly.
Ma Siyu’s eyes were red. She strode to the bedside, raised her hand as if to strike him, but ultimately let it fall.
Ma Siyu forced a smile that looked uglier than tears. "I came in a hurry, so I didn’t bring anything. You didn’t get burned anywhere bad, did you?"