Chapter 40: Being Followed
Beth hasn’t been learning oil painting for long and is still at the beginner stage.
In this lesson, Meng Shuyou mainly taught her color matching.
“Different purities of color can express different emotions. For example, high-purity colors give people a bright and vibrant feeling, while low-purity ones look relatively dim and calm. I’ll show you a few example images and you’ll understand.”
Beth listened very attentively.
Midway through the class, the younger sister came up to bring a fruit platter for them to eat.
Meng Shuyou then let Beth rest first.
The younger sister forked a piece of watermelon with a plastic fork and brought it to Beth’s mouth, looking very attentive. “Older sister, let me feed you.”
Beth knew her too well. “What are you doing? Do you need something from me?”
The younger sister whispered, “I accidentally broke Mother’s lipstick…”
“Then go apologize to Mother yourself. I’m not lying for you.”
“Older sister, don’t be like that. You’re the best older sister in the world.”
“That’s not what you said last time.”
Meng Shuyou watched the two sisters bicker, as if seeing her and her older sister when they were little.
But every time she made a mistake, her older sister would take the blame.
Back then, she would often hug her older sister and act spoiled. “You must be the best older sister in the world!”
She once thought they could be that happy forever.
–
Class ended right at six o’clock. It was supposed to end at five-thirty, but teaching Beth color matching took an extra half hour.
The hostess had already prepared dinner and wanted Meng Shuyou to eat before leaving.
She kept declining, not wanting to disturb too much, but couldn’t resist the sisters’ soft and hard persuasion.
“Older sister, just eat dinner before you go. My mother makes really delicious food.”
“Yeah, Mother’s cola chicken wings and mashed potatoes are super tasty.”
Meng Shuyou had both hands held by them and couldn’t leave, so she had to agree.
This dinner was very interesting.
While eating, the younger sister schemed. “Mother, I have something to tell you. Don’t get mad, okay?”
“What is it?”
“I accidentally broke your tablet.”
The hostess’s face changed. “What? You broke my tablet! Do you want a beating?”
“Wait.” The younger sister swallowed the chicken in her mouth and licked her lips. “I also accidentally broke your lipstick.”
“Forget the lipstick for now. Tell me honestly how you broke the tablet. Haven’t I told you many times not to touch my things? I need it for work.”
Beth interjected, “Mother, she’s lying to you. The tablet isn’t broken.”
The younger sister whispered, “But the lipstick is really broken.”
“You—” The hostess realized she’d been tricked by the brat. “Naughty child.”
The younger sister smiled smugly.
The hostess wasn’t letting her off. “Eat half a bowl more rice today, and I won’t be mad.”
The younger sister’s smile vanished. “Half a bowl? That’s too much.”
“Don’t bargain with me.”
“……Fine.”
Meng Shuyou felt like a voyeur peeking at others’ happiness.
This plain and simple life was what she dreamed of.
After dinner, she said goodbye and left.
Having briefly experienced the warm and loving family atmosphere, she felt empty inside upon leaving.
It was hard to get a taxi here, but there was a subway station nearby, about a seven- or eight-minute walk.
No direct route, so transferring was a bit troublesome. Meng Shuyou planned to ride four stops and then get a taxi outside.
This line wasn’t crowded but was very mixed: slovenly black people, ragged homeless men, non-mainstream punk guys… a motley crew.
There was an indescribable foul smell in the car, which was why she rarely took the subway in Chicago.
This city had two extremes: the prosperous commercial center and the decadent, racially segregated poor areas.
After enduring ten minutes, as soon as they arrived at the station, Meng Shuyou hurried off.
A black man behind her followed her out.
Meng Shuyou was replying to Winnie’s message and didn’t notice.
After walking a ways from the subway entrance, she belatedly realized there had been a man’s footsteps behind her the whole time.
Her strong sixth sense told her she was being followed.
She gripped her mobile phone tightly, didn’t dare look back, and quickened her pace toward a crowded area. The footsteps sped up too.
Meng Shuyou was on edge. She finally saw a taxi in the distance and was about to wave when she was suddenly shoved. A pair of thick black arms snatched the bag from her shoulder and bolted.
“Ah—”
She stumbled and fell to the ground. Her elbow scraped the cement, drawing blood.
A burning pain spread across her skin.
No passersby around. Meng Shuyou watched the man disappear, left feeling helpless.
Her bag had her documents and some cash. No valuables, but losing the documents meant she couldn’t go to New York the day after tomorrow.
The only silver lining was that her mobile phone was still there.
Winnie called at that moment.
Meng Shuyou endured the pain, got up from the ground, and answered.
On the other end, Winnie was lying lazily on the bed. “Why haven’t you replied? What are you busy with?”
Meng Shuyou’s voice was muffled. “My bag was just robbed.”
Winnie gasped in shock. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Meng Shuyou brushed the dirt off her pants.
“Did you call the police?”
“About to.”
“Did you lose anything valuable?”
“Documents, and a thousand US dollars.”
“Money’s gone, whatever. Losing documents is the real trouble. I hear the police there are super slow.”
Robbery crime rates were high in parts of Chicago, with the police station buried in cases, some taking three to five months without resolution.
Winnie suggested, “Why don’t you ask Mister Pei for help? If he just says a word to the police station, you’ll get your stuff back quick.”
Connections were the fastest shortcut.
Meng Shuyou lowered her gaze. “I’m not in contact with him anymore.”
Winnie was puzzled. “Why? Don’t you like him?”
Meng Shuyou stared at her toes. “He doesn’t like me.”
Besides, he had a marriage alliance partner. How could she bother him again?
“What now? Replacing documents takes at least ten days to half a month. Don’t you have an internship?” Winnie suddenly thought of something. “Wait, let me think of a way. Send me your location.”
Before Meng Shuyou could ask what her plan was, the call ended.
Winnie called Zhao Hesong.
He asked, “What do you want?”
“Can I ask you for a favor?”
“What favor? I never help for free.”
“It’s an emergency. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, Young Master Zhao.”
Zhao Hesong raised an eyebrow. “That serious?”
“Really.” Winnie got to the point. “Meng Shuyou got her bag robbed on Second Street in the west side. She’s a girl alone with no money—it’s not safe.”
Zhao Hesong found it amusing. “Wrong person. For Meng Shuyou, you should call Pei Yuzhou.”
“Who knows if he’s in Chicago. You’re the first one I thought of.”
“He’s been here these past few days. Tell her to find Brother Zhou.”
