I Have 10 Trillion Dollars only Usable For Simping
Chapter 953 - 689 traces_2

Chapter 953: 689 traces_2

There was a time when Li Shuru, in his eyes, was nothing more than a person with an outstanding appearance—a belief shared by many.

Yet, he hadn’t expected that beneath that beautiful exterior wrapped a soul even more remarkable.

After Li Shuru entered the bathroom, Jiang Chen picked up his smartphone and dialed Wei Chuyin’s number.

The moment the call went through, he heard a sobbing tone on the other end and the first words spoken were, "Thank you."

He couldn’t tell if the thanks were directed at him or at Li Shuru.

"Was she the last person you contacted?"

Jiang Chen cut straight to the point.

"Um, she said she wanted to wander around, so I accompanied her. Then she mentioned she wanted to go to Sha City and insisted on going alone. I returned to East Sea to wait for her. She promised me that once she was done with Sha City, she’d return to the hospital for treatment, but..."

Wei Chuyin’s tears became more intense, making it difficult for her to continue.

Sha City.

Jiang Chen fell silent.

"Jiang Chen, please, you must find her."

"When was her illness discovered?"

Jiang Chen’s voice remained calm.

"It was found before you and Hamolei were about to sue each other. I urged her to get treatment early, but she absolutely refused. It’s just a treatment, how much could it cost? I’ve looked it up online—the illness is very painful, you’re not unaware of how much she fears pain..."

Wei Chuyin’s emotions spiraled out of control until she was no longer able to speak through her tears.

Jiang Chen quietly listened to the sounds of muffled sobs coming from the other end of the phone.

Despite the fact that Wei Chuyin often stirred up trouble when the two of them were together, it was undeniable that for Ai Qian, she truly was a sincere friend.

In this era where interests reigned supreme, not even friends, and sometimes spouses, were like birds in a forest who scatter at the sign of trouble. How many could go all out, staying unwaveringly by one’s side, even when the other has given up on themselves?

The "scheming" that happened initially, when examined at its core, was ultimately about a difference in beliefs.

Was it truly wrong to wish for a friend to find a partner with good material conditions?

He had intended to wait until the emotions on the other end stabilized, but it seemed impossible to regain control.

If even outsiders were collapsing like this, what about the person suffering from the illness?

Words of comfort were too difficult to articulate, so Jiang Chen simply said, "Take good care of yourself. I’ll find her."

After speaking, he meant to hang up the phone when suddenly a voice choked with regret came through.

"I’m sorry."

"I’m really sorry. I know, saying this now, doesn’t mean anything, but I truly am sorry."

Jiang Chen held the phone in silence for a while.

"Maybe you won’t believe me, but I’ve never blamed you, not once. Having you as a friend is Ai Qian’s luck."

Wei Chuyin on the other end wept, continuously repeating her apologies.

"If you insist on apologizing, then I guess all I can say is, it’s okay."

Wei Chuyin covered her mouth tightly but still couldn’t suppress the cries of regret.

Shortly after, she hung up the phone.

Jiang Chen put down his smartphone, opened his contacts, and found Fu Zili’s number.

"Hey, General Jiang."

"I need a favor."

"Go ahead."

Jiang Chen was direct, and Fu Zili was equally straightforward.

"Help me find someone."

"Who? A man or a woman?"

Sha City wasn’t large; with Fu Zili’s network within the city, it wasn’t impossible to find Ai Qian.

Of course, that assumed she was still in Sha City.

"A woman, named Ai Qian. I’ll send you her photo."

Fu Zili was a true man of the world and didn’t ask any extra questions, "Okay, send it to me for a look."

Jiang Chen intended to send the photo, but then realized that he seemed to have no pictures of her.

"I’ll send it to you shortly."

"No problem."

"Thanks."

"That’s a strange thing to say. You’re being too formal."

After exchanging pleasantries, Jiang Chen ended the call. He then obtained Ai Qian’s photo and basic information from the speechless Young Master Luo and forwarded them to Fu Zili.

Li Shuru came out of the shower and suggested, "You should take a shower now."

Jiang Chen nodded, entered the bathroom, turned on the showerhead, tilted his face upwards, and let the hot water spray down on him.

"Your phone is ringing."

After she finished her shower, Li Shuru said.

While drying his hair, Jiang Chen picked up the smartphone.

It was a call from Fu Zili.

Jiang Chen called back.

"Jiang Chen, this girl you sent, Tie Jun said he seems to have seen her before."

Fu Zili was very efficient, or rather, he took Jiang Chen’s request very seriously.

Jiang Chen hadn’t expected to get news so quickly, much less this kind of news.

"Tie Jun?"

"Yep, I just sent the photo to some friends I know, and Tie Jun said this girl seems to have eaten barbecue at his shop, and she was with Xiao Yu."

Jiang Chen was caught off guard.

"Because just recently, Tie Jun had quite an impression of this girl. She looked just like the photo, this must be a graduation photograph, right? Short hair, quite pretty. Tie Jun even thought at first that she was Xiao Yu’s girlfriend."

"I’ll give Xiao Yu a call."

"Okay."

After ending the call with Fu Zili, Jiang Chen immediately called his cousin.

"Bro."

"You’re not asleep, are you?"

"Not yet."

"You said last time you wanted to go back, are you still in Sha City?"

"I’m back at school."

Hong Xiaoyu tentatively asked, "Bro, is there something wrong?"

"Did you run into someone in Sha City?"

How did his cousin and Ai Qian end up together? They should have never met before.

But Tie Jun was a very steady person. He definitely wouldn’t offer opinions about uncertain matters lightly.

That is to say.

Tie Jun indeed had met Ai Qian.

"Bro, no."

Hong Xiaoyu quickly responded.

He had to admit, the kid was pretty trustworthy. But his flaw was that he wasn’t very good at lying.

Even though he replied very decisively, Jiang Chen still detected his lack of confidence from his tone, realizing he was lying.

"Where did you run into her?"

Jiang Chen inquired without leaving a trace.

"The East Gate."

Hong Xiaoyu blurted out, then suddenly realized he had slipped up and felt quite embarrassed, "Bro... It wasn’t that I meant to hide it from you, it’s just Ai Qian... she didn’t want me to tell..."

"How do you know her?"

Jiang Chen couldn’t help asking.

"I saw her from your Moments posts before."

After letting it slip, Hong Xiaoyu dared not hide anymore and honestly answered.

Jiang Chen was taken aback.

Although he could no longer find any pictures of Ai Qian, traces of her existence had lingered in his life and couldn’t be erased.

"How long were you together?"

"Half a day. I was actually planning to help you tidy up the house that day, but then I bumped into her at the East Gate tunnel. She was alone. So I took her to tour the city walls and..."

Hong Xiaoyu paused, seemingly hiding something.

Seeing that there was no response on the other end, he braced himself and continued, "And we also offered flowers at our uncle’s grave."

They went to his parents’ grave?

Jiang Chen’s expression became slightly more focused.

"Bro, I didn’t say we should go; Ai Qian suggested it herself, and I didn’t feel it was right to refuse..."

Hong Xiaoyu hurried to explain.

Jiang Chen fell silent.

Realizing that the other end had gone quiet, Hong Xiaoyu became increasingly anxious. Although he was sure his cousin wasn’t heartless, he couldn’t predict how Jiang Chen would feel about him taking such liberties without permission.

There was another point he found even more puzzling.

Didn’t Ai Qian specifically ask him to keep it a secret?

How did his cousin find him so quickly?

"Bro, how did you know?"

Hong Xiaoyu asked tentatively.

Jiang Chen didn’t answer, nor did he seem to dwell on the fact that Hong Xiaoyu had taken such liberties. Instead, he asked, "Is she still in Sha City?"

"She shouldn’t be."

Hong Xiaoyu quickly said, "When I dropped her off at the hotel, I told her to stay for a few more days, but she said she’d be leaving the next day. She’s probably already left Sha City by now."

"What did you guys talk about?"

"There wasn’t much to talk about, but I felt like she was a little odd."

Hong Xiaoyu expressed his truest feelings.

"Did she say where she plans to go next?"

"No, she didn’t. But she told me that next time we meet, she’ll treat me to a meal."

Hong Xiaoyu spoke frankly.

"I see."

"Bro..."

Hong Xiaoyu was worried that his cousin might be upset.

Jiang Chen chuckled, "You took her around for a day, must have been tiring. Make sure to remember to let her treat you to a big meal next time."

"Hehe."

Hong Xiaoyu immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hanging up."