The Cannon Fodder Ex-Wife Returns as the Black Moonlight - Chapter 15

On the outskirts of Dongcheng, beside an old street brimming with the warmth of everyday life, neon lights from barbecue stalls and open-air diners lit up the night, painting it in vibrant hues.

Xiao Luomeng pulled a few beers from the freezer. With a quick press of the chopsticks against the cap, the bottle popped open. She handed the opened beer to the man across from her before moving on to the second.

The man had a clean buzz cut, though he hadn’t shaved his stubble. In the bluish shadows cast across his face, there was a patch of pale skin, clearly a scar left by a blade.

He sipped the chilled beer and asked, “What made you suddenly want to treat me to a drink?”

Xiao Luomeng grinned. “A disciple treating her master doesn’t need a reason.”

Sun Wei chuckled. “So you do remember you have a master? You don’t contact me for a month or two, then when you do, it’s to ask a favor. Honestly, I think you’re more like the master here. Master Xiao.”

Xiao Luomeng laughed awkwardly. “I just didn’t want to bother you. I know you just got promoted and have a pile of new cases to handle.”

Sun Wei lit a cigarette and gave her a sideways look. “Go on. What kind of trouble are you in?”

Xiao Luomeng sobered up. “No trouble, really. I just wanted your help finding someone.”

Sun Wei glanced at her with a hint of certainty in his voice. “It’s the person you had me pick up at Huayang Park last time, isn’t it?”

Xiao Luomeng nodded.

“So there is something wrong with her?”

“There is. And it’s not something small.”

Sun Wei stayed silent, taking a drag on his cigarette.

“She said her name is Shang Shiqian. But she remembers nothing else.” Xiao Luomeng drew in a deep breath. “At first, I thought she was just being evasive. I figured maybe something had happened to her that she couldn’t talk about, and since I wasn’t on duty, I didn’t detain her. I even felt she might be in some kind of trouble.”

“So you brought her to me?”

“Yeah. She seemed cooperative, so I told her to wait for you at the bus stop, but…”

“But she disappeared,” Sun Wei finished.

Xiao Luomeng recalled Shang Shiqian’s demeanor. She hesitated, then defended her, “Maybe she didn’t leave on purpose. She was hiding something, sure, but I don’t think she’s done anything wrong. Her eyes were too clear.”

Sun Wei laughed. “Didn’t you just say she’s got serious problems?”

“What I meant was, doesn’t her name sound familiar to you?? Eight years ago, the Shang family…”

Whatever came to Sun Wei’s mind made the amusement on his face fade. He took a long drag on his cigarette. “It’s probably just a coincidence. Same name, or a fake one.”

“But I ran into her near the Shang family’s cemetery.”

“You think you saw a ghost?” Sun Wei teased. “Want to come back to the station with me to soak up some good vibes?”

“Come on, Master. I’m serious.”

Sun Wei flicked off the ash and dropped the joking tone. “What else did you find?”

“At the time, I only thought her name sounded familiar. Didn’t think much of it. But this morning, on a whim, I checked the news and saw an article about the upcoming Go league championship…”

Xiao Luomeng’s clearest memory of Go came from a case eight years ago.

Back then, she had just graduated from the police academy and was assigned to the security team as a trainee. Her mentor at the time had been Sun Wei.

One night, the precinct received a report that Shang Shiqian, the fourth daughter of the Shang family, had been kidnapped.

It was a serious case that involved both the Shang and Wei families. The higher-ups dispatched a large number of officers to search for her.

Although the police managed to track down the suspect within twelve hours, they were still too late. All they found was Shang Shiqian’s body.

Not long after, the perpetrator committed suicide out of guilt.

The case had been led by the criminal investigation team. Due to a shortage of personnel, Xiao Luomeng had been brought in to assist with neighborhood interviews.

During that time, she learned that Shang Shiqian had been a professional Go player and a world champion. She had ranked 27th nationally and was the highest-ranked female player in the country. That year, she was also considered the strongest challenger in the Tianyuan Tournament.

Had she entered the Tianyi Pavilion, she would have become the first female Tianyuan titleholder in Xia’s Go history. She would also have been the third person in the country to hold both the Tianyuan and Meijin titles simultaneously.

Although Xiao Luomeng hadn’t fully understood the significance of those titles, the overwhelming media coverage at the time made it clear that Shang Shiqian’s death was a huge loss for the Go world.

…

As the case settled and the two families worked to suppress the news, public attention gradually faded.

To Xiao Luomeng, it became just one of the hundreds of criminal and security cases she’d handled in her policing career. Nothing particularly memorable.

After all, eight years had passed.

If not for an old habit, she might never have discovered such a shocking secret. She had casually searched “Shang Shiqian” online and come across an old Go article with a photo. That was when she realized—

The woman she had met two mornings ago looked exactly like Shang Shiqian from eight years ago.

Before they knew it, Sun Wei’s cigarette had burned down to the filter.

He crushed it under his shoe, about to flick it into a nearby flowerbed.

Xiao Luomeng raised a hand. “Fifty yuan fine per cigarette.”

Sun Wei gave a dry laugh and stuffed the butt into an empty beer bottle. He pulled out another and lit it.

After a long moment of puffing smoke, he said, “Luomeng, maybe you were just too tired back then and remembered wrong. Maybe she only looks a bit like Shang Shiqian.”

“That’s impossible. I checked the dashcam footage and compared their faces. The similarity is nearly identical.”

“So what? Is looking like Shang Shiqian a crime? You think she’s suspicious, but what’s your reason? Just because she looks like someone who died eight years ago and is using the same name?” Sun Wei’s tone turned sharp.

Xiao Luomeng had no answer.

After a pause, she said, “What if there’s something bigger going on behind this?”

“Don’t jump to conspiracy theories.
You know families like the Shangs, with all their complicated background, have plenty of secrets they don’t want made public.
How do you know she isn’t an illegitimate child? Maybe the family chose to keep her hidden.
If you keep digging into her identity, you’ll end up knee-deep in that mess.
Who are you? What status do you have to even get involved?
My advice is to leave it alone.”

Xiao Luomeng stayed calm. “I get why you’re hesitant. That case from back then was huge. A lot of people got dragged into it. Even you had to tough it out for eight years just to finally get a promotion. It’s normal to want to keep your head down now.”

Sun Wei glared at her. “What are you trying to say?”

“I know you’re worried I’ll get hurt if I insist on finding out who she is. I’m not a cop anymore. I don’t have the means to protect myself. If someone wanted to target me, it could get dangerous. You’re looking out for me. I understand.”

She paused, then continued, “But what if she’s in trouble and needs our help? If we do nothing, could we live with that? If you really don’t want to be involved, just tell me where she is. I’ll investigate on my own.”

Shang Shiqian couldn’t give Wei Yixian a clear answer.

She also had the feeling Wei Yixian wasn’t looking for one.

It seemed more like she just needed to let something out.

As expected.

Wei Yixian seemed to realize her emotions had slipped. She pulled herself together and said, “Sorry. Talking about my late wife made me lose control.”

She left the drink untouched and went upstairs.

Shang Shiqian watched the slim figure disappear into the shadows of the staircase. Her chest tightened with a strange emotion. She opened her mouth, but her throat felt dry.

It was odd.

So even Wei Yixian could lose control because of her?

That hadn’t been mentioned in the novel. Maybe it was because no one had ever appeared to remind Wei Yixian of her.

Unable to make sense of it, Shang Shiqian drained the rest of the milk in her cup.

She licked the corner of her lips.

Why did the milk suddenly taste sweeter?

——————

Miss Shang (blushing): You actually lost control because of me.

Miss Wei: Please. I was pretending.

Later…

Miss Shang: You’re faking it again?

Miss Wei: This time, it’s real.