Zhao Sulan had her own plans, and so did Lin Fangwei.
Her academic performance was good, and she was also quite attractive. Although she had undergone a kidney transplant surgery, the doctors all said that, based on her current recovery, she would be almost indistinguishable from a normal person in two more years, with nothing to worry about even if she wanted to get married and have children.
So, she decided to rent a house near the school and continue her education. After graduation, once her health was fully recovered, she planned to find a good job and a good match, and start a wealthy life anew.
It was difficult to find someone to impersonate another who was frequently seen.
But to pose as someone people hadn’t seen in a long time wasn’t that hard.
Although no one could confirm whether Su Xiufeng and Ding Jian hadn’t seen each other for many years, since Ding Jian was pretending to be dead, he must have met Su Xiufeng with a secretive and partially concealed demeanor.
Soon, they found someone who looked similar to Ding Jian.
They specifically brought him in from another province.
They did this to avoid future complications.
Aside from appearance, voice was a tricky thing to control.
But this didn’t stump them.
They gave the substitute a medicine that would make his voice hoarse and then instructed him to pretend to have a cold with a cough.
After the substitute perfected his disguise, there was still one major problem they needed to overcome:
How to arrange a meeting between the substitute and Su Xiufeng.
Su Xiufeng rarely left the Medicinal Garden, and even when she did, it was by car, so it wouldn’t be easy for the substitute to see her.
They’d even tried having the substitute call Su Xiufeng directly, but unfortunately, she had the habit of not picking up calls from unfamiliar numbers.
Left with no other options, they had the substitute pretend to be a driver picking up goods at the Medicinal Garden and try his luck.
It was unlikely he would bump into her since Sister Xiang handled the shipments, and Su Xiufeng didn’t usually appear on the scene.
After visiting seven times, the substitute finally ran into her the last time, by chance, when Su Xiufeng was about to leave on an errand, leading to a close encounter.
The substitute had suffered quite a bit too, and seized the opportunity immediately, excitedly calling out to Su Xiufeng, "Hey, Xiufeng, is that really you? I’m your old middle school classmate, Little Jian, you know?"
Su Xiufeng was startled and turned to find Ding Jian, who she had been worrying might come looking for her. Her eyes dimmed as she approached Ding Jian and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I... came to pick up some goods for your family, oh, I’ve got something to discuss with you privately, is that okay?"
Having been promised a substantial reward by Song Ting, the substitute was very eager and now acted both excitedly and lewdly, matching perfectly with the Ding Jian Su Xiufeng remembered from her memory.
Though the voice was a bit different, Su Xiufeng didn’t find the occasional coughing suspicious, given the substitute’s pretense of illness.
She figured Ding Jian was most likely looking for some money from her, which she could afford. She nodded and pointed to an open space not far away, "Let’s talk over there."
When they reached the open space, the substitute laughed sleazily and got straight to the point, "Su Xiufeng, I sacrificed so much for you back then, and now I’m neither human nor ghost. Don’t you think you owe me some money?"
Su Xiufeng sneered, "You have some nerve. Not only did you fail to kill Song Ting, but you also allowed him to have a bastard child. I’m really starting to wonder whose side you’re on."
The substitute shamelessly retorted, "If I were with him, why would I have beaten him until he lost his memory? Forget it, Su Xiufeng. Let’s not talk about that. I don’t want much from you—just ten or twenty thousand will be enough."
Now that he had the information he needed, the substitute only wanted to get away.
Su Xiufeng hadn’t expected Ding Jian to ask for so little. She was taken aback but didn’t dwell on it too much. For one thing, she lacked the energy, and for another, she felt it wasn’t the right time to tangle with Ding Jian.
Twenty thousand was a small amount; she decided to give it to him first. If he troubled her again later, she would deal with him then.
She nodded, "Wait here. I’ll go get the money. Later, just say it’s you or someone in your family who’s fallen ill and needs money for treatment... and that you only borrowed five thousand."
"Alright, we’ll go with that story, heh heh. Actually, someone in my family really is sick—it’s my wife, or rather, my lover who is ill."