New York, Kennedy International Airport.

This was Liu Fen’s first time abroad.

Ah, since divorcing Xia Dajun and leaving backward Dahe Village, her life had been full of “firsts”!

As a businesswoman for two years now, she was used to traveling between Beijing and Yangcheng, frequently flying planes. This flight was just exceptionally long, with troublesome connections… but they had safely arrived in New York.

What about foreigners? They often shopped at the ‘Blue Phoenix’ store on Xiushui Street. Liu Fen had seen plenty of foreigners before – they had two eyes and one mouth just like everyone else, not three heads and six arms like monsters!

Well, there were a lot of foreigners at the airport.

Liu Fen only knew a few simple English phrases, all related to greetings and discussing prices – things relevant to her business.

She had brought an English conversation book with her.

They couldn’t rely on her, but could they depend on Min Xiaoju?

Min Xiaoju was strong – good only for carrying luggage.

In the end, they didn’t need her broken English at all. Liu Fen discovered that Grandma Yu could actually speak English, and quite well!

Grandma Yu was weary of her amazement:

“I studied in Beiping when I was young, and we had to hire tutors at home.”

How else could she have known people like Ji Huaixin and Ning Yanfan?

Her classmates had become educational scholars and architects. Though she wasn’t any kind of scholar, she hadn’t forgotten everything she’d learned. With strong Min Xiaoju carrying luggage and Grandma Yu translating, the three women arrived smoothly at New York’s Kennedy International Airport.

Things were better after landing.

Zhou Cheng had arrived early to pick them up.

Zhou Cheng was tall and handsome, standing out among the crowd holding various welcome signs.

Liu Fen had barely spotted him when Zhou Cheng already ran over:

“Aunt Liu, was your journey smooth?”

“Yes, very smooth. Zhou Cheng, how long have you been waiting? Look at us, making you put aside your affairs!”

Zhou Cheng helped take their luggage, “What are you saying? This is what I should do.”

Ah, his future father-in-law might not like him, but at least his mother-in-law firmly supported him. He wasn’t just trying to make a good impression – he genuinely regarded Liu Fen as family.

Though exhausted from the long flight, Grandma Yu mustered her energy to look around, disappointed to see only Zhou Cheng:

“That girl Xiaolan didn’t come?”

Zhou Cheng nodded: “Xiaolan has final exams these days. I told her to finish her exams first before joining us. I’ll take you to San Francisco first.”

Grandma Yu had no objection to this.

Xu Zhongyi had initially settled in San Francisco with his wife and child, so it made sense for Yu’s family belongings to appear there!

“Xiaolan’s exams are important, let her focus. It’s just identifying some things, we can do ourselves. Xiao Zhou, thank you for going through all this trouble for our family’s affairs!”

No one was obligated to help her. Zhou Cheng was doing this because of Xia Xiaolan – Grandma Yu knew this well but still wanted to thank him.

Zhou Cheng felt the airport wasn’t the right place to tell Grandma Yu the truth.

“You’re too polite. It’s too crowded here, and you’ve been traveling for over 20 hours. Let’s go to the hotel first to rest and eat something, then I’ll explain the San Francisco situation in detail. Don’t worry too much – tickets here are easier to get than in China, we can go to San Francisco whenever we’re ready.”

Flights were scarce in China – you needed connections to get tickets.

America was different – anyone with money could fly, and even homeless people could buy tickets if they had the funds!

Despite these words, Grandma Yu was anxious. Since everyone was at the airport with all their documents, she had Zhou Cheng book flights to San Francisco for the next day.

Liu Fen worried about Grandma Yu’s health, “Isn’t this too rushed?”

“I won’t be able to rest until I go. Once we’re in San Francisco, I’ll be at ease.”

That was Grandma Yu’s response.

Zhou Cheng felt heavy-hearted – they would need to request a new autopsy in San Francisco. How could Grandma Yu possibly be at ease with whatever awaited her?

They took a taxi to the hotel.

Grandma Yu was truly exhausted. Everyone gets tired after long flights – ten hours of airplane sleep couldn’t compare to two or three hours of solid rest in bed.

However, Liu Fen wasn’t used to American hotel beds – too soft!

Comfortable, yes, but lying down felt like sinking into a foam pit. After a while, it felt like her back had no support.

It wasn’t uncomfortable, just unfamiliar.

Liu Fen woke up first.

She left the room to find Zhou Cheng.

“Zhou Cheng, I need to ask you something. Tell me honestly.”

“Aunt Liu, go ahead.”

Liu Fen gritted her teeth, “Xiaolan was vague about it, having Grandma Yu come to America to identify some vase. The more I think about it, the stranger it seems. A vase won’t grow legs and run away – couldn’t they just send photos back to China for identification?”

Zhou Cheng sighed – his mother-in-law might not be showy, but she was very smart.

Something was wrong here. Perhaps only Grandma Yu was too close to see it… no, if this excuse couldn’t fool Liu Fen, how could it fool someone as shrewd as Grandma Yu?

Zhou Cheng looked back – sure enough, Grandma Yu’s door was cracked open.

“Grandma Yu, you’re awake?”

The door had been firmly closed before – was Grandma Yu eavesdropping?

Creeak.

The door opened fully, and Grandma Yu showed no embarrassment, “Old people need less sleep. You’d better tell me what’s really going on. Your excuse couldn’t even fool Afen – did you think this old woman would believe it? Is there… is there bad news…”

This was what Grandma Yu least wanted to consider.

Yet it was closest to the truth.

Even the wisest, calmest person would panic in such situations.

Zhou Cheng hadn’t planned to hide it much longer, “Please sit down, both of you. I’ll explain the situation in San Francisco in detail.”

Liu Fen quickly helped Grandma Yu to the suite’s sofa. They sat together, Liu Fen holding Grandma Yu’s hand as Zhou Cheng started from the beginning.

Hearing that Xia Xiaolan had hired a private investigator, Grandma Yu felt grateful.

When she heard the investigator had found her son Xu Zhongyi’s true address in San Francisco, Grandma Yu’s breathing quickened.

“This investigator is capable!”

Indeed he was – otherwise he couldn’t have uncovered such an old case.

Zhou Cheng continued, relating everything Jim had reported to Xia Xiaolan. Grandma Yu clutched Liu Fen’s hand, lost her breath, and collapsed onto the sofa.

Liu Fen patted Grandma Yu’s chest for quite a while. Just as Zhou Cheng was about to call emergency services, Grandma Yu slowly recovered and struggled to sit up straight:

“No, impossible, I don’t believe that body is Zhongyi!”

In such moments, people cling to hope, wishing that a one-percent miracle would happen to them.

No one wants the worst outcome, including Zhou Cheng.

“Xiaolan doesn’t believe it either, which is why she asked you to come to America – to request a new autopsy and confirm the identity. This is the first step in solving all the mysteries, determining which direction our investigation should take!”