My sister-in-law from Qingdao

The sounds of their playful fighting were somewhat jarring, and to me, they felt more like an irony.

I walked in the autumn wind, pulling my suitcase. Leaves fell on me, adding a touch of melancholy.

However, this melancholy is merely a lament for autumn.

The real sorrow has arrived.

I walked to an intersection far away from Tang Yanran, took out my phone, and was about to hail a taxi when I suddenly received a call from out of town.

And it's a landline phone.

I didn't answer; I immediately pressed the button to shut down.

With telecom fraud rampant in society today, I really don't want to take any cases.

But before I could find a ride-hailing app after pressing the button, the phone rang again.

I was already in a bad mood, so I answered the phone and yelled into the speakerphone, "You damn liar, what are you doing? I'm smart enough, you can't fool me."

"Hello, this is the Wangjiatun Police Station in Yunnan."

A fairly standard Mandarin voice came through the phone.

"What does your police station have to do with me? I've never been to Yunnan."

I was in a bad mood, so I spoke very bluntly.

"Sir, please calm down. I'm asking you, are you Chen Dong?"

"Yes, my name is Chen Dong. Do you need my ID number and bank account number?"

"No need for that. Do you know Chen Fang?"

Hearing my cousin's name, I immediately tensed up. I had a feeling that this call wasn't a scam.

"Chen Fang is my cousin, and who are you?"

"Didn't I tell you? We are from Wangjiatun Police Station in Yunnan. Chen Fang is dead. We found two phone numbers in his phone that were the closest to his contact: one is you, and the other is his wife, Su Xiaoya."

Unfortunately, we are unable to contact Su Xiaoya.

My heart skipped a beat, my brain went blank, and I almost fell to the ground.

"Officer, what did you say? What happened to Chen Fang?"

"Chen Fang is dead. He was involved in a fraud gang in Myanmar. When our police were making an arrest, he jumped off a building and committed suicide."

Myanmar is a hotbed for fraud syndicates, and Chinese police are cracking down on them without hesitation. News reports frequently circulate online about Chinese police's efforts to combat fraudsters.

But I never expected that my brother Chen Fang would join a fraud gang.

"Here's what happened: after he jumped, our staff performed emergency rescue, but the building was too high and we couldn't save him. Because it was hot here, we cremated him."

We hope you will send someone to take his ashes back, along with his belongings.

Contact this number if anything happens.

The person on the other end hung up the phone after speaking.

I stood there, stunned, for a long time before I came to my senses.

Since my brother passed away, there have been too many people chasing after him for debts, so my sister-in-law changed her phone number.

She changed her phone number, and only my brother, some close friends, and I know it. I guess the police haven't been able to find this information about her.

I don't know what to do at this point. What should I do? How should I talk to my sister-in-law about this?

Just then, my phone rang again. It was Lin Moli calling.

I quickly gathered my thoughts and answered the phone in a calm tone.

"Mr. Lin, I'm back. I just got off the train."

"I know you're back. I just happened to be out running errands and am near the train station. How about I come pick you up?"

"No need, I can just take a taxi."

"Look at what you're saying. You're such a great contributor, helping me land an order worth 120,000. It's only right that I pick you up. Send me your location, and I'll come pick you up right now."

After hanging up the phone, I stood in the wind, still reeling from the news of my brother's death.

My cousin died. How am I supposed to tell my sister-in-law about it? How am I supposed to tell my uncle and aunt about it?

I found my sister-in-law's phone number, hesitated for a long time, but ultimately didn't call.

Just as I was standing there hesitating, Lin Moli's car stopped beside me.

The woman got out of the car, personally loaded the suitcase into her trunk, then helped me sit in the passenger seat, personally closed the passenger door for me, and fastened my seatbelt.

She frowned as she drove.

"My great hero, what's going on? Who offended you? How about I get you a room to treat you?"

Seeing that my face remained gloomy, Lin Moli reached out and pinched my arm.

"Sis, something big has happened."

"What's going on? Why are you making such a solemn occasion?"

"My brother Chen Fang is dead, which means my sister-in-law's husband is dead."

"what?"

Lin Moli, who was driving, shuddered, and the car shook. Fortunately, she managed to steady the steering wheel in time.

"Don't talk nonsense! Chen Fang is such a sleazy kid, he's like a rabbit. How could he possibly be dead?"

"I'm telling the truth. The Yunnan police just called me and said my brother was involved in a scam ring in Myanmar. He jumped off a building while the police were cracking down on the scam group."

Lin Moli stopped talking, gripping the steering wheel tightly with both hands. After a long while, she said, "He's dead. What will happen to your sister-in-law?"

Xiaoya, that poor woman, when she married your brother because she was blinded by love, I actually warned her. I told her that she was an educated woman and that she shouldn't marry a scoundrel.

But she wouldn't listen.

"I don't know how to tell her now. She's planning to start a self-media company, and she hasn't even gotten the license yet. This terrible news has come. I'm worried she'll break down."

Lin Moli nodded subconsciously and said, "I don't recommend you tell her about this now. If you do, I'm really worried she won't be able to handle it."

Su Xiaoya is a very kind and sentimental girl. I feel she wouldn't be able to handle this news.

"Sis, how about I take a day off tomorrow and go to Yunnan to retrieve my brother's ashes and belongings? We can tell my sister-in-law when the time is right. What do you think?"

I hesitated, not knowing what to do, so I had to discuss it with Lin Moli.

"You are his cousin, and Su Xiaoya is his wife. Logically speaking, Su Xiaoya should be closer to him. But if you don't tell her and then you put the urn in front of her when you come back, how will she face you? What if she resents you?"

And what about your cousin's ashes? Weren't you going to bury him?

After Lin Moli said that, I felt a bit awkward.

Yes, what should we do then?

Su Xiaoya is a kind woman, but she is going through a lot of troubles. She is burdened with so much debt and her husband has died. If she really can't hold on, the consequences are unimaginable.

Back at the company, Lin Moli wanted to treat me to dinner, but I declined.

I lay alone on my bed in the dormitory, my mind filled with images of my cousin and his wife.