Chapter 183: Taking the Bait

"Morning."

Chen Ling sat down on the stone chair in the courtyard. He naturally pulled over the newspaper Chu Muyun was reading and flipped through it casually.

Chu Muyun looked at him empty-handed and said helplessly: "Can't you go buy one yourself?"

"I don't have any money on me."

As Chen Ling spoke, his gaze swept over every article.

After two days, there were fewer and fewer articles in the newspaper about him and the train entering the city. Most of the pages were entertainment-related, such as a famous female singer being exposed as a mistress kept by another chamber of commerce boss, or a conflict between teachers and students at a middle school escalating, leading to parental dissatisfaction, and so on...

Chen Ling flipped through it for a dozen seconds and didn't see any useful news, so he had to put it back on the table.

Without Wen Shilin, this newspaper really wasn't worth reading.

"Do you need me to lend you some?" Chu Muyun thought for a moment. "Without money, some things are indeed hard to get done."

"No need, someone will be bringing me my salary soon."

Hearing this, Chu Muyun was slightly stunned. He asked in surprise: "Bringing you your salary? What job did you find? You didn't really end up becoming a reporter, did you?"

Chen Ling had only been in Aurora City for two days, and the idea of becoming a reporter had only come to him yesterday morning. In one day, most people couldn't even submit a resume to a newspaper office.

"Not yet." Chen Ling checked the time. "But he should be here soon..."

"Who?"

"Wen Shilin."

"Wen Shilin? That stubborn reporter?" Chu Muyun couldn't help but ask. "In one day, what kind of love potion did you feed him?"

Chen Ling smiled without answering.

Knock, knock, knock—

A somewhat urgent knocking sound rang out.

Chen Ling and Chu Muyun looked at the gate at the same time, then looked at each other. Chu Muyun's expression was a bit strange.

"Don't tell me he's here already."

"Don't believe it? Want to make a bet?"

"Bet what?"

"One gold coin."

"Alright, deal."

Chu Muyun got up and walked to the gate. He didn't rush to open it, but asked calmly: "Who is it?"

"Hello, Miracle Doctor Chu, I'm Wen Shilin, a reporter for the 'Aurora Daily'."

Hearing this, Chu Muyun knew his money had gone down the drain, but he still didn't understand how Chen Ling had made Wen Shilin so attentive.

"A reporter?" Chu Muyun paused for a moment. "I don't recall having an appointment with a reporter today, and it's a bit too early."

"I'm very sorry, but I'm here to see your nursing assistant, Lin Yan... He left something with me, and I'd like to return it to him in person."

Lin Yan...

The moment this name was mentioned, Chu Muyun seemed to think of something and looked back at Chen Ling.

"...Alright, come in."

Chu Muyun opened the gate to see a plainly dressed reporter standing outside, clutching a file bag under his arm. He had heavy dark circles under his eyes like a panda, but his eyes were incredibly bright, and he looked exceptionally excited.

"Nice to meet you, Miracle Doctor Chu." Wen Shilin reached out his hand proactively.

Chu Muyun shook it politely. He looked back and said, "He's right there, you can go straight to—hmm?"

Before he could finish, Chu Muyun froze in place... Chen Ling, who had been leisurely reading the newspaper a second ago, was now sitting there weakly, covered in bandages, with a cast on his arm. A bleak cold wind brushed across the courtyard, and the haggard figure stared blankly at the rockery in the distance, his eyes lonely and melancholy.

Chu Muyun's mouth twitched slightly; he didn't know what kind of act Chen Ling was putting on.

On the other hand, Wen Shilin's eyes flashed with sympathy and guilt when he saw this scene. He stood at the entrance in silence for a long time before walking straight toward Chen Ling.

"Lin Yan..." Wen Shilin softly called out to the figure that looked like a statue in a daze.

Chen Ling's body jolted. He turned his head to see Wen Shilin, and a look of surprise flashed across his face. "Mr. Wen? Why are you here?"

"I'm here to return something to you." Wen Shilin placed the file bag on the table. "You left in such a hurry yesterday, I picked it up for you. But it must have been chaotic when we escaped, so it's a bit torn. I checked, and the key documents are all still there."

Chen Ling's expression was complex, and he nodded slightly. "Alright, thank you."

After saying this, he withdrew his gaze and sat there silently, seemingly unwilling to pay any more attention to Wen Shilin.

The courtyard suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

Chu Muyun leaned against the doorway and pushed up the bridge of his glasses. Although he couldn't understand what was happening between these two, it didn't stop him from being a spectator. His eyes were full of curiosity and amusement.

Finally, Wen Shilin couldn't hold back anymore. He sat down on the stone chair in front of Chen Ling and pondered for a moment.

"Lin Yan, that boy in the photo... who is he?"

Chen Ling's pupils contracted slightly. He turned his head sharply to look at Wen Shilin.

"Don't misunderstand." Wen Shilin said immediately. "The file bag was torn at the bottom, and that photo just drifted out... If it's offensive to you, you don't have to say anything. But you know, I'm a reporter, maybe I can help you."

Although Wen Shilin said "you don't have to say anything," his face was practically written with "I want to know." His body leaned forward slightly, waiting earnestly for Chen Ling's answer.

Chen Ling looked at him for a long time, his expression relaxed slightly, and after hesitating, he spoke slowly:

"He... he was my younger brother."

"Younger brother." Wen Shilin nodded. He had guessed this possibility last night. "But you don't look very much alike?"

"Not a biological brother." A look of recollection appeared in Chen Ling's eyes. "Back then, Dr. Chu and I were touring the Seven Districts for free clinics. We saved a child from District 2. The child had a pitiful background but was extremely sensible. Seeing that he had no one to rely on, I took him in for a while."

"Later, when the free clinic ended, Dr. Chu and I returned to Aurora City. The child didn't have an identity to enter the city, so we left him some money to live well... The child and I were very close, and later we often exchanged letters. He recognized me as his older brother, so naturally, he was my younger brother."

Wen Shilin looked back at Chu Muyun in confusion.

Chu Muyun didn't expect to be dragged into this while just watching the show. He silently pushed up his glasses. "Yes, he was a good kid."

Wen Shilin continued to ask, "Then what does the sentence on the back mean?"

"...His heart was taken."

Chen Ling seemed to recall some painful memory. "About half a year ago, my brother lost contact. I wasn't in good health at the time and didn't have time to leave the city, so I entrusted Dr. Chu to go to District 2 for me. As a result... he only found his corpse."

"There was no heart in the corpse?" Wen Shilin asked immediately. "That must be organ trafficking? I've interviewed residents of District 3; the enforcement in the Seven Districts is extremely low, and there's quite a lot of this. District 3 is actually not bad... District 2 seems to have a place called Ice Spring Street, which is rampant in this regard."