Chapter 404: Caught
In a small grove at the base of the city wall.
Evening.
Yu Naitang squatted beside the baby carriage, holding a bright red leaf and amusing the child. Chen Yiyi had already learned to roll over and sit up. Seeing the leaf flickering before her eyes, she couldn’t resist reaching out to grab it.
Yu Naitang chuckled, then gently flicked her finger across the child’s tender cheek.
Hmm... the sensation was really quite nice.
Not far from Yu Naitang, Lu Xixi sat on a stone bench. Her eyes were calmly focused on the grove, though her gaze wasn’t entirely concentrated. At least there was no malice; she still seed not very lucid.
At Lu Xixi’s feet, the Gray Cat curled up, lying on her feet, occasionally yawning.
Yu Naitang felt sowhat relieved.
Lu Xixi’s condition had improved a lot over the past few days. Now, she would still wake up at her "feeding" ti, but upon waking, she was no longer like before. She could stay calmly lucid for a while. Initially, it was just for monts; after sniffing the cat, she would fall back asleep. But after a few days, her periods of lucidity lasted increasingly longer each day. For instance, today, after waking at feeding ti, it had been over an hour, and she was still sitting quietly.
It was just that... Teacher still hadn’t regained her senses and was unable to communicate effectively.
Sigh... Not causing trouble was the biggest progress.
It seed this cat was indeed useful; things should get better with ti.
As Yu Naitang watched, Lu Xixi had already stood up, slowly turned around, and looked her way. Then, the Empress walked over and stood next to the baby carriage, lowering her head to look at the little one inside.
"Teacher..." Yu Naitang called out softly.
Lu Xixi seed not to hear her. She bent down and focused on the little one, her eyes showing a trace of curiosity. She then saw the child reaching for the leaf, which Yu Naitang was holding, suspended in front of the child. After trying to grab it for a while, the child seed to grow impatient.
A strange light flashed in Lu Xixi’s eyes, as if she were displeased with the scene. Before Yu Naitang could react, Lu Xixi snatched the leaf and stuffed it into the little one’s chubby hand.
The child, not yet adept at holding things, dropped it to the ground and then... wailed, bursting into tears.
To Yu Naitang’s surprise, Lu Xixi glared at her. While her expression couldn’t convey much emotion, Little Candy definitely felt that hint of dissatisfaction.
As Lu Xixi bent down, picked up the leaf, stuffed it back into her daughter’s hand, and then gently brushed her finger across her daughter’s tender cheek twice, miraculously, the child gradually stopped crying and just stared wide-eyed at Lu Xixi.
Yu Naitang finally recovered from her astonishnt. "Teacher?! You... you..."
Lu Xixi finally showed a slight reaction to the outside world!
At that mont, the Gray Cat, previously lying on the ground, suddenly looked around and quickly crawled to Lu Xixi’s feet.
Yu Naitang saw Chen Nuo slowly walking into the grove.
Approaching them, Chen Nuo surveyed the three won and one cat, a reassured smile appearing on his face.
"Are all your affairs settled?" Yu Naitang was sowhat dissatisfied. "You’ve been gone for three days. My teacher is still like this, and you could really bear to leave."
Chen Nuo ignored the young girl’s complaint and looked down at his daughter, who was playing with the leaf in her hand. Then he looked at Lu Xixi.
Lu Xixi calmly looked back, her eyes... well, rather empty, no reaction.
Then at the Gray Cat...
Hmm?! This creature was completely different! When it had first been brought back from outside, it was so emaciated you could count its bones. And in just these few short days? The Gray Cat had beco a round ball, its cheeks so chubby they ford jowls!
"I rember you were a Gray Cat, not Garfield. How did you get so fat? Even inflating a balloon wouldn’t be this fast," Chen Nuo frowned.
The Gray Cat owed lazily.
Alright, Chen Nuo understood; the creature was saying it was stuffed.
"How’s my wife?"
The Gray Cat owed.
"Sniffing the cat every day, didn’t you say it was helpful?"
The Gray Cat owed again.
"Not so fast? Then how long will it take?"
Another ow.
"You don’t know? If you don’t know, who should I ask?"
The Gray Cat simply remained silent but suddenly sprang up to perch on Lu Xixi’s shoulder.
Chen Nuo was startled. He noticed that Lu Xixi showed no resistance, allowing the Gray Cat to squat on her shoulder. This pair, one person and one cat, seed to have already beco very harmonious and comfortable with each other.
"Teacher just had a slight reaction like a normal person, but she still seems unable to communicate," Yu Naitang said, recounting the earlier episode with the child.
Chen Nuo listened, stroking his chin. "How about... we make the child cry again to test? Slap her little bottom a few tis to see?"
"..."
Is she really his child?! Yu Naitang thought, rolling her eyes.
As she did, a miraculous scene unfolded!
Lu Xixi, who stood to the side, suddenly stepped forward, positioning herself between Chen Nuo and the baby carriage! Although her gaze remained calm and vacant, her actions clearly blocked Chen Nuo.
"Hmm?" Chen Nuo was pleasantly surprised. "You understood what I said?"
Lu Xixi didn’t react.
Chen Nuo’s eyes twinkled. "I’m really going to spank her bottom now!" As he spoke, he pretended to reach out.
WHOOSH!!
Lu Xixi lifted her fingertip, and a sharp beam of light shot out, grazing past Chen Nuo’s hair! Behind Chen Nuo, a tree in the grove trunk "POP"—a hole the size of a finger pierced clean through it!
Chen Nuo: "..."
He took a deep breath and gave a sheepish smile. "No hitting, no hitting. I won’t hit the child anymore."
Lu Xixi lowered her finger.
Chen Nuo turned his head, locking eyes with Yu Naitang, both filled with surprised delight. "She understood us!"
Yu Naitang then looked Lu Xixi up and down, shaking her head. "But it seems like she still doesn’t recognize us." As she spoke, the girl looked sowhat disgruntled. "Logically, if Teacher has regained her human consciousness, it’s normal she doesn’t recognize you. You’re a scumbag, after all, who loved her and left her, and even found other won! It’s only right for her to hate you. But I’m her favorite disciple! How could she possibly not recognize !"
Chen Nuo’s face stiffened.
Little girl, hasn’t anyone taught you that if you’re going to say bad things about soone, you should at least do it more discreetly?
***
Sun Keke lay on her dorm bed, morizing political theories. In Huaxia, this was a compulsory course for every university student, regardless of their major.
In the dormitory, besides Sun Keke, there were two other girls—one was applying makeup, and the other was toying with several magazines. Actually, given the strength of Sun Keke’s spiritual power, morizing was no longer a challenge for her. At the mont, her eyes were fixed on the book, but her thoughts were drifting elsewhere.
After a mont, the girl doing her makeup looked up, packed away her makeup box, turned her head, and smiled. "Keke."
"Hmm?"
"Co with us for a barbecue tonight."
"No, I’m studying."
The girl got up, ca over, and sat beside Sun Keke. She patted her and took the book away. "Enough, I know morizing is a piece of cake for you. Besides, you can study tomorrow."
"Don’t feel like it," Sun Keke shook her head.
"Co on, it’s barbecue. It’s rare we do things as a group," the girl giggled, coaxing her a little longer.
The other girl, who had been fiddling with magazines, also put down what she was holding and joined in persuading her.
Sun Keke, who was soft-natured, gave in after a while and nodded.
Then, she got out of bed and left the dorm. Too lazy to put on makeup, she simply tied her hair back. She wore only jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and sneakers, her hair in a ponytail. She had no jewelry on—nothing on her neck, ears, wrists, or fingers. Yet, sohow, she exuded a fresh and youthful vibe.
The girl who had spent half an hour on makeup felt instantly outshone and couldn’t help but sigh in frustration. "Comparing yourself to others will be the death of you..."
As they left, Sun Keke asked, "Where are the others?"
"At the library. We’ve already texted them. We’ll et at the barbecue restaurant."
On the way there, the makeup girl drew closer to Sun Keke to chat. "Keke, you should get out more, instead of only attending classes and holing up in the dorm. You don’t want to spend all four years of college like that, right? We all know you’re not in a good mood. Getting out and about can cheer you up a bit."
Sun Keke shook her head, speaking softly, "I’m not in a bad mood."
"Okay, you don’t say it, but we can all tell. A few days ago, your eyes were red every morning. You must have been hiding under the covers, crying by yourself, right? So sad and down all the ti. And we haven’t heard any bad news from your family. So... it must have been a heartbreak, right?"
Sun Keke stayed silent.
The makeup girl laughed. "You’re so stubborn. Look around you; there are so many guys in college. With your looks, just beckon with a finger, and so many guys would be watching you eagerly."
Sun Keke didn’t respond and simply quickened her pace.
The barbecue place was in an alley to the left, just outside the school’s east gate. Being right next to the school, it was very popular. It catered mainly to students, so it wasn’t expensive.
When Sun Keke and her friends arrived, the restaurant was already full. But as the weather was still warm, the owner had set up a few tables outside on the roadside. Sun Keke’s classmates were already waiting there. The slightly plump girl who was Sun Keke’s closest friend was also there.
Upon seeing the scene, Sun Keke suddenly understood.
Apart from her dorm mates, there were four boys at the table. One of them was Senior He.
Yes, the one who brought KFC last ti and sohow ended up making a profit of eight US dollars.
She wanted to leave, but before she could say anything, the makeup girl nudged her into a seat. Sun Keke lowered her eyes, sitting next to the slightly plump girl, even intentionally swapping places with her to put so distance between herself and Senior He.
"Everyone here pretty much knows each other, so I won’t do individual introductions," Lu Yao, who was clearly a social butterfly and knew the boys well, said with a smile, quickly getting things going and calling the owner to bring the food.
They were sitting tightly packed, so it wasn’t easy to talk much. Sun Keke took out her phone to secretly text the slightly plump girl.
Sun Keke: "What’s going on?"
Slightly plump girl: "Senior He has always wanted to pursue you, right? I don’t know how Lu Yao agreed to help, organizing this barbecue."
Ah, Lu Yao. That’s the makeup girl’s na, Sun Keke noted. She nodded.
The slightly plump girl quickly added another text, "Lu Yao ans well too. Senior He is quite a catch. Plus, you said you had a boyfriend before, but now you’ve broken up, right?"
Sun Keke sighed. Was her heartbroken appearance really that obvious?
"Lu Yao ans well, just trying to help things along."
Sun Keke thought for a mont and sent a few words: "I don’t want to."
***
The barbecue lasted an hour. The boys clinked glasses and drank beer, and there were always two or three outgoing classmates in charge of keeping the atmosphere lively. Lu Yao was one such person. Perhaps it was her nature. Cheery and bright, she could chat with both the guys and girls at the table, laughing and joking, ensuring the mood didn’t cool down.
But she deliberately steered the conversation towards Sun Keke a few tis. Sun Keke just responded with a few words and didn’t say much. Lu Yao then dragged the topic to Senior He, ntioning a few of his proud accomplishnts, but Sun Keke just kept her head down, playing with her phone as if she had no interest in listening at all.
Sun Keke remained inconspicuous, silently eating a little and sipping a beverage. When others spoke, she said little. When others laughed, she also followed with a light chuckle. When topics about her ca up, she would just smile and not continue the conversation.
Actually, it wasn’t easy to leave. If this had been back in high school, maybe as soon as she saw the situation, she would have turned around and left. But she was no longer a child. As the slightly plump girl had said, they ant no harm; they were just trying to help things along. Even though it was a bit nosy and overstepping, they were still classmates. If you ca, took one look, and walked away on the spot, that would be completely trampling on their pride. How would you get along in the future, spending four years in the sa university, in the sa dormitory? Staying, getting through the social niceties and letting it pass, was the way to handle it.
Senior He had actually toasted too, even toasted Sun Keke individually. Sun Keke just smiled lightly. Moreover, it was clear that Senior He wanted to say sothing when he toasted, but Sun Keke didn’t give him a chance. As soon as Senior He stood up to toast her, Sun Keke imdiately stood up as well, took a quick sip of her beverage, and sat back down.
A toast, right? I drank. No fuss, no unnecessary talk. You raise your glass, I drink. Simple.
Once I’ve drunk and sat down, that’s the end of it.
This left Senior He, who had been preparing his lines for a long ti, speechless, the words stuck in his throat, unable to utter a single one.
In the end, when everyone was full and Senior He called the owner over to pay the bill, Sun Keke smiled and said, "No need, I’ve already paid."
"Huh?"
Sun Keke said calmly, "Yes, a little while ago."
Indeed, she had already paid, about fifteen minutes earlier, when she had pretended to get up to go to the restroom.
When the gathering ended, Lu Yao was sowhat helpless; she had promised Senior He she would bring Sun Keke. But it seed the girl was unwilling, despite the boy’s affection.
When leaving to walk back to school, Sun Keke deliberately lagged behind, walking alongside Senior He.
"Senior He, I have sothing to tell you," Sun Keke said calmly.
A guy nearby heard this and imdiately showed a knowing grin, winked at Senior He, and hurried ahead.
Senior He seed sowhat uneasy, yet also a bit anxious and pleasantly surprised. "Uh, Sun Keke, you..."
"I know you admire a lot, Senior He," Sun Keke said, giving him no chance for fantasy, and continued, "I’m very thankful for this admiration. But I don’t like you, Senior He, not at all. I’m completely indifferent. I know you’re excellent; Lu Yao and everyone at the table today have said so, and I know all about it. But no matter how outstanding you are, Senior He, I only feel simple admiration and congratulations as a classmate. Senior He, please don’t waste your ti on . I have no romantic feelings for you, and I won’t in the future. I have soone in my heart, soone I like very, very much. He’s irreplaceable; no one can take his place. Let’s just maintain a simple relationship as classmates."
Direct, straightforward—a knockout blow!
Senior He was completely floored.
Seeing Senior He lost for words, Sun Keke took a deep breath. "I have another favor to ask of you, Senior He."
"Uh... go ahead..."
"About gatherings like this, please stop organizing them..." Sun Keke deliberately put on a slightly helpless and endearing expression, the kind that pleaded for rcy and made it hard for anyone to be upset. She smiled and said, "I don’t have much pocket money. If this happens again, I won’t be able to afford the bill. I’ll be eating stead buns for a month."
With that, Sun Keke smiled, quickened her pace, and walked up front, falling into step beside the slightly plump girl.
***
Refusing Senior He at the barbecue place was nothing more than a small episode for Sun Keke. Yet, lying in bed that night in the dormitory, her thoughts were complex.
The barbecue place...
Yes, the first ti that jerk kissed , it was at a barbecue place...
Jerk!
Her fingers clenched the blanket tightly.
***
「At Tokyo’s Narita Airport.」
Xicheng Xun pulled the hood of her sweatshirt down a bit lower. She sat in the waiting area, flipping through a magazine. There were about twenty minutes left until boarding ti for the flight to Shanghai City, Huaxia.
Yes, after I get back this ti, I’ll be able to see Ah Xiu...
That guy disappeared for a year; I wonder if he’s changed at all.
She had been investigating so many things lately, and so of them she still couldn’t quite understand.
But... it doesn’t matter anymore! He’s back. All my days of searching, even if they were in vain, don’t matter. The most important thing is that he’s back.
...
Suddenly, the kendo girl’s fingers tightened!
She slowly raised her head and saw a pair of feet on the ground in front of her. n’s leather shoes, clearly very high-end and expensive. Looking up, the suit was custom-made, impeccably tailored, and the fabric was top quality.
An unfamiliar man stood before her. A Caucasian, with a smile on his face. His features were regular, but his prominent hawk nose, common among Caucasians, didn’t et Xicheng Xun’s aesthetic standards.
Is he trying to pick up? Probably not... I’ve been looking down this whole ti. And... to get this close to without making a sound... he’s no ordinary person!
Xicheng Xun calmly looked at the man, not initiating conversation, just silently eting his gaze.
"Miss Xicheng Xun, it’s a pleasure to et you for the first ti. Please take care of ," the man said in Japanese.
Xicheng Xun remained expressionless.
The man continued to smile. "My na is Nolan. We’ve never t before. However, I ca specifically to find you today. Let’s... find a place to talk."
Xicheng Xun took a deep breath, her eyes quickly scanning her surroundings with her peripheral vision.
He seems to be alone, no accomplices, she confird.
"I don’t know you," Xicheng Xun shook her head.
"But you’ve been looking into our affairs lately, haven’t you?" Nolan smiled, pulling out a USB flash drive from his pocket.
The Octopus Monster’s LOGO! And it was golden!
Xicheng Xun’s face grew grave. The girl strove to remain calm, slowly squeezing out her words, "It seems I won’t be boarding this flight, will I?"
Nolan smiled, seemingly carefree. "For now, it’s just a simple invitation... but you can also choose for yourself: my way... or... the highway~"
Hmm, Xicheng Xun understood that last English phrase. If translated into the Huaxia language, it would probably an: Do you want to do this the easy way or the hard way? It’s your call.
Xicheng Xun smiled, the kind of harmless, endearing smile a top student might have.
Then...
She suddenly jumped up, aiming a kick!
Nolan didn’t even blink as he lifted his hand and blocked it. Xicheng Xun’s toe connected with Nolan’s palm, but he didn’t budge. However, Xicheng Xun seed to have no intention of engaging further; right after the kick, she imdiately used the recoil to spring away. Propelling her body several ters, she landed on the ground and started running at high speed.
Nolan stood his ground, whistling softly. "So we’re doing this the hard way... sigh~"
***
Xicheng Xun sprinted through the airport, abandoning any thought of her luggage. She dashed into a bookstore, ran past a luggage shop, and then through a convenience store. Finally, she stopped near an escalator entrance.
Behind her, a few burly n closed in.
In front of the escalator entrance, a woman stood waiting.
On both sides, three to five more people with cold expressions were also approaching.
Xicheng Xun took a deep breath. Then, she smiled.
THUD. Her backpack hit the ground. The girl promptly raised her hands.
"I’ll go with you."
***
In the airport bookstore, a sales clerk behind the counter was craning their neck, watching the scene. This was an ordinary person, but their face held a complicated, strange expression.
Just now, this young girl had rushed into their store, imdiately grabbing a ballpoint pen and notepad from the counter, and quickly scrawled a ssage. Then, she shoved the paper into their hand. Along with it, she also pushed over a one-hundred US Dollar bill.
"There’s a phone number on it. Help call it, and read the words on it to the person on the other end! You can earn another hundred US Dollars!"
***
The ssage on the paper, naturally, was sloppy. Written in haste, it didn’t contain much.
Just two sentences:
"I’ve been captured.
The man claims his na is Nolan."
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