Chapter 62: Encounter

  Zixiu and Gelu were both stunned, furrowing their brows. Gelu asked: "Suyin, how much do you remember?" Upon hearing this, Suyin was also taken aback, then reacted and calmly said: "I remember, I saw a female ghost." Seeing her so calm, the two of them were somewhat surprised. It was still Gelu who spoke first: "Suyin, just now..."

  Zixiu suddenly interrupted: "It's getting late, I'll take her back."

  After finishing speaking, he didn't care about Ge Lu's reaction and directly helped her get out of bed. Throughout the whole process, Ge Lu had a stiff face and didn't say a word. Qi Xiu was even less likely to say anything, she followed Qi Xiu, walked to the door, glanced at Ge Lu through Qi Xiu's arm, and then left with Qi Xiu. When they arrived at the apartment, Qi Xiu still hadn't said a word, and Su Yin didn't ask either. It wasn't until now that she truly felt that she and Qi Xiu were not from the same world. The conversation earlier made her realize that Ge Lu's words belonged to the same world as Qi Xiu; Yan Fen'er and Huang Xiaoyu belonged to another world; so which world did she belong to?

  Entering the house, Qixiu's face was icy, not even looking at her. Su Yin felt awkward and tried to make conversation: "Does Ge Lu know...?" Qixiu knew what she was asking, but only replied after a long time: "His surname is Ge!" Su Yin was puzzled, suddenly startled: "Is he from the Ge family?" Qixiu nodded.

  "Is that what the royal family is like?" She inferred smoothly, and Qi Xiu nodded solemnly with a straight face.

  The scene fell silent again, she thought of easing the atmosphere, so she dryly smiled and said: "You just now..."

  Qizhao suddenly interrupted in a cold voice: "It's getting late, you go rest! I have something to attend to tonight!"

  She didn't wait for her reaction, got up and walked out. The door was slammed shut behind her. She sat alone on the sofa, motionless, then slowly curled up into a ball, burying her face in her knees.

  From the moment she woke up, she had been calm. She knew she had to be calm. She didn't dare ask Qizhao, fearing that if she knew too much, she would never be able to extricate herself. It was as if she were standing on the dividing line between two worlds, and she could only choose which side to be on. Qizhao wouldn't let her know, so she didn't ask, just like she didn't let Yanfen and the others know that she was an outcast. But that feeling of not being tolerated made her feel terrible. And Qizhao's cold attitude was like a sharp, icy sword that pierced through her heart.

  Heart, it hurts so much! Who is whispering softly, feeling so lonely, wanting to see that person, go see him, go see him...

  She took out her mobile phone and contacted Ge Lu. When the call connected, Ge Lu was very surprised: "Hello? Su Yin? Is there something going on?"

  Su Yin stared at her fingertips, feeling heavy in her heart: "Lu Ge, I want to meet with you alone, can I?"

  "After a moment of silence on the other end, he replied: 'Okay, when?'"

  She hung up the phone, Su Yun pressed open the TV, which was broadcasting news. She stared at it with wide eyes, not blinking, extremely focused. However, as she listened, her heart flew far away, and her consciousness and vision gradually blurred.

  "xx days ago, the police received a report and found that A city's well-known artist Guo Jian died in his home's secret room. After forensic identification, the deceased had been dead for about 11 days, with an unknown cause of death. The police claimed that the deceased had been lying in the secret room for many days, and the body emitted a strange smell, which was discovered by neighbors who were renovating their wine cellar..."

  She found herself standing under a giant paulownia tree, seemingly in summer, with cicadas gradually getting louder and eventually almost deafening. Dazed and anxious, she looked down at her bare feet, pale and delicate. The scorching sun-baked ground was hot, and her feet fidgeted restlessly, soon sweating, dripping down her cheeks, pattering on the muddy ground, a black stain spreading slowly.

  It's so hot, the dazzling sunlight is piercing, making her unable to open her eyes. She raises her head, squinting at the huge tree canopy above. This place feels very familiar, but how did she end up here? And where was she originally? Dazed and confused, she can't understand what's going on.

  Suddenly, a little girl ran past in front of me, looking down. The little girl was thin and pale, about six or seven years old, wearing a sunflower dress, barefoot, and covered in dirt all over her body. The little girl was in a hurry because she was running away from someone who was chasing after her. A group of slightly older children with dark skin rushed up, shouting. The girl was too small, and her legs were shorter. She was caught by a boy with long legs behind her, who pounced on her and tied up her feet.

  She let out a soft "ah" and stared at the girl who was rolling on the ground, the girl immediately curled up, covering her mouth and nose with both hands, whimpering and rolling around. But the children who came running from behind didn't let her off, they pried open her hands, forcibly removed her glasses, and ran away in a crowd. The girl sat up, with a small tooth in the palm of her hand, blood flowing from her mouth, crying pitifully.

  She suddenly felt a pang of sympathy, and walked up to the girl, squatting down beside her. The girl's tear-filled eyes sparkled like a pool of autumn water, pure and clean. She reached out and gently stroked the girl's cheek, wiping away the bloodstains as she softly comforted her: "Don't cry, don't cry, it'll stop hurting soon."

  The girl wept, her voice thin and soft: "I'm in so much pain, why? They say I'm a monster, I'm not, I'm not! Not!" She shuddered all over, suddenly, her hand tightened, the girl rushed up to her, almost face to face, a pair of autumnal eyes overflowed with whirlpools, redness gradually filling them, that thin voice asked: "Who are you?"

  Suddenly, Su Yun opened her eyes, slowly touching her mouth and nose, muttering to herself: "It hurts so much..." The sunlight outside the window was shining brightly, and Qi Xiu had not returned for a whole night. Su Yun was like a wife waiting for her husband to return at night, huddled on the sofa all night. Thinking of this metaphor, Su Yun couldn't help but laugh at herself, guessing that even if she were given away, no one would want her. She got up, stretched her limbs, and her bones crackled loudly. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she smiled mockingly at herself in the mirror, thinking it was great that no matter how dark her eye circles were, they could be hidden behind glasses. Glasses? Su Yun suddenly thought of something.

  She seems to have forgotten two things! She quickly took out her phone and contacted Yu Qian. Xiao Zhengtai was very unfriendly, his tone was very bad: "Hey? What's wrong with you? Calling so early!"

  Su Yin had no choice but to swallow her anger and smile: "That, Yu Qian, I didn't come yesterday because..."

  "Oh, it's better you didn't come! Do I have to entertain you for two hours every day? Don't worry, I've already told my mom you're here, and she thinks the lessons are fine. My mom is busy and can't take care of you! That's it, bye!" The conversation ended abruptly. Su Yun let out a sigh of relief, but secretly gritted her teeth. One thing was over, but another had just begun. In front of the mirror, a bewildered and disheartened face stared back at her.

  Taking a deep breath, she tied her hair into a high ponytail, smoothed out her collar and forced a smile onto her lips. Turning around to leave, she walked quickly outside with light footsteps, today she was going to skip class to meet someone.

  This is a coffee shop, with a quiet and elegant environment, soft music floating in the air, green plants placed everywhere, the space divided into small compartments by bamboo screens, where you can see outside from inside but not vice versa.

  Su Yun bent down, carefully peeking inside. She had never been to a place like this before, and seeing the waiters wearing uniforms, tall and straight, made her feel out of place. Another couple walked by, the woman in a fashionable dress, her hair styled high, the man tall and handsome, dressed in a suit and leather shoes. At the entrance, the man gentlemanly opened the car door for the woman, and then the car sped away.

  She withdrew her gaze, Su Yun swallowed hard, and unconsciously shifted closer to the door. Her fingers tugged at the hem of her pale blue denim skirt, which had been washed until it was slightly faded. Her mesh sneakers still had mud stains from yesterday's trip to the botanical garden, despite her efforts to scrub them clean. She wiggled her toes, thinking that maybe she should reschedule with Ge Lu for another day.

  Just as Su Yun was about to turn around, the waiter who had been watching her came over and called out to her, smiling and asking: "Are you Miss Ji?" Su Yun was startled, quickly looked up, and nodded. The waiter smiled, bowed, and gestured for her to follow him: "Mr. Ge is already waiting for you inside, please come with me."

  Su Yun hastily nodded: "Okay, okay." She noticed that the waiter, before turning to lead the way, secretly glanced at her feet, and the look in his eyes made her want to shrink back.

  As soon as they entered the innermost private room, the waiter pointed the way and left. Su Yun walked a few steps, turned around the corner, and hadn't seen anything yet when she bumped into someone coming from the opposite direction. Su Yun hurriedly apologized, and that person laughed, Su Yun looked up to see a beautiful white-collar sister. At this time, Ge Lu's voice came: "Bai Li, you go ahead and get busy!"

  Bai Li nodded, smiled and glanced at her, then walked away. Su Yin stared blankly for a long time, and heard a soft laugh: "Still looking, they've gone far!" Su Yin's face suddenly flushed with embarrassment, Ge Lu laughed again: "Don't stand at the door, come in and sit down!"

  Su Yun responded with a "yes" and quickly went in to sit properly. Ge Lu asked her, "Do you want to drink something?" As she spoke, she handed over a thick menu, heavy brown color with gold English lettering. Su Yun took it and placed it on the table, softly answering, "Just fruit juice is fine, okay?"

  Ge Lu smiled and said to the wall, then turned back to look at her: "You don't have to be so tense, relax a bit."

  Su Yun nodded and fiddled with her skirt. The waiter walked in, put down a cup of fruit juice, bowed slightly, and went out quietly. Ge Lu raised his hand to signal, and Su Yun picked up the cup and took a light sip before putting it down.

  "Go on, what's up?" Ge Lu said softly, looking at him.

  Su Yun clenched her fingers, feeling a bit restless, and pursed her lips: "That, Lu Ge, are you from the Ge family?" She immediately closed her mouth, thinking that maybe she had asked too directly.

  Ge Lu smiled and nodded: "Yes, I am the eldest son of the Ge family. What did Qi Xiu tell you?"

  Su Yun hastily shook her head: "No, I only found out yesterday that you're a member of the Ge family. He didn't tell me much, which is also why I came looking for you, because he wouldn't tell me anything."