Chapter 72: Undercover Investigation and Pregnancy

  The atmosphere was extremely oppressive, and Nie Yuan couldn't sit still. The woman also had her head down, her rough, old hands unconsciously rubbing against each other. Only Su Yin stared calmly at the tightly closed door, seemingly looking at nothing, with an inexpressible sorrow on her face. Nie Yuan glanced at Su Yin several times, shifting his uncomfortable buttocks for who knows how many times.

  "What brings you to my home?" The woman finally broke the silence, her sorrowful face slightly covered with tension.

  "That, we just came to ask..." Nie Yuan hastily spoke up, but was interrupted by Su Yin: "We are here to investigate Zhou Yuan's affairs!" Nie Yuan stared at her in surprise, but she ignored him, only staring tightly at the woman with a frosty expression.

  The woman's eyes lit up, and she said hastily: "Ah, my family's Yuanyuan went missing eight years ago! Do you have any leads on her?" After finishing speaking, she lowered her head in a fluster, then seemed to think of something, with a wary and suspicious look: "No! Who are you people? Why are you investigating our Yuanyuan?"

  Nie Yuan hastily waved his hand, trying to calm the woman's emotions, and smiled: "It's not that we're suspicious characters, but just because we were involved in a case related to this aspect, so we are responsible for secretly investigating. We didn't have any malicious intentions." The woman listened, her expression relaxed, and after being silent for a while, she slowly said: "Yuan Yuan has been missing for eight years, and we have no way of knowing what happened. The school and the authorities just classified it as a missing person case, and that's all we know."

  "So for the past eight years, you've given up looking for her?" The woman was startled, hastily lowering her head, slightly shaking it from side to side, her eyes darting back and forth, her fingers clutching at her pant leg, muttering: "No, no, we haven't stopped searching, we've been searching all along, but since her dad had that car accident six years ago, I...I..."

  "You've given up on her! You've given up searching for Zhou Yuan, haven't you? Why? Why don't you go look for her, she's been waiting all along!" Su Yin's face couldn't hide the sorrowful emotions, her mouth speaking to the woman, but her eyes were fixed on a spot. In front of the dimly lit door, a dark shadow was huddled in the corner, standing silently, its shape and features unclear, making no sound, yet she felt it was crying, without a sound, without tears.

  Suddenly, a burst of sobbing erupted beside her ear. The woman couldn't control her emotions and covered her face with both hands, wailing loudly. She muttered to herself: "What can I do... what can I do... Yuan Yuan is gone... her dad is bedridden and can't move... someone warned me not to investigate further or they'll kill us... they gave me some money, but I have no choice... her dad needs the money for surgery... I have no choice... what do you want me to do..."

  Nie Yuan jumped in fright, staring at Su Yin with a strange expression, and then hurriedly tried to comfort the woman. However, after hearing the woman's intermittent words, he was shocked again and hastily asked who it was. But the woman just cried, repeating those few sentences over and over. She didn't dare say anything, couldn't say anything, she just felt that she had no way out!

  Nie Yuan hurriedly turned around, looking at Su Yin for help, but Su Yin didn't look at him. She stared at the black shadow, which trembled and pointed towards the room. Su Yin stood up, and in Nie Yuan's astonished gaze, slowly walked towards the tightly closed door, grasping the doorknob with a slow motion. The brass was dull, she felt that her palm was even colder than metal on this winter day.

  The door creaked open, and the scene inside gradually came into view. The room was relatively tidy, with only a set of bedding, and nothing else. The originally beige curtains had turned grayish-yellow, and on the bed lay a person, silent and still, as if dead.

  But the person on the bed was still alive, still suffering, barely clinging to life. She took a few tottering steps forward, looking at the man on the bed, whose face was gaunt and skeletal, with his arm exposed outside the quilt, thin skin wrapped around bones. What was left of him was no longer human, but just a skeleton draped in human skin.

  She stood there for a while, then slowly approached and sat on the edge of the bed, her hand gently placed on it. Suddenly startled, she frantically rubbed her hand back and forth along the bedding, but found nothing! Lifting up the quilt, underneath was empty, the man had been bedridden for years, his lower limbs had rotted due to infection and were forcibly amputated, the man no longer had legs! She was shocked, staring fixedly at that spot, warm tears slowly flowing down her face.

  She slowly put down the quilt, then put her exposed arms into the quilt, tucked in the corner of the quilt, and covered her face with both hands, sobbing silently.

  "Su Yin, what's wrong?" Nie Yuan asked in surprise as he walked in. She hung her head low and stood up, walking out on her own, saying hoarsely as she passed by Nie Yuan, "Let's go! We're leaving." After that, she just kept walking out of the house, not even bothering with the woman who had stopped crying in the living room.

  Nie Yuan showed an awkward expression, hastily bidding farewell to the woman and apologizing. The woman didn't respond, only staring at the ground with red eyes, her sorrowful face unable to conceal the pain. Her arm rested on the edge of the sofa, her shriveled body appearing even more hunched and aged.

  Standing at the entrance of the residential area, Nie Yuan surrounded Su Yin and repeatedly asked her what was wrong. However, Su Yin just shook her head and didn't say a word, with only her pale face showing a hint of fatigue. Nie Yuan looked at her helplessly and could only ask if she wanted to go back home first today and look for Tan Yu another time. Su Yin thought for a moment, then shook her head in refusal. Nie Yuan scratched his head, having no choice but to accompany her to hail a taxi.

  They were lucky that Tan Yu still lived on the other side of town, only they didn't see him. Tan Yu was not at home. According to his neighbor, he was often away from home and was a wandering, down-and-out, neurotic weirdo!

  Down in the neighborhood, Su Yin was disheartened and lost her soul. Nie Yuan led her out, with a worried face. As it was already approaching afternoon, Nie Yuan suggested they go find a place to eat first before heading back. She nodded blankly, following Nie Yuan as he found a small restaurant nearby and ordered several dishes. They were all her favorites, but she had no appetite, eating only a few bites before putting down her chopsticks. No matter how much Nie Yuan coaxed her, it was of no use.

  Suddenly, a figure flashed across the road in front of the restaurant, and Su Yin's eyes locked onto him, staring motionlessly. The man was wearing only a khaki-colored long coat in the winter, covering his tall but thin body. His hair was very long, covering his eyes, making him look gloomy, and with a beard, he looked even more decadent. But it was this person, as soon as he appeared in her line of sight, she recognized him, he was Tan Yu, that handsome, confident, and talented man!

  Tan Yu was acting strangely, walking as if floating, and had already bumped into several pedestrians, causing a commotion of white eyes and low curses. But he didn't care, just staggering forward like that. He walked past the restaurant below, disappearing from her line of sight, before she finally reacted. "Whoosh" - she suddenly stood up, startling Nie Yuan, who was biting into a piece of meat and looking at her foolishly, about to ask what was wrong, but before he could speak, she had already chased after him without caring.

  Nie Yuan was frightened, and he quickly spat out the meat, shouting: "Ah! Where are you going? Ah! Slow down, wait for me!" As he spoke, he hastily pulled out his wallet to pay the bill, didn't ask for change and rushed out to chase after Su Yun.

  Su Yun didn't go very far, just tens of meters away at a street corner. She stood quietly and watched as Tan Yu stumbled along, finally bumping into someone, who pushed him hard, and he immediately fell to the ground, motionless. The person he bumped into was about to hit him, but seeing that Tan Yu looked abnormal, he cursed and walked away.

  Tan Yu sat in the corner, his exposed face numb, his eyes dazed, as if he was not conscious. He sat while she stood, only a few meters apart, but the people coming and going around them became blurred shadows until Nie Yuan caught up with her, panting, and asked what was wrong.

  Su Yun shook her head, tightened the straps of her backpack, and turned to leave. Nie Yuan followed her with a strange expression, and they sat in silence on the return bus ride. Su Yun had been acting strangely all day, even a bit eerily, and Nie Yuan couldn't help but feel worried as he looked at her, unsure of what to do. No matter what he asked, Su Yun wouldn't respond, so he stopped asking questions and simply continued to follow her, trying his best to assist her.

  The two had just returned to school and hadn't even walked across the student plaza when Su's phone rang. She didn't hear it, and was only awakened by Nie Yuan. The phone she pulled out had many scratches on its case, and one corner was even chipped off, but fortunately it could still be used.

  She hung up the phone, just a few words, Su Yin's face changed and she was stunned there. Nie Yuan looked at her from the side and asked what was wrong, Su Yin looked at him but didn't speak, suddenly turned around and ran out of school. Nie Yuan was startled, felt helpless, could only curse softly and followed up.

  They went to the city center hospital, and when they arrived at the place, Yan Fen'er was waiting for them outside. As soon as they met, Su Yin didn't even catch her breath before asking: "How's Xiaoyu?" Yan Fen'er's face turned serious, she glanced at Nie Yuan, hesitated for a moment, then grabbed her arm and stared into her eyes saying: "Xiaoyu is pregnant, already two months!"

  She and Nie Yuan were both shocked with their mouths agape: "Ah?" Yan Fen'er furrowed her brow, nodding.

  Huang Xiaoyu is pregnant and has been for two months. She suddenly remembered that Yan Fen'er had told her a while back that she saw Huang Xiaoyu and Su Cong entering a hotel together, and they were planning to find an opportunity to talk to Huang Xiaoyu about it. However, Huang Xiaoyu had been avoiding them on purpose, so they hadn't been able to have the conversation. But now, things have suddenly turned out like this.

  She lowered her voice and asked: "Is it his?" Yan Fen'er shook her head, worriedly saying: "I asked her who it was, but she didn't want to say."

  Nie Yuan followed beside them, always with a surprised expression. He listened to their conversation and pretended not to hear it. He suddenly thought of He Hu, but shook his head again, feeling that this was really impossible. He Hu wasn't that kind of person! Not to mention being a beast, at most he was just a beast, absolutely couldn't do such a thing! Then who could it be?

  Three people went to the ward, Huang Xiaoyu suddenly fainted in the dormitory and was sent to the hospital by Yan Fen'er and Ji Huali. She should be awake now. They didn't get her consent, nor did they dare to inform Huang Xiaoyu's parents. Everything will wait until Huang Xiaoyu wakes up.

  Pushing open the door, Ji Huali sat in the accompanying position. Huang Xiaoyu on the bed woke up and looked over at this time. Her face was pale with a small round face, looking fragile beyond compare.

  After a while, the ward was quiet and the atmosphere became increasingly awkward. Huang Xiaoyu stared at the ceiling, not making a sound, when she suddenly spoke up, weakly saying: "You all go out first! Let me talk to Su Yin for a bit!"

  The rest of the people retreated, leaving only Su Yin alone. When Ji Huali passed by her side, she gave her a fierce glance, but she didn't have time to care about it and pretended not to see it.

  After the door closed for a long time, the ward was still quiet, and no one spoke first. Huang Xiaoyu stared at the ceiling in a daze, she stared at Huang Xiaoyu.

  Finally, she was the first to speak: "The child in your belly... is his?" Huang Xiaoyu's face turned towards her, her lips pale and purplish, and suddenly her round face rippled with waves of bitterness and pain. As soon as Su Yin saw this expression, her heart skipped a beat, and her breathing became heavy.

  Huang Xiaoyu nodded slowly and extremely slightly, then turned her head back to lie on the pillow, staring at the ceiling, wondering what she was thinking. Another good silence.

  Su Yun was too weak to speak and didn't know what to say, wanting to ask Huang Xiaoyu what she planned to do next. Shouldn't they just abort the child? This was the most sensible option, after all, she was still so young and just a kid herself!

  At this time, Huang Xiaoyu suddenly spoke up, her voice was faint and dazed: "I don't regret it! Really! Su Yin, do you think I'm stupid?" Su Yin sat there woodenly, neither nodding nor shaking his head, as if he hadn't heard anything.

  She saw a glimmer of moisture in Huang Xiaoyu's eyes from the side, gradually increasing, but her mouth was curved into a smile, and her voice was a little hoarse: "Have you ever liked someone? ... Really, really like it! ... Maybe many people will say that I am not mature, will deny me, but I know that this is not fake."

  "I've known him since I was a kid... He doesn't like to talk... Doesn't like to play with others... So I just stuck close to him... When others said bad things about him, I'd fight for him... Even if what they said wasn't nice, I knew it wasn't his fault!... You know? Every summer break, I looked forward to him coming back... Every summer, I'd hide out near his house... Watching him go out to buy things... I never greeted him... Just a glance from afar was enough..."

  Huang Xiaoyu's round eyes were filled with tears, her hands clenched tightly on the quilt, and the IV tube slowly withdrew blood, she had used too much force.

  "I thought it was enough... I thought it was enough... But, I was too greedy... That day he got drunk... I didn't refuse... I really was too greedy... I told him... I'm pregnant with his child... He was scared to death... Then... then... he gave me money and told me to get an abortion... It's all my fault... it's all because of my greed..."

  Tears couldn't be held back, they slid down her cheeks, wetting the pillowcase as the water stain gradually spread. The owner of these tears was still trying to smile, pale and weak. Su Yun was speechless, she was shocked and heartbroken for this fragile yet deeply emotional girl in front of her.

  She was even more puzzled, what was worth a person being so obsessed. She slowly grasped Huang Xiaoyu's palm, stopping the other from using force again, and said with a bitter smile: "Xiaoyu, he's not worth you treating him like this!" She really thought it wasn't worth it, Su Cong didn't count as someone who was destined to be with Huang Xiaoyu, such a silly and innocent good girl.

  "No! He's actually a good person, I've known him since we were kids, he helped me, he's very gentle, and he even saved me!"

  She interrupted the other's nonsensical words, she was helpless, knowing that saying anything else would be useless, the other had fallen too deep, and she couldn't cut through reality to make them acknowledge the cruelty.

  Huang Xiaoyu needs to rest and avoid excitement, lest she stir up the fetal energy again. So, she doesn't say anything else, comforts Huang Xiaoyu, and watches her gradually fall asleep, with a tired look still visible on her face.

  She went out and handed over to Yan Fen'er, deciding to let Yan Fen'er take care of her first, and then she would take over tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, she could be discharged from the hospital. Before leaving, she received a hint from Yan Fen'er, nodded in understanding, and took Nie Yuan back with her. Nie Yuan followed obediently, observing Su Yin's expression, and somehow, within just ten or so minutes, he felt that the Su Yin in front of him was like a different person.

  He felt inexplicable, Su Yin was still the same Su Yin, but the one in front of him made him tremble with fear, not daring to get close carelessly, nor did he dare say another word.

  She walked quickly out of the hospital, Nie Yuan following closely behind. Su Yin suddenly stopped in her tracks, and Nie Yuan hastily braked to a stop. She turned around and stared at Nie Yuan, who was startled, carefully examining her expression, and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

  "What are you going to do about today's matter?" Su Yin asked in a rare, icy tone. Nie Yuan hastily swore to the heavens that he would definitely keep it a secret and follow the organization's arrangements. She cut him off, staring at him, and after a pause said: "Nie Yuan, you're a good guy! Can I ask you for a favor?"

  Nie Yuan's face turned red with embarrassment, and he smiled foolishly, saying: "Don't say that, I'll be embarrassed. You're right, we're all friends, no need to mention anything about asking or not!"

  Su Yun looked at Nie Yuan's generous appearance, smiled faintly and nodded, saying: "I ask you to take care of Xiao Yu more when I'm not around, okay?" As soon as Nie Yuan heard this, he patted his chest to guarantee, saying: "Don't look down on me, brother. Xiao Yu is also my friend. I may not be good at anything else, but I keep my promises to friends! You don't have to ask, I'll take care of Xiao Yu anyway, so rest assured!"

  Su Yun smiled sincerely and nodded, walking back. She parted ways with Nie Yuan at the student square, both of them had been busy all day and were already very tired. But she couldn't rest yet, there was still something important to do tonight, she even wished time would pass quickly.

  Back in the dormitory, Su Yin took a deep breath, cheered herself up, and first went to take a shower. The warm water flowed from her head down to her toes, warming her body, but her heart was still cold. She thought Huang Xiaoyu was silly, but she couldn't refute anything. People have different attitudes towards love! Some are deeply in love, while others are indifferent! Perhaps in the eyes of others, this person is not that great, but for someone special, he is the whole world, making that person cherish him extremely!

  But Su Yun was puzzled, had Su Cong ever been serious about Huang Xiaoyu? And did Huang Xiaoyu really like him? Or was it the old Su Cong that she truly liked. She liked the Su Cong in her imagination, not the person he was now, but the feelings she had held onto for many years. She didn't know that time flies like a knife, cutting away at one's youth! The old Su Cong was long gone. When he told her to have an abortion, she should have understood that the man in front of her wasn't worth it!

  Su sighed, what is it that requires such a long and persistent pursuit, and what is worth being eternal and unrepentant? Why can't she see through it, when all it takes is one awakening? She didn't understand either, and wondered if she even had the qualification to sympathize.

  She shook off the water droplets, and in the rain, she opened her eyes, which were as dark as obsidian, with an icy coldness like inorganic matter. Suddenly, a faint red glow flashed and disappeared, erasing that hint of shocking madness. Anyway, she was extremely angry about this!

  Wrapped in a bath towel, she wiped the mist off the mirror in front of her with one hand. Su Yun looked at the face in the mirror, feeling a little dazed. How long had it been since she last took a good look at this face? Even now, facing herself in the mirror, she felt like a stranger!

  A stinging sensation came from her eyes, and she gently stroked the corners of her eyes with a mocking expression. Through the mirror, she made eye contact with the black shadow behind her, and she smiled faintly. She picked up the small box on the washstand, opened the clasp. This was her first time wearing contact lenses, the process was very difficult, when it was done, she laughed as tears streamed down her irritated eyes.

  She wiped away her tears, blinked a few times, not quite getting used to this strange feeling. However, her eyes no longer hurt. This was good, she was satisfied, looking at the face in the mirror, her red lips curled up on one side, exuding a sly aura.

  She came out of the bathroom, opened the evening dress box, and was stunned at a glance. The enchanting purple evening dress with a curved tail had been worn out long ago, where could it be worn again? What a pity for such a good dress! Facing this box of wreckage, Su Yin felt very helpless. Looking at the time, it was already too late, she had no choice but to flip through her phone, searching one by one, and finally hesitated before pressing one of them.

  On a winter day, Ge Lu drove up to the girls' dormitory building and waited for someone. Under the dim streetlights, students passing by couldn't help but cast curious glances at him and his car. He suddenly realized he had been rash this time, so he shifted to the side and hid himself in the shadow of the streetlight.

  It was on such a winter night, with thin fog everywhere, the temperature dropped at night, and the breath exhaled would condense into white smoke. And that girl, treading through the darkness, gradually appeared under the streetlights. Extremely ordinary jeans, a hooded thick coat, long straight hair. But even the most ordinary attire couldn't hide that one radiant aura, in an instant, everything around her faded away, leaving only that dazzling beauty and icy coldness.

  At that moment, Ge Lu's breathing stagnated, and he vaguely heard the sound of gasps rising from all around.

  In just a few steps, the girl walked into the shadow where he was and called out to him: "Lu Ge? Thank you so much for being willing to help me."

  Fortunately, the spell he cast on his invisible glasses was effective, but even if it neutralized the inexplicable demonic power of those eyes, ordinary people's resistance to beautiful things was still very weak. Even someone as naturally indifferent as him couldn't help being drawn in. So when Su Yin called out to him, he immediately snapped back to reality, and a cold sweat broke out on his back.

  He smiled faintly, shook his head and said nothing was wrong, then quickly led her into the car and drove away as soon as possible, leaving behind a crowd of people staring blankly.

  Ge Lu asked her what kind of help she needed, and she told him the truth, saying that she needed a evening dress for a birthday party. Ge Lu nodded and didn't say anything else, knowing where she was going and what she would be doing. Su Yin thought it was just a relatively grand student birthday party and didn't think much of it, but Ge Lu knew better. So when he took her to a high-end store, she looked stupid and even dared not go in.