Chapter 62

The icy coolness of the sparkling water still left a slight stinging sensation in her throat, but Su Xiao's (Shi Ye's) gaze was fixed on the three people.

Qi Jin led Lin Xiaoyu toward another set of works, his back straight and his steps steady, as if the brief pause and eye contact just now had never happened. The original owner, Shi Ye, was still standing in the same spot, staring blankly at the somber abstract painting. Under the cool exhibition hall lights, her smoky pink shirt exuded a kind of incongruous, fragile warmth.

Su Xiao was pondering how to "naturally" move over and strike up a conversation with the original owner, Shi Ye, even if it was just saying, "This painting is indeed very special," to take the first step in "artistic exchange," when she saw a young man wearing a vest of "Suguang Space" staff, wearing thin-rimmed glasses, holding a notepad, walking quickly toward the original owner, Shi Ye.

“Ms. Shi?” The staff member’s tone was professionally polite with a hint of scrutiny. “Are you interested in this work? It’s an experimental piece by one of our emerging artists today, exploring ‘post-traumatic memory blanks’.”

The original owner of Shi Ye seemed startled and suddenly came to her senses, looking at the staff member with obvious panic in her eyes, her fingers unconsciously clenching her cuffs. "I... I just feel that it seems... not quite complete." Her voice was even lower, almost drowned out by the background music in the exhibition hall.

The staff member adjusted his glasses, his smile impeccable: "Incompleteness is precisely what the artist wanted to express. Fragments, gaps, unfillable voids... Ms. Shi's ability to perceive this shows she has great taste." He paused, his gaze seemingly sweeping across her bare neck and pale face. "I heard that Ms. Shi recently experienced some... upheavals? Perhaps this feeling will be even more profound."

This sounded like a compliment, but also like a cautious probe.

The original owner of Shi Ye's face seemed even paler. She hastily took half a step back, her lips moved slightly but no sound came out. She simply shook her head, then, as if avoiding something, turned and quickly walked towards the other side of the exhibition hall, to the less crowded rest area. Her steps were somewhat unsteady, and her back view revealed a sense of panic.

The staff member stood there, watching her back, and thoughtfully jotted something down in his notebook.

Su Xiao took in the whole scene. It seemed that the original owner Shi Ye's "return" was not a quiet affair; at least within this small circle, it had already attracted attention and speculation. People were more curious than welcoming, and more probing than concerned about the "resurrected" eldest daughter of the Shi family.

Her gaze then turned to Qi Jin.

Lin Xiaoyu seemed captivated by a brightly colored installation piece made from discarded electronic components. She was tugging at Qi Jin's arm, whispering excitedly, her cheeks flushed with a mixture of agitation and feigned excitement. Qi Jin listened, her profile slightly blurred in the light and shadow. She nodded occasionally, but most of the time, her gaze wasn't focused on the artwork; it seemed somewhat vacant, or perhaps she was using her peripheral vision to watch out for something.

Her left hand was always in her trouser pocket.

From Su Xiao's angle, you can see that the fabric in her pocket is stretched quite tightly, clearly indicating that she is holding something inside.

Is it that moon necklace and the peace buckle?

Su Xiao recalled the gesture she made before the explosion, slipping the item into Qi Jin's pocket. So, she had kept it with her all along? Even in public, even when she was with Lin Xiaoyu?

Just then, the exhibition hall lights dimmed briefly, then focused on a small stage in the center. The highlight of the preview—a brief dialogue on "Technology and Memory"—was about to begin. Two scholars-looking individuals were already seated in the guest section.

The crowd began to gather towards the center.

Lin Xiaoyu also pulled Qi Jin over there: "Senior, shall we go over and listen? It looks quite interesting."

Qi Jin hummed in agreement and moved with her.

The original owner of Shi Ye had been hiding in a corner of the rest area, but now, seeing the crowd moving, she seemed somewhat at a loss, unsure whether to follow the flow or stay put. After hesitating for a few seconds, she finally lowered her head and slowly walked towards the outer edge of the crowd, deliberately keeping her distance.

Su Xiao mingled in the crowd and found a spot on the side. She saw Qi Jin and Lin Xiaoyu standing slightly forward, while the original owner of Shi Ye stood far away next to a pillar, almost hidden in the shadows.

The conversation began, the topic somewhat profound, interspersed with a lot of technical jargon. Su Xiao (relying on her memories) could understand the gist of it, but her attention was completely elsewhere. She was observing Qi Jin.

Qi Jin stood very straight, her gaze fixed on the stage, seemingly listening intently. But Su Xiao noticed that her posture was actually very tense, her shoulders stiff, and her left hand, tucked into her pocket, would occasionally twitch very slightly, as if she were rubbing something inside. Every thirty seconds or so, her gaze would sweep over the original owner of this body, Shi Ye, in the shadow of the pillar, at an extremely natural and imperceptible angle.

It was neither a gentle gaze nor an eager search.

It was a...calm, almost ruthless assessment. Like observing whether a precision instrument was functioning properly, or whether a potential risk was within manageable limits.

Doubt. Absolutely doubt.

But besides doubt, there seemed to be something else. A complex, repressed, even somewhat...painful restraint?

Su Xiao couldn't understand it.

Midway through the conversation, the guest mentioned a concept: "Physical trauma can sometimes leave 'ghost memories,' meaning the body remembers the injury, but the consciousness may be blurred or distorted..."

The original owner of this body, Shi Ye, who had been standing quietly in the shadows, suddenly swayed, raised her hand to steady herself on a nearby pillar, and seemed to breathe rapidly. She lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Qi Jin turned her head almost simultaneously, her sharp gaze fixed on that corner. Her lips pressed into a straight line, and her left hand, tucked into her pocket, clenched tightly, the veins on the back of her hand clearly visible beneath her pale skin.

Lin Xiaoyu noticed Qi Jin's sudden turn of her head and followed her gaze, spotting the original owner of the body, Shi Ye, standing by the pillar, looking unwell. The feigned ease on Lin Xiaoyu's face vanished instantly, replaced by genuine worry and anxiety. She tugged at Qi Jin's sleeve and whispered, "Senior, Sister Shi Ye seems unwell..."

Qi Jin didn't move.

She just watched as the original owner leaned against a pillar, slowly squatted down, buried her face in her arms, and her thin body shrank into a small ball in the dim light.

A few seconds later, Qi Jin slowly, almost stiffly, pulled her arm out of Lin Xiaoyu's grasp. She spoke to Lin Xiaoyu in a low voice, but with an undeniable command: "Stay here and listen."

Then, she turned around and walked in the direction of the original owner of Shi Ye. Her steps remained steady, but Su Xiao noticed that the fingertips of her right hand, which was hanging at her side, were trembling slightly.

Qi Jin walked to the pillar, but didn't immediately squat down. Instead, he stood a step away from the original owner of the body, Shi Ye, looking down at the curled-up figure. Her shadow fell on Shi Ye.

"Where do you feel unwell?" Qi Jin asked, his voice calm and formulaic, revealing no emotion, but it was colder and harder than when he spoke to Lin Xiaoyu earlier.

The original owner of this body stiffened for a moment, then slowly raised her head. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her face wet, and her gaze unfocused, filled with lingering fear and confusion. She looked at Qi Jin, opened her mouth, and uttered a breathy sound: "I...I don't know...it's just...I suddenly feel very uncomfortable..."

"What did you remember?" Qi Jin asked, his tone almost interrogative.

The original owner of the body shook her head blankly, but her tears fell even more fiercely: "Nothing...nothing at all...just empty...so empty...and it hurts..." She unconsciously raised her hand to cover her chest, where she used to wear a necklace and a jade buckle, but now it was empty.

Qi Jin's gaze fell on her hand clutching her chest, his pupils contracting almost imperceptibly. She remained silent for a few seconds, then made a gesture that stunned Su Xiao, who was secretly watching from afar.

Slowly and with extreme restraint, she crouched down, meeting the gaze of the curled-up original owner, Shi Ye. Her left hand remained tightly tucked into her pocket. With her right hand, she took a clean, dark gray handkerchief without any markings from the inside pocket of her suit jacket and handed it to him.

There were no words of comfort, no physical touch.

He simply handed her a handkerchief.

The original owner stared blankly at the handkerchief in front of her, then at Qi Jin's face, which was so close yet completely expressionless. Hesitantly, she reached out with trembling hands, took the handkerchief, and hastily wiped away the tears on her face. The handkerchief was of very fine quality, carrying a very faint, cool cedar scent that belonged to Qi Jin.

"Can you stand up?" Qi Jin asked.

The original owner, Shi Ye, nodded, leaning against a pillar, and tried to get up, swaying slightly. Qi Jin didn't help her up, but after she stood up, he also stood up, still keeping a step's distance.

"I'll take you back to rest," Qi Jin said, not as a suggestion, but as a statement.

"No...no need..." The original owner of this body waved her hand frantically, "I can do it myself..."

"Your father entrusted me to look after you temporarily," Qi Jin interrupted her, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable force, "until you are fully recovered."

The original owner lowered her head and remained silent, her fingers twisting the already wet handkerchief.

Qi Jin then turned around and looked at Lin Xiaoyu, who had been watching them with concern. She nodded slightly to Lin Xiaoyu, then said to the original owner of the body, "Let's go," and took the lead in walking towards the exit.

The original owner, Shi Ye, followed behind her like a little tail, head down.

Lin Xiaoyu watched their departing figures, one after the other, bit her lip, her eyes filled with confusion, worry, and a hint of... disappointment she herself might not have noticed. She didn't follow them.

Su Xiao stood at the edge of the crowd, watching Qi Jin lead the original owner, Shi Ye, and disappear at the exit of the exhibition hall.

His left hand remained in his pocket, clutching an old object.

Offer the handkerchief with your right hand, keeping your distance.

Using "father's entrustment" as a reason, the matter was handled officially.

Constantly assessing the situation, remaining calm and distant, yet offering the only act of "care" that felt almost like charity and devoid of warmth when the other person broke down.

This attitude... is too complex. It's like sealing surging lava under a thick ice shell, the ice layer riddled with cracks, yet stubbornly refusing to break.

As for Lin Xiaoyu...

Su Xiao looked at the girl standing there, looking somewhat lonely. Qi Jin's companionship towards her stemmed from concern, responsibility, and perhaps even a transference of affection for his friend "Shi Ye"? But more than that, it seemed like... comfort. Comforting Lin Xiaoyu's emotions, and also comforting a part of her own heart that was restless because of this? Or perhaps, through Lin Xiaoyu, was he maintaining some faint connection with the "deceased Shi Ye"?

Su Xiao pinched the bridge of her nose. This relationship was a complete mess.

Her task was to bring together the ice containing the lava and the original owner of the body who was lost and had empty memories.

She herself was an observer and a driving force who had lost her own heart.

My phone vibrated in my handbag. It was a message from my friend in the art world: "Xiaoxiao, where have you been? The discussion is almost over, and there's a small cocktail party later. I'll introduce you to some of the industry's experts! Come over quickly!"

Su Xiao took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the chaotic thoughts in her mind.

Matchmaker Su Xiao's first lesson in the workplace: First, master your own social network before you can weave a network to match others.

She replied, "Coming right away," adjusted her expression, and walked towards her friend.

As for the two main characters...

Take your time.

Anyway, there's still plenty of time (and the system's deadline).