Chapter 53

When the surveillance footage returned to 10:10, Xu Feifei shifted her attention to their faces. She noticed that Lin Yuan's expression was unusually serious, but upon closer inspection, there was a hint of impatience in her eyes.

Lin Xier and Uncle Liu looked more puzzled.

Xu Feifei finally realized that only she could see the person in the surveillance footage, just like the words on the bookmark and the romance novels in the library.

This might be a plot hole in the world of the novel; perhaps the person in the surveillance footage can tell her what really happened.

Thinking of this, my gaze returned to the departing figure in the surveillance footage; that figure seemed familiar.

She seems familiar!

"Uncle Liu, could you please give me a copy of this video?" Lin Yuan asked.

"Send me a copy as well," Xu Feifei said quickly.

"Okay, I'll send it to you."

Uncle Liu added Lin Yuan on WeChat and sent her the video.

After thanking Uncle Liu, the three left the monitoring room. Lin Xi'er, having just stepped out, asked, "So? Did you figure anything out?"

Since it was a bug in this world, Xu Feifei didn't want to say anything more. So she apologized and said, "No, maybe I misheard last night. I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Lin Yuan glanced at her with her dark eyes but said nothing.

"It's alright, it's alright! I'm so glad you're okay! If you ever need anything again, just come to me. I'll do my best to help you!"

"Okay, thank you!" Xu Feifei said.

Lin Xier smiled and said, "You're welcome, it's my job." After saying that, she looked a little annoyed and hesitated.

As Xu Feifei and Lin Yuan turned to leave, she called out, "Feifei, I have something I want to talk to you about. Are you free now?"

Xu Feifei turned around and looked at her with a somewhat blank expression.

Lin Xier seemed to have mustered a lot of courage to say, "There were rumors circulating about me and Nangong Ye before. I want to tell you that all of that is just a rumor. We were just participating in an English competition together. I don't like him. I won't interfere in your relationship, much less try to ruin it."

After speaking, he lowered his head, a hint of melancholy flashing in his eyes.

"Huh?" Xu Feifei looked puzzled and confused.

"These are just some of my personal observations and things others have said to me. I've thought about them carefully. You never call me by my name, and you always refuse when I try to help you. I think you might care about that, so I wanted to make things clear to you."

"And I'll keep my distance from Nangong Ye," Lin Xier added.

Xu Feifei felt a mix of emotions after hearing this. She turned to look at Lin Yuan, only to find Lin Yuan staring at her with a half-smile, waiting for her response.

Xu Feifei gritted her teeth and hissed, her mind racing through countless possible responses. Finally, she said, "I don't know how to say it, but what I want to say is that my marriage to Nangong Ye was just an arranged one between our parents. As we grow up, our marriage will be our own decision. I respect every choice Nangong Ye makes, but there's no possibility between us."

I almost slipped up and called Nangong Ye the male lead. Besides, it's inevitable that you two will be together, and she won't interfere anymore.

"Really? Then why didn't you call my name before? And when I tried to help you, you refused my help too?" Lin Xier looked up at Xu Feifei and asked.

Looking back on her interactions with the female lead, Xu Feifei realized she had never actually called her by name. They hadn't spent much time together before, and when she first arrived, she'd even considered stealing the female lead's spotlight. So, every time she saw the female lead, she didn't know how to interact with her.

Xu Feifei hesitated and said, "Uh... I'm sorry, it might have been my oversight before, I didn't think about it that much, Lin... Lin Xier?"

After the misunderstanding was cleared up, Lin Xier breathed a long sigh of relief and then smiled sweetly, "Can you call me Xier? It feels more intimate without my surname."

Lin Yuan seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this.

Xu Feifei called out hesitantly, "Xi'er?"

Seeing this, Lin Xier smiled and nodded vigorously in response, "Mm."

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now?" Xu Feifei asked.

"Okay, bye-bye!" Lin Xier waved and said.

After saying goodbye to the female lead, Xu Feifei pulled Lin Yuan into the elevator, preparing to return to their dormitory.

The moment the elevator doors closed, Xu Feifei breathed a sigh of relief; she hadn't dared to breathe too hard while she was there.

"That was so awkward. I don't know why Lin Xi, Xi'er, said those things to me."

Lin Yuan shook her head, indicating that she didn't know.

"And why were you looking at me like that, like you were watching a show? Lin Xi... she should have said those things to you."

When Xu Feifei said the name Xi'er, she always felt it was a bit awkward and even a little too hot to pronounce.

The elevator arrived with a "ding," and the doors opened. The two walked towards Xu Feifei's room. Lin Yuan said with a hint of sourness, "You just said that you and Nangong Ye are engaged since childhood."

Xu Feifei teased, "Wait a minute, Lin Yuan. You sound a little jealous. Nangong Ye even confessed to you! Lin Xier should be the one to confess to you."

Lin Yuan then said, "That's not true. However, Lin Xi'er said something that makes some sense."

Which sentence?

"It'll feel more personal without the surname."

Xu Feifei looked at Lin Yuan with some confusion, indicating that she didn't quite understand.

Lin Yuan smiled but didn't say anything; their eyes met.

After a long pause, Xu Feifei finally realized what she meant and laughed, "So you're disgusted that I call you Lin Yuan?"

"uh-huh."

"Okay. So what do you want me to call you? Little Kite? Kite Kite? Or Kite Kite?" Xu Feifei asked teasingly, her eyes fixed on him.

Lin Yuan's ears turned red, and she looked away, saying, "Let's go with Lin Yuan."

Xu Feifei burst into laughter.

"Oh right, we're going to take pictures of the lotus flowers at East Lake this afternoon." Xu Feifei suddenly remembered the activity this afternoon and said she had gotten the key to the small boat from the photography department yesterday.

"Yes, I remember." Lin Yuan nodded.

"It's 11 o'clock now, time flies! Shall we go eat later and then take photos at 4 o'clock? It's too sunny at 2 o'clock."

"Can."

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Xu Feifei, holding an umbrella, with a camera hanging around her neck and another camera on her back, came to East Lake alone.

Originally, Xu Feifei and Lin Yuan planned to change into new Hanfu and take photos here after lunch. However, Lin Yuan was called away by the teacher to work on competition materials, which caused Xu Feifei to lose all interest and have no intention of changing into new Hanfu.

Before Lin Yuan left, she told her to go to East Lake first, and then she would go there after she finished the competition.

Xu Feifei stepped onto the small boat, put down the camera with a sigh of relief, and exclaimed, "This camera is so heavy! My neck is about to break!"

The small boat is similar to the sightseeing boats in scenic areas, with a small canopy, wooden railings on both sides, and openwork wooden windows.

Although it's smaller than the sightseeing boats in the scenic area, with a capacity of only two people, it's more refined and made of better materials.

Xu Feifei placed the camera next to her feet and leaned her upper body on the railing, gazing at East Lake in front of her.

The East Lake is even more stunning than she saw last time. With summer approaching, there are more lotus flowers in bloom, and lotus pods can be seen in the distance.

The small boat was on the lake, and every movement she made affected its stability, causing it to sway on the surface with each step.

Xu Feifei waited on the small boat for ten minutes, but Lin Yuan still hadn't arrived. She checked her phone, but there were no messages.

"Why is it taking so long!"

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by. The lotus leaves rustled against each other, the lotus flowers swayed on the lake, and a delicate fragrance wafted over.

Xu Feifei closed her eyes, gently inhaling and enjoying the breeze, and couldn't help but exclaim, "So comfortable!"

With a "snap," the key slipped out of my pocket.

Xu Feifei picked up the keys, and the thought of going boating suddenly welled up in her mind. She checked her phone, but there were still no messages. She looked around, but Lin Yuan was nowhere to be seen.

So he messaged Lin Yuan: "Lin Yuan, I'm setting sail now. Message me when you arrive!"

After confirming that the message had been sent successfully, Xu Feifei excitedly unlocked the chains, picked up the oar, and said, "Let's go!"

"Wow, it's so heavy!" Xu Feifei struggled to propel the boat, and the little boat began to set off, swaying from side to side.

"Wait, my camera. Make sure it's on your back, don't let it get damaged." Xu Feifei controlled her balance and carefully put the camera on her back before continuing to row.

"Stay calm, stay calm, you must stay calm," Xu Feifei muttered to herself, trying to encourage herself.

The small boat swayed and rocked until it reached the lotus leaves. As soon as it got close to the lotus flowers, Xu Feifei couldn't wait to take out her camera and start snapping pictures of the lotus flowers.

She glanced unintentionally at the half-open lotus flower at the bow of the boat, where a dragonfly was perched. A gentle breeze blew, and the lotus flower swayed gently with it.

Xu Feifei captured this wonderful moment and immediately took out her camera to focus and zoom in. However, she found that it was still a bit blurry. She had only learned how to use the camera a few days ago and only knew how to focus, turn on the flash, and press the shutter button. She didn't know any of the other buttons.

Xu Feifei walked forward cautiously, holding her breath, afraid of startling the dragonfly.

As soon as I got to the bow of the boat, the dragonfly caught the noise and flew away.

In her panic, she cried out, "Don't go!" and rushed forward to stop her, but she lost her footing and fell into the lake.

"Feifei!" someone shouted from afar.

"Oh no, I can't swim!" Xu Feifei thought to herself before falling into the water.

Xu Feifei thrashed and struggled in the water, the camera hanging around her neck pulling her down, making her sink deeper and deeper.

My consciousness began to fade, and I vaguely opened my eyes to find everything in complete darkness.

The sound of flowing water was no longer in my ears, but the sound of the air conditioner braking, mixed with muffled laughter. It sounded like Xiaoxue was laughing.

Light Snow!

Xu Feifei immediately perked up, "I'm back?!"

My eyes suddenly felt uncomfortable, so I closed them. When I opened them again, I was back in the icy lake water, which filled my nose and eyes, making it extremely difficult to breathe.

The dormitory and lake scenes kept flashing and overlapping, as if the screen was stuck and refreshing, then getting stuck again, making it impossible to tell where you were.

Xu Feifei closed her eyes, giving up the struggle and letting her body succumb. Perhaps the moment she opened her eyes, she would be in the dormitory.

"Feifei".

Xu Feifei fell into someone's arms, her eyes unable to open, as if glued shut. Someone was urgently calling her name in her ear, but she couldn't respond.

Before falling into a deep sleep, she had only one thought in her mind.

Where am I right now?

It seems she hasn't properly said goodbye to Lin Yuan yet. Has Lin Yuan arrived?