key

Xu Feifei asked uncertainly, "What do you mean?"

Grandma was beside her and whispered, "If you want to leave, I can take you away."

Xu Feifei stared at her in shock; this was undoubtedly a good opportunity to leave.

When are you leaving?

"today."

"Today? This is so sudden."

"If you miss this opportunity, it will be very difficult to get another one. As you just saw, Xiao Yuan is very wary of me. If I miss this opportunity, it will be very difficult to see you again."

Xu Feifei hesitated for a while, "Then can I see Lin Yuan one more time before I leave?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible. If we meet again, Xiao Yuan will kick me out. If you want to leave, let's go now and not delay any longer."

If she seizes this opportunity, she can leave this place smoothly. But this is the second floor, how does she get there?

Xu Feifei looked at her with suspicion, then glanced out the window. Could the two of them be climbing through the window? She could climb, but could Grandma?

"Let me think about it some more. Besides, we have to go through the main gate to leave. If Lin Yuan finds out that we're sneaking away, he'll definitely be angry."

Grandma looked at her and smiled, "Is it more important for you to leave or for Xiaoyuan to be angry?"

"No, Lin Yuan said before that he would let me go back."

Lin Yuan had said he would take her back, but the time was still uncertain.

"You don't want to come with me now, do you?"

Xu Feifei hesitated, "I haven't figured out whether I should leave or not."

If he just goes with his grandmother like this, Lin Yuan will definitely be very angry. Besides, Lin Yuan hasn't even told her about the photos yet, and...

Xu Feifei suddenly remembered something, "Grandma, what's the date today?"

She originally wanted to ask Lin Yuan, but when she saw her grandmother, she forgot to ask.

"Let me check my phone first. I'm getting old, and I remember less and less."

Grandma smiled, took out her phone, and looked at the date on it.

Today is the 20th.

Xu Feifei leaned closer to the screen and was shocked to see that it showed Thursday, August 20th.

But she clearly remembered that yesterday was the 14th, so how come it's the 20th now?

She counted the days since Lin Yuan brought her here. She remembered that she was brought here on the 10th, which was only 4 days ago. It couldn't have been the 20th.

"Feifei, what's wrong?"

Suddenly, the dream flashed into her mind. In the dream, she was running through the forest, with Lin Yuan calling her name from behind.

Grandma saw her standing there, stunned, and called out again.

Xu Feifei snapped out of her reverie and, seeing the worry in her eyes, asked, "Hmm?"

Are you worried about your engagement?

"Huh?...Mmm."

Xu Feifei nodded in confusion, her mind still preoccupied with that dream. Perhaps it wasn't a dream at all?

"I saw in the news that your engagement ceremony with Nangong Ye has been postponed. The date hasn't been set yet, and it's probably going to be decided when you get back. So, whether you're coming back with me or not, you'd better give me an answer soon."

Xu Feifei frowned deeply, her mind even more confused.

During those four days she was missing, Lin Yuan must have known what happened. When she woke up that day, Lin Yuan seemed very excited as he hugged her, saying something strange like he wouldn't leave her alone again.

"arrive."

Grandma walked to the door of a room and stopped. Xu Feifei's thoughts were pulled back again. Looking at the tightly locked door in front of her, she didn't understand why she had come here.

She had come here before, but had never been able to go in because the doors were locked. When she asked Lin Yuan why the place was locked, he said that he had lost the only key to the lock and, since he didn't come here often, he was too lazy to open it.

Xu Feifei pointed uncertainly at the door in front of her, "This room?"

Grandma's smile faded, replaced by an unusually serious and silent demeanor. "This is the room."

Xu Feifei tried pushing the handle, but after pushing for a long time, she found that the door was still not moving. "This door is locked, and I've lost the only key. I can't get in."

"Feifei, you haven't been to this room before, have you?"

"Uh-huh."

"It seems Xiao Yuan hasn't told us about her yet."

Xu Feifei looked at her, completely bewildered, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Grandma smiled and shook her head, saying, "Let Xiaoyuan tell you about this herself. It's not convenient for me to say more."

"But I have the key to this room."

Grandma took the key out of her pocket, aimed it at the keyhole, turned it a few times, and it opened.

Xu Feifei watched in surprise as the door slowly opened; there was nothing strange inside.

A simple study with calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls, as well as several colorful drawings by children.

The two had just sat down when Lin Yuan, standing at the door with a dark expression, said, "The tea is ready."

Grandma smiled at Lin Yuan, then turned to Xu Feifei and said, "Feifei, you and Lin Yuan go down first. I want to stay here a little longer before going down."

Xu Feifei obediently stood up and walked to Lin Yuan's side.

Lin Yuan stood at the door looking at his grandmother with a displeased expression. He remained standing there without taking a single step inside.

Looking around, there was nothing particularly special about the surroundings.

Xu Feifei stood with him for a while and then said, "Let's go downstairs first. Your grandma wants to stay here for a while."

After a long while, Lin Yuan nodded slightly and left.

Xu Feifei quickly followed him; she still had many questions for him!

After going downstairs, Lin Yuan poured her a cup of tea and placed it in front of her. The tea was very hot, still steaming, and carried a faint fragrance of tea.

Xu Feifei glanced at Lin Yuan, who was sitting on the sofa with a serious expression, occasionally looking up at the second floor.

Xu Feifei asked hesitantly, "Lin Yuan, what's the date today?"

Lin Yuan turned around stiffly, glanced at her, then lowered his head to pick up his teacup and said, "It's been too long since I looked at the calendar, I can't remember."

"Really? Do you remember how many days I've been here?"

"It's been about a week."

As Lin Yuan reminisced, his hand unconsciously tugged at his sleeve.

Xu Feifei had been staring intently at him, and this action naturally caught her eye. She didn't speak, but walked to Lin Yuan's side. She took his hand, and Lin Yuan struggled to pull away.

"Don't move, let me see."

The sleeve was pulled up, revealing the obvious wounds on the hands, some red and some blue, the longest being over ten centimeters long, with scabs on them.

If you pull open the other hand, it's the same, only a little less than the other side.

Xu Feifei gently stroked the purplish-blue skin and asked with concern, "Does it hurt?"

Lin Yuan shook his head and tried to pull down his sleeve, but she stopped him.

"Did this get there while protecting me?"

Lin Yuan looked at her silently, unsure if she remembered anything.

Xu Feifei took his silence as an admission and continued to ask, "Why did I run into the woods that day, and why did you chase after me?"

At that moment, she already had an answer in her heart. Because now that she thought about it, it felt so familiar, just like her last trip to Europe.

Lin Yuan turned his head away and remained silent.

"What exactly happened during your last trip to Europe and what happened this time? Please tell me."

The surrounding air seemed to freeze, deathly silent.

Xu Feifei closed her eyes, trying to suppress the urge to question Lin Yuan, then opened them again, stood up and said, "Even if you don't tell me, I will find out for myself."

After saying that, he turned to leave.

Lin Yuan grabbed her hand and said in a hoarse voice, "Sit down first, and I'll tell you."

After she sat down, Lin Yuan spoke after a moment: "I came back here around 11 p.m. that night and saw that the lights in your room were off. I thought you were asleep."

"I found the food you left for me in the kitchen, and just as I was about to eat, I heard the front door open. I went out to see what was going on and found you had run out. This is the suburbs, and it's not very safe to go out at night, so I chased after you and called out to you, wanting to ask why you were out so late."

Lin Yuan paused for a moment, took a sip of tea, and continued, "But you just wouldn't stop, and you kept running faster and faster. Eventually, you ran too fast and tripped. I pulled you down with me, and that's how this happened."

"And then? What happened in the next few days?"

"After you rolled down, you passed out. You slept in bed for the next few days."

"You slept the whole time those few days?"

"Uh-huh."

Xu Feifei frowned. She remembered leaving food for Lin Yuan that day, then going back to her room and falling asleep. She had no recollection of what happened after that, except for the scene of running through the woods.

But something felt off, and she suddenly remembered something and said, "Wait a minute. I remember telling you where you went yesterday, why didn't you tell me the truth then?"

“I think that memory is a bad one for you, because I think a large part of the reason you ran away was because of me.”

He paused and said, "If I hadn't come back so late that night, you wouldn't have run away, you wouldn't have fallen on the slope, and you wouldn't have been lying in bed for so many days."

Lin Yuan looked at her earnestly and said sincerely, "I'm sorry, Feifei."

Xu Feifei shook her head and said, "Oh? I'm fine, but you're more seriously injured. I'm the one who should apologize. If I hadn't run into the woods, everyone would be alright."

However, something was still strange about this, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"And what about those few days you were traveling in Europe?"

"What happened in Europe?"

"Everything that happened in Europe."

Lin Yuan shifted his gaze away from her, unwilling to discuss the matter further.

Xu Feifei noticed his emotions and said softly, "Lin Yuan, I really want to know what happened to me."

"bite."

The elevator rang.

Lin Yuan looked over and said to Xu Feifei, "I'll talk to you after she leaves."

Xu Feifei turned around and saw her grandmother walking out of the elevator.

Grandma sat down between the two of them and said, looking at the color of the tea in the cup, "It's brewed well, the depth is just right."

He picked up the cup, took a sip, and said, "Not bad, not bad. It would be even better if there were some snacks."

Xu Feifei replied, "There's a cake in the fridge, I'll go get it for you."

"No need, I'll go."

Lin Yuan turned around and walked towards the kitchen.

As Lin Yuan went to get the cake, Grandma slipped the key into her hand and whispered, "I've hidden a cell phone in the key to the room. If you want to leave, you can contact me using the phone. Don't tell Xiao Yuan."

Xu Feifei looked at her in surprise, her hand tightly gripping the key, clearly feeling its hardness against her palm.