Chapter 15
1998 Bar.
Exhausted, Chu Ci unintentionally drove his car to this place.
The bar was deserted at noon. Only the cleaning staff were sweeping the booths and dance floor. A waiter who had just started work saw her, tied his small bow tie, and led her to a private room.
"Chu Ci?" A soft, delicate voice, with a noticeable tremor at the end.
She turned around, and a burly man was both surprised and delighted, almost jumping up with joy. "Zixi told me before, but I didn't believe it. You're really still alive. Why did it take you so long to come?"
He is one of the other two men in the group photo.
Judging by its physique, it has broad shoulders and a thick waist, truly deserving of the nickname "tiger".
Chu Ci smiled slightly, "Do you have any wine?"
She glanced at the man behind him.
He did indeed follow her.
Are you worried she can't handle Zhou Yubai? She never fights a battle unprepared.
“Of course, this is our bar. Go get Sister Chu’s favorite drink,” he instructed the waiter. “Never mind, you don’t know. Go ahead and get busy, I’ll go get it.”
Turning around, she said, "Hi, Mr. Huo, it just so happens you have the same taste. I'll go get some wine so we can drink together!"
The voice sounded soft and weak, which was really inconsistent with the body size.
"He's really not like a tiger."
Huo Junyan paused as he sat down, glanced at her, but Chu Ci didn't pay any attention to his gaze.
“Sister Chu, you’re finally back,” he said, opening a bottle of Burgundy white wine. “I’ve always wanted to have a drink with you again. I thought, I thought…”
As she spoke, she choked up.
Chu Ci silently clinked glasses with him, her pupils stinging, and tilted her head back to drink it all in one gulp.
I was able to be myself again today, and it's so good to know that friends have been thinking of me.
He downed his drink in one gulp, then poured himself another. "Mr. Huo, thank you for drinking with us these past few years while Sister Chu was gone."
Huo Junyan held the wine glass between his fingertips, took a small sip, glanced at Chu Ci out of the corner of his eye, and then tilted his head back to drink the wine in the glass.
"Sister Chu, I, I... I'm so happy..." He was so emotional that he wiped away his tears with his sleeve. Chu Ci didn't say anything, but kept him company, drinking one cup after another.
After a few drinks, he sobbed and clung to Chu Ci's leg, "Sister Chu, when you weren't here, I was bullied and no one stood up for me... Waaah..."
Huo Junyan pulled her up and opened the door to the private room. "Help Erni go back to rest."
Turning around, Chu Ci stared at him blankly.
He is Erni, and the tiger is the one in the photo who is thin and has shoulder-length hair.
When Huo Zixi showed her the group photo, he said, "It's a photo of us with Erni and Tiger." She had no memory of it, but their physical characteristics were so obvious.
Who gave you that nickname?
Just as Chu Ci was about to stand up, she felt dizzy and her body went limp, but instead of falling onto the sofa, she was caught in his arms around the waist.
"You're drunk."
"Impossible, I never drink alcohol."
Chu Ci's eyes were blurry with drunkenness. She reached out and touched the tip of his high, straight, and handsome nose. Slowly, she touched it with both hands, feeling the smooth and firm skin. Suddenly, she thought of something, her brows furrowed, and she shook her head vigorously. "I can't drink. I must stay sober. I have to protect my child."
He struggled to his feet, swaying unsteadily.
It felt like someone was supporting her, and she fell into a hard, cool embrace. The suit jacket felt uncomfortable against her skin. She struggled for a moment, but the arms holding her tightened, so she had to stop struggling.
“Xingxing is being taken care of by Zixi.”
Hearing the word "stars" faintly, the string that had always been taut in my heart was touched, and I remembered that before I confronted Zhou Yubai, I had entrusted my son to Huo Zixi's care.
She knew that entrusting the matter to Huo Zixi was equivalent to receiving Huo Junyan's guarantee.
But she just wouldn't take the initiative to speak to Huo Junyan.
Chu Ci was never a peculiar person, but when facing Huo Junyan, he always easily overthinks things.
My eyes stung at the corners, and they had been wet again and again today. I raised my hand to wipe the wetness into my hair, reached out to hug his neck, and traced his features with my eyes.
Seeing him so close makes it easier to have all sorts of fantasies.
As she pondered, she leaned closer to his neck, her expression mysterious, and said, "Closer, I'll tell you a secret."
He lowered his eyes, looking at the woman in his arms whose eyes were already unfocused. He tightened his arms and picked her up, but his ear was suddenly pinched.
The warm breath entered my ears and went straight to my heart.
Looking again at the person in his arms, it seemed to be fast asleep.
Chu Ci suddenly opened her eyes. It was pitch black; the room was unfamiliar, and she was completely alone. She got up and tried to open the door, but it was locked from the outside. Yao Shengjie's voice came from all directions:
"Give me back my son's life, and you can see your son again."
"Mommy—"
The sound struck the walls in all four directions, reflecting and colliding, relentlessly drilling into her eardrums, squeezing the oxygen out of her chest until she suffocated.
"Stars!" Chu Ci cried out urgently.
She sat up abruptly, panting heavily, looking around the room in fear. It was unfamiliar, but she wasn't afraid. The clear moonlight shone through the thin gauze, making the room's furnishings appear hazy and warm.
I heard soft, whimpering sounds coming from beside me.
Chu Ci turned to her side, and Xingxing was sleeping beside her, her eyes closed, nibbling on her hand, her mouth glistening with food.
What do you dream about eating?
Shaking off the nightmare in my mind, I took my son's hand away, wiped away his drool, pulled the pillow next to him, and fell asleep smelling his sweet milky scent.
I didn't sleep well all night. One moment I saw the boundless sea, the next I saw figures in the mist. I kept waking up and falling asleep, and I could even smell the aroma of yak butter.
Um?
Chu Ci opened her eyes and saw Xingxing standing by the bed, holding a ghee cheese in her hand, eating it while watching her.
"Mommy?" He scooped up a spoonful of cheese to feed her.
She sat up, smelled the cheese, and said, "It smells so good. I'll wash my face and brush my teeth first."
Chu Ci looked at the room's layout, went into the bathroom where brand-new toiletries were readily available, and after tidying up, she left the bedroom and finally saw the room's layout clearly.
A very low-key and understated Chinese-style villa.
It has two floors in total, and you can see the courtyard, waterside pavilion and winding corridor from the stairwell.
There was a tightly closed door on the right. Chu Ci approached without realizing it. A mist seemed to flash through her mind, making it impossible to see or grasp. Her hand touched the inward-facing doorknob, but she quickly pulled it back.
Just now, it was like... well, a scene in a movie, where she subconsciously followed the protagonist's actions.
Shaking off my thoughts, I turned and went downstairs.
Xingxing was watching cartoons downstairs when she heard the noise. She immediately jumped off the sofa and ran over for a hug.
Have you finished breakfast?
Chu Ci affectionately picked up her son and saw that the dining table contained breakfast for two and a children's meal. She then looked upstairs.
"Mommy, doesn't Uncle eat breakfast?"
"I don't know, let's eat first. Uncle will come down and eat when he wants." Chu Ci ate her breakfast and sorted out her thoughts.
Yesterday, I watched Huo Junyan drinking at the bar, and then... he blacked out?
"Star, Mommy's asking you, how did you get here?"
"My uncle brought me back. He was the uncle who took me yesterday."
When did you get back?
"Uncle brought me back," Xingxing said in her childish voice. "Mommy was already asleep. The uncle upstairs was taking care of Mommy, and then he left."
Chu Ci quickly sorted things out. Huo Zixi left after dropping Xingxing off here. This was Huo Junyan's house.
He's upstairs in the room where she didn't open the door earlier.
She was so certain.
He met with Xingxing in the morning, but after she woke up, he avoided her.
Why bring her home if you don't want to see her?
Or... are they having a tiff?
Besides what Huo Zixi mentioned, did anything else happen between them five years ago?
That incident alone was enough for him to cause her trouble.
But she couldn't remember anything, so he could only struggle with himself.
Chu Ci raised an eyebrow slightly, torn between regaining her memory, explaining what happened on the ship, and getting rid of the Zhou family completely, or remaining unable to remember and leaving Huo Junyan with no way to investigate.
However, even if she can't remember it, she can imagine it.
"Cough, cough," my mind went blank, and I almost choked on my juice. I couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Xingxing climbed onto the chair, knelt on it, and patted her back. When she saw Xingxing smile, she smiled too.
Chu Ci looked at her son, her smile suddenly froze, and a flash of inspiration crossed her mind.
"Mommy, are we going to kindergarten today?"
"Hmm? Oh, I've asked for leave for you," she said, planning to wait until Zhou Yubai and Yao Shengjie started arguing and she was too busy to pay attention to them before deciding what to do. "Mommy will take you home after you finish eating."
Just then, Huo Zixi brought her her documents. "Where's my uncle?"
Chu Ci opened the file bag and looked at her new certificate.
"Probably upstairs."
Huo Zixi paused in his drinking, glanced upstairs, and pursed his lips. It wasn't until they were in the car that he couldn't help but ask, "Won't my uncle have some kind of psychological trauma?"
?
"Five years ago, you were the one who brought my uncle back." He gestured with his chin toward the villa.
Chu Ci sat in the back row, tilted her head slightly to look up. The glass on the second floor was half open, and the thin gauze was swaying slightly. She suddenly realized that this was not a movie scene she had seen before, but a place she had revisited.
His lips twitched a few times, and he chuckled incoherently, "Really? I don't remember, ha."
“It’s alright. Professor Lu didn’t mean to go to familiar scenes. It’s best to stimulate the memory chain by recreating the scene. My uncle is already working on a plan, and I will help you with that as well.”
“We’ve known each other for so many years, there must be a lot of things going on between us. Tell me about it so I can prepare in advance.”
Chu Ci subconsciously wanted to escape Huo Junyan.
Huo Zixi drove the car out of the green belt. "Of course there are many things, um... uh... let me think, the bar, do you remember the first time we met, those bastards were causing me trouble, and then a fight broke out, and you were on stage cheering me on with your drumbeats."
Chu Ci: ...
I feel like I'm getting a bit old; I can't do such passionate, immature things anymore. "Anything else?"
"Yes, that time you were drinking with some people, you drank 24 cups of strong liquor, which scared them so much that they disappeared from that area."
24 cups of baijiu?
"Was my alcohol tolerance really that good before?"
Last night, the three of them opened two bottles of white wine, and she blacked out completely.
"It's alright," Huo Zixi glanced at the rearview mirror, "but that time you drank Sprite diluted with water."
Chu Ci was stunned. "How come they didn't expose this? Were the people who played this game before so stupid?"
“On our turf, you’d put a little alcohol on your glass and drink it all in one gulp before the fire went out. Even I was fooled by that.”
…
"Besides drinking, is there anything else?"
You can't rely on alcohol to stimulate your memory, can you?
Drinking alcohol damages your nerves, making you forget things even more completely later.
Huo Zixi glanced back and said, "When we met, you were still in college, either coding and working for various companies, or doing part-time work at bars."
There's nothing else besides eating and drinking.
The Chu Ci seems to be deep in thought.
"I really don't have parents?" Zhou Yubai wouldn't say something like that for no reason.
Huo Zixi glanced at the rearview mirror. "Oh, I remember now. Once when we went to a haunted house, you were hugging a ghost and crying. We've known each other for so long, and I've only ever seen you cry once. You said your closest relative had passed away."
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