Chapter 5
Shen Que waited for three days, thinking that the Huo family would not contact her and that she would have to think of another way, when Huo Zixi called to ask her to meet.
The meeting place was originally scheduled for a bar, but Chen changed it to a nearby indoor zoo.
"Why did you arrange to meet at a place like this?" Huo Zixi still smelled of alcohol. He picked up Chen Que's water glass as soon as he sat down and drank it all in one gulp. "Tiger used to keep a German Shepherd, and you wouldn't even let them in the door."
The tiger kept a German Shepherd?
Shen Que looked up at him. He spoke very naturally, but she couldn't understand him at all.
"I have a child with me, so it's inconvenient for me to go to a bar."
Huo Zixi grunted and turned his head to look. Several children, all wearing bright yellow protective suits, were gathered around the glass railing, teasing a few ducks.
A muzzle-wearing alpaca in the nearby enclosure stretched its neck, seemingly trying to escape.
"Uh, I'm sorry, I forgot you have children."
"Why did you marry Zhou Yubai?" Huo Zixi's expression changed instantly. "No, why didn't you contact me for the past five years?"
Chen Que's gaze fell on the water glass, and he paused for a moment before asking, "Why do you think I am Chu Ci?"
Huo Zixi's eyes widened. To him, this question sounded like asking: Why don't humans eat excrement?
"Didn't you give me that look, suggesting we meet alone to talk?" Huo Zixi leaned forward. "What's wrong with you? Can you tell me the truth?"
Shen Que narrowed his eyes slightly. That night, when Huo Zixi left, their eyes met and lingered for a few seconds. She definitely intended to meet him alone.
Perhaps it was just that moment of familiarity that made her trust Huo Zixi a little, which is why she gave him a hint with her eyes.
After waiting for three days, he thought Huo Zixi hadn't understood at all and that he had misunderstood.
Unexpectedly, he understood her meaning completely with just a glance.
"Then why did it take you so long to contact me?"
“I was locked up for three days! My uncle only released me after he woke up,” Huo Zixi said indignantly. “You did nothing during those three days. You’ve changed.”
Shen Que hesitated for a moment, realizing that they couldn't communicate if things continued like this.
Huo Zixi and Chu Ci were clearly very familiar with each other; he spoke based on their mutual understanding. However, she did not have Chu Ci's memories and could not understand what he was saying.
Should we tell the whole story?
"I..." Shen Que lowered his eyes, his gaze circling along the side of the cup, pondering the relationship between Chu Ci, Huo Zixi, and Huo Junyan, his heart in turmoil.
"Chu Ci, what exactly are your concerns?"
She looked up. "Do you know about the ferry disaster that occurred five years ago in the Karimata Strait?"
"What you're asking is... It was my uncle who collected your body... No, I, not you, back then..." Huo Zixi finally realized what he meant and became incoherent.
When he arrived, the rescue operation had already ended, and two people had died, one of whom was "Chu Ci".
Huo Zixi was unwilling to believe it, but at that time, the identity information of all passengers on the ship had been verified and registered. At that moment, who would change the identity information?
"Who is that girl?" he asked.
Shen Que remained silent; if it wasn't Chu Ci who died, she wouldn't know who it was.
I don't know if she and Chu Ci were mutually exclusive, or if there was an unregistered person on the ferry at the time.
"That's not right," Huo Zixi scratched his head, "If you're not dead, then why isn't anyone looking for that girl?"
She wanted to know too.
"Actually, I,"
"Are you hiding because you're afraid of my uncle?"
Shen Que raised an eyebrow. "Why should I be afraid of him?"
Huo Zixi rolled her eyes. "You drugged my uncle, or did I have to tell you he was going to kill someone? Uh... you didn't hide because I said that, did you? I was just exaggerating. No matter what, my uncle wouldn't... Ugh, he's just angry that you ruined his reputation."
Shen Que forcefully pressed down Huo Zixi's excited arm, stopping him from continuing.
Good heavens! What did she hear?
No wonder Huo Junyan looked at her with such a complicated expression that night.
She wasn't mistaken; he did want to strangle her.
I thought the relationship between Chu Ci and Huo Junyan was one of emotional entanglement, but it turns out it was a case of the victim developing feelings for the perpetrator – Stockholm syndrome.
"That's right. I was on that ferry at the time. After the shipwreck, I was rescued, but I was unconscious due to prolonged suffocation... and I had to recuperate for a while."
Huo Zixi's gaze swept over her. "Suffocation can lead to brain hypoxia, damage to brain cells, and in severe cases, cognitive impairment or even amnesia."
Shen Que's eyes narrowed. Only Zhou Yubai and Lin Muchen knew about her amnesia. Zhou Yubai had not yet fully taken control of the Zhou family business, so he dared not reveal this matter.
"You know all this, huh~"
"You forgot, when we were taking our diving certification exams together, we secretly went diving at night and got a terrible scolding from the instructor."
diving?
She was afraid of water, but having experienced a shipwreck, it's normal to be afraid of water; this clue cannot be verified.
Huo Zixi's brows furrowed, as if in disbelief, or perhaps self-reproach and distress. "Have you lost your memory?"
Shen Que lowered his eyes, his clenched fingers turning slightly white.
"Is that why you didn't come back to find us?" The voice gradually softened.
She raised her eyelids slightly, nodded almost imperceptibly, and chose to believe him.
Five years ago, Zhou Yubai was the only person by her side, and she inevitably trusted him. But gradually, she discovered that he was hiding something very important from her, or even deceiving her.
She also trusted Lin Muchen.
When Xingxing was about two years old, she was caught off guard and ran into the kitchen. She grabbed the cord of the soymilk maker on the counter, causing the maker to fall over. The blade fell out and was aimed directly at Xingxing's face. She screamed and rushed over, but she was too far away. Lin Muchen was right next to Xingxing and caught the blade with his hand. Her hand needed dozens of stitches.
Because of this incident, even after Shen Que learned about Zhou Yubai and Lin Muchen's affair, she still trusted Lin Muchen.
Judge by actions, not intentions.
Shen Que believed that the moment Lin Muchen reached out and caught the blade, she didn't have time to think; it was an instinctive action.
Moreover, Lin Muchen knew from the beginning that her marriage with Zhou Yubai was a sham, and that their marriage would automatically dissolve once Zhou Yubai had completely taken control of the Zhou family business.
That's why she felt comfortable entrusting Xingxing to Lin Muchen for a few days.
This time, however, when faced with the choice between taking care of Xingxing and assisting Zhou Yubai's career, Lin Muchen unhesitatingly chose the latter, almost causing Xingxing to get into trouble.
Deep in my heart...
Now it's Huo Zixi, someone she's only known for a few days, and she chooses to trust him again.
But deep down, there was an unavoidable fear.
“Then you, then,” Huo Zixi’s eyes welled up with tears, and she suddenly frowned, “was it Zhou Yubai? He deceived you, controlled you? He took advantage of your amnesia to trick you into marriage? Then your son… bastard! I’ll go and cripple him.”
Huo Zixi jumped up, but Shen Que quickly pulled him back down to sit. "If he can't control me, then who can?"
“That sounds familiar,” Huo Zixi said with a smirk. “Sister Chu is as arrogant as ever.”
Shen Que pursed his lips, and somehow blurted out his inner thoughts.
In recent years, even seemingly insignificant or flawed remarks have been carefully considered before being uttered.
She would occasionally reveal some information to Zhou Yubai, but she couldn't arouse his suspicion too much, nor could she let Zhou Yubai feel that she was about to slip out of his control.
She rarely, if ever, reveals her true feelings.
"Then how come you were with Zhou Yubai? Uh... when you were injured and unconscious, he took care of you? He was also on the ship? Did he switch your identity?"
Shen Que hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "After I was rescued, they took me to the local hospital. It was the hospital that notified my family, and Zhou Yubai only came to the hospital then. President Huo arrived within 24 hours of the accident, right? He arrived a day later than President Huo."
"He's got something wrong with him, no, why would the hospital notify him?"
Because she possessed accurate identification information, and also, "because of another victim."
"Another victim?" Huo Zixi asked, puzzled. "It seems to be a man. I only glanced at the others and didn't pay much attention."
Suppressing a slight discomfort, Shen Que said, "His name is Zhou Shaoqing. He is Zhou Yubai's half-brother and also my boyfriend."
"You, what do you mean your boyfriend? When did you meet this Zhou Shaoqing?"
“I am Shen Que,” she smiled slightly. “You always say I am Chu Ci, but I have no memory of her.”
"Do you have a clear and accurate memory?"
Chen Que pursed his lips, his eyes flickering slightly. "I think so."
Upon waking, her mind was blank. She passively accepted Chen Que's resume. Over the past five years, those resumes had rolled around in her mind countless times, been imagined countless times, and she had repaired, connected, and filled them in herself, as if they had truly become part of her memory.
Huo Zixi stared at her blankly, unable to accept it, as if he had lost "Chu Ci" once again.
"How is that possible? This is impossible. How can one person have another person's memories?"
“No,” he suddenly looked up, “How could Zhou Yubai marry his brother’s girlfriend? Even if he considers you as Chen Que.”
“The Zhou family’s affairs are complicated and cannot be explained in a few words,” Shen Que felt that she had explained her situation enough. “Now can you tell me about Chu Ci?”
"Chu Ci, uh," Huo Zixi thought for a long time, but really didn't know where to start.
"Let's start with your relationship with Chu Ci (the Songs of Chu)."
Huo Zixi suddenly felt confident. "We're best friends, no, even better than friends. To use Tiger's words, we're so close we'd share the same pants."
Shen Que narrowed his eyes slightly as he sized him up.
“No, we’re not in that kind of relationship, oh my god,” Huo Zixi covered her face, “Now I believe you really have amnesia.”
Who is the tiger?
Huo Zixi looked up at her and said, "The owner of 1998 Bar, a mutual friend of ours."
Friends are enough.
She had been worried about this issue ever since the Huo family uncle and nephew appeared, and Huo Junyan wanted to marry her, but she trusted Huo Zixi more.
If she really is Chu Ci, and she has relationships with both her uncle and nephew, then the drama is even more outrageous than that of the Zhou family.
"Let's talk about Huo Junyan."
"You and my uncle... In the beginning, you used some tricks to help me return to the Huo family, but my uncle found out and warned us..."
Huo Zixi said whatever came to mind.
Chen Que listened quietly.
The Chu Ci poems he spoke of were bright and unrestrained, full of loyalty, resourcefulness, and a carefree, uninhibited life. As she listened, it was as if the soul she had suppressed deep within her heart began to stir.
"...In short, only you and my uncle know what exactly happened that night." Huo Zixi got up, grabbed two bottles of water, unscrewed the cap, and drank about half of one.
Shen Que clenched his fist and pressed it against his chin repeatedly. Chu Ci drugged and slept with Huo Junyan just because he warned her not to "hope to climb the social ladder"? This didn't seem like revenge out of anger; it seemed like it was premeditated.
She laughed. "It sounds like Chu Ci is a bit like a scheming gold digger."
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