Chapter 156 Open Your Eyes
Gurgle, gurgle.
Bubbles...are they, oxygen machines?
Chen Xiao'er opened her eyes amidst the sound of bubbling bubbles, and the ceiling appeared a dazzling pure white under the dim light.
"Woo." She blinked and a tear dripped from the corner of her eye.
rustle.
The quilt at the side of her waist moved, and her long silver-white hair was slowly pulled up like a curtain.
Ling's beautiful profile and shoulders rose together, her long eyelashes fluttered gently like butterfly wings, and her neck also appeared as a winding river.
"Good afternoon." Ling's calm voice broke the strange beauty of the picture. After a few seconds, she asked in the same steady tone, "Are you feeling better?"
"...Yeah." Chen Xiao'er raised her hand and touched her forehead, feeling a rough bandage.
It's only been six months since I started school, and not counting minor ailments from gym class, I've already been to the infirmary three times. It's normal for my senior to not be too worried... No, that's not right.
She suddenly grabbed the quilt tightly: No, this time is different, when I fell down the stairs - [it seemed like someone pushed me].
There was only zero people standing behind me at that time.
Chen Xiao'er quietly raised her eyelids. She didn't know if it was an illusion, but she felt that Ling's eyes were colder than usual.
Although the senior sister's temperament is naturally aloof, most people wouldn't be so calm after their girlfriend fell down, right? She just said "feeling better?" a little hesitantly, as if she was reading from a teleprompter.
It’s better not to overthink it, just ask directly if you have any doubts.
She took a deep breath, looked into Ling's eyes and asked softly, "Ling, how did I fall just now?"
Zero's fingers trembled, and his two hands slowly overlapped together, and a stream of data instantly filled his ice-blue eyes.
[No. 0: There is no corresponding scene in the memory pool. Please indicate.]
…
“Wooah.”
Milo put down his coffee cup, pressed the enter key with a headache, and sent the sentence he had just typed.
Miroku: Say to her, "Xiao'er, I'm sorry. I was trying to pick up the earring I dropped, but I bumped into you. I'm so... sorry." For the expression, refer to the second one in row 3 of database 109. It slowly expresses pain and regret.
One lie needs to be covered up with more lies. Now I can only believe in the magic of "love".
While watching the screen indicating number zero, she also opened a second window and passionately argued with her colleagues, asking them to get the data and get out of here quickly and stop messing around!
…
Chen Xiao'er stared at her senior's face intently.
Even though she knew she shouldn't doubt her lover, she still wanted to find some clues to figure out if she was being overly sensitive.
Ling slowly lowered her eyelashes, and her tranquil eyes suddenly became turbulent, with traces of sadness overflowing from the corners of her eyes and eyebrows.
"Xiao Ai, I'm sorry."
Apology rolled on the tip of her tongue, her beautiful face stretched and wrinkled, and more pain poured out from her throat: "I wanted to pick up the ear clip that fell, but I didn't expect to bump into you. I'm really... sorry."
Zero's fingers remained intertwined as he spoke, wringing blood from his fair skin.
The emotions she revealed were still restrained, but there was a sense of pain as if she had been cut by a sharp piece of paper, and no matter how small the wound was, it had cut into her flesh.
Chen Xiao'er felt a pang of pain in her heart. "What am I doubting?" Ling had no reason to hurt me. She couldn't continue, or she would feel even more guilty.
Pasha.
Chen Xiao'er jumped out of the quilt and hugged Ling's shoulders tightly, with her cheeks and neck pressed softly against each other.
"It's okay~ I'm fine, don't worry." The girl's eyes were clear, with little stars twinkling in them.
Zero's eyes flickered slightly, and his attention shifted from the surging data to the girl in his arms.
The bishop did not give any explanation, and she instinctively raised her hands and gently hugged Chen Xiao'er's back, feeling the warm touch on her chest.
Boom, boom, boom.
The senior sister's heartbeat was very steady.
"Huh~" Chen Xiao'er breathed gently, and a fresh fragrance lingered at the tip of her nose, like a very light mint or tea.
Some say that if reason can't determine the truth, try your intuition. Humans have an instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm. Sometimes, "something's not right," "fear," and "uneasiness" are instincts telling you to run.
It's so strange... I still feel like something is wrong, but Zero makes me feel at ease.
Of course, people who make people feel at ease are trustworthy. But what is the reason for the doubt in my heart?
[No. 0, please proceed to the core area preparation room immediately to conduct abnormal data detection.]
[Please upload the self-inspection report after entering the preparation room. ]
It is the command from the control center.
Ling blinked, slowly loosened his arms, and held Xiao'er's shoulders and pushed her out more than ten centimeters.
"Eh?" Feeling the push, Chen Xiao'er sat up straight and looked at her senior sister a little confused.
[Milo: Smiles and says, "The Student Union has some urgent matters to attend to. You should take a good rest first."]
Ling moved the corners of his lips and raised a sweet smile: "The student union has some urgent matters for the time being, you should have a good rest first."
Boom, boom, boom, boom.
My heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and another abnormal data was added to the record.
Ling Mo counted a few seconds, and his heartbeat returned to normal. It seemed that it was just an accident.
Why is the senior sister in a daze again?
Chen Xiao'er lay back on the bed gloomily, hugging her pillow and saying, "Okay, then go quickly. See you tomorrow."
"OK."
Ta-da, ta-da.
The orderly footsteps grew farther and farther away. As the door closed with a click, Chen Xiao'er humphed and punched the pillow.
What's going on? This is so suspicious!
[What's so suspicious about this? Are you being suspicious of the person you like again?]
The voice in her heart made her pause, but she quickly found a solution: instead of torturing herself here without any evidence, it would be better to carefully sort out what happened and see whether it was just suspicion or true.
Chen Xiao'er picked up her phone, opened her notepad and began to recall the suspicious things about Ling.
1. Zero might have pushed me on the stairs. (?)
Chen Xiao'er thought about it for a few minutes. She rationally believed that Ling was not lying because the senior had no reason to push her.
They are in the early stages of a romantic relationship. At this stage, even if there are situations such as "third party interference" or "personality incompatibility", they only need to break up.
There is no interest relationship between the two of us, nor is there any jealousy or competition. If it is true that Zero pushed me on purpose, it can only be explained by antisocial personality.
Thinking of this, she deleted the question mark representing doubt and replaced it with a note: Zero's explanation was that he bumped into something accidentally, which was logically reasonable.
【2. Zero acted very cold after I woke up.】
This was confirmed. Zero's reaction was very different from the previous few days, especially at the dance, and the most important thing was his eyes.
Chen Xiao'er recalled the smile of her senior schoolmate with relaxed brows and eyes. That feeling, like a blooming flower bud, was completely different from the sweet and superficial smile just now.
Why did this indifference give me a sense of rationality? Because Zero had a similar temperament from the moment I first met her. Her emotions were always stable, she almost never lost her temper, and her tone of voice fluctuated very little when she spoke.
So why do I feel strange? Because——
"She treats me differently." Chen Xiao'er held her hands tightly, with tears in the corners of her eyes.
The senior student would treat any classmate with the same attitude, even the seniors in the student union, but she would never treat me like that.
At least not now.
She seemed to have caught a glimpse of inspiration: Zero had treated me the same way before, so her attitude was not "changed" but "returned to the past."
Click, she slowly added the second half of the sentence.
[2. Zero was very cold after I woke up. The way she treated me has returned to the way it was at the beginning.]
Under what circumstances would someone treat their partner like this? Breaking up? Was Zero trying to gradually alienate me, so I could initiate the breakup?
No, not likely.
Chen Xiao'er subconsciously rejected this scenario. Putting aside Ling's reaction before I fell, even someone with no sense of morality or responsibility who wanted to break up would at least be intentionally enthusiastic after their partner fell.
A fall isn't the same as a serious illness. Just be passionate for a few days and act like a responsible lover. Once the other person has recovered, gradually cool down and part ways amicably. Isn't that much better than walking away right away?
Although the "it's okay" I just said to my senior was just a casual remark, the back of my head really doesn't hurt that much. It's much better than the previous times I was hospitalized. I guess I'll be discharged in a few days.
Well, this is the main point of doubt, are there any others?
She frowned, thinking hard, feeling like she'd missed something important, but she couldn't remember what it was. So, am I just suspicious of Zero because of his indifference?
My head started to hurt, not at the back or sides, but at the top of my head where I felt a throbbing pain.
No, go out and get some fresh air first.
Chen Xiao'er pushed the pillow away, climbed up from the bed, and walked out with her head covered.
She walked in the corridor, thinking, but she couldn't find the next suspicious point.
Because no matter from the motivation, logic or recent experiences, there is no problem other than "I feel a little cold."
Maybe I hit my head?
No one likes a suspicious lover. If you repeatedly question Zero with these questions, you will eventually break up.
Chen Xiao'er walked faster and faster.
She walked through the long corridor of the medical department and stepped into the elevator under the purple light. When she regained consciousness, she had arrived at a familiar place.
The corridor next to the auditorium, or more precisely, the stairs where he fell before.
“Huh~”
Chen Xiao'er took a deep breath, feeling both amused and helpless: Really, was she so uneasy that she even ran to the "crime scene" to look for clues like in a detective novel?
This behavior is useless because there has been no murder, no blood, corpse, or murder weapon to refer to. Even if it is a stranger, it is difficult to determine whether the pushing behavior is intentional or accidental.
Chen Xiao'er walked to the front of the stairs and leaned on the handrail in a daze: I know that the senior sister did it unintentionally, she had no motive to push anyone... What is this?
She touched the armrest and felt a concave scratch.
Chen Xiao'e lowered her head and traced the scratch with her fingertips. It appeared to be only a few centimeters of faded paint, but if she felt carefully, she could feel sharp, prickly marks all around it.
Ding ding.
A reflection caught my eye.
It's the lost ear clip!
Chen Xiao'er squatted down to pick up the ear clip, and was stunned for a moment when she stood up. She quickly walked down the stairs and climbed up to the platform where she danced last night.
She stood on a high place and looked down, and sure enough, she found something wrong.
The inclination of the handrail on this half floor is a little larger than that of the handrail on the upper floor. It is not obvious at the beginning, but it becomes more and more inclined as it goes down. The end even has a twisted feeling as if it was broken and then pieced together.
It's like a car rushed down from an angle, broke its tail end, and then put it back together. This is inside a building, where did the car come from?
It must be an old injury, perhaps a flaw in construction.
But when I was dancing last night, it was clearly intact - maybe I just didn't notice it? If the damage was really caused last night, the staff wouldn't have had time to repair the handrail so neatly.
What if the damage was caused last night?
Chen Xiao'e couldn't help but think of the most bizarre scenarios, and many plots from detective novels and comics flashed through her mind. For example, tying piano wires to the handrails, or setting up some kind of push-in mechanism...
But these fantasies were quickly interrupted because they were completely illogical.
Putting aside what kind of mechanism could produce such a result, Zero did not conceal the fact of "bumping" to create an alibi, so there was no need to do so.
I really shouldn't have thought too much about it. These clues have nothing to do with each other.
Chen Xiao'er squeezed the ear clip in her hand and picked up the phone with her left hand.
[3. The armrest near the ear clip seems to have been broken.]
The cursor flashes twice, deleting the previous text bit by bit and replacing it with another line of text.
[It may be paranoia caused by stress. Go see a psychiatrist when you have time.] I believe in Zero.
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