Chapter 56 My name is Wessel and I am here to repay my gratitude
Since classes start tomorrow, most students have returned to campus today. Looking out from the store entrance, the street is filled with students from Yamashiro University. A group of them would come into the store every now and then, but most people would leave when they saw there were no seats left.
This group of students didn't come to eat. Chang Xile looked up while drinking water and met the eyes of the girl who had led the way in. She was a big-eyed, curly-haired woman with a mature, yet charming look. She let out a "huh" when she saw Chang Xile, then tentatively called out, "Xi Le?"
It seemed like someone she knew. Chang Xile blinked, but didn't recognize the other person for a moment, so she subconsciously smiled back.
"I heard you've quit the photography department. I'm so sorry." She walked over to Chang Xile with a stack of papers. "I really like your work."
When she said that, Chang Xile remembered that this was Zhong Timeng, the former deputy director of the photography department. She was originally the director of the photography department, but because she had a one-year exchange student program abroad in her junior year, she gave the director position to Chen Moxin and she herself retired to the deputy director.
At the beginning of this semester, Zhong Timeng's exchange program ended, but she hadn't had time to return to China. During Chang Xile's interview, she even participated online via her computer. Zhong Timeng made no secret of her admiration for Chang Xile's work and even added her contact information, hoping to communicate more in the future.
Most of the time, they were just acquaintances who liked posts on WeChat Moments. Zhong Timeng is a thoughtful person, as evidenced by the photography she shares. Having lived abroad for a period of time as a child, she has a strong commitment to environmental protection. Her WeChat Moments are filled with works and articles with similar concepts, but she rarely shares anything about herself. It's no wonder Chang Xile didn't recognize her at first glance.
Chang Xile had no problem with this senior. She had joined the photography club in large part because she had seen the work they were displaying to recruit new members—it was taken by Zhong Timeng. She greeted Zhong Timeng generously, "Hello, senior. This is the first time I've met you in person."
The people behind Zhong Timeng looked a little embarrassed. Obviously, they knew that Chang Xile and everyone else had parted ways unhappily that day at the Moon Viewing Platform sketching site.
However, Zhong Timeng herself seemed very happy. She cheerfully took Chang Xile's hand and said, "It's okay. We can communicate more offline in the future!"
After saying that, Zhong Timeng greeted the other three people at the table, then bent down and handed out four flyers in her hand.
"What's this?" Fang Xinai held up the flyer, which was covered in exclamation marks, and softly read the words, "Oppose the wanton exploitation of forests and mountains. Restore the ecological balance of our mountain city."
Chang Xile also read the contents carefully. It was an environmental flyer, divided into several sections. It briefly described the consequences of soil erosion and animal displacement following the indiscriminate logging of Yanshan Mountain in the mountain city two years ago. It also mentioned plans by a developer, the same company that had developed Yanshan Mountain a few years ago, to build a farmhouse on Changle Mountain this year.
"It is a tradition of our department to sketch at the moon-viewing platform on Changle Mountain. Changle Mountain is also the habitat of many creatures, so we hope to do our best." Zhong Timeng smiled embarrassedly, greeted Chang Xile, and went to another table to distribute flyers.
The young man who ordered three servings of braised chicken with rice and had been eating diligently also took the flyer. The difference was that he just wiped his mouth with the paper and threw it away.
"You...you can refuse if you don't want to look, but isn't this too much?" The girl behind Zhong Timeng was so angry that she pointed at him and was speechless.
"Isn't paper this thick made of wood?" The young man glanced out at the street. Some pedestrians took the flyers and threw them on the ground, where they were blown into the air by the wind. The young man smiled at her, his mouth wide, giving her an inexplicable chill. He put on the hood of his sweatshirt, covering his unusual ears and part of his facial features, then stood up and walked out the door.
After finishing their meal, Fang Xinai and Ren Qing planned to go to the night market. Yang Guisi and Chang Xile were walking together. When they were almost at school, Yang Guisi said to her, "I need to go back to the rental house to get something. You should go back to the dormitory first."
Chang Xile nodded. She took out her headphones from her bag, connected them to her phone's Bluetooth, and started playing some music.
She was not walking towards the dormitory building, but was walking aimlessly and subconsciously towards a place away from the crowd.
Before she knew it, Chang Xile had reached the edge of Linhuan Lake. After she came to her senses, she tapped her head in frustration. After a moment's thought, she didn't leave immediately. Instead, she went to the library by the lake and sat down on a stone bench outside.
Her back rested against the bench, her neck tilted back, and she looked upside down at the nearby woods. From this perspective, the trees grew upside down, the night sky became a lake, and the stars were fish jumping out of the water.
"What are you doing?" a sweet and innocent voice sounded.
Chang Xile raised her head and almost sprained her neck. She looked around but didn't see anyone.
"Here, here!" a voice came from the ground. Chang Xile looked down and saw a small cat tugging at her trouser legs, crawling and shouting, "I want to get up, help me!"
Chang Xile couldn't help laughing at its pitiful yet cute appearance. She bent down, put her hands under its armpits, carefully picked up the cat, and placed it on her knees.
The little cat turned around on her lap and lay down comfortably. "You are so gentle, much better than my boss. He always picks me up. Has he ever considered Duobao's face?"
Chang Xile hadn't seen such a talkative cat in a long time. She smiled and asked, "Who is your boss?"
"Oh... well, it's not important, not important." Duobao knew he had said something wrong, so he chuckled and immediately changed the subject. "Sister, do you still remember me? I was right here last time, and you saved me!"
"Hmm?" Chang Xile thought for a moment before realizing, "Oh! Are you the little cat that climbed up the tree and couldn't get down?"
"That's right!" Duobao rubbed Chang Xile with satisfaction, and raised his head to ask for credit. "Sister, last time a very fair sister came to play with you, and I even showed her the way."
"What?" Chang Xile realized what was happening and asked with a smile on her face, "So you were the one who told her?"
"Yes, yes! Is this considered as a way to repay you?" Duobao asked excitedly.
"You're repaying kindness with hatred, you idiot Duobao." Chang Xile lifted him up by the scruff of his neck in a bad mood, gently placed him on a chair, and lectured him, "Don't reveal my address casually in the future, got it?"
"Ouch!" Duobao's butt was chilled by the chair seat. He quickly stood up, thinking that his sister was becoming more and more like that person. He said aggrievedly, "I know... Hey, how did you know my name was Duobao?"
Chang Xile couldn't help but patted its head in amusement: "You just said that yourself."
"Okay... Sister, Duobao wants your help." The little cat nudged Chang Xile's thigh and looked at her pitifully.
Okay, Chang Xile couldn't stand this kind of thing. She asked, "What's the matter? Can I buy you some snacks?"
"No, no, no, people at school will buy food for Duobao, so I don't need to buy it for me." Duobao smiled innocently, but soon remembered the business. He said, "That very white sister can't find her cat, so she wants to ask me for help."
"Huh?" Chang Xile was stunned.
"It's so pitiful. She said her cat was taken away by bad guys and no one knows where it is. Duobao can feel a little presence, but neither Duobao nor Sister Baishi can get through that place," said Duobao.
"Where?" Chang Xile asked.
Duobao jumped off the stone bench and turned back to signal, "Follow me!"
Chang Xile stood up and left in the direction Duobao was heading.
They didn't notice that in the corner of the library, there was a person holding a black umbrella and listening to the whole thing.
Chang Xile stood by the fence and saw the surging river flowing eastward not far from his feet. The water rushed all the way and gathered 50 meters ahead before suddenly rushing down as the river level dropped, forming a low waterfall.
The river was at least ten meters wide, with a forest on the other side. This was the characteristic of Yamashiro University: it was half-surrounded by mountains on the west, separated only by a large river.
"Sister White's cat is just across the street." Duobao said.
"This... I can't get across either." Chang Xile looked troubled. The other side of the river didn't seem far away from them, but if anyone or a boat tried to swim across, they would be swept to the waterfall by the turbulent current. Therefore, they could only climb up the other side of the mountain and then descend to the bottom of this side. "Are you sure the cat is on the other side? How can it get across such a long distance?"
"Duobao has a keen nose, Duobao can't be wrong." Duobao anxiously turned around and sniffed again. Soon, he said in horror, "There are bad guys! Duobao is leaving first!"
Before Chang Xile could call out to it, Duobao had already trotted away. She huffed and muttered, "It runs really fast."
But who are the bad guys it is talking about?
Chang Xile looked around but didn't see anyone. When she turned back to the railing, she was startled by a young man in a sweatshirt who was only a palm's distance away from her on the left.
"Wow!" Chang Xile instinctively took a step back. After seeing that it was a person, he mustered up the courage to lift the back brim of his hoodie and pull it down. Recognizing his distinctive pointed ears and facial features, Chang Xile said angrily, "Are you walking silently? Why are you so close to others without making any noise?"
The young man, however, nonchalantly leaned his arm against the stone railing, tilted his head to support his face, looked at Chang Xile in amazement, and said, "Wow, you're still alive?"
Chang Xile was so angry that she laughed. She asked back, "Shouldn't I be alive?"
The young man smiled and asked, "How have you been lately? I see you're still so timid. You must have suffered a lot, right?"
This person acted as if they were old acquaintances, but no matter how hard Chang Xile thought about it, she felt that she had never seen him before.
She glanced around. Usually, the school was always full of people, but now it was eerily deserted. She took a step back calmly and tried to ask him again, "Who are you? What do you want to do?"
"My name is Wessel." The young man smiled and blinked, trying to show his innocence, but his naturally slanted eyes only made him look even more sinister. He said, "I'm here to repay a favor."
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