Chapter 28: What awaits her is...
"Oh no, Yan Zhao, get out of the way!" Jing Yiran, who was looking around, suddenly heard a strange sound. When she turned around, she saw a motorcycle coming from the opposite corner of the street and heading straight for the two of them. The two of them had been busy chatting and hadn't paid much attention to that side at first. Besides, they weren't standing in the middle of the road, so the motorcycle shouldn't be going in that direction.
It was too late. Although Ning Yanzhao was pushed away by Jing Yiran, avoiding a direct collision with the motorcycle, her backpack was still tugged.
Ning Yanzhao happened to be carrying nothing but books today, and her backpack was only slung over one shoulder. As a result, she was thrown hard to the ground and her backpack was taken away.
It seems they were after Ning Yanzhao's bag, but unfortunately, the real valuables, the camera, were in Jing Yiran's bag. It doesn't matter that they misjudged, but Ning Yanzhao was in trouble; she felt a sharp pain in her palms and knees.
At the same time, as the motorcycle roared past, Jing still saw that the motorcyclist and the person on the back were wearing helmets, and the person on the back was holding a small dog.
"What's going on? It's just two kids. We snatched this bag for nothing." Ning Yanzhao and Jing Yiran only heard one of them say this before the other person threw Ning Yanzhao's bag in front of them.
Because it was a make-up class today, the school didn't require students to wear uniforms. So Ning Yanzhao guessed that the motorcyclist initially saw the two people from a distance and thought they were adult women walking on the road, intending to snatch their bags. But when he got closer, he realized they were two middle school students, and there was nothing valuable in their bags.
For some reason, when the motorcycle turned around and glanced at them, Ning Yanzhao felt a sudden surge of panic, and some blurry images flashed before her eyes. Was it just because she was frightened? She rubbed her aching hands and stood up.
"Who is this person? Are you alright? Come on, let's go call the police."
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Where are you alright? Look, your hands are all scraped, and your legs? Are your legs injured? You've had such a rough time lately, cars keep hitting you." Jing Yiran was so anxious she was almost crying.
"It's alright, let's go back first. It's all my fault. I insisted on taking this road today and accidentally caused you trouble."
"What are you saying? Let's go back first, and then ask your uncle and aunt to help us call the police."
"Okay, let's go home first."
So Jing Yiran helped Ning Yanzhao home. After arriving home, Ning Yanzhao treated her scrapes simply. Her parents also helped call the police, but she thought they probably wouldn't find anything. That road was a small road and probably didn't have any security cameras. Otherwise, He Shenmo wouldn't have had an accident there back then, and it wouldn't have been discovered for so long.
Unexpectedly, although the process and result were slightly different on the day of the spring outing, she still "got into trouble," just not as serious as before. She sighed inwardly, thinking that there would probably be more things to come.
The image that flashed through her mind just now seemed to be someone being dragged by a motorcycle. Who was it? Or was it just something she had seen in a TV series before, which suddenly triggered a memory deep in her mind? As Ning Yanzhao thought about it, she felt a little dizzy.
It's possible that Ning Yanzhao is hallucinating because she's been having too many things on her mind lately and is under too much pressure. She should get some rest and go to sleep early tonight.
"Ding, ding, ding..." At some unknown time in the early morning, Ning Yanzhao was awakened by such a sound while lying in bed.
Ning Yanzhao opened her eyes and glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. The time showed four o'clock. She knew that what she had just heard was not the familiar sound of an alarm clock. Logically speaking, no one would be making such a loud noise outside at this hour. Could it just be a simple auditory hallucination? It seems that her body is getting weaker and weaker. It is imperative to improve her physical fitness and courage.
"Since I'm up, and I don't think I can fall back asleep, I'll wash my face, brush my teeth, and then study for a while," Ning Yanzhao muttered to herself, glancing at Jing Yiran who was still fast asleep.
However, when Ning Yanzhao pushed open the bedroom door, she found herself in complete darkness, unlike usual when she could see the vague outlines of tables and chairs through the streetlights downstairs. Was the streetlight near the living room broken? She could clearly see the alarm clock from the bedroom just now.
Ning Yanzhao tried to turn on the light switch on the living room wall, but found that she couldn't touch anything in the familiar spot. Could it be that the light switch had been moved without her knowing?
Today was really strange, so Ning Yanzhao decided to take out her phone, which she had put in her pajama pocket earlier and was planning to use as a flashlight while brushing her teeth and reading her textbook, to find where the light switch was.
But when Ning Yanzhao turned on her phone's flashlight and turned around, she saw that the area illuminated by the flashlight was just a wall, and the bedroom scene that should have been in front of her had completely disappeared. What was going on?
"Dad, Mom, Yiran, where are you?" In this tense moment, the people Ning Yanzhao could turn to for help were her closest relatives. However, no matter how long Ning Yanzhao called out or how loudly she called, no one responded to her. Only the faint light from her cell phone flashlight provided her with some inconspicuous help.
After struggling for a while, Ning Yanzhao finally realized that she was completely trapped in a pitch-black space. Instead of staying in place and waiting for a miracle to happen, she chose to rely on the light of her mobile phone flashlight to try to find a way out.
Since Ning Yanzhao accidentally traveled back nine years, it seems that she can now calmly accept any sudden situation, even if she panics at first.
Ning Yanzhao kept walking forward with her phone flashlight on, and finally saw a sliver of light coming from a direction that didn't belong to her. Could it be that the "exit of light" that often appears in anime and saves the protagonist from a life-threatening crisis?
Ning Yanzhao continued forward and found herself near the "M Plus" street she had just walked through that evening. Under the dim streetlights, she saw He Shenmo standing alone, looking at something. Ning Yanzhao wondered why He Shenmo was wearing a sweater that seemed out of place for the season. Wasn't she hot on a night like this?
Since Ning Yanzhao was able to see He Shenmo due to some unexpected circumstances, there was no reason for her not to greet him.
“Shenmo”.
Ning Yanzhao only realized she couldn't make a sound when she tried to speak to He Shenmo. Earlier at home, when she called for her parents and Jing Yiran, she could still hear her voice even though no one heard or responded. What was going on now? If that was the case, according to the usual tropes in TV dramas, since she couldn't even make a sound, He Shenmo might not even be able to see her there.
Ning Yanzhao had no choice but to move closer to see if He Shenmo could see her. Sure enough, when she stood next to He Shenmo, he did not notice her. Even when Ning Yanzhao patted her shoulder, she did not react. It seemed that Ning Yanzhao and He Shenmo were separated for some unknown reason.
Ning Yanzhao was unable to do anything here. She could neither speak to He Shenmo nor let He Shenmo see her. She looked in the direction He Shenmo was looking, but she still couldn't figure out what he was looking at. So, what was the reason that the two of them were here?
Regardless, Ning Yanzhao still believed that her presence here was inextricably linked to He Shenmo's matter.
Not only did Ning Yanzhao encounter various phenomena that she found unusual, she also discovered that her cell phone had no signal. All she could do was keep an eye on the time on her phone. Finally, after waiting for about ten minutes, He Shenmo started to move around and eventually arrived at the center of "M Plus" street.
With each step He Shenmo took, Ning Yanzhao followed behind. The streets of "M Plus" seemed even longer than usual in this quiet time. Just as Ning Yanzhao was starting to feel a little bored, He Shenmo suddenly stopped.
Ning Yanzhao had to move her body slightly to see what was happening behind He Shenmo. It turned out that a man had abandoned a small dog next to a trash can on the roadside.
"You... hello..." He Shenmo seemed not to have realized how things were going at first, but by the time she realized what was happening and tried to stop him, the man had already walked away and disappeared into some corner of the street.
The structure of "M Plus" street is more complex than the streets we usually see. It is a maze of roads, with one entrance leading in many directions. People who are not familiar with the area can easily get lost here.
He Shenmo watched the direction the man left in for a while, and then, probably thinking that the man would not come back, she walked to the trash can and picked up the puppy.
He Shenmo held the puppy and looked it over for a while, probably checking for any injuries. After confirming that the puppy hadn't been abused and had simply been abandoned, Ning Yanzhao saw that He Shenmo seemed relieved. "It's good that you're alright," she said.
By the way, even ordinary people would feel sorry for an abandoned puppy, let alone someone like He Shenmo who loves animals so much, so naturally he would pay even more attention.
"I'll wait here a little longer to see if your owner comes back to pick you up. If he doesn't come back after a long time, I'll take you home, okay?" He Shenmo said very softly and gently, looking at the puppy's wet eyes.
The puppy gently nuzzled Ning Yanzhao's head in response to He Shenmo's smile. Ning Yanzhao noticed the deep dark circles under He Shenmo's eyes under the streetlights. She hadn't had such dark circles during the day, but for some reason, she felt that He Shenmo looked exceptionally weak when she was facing him. Ning Yanzhao vaguely realized that something was wrong that she hadn't expected.
Ning Yanzhao continued to stay in a "corner" unknown to He Shenmo, waiting with him to see if the dog's owner would "have a change of heart" and come back to retrieve his pet. However, the two waited for a long time, but the man still did not return.
Although the weather isn't too cold, a pet dog can't just sleep on the street. There's no suitable food for it on the street, nor is there a comfortable living environment like its owner's home. So He Shenmo probably wants to take it back first. "Shall we go first?" He Shenmo said to the dog.
The puppy responded to He Shenmo's signal again in a relaxed state. It closed its eyes and began to rest. "I understand. You can rest well now."
Since the dog's owner has so heartlessly abandoned it, this is the best outcome the situation can have.
A slightly cool night breeze blew by. While holding the puppy in one arm, He Shenmo rubbed his cold arm with the other hand and then hugged the puppy even tighter.
Ning Yanzhao continued to follow He Shenmo's footsteps until she noticed out of the corner of her eye a sudden burst of light and a loud rumbling sound coming from behind her.
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