Under the cover of night, Xu Yanzhi raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering why he had suddenly thought of these things.
But his gaze had already inadvertently drifted downwards and landed on the woman in the banquet hall wearing a silver dress.
She smiled and nodded to others, but the smile was perfunctory, measured, and seemed even more insincere than his.
Thanks to a good memory, there seems to be another her in the fragments of recollection, her specific face blurred in the overexposed light, her lips more vibrant than roses, and she had bitten off more than one ring of teeth marks at the time.
Is it because of nervousness?
"Here you go." What she held out in her palm was his earphone—
She deliberately swapped it with an identical one and placed it next to that metaphysical book.
During her more than twenty days of following him, she learned all his habits, such as his fondness for reading at the Radcliffe camera on the Zhou Shan campus and listening to music while cycling. So she spent all her savings to carry out her long-planned switcheroo.
Xu Yanzhi should have noticed it the moment he put it on, because it was completely incompatible with his phone, but then a soft, low bass suddenly came from the earphones—
"Xu Yanzhi, my name is Meng Jiuyi. I'm sorry to get to know you in this way, but this is the bravest thing I've ever done in my life."
I know you like Foghley and Aristotle, and I've also looked through the original edition of "Original" that you often borrow, but English isn't my strong suit, so I don't understand a lot of it.
I smelled a fragrance in the book that I've never smelled before. It has a light and refreshing scent. Could you tell me the name of this fragrance?
You were jogging along the lakeside riverbank early in the morning, and I was actually behind you. At that time, the fishing teams had already formed a long line on the embankment. The reeds were so tall in summer, and you could smell the dew as you ran past.
She changed the subject, talking about books, philosophy, scenery, and nature, rambling on about far-fetched topics.
Finally, she got back to the main point she wanted to make.
"Zhihua University may just be a temporary stop in your life. I heard that you came here briefly because your research at Cambridge was hindered, and you will return to your original path after a year. But I still want to tell you—"
On the tree-lined avenue, a bicycle creaked.
Xu Yanzhi put his feet on the ground and stopped the car because of the sudden appearance of the girl across the street.
He was the one who started the whole thing by swapping the headphones.
His eyes were as deep and unfathomable as the mist in the mountains.
The tense, surging dampness almost overwhelmed Meng Jiuyi. He wasn't sure if he had heard her or not, and he dared not ask.
She could only suppress her trembling by constantly biting the soft flesh of her lower lip as she handed him the real earphone.
"Here you go, and I apologize."
At the same time, her soft voice came through the earphones, like the lingering breeze of Jiangnan—
"Xu Yanzhi, I like you."
The distant lights were reflected in the lake, creating ripples in the wind.
Cen Dong stepped forward and put his arm around Xu Yanzhi's shoulder. "...Who are you looking at? Didn't you hear me when I called you?"
Xu Yanzhi's eyes remained unmoved, and he quickly looked away.
"Just browsing."
Uncle Zhuang then strode into the side hall and told him that someone had called.
The fact that the caller hadn't hung up indicated the importance of the call. This was clearly not the appropriate place to talk. Xu Yanzhi took the phone, held it to his face, and walked out of the bar area.
**
The Tan family villa occupies almost the entire mountain, with winding paths leading to secluded spots and beautiful scenery surrounding the estate. A lake is built around the mountain amidst lush forests and bamboo groves. Meng Jiuyi left the banquet hall and strolled slowly along the path.
Wen Qi then sent a message.
[Jiuyi, how was the banquet tonight?]
A few days ago, Meng Jiuyi told her that he was going to attend a private banquet, and even the invitation was plated with gold leaf.
She raised her phone and took a picture of the Tan family mansion at night for Wen Qi. The white buildings were nestled against the mountain and by the water, brightly lit, and it was impossible to tell how many floors they had at a glance.
Wen Qi: [Holy crap! This isn't some kind of world museum, is it? Even the Louvre isn't this extravagant.]
Meng Jiuyi wholeheartedly agreed.
Wen Qi angrily typed: 【Those evil rich people!】
Meng Jiuyi expressed even greater hatred for the rich: 【The rich are utterly wicked!】
Wen Qi: [Just wait, one day I'll buy a house this big, hire two hundred servants for you to order around as you please, and you'll be the only mistress of the manor.]
Both of them understood that this was wishful thinking; money would only flow to those who didn't lack money, just like love.
But that didn't stop them from living optimistically. Meng Jiuyi smiled with a hint of satisfaction. Just as she was about to reply, the sound of splashing water mixed with crying reached her ears.
This is the shore of Changqiao Lake, quite far from the banquet hall, and the night is rather eerie.
Meng Jiuyi raised his phone's flashlight and scanned the surroundings. He saw a child struggling in the middle of the lake, who sank back into the water as soon as his head popped out.
Meng Jiuyi shouted.
"Is anyone there to help? Someone has fallen into the water!"
There was no response from all sides. The Tan family was holding a banquet tonight, and all the servants were busy in the front hall. There were more than 400 surveillance cameras around the area, and it was impossible for the security guards to keep an eye on every single one of them, so there was no sign of anyone.
Meng Jiuyi called Tan Ni but she didn't answer, and he was so anxious that he felt like he was being roasted over a fire.
The children who can come to the Tan family's villa are all from wealthy and noble families. If she really dies here today, and the Tan family finds that she was there when they check the surveillance footage, they will probably be accused of failing to help someone in distress.
She won't be able to stay in Kyushu anymore.
Seeing that the little girl's cries had weakened, Meng Jiuyi disregarded her poor swimming skills, took off her high heels and mermaid dress, and plunged into the water.
Thankfully it wasn't the dead of winter, otherwise the bone-chilling cold would have made it impossible to move an inch. She struggled to paddle to the middle of the lake, but couldn't find anyone.
The darkness of the night blocked her vision, so Meng Jiuyi could only keep going out of the water and back in, over and over again. She was almost exhausted, and just when she was in despair, she touched a soft arm.
Meng Jiuyi immediately pulled the child out of the water. The child had choked on too much water and was unconscious. She could only lift her out of the water to make sure her face was above water, while praying that she would have the strength to swim back.
However, fate seemed to be against her. Due to excessive tension, her right leg cramped up, and she sank straight to the bottom of the water.
Meng Jiuyi's face turned ashen instantly. Lake water rushed into her ears and nose, and her vision gradually became distorted and blurred. Just as she was about to lose consciousness, Mo Ruyue's face flashed through her mind.
If she knew she was dead, what would Mo Ruyue do all by herself?
Her thoughts drifted far, far away in a daze, unaware that at the critical moment someone jumped into the water and rescued her.
He kept pressing on her chest and giving her artificial respiration, repeating this cycle until water was coughed up from Meng Jiuyi's throat.
She opened her eyes to see who was in front of her, but no matter how hard she tried, she could only open them a crack. The light was blurry and shimmering before she fell into a coma again.
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