Chapter 31 But at this moment outside the dream, the person waving in the snow has become myself.
"...A message has arrived from over there, saying that—"
The steward had barely begun to speak when a loud bang was heard as the door suddenly burst open from the inside. The sudden turn of events startled the steward, and he stopped midway through his sentence.
"What did you say? Tell me quickly!"
Li Xiao's hand was still on the door, but he had already stepped across the threshold, anxiously asking the other person what happened next.
I followed closely behind, staring intently at the steward's open mouth, holding my breath and waiting, my heart pounding in the shadows.
"this……"
The steward, who had been frantically knocking on the door earlier, suddenly hesitated.
His attitude gave me a very bad feeling.
"Young Master Li, this matter happened rather suddenly, and it's hard to say exactly what the situation is yet. Perhaps you should—"
Li Xiao didn't give him a chance to continue babbling. He grabbed the manager by the front of his shirt and lifted him up. The latter's old face immediately turned red, and he hurriedly waved his hands in mid-air, begging for mercy.
"Young Master."
It was Ah Jiu who appeared and stopped Li Xiao's excessively violent actions in time.
The rescued manager, his face and neck flushed, coughed several times before finally speaking in a hoarse, trembling voice, "They said that on the way back, the mountain road collapsed, and both people and the vehicle disappeared. The snow kept falling and buried the entire area..."
The more Li Xiao listened, the uglier his expression became, until it was almost as black as ink.
The manager reluctantly explained the situation.
Yesterday, the weather was sunny throughout the day, and the snow in the mountains was deep, so the group walked at a leisurely pace.
When Young Master Lan finished his tomb sweeping and was preparing to return, it was already evening. The sky began to darken, and a few snowflakes began to fall.
When they reached the vicinity of the section of road where the landslide had occurred, Young Master Lan, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up and told the car to stop.
The people rushing to catch the carriage were puzzled—the snow was falling heavier and heavier, and it was getting darker and darker; it would be best to go down the mountain as soon as possible.
But Young Master Lan said he heard someone crying outside.
In this desolate wilderness, where the weather was freezing cold, there wasn't a soul to be seen, not even a sparrow. The group had just returned from sweeping the tombs when they suddenly heard Young Master Lan say that someone was crying outside, and they all felt a chill run down their spines.
Some people say, "Who else is outside besides us? I suppose you must have misheard me, young master."
But the usually easy-going Young Master Lan was very resolute this time. He said he not only heard it, but clearly heard a woman crying. The woman was crying very sadly and helplessly, and she was calling out someone's name over and over again.
He said the girl must have gotten separated from someone. He added that they couldn't just leave her like that.
The group of people looked at each other, speechless, and seeing how resolute Lan Gongzi's words were and how he could not be easily dissuaded. They remained in a stalemate.
In the end, it was Young Master Lan who suggested that if they were worried that he might take the opportunity to escape, he could wait in the car.
[I need to trouble you brothers to check the surrounding area. If you find nothing, then we won't linger any longer and will head back immediately.]
Having said all that, the group agreed. They left only one person to guard the car, while the rest searched for the person in the direction indicated by Young Master Lan.
—Then the accident happened.
The collapse covered a large area, and of the five people, including Young Master Lan, only one managed to escape – because that person had gone the furthest.
However, he accidentally tumbled down the mountain in the dark and fell from the middle of the mountain. He was picked up by a passing hunter, which is why the news was sent back in the shortest possible time.
Li Xiao clearly did not believe such an absurd thing.
—But he had no choice but to believe it.
The only confirmed survivor among them so far was sent by Li Xiao himself. The other accompanying personnel whose whereabouts are still unknown are all from Huayuelou.
Under these circumstances, if there is any conspiracy or shady dealing involved, it is most likely related to Li Xiao himself.
If, in the end, all the people accompanying him in the building have perished, then the words of the people sent by Li Xiao will become the only reliable testimony in the incident.
To put it bluntly, by then the truth will be impossible to verify.
The manager had obviously taken this into consideration. Although he appeared flustered, his shrewd little eyes kept glancing at Li Xiao's expression, seemingly harboring some suspicion.
Those in charge couldn't help but think about it.
After all, this time, the building lost four people at once. Putting aside the three strong thugs, the loss of Young Master Lan alone was an incalculable loss.
And this loss will ultimately fall on his shoulders as the price for his poor performance—something that the person in charge is certainly unwilling and unable to bear.
Therefore, he pinned his hopes on the fact that this was a play put on by Li Xiao and Young Master Lan.
As the person in charge, it was naturally inappropriate to directly question Li Xiao, so he could only observe secretly, hoping to find some clues.
However, Li Xiao's reaction was almost flawless.
Whether it was the initial eagerness, or the later anger, shock, disbelief, and bewilderment... all these emotions surfaced one by one, intertwining on the boy's face, without a trace of pretense.
—Li Xiao doesn't have such good acting skills.
Realizing this, my heart sank inch by inch until it thudded into a bottomless abyss.
The sound of the flowing water drowned out all other sounds. It was as if everyone else here had turned into fish with their mouths open, silent.
Standing there, I felt like I couldn't breathe... It was so cold.
Why is it suddenly so cold?
I hugged myself tightly, but still couldn't help shivering.
"Are you alright?"
I never expected that the first person to notice me would be Mr. Ajiu.
Looking at the man's face, which was covered in a thick beard but still showed genuine concern, I shook my head.
I even tried to smile gratefully at him, but judging from Mr. Ajiu's expression, my smile was clearly not very pleasant.
Li Xiao seemed to suddenly notice that I was standing behind him.
The boy's eyes flickered, as if he didn't know what to say to me for a moment.
In the end, he was the one who looked away first.
“Take him inside,” Li Xiao said, turning to Mr. Ajiu. “Mr. Chang will be here the day after tomorrow; don’t let him run around before then.”
Upon hearing this, Mr. Ajiu hesitated for a moment before asking, "Young Master, what's wrong...?"
Li Xiao said solemnly, "I want to go there myself."
"But your health..."
Mr. Ajiu seemed to want to dissuade him, but was silenced by the other party's short sentence.
"If I was going to die, I would have died long ago," Li Xiao said calmly, his tone indifferent as if he were discussing someone else's life or death.
This is the first time I've ever seen Li Xiao like this.
Mr. Ajiu, who was standing to the side, fell silent. Li Xiao reached out and patted the man's shoulder.
The slender boy stood before the burly man, but did not appear particularly thin. He calmly said, "This place is in your hands. Don't disappoint me, Mr. Ajiu."
Seemingly surprised that the boy would address him that way, Mr. Ajiu's face showed a hint of doubt before he nodded.
Li Xiao looked back at me again and casually patted my head.
"Be a good girl, eat well, sleep well, and don't overthink things," he said. "Wait for me..."
There must be something else after those two words.
It was probably a promise related to Young Master Lan, but he ultimately said nothing, perhaps because even he himself wasn't sure.
The steward, who had been watching anxiously from the sidelines, left with Li Xiao. He was so excited when he heard that Li Xiao was going to brave the heavy snow to search for Young Master Lan's whereabouts that he almost burst into tears.
They immediately indicated that the building would also send enough personnel to join the search.
Mr. Ajiu dutifully carried out his young master's orders, so I could only stand in my room upstairs and look out the window at what was happening outside.
The snow is still falling, but the wind isn't as strong anymore.
I spotted Li Xiao from afar. Beside him were several attendants, including Mr. Liu, and a group of people dressed in uniforms distributed throughout the building.
This is the second time I've watched someone leave my sight.
Compared to the young man from the Shen family, dressed in black, whose ink-like form spread across the pure white paper.
Li Xiao stood in the snow, his pale color almost blending into the background. But I could spot him clearly at a glance.
Before he got on the bus, his gaze seemed to sweep across the window where I was. I don't know if he saw me, but I still waved to him.
Strangely enough, at that moment, the face of my senior sister from my dream suddenly appeared in my mind.
In my dream, a woman standing under a plum tree waved goodbye to me with a gentle smile.
But in this moment outside of the dream, the person waving in the snow has become myself.
I don't know if this was some kind of coincidence, but a subtle feeling that is hard to describe did arise in my heart.
For a fleeting moment, I even had the urge to run downstairs, stand in front of him, and beg him to stay or take me away with him.
But in the short time I was stunned, that large group of people had completely disappeared from sight.
The heavy snow continued for two days, and the streets near and far were covered with a thick layer of snow up to waist height.
It is said that this is the heaviest snowfall in decades.
Not only here, but also in many southern provinces, news of snowfall has been reported one after another.
I sat in the warm room, holding a small hand warmer, thinking of my parents far away in my hometown.
I wonder if it snows there too... If so, do they have enough warm clothes, firewood, and food?
I originally thought that with such heavy snow, Dr. Chang would probably come a day or two later, when the weather was clearer.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Chang not only arrived as promised, but also brought a set of Chang Li clothes that were barely enough to cover him up.
I was surprised that he came too... In this cold weather, isn't Mr. Chang worried that the child will get cold?
I then called Changli over, intending to give him the hand warmer, but Changli stretched out his short arms and legs and hopped over to hug me.
I was afraid he would rush too fast and accidentally knock over the stove I was holding, and then burn himself.
He hurriedly raised the hand stove high.
Before Changli could actually reach me, he was lifted up by a large, fan-like hand and spun around in mid-air a few times due to inertia before stopping, looking like a dizzy little kitten.
"...It's you, Xiao Jiu."
After Chang Li clearly saw the burly man with a full beard in front of him, he showed no fear and instead greeted him warmly.
Then, as if remembering something, her round, chubby face wrinkled, and she protested in a low voice, "Why did you bring me up for no reason? Did you also learn bad habits from that guy Li Xiao?"
"This is my young master's order."
As Mr. Ajiu spoke, he gently put the child down with a force that was extremely contrasting to his fierce appearance: "Since the young master trusts me and has asked me to look after the loquat here, then I should protect him from all possible dangers."
Chang Li had just stood up when he heard the other person's words and stuck out his tongue in slight dissatisfaction: "Really, Xiao Jiu, you've really gone bad. You can even lie with those big eyes open now."
As she spoke, she looked at me questioningly: "I'm not some kind of danger to be avoided, right, young man?"
Of course, I could only nod.
Mr. Ajiu, upon hearing Changli's words, showed no sign of displeasure, only a somewhat helpless smile on his face.
I had just put the hand warmer aside when I reached out and caught a child who was jumping towards me.
...Hiss, I have to say, it feels much heavier than I expected.
"It's been so long, have you missed me? I look forward to seeing you every day, my little brother," Chang Li said with bright eyes.
Looking at that bright, smiling face, it seemed as if the gloom of the past few days had dissipated considerably.
"Yes, I also miss Xiaoli very much."
Hearing my answer, Chang Li smiled even more happily, her two pigtails swaying behind her head, her eyes almost narrowed into two thin arcs.
It was only after Mr. Chang stepped forward that the little guy was shooed aside.
He examined my leg. I've been staying indoors for the past two days, taking the medicine prescribed by Mr. Chang, and now it seems almost normal.
However, Mr. Chang still frowned.
He pressed several spots with his round fingers in turn, and then asked for my reaction.
After receiving the response, he stroked his long white beard and looked thoughtful.
Mr. Ajiu was also somewhat worried when he saw this.
Chang Li, however, bluntly interrupted, "Grandpa, can't you just say what you mean? Whether it's curable or not, and how to cure it, isn't it just a matter of your word? All this dawdling is not only delaying things, but also being so pretentious."
Mr. Chang was someone who listened to advice. Upon hearing this, he stroked his beard, turned his head, and glared at Chang Li: "You talk too much, kid."
...Hmm, he didn't even call me "my precious grandson," he's really not being pretentious anymore.
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