Chapter 97
Xu Qingzhou sent countless messages, but received no reply.
I made countless calls, but it always said the number was out of service.
Xu Qingzhou didn't understand why his phone was out of service just because he went on a business trip to a neighboring city.
She contacted almost all of Chi Jun's friends, but none of them had any news about him. After going to great lengths to find someone who might be related to Chi Jun's business trip, the person said that he had not contacted Chi Jun recently, and that the emergency assistance he had requested was something that happened more than three months ago.
After more than a week of silence, Li Rui was genuinely afraid that Xu Qingzhou wouldn't be able to handle the news.
To his surprise, Xu Qingzhou remained calm throughout.
Back in the rented courtyard, she even thanked Li Rui sincerely and invited him to stay for dinner before leaving.
Li Rui agreed.
It wasn't that he was really hungry because he came back too late, but rather that he feared Xu Qingzhou's "calmness" was more dangerous than genuine "madness."
Since the university summer vacation started early, Li Rui spent almost all her time with Xu Qingzhou, except for sleeping at night.
To distract Xu Qingzhou, he took her shopping, to parks, and to amusement parks. He even accompanied her to apply for and start a summer job, acting like a devoted bodyguard, always by her side to protect her from any harm.
But he knew that the greatest harm to the little girl came from her inability to let go of the past.
After all, who could bear being suddenly abandoned by their boyfriend at the height of their relationship, without even a proper goodbye?
Li Rui had considered calling the police about Xu Jun's disappearance, but Xu Qingzhou stopped him. She calmly told him that Xu Jun had left voluntarily.
Looking at the girl's face, which had clearly calmed down after experiencing a huge change, Li Rui silently put down his phone and cursed Xu Jun in his mind for an hour.
Xu Jun is a real scoundrel!
He's a complete beast!
About ten days after Chi Jun disappeared, Wang Shuai recovered and was discharged from the hospital.
That birthday party at the hospital was terrifying to even think about. But Wang Shuai, having survived such a close call, was destined for good fortune; he miraculously escaped death's grasp and his health improved at an astonishing rate each day.
Now he is lively and healthy, with a rosy complexion, and no one can tell that he has been seriously ill. Everyone is as happy for him as if they have won the lottery themselves.
On the day he was discharged from the hospital, Wang Shuai didn't tell anyone, just to be on the safe side.
Only Li Rui knew this, and wanting to make Xu Qingzhou happy, he brought her to the hospital to pick up Wang Shuai.
Wang Shuai had already heard about Xu Jun's sudden disappearance, but when he saw Xu Qingzhou, he held back from mentioning it.
After Xu Qingzhou was sent away to wash fruit, he finally couldn't help but pull Li Rui aside and ask:
"What happened? Can a perfectly healthy person really just disappear like that?"
When this was mentioned, Li Rui wore a complicated expression.
"But that's just how it is..."
"Did you call the police?"
“That’s the problem,” Li Rui said with a complicated expression: “My sister won’t let me call the police, saying that Xu Jun wanted to leave on his own.”
Wang Shuai was stunned for a moment, and after a long while, he sighed.
"Perhaps my sister already sensed something. After all, we weren't involved, so we don't know as well as she does."
The ward was quiet for a while.
When Wang Shuai spoke again, his expression suddenly became somewhat strange:
"Do you think... Xu Jun is some kind of god?"
"ah?"
"Forget it, forget it," Wang Shuai shook his hand and turned back to continue rummaging through the cabinet. "Just think of me as crazy."
"No, don't leave things unsaid."
Wang Shuai turned to look at Li Rui, hesitated for a moment, and then said:
“I had this feeling that when I was in the hospital, I would often dream about Xu Jun in the middle of the night. In the dream, Xu Jun said he would cure my illness. And you know what? During that time, my health did get better day by day.”
"When?"
"Before my birthday..."
"Why did it suddenly happen again on my birthday—"
Li Rui realized something was wrong halfway through his sentence and stopped in time.
Wang Shuai didn't pay any attention and turned back to continue packing his clothes.
"Who knows?"
After a pause, Wang Shuai spoke again, his voice choked with emotion.
“I always felt that Xu Jun might have had some unspeakable reasons for leaving. He's not the kind of irresponsible person…”
"It would be so nice if he came with you to pick me up today."
But no matter what, the person is gone, and there's no use in speculating or feeling sad anymore. Instead, the person left behind needs more care.
Wang Shuai then asked Li Rui how Xu Qingzhou's mental state had been lately.
It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned it, because once it was brought up, Li Rui sighed heavily.
"She seems to have forgotten about Xu Jun."
Xu Jun's pillows and bedding were put away, his daily necessities and clothes were put into a box, and his bowls and chopsticks were put into the corner of the cupboard and never touched again. Even the small chair that Xu Jun liked to sit on to read was stuffed under the bed into a place that was not easily seen.
One day, Li Rui entered the house and almost thought he had entered the wrong door—because there was no trace of Xu Jun in the house.
Without a trace.
It was as if he had never appeared in the first place.
Xu Qingzhou never mentioned this person again. A couple of times, Li Rui accidentally let slip the name "Xu Jun," and he would pause, looking up at Xu Qingzhou with a start.
The little girl remained calm and composed, without the slightest fluctuation in her expression, as if she were not only mute but also deaf.
But Li Rui knew in his heart: How could he forget so easily!
He knew that none of these signs meant that Xu Qingzhou had forgotten Xu Jun. On the contrary, it was precisely because he couldn't forget him, because of his hatred, that he stubbornly erased all traces of Xu Jun's existence, even blocking out his memories and words.
Li Rui didn't know what to do, so he could only stay with Xu Qingzhou day after day.
June 24th arrived in the blink of an eye, the day the college entrance examination results were released.
Li Rui was, of course, present on this important day.
He moved his laptop to the small rented room. As Xu Qingzhou sat in front of the computer and entered the exam admission ticket password and other information, Li Rui was so nervous that he felt cold all over and goosebumps kept appearing on his arms.
Xu Qingzhou, however, appeared very calm.
Rather, her expression remained the same after Chi Jun disappeared.
It seems that he no longer cares about anything, has no desires, and feels no sadness or sorrow.
With a click of the mouse, the screen spun a few times and the results page appeared.
Xu Qingzhou remained calm.
Li Rui was stunned, and started searching on the computer screen.
"What about the grades? Huh?"
After a long pause, he suddenly remembered the information he had seen online in previous years about college entrance exams: if a student's score was too high, the system would temporarily block the student's score to protect it from excessive media hype.
"Holy crap, it's... blocked?!"
Li Rui's lips trembled, her heart pounded with excitement, and her hands shook. She stared at the computer for a while, then glanced at Xu Qingzhou. Suddenly, she screamed "Ah—" and rushed out.
The entire courtyard echoed with the boy's hoarse screams:
"My sister is awesome!"
"My sister is awesome!!! Hahahahahaha, my sister is awesome!"
The boy's excited and frenzied voices echoed in the courtyard, attracting curious inquiries from the neighbors.
Xu Qingzhou, the owner of the test scores, sat in front of the computer, yet remained calm.
—My sister is awesome.
She silently recited it in her heart, but another face unconsciously surfaced in her mind.
If he were here, would he be just as excited?
Xu Qingzhou shook his head, suddenly closed his laptop, and lowered his head.
*
On the night the college entrance exam results were released, Xu Qingzhou's usually cramped and quiet little house was suddenly filled with many people.
A few classmates, including Zheng Yangshu, with whom he had a fairly good relationship, some of Li Rui's friends, the landlord, neighbors, and even some tenants from the neighboring rental compound came.
Some came to congratulate her on her outstanding college entrance examination results, while others came to see what this little mute girl, whose score was high enough to get into a top university in the country, was like. Without exception, they all brought many gifts when they came to her door.
There were flower baskets, fruits, local delicacies, and even clothes, daily necessities, and bedding. The colorful items filled the room, dazzling Xu Qingzhou.
The crowd chattered and offered their congratulations, and even Li Rui, who was usually quick-witted, was a little overwhelmed.
The landlord even set off a very long string of firecrackers in the courtyard, along with some fireworks, which made the children clap and cheer, and everyone praised her for being a good person.
Landlords are naturally happy when their tenants have such excellent grades.
She said with a beaming smile that Xu Qingzhou was the living advertisement for her house, and that people who wanted to rent her house because of its good feng shui would definitely be lining up at her door.
She even boasted that she would waive Xu Qingzhou's rent for the year and give her a 1,000 yuan red envelope in her personal capacity!
Everyone kept praising her for being generous and open-minded, which really made the landlord look good on the occasion.
But the protagonist of the incident is still Xu Qingzhou.
Everyone praised her, saying she was beautiful, had excellent grades, and had a bright future.
Some chatted with her about everyday things, some asked which university she planned to apply to, some told her to tell them if she had any difficulties, and some, unaware of the situation, even tried to introduce her to potential partners, which Li Rui thankfully stopped in time.
"Hey, Auntie, my sister's still a long way off. I'm a single dog, so why don't you introduce me to someone first?"
Auntie: "Oh my, you're such a smooth-talking, handsome young man, you're the best at charming young girls. Do I really need to introduce you to someone?"
Upon hearing this, the room erupted in laughter.
If it weren't for Li Rui and his friends mediating, Xu Qingzhou would probably have been overwhelmed by the sudden, bustling scene.
Li Rui naturally knew her personality. This scene lasted for about an hour before the enthusiastic crowd was finally persuaded to leave by him in a kind and gentle manner.
After the last person left, Li Rui turned to look at Xu Qingzhou:
"How about it, little sister? How about... we brothers take you out for a meal?"
Perhaps because it had been too noisy earlier, Xu Qingzhou just wanted to be alone for a while.
Li Rui didn't give her a chance and pulled her towards the door.
"Come on, come on, how can we not celebrate such a joyous occasion?"
Xu Qingzhou was swept away by a group of boys.
This was the first time Xu Qingzhou had eaten out and returned home late at night.
She has never been a heavy drinker, and even though everyone at the dinner table took care of her and let her drink low-alcohol fruit wine or rice wine, she still got drunk after dinner.
After getting out of the taxi late at night, Xu Qingzhou staggered all the way upstairs with Li Rui's help.
As soon as she came back, she hugged the bedpost, staring at the string of small red bells hanging on it. Her little face was flushed, and she shook the bedpost while laughing. As she laughed, she twitched the corners of her mouth, frowned, and her eyes welled up with tears, as if she was about to cry.
Li Rui was bewildered as he helped her tidy up. How could a girl who was usually quiet and composed suddenly like to play with a small bell when she was drunk? And why was she laughing and crying at the same time?
Only the rabbit in the cage nearby sighed deeply upon seeing this scene.
This bell is what Chi Jun always uses to summon male ghosts.
After Chi Jun left, the little girl shook the string of bells countless times.
But the male ghost also disappeared completely and never appeared again.
Just like that fox.
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