Chapter 57 Unexpected Encounter
Huo Shizhen's casual voice rang out in the silent courtyard:
"The bullet passed through the fifth intercostal space on the left side. I can guarantee that you will not die."
Lin Guantang was startled by his sudden gun-drawing action. He instinctively wanted to speak up to stop him, but at the same time, he silently screamed in his mind - Is Huo Shizhen crazy? There are so many guests in the building ahead, and all of them are either rich or noble. And he wants to shoot the host of this banquet here? Isn't he afraid of not being able to leave this courtyard?
Well, it's possible that he isn't afraid.
But Lin Guantang was not as calm as him.
Even if we put aside all external factors, Lin Guantang couldn't just watch him attack an innocent person.
At least for now, in Lin Guantang's mind, Miss Sheng did not do anything out of line. She was pointed at with a gun just because she asked a question. No matter how you look at it, it seems that she was too unlucky to have offended a mental patient.
The only thing that's better than provoking a real mental patient is that Huo Shizhen can probably be communicated with - although he will most likely choose not to listen.
But Lin Guantang still decided to give it a try. He pursed his lips and was about to speak when an idea suddenly popped into his mind, that is, why did Huo Shizhen suddenly do this.
How to say it, although it is not a good behavior to make excuses for the perpetrator, in this situation, Lin Guantang couldn't help but think about the reason why Huo Shizhen did this.
That’s actually not difficult to guess - although it’s a bit hard to believe, Huo Shizhen is just using one choice to answer another choice.
If Miss Sheng dared to take a gamble and let Huo Shizhen shoot, Huo Shizhen could agree to her request to experience the product; if she chose to refuse, Huo Shizhen's answer to her proposal would also be rejection.
——So what’s the difference between that and a direct rejection?
No matter how accurate Huo Shizhen's shooting skills are, who would joke with his own life? A bullet passing through the heart, even if it was deliberately missed and would not cause death, is no different from a fatal injury.
Lin Guantang twitched his lips, and finally chose to watch in silence.
Huo Shizhen must have his reasons for doing this, so it would be better for me not to interfere. However - why did he react so strongly?
If he really doesn't want to participate in any new product experience, why not just refuse directly?
Miss Sheng couldn't possibly force him to experience it.
Therefore, the real reason lies in the "secret" about him mentioned by Miss Sheng. That secret must be so important that it concerns Huo Shizhen's own life, so he would use Miss Sheng's own life in exchange for it.
When he thought of this, Lin Guantang was excited and wanted to find out the truth immediately, but three seconds later he became discouraged again because he knew that this was an unsolvable mystery.
The secret that made Huo Shizhen threaten with his life without hesitation - even though it was someone else's life, Lin Guantang didn't think that asking would have any good results, nor did he think that his relationship with Huo Shizhen was good enough to allow him to peek into the depths of his soul.
If you ask yourself honestly, Lin Guantang really doesn't want anyone to get to the bottom of things and force him to tell things he doesn't want to say, so it's better not to offend Huo Shizhen just because of momentary curiosity.
Sheng Fenghua certainly guessed the purpose of Huo Shizhen's doing this, but the direction she was thinking was a little different from Lin Guantang's.
In addition to exchanging one choice for another, Sheng Fenghua had no doubt that Huo Shizhen had other purposes - he might have already guessed that she was a member of the Garden of Eden, but due to the lack of evidence, the mission process of the Central Military Academy, and the various constraints imposed on him by the upper echelons of the empire, he maintained the illusion of peace and ignored her existence.
As a result, I have now taken the initiative to give him an opportunity, so it is convenient for him to choose to kill himself by mistake.
If she was a desperate madman, she could have gambled on whether Huo Shizhen dared to shoot, but unfortunately she was not, and she did not intend to gamble her life with Huo Shizhen for a dispensable test.
Sheng Fenghua maintained a proper smile, but due to various active or passive considerations, she finally chose to give up:
"I don't want to spend my birthday in the emergency room yet, so please put away this dangerous stuff. Just consider it my fault and I won't mention it again. But - Young Master Huo really can't take a joke."
Huo Shizhen retracted his gun, not thinking this was a joke—if it was, then he obviously wasn't the one who couldn't take a joke:
"If you are not prepared to pay any price, don't try to test me."
Sheng Fenghua laughed at himself - in fact, this proposal was originally intended to be made at the press conference, when inviting Huo Shizhen to the stage to experience the product in front of everyone, but it was obviously a naive delusion to try to use public opinion to force Huo Shizhen to give him face and experience the new product.
Even at this time when no one else was watching, he didn't even intend to use perfunctory words to maintain his image in front of his lover. How could he care about other people's eyes?
Sheng Fenghua glanced at Lin Guantang, who was standing there motionless, as if frightened silly. In fact, she also noticed that he wanted to speak several times in the middle of the conversation. She believed that Huo Shizhen also noticed it, and perhaps he was expecting Lin Guantang to speak bravely like herself.
But Lin Guantang ultimately remained silent from beginning to end. Whether it was because he was afraid to speak or because he knew that speaking would bring bad things, he did not dare to express his opinions when he felt something was wrong. Even if he could complain willfully, he was essentially just a pet that was temporarily favored and became arrogant because of his favor.
Sheng Fenghua sighed inwardly. With Huo Shizhen's unbridled personality, it was hard to believe that he would actually fall in love with Lin, a classmate who didn't even dare to speak.
Huo Shizhen's next action seemed to further prove this point.
He leaned over to Lin Guantang, stretched out his hand and pressed it on his neck, slowly extending his hand along the neck to the other side. The touch was warm and soft, full of fresh vitality, yet so delicate that it seemed as if it would break if bent.
Life is such a fragile existence.
"I know what you're thinking, and I don't intend to stop you, but I hope you understand that once you choose to explore some paths, there's no turning back. You can only—"
Cold fingers caressed the neck, and Huo Shizhen even moved closer, with strands of hair falling on Lin Guantang's shoulders. It looked like a hug, but it made Lin Guantang feel as if a snake was crawling along his neck, and there was a danger that his neck would be broken. He couldn't help but hold his breath, raised his head and looked into Huo Shizhen's eyes, listening to him slowly finish the second half of his sentence:
“Keep going with your fervent curiosity until the end of your life.”
Is it a hint or a warning?
Lin Guantang couldn't figure out his intention for a moment.
Huo Shizhen didn't seem to intend to give him any response. After saying this, he stood up straight, turned around and left, walking into the thick darkness, and finally disappeared from the end of his sight.
The courtyard returned to silence again. After a moment, Sheng Fenghua's voice rang in his ears:
"Asit's Seed of Life won't be officially released until tomorrow spring. Although Young Master Huo's words may not be very pleasant, he still knew how to express his sincerity by sending a gift."
——But there is obviously not much sincerity.
After all, it was just an ordinary model, and it was not limited edition. Whether Huo Shizhen himself did not care about the difference in this regard and just prepared a gift casually, or he thought that Lin Guantang had no experience in this area and thought he could just get away with it, in short, it was a careless and perfunctory act.
Moreover, there was only a bare chain, without even a gift box. After the breakup, when Lin Guantang wanted to sell it to make up for his losses, the price was greatly reduced, and there was not even any evidence to prove its authenticity.
Lin Guantang withdrew his gaze and looked at Sheng Fenghua who had already walked into the corridor. Then he remembered something and looked down. There was a silver chain around his neck. The pendant was a Rubik's Cube the size of a fingernail. Through the shimmering Rubik's Cube, one could barely see that there was a colorful seed inlaid in the center of the Rubik's Cube.
He said that it seemed like something cold, like a snake, was crawling along his neck. It turned out that it was not an imagination, but something real was being carried around.
Asiyite, Lin Guantang had heard of this name from Yuan Wenjun. It seemed to be a very high-end luxury product.
But the gift was too casual, as if it was something you bought at a roadside stall.
Lin Guantang pinched the chain and shook the pendant in front of his eyes. He felt colorful lights flashing in front of his eyes. His mood was between the surprise of receiving a gift and the depression of being perfunctory. It was very complicated.
Then I heard Sheng Fenghua say with emotion:
"But, there really is no respect for the birthday girl at all."
Lin Guantang held the pendant and then remembered that he was not the only one left there. Although Miss Sheng sounded like she was talking to herself, he heard it and couldn't just ignore it.
After a moment's hesitation, Lin Guantang stuffed the pendant into his clothes, then looked at Sheng Fenghua and said a little embarrassedly:
"Feel sorry."
Sheng Fenghua looked at his bright and joyful expression at the moment, but in her mind she imagined him being used to his heart's content and abandoned in the future. She felt quite a bit of pity for him.
"Don't apologize to me on his behalf. It's not your fault. He's always been like this. I never expected him to have a good attitude."
As she spoke, she walked back along the corridor. Lin Guantang looked at the door where Huo Shizhen had disappeared, then turned and walked towards the banquet hall, asking:
"Have Miss Sheng and he known each other since childhood?"
Sheng Fenghua shook his head and said:
"No, no one knows what he was like as a child. He was sixteen—or was he fifteen? Anyway, he just returned to the imperial capital a few years ago. When he first came back, he was even more difficult to deal with than he is now. He was simply an unsympathetic monster. Now, at least we can communicate with him a few words."
Sheng Fenghua didn't mind saying a few more bad things about Huo Shizhen in front of his lover, whom he was dating for the purpose of exploiting him. After all, what she said was not wrong, she just used a little exaggerated rhetoric. She was curious whether Lin Guantang would be scared. Then she saw Lin Guantang say "oh" and asked thoughtfully:
"So, the secret Miss Sheng mentioned is about what happened before he was fifteen or sixteen?"
Lin Guantang finally asked questions about Huo Shizhen's secrets. Huo Shizhen himself had said that he could indulge his curiosity, so it was not impolite to ask about his secrets.
Sheng Fenghua seemed surprised by his sudden question and laughed unexpectedly:
"You're actually thinking about this... well, your guess isn't wrong. Think about it, if it were you, and one day your neighbor suddenly announced that they had a sixteen-year-old child, wouldn't you be curious about his background, where he'd lived for the past ten years, and what he'd been doing?"
——And he is a child who is obviously out of tune with everyone else.
Lin Guantang imagined that kind of scene: if one morning he came out of the house and found a young man with long silver hair standing at the neighbor's door, it would be hard not to ask about his background.
However, Huo Shizhen was not his neighbor's child, and no one in the imperial capital could find out about his experiences over the past decade.
The lights in front of me suddenly lit up, and I had already entered the center of the banquet hall.
The abrupt change of light and shadow from the dim courtyard to the bright hall made Lin Guantang come back to his senses suddenly. He blinked and adjusted to the light in the hall, then found that many people had gathered around him.
To be precise, after only two or three steps into the hall, many people gathered around to greet Sheng Fenghua and wish her a happy birthday. Some also asked who the young man quietly following behind her was. Sheng Fenghua turned around to look at Lin Guantang, thought for a moment, and then replied with a smile:
"Just think of him as my distant cousin. He hasn't seen much of the world and is a little shy, so please don't blame me."
Lin Guantang: ...
Well, the birthday girl is the most important, she is the host of this banquet, so whatever she says is fine.
Besides, with so many people around, it would be inappropriate to just leave like that. It would be too rude and spoil the fun. Miss Sheng hasn't done anything wrong to me, so why bother ruining the party?
So Lin Guantang smiled, nodded, and followed Sheng Fenghua, playing the role of the country cousin who had never seen the world.
Fortunately, it didn't last long. After a brief greeting, the group of people dispersed. When Lin Guantang was about to sneak away while no one was around, he saw the Shao siblings coming towards him.
However, Shao Qingbai had a worried look on his face, and it was obvious that he was forcibly dragged here.
After seeing Lin Guantang, he subconsciously looked away and focused on studying the pastry pattern next to him, as if it was something very strange.
Lin Guantang could understand his avoidance of herself.
After resolving the matter at the racetrack, on the way back, Shao Qingbai insisted on asking about his true identity. Lin Guantang said, "I can tell you my identity, but I want to ask you a question, and you must answer it sincerely."
Shao Qingbai agreed.
Lin Guantang revealed his true identity and asked him why he was avoiding him.
Then Shao Qingbai looked at him with an even more horrified expression.
"Why you again?! Why are you playing my sister again?"
Lin Guantang tilted his head and thought for a moment before answering sincerely:
"I told you this because normally you ignore me, so I have no choice but to do this. After all, this is an opportunity for you to open up to me."
This must be the trigger for my heart attack.
And weren't you Lingchen? Why did you become Lin Guantang? When did the connection come about?
Shao Qingbai deeply regretted his idea of recommending his elder sister to join the group. As a result, he now seemed to be trapped in a vicious circle of "definitely recognizing Lin Guantang as his sister".
If this continues, he will suspect that he has gender identity disorder.
"If you treat a stranger like your sister and call her your sister every day, you will also be unwilling to face her when the truth comes out."
Shao Qingbai gave the answer weakly, and repeatedly assured him that he would not ignore him deliberately again, hoping that he could be more normal.
Having said that, it seems that they still haven't gotten over the shadow of mistaking someone for someone else during this meeting.
Thinking back to the time when Shao Qingbai almost begged him for help, Lin Guantang thought it would be better not to provoke him any further, so he just greeted Shao Qingzhu.
But Shao Qingzhu was obviously in no mood to care about her brother's feelings. After greeting Lin Guantang, she forced Shao Qingbai to turn his gaze back:
"What's so beautiful about cake decorations? Are they more pleasing to the eyes than a junior like me?"
Haha, at least the cake decorating won’t remind him of how socially destructive things he did in the past were, and the unimaginable consequences that followed.
Shao Qingbai forced a stiff smile and said "Hello" to Lin Guantang. Lin Guantang also smiled at him and replied "Hello".
Then Shao Qingzhu said:
"Sisters, if you have something to say, you can chat more together first to strengthen your relationship."
Shao Qingbai immediately put on a sad face, as if he was very unhappy:
"Sister, please forgive me."
But Shao Qingzhu didn't seem to intend to listen to his advice. She pushed him directly to Lin Guantang, then smoothly took Sheng Fenghua's arm, waved goodbye to them, and left with Sheng Fenghua.
Standing there, I could still hear the conversation between the two of them:
Sheng Fenghua: "Why, are you planning to let your brother and classmate Lin develop a relationship?"
Shao Qingzhu: "That's not impossible. My brother may be a little stupid, but he's not a bad person. His family isn't poor either. It won't be unfair to him if he marries me."
Sheng Fenghua: "But don't you think it's a little late to act now? Maybe someone has already set their sights on Lin. Have you seen the backstage of O Academy?"
Shao Qingzhu: "What's so good about it? A couple that is together can be separated. If someone takes a fancy to them, they can just snatch them away."
This is really a personal example from my own experience...but this really won't work!
Shao Qingbai widened his eyes. He didn't expect his elder sister to say such cruel words.
Sheng Fenghua looked back at Shao Qingbai's desperate eyes, and at Lin Guantang who was looking sideways and holding his forehead, pretending to be embarrassed as if he had heard nothing. While feeling funny, she also felt that Zhu Hechang's guess was really unreliable.
In her opinion, everything that happened before her eyes clearly showed that Shao Qingbai and Lin Guantang were completely unfamiliar with each other, and were being forced by their sister to socialize with a strange omega - in comparison, the relationship between Shao Qingbai and "Shao Chen" in the photo was quite harmonious.
Therefore, the speculation about the connection between Ling Chen and Lin Guantang seems to be nonsense.
The figures of the two people were quickly obscured by the crowd, and the sound of discussion completely disappeared. Lin Guantang glanced at Shao Qingbai, who looked like he was about to die, and thought it would be better to let him calm down alone.
Just at this moment, someone called Lin Guantang's name.
It was You Guangyu who came to attend the birthday party with Lin Guantang. He walked towards this side with his arm around another person.
Although his tone was somewhat anxious, his walking movements were still graceful and appropriate.
When Lin Guantang saw him, he remembered that he had left in a hurry and ended up leaving You Guangyu alone in the hall. Although You Guangyu must be familiar with this kind of banquet, and he was talking to others when Lin Guantang left, so he would not be ignored, Lin Guantang still apologized to him.
You Guangyu shook his head, not minding the matter, and then happily introduced the person he was holding onto to him:
"This is my cousin Jian Yinglai from my aunt's family. Yinglai, this is the classmate Lin Guantang I told you about."
Lin Guantang looked at the person next to him.
Although his hair is curly, it is not messy. Combined with his handsome and fair appearance, it adds an elegant and easy-going charm to his serious and solemn appearance.
Wearing a white formal gown, he could be described as spotless from head to toe. Even his smile was full of typical friendliness. Standing next to You Guangyu, he looked like the AO template used for teaching in a picture album.
Actually, this was the first time he and Jian Yinglai met in real life. It was more elegant than in the photo. Even though they were already familiar with each other, at this moment, Jian Yinglai extended her hand to him with a sense of propriety, treating it as a formal greeting as if it was their first meeting.
"Hello, nice to meet you. I've heard Guangyu mention you many times, but seeing is believing."
Since he wanted to pretend that it was the first time they met, Lin Guantang also extended his hand and shook hands with him to introduce himself.
Shao Qingbai on the side chuckled twice without giving any face, and said with disdain:
"Are you tired? Do you also want to tell me that it's a pleasure to meet you for the first time? No wonder Wen Tiange doesn't like you."
Jian Yinglai would not bother with such an impolite person.
However, You Guangyu smiled when he heard this and said:
"The name Wen Tiange looks so familiar. Is he the son of Director Wen?"
Shao Qingbai nodded, and You Guangyu said that they had not had much interaction before, and if he also came to the banquet, he would like to get to know him.
You Guangyu's words might be polite, but they were Lin Guantang's true thoughts.
Lin Guantang didn't expect to see the two of them at this banquet, and he easily wondered if the other people in the group would also come here. Given that Senior Sikong and Senior Yin had been out of touch in the group for a long time, he was actually referring specifically to Wen Tiange and Tian Ye. To be honest, it seemed that Tian Ye was the only person in the group he hadn't met.
But he looked around and didn't see any familiar figures.
Then I heard Jian Yinglai say:
"Wen Tiange and the others are out of town for something, so they can't come today."
Lin Guantang looked at him and met Jian Yinglai's smiling gaze. He immediately understood that she meant that Wen Tiange and Tian Ye had missions and would not come.
So Lin Guantang had no choice but to look away.
Not long into the chat, someone announced that the new product launch was about to begin and asked the guests to move to the conference room.
Lin Guantang was just like everyone else, curious about the so-called new product and wasn't really interested in the long presentation before the product was unveiled. That was until he heard some key words while drowsy:
"...This is a groundbreaking intelligent experience cabin. You can travel the vast universe with unlimited freedom. Your free soul is no longer bound by the constraints of pheromones, but will be able to live forever in a world of infinite fantasy..."
The world of eternal life——!
Lin Guantang suddenly woke up, sat up straight, and looked intently at the center of the stage.
He had originally given up the idea of asking Huo Shizhen for relevant information, but he didn't expect to hear these four words again so soon.
Is it a coincidence, or as Huo Shizhen said, he doesn't care, so even if they pass by each other, he will know nothing about it. But once he pays close attention, he will find that it has permeated the life around him.
As Sheng Fenghua introduced, the so-called experience cabin was simultaneously displayed in all directions on the screen behind her.
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