Xu Ai didn't know how she walked out of the office. Lin Shen's words kept resonating in her head.
Household register booklet, ID card, bank card, and diamond ring.
She had never imagined that one day he'd place these things before her and propose marriage to her. Never!
She liked Lin Shen; she had liked him so much that she wanted to be with him 24/7. Lin Shen had avoided her at the beginning; later on, he accepted the cellphone she compensated him for; then he gave in to her persistence and let her work in his company. Gradually, they became friends.
Lin Shen was a reserved guy who seldom lost his temper; he was proud and didn't like people to touch his things, doing things with his own principles and rules.
She had memorized his likes and dislikes little by little, wishing that one day he'd pause his steps and realize she was always by his side and he'd see her whenever he turned his head.
She had waited for him for three years.
She had tested water more than once, trying to tell him her love for him subtly but received disappointment again and again. He had kept his distance from her and remained cool even when he smiled at her.
Under his coolness, her affection for him had gathered a thin layer of dust in the past three years.
Even though she could brush off the dust, would she like him as much as before?
She wasn't sure!
The proposal was so sudden that she couldn't help wondering if Lin Shen truly wanted to marry her.
Did he do it because of the challenge from Lin Shen?
Could she believe him that she wasn't a toy and that he had waited because he wanted to give her a better life?
All these questions boggled her mind so much that her head felt like bursting.
"Ai?" Autumn's surprised voice came to her ears.
Xu Ai turned around to the voice slowly and saw Autumn ran toward her with Wu Xiting.
"When did you come back? Why are you standing here by yourself?" Autumn released Wu Xiting's hand and walked up to look Xu Ai up and down. "You look pale. What happened?"
Xu Ai looked around and found she had come to the tree-lined track which she and Lin Shen had often walked on. The track was a favorite place for student couples since it was lined with big trees and had benches; lovers liked to stroll along the track to enjoy the coolness in the evening.
She touched her face and asked in puzzlement, "Do I look pale?"
"Very!" Autumn nodded.
"It's night. How can you see my complexion? I applied a thick layer of foundation today, which is why my face looks pale." Xu Ai flicked her finger on Autumn's head and teased Wu Xiting, "Very good, Wu Xiting. You take Autumn to this place so soon?"
He smirked. "We are here to take a stroll."
Rolling her eyes at him, Xu Ai pushed Autumn to his side and drew, "Go on with your stroll! Don't stay here all night though!" Then she walked away with her bag in hand.
Autumn yelled, "Hey!" But Xu Ai waved at her without looking back.
Looking after Xu Ai, Autumn was puzzled. "I think something's wrong with Ai."
"What's wrong? She just has a thick foundation," said Wu Xiting.
"Bullshit!" Autumn gave his head a slap. "Ai's make-up skills are very good; how could she apply a thick foundation? That's a lie. Something's bothering her, or she'd not look so lost."
"Maybe she had a fight with Young Master Su?" Wu Xiting guessed.
Autumn scratched her head. "Unlikely."
"Maybe they broke up!" Wu Xiting guessed again.
Autumn kicked him and gave him a dirty look. "What did you say? Do you want to break up?"
Wu Xiting glared at her. "What did you say?"
Autumn snorted. "I must catch up with Ai and ask her what's bothering her. Ai looked like she got some stimulation; I don't want anything to happen to her."
Despite his reluctance to let her go, Wu Xiting was also worried about Xu Ai's safety and said, "Okay. I'll go with you."
"Why do you want to go with me?" Autumn looked at him.
"I'll walk you two back to your dorm room. It's not safe to walk around at night even though we have security guards on campus." Wu Xiting gave her a dirty look.
"Okay. Hurry!" Autumn began to run.
Wu Xiting followed her closely.
Parting with Autumn and Wu Xiting, Xu Ai walked for a while and remembered Autumn could see her pale face even in the darkness; if she returned to the dorm room, Violet would see it, too, and they would demand why. Since she didn't want to tell them about Lin Shen, she didn't want to go back.
Besides, she wouldn't be in the mood to have class tomorrow.
After a moment of consideration, she walked toward the bus stop.
Autumn and Wu Xiting ran all the way to the dorm building for girls but didn't see Xu Ai.
Autumn was puzzled. "She couldn't have walked so fast."
"Go to your dorm room and see if she's back." Wu Xiting was puzzled, too. "Maybe she ran back before us."
"Okay. You can go now." Autumn ran upstairs.
Pushing the door open, she saw Violet in the room by herself.
Autumn panted out the words, "Is Ai back?"
Violet who was playing on the laptop looked back at her. "No. What happened?"
"Where's Ai?" Autumn described how Xu Ai looked when she and Wu Xiting ran into her.
Violet put down the laptop immediately, yelling, "Did you say Ai and Young Master Su broke up?"
Autumn rolled her eyes. "It's only Wu Xiting's guess."
Violet patted her chest in relief. "A guess. You scared me out of my wits."
"What do we do now? We must go and look for her; I can't rest until I'm sure she's safe." Autumn said.
"Call her!" Violet picked up her cellphone and dialed Xu Ai's number.
"I'm sorry, but the number you dialed is powered off."
"Powered off!" Violet put down her cellphone and looked at Autumn. "Why did she turn off her cell phone? I hope nothing happened to her."
"Let's go and look for her," said Autumn.
Nodding, Violet walked out with her.
They went to the track and searched for Xu Ai but had no success. At their wit's end, they asked a couple sitting by the side of the track; they thought for a while and said they saw Xu Ai walk in the direction of the bus stop.
Autumn and Violet exchanged a look, feeling fortunate that Xu Ai was a celebrity now and almost everyone knew her by sight. Since she had gone out of the school, they'd never find her on campus if they hadn't asked.
Drenched in sweat, they returned to their dorm room.
Autumn was still worried. "You didn't see her. She looked so lost and her face was so pale as if she had lost her soul."
"You get me worried. What should we do? She went to the bus stop. Has she gone home?" Violet guessed. "She just came back to school; why did she want to go home?"
"Maybe she's bothered by some family issue!" Autumn speculated.
"Maybe!" Violet nodded.
"How about this? I saved Su Xuan's number that day. Maybe…I can call him and ask him if he knows anything about it?" Autumn asked for Violet's opinion.
"Okay." Violet agreed. "It's late and her cell phone is powered off. We must tell Su Xuan about it immediately."
Autumn picked up her cell phone and dialed Su Xuan's number.
He answered immediately.
Autumn told him her name and asked him tentatively in a small voice, "Young Master Su, did you argue with Ai?"
Su Xuan seemed to be tying a keyboard when he answered the phone. At Autumn's question, the typing stopped immediately. "No. What happened?"
Autumn looked at Violet and the latter nodded at her in encouragement.
Autumn said cautiously, "A while ago, Wu Xiting and I ran into Xu Ai on campus and she didn't look well. She hasn't returned to our dorm room. Someone saw she walk toward the bus stop. We tried to call her but her cell phone is powered off. Afraid for her safety, we called you to ask if you know what happened to her."
Su Xuan pushed away his laptop. "When did you see her? How bad did she look?"
"We saw her about ten minutes ago. She looked pale and lost…" Autumn described to him how Xu Ai looked and behaved.
Su Xuan fell silent for a moment and said, "It means she's never returned to the dorm room after she went back to school, right?"
"No. I'm sure of it. I've been in the room all day long and didn't see Ai," Violet said.
Su Xuan fell silent again. Then he said, "Got it. I'll try to contact her. Good night."
Autumn nodded and hung up.
Turning off the laptop, Su Xuan thought for a moment and dialed a number with his cellphone.
"Young Master Su." A voice came through the phone.
"Find the timetable and stops for buses driving from the bus stop at B University ten minutes ago," Su Xuan instructed.
"Okay. Please wait for a moment." The person on the other side of the line hung up.
Su Xuan stood up and drank a glass of water; grabbing his jacket, he waited for the message.
Soon, his cellphone dinged. Glancing at the message, he grabbed his car key and walked out.