Honestly, I nearly jumped up. At that moment, I heard someone call my name, and it felt as if I was being summoned like a spirit.
I turned around and saw a very familiar guy, my boss.The boss is walking up quickly, smiling and calling out, "Li Shengli, what are you doing here? I didn't see you at the company today.""Excuse me, boss, what are you doing here?""I was just about to ask you how you ended up here. What's going on today? Is your phone turned off?"Seeing my boss, I didn't know what was going on, but I actually felt a wave of relief wash over me.
"I'm not feeling well today, and something occurred at home as well."
"Oh! Is something bothering you? Are you not feeling well? You appeared to be okay yesterday."
"It's nothing... I..." Just then, I caught a glimpse of a light shining from my boss's right ear. I was sure it wasn't a Bluetooth earpiece since it was completely invisible from the outside. Maybe it was the result of a car driving by and flashing its headlights, making the reflection particularly noticeable.
"Are you able to come to the office tomorrow? It's quite late, and you're still wandering on the street. Looking for something special, huh?"
The boss appeared to detect something odd in my eyes; he abruptly touched his own face and then quickly lowered his hand.
"Tomorrow I can go." I said, however, my attention was fixed on his face.
"That's great. I'm leaving now. Would you like a ride?" The boss seemed a bit distracted while speaking. As soon as he finished, he touched his face again.
The boss certainly doesn't often touch his face!
"No need, I'll take a cab.""Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then. Take care." The boss said as he turned and walked away.
I need to find something to occupy myself, or I'm really going to lose my mind. So I switched on my phone.
Five short messages. Two were annoying ads, one was from my colleague urging me to call back quickly because the military from the project was trying to reach me. Another was from Xiaoyun, asking what was happening, why my phone was off, and what was going on with Chen Kai death. She seemed confused and wanted me to return her call promptly. The last message was from Chen Ying, who mentioned she tried to call but my phone was off. She was feeling particularly down and had visited Chen Kai's grave. She hopes I can come by when I have a chance and give her a call.
I had just finished reading the text messages when my phone rang; it was Xiaoyun.I picked up the phone without thinking. Xiaoyun said urgently, "What's wrong with you? Do you know how many times I tried to reach you today?" It sounded like she was about to cry.
I have a deep fear of women crying; it sends me into a state of panic. While holding the phone, I gently reassured her, "Please don't cry, sweetheart. It's my fault."
"What exactly did you want to say last night? It's so confusing.""Because..." I really wanted to tell her what Chen Kai said about seeing Xiaoyun, but I didn't. "Well... how can I explain this to you? I was just talking nonsense.""I'm really scared and couldn't sleep at all last night because of what you said. And turning off the phone?" Xiaoyun said while crying hard.
"Please don't cry, I'm sorry. I met Chen Ying yesterday... I..." Suddenly I stopped and sensed that I've messed up my words again.
"Chen Ying?"
"No, I didn't meet her..."
"What did she say?"
"Nothing, I..."
"Nothing? You said you didn't see her, right?" Xiaoyun interrupted me."I...""I know Chen Ying doesn't like me; she must have said something. Otherwise, you wouldn't be like this!""Xiaoyun, she really said nothing at all!""Li Shengli, you bastard!"Xiaoyun hung up the phone. When I called back, her phone was turned off.
I feel like a terrible person, and I truly seem to be one. But Chen Kai's recording... he couldn't have seen it wrong, right? There are many people who look alike in this world, so it's possible that Chen Kai misidentified someone as Xiaoyun in that situation. Why did I jump to the conclusion that Xiaoyun was involved in Chen Kai's death without considering these other possibilities first?
I'm just an ordinary person, so why would I think I'm experiencing something like a movie plot?
Filled with conflicting feelings and self-blame, I returned home.
The room remains unchanged; it looks exactly as it did before. I began to wonder if this was all just a dream. So I immediately went to take a shower. Once I had calmed down, I started to think about what was really going on.
Chen Kai's recording really affected me, but his mental condition at that moment may have been an issue as well. He tends to have a vivid imagination, and in that situation, he could have been lost in thought, similar to how I am right now.
Moreover, is Chen Kai's death really related to me? The only thing that should be related to me about his death is that mole.The mole? I suddenly jumped up, rushed to the bathroom, grabbed the mirror, and started looking for my mole. Indeed, it had disappeared.I pressed hard on my back with my fingers and didn't find any of the hard lumps from before, but after pressing carefully again, I finally felt something next to my spine.It is a symmetrical object, relatively small and elongated, extending on either side of the spine. It has a thickness similar to that of a cigarette, is highly flexible.I attempted to squeeze this object with my fingers and eventually managed to do so. It was about the thickness and length of a cigarette, seemingly attached to my spine in the center. When I applied more pressure, a sudden sharp pain coursed through me!I wondered if it could really be growing in my spine; that would be quite awful. What could this possibly be? Muscle fibers? Why does it hurt so much?I cursed, how did I end up with this thing?Suddenly, the phone rang; it was Chen Ying.Chen Ying mentioned that she was downstairs at my apartment and didn't want to go home. She inquired if she could come up to visit me. I checked the time; it was nearly three o'clock, and I was curious about why she was out so late. I agreed and told her that she could come up.
Chen Ying walked in. She smelled strongly of alcohol; she must have drunk quite a bit.
I helped her lie down on the sofa and poured her some juice.Chen Ying was mumbling, as if she wanted to say something.
I said, "It's really late; if you don't head home, your family will be concerned about you."
Chen Ying began to weep. Out of nowhere, she wrapped her arms around me tightly, pushing me hard against the back of the sofa. In a fit of tears, she exclaimed, "Shengli, my brother is dead!"
"Yes, I know."
"My brother is dead, and you are all I have now!"
"Let go of me, please, Chen Ying.""I just want to be close to you. Shengli, you may see me as a young sister, but I have strong feelings for you. My brother is no longer here, and not being able to hear about you makes me really sad. Please hold me tight."
"Chen Ying, let me go."
"No! Hold me! Shengli, hold me!"
"You are drunk!" I struggled and sat up.
"Shengli!" Chen Ying was about to hug me again.I immediately avoided her hug and said, "Chen Ying, you are drunk. Really.'""I am not drunk, I am 25 and not a kid, I understand everything!!"
"But... I have Xiaoyun."
"Xiaoyun is a bad woman! Didn't you listen to my brother's recording? He was killed because of her. She could get you killed too!!"
"Stop!!"
"No! From the moment I met Xiaoyun, I felt she was strange; it's a woman's intuition, she doesn't like you at all!"
"Stop right now or I'm getting angry."
""Bite me!" Chen Ying stood up and stormed out.
I leaned against the wall, not knowing why I didn't go after her.The following day, I went to the office, and everything appeared to be normal. A coworker informed me that some military members came, sat for a while, realized I wasn't there, and then left without leaving any message..At noon, my boss came over, smiled at me, but say nothing.
n the afternoon, I got a call from Chen Ying's parents inquiring about her whereabouts. I hesitated to bring up what happened last night, so I simply mentioned that it seamed like she had gone out to have fun with friends. Chen Ying's parents informed me that they hadn't heard anything from her for quite a while, and that her phone appears to be off today.
I told them it should be fine.
While I was heading home from work, I noticed fire trucks speeding towards the direction of Chen Ying's home. An unexpected wave of panic washed over me. Since Chen Ying's home is very close to the place I rent, so I decided to head over there, thinking it had been a while since I last visited them and I might go say hello.
I noticed heavy smoke before I arrived at the community. I hurried over, and the community was already in chaos. As expected, someone's house was on fire. Upon closer inspection, I recognized the building, the hallway, and the floor - it was Chen Ying's home!
Dense smoke poured from the house as numerous firefighters urgently doused the structure with water.
I lost my mind completely, and just sat there stared blankly, as if I were watching a movie. I remained in that state for what felt like an eternity, until the fire was put out and I finally came to my senses. I wanted to rush upstairs, but I was stopped. I asked around and found out that it seemed to be a gas explosion at Chen Ying's home, and it was already impossible for anyone to survive.
The people in the house are all dead, and Chen Ying is dead too? When I tried to call Chen Ying, her phone was still off.I returned home as if I were sleepwalking and unexpectedly got a call from the police. The officer inquired if I was familiar with Chen Ying, to which I replied that I was. He then asked if she had contacted me the previous night, and I confirmed that she had. When he asked about our relationship, I mentioned that I was a friend of her brother. The officer then wanted to know her home phone number, and I suddenly burst out laughing, "Her house blew up. Haha, hahaha!"I had no idea how I ended up at the police station that night. Once I arrived, I learned that Chen Ying had died after jumping off the overpass and being struck by a car. The body was in pieces. Seeing the photos made me throw up directly.Just right at the moment I walked out of the police station, my phone rang again. This time it was police from another city. They asked if I knew Xiaoyun, and I said I did. They told me she was missing; her company had reported her absence to the police, stating they couldn't locate her in Guangzhou. All her luggage was in the hotel, but she was nowhere to be found. Since she had crucial business information with her, they wanted to know if I had any idea of her whereabouts.I said, "Is she dead too?"The police shouted angrily, "Say that again!!""Is she dead too!" I hung up the phone directly.The police called again, I rejected the call, they called again, and I rejected it again. Until they finally stopped calling.
"Xiaoyun!!" I yelled in a sudden.
What a dark night...