Ning Manwan glanced at the jade pendant that had fallen to the ground, her brows slightly furrowing.
I was so focused on the oddity of the jade pendant not breaking even when it hit the ground that I didn't notice Ning Manwan's expression.
Bending down, I picked up the jade pendant and examined it carefully. Not only was it undamaged, but it didn't even have a single crack. "What kind of jade pendant is this?"
After a long while, I still hadn't received an answer from Ning Manwan. When I turned around, I saw that she was still holding the same position, without any change. Even her gaze remained the same.
Don't ask me why I was paying such close attention to her; after all, she was the goddess of my heart. I had already developed the habit of observing her every move back in university.
Noticing this, I thought it was strange. Why wasn't she reacting at all? She saw me drop such a valuable jade pendant, but shouldn't she have said something? Why was Ning Manwan not responding at all? She didn't even spare me a glance.
I put the jade pendant away, stood up, and walked over to Ning Manwan. "You said earlier that it was normal for me to see these things. Does that mean I'll keep seeing these things from now on?"
Compared to the temptation of beauty, I valued my life much more. My grandfather was still in the hospital. Though the medical fees weren't urgent anymore, I still had to pay for his ongoing care. So, right now, I was carrying the weight of two lives on my shoulders. I couldn't afford to take my life lightly.
Ning Manwan looked around. Passersby occasionally glanced our way. That's when I realized, standing on the street with such a beautiful woman, we were drawing a lot of attention. I quickly grabbed her hand. "Let's go. This isn't a place to talk!"
After walking around for quite a while, I finally found a somewhat decent restaurant. Learning from my previous mistake, I decided that no matter how badly I needed to go, I would rather endure the discomfort than use the restroom.
After finishing our meal, I was about to ask Ning Manwan if she could tell me how to resolve this issue. But before I could say anything, my phone rang. I quickly apologized to her and turned to answer the call.
"Hello, Uncle Sun, is something wrong?"
The voice on the other end was still old and frail. "Hurry back. There's been an accident on the west side of the city. We need help with the bodies."
The word "bodies" sent a chill from my feet to the top of my head. I instinctively wanted to avoid it. Turning back to glance at Ning Manwan, who was still sitting inside, I had a rather inappropriate thought.
"Uncle Sun, could you help me out? I'm with my girlfriend right now. If I leave, won't that be disastrous?"
I thought this was a great excuse. After all, how many couples break up because of such reasons?
However, to my surprise, the response wasn't understanding. Instead, he said, "Stop making excuses. How could you possibly have a girlfriend? Even if you did, it wouldn't last. If you break up now, it's for the best. At least you won't ruin that girl's life. Hurry back, we need more hands here. Don't you want to keep your job?"
The words were said plainly.
I hung up the phone, feeling a bit annoyed by Uncle Sun's words. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. He had no idea how hard it was to balance work and personal life.
With a sigh, I returned to the table, where Ning Manwan was still sitting. She didn't seem to be bothered by the interruption, and simply looked at me with a smile.
"You're leaving now?" she asked, her voice calm.
I hesitated. I really didn't want to go, especially when I was in the middle of such a strange situation, but duty called.
"Yeah, something urgent came up," I replied reluctantly. "I'll make it up to you next time, okay?"
Ning Manwan nodded, but her expression remained unreadable. "Of course. Take care of yourself."
I stood up and walked out of the restaurant, feeling a mix of frustration and unease. I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to all this than I understood.
Arriving at the scene of the accident, the chaos was more than I had expected. People were gathered around, and the smell of blood hung thick in the air. I immediately joined the others, trying to push my unease aside and focus on the task at hand.
As we worked, I couldn't help but feel a strange sense of deja vu. It was as though I had been here before, in this very place, dealing with the same kinds of situations.
But then I saw something that made my heart stop—just for a second. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow move quickly across the street. It was just a flash, but it was enough to make my skin crawl.
I shook it off, telling myself it was nothing. But the uneasy feeling remained, gnawing at the back of my mind.
After a few hours, the task was finished, and we all began to head back. My mind was still racing, thinking about the strange things that had been happening. I couldn't help but wonder if they were somehow connected.
When I got back to the office, I tried to push it all out of my head. But it wasn't easy. The feeling of being watched, the strange encounters, and the dreams—everything seemed to be building up.
And then, just as I was about to call it a day, my phone rang again.
It was a number I didn't recognize.
"Hello?" I answered.
The voice on the other end was unfamiliar, cold, and distant. "You shouldn't have gone back to the scene. You're not supposed to be involved in this."
I froze, my heart pounding in my chest. "Who is this?"
There was a pause before the voice responded. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you've already crossed the line."
I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
"Who are you? What do you want from me?"
The voice didn't answer. Instead, I heard the line go dead.
I stared at the phone for a moment, my mind racing. What was going on? Who had just called me? And why did it feel like I was caught in the middle of something bigger than I could understand?
It was then that I realized—nothing would ever be the same again.