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墨書 Inktalez
The paramedics, who arrived shortly after, confirmed Chen Shanni's death at the scene and took the body away.
Liu Jian, Autumn Wind, and Yu were taken to the police station to give their statements, while Qiu Mowen, who was on stage, was naturally treated as a suspect and also taken back to the police station by the officers.
Autumn Wind was the last to give her statement. When she came out, it was already dark, and Yu had been picked up by Xu Zhongyao.
Liu Jian sat on a bench with his head down. When he saw Autumn Wind come out, he stood up to greet her. His face was pale, and there was no trace of blood on his lips, indicating that he had also been frightened.
Liu Jian and Autumn Wind exchanged a glance; without saying anything, they walked out of the police station together.
As they exited, they saw Qiu Ruolan hurriedly approaching with Liu Jiajia's assistance. A large group of reporters followed behind her. Although the reporters were kept outside, their questions could still be heard through the door.
When Qiu Ruolan reached Autumn Wind and Liu Jian, she paused for a moment. She looked at Autumn Wind with a complex expression, her lips trembling slightly but without saying anything. She then followed the officers toward the work area—she was there to bail out Qiu Mowen.
Autumn Wind's gaze followed Qiu Ruolan as she walked away. She wanted to follow but was held back by Liu Jian. He embraced Autumn Wind from behind and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, with Wu Ge around... nothing will happen..."
Considering that Liu Jian was also a public figure and might be besieged by reporters outside, the officers took him out through a different exit.
For the next few days, Autumn Wind remained in a state of shock. She carefully sought any information related to Qiu Mowen and Chen Shanni. Aside from learning that Chen Shanni's death was ruled a suicide and that her parents had sued Qiu Mowen for emotional distress, Autumn Wind found nothing else.
What happened on stage? Why did Liu Jian and Qiu Mowen appear at the same time? Why was Qiu Ruolan's wedding dress found in Liu Jian's car? Autumn Wind knew nothing; she pleaded with Liu Jian to tell her everything, but he simply replied with two words—coincidence.
Autumn Wind dared not press further. She vaguely felt that something significant had occurred on stage but lacked the courage to seek answers.
Liu Jian's answer wasn't wrong; there are indeed many coincidences in the world.
Just as the public discussion about Chen Shanni's death reached its peak, Li Gu's QQ profile picture suddenly lit up.
As Autumn Wind confirmed that she wasn't seeing things, Li Gu replied to her with a smiley face.
Autumn Wind sat down at her computer and quickly typed: "Is it true that Shaolan is in trouble?"
——Yes, it's true.
Li Gu answered briefly.
Autumn Wind continued typing: Oh, my condolences... Are you okay?
——Mm.
Li Gu replied with just one word again.
Autumn Wind asked: Where are you now? Beijing or Jinan?
Li Gu did not respond immediately; the interface showed he was still typing. The typing status lasted for about a minute, and just as Autumn Wind was losing patience, Li Gu finally sent two words: Taipei.
You’re in Taipei, where in Taipei? I’ll come find you... Autumn Wind typed quickly.
At that moment, Liu Jian came in holding a cup of hot milk. Seeing Autumn Wind anxiously typing at the computer, he asked with concern, “What’s wrong? You seem very anxious…”
“Yeah, look, Li Gu is in Taipei... Shaolan really is in trouble, I’m meeting him…”
Li Gu in Taipei? Liu Jian glanced at the computer and frowned tightly. How could Li Gu be in Taipei? Isn’t he...
At that moment, Autumn Wind received the address from Li Gu on QQ for their meeting. “Ah... why is it still this place...” Looking at the address, Autumn Wind said in confusion.
Liu Jian leaned over to take a look; the address was actually the restaurant where Autumn Wind and Huang Zihe were photographed last time.
“Why did he choose that place again... Didn’t his cousin tell him last time?” Autumn Wind murmured, turning to Liu Jian, pouting and asking, “Should we go…”
“Of course we should go, and we can return the ring to him while we’re at it…” Liu Jian lowered his head and took a sip of the milk he originally brought for Autumn Wind. Realizing he had drunk Autumn Wind's milk, he smiled awkwardly.
After laughing, Liu Jian became more certain of another thing: the person meeting Autumn Wind must not be Li Gu.
The car came to a steady stop in the parking space. Liu Jian helped Autumn Wind unbuckle her seatbelt, signaling her to get out on her own.
Autumn Wind tossed her bag into the back seat and shot a fierce glare at Liu Jian, giving him a provocative look. "Why aren't you coming up with me? Haven't you always wanted to meet Li Gu? Li Gu! Come on!"
Liu Jian tapped his forehead with his finger, as if he had put in a lot of effort to make up his mind. "I have my reservations. It's fine, I'll wait for you here. If anything happens, just rush out."
He patted his chest and emphasized again, "I'll be waiting for you here!"
Behind him was a huge yellow moon, casting flowing light evenly over his face, making it look flawless yet revealing an inexplicable sadness.
"I know you're waiting for me. Don't worry, I'll definitely be down in ten minutes!" Autumn Wind quickly replied, putting on a confident expression. She smiled slightly at Liu Jian, opened the car door, and walked up to the intricately carved entrance of the restaurant.
Thus, Autumn Wind once again passed through that door which was not quite familiar but deeply etched in her memory. The exquisite and massive sculpture at the entrance remained so serene.
Guided by the waiter, she walked along the path beside the fountain and climbed the stairs. Her shoes made a slightly heavy "thud thud" sound as they met the wooden floor.
Reaching the second floor, Autumn Wind took a deep breath and headed towards the reserved private room.
She felt that this place was like a maze under a spell, with an invisible monster lurking in the mist at the end, constantly devouring her life.
She even wildly imagined that when she opened the door, Shaolan and Chen Shanni would appear hand in hand before her.
Thinking of this, Autumn Wind pinched her arm hard. How could she associate Chen Shanni with Shaolan?
At that moment, she had already arrived at the entrance of the private room. She took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
To her surprise, there was not a single person inside the room!
Autumn Wind pressed her hand against her chest and scanned the people in the private room, only to find that Li Gu was not among them.
She focused her gaze and noticed that the man sitting at the outermost edge was Huang Zihe, who had dyed blonde hair. Across from him sat three other handsome young men.
The moonlight streaming in from outside and the dim light from the wall sconces illuminated the entire room with a warm and ambiguous glow. They had all been looking down, fiddling with their phones, but as soon as they heard Autumn Wind's footsteps, they straightened up and turned to look at her.
Autumn Wind quickly regained her composure. She cautiously raised her head to look around; outside the window was an open space, making it nearly impossible for reporters to be lurking outside unless they were flying a helicopter or had Spider-Man-like abilities.
"Hello! Where is Li Gu?" Autumn Wind let out a slight sigh of relief, nodded slightly to greet them.
However, no one responded to Autumn Wind.
Huang Zihe stood up to make room for Autumn Wind. She glanced at the seat and felt that sitting there would put her too close to him.
She nodded gently in thanks, then pulled a chair from the corner and placed it half a meter away from Huang Zihe. "Are you all here together? Afraid of being photographed by reporters?"
"Yes, we’re worried about causing you trouble," Huang Zihe turned his body fully towards Autumn Wind, his bright eyes filled with warmth. His charming eyes, adorned with long eyelashes, were noticeably red and swollen, reflecting a sense of fatigue. "So, I asked them to come along!"
Huang Zihe was wearing an ill-fitting outfit; his shoulders, wrists, cuffs, and collar sparkled with "blingbling" sequins that made it hard for Autumn Wind to keep her eyes open. She focused on the table, trying to avoid making eye contact with him.
Exchanging glances with such a handsome man felt like a sin for Autumn Wind, who was pregnant.
"Did you invite me? Why?" Autumn Wind suddenly realized that it was Huang Zihe who had chatted with her online about meeting up. "How do you have Li Gu's number?"
Huang Zihe glanced at Autumn Wind, not answering directly. He pouted slightly and looked sideways at his teammates. The three handsome young men shifted their positions but showed no intention of engaging with him.
After thinking for a moment, Huang Zihe sighed. The corners of his tired eyes suddenly glistened, like morning dew hanging in early autumn. He pulled out a long red envelope from behind him. "This is your salary for the past two months; he asked me to bring it..."
His tone was filled with sorrow. Autumn Wind's heart skipped a beat. Although she already knew the answer, she still asked hesitantly, "He... is Li Gu, right?"
"Um..." Huang Zihe agreed, taking a long breath after which he seemed to have encountered some trouble, likely unable to contact the outside world for a long time. Huang Zihe was very reserved, even giving the illusion that Li Gu had gone on a global trip or was in seclusion for cultivation.
Autumn Wind pulled the paper bag closer and sighed softly, asking, "What about Shaolan? I saw online that she died. Is it true?"
Huang Zihe's pupils suddenly dilated, trembling violently for a moment. His eyes instantly seemed to be covered by a layer of dust, dimming. Following that, his throat moved as he swallowed but couldn't find the words.
For the next while, Huang Zihe completely oriented himself towards Autumn Wind and remained still.
This state of his lasted for quite some time, with the three teammates accompanying him not saying a word throughout. If music had played at that moment, it would have felt like a scene from a film!
Unable to endure the oppressive silence any longer, Autumn Wind finally erupted. She picked up the paper bag, stood up with a loud scrape of the chair, and said, "I'm sorry. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave!"
Huang Zihe looked up at Autumn Wind with a very mournful gaze. Autumn Wind thought he wanted something from her, but he merely sighed lightly and uttered eight words: "Those who should disappear have all disappeared."
Half a year later, Autumn Wind finally understood the reason behind Huang Zihe's hesitant tone.
Thus, every time she recalled Huang Zihe's mournful eyes, her heart felt as if it had been pricked by needles.
At that time, a voice would emerge in Autumn Wind's mind: Qiu Ruolan was right; I truly am a disaster.
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