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墨書 Inktalez
As night fell, Ye Chenfeng leaned wearily against the wall.
Li Xin looked at him with concern and handed him a bottle of water, saying, "Have a drink."
Ye Chenfeng was lost in thought. He hadn't heard from Qin Keqing and the others; they must have gone back.
Where on earth had Xiang'er run off to?
He still remembered the voice from the phone, that chilling voice that said it wanted to play a game with him. If he lost, their souls would belong to that voice; if he won, the owner of that voice would leave voluntarily.
Could it be that the game had already begun?
What was the definition of this game? Competition! He, Ye Chenfeng, had to reach the next victim before anyone else. As long as he could protect the victim from harm, wouldn't that disrupt the voice's plan?
If that were the case, no matter how the game was played, he would undoubtedly lose.
Because he had no idea who the next target would be. For instance, right in front of him stood a Drunk Man.
Ye Chenfeng didn't know this Drunk Man; he didn't even know his name or where he came from. How could he possibly protect him?
Li Xin was meeting Ye Chenfeng for the first time, but when she heard him say his name, she was taken aback.
There were rumors in the academy about a student skilled in Taoist arts; it turned out to be him—Ye Chenfeng!
"What are you laughing at?"
Li Xin chuckled softly. Ye Chenfeng found it strange; after everything that had happened, this woman could still laugh. Moreover, despite his refusal to let her follow him, she clung to him like gum stuck to a shoe.
"What? Just because you're not laughing doesn't mean I can't!" Li Xin shot him a glare and replied irritably.
Ye Chenfeng frowned, his fingers squeezing the deformed bottle of water until it crunched loudly. He stood up and tossed the bottle into the trash can, exhaling heavily as he said, "You should go back. I'm heading home too."
"Where do you live?" Li Xin seemed suddenly interested in him and pressed for his address.
"Logically, I should call you Senior Sister. It's the middle of the night; do you need me to take you home?"
Li Xin smiled faintly and said, "My home is quite far. How about I go to your place instead?"
"Is there really such a bold woman in this world?" Ye Chenfeng smirked. He had to admit that his bad mood lightened a bit because of Li Xin. "Aren't you afraid that I..." He tried to put on a villainous facade, grinning as he suddenly wrapped his arms around Li Xin, trapping her within his embrace. If he took another step, she would have no way to escape his control.
Seeing Ye Chenfeng's actions, Li Xin felt a rush of panic. She weakly flailed her arms and said, "What are you trying to do? Shouldn't you be looking for Xiang'er instead of playing around?"
Ye Chenfeng released Li Xin, feeling frustrated. "Didn't you say you wanted to come to my house? What's wrong? Are you scared?"
"Scared of what? I have a boyfriend! Besides, I'm your Senior Sister; you should at least show some respect. So right now, we need to keep our heads clear and continue searching for Xiang'er. That's the priority."
"You said she has no home and no relatives to turn to. Where could a little girl possibly go?" Ye Chenfeng genuinely couldn't understand Xiang'er's thoughts or where she needed to go.
"Let me think..." Li Xin's contemplative expression caught Ye Chenfeng's attention. She was serene and graceful, her heart calm like still water, as if she could maintain her composure in the face of any temptation.
She had surpassed the image of Ding Li in his mind.
After admiring her for a moment, Ye Chenfeng felt a stir in his heart but quickly pulled back, hastily pulling out a cigarette to mask his earlier thoughts.
"The orphanage is her only option. I think she might have gone there," Li Xin confidently told Ye Chenfeng.
With the cigarette hanging from his lips, Ye Chenfeng gazed at the dark night sky, his thoughts drifting elsewhere. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and decisively said to Li Xin, "I know where she went."
Ye Chenfeng hailed a taxi with Li Xin and hurried back home.
The door was tightly shut, and curled up at the entrance was a small figure trembling in the cold. It was Sun Xiang'er.
Li Xin was stunned.
Ye Chenfeng slowly approached and unexpectedly scooped up the sleeping Xiang'er in his arms.
Even in sleep, Xiang'er remained on high alert. As Ye Chenfeng embraced her, she suddenly woke up with a scream, "Let go of me! Let go!"
“Shh… don’t make a fuss, it’s me… Be good, let’s go inside and not wake the neighbors,” Ye Chenfeng coaxed Xiang'er, holding her as they entered the house.
Curled up in Ye Chenfeng's embrace, Xiang'er felt safe and stopped resisting.
Li Xin wanted to follow Ye Chenfeng inside, but he refused. “You should go back!”
“What? You want me to go back at a time like this? How can you be so heartless, so sure of leaving me alone…” Li Xin was adamant about entering the house.
Ye Chenfeng was worried that Li Xin might encounter some danger; he truly didn’t understand what kind of situation Xiang'er was in.
However, Li Xin was relentless and insisted on going inside.
Xiang'er, held by Ye Chenfeng, felt his warmth and began to question the young and beautiful Li Xin before her. She struggled slightly and suddenly asked, “Who is she?”
“She is your teacher, Li Xin, the one who teaches you to read and write.”
Xiang'er remembered seeing Li Xin at the orphanage.
She recalled watching Li Xin teaching classes and playing games with the children, a game called "Owl Catching Chicks."
Xiang'er remained silent.
Ye Chenfeng had no choice but to let Li Xin enter the house.
Inside, it was cold and desolate; as Li Xin stepped in, she shivered slightly.
She never expected Ye Chenfeng's home would look like this. There was no one around, the place was messy, and the cold stove spoke for itself.
After entering, Ye Chenfeng still did not release Xiang'er.
Li Xin felt bored and looked around until she spotted the kitchen. Suddenly, she said with enthusiasm, “I’m so hungry. Are you hungry?”
“If you want to cook something, go ahead. The dishes are there; the noodles are in the cupboard along with eggs and tomatoes. Just see what you like and cook it,” Ye Chenfeng encouraged her to head to the kitchen.
Li Xin glanced at Xiang'er and playfully winked, asking, "What do you like to eat? I'll make it for you."
Xiang'er was already so hungry that her stomach felt like it was touching her back. She weakly poked her head out, struggling to sit up from Ye Chenfeng's embrace and onto the sofa. "I want boiled eggs and noodles."
Xiang'er was just a normal person, with needs that were entirely human.
It wasn't as terrifying as he had imagined; she wasn't some otherworldly creature devoid of earthly desires. Ye Chenfeng let out a small sigh of relief and nodded at Li Xin, saying, "Make an extra bowl."
Li Xin went off to the kitchen to get busy.
Ye Chenfeng poured a glass of yogurt for Xiang'er and then called Qin Keqing and the others to inform them that Xiang'er had been found, urging them not to worry.
Upon hearing that Xiang'er was safe, Qin Keqing immediately wanted to come see her.
"She's doing well now, but if you want to see her, it will have to be tomorrow." Ye Chenfeng firmly refused Qin Keqing's request, not wanting any more unexpected incidents. The fewer people around, the better.
Xiang'er gulped down the yogurt, blinking her eyes innocently at Ye Chenfeng. With a sweet, clear voice, she asked, "Chenfeng Brother, am I a disaster star?"
Ye Chenfeng was pondering how to communicate with Xiang'er calmly and how to coax her secrets out into the open when he was taken aback by her question. "Who said you're a disaster star?"
"I don't know," Xiang'er replied, lowering her head with a dejected expression. Compared to just two seconds ago, she seemed like a different person.
This was a sign that her mood was deteriorating.
Ye Chenfeng cautiously asked, "Are you tired?"
"No..." Xiang'er truly felt tired. With Chenfeng Brother right in front of her, she didn't want to sleep; she feared that if she fell asleep, she'd wake up to find him gone again and still be in the orphanage.
Xiang'er didn't like the orphanage.
Her surroundings and the other children—both big and small—were all strangers to her.
She felt very lonely in the orphanage.
"Look at you, you're just wanting to sleep. If you want to sleep, go ahead and take a nap. I'll call you when the noodles are ready," Ye Chenfeng thought, hesitant to share his inner secrets with her, fearing she might run away again without a second thought.
In truth, Ye Chenfeng wanted Xiang'er to sleep for another reason: he wished to invade her dreams and uncover that secret.
"I don't want to sleep," Xiang'er said, blinking her eyes and gazing at Ye Chenfeng with a pitiful look, afraid he might disappear at any moment.
Ye Chenfeng smiled wryly. This was akin to the feelings of a young girl! He didn't quite understand her thoughts, but seeing her focus on him felt like being the object of a tragic romance; it was a bit overwhelming.
The kitchen door swung open, releasing a fragrant aroma, followed by Li Xin's cheerful voice: "The noodles are ready!"
Li Xin came to Ye Chenfeng's rescue.
As they ate the noodles, the sound of slurping filled the air; it was clear they were delicious.
Li Xin certainly had a knack for cooking.
These noodles carried the taste of home. Ye Mom always knew her son loved egg noodles, so there were always eggs and a handful of fine noodles in the cupboard.
A handful of fine noodles, half a bowl of broth, one egg, and a sprinkle of green onions—what more could one ask for?
Xiang'er also enjoyed a bowl of noodles with delight.
With her stomach full of noodles, the emptiness and fatigue began to fade away. Xiang'er's tense nerves started to relax, and she began to see Li Xin in a new light; she felt fondness for her.
"Did you enjoy it, Xiang'er?"
"It was delicious." Xiang'er gulped down the broth from her bowl and stood up to wash the dishes herself.
Seeing Xiang'er like this made Ye Chenfeng genuinely feel relieved.
"I'll do it; you're the young master now. Go wash the dishes," Li Xin ordered as she lazily lounged on the sofa after finishing her meal.
"What will you do while I wash?" Ye Chenfeng joked.
"I'll teach Xiang'er how to write," Li Xin said defiantly, using Xiang'er as a shield.
"Alright! I'll go wash the dishes."
Ye Chenfeng picked up the bowls and chopsticks, but was suddenly interrupted as Xiang'er snatched them away. "I'll wash the dishes; you two can watch TV."
Xiang'er insisted on washing the dishes and arranged for Ye Chenfeng and Li Xin to watch television instead.
This was the most adorable aspect of a little girl; Ye Chenfeng truly didn't want to associate the bizarre death cases with the current Xiang'er.
In the end, it was still Ye Chenfeng who went to wash the dishes.
Xiang'er learned to write her name from Li Xin.
"This is your name, Sun Xianger."
"Sun Xianger." Xiang'er repeated, sounding it out.
Li Xin nodded and demonstrated each stroke for her.
Sun Xianger picked up the pen and wrote carefully. Though her writing wasn't perfect, it still resembled something recognizable. She smiled brightly, embodying the innocent joy of a young girl.
It was the happiness that someone her age should possess.
Ye Chenfeng finished washing the dishes quickly, rinsing them under the faucet before placing them in the cupboard, wiping his hands off when he was done.
"Is that all you did?" Li Xin clearly didn't believe that Ye Chenfeng could wash the dishes thoroughly.
"I washed them," Ye Chenfeng replied, thinking that Li Xin was quite similar to a nagging woman, always nitpicking what men did. He remembered how his parents would argue in the kitchen over whether the dishes were clean enough.
"I'm going to check. If I find they aren't clean, just wait and see!" Li Xin said as she headed straight for the kitchen.
Ye Chenfeng was puzzled by her behavior. This girl was acting strange! This was his home, yet she treated herself like the mistress checking if the dishes were clean! Unbelievable!
Li Xin went into the kitchen to inspect how well the dishes had been washed.
Xiang'er was continuously writing her name.
"Sun Xianger, it's great that you can write your own name," Ye Chenfeng praised her.
Xiang'er paused her actions and looked at him seriously. "Chenfeng Brother, I want to write your name."
"No need for that. Shouldn't you go take a bath and then have a nice sleep?"
When he had just entered the room, Ye Chenfeng had only given a quick wash to the dirt on Xiang'er's face. However, the strong odor emanating from her still lingered, indicating that she must have been near the garbage bin earlier.
"I don't want to take a bath, and I don't want to sleep," Xiang'er refused.
Ye Chenfeng was at a loss for words.
Li Xin grinned mischievously and insisted on punishing Ye Chenfeng, claiming that there were still noodles stuck to the dishes he had washed.
Xiang'er stared blankly at Li Xin, her expression completely transformed. It no longer resembled that of a little girl; instead, it bore the look of someone who was indulging in idle amusement.
Seeing Xiang'er like this, Ye Chenfeng was taken aback, his heart inexplicably racing as a sense of unease washed over him.
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