Chapter 204: Trouble
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Ruan Yesheng immediately went over and pressed her ear against the door, listening carefully to the person's footsteps, which were indeed gradually fading away.
She returned to the CCTV monitor by the entrance. The screen showed the doorway was empty. Maybe because of the viewing angle of the camera, the area covered by the camera had an inexplicable chill, and even a kind of visual distortion.
Ruan Yesheng took a deep breath, walked to the living room, and sat down on the sofa, but her eyes remained fixed on the door.
She knew she couldn't open that door tonight, much less go outside.
No matter what happened outside, no matter whether the person delivering the New Year's Eve dinner was telling the truth or not, she couldn't verify it. That door and that lock were her last line of defense; she must guard it.
Aside from being displayed on the small screen at the entrance, the CCTV footage was also synced to Ruan Yesheng's phone. She reviewed the playback on her phone, observing the entire process of that person entering the camera view.
Ruan Yesheng watched the footage repeatedly for a long time. The other person acted very naturally and didn't exhibit any suspicious behavior. All signs seemed to indicate that the other person was indeed a food delivery man, and his face wasn’t concealed. Although he had his head down when Ruan Yesheng watched the footage earlier, before she reached the door, there were several shots in the CCTV that recorded the approximate appearance of the person when he raised his face. He was a young man in his twenties.
Ruan Yesheng saved that person’s look.
After finishing all this, she stood up again and looked around at the furnishings in the house.
The TV was playing a skit from the Spring Festival Gala. Other than that, there was no sound. The actors on the TV had happy smiles, and the audience applause came wave after wave. Amidst the cheerful background noise, Ruan Yesheng looked at her home. The more she looked, the colder her body felt.
Was she overthinking it?
Perhaps due to excessive pressure, she developed some unnecessary anxiety.
Perhaps the delivery driver didn't do anything wrong; he simply misread the floor, which isn't unusual in everyday life. She was just being paranoid.
Ruan Yesheng tried to control her wild thoughts, but the doubts in her mind kept swirling around. She couldn't calm her mind for the time being, she could only clean the house again on this cold New Year's Eve. She thought that maybe this would distract her and allow her to get a good night's sleep once she gets tired.
At the Xi manor, Xi Mo finished reading all the materials related to the Xiao Hui Ling Landfill case and remained silent for a long time.
She stayed silent, looking at Xi Ji before her. The names Yan Biechun and Ruan Xijian hit hard in her heart. In front of her eyes, she even seemed to see Ruan Yesheng’s smile, and the words Ruan Yesheng once said.
—My parents are in scientific research. It would be strange if we didn't know people from research institutes.
—But… my mom doesn’t come home anymore, so I don’t want to change the kitchen. Keeping it the same feels better.
—I am indeed looking for my mom; she has been missing for a long time.
—I saw it in the landfill. It’s called Xiao Hui Ling Landfill.
Xi Mo even recalled the first time she took Ruan Yesheng to the Xi manor after they swapped bodies. At that time, they obtained some rare flower seeds through a man named Yu Sheng whom Ruan Yesheng knew. Yu Sheng's father was a botanist and was acquainted with Ruan Yesheng's parents, who were doing scientific research.
When Xi Mo, in the guise of Ruan Yesheng, presented the flower seeds to Xi Ji as a gift, Xi Ji, who was usually very serious and aloof to outsiders, showed a rare display of amiability.
If Xi Ji is investigating the Xiao Hui Ling case, he will inevitably investigate Yan Biechun and Ruan Xijian's children, and the investigation is very likely to yield results. However, there is still no information about their children in the files. This is probably because, in addition to the police protecting their children, Xi Ji is also keeping quiet about it. Even if he found out, he didn’t expose Yan Biechun and Ruan Xijian's children.
Perhaps... Xi Ji was protecting the other party's children.
Even if he saw it in real life, he would pretend not to know anything about it. But because he was too familiar with the tragedy behind the case, Xi Ji would occasionally inadvertently reveal a little pity, even though Xi Ji wouldn’t admit it.
"Does this Yan Biechun still have any family members alive?" Xi Mo looked at Xi Ji, suppressing the trembling in her heart, and asked in a low voice, "For example, does he have... a daughter or something?"
"I don't know." Xi Ji's eyes showed no change.
Xi Mo understood; she wouldn't get the answer she wanted.
Xi Ji put the documents away and said, "Get some rest."
After saying that, he left the study.
Xi Mo remained where she was. After a while, she took out her phone and sent a message to Feng Tangtang: "Happy New Year's Eve, Feng Tangtang. I have a question for you."
Feng Tangtang was watching the Spring Festival Gala. When she got Xi Mo’s message, she jumped in shock, and replied carefully, “Sister Xi, Happy New Year’s Eve. What do you want to ask?”
…
Ruan Yesheng was wiping the windowsill at home. The warm air inside turned into a misty fog on the cold glass. The lights outside were hazy and ethereal, like a dream. She stared at the fog for a while, then stopped. She ran her finger along the glass and drew a simple sketch of a small wooden house in the fog, with a simple roof and four simple straight lines as the pillars of the house.
With a few more strokes of her fingers, she drew a stick figure in the house.
The stick figure stands alone, just like she is right now.
She murmured to herself, "It's New Year's again, and the little stick figure is all alone again. But it's okay, the little stick figure believes her mother will come home. She cooked many New Year's Eve dinners and cleaned the little house very well. When mother comes back, she will praise her. Finally, one day, the door of the stick figure’s house was knocked. She opened it, and mother stood at the door.”
As she spoke, she drew a bigger stick figure at the doorway of the house.
After drawing on the misty windowpane, Ruan Yesheng took a picture of the simple sketch with her phone as a record, then stood there lost in thought for a while. As time passed, the mist covered the glass again, and the simple sketch became blurry. Ruan Yesheng thought for a moment and then drew another stick figure on it.
After a while, she added a simple line drawing of a person next to the stick figure, and drew a zigzag line with an upward angle in the middle of the mouth on the face to indicate that the person was unhappy.
"The stick figure met a wooden figure. The wooden figure was always unhappy, but the stick figure loves the wooden figure."
After drawing, she looked at the two simple little figures with a smile and took another photo.
She stared and stared at it, then suddenly came back to her senses. She slapped her face, and said with regret, “What am I doing, too boring.”
Ruan Yesheng wiped away the drawings on the glass. But as she wiped the wooden figure, her eyes had a smile, and her fingers moved more gently, like caressing. The wooden figure slowly disappeared. After wiping, the glass became clear for a short time. She looked down without thinking, and suddenly froze.
On one of the benches in a secluded spot downstairs, there was a person sitting with an umbrella.
She leaned closer for a better look. It was indeed a person. But the body was covered by the umbrella, so she couldn’t see clearly.
Today is the Lunar New Year's Eve, and there are very few pedestrians outside. Those who want to celebrate the New Year's Eve will not gather in this area, but will choose to go to bustling and lively places.
Ruan Yesheng stared for a long time, but the person remained seated, unchanged. It was so cold outside, sitting in the wind with an umbrella, and not going home, created an indescribable strangeness. Ruan Yesheng wanted to look away, but couldn't help staring.
Then, she saw the umbrella slowly rise.
This action instantly sent chills down her spine. She almost felt that person was looking at her.
She waited anxiously for the umbrella to be fully raised, hoping that she might be able to see the person's face, or at least get a glimpse of some general features.
However, the umbrella stopped halfway.
Ruan Yesheng's heart began to pound inexplicably. She drew the curtains and picked up her phone. A deep-seated tension drove her to seek someone to confide in. She immediately clicked on Xi Mo's profile picture; the last message Xi Mo had sent her was from a few hours ago.
"Xi Mo, are you asleep?" Ruan Yesheng typed, looked at the chat box, and then immediately deleted the message.
The message was never sent.
…No.
Even if she needed Xi Mo now, her reason told her that telling Xi Mo would not solve the problem. It would only make Xi Mo worry. If she really wasn't just being paranoid and the person with the umbrella really was suspicious, and if this New Year's Eve was destined to be turbulent, then telling Xi Mo might make both of them fall into danger.
Just like in TV shows.
One person gets caught, and the partner comes to her rescue.
Then the two of them were caught together.
Although it's a terrible joke, unfortunately, two ordinary people with no fighting skills are almost helpless in the face of danger, and showing off courage won't get them anywhere.
Ruan Yesheng paced anxiously, her mind racing. She needed to tell someone reliable, mentally stable, and absolutely capable of protecting her. This person also had to be smart enough not to tell Xi Mo. Gu Qisong was the first to be ruled out, because if Gu Qisong knew, Xi Mo would inevitably find out too.
If Yan Tinghuan were here, that would be wonderful.
In the years before, she had encountered many problems, but fortunately, Yan Tinghuan always protected her. However, Yan Tinghuan had returned to her hometown, and there was no signal, so she couldn't contact her.
Ruan Yesheng thought of Lin Tingyu.
Without a doubt, Lin Tingyu is the most suitable person at this moment, but there is also Lin Tingshuang in Lin Tingyu's home who is in a wheelchair, and perhaps Lin Tingshuang needs her care.
She could call the police. But if she was wrong, it would bring trouble. But if she told no one, she was alone at home. If something happened, she could not pass any clues.
After considering it several times, Ruan Yesheng sent Cui Jiayu a message: "Jiayu, Happy New Year's Eve. Are you busy right now?"
After a while, Cui Jiayu sent a voice, “Sorry, Ruanruan. I got called for a task. I just saw your message. What is this, even New Year does not let us rest. I thought I could have a break today. By the way, do you need something? Tell me first. I should finish in two or three hours.”
Police officers often need to be on standby at any time, and Ruan Yesheng couldn't bear to delay Cui Jiayu from carrying out her mission, so she changed her words and said, "...It's nothing urgent, I can find you tomorrow.”
“Oh, okay then,” Cui Jiayu said. “Let’s talk again tomorrow.”
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Ruan Yesheng fell into a dilemma. She sat down again, and felt her mind getting messy. Her rationality and her desire not to inconvenience others, constantly pulled against each other.
One voice said: "It's too dangerous. You need to let people know your situation."
Another said: “Don’t overthink. It’s New Year. No one has a duty to leave their family or important work to check dangers that may not exist.
Just as Ruan Yesheng was in a daze, the phone rang. She quickly picked up her phone and saw that it was Lin Tingyu calling.
"Tingyu?" Ruan Yesheng was somewhat surprised.
Lin Tingyu said, “Jiayu told me you looked for her. She felt you had something to say, but she has a task, so she asked me to call you.”
The taut string in Ruan Yesheng’s heart slowly loosened a bit.
This year, she met some very good people.
"Thank you for calling me," Ruan Yesheng said softly.
"Are you in some trouble?" Lin Tingyu was very clever: "A’Shuang is stable tonight, she's asleep, don't worry about her. If you're having any trouble, tell me and I'll take care of it."
Ruan Yesheng hesitated for a moment, then said, "Tingyu, I feel like someone has been watching me all night. I can't tell if I'm just paranoid or if there's something really going on."
Author's Note:
Ruanruan, today is your birthday! Happy birthday!
Even the little wooden figure loves you, as does the little stick figure.
