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墨書 Inktalez
Zhou Yao woke up at nine-thirty. As she stretched and yawned while going down the stairs, she caught a glimpse of Mr. Xia sitting at the dining table reading the newspaper. She was momentarily taken aback; she didn't expect Mr. Xia to still be home. She quickly withdrew her hand and walked over properly.
"Mom~~" Zhou Yao called out sweetly as she sat down for breakfast.
"What time is it?" Mr. Xia's gaze shifted from the edge of the newspaper.
"I was exhausted yesterday," Zhou Yao replied softly, rubbing her sore neck and resting her hand on the edge of the table. "Why didn't you go to the office?"
"It's Saturday." Mr. Xia frowned slightly. "Where's your hand?"
Zhou Yao pressed her lips together, slowly cradling her bowl with her left hand and sitting up straight.
"After being away for a few days, you've forgotten all your manners."
Zhou Yao lowered her head to drink her porridge.
After a moment, Mr. Xia's expression softened again. "We're going out for lunch this afternoon."
Zhou Yao remembered Lu Xu. "I have plans with a friend today."
"Cancel it," Mr. Xia said without looking up.
Zhou Yao bit into her egg, remaining silent.
"An elder is speaking to you; did you hear that?"
"I heard," Zhou Yao replied quietly, "but I’m not familiar with your friend. Why should I go?"
"It's Uncle Jiang's family; your dad will be there too."
Zhou Yao and Jiang Han, who grew up as childhood friends, lived in the same courtyard with their families. Although they later moved to separate large villas, their relationship remained strong, and they often visited each other. Especially this year, they gathered frequently, making it hard to decline invitations.
Zhou Yao immediately stated her condition: "Then I want to go back to school with Dad today. I have a lot to do and I'm busy."
"That's fine."
After finishing her meal, Zhou Yao neatly arranged her chopsticks and spoon. "Mom, I'm done."
Mr. Xia nodded slightly.
Zhou Yao stood up without making a sound from her chair and walked upstairs, her footsteps silent.
Mr. Xia sighed as he watched her retreating figure.
Ruan Secretary approached quietly and said, "Mr. Xia, you've spent quite a bit of time with the Jiang family this year."
Mr. Xia replied, "You know what I'm thinking?"
"I just feel that Yao Yao is still young; are you being a bit too anxious?"
"While she's still young, in two years it will be harder to manage." Mr. Xia put down the newspaper, his brow furrowed. "Oya will eventually be hers, but look at her now—she has no scheming nature, is playful, and doesn't plan for the future."
Ruan Secretary smiled. "Yao Yao started elementary school at five and kept skipping grades; she hasn't had any peers around her, so she still acts like a child. Besides, she's at an age where she loves to play."
"I'm worried she'll be deceived, especially by those scoundrels who target young girls; I'm also concerned about her future marriage partner. Yao Yao is too innocent; her husband must not be too shrewd or have heavy thoughts. Otherwise, he might take Oya away and marry someone else—aren't there plenty of similar examples?"
"Are you considering Jiang Han?"
"Yes. I've watched him grow up; he's honest and straightforward. His parents are good people with a strong marriage. A child from such a family is worth entrusting. Plus, he is familiar with Yao Yao."
"But we don't know if Yao Yao has feelings for him in that way."
"Don't forget that Yao Yao used to like Jiang Han; she likes good-looking boys." Mr. Xia smiled lightly before becoming serious again. "So she can be easily deceived."
"I think you are just too worried. Yao Yao's living and learning environment is quite simple, and she doesn't encounter many complicated people."
"I hope so... By the way, the Procurement Department is hiring a new supervisor, keep an eye on it. This position is very important, we must choose the right person."
"Don't worry."
The Jiang Family is not far from the Zhou Family, about half an hour by car. Jiang Father runs an auction house, and Jiang Mother is a painter. Jiang Han is the same age as Zhou Yao, just one month older, and he is still in his junior year.
As soon as Jiang Han saw that Zhou Yao had tanned, he raised an eyebrow and said, "It's been two months since we last met; did you go coal mining?"
Zhou Yao shot him a sideways glance and immediately retorted, "Call me senior!"
Jiang Han's face fell, and he turned away to ignore her.
Mr. Xia gave Zhou Yao a look, and she pouted.
Jiang Mother laughed, "These two kids start bickering as soon as they see each other."
Professor Zhou smiled warmly and said, "Jiang Han has become more sensible; it's just our Yao Yao who has grown up in vain."
Mr. Xia lightly glared at him, "Isn't it because you spoiled her?"
Mr. Xia and Jiang Mother exchanged knowing glances and nudged their husbands to go to the tea room to play chess, leaving Zhou Yao and Jiang Han alone in the living room.
Before long, the two began to argue in the living room.
Zhou Yao impatiently said, "I was watching it just fine; why did you change the channel?"
Jiang Han provocatively replied, "Are you childish? What's so good about cartoons?"
Zhou Yao scoffed, "I've seen that movie hundreds of times; I don't want to watch it." She snatched the remote control from him.
Jiang Han threatened, "—Give me the remote!"
"I won't give it to you." Zhou Yao stuffed the remote control between her lower back and the sofa, leaned back against the couch, lifted her chin, and glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
Zhou Yao had been good at this trick since she was little. Every time she snatched something, she either hid it in her belly or tucked it into her skirt. Back in elementary school, Jiang Han was bold enough to steal from her, even lifting her shirt to expose her belly, which got him scolded by her mother a few times. Yet, he still tried to take things from her. But for some reason, after a certain day, when Zhou Yao hid things away, he stopped stealing. Now, even when she just pressed it behind her, he didn’t try to take it.
Jiang Han caught his breath and looked at Zhou Yao, mocking, "How old are you to still play like this?"
Zhou Yao ignored his provocation, rolled her eyes at him, and continued watching TV.
Jiang Han leaned back on the sofa. After a while of boredom, he turned to look at Zhou Yao and was surprised to see her playing on her phone.
Jiang Han was speechless: "Are you even watching? You just want to steal from me for fun, right?"
"Tsk, here you go." Zhou Yao pulled the remote control from behind her and tossed it to him. As soon as she said that, she suddenly thought of Luo Yi and frowned.
Jiang Han caught it and weighed it in his hand but showed no interest. He stood up from the sofa and glanced at her: "The TV is boring. Want to go play some games?"
"Sure." Zhou Yao was eager for a change of pace and immediately put away her phone. "I haven't played in a long time."
The living room fell silent.
Jiang Mother said to Mr. Xia: "Jiang Han is usually very composed; he's the student council president at their school. I don't know why he has no tolerance in front of Yao Yao and always teases her."
Mr. Xia smiled slightly but said nothing.
Zhou Yao and Jiang Han battled upstairs for several hours, with sounds of shouting and fighting filling the room. Even mealtime felt rushed as they quickly ate a few bites before heading back upstairs.
Mr. Xia rarely scolded Zhou Yao for not having table manners. It wasn't until late that he went upstairs to knock on the door, reminding Zhou Yao that it was time to leave.
As they descended the stairs, the two continued to tease each other:
Zhou Yao: "Your skills are too poor; you got me killed."
Jiang Han: "You're just clumsy. I gave you so much equipment and you still got chopped."
Zhou Yao: "You have no sense of teamwork. Didn't you think about covering for me?"
Jiang Han: "Can I protect you from all sides? Do you think I'm a barrel?"
"Ha!"
"Tch!"
The two parted ways in displeasure.
Manager Xia and Jiang Mother were in good spirits, chatting for quite a while in the yard. Zhou Yao leaned against the car window, growing impatient as she still needed to return to school.
Sure enough, by the time she arrived at school, it was almost ten-thirty, with only half an hour left before lights out.
Zhou Yao pushed open the dormitory door. Summer Melody was applying a facial mask, Tang Shangri-La Duo had just finished showering and was putting on lotion, while Sulianlin was squatting in front of the desk, eating an orange while binge-watching a show.
It was only at this moment that Zhou Yao truly felt she had returned from Yading.
"I thought you were coming back tomorrow," Summer Melody mumbled under her mask. "If I were you, I'd just stay home all the time."
"School is more convenient," Zhou Yao said as she dragged her suitcase inside.
Sulianlin turned around and handed her an orange. Zhou Yao placed it on her desk and said, "Ah, I need to use the restroom first."
Zhou Yao ran to the bathroom and took out the contraceptive pills she had secretly bought on the way. Just as she was about to take one, she noticed several side effects listed in the instructions. Zhou Yao looked at it suspiciously for a moment, feeling a bit anxious. She then took out her phone to search online, only to find someone claiming that taking the pills without success could lead to having a malformed fetus.
Her heart raced as she browsed through several webpages; opinions were mixed. Some said it was just rumors and that contraceptive pills wouldn't harm a fetus, while others passionately recounted their own tragic experiences.
Unsure of who to believe, Zhou Yao considered calling a doctor she knew, but they all knew Manager Xia. Leaning against the stall and thinking for a long time, she ultimately threw the pills into the trash can.
Later that night, after turning off the lights and going to bed, Zhou Yao heard the even breathing of the three others around her. She hazily found herself back in the inn's room, with a small wooden bed next to the window where she could hear people coming and going in the courtyard.
All three of them had returned to the dormitory; only she had not.
Zhou Yao buried herself under the blanket and opened her phone, still finding no calls or messages. Luo Yi seemed to have disappeared. She opened her contacts and scrolled to the phone number saved under Luo Yi's name, which didn't bring her any special surprise.
Zhou Yao stared at that name for a long time, filled with longing. She really wanted to hear his voice; it must be deeper and more seductive over the phone than usual.
But why hadn’t he called her first? It had been two days, and he still hadn’t contacted her.
Zhou Yao secretly challenged herself, thinking, let’s see who can hold out longer.
However, just thinking about Yan Lin still being at the inn, able to face Luo Yi every day, made Zhou Yao feel overwhelmed.
Out of sight, out of mind. She turned off her phone and forced herself to close her eyes and sleep. Not long after, she quietly opened her eyes in the dark. What was Boss doing at this moment?
……
When Luo Yi handed the prepared cocktail to Amin, she tentatively asked, “Boss, have you been feeling down these past two days?”
Luo Yi raised an eyebrow at her.
Amin continued, “I counted; you’ve said less than five sentences from yesterday until today.”
Luo Yi replied flatly, “I could list twenty mistakes you’ve made in the past two days.”
Amin shrank back and left in defeat.
Luo Yi only helped out briefly during the busiest times. Once he had a moment to spare, he washed his hands and left the bar to head back to his room.
In the common area, guests were gathered playing a murder mystery game. After finishing a round, just as Luo Yi passed by, several girls cheered, “Boss, come play with us!”
Luo Yi pursed his lips slightly and waved his hand to indicate he wasn’t interested.
But those girls were quite bold and blocked his path, inviting him in various ways. After all, he was in business and understood social dynamics. Glancing at his watch, he said, “I’ll play one round.”
As soon as Luo Yi sat down, he heard Yan Lin’s voice behind him: “I’ll join for a round too.”
"Alright." Everyone was enthusiastic.
The Judge said, "Let's draw lots to choose the killer and the police."
Yan Lin was the first to draw a lot for the game where the police catch the killer, which she liked the most. This round, she hoped to be selected as the police. However, when she opened the slip of paper, she found out she was a civilian.
The Judge announced, "Is everyone done drawing? Please close your eyes as it gets dark."
"Killer, please kill someone."
"Please open your eyes as it gets light."
Yan Lin opened her eyes, and everyone else followed suit, looking at each other.
The Judge pointed at Yan Lin and said, "You have been killed."
"…"
Yan Lin was taken aback, confused. Was her game over just like that? She quickly glanced around at the others, noticing Girl A looking away.
The Judge said, "You can leave a last message."
Yan Lin pointed at Girl A and said, "I think it's her."
Girl A looked stunned and shook her head, saying, "It's not me."
The secret of the game lies in the fact that the police must quickly find the killer; meanwhile, the killer must hide themselves while trying to identify and eliminate the police.
Everyone began to speculate.
The Judge said, "Now everyone can say one sentence."
Girl A sighed helplessly and smiled bitterly, "I'm really not the killer. If you choose me, it would be a big mistake."
The next person said, "The more you deny it, the more it seems true."
Several people echoed this sentiment.
When it was Luo Yi's turn, he pondered for a moment before saying to Girl A, "Overly forceful defenses can mislead others."
Yan Lin heard Luo Yi's words and sensed something was off. "Mislead?"
Is he a police officer?
The judge said, "Please close your eyes as it gets dark."
Yan Lin had already been killed, yet could still open his eyes.
"The first police officer, please identify someone."
Girl A opened her eyes; she was the police officer. She pointed at someone.
The judge stated, "The police officer made a mistake, resulting in civilian casualties."
"Police officers, please close your eyes."
Yan Lin calmly waited.
"The second round begins; the killer may act."
In the next moment, Yan Lin saw Luo Yi open his eyes.
Luo Yi raised his hand and pointed directly at the police officer—Girl A.
"The killer has eliminated a police officer."
Luo Yi closed his eyes.
"Open your eyes when the sun rises."
Everyone opened their eyes.
Yan Lin leaned back in her seat, silently watching as Luo Yi misled the crowd again after a new round of analysis and debate. In the second round of closing their eyes, the police made another mistake, and Luo Yi accurately eliminated the second police officer.
The judge announced, "The killer wins."
It ended hastily after just two rounds, leaving everyone in disbelief:
"I thought we would play many rounds; the killer is too efficient!"
"Who is it?"
The judge pointed, "The killer is right here."
Luo Yi lightly curved his lips.
The crowd erupted in surprise:
"I thought you were a police officer!"
"So did I; you kept misleading us."
Yan Lin looked at Luo Yi through the crowd. Just then, he raised his gaze, their eyes met briefly before he calmly looked away.
"Let's start over!"
Luo Yi smiled and stood up. "I have something to attend to; you all take your time playing."
He had previously agreed to play just one round, so no one insisted on keeping him.
Seeing him leave, Yan Lin also stood up.
The moonlight in the yard was bright, as if covered by a layer of white frost.
Luo Yi leaned against the wall smoking. When he saw Yan Lin approaching, he said nothing.
Yan Lin leaned against the wall beside him and said, "Give me a cigarette."
He took out his cigarette case from his pocket and handed it to her. She pulled out a cigarette and placed it in her mouth but did not take his lighter, waiting for him to light it.
He flicked his fingers, revealing the lighter, and struck it to ignite the flame. She lowered her head to bring her lips closer to the flame and took a puff.
A strand of hair slipped down. Luo Yi ignored it and turned off the lighter, retracting his hand.
Yan Lin lifted her head and tucked the loose strand behind her ear in front of him. Luo Yi naturally saw her ear in the night. He looked for a second, but his thoughts were on someone else's small, curved ear, like white jade, with a tiny mole on it.
He shifted his gaze away.
Yan Lin tilted her head and asked, "Why do you want to kill me?"
Luo Yi showed little emotion as he replied, "It's just a game."
Yan Lin clearly was not satisfied with his answer: "Why did you choose me first?"
Luo Yi fell silent for a moment as pale smoke floated between them.
"Why?" she pressed almost insistently.
He said, "Self-preservation."
Yan Lin raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"
"If I don't kill you first, you'll kill me," Luo Yi explained. "The moment I became a killer, in a situation where I couldn't tell who was the police, I would randomly choose someone to kill, and I would only choose you. Because if you were the police, you'd identify me in the first round; if you were a civilian, you'd convince everyone to identify me."
Yan Lin couldn't help but laugh: "What? You think you can hide from my eyes?"
Luo Yi shook his head. "I can deceive you, but you want to protect yourself."
"What do you mean?" Yan Lin's smile faded.
He looked at her with dark eyes. "Whether or not you're sure I'm the murderer, you'll choose me."
Yan Lin fell silent, realizing he was right. Yes, she wanted to be a police officer, but she also hoped he would be the killer so she could personally capture him. This was their contest and game, but it had been extinguished before it even began.
Her smile felt foreign to her. "Don't you want to play a round with me?"
"To be honest," he glanced at her lightly and said, "I don't want to."
...
For many days that followed, Zhou Yao was too busy to have any free time.
The first phase of the land project entered its final testing stage. Phase one focused on the detection of chromium and platinum ores, improving the existing accuracy by fifteen times. Professor Zhou's team had been working on it for nearly two years. Luo Yu had hoped that land would cover all rare minerals. As long as phase one was completed smoothly, phases two and three would have a reference template and would experience significant development.
Zhou Yao followed her teachers and seniors every day, immersed in the laboratory recording data for analysis. She was so busy that she temporarily pushed Luo Yi out of her mind.
Yet every night, when she thought of him and looked at her silent phone, she felt a wave of anxiety.
Ten days later, Zhou Yao went to the pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test. The result showed one line. Worried it might not be reliable, she tried again and still got one line.
Zhou Yao breathed a sigh of relief and immediately sent a text to Luo Yi: "Boss Luo, I tested and I'm not pregnant."
However, Luo Yi did not reply. Zhou Yao felt a bit upset for a few minutes before putting her phone away and returning to the lab.
It wasn't until that night when Zhou Yao climbed into bed and prepared to sleep that her phone beeped once.
Zhou Yao immediately lunged for her phone and opened the message. Luo Yi replied with one word:
"Good."
Zhou Yao poured a bucket of cold water over her head, holding her phone in a daze for several seconds. Suddenly, she jumped up and slammed it onto the bed, exclaiming, "If you contact me again, I'll take your last name!"
Sulianlin, who was hanging up clothes, was startled and dropped them. "What's wrong, Yao Yao? Did your dad scold you?"
Zhou Yao grabbed a pillow and threw it at her. "You're so annoying!"
Zhou Yao collapsed onto the bed, her chest heaving as she gasped for air. Gradually calming down, she felt a sense of confusion and loss.
What did this all mean for her? Was it just a fleeting affection during a journey and nothing more?
But what about her? After all this time, she still thought of him so much. In the end, it was still herself who felt lost.
A wave of frustration washed over her.
Zhou Yao pouted and buried her head in the blanket, sulking. Fine, if he didn't want to contact her, then so be it.
Who couldn't live without whom?
...
Another weekend arrived, and Zhou Yao received an instruction from Mr. Xia to go home for dinner, saying that the Jiang family was coming over as guests.
Zhou Yao walked along the tree-lined path out of school, playing a mobile game while looking down. As she reached the school gate, she bumped into someone with a loud thud.
"Sorry." Zhou Yao quickly bent down to apologize but rolled her eyes when she looked up. "What’s wrong with you blocking my way!"
Jiang Han frowned. "Zhou Yao, speak to me politely."
"You’re not my boss." Zhou Yao continued to look down at her game and walked forward. Suddenly, she was pulled back by a force; Jiang Han had grabbed her hoodie.
"What are you doing? Let go!"
"Your mom told me to come and keep an eye on you on the way back. No playing on your phone."
"Dog catching a mouse." Zhou Yao, too lazy to deal with him, snatched her hat back and continued walking forward with her head down.
Jiang Han stepped forward and took her phone away.
"Give it back to me."
Zhou Yao reached out to grab it. "Give it to me."
Jiang Han held it high and calmly walked ahead. Zhou Yao chased after him, jumping and bouncing, almost climbing onto him, but she just couldn't catch it.
The two of them continued their playful antics as they walked further away.
Meanwhile, Luo Yi stood across the street, slowly exhaling a puff of smoke.
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