Chapter 32: The Plane and Being Late
That evening, “Zhu Xi” messaged him as usual. For some reason, this princess insisted on reporting her daily activities to him like a grade-schooler. “Good evening~ I had cod and sushi for dinner tonight. It was a bit fishy; I didn’t really like it.”
Lu Li wiped the sweat from his forehead. I’m not your parent; you don’t have to report to me. He hesitated for a moment, then decided to test “Zhu Xi.” “I’ve been having some questions lately, and I don’t know who to ask.”
“Zhu Xi” took the bait. She replied cheerfully, “Ask me! I’m very good at answering questions. I can even see things that Grandma can’t~”
Who’s Grandma? Some sort of dowager empress? Shenzhou didn’t have a dowager empress, right?
“Do you know about Shanzhu Village?”
After typing these words, Lu Li’s heart was in his throat, unsure if Zhu Xi would drop the act and reveal her cruel nature. To his surprise, her reply was quick and casual. “Never heard of it~”
So she’s planning to play dumb…
Lu Li sighed in disappointment and was about to close the chat window when he saw Zhu Xi typing, “But I can take a look for you.”
Look? Look where?
Lu Li waited in front of his computer. For some reason, he felt an inexplicable trust towards the “Zhu Xi” on the other side of the screen. He felt like she knew something, or should know something…
“Okay, I see.” After more than ten minutes, “Zhu Xi” finally replied. “Shanzhu Village is gone.”
Lu Li’s heart pounded. “Zhu Xi’s” short reply sent shockwaves through him. The disappearance of Shanzhu Village was definitely related to the “price.” But he didn’t know if it was his price, the deceased Mei Jinliu’s price, or the price of some unknown third party. And Zhu Xi’s ability to state the truth so casually meant that she, like him, was an observer outside of the “price” mechanism, wasn’t she?
“How did it disappear?” Lu Li tried his best to remain calm.
“Because of a very old price…” Zhu Xi’s words were cryptic. “I can’t see clearly, but it feels very, very sad… as if many tragic things happened there…”
He understood the latter part of her sentence. The events in Shanzhu Village were nothing short of a tragedy. A group of souls who should have died in the flood were paying their debts to their benefactor in another way. But what did the first part mean? A very old price? Did this mean the disappearance of Shanzhu Village had nothing to do with him or Mei Jinliu?
Lu Li asked, “What else did you see?”
“I saw a boy… a very handsome boy, holding a heart-shaped pendant, looking very sad…”
“…”
“I can’t see anything else…”
Was she teasing him? Zhu Xi knew who he was, didn’t she? Why use the third person? Lu Li started to doubt if the person he was talking to was really Zhu Xi. Could someone have gotten hold of her selfie and be using it to scam people online?
“Anything else you want to see? I’ll do my best to help you…” Zhu Xi said.
No, thanks. Just don’t kidnap and interrogate me again. Lu Li politely declined “Zhu Xi’s” offer, deciding to keep his distance from this “Zhu Xi” for now – until he could confirm her identity.
On the other side, Zhu Qiao, having ended her conversation with the game developer, felt a bit disappointed. She muttered “Shanzhu Village” to herself, feeling like she hadn’t been helpful. The developer’s attitude seemed to have cooled down.
She lifted her skirt and ran downstairs to find Sister Xi. “Sister Xi, Sister Xi, do you know about Shanzhu Village?”
Zhu Xi was reading a book titled The Perfect Rulebook with her legs crossed. Hearing her sister’s question, the Poison Princess’s eyes sharpened. “What did you say?” Her sharp, short hair swayed slightly, like a razor blade.
“Shanzhu Village…”
Zhu Qiao was busy running down the stairs and didn’t notice the change in her sister’s expression.
“Who told you about that?”
“I just wanted to ask~” Zhu Qiao said in a sweet voice.
Zhu Xi’s expression remained unchanged. “Why are you suddenly asking about an obscure little village? There must be at least eight or ten villages called Shanzhu Village in the country.”
Zhu Qiao lowered her head in disappointment. “Is that so? Th-then I’ll go back upstairs.”
It’s a pity, it seems like I can’t help the developer. Looking at Zhu Qiao’s dejected figure, Zhu Xi narrowed her eyes, like a jackal that had spotted its prey. Zhu Qiao had been playing a game called Evening Collection recently, developed by Eternal Joy Studio. After some investigation, she learned that the studio was registered under the name “Zou Yameng,” with several unverified members, including “Lu Li” and “Chu Jingyi.” These names weren’t unfamiliar to her. They were the Chu family’s daughter and future son-in-law.
And the only one who could have any connection to “Shanzhu Village” was Lu Li.
A dangerous aura emanated from Zhu Xi. Zhu Qiao was her Achilles’ heel. She wouldn’t allow anyone to harm her, not even the prestigious Chu family.
Lu Li… Lu Li…
She repeated the name in her mind, contemplating how to deal with this boy. She didn’t know why Lu Li told Zhu Qiao, an innocent girl, about “Shanzhu Village,” but based on her experience, he definitely had ulterior motives.
After pondering for a long time, Zhu Xi made a phone call. “Book me a flight to Chuanhai. Yes… this week. Right. Postpone the matter of finding a husband, I have more important things to attend to.”
Back in her room, Zhu Qiao stared blankly at the computer screen, losing all interest in playing games. For the first time in her simple, sheltered life, she felt a sense of loss. It was melancholy and sadness when Sister Xi took her puppy away, heartache when she saw Grandma groaning in pain from her foot in the middle of the night. But what was this feeling of disappointing someone else? Guilt? Self-blame? A heavy weight settled in her heart, like a stone.
Grandma Zhu had warned her many times not to “see” things unrelated to the Colored Stones. If she abused her gift as a shaman, she would face eternal damnation. But Zhu Qiao didn’t have a clear understanding of “eternal damnation.” She had secretly “seen” many things before, like Grandma Zhu in her youth, Sister Xi’s soulmate in Chuanhai, the stray cats on the street gathering in the sewers for the winter… She enjoyed it, because it was one of the few ways she could learn about the outside world.
And now, she decided to take a look at the game developer’s future, perhaps she could offer him some help?
The first thing she saw was the developer’s face. Was he that handsome boy? Zhu Qiao blushed. This was the first time she had been so close to a boy her age, even the first time she had interacted with a male. Now she had seen his face, and he had seen hers. It was a fair trade. Zhu Qiao felt a little smug.
In Zhu Qiao’s “vision,” Lu Li was running frantically at the airport, out of breath and in a hurry, as if he were on some urgent and dangerous mission.
What was he doing?
Lu Li rushed past the security checkpoint. Police officers ran after him, trying to stop him, but he just kept running, like a wild animal escaping its cage, his clothes being torn by the officers. Where was he going?
Zhu Qiao followed Lu Li’s direction and saw a plane taking off. It seemed like the developer was late…
Zhu Qiao bit her nails, wondering if she should remind him to set an alarm.
***
(End of this volume)
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