CH 31

After leaving the hotel, Cheng Suran walked aimlessly.

The mountains in the distance are continuous, lush and green, the sky is like a glittering clear water, and the clouds float on it like cotton wool, like an oil painting with a gentle mood.

Walking, away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd, into a small forest.

The surroundings were calm and quiet, as if isolated from the world, Cheng Suran closed her eyes, took a deep breath of pure and pollution-free air, and exhaled it slowly, which immediately relieved the dullness in her chest.

There was a small gazebo in front, she stepped on a few scattered leaves and walked over, took out a tissue and wiped the dust on the stone platform, and sat down.

Her mind is empty.

Sitting quietly for a long time, Cheng Suran gradually thought of Jiang Yu and all kinds of things, and suddenly felt a huge sense of loneliness in her heart.

She thought she was very independent. She went to and from class by herself, ate and walked alone, worked and earned money by herself, and solved everything by herself. But, even though she is so independent and her time is fully occupied by arrangements, her spiritual world is still barren.

It is easy for her to rely on someone. In the past, it was a classmate or a pen pal, but now...

It's her benefactor.

This is dependence, right?

Concerned about the other person not responding to her messages, concerned about their closeness to others, and concerned that they did not choose her over other people. Just thinking about these, tears fall uncontrollably.

She can only be unscrupulous in places where no one is around.

She's so hypocritical and useless.

Wake up, that is the benefactor, the most ruthless person, the person whom you should have the least expectations. In another two months, get rid of the shadow of that person, and time will take everything away.

Cheng Suran wiped away her tears, opened her mouth, took a deep breath, and gradually calmed down.

The cool breeze dried her tears.

Occasionally, there are a few crisp birdsong in the forest, the towering trees around reach into the sky, and the sunlight falls in through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows.

After sitting for a while, Cheng Suran got up and continued to walk forward, her sight gradually widened, and a lake appeared in front of her.

The water reflects the shadow of the sky, and the tour boat pulls long ripples.

There is a bridge on the lake. Cheng Suran stayed in the middle for a while, continued to walk, stopped to rest when she was tired, and then continued to walk when she rested enough. She didn't know how long she walked, and found herself to a forest again.

The woods were thicker and overgrown with weeds, the road was barely visible, and the dead branches and leaves were covered with bird droppings.

Cheng Suran didn't stop until there was no way to go, and looked around.

Where is this?

She seems…lost.

She took out her phone and opened the navigation, but the page was blank, showing a network failure.

Looking at the upper right corner, not only is there no data traffic icon, but there is no communication signal either.

"..."

Cheng Suran panicked, turned around in a circle, glanced around, and felt that every tree around her looked exactly the same. She was in a daze, not knowing what to do for a while.

It's six o'clock.

Fearing that she would get lost even further, she didn't dare to wander around, and stood still in place.

The sky gradually darkened, and the thick shadows covered the last ray of light in the evening.The woods were gloomy and eerie.

–gulug

Her stomach is growling.

At this time, all the birds are returning to their nests, the forest is full of chirping birds, and it seems that the sky is going to be completely dark.  Cheng Suran forced herself to calm down, picked up a fairly sharp stone, drew a circle on the nearby tree trunk, and drew an arrow pointing backward.

Then, turn around and walk back along the way she came.

Every time she walks past a tree, she draws circles and arrows on the trunk, and then looks back at the previous tree she marked to make sure she has not deviated from the direction.

Until it was completely dark.

The whole forest fell silent.

It was pitch black, and only the outlines of the trees could be vaguely seen. Cheng Suran slowed down, and the sweat from her palm wet the stones. After her eyes got used to the darkness, she could barely see the weeds and dead leaves under her feet.

She looked back but couldn't see the sign of the previous tree clearly.

She has heard a saying before that when people's sight is blocked and they cannot see the environment clearly, when they walk in the dark without using any auxiliary tools, they will unknowingly deviate to the left, keep leaning straight, and finally turn back to the origin.

This is the so-called "ghost building the wall."

She doesn't know if there is any scientific basis, but the more Cheng Suran thought about it, the more frightened she became, and she tried her best to give herself a psychological pep talk "I'm walking in a straight line, I'm going out soon"

She wanted to turn on the flashlight of her mobile phone, but she was afraid that something would suddenly shine in the dark light, which would scare herself half to death. While struggling, she walked forward slowly, and the scenes of the horror movies she had watched flooded into her memory.

The night temperature in the mountains was low, and gusts of cool wind blew over. She shivered and felt cold all over, so she sat down to rest against a tree.

No water, no food, cold and hungry.

Cheng Suran considers herself an atheist, but human beings' fear of the dark and the unknown is deeply embedded in her genes. She can't resist the instinct of fear.

"Prosperity, democracy, harmony, civilization... No, it's reversed, civilization, harmony, freedom, hey…*" I forgot all about it.

*reciting Socialist Core Values

Sigh.

Will she die here because she didn't eat or drink?

Maybe she can last three days at most, and then die, slowly decaying into a skeleton, and maybe someone will find her, maybe not. In short, the moment she close her eyes, all her troubles would be over, she came into this world in vain and leave in vain.

She'll never see her sister again.

However, she still has to graduate well, go  study abroad, buy a house, and give herself a home. How can she die here if her dream has not yet come true?

The unwillingness in her heart dispelled the fear in an instant.

Cheng Suran stood up abruptly, turned on the flashlight of her mobile phone, gritted her teeth, carved a mark on the tree trunk, and continued walking forward.

Just stop and go like this. She doesn't know how long it took, but suddenly she saw dots of lights in the distance, some white and yellow, intersecting and connecting, extending to a distance.

It is a road that looks close but is actually far away.

At that moment, Cheng Suran saw hope and couldn't help speeding up her pace.

The incomplete moon rose higher and higher.

Nine forty-five.

The view grew wider and wider, and finally, a large lake appeared in front of her, a familiar arch bridge, and a brightly lit dock cabin. She was stunned for a moment, took a long sigh of relief, and ran over at a sprint speed of 100 meters, down the arch bridge to the other end of the lake.

She can see scattered houses, couples walking on the slate road, and hear the noise of the crowd in the distance.

She's back.

Cheng Suran leaned against the stone pillar to gasp for breath, walking for several hours without eating or drinking at night and suddenly running for several hundred meters, she felt a bit weak. Her heart was rapidly shaking in her chest, she was sweating all over, and her legs were weak.

She slumped down on the ground.

Her phone buzzed and vibrated, which made her realize that there was a signal.

It's Assistant Tian.

When she picked up the call, the word "Tian" was stuck in her throat. Before she could speak, Jiang Yu's anxious voice came from the other end: "Where are you?"

"I..." Cheng Suran opened her mouth, her heart was wrenched hard, and she couldn't help sobbing, "Sister, I'm by the lake, I..."

"Where is the lake?" Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Yu interrupted sharply, with anger hidden in her tone.

Cheng Suran choked again, and looked around, "At the head of the arch bridge, there is a sign next to it that says 'Qingli Lake', and the small characters are 'East'."

"Stay still."

After speaking, the phone was hung up.

She held the phone in daze.

Not long after, a sightseeing car swayed over, with two powerful lights, eye-catching in the dark. It stopped not far away and a slender figure quickly walked towards her.

Cheng Suran raised her head.

Their eyes met.

Jiang Yu stood still quietly, looking down at her condescendingly. The cold white light illuminated her face as cold as iron, with anger in her eyes.

"Sister..." Cheng Suran called softly and stood up.

Her face was covered with sweat, her broken hair was wet and stuck to her temples, her little face was flushed, and she looked embarrassed.

Jiang Yu sneered.

Since she couldn't get through the phone, she searched for people everywhere and asked her colleagues who went with them. She went to ask Qi Yan, but was mocked by Qi Yan's strange demeanor. Then, she learned from Tian Lin about what happened that noon.

At that moment, all worries turned into anger.

How dare the kid get angry with her?

A canary is nothing more than a plaything. It is not qualified to play tricks and make faces in front of her.  She raises birds for viewing and entertainment, not to make herself unhappy, let alone causing accidents.

She can't have that.

This bird cannot be had.

Jiang Yu made up her mind and was about to open hernmouth when the kid suddenly rushed over and hugged her sullenly, "Sister, I'm so stupid, I lost my way while walking alone, I don't know where I am, my phone has no signal,  I walked the same way for a long time before I came back..."

As she spoke, her voice choked up, and her body couldn't help twitching.

Jiang Yu's face changed slightly.

The hands that were about to push the girl away froze, suspended mid-air for a moment, then fell down and embraced her waist.

Behind her, Tian Lin stopped and reached out to stop the staff who were about to get out of the car, "We'll wait here."

"Okay." The staff retracted their feet again.

The surroundings are silent, and under the light, two shadows are cuddling tightly together. Occasionally, a couple walking by holding hands will pass by, look around curiously, and gradually go away.

The girl in her arms sobbed softly, hugging her tighter and tighter as if she was afraid that she would run away.

Jiang Yu subconsciously patted her back.

"Elder sister…"

"Mm."

"Elder sister…"

"I am here."

"If I died in the wilderness, I will never see you again. It's so dangerous... so dangerous..."

Jiang Yu didn't speak, the anger in his heart subsided completely, and an unspeakable feeling surged up.

At this moment, she really felt that she was needed, the most simple, primitive, emotional need, not the sense brought by flowers and applause.

She had always longed for something that she can't get, and she can't give.

The strings buried deep in her heart were plucked.

Jiang Yu hugged the girl in her arms tightly, and kissed the hair comfortingly over and over again, "No, if you don't come back, sister will bring someone to find you, and I won't let you alone...in the wild."

She can't say that word.

Cheng Suran buried her face in her hair and rubbed it, then seemed to realize something, leaned back her upper body, looked at her with red eyes, "I'm sorry to trouble you."

"No." Jiang Yu lowered her eyes, avoiding hers, and raised a hand to wipe her tears.

Her fingertips touched the tip of her nose inadvertently, and it felt cold to the touch. She touched her hand behind her back, which was also cool.

"Is it cold?"

Jiang Yu looked at her thin long sleeves, frowned, let go, took off her temporary coat, and put it on her body.

This jacket is custom-made, big and loose. Jiang Yu herself wears a length just enough to cover her buttocks. But for Cheng Suran, it looked like a short one-piece dress, with the hem, halfway over her thighs, and her narrow shoulders unable to support the original shape of the clothes.

Like a child who stole an adult's clothes.

puff.

Jiang Yu couldn't help laughing.

"Sister?" Cheng Suran looked at her blankly, "What are you laughing at?" Suddenly, her small face frowned, "Am I really ugly now..."

"Yes."

"Ah I--"

"I'm lying to you," Jiang Yu scratched her nose and took her hand, "Come on, let's go back and have something to eat before the restaurant closes."

Cheng Suran obediently let Jiang Yu lead her, with the other hand covering her stomach.

She almost forgot, her stomach has become numb and hungry along the way. Now that it was mentioned, she has regained consciousness, and wants to eat and drink more water.

They boarded the sightseeing car.

"Assistant Tian..." Cheng Suran smiled awkwardly when she saw Tian Lin, "Sorry, I got lost today, I didn't mean to make you worry."

As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Yu held her in her arms.

Tian Lin suppressed her smile, glanced at her boss, shook her head and said, "It's okay, you came back safely."

"Mm."

The staff started the car.

The car slowly drove towards the hotel, with a cool wind blowing in front of her, Cheng Suran leaned quietly in Jiang Yu's arms, her nerves were completely relaxed, a deep sense of drowsiness swept over her, her upper and lower eyelids were fighting...

About ten minutes later, they arrived at the entrance of the hotel.

"Sister Yu..."

Tian Lin got out of the car first, and when she turned around, Jiang Yu made a shushing gesture to her, pointed at the person in her arms, and lowered her voice: "Fell asleep."

"We still have to wake her up, otherwise how can we go up?" Tian Lin whispered.

The kid was sleeping soundly, breathing smoothly, her chest rose and fell slightly, and her messy hair covered half of her face.

Jiang Yu looked down at her for a while, and said, "I'll carry her, help me hold her up first."

"?!"

"Hurry up."

"Okay." Tian Lin stepped forward and carefully took the person from her hand.

Jiang Yu got out of the car, turned around, and squatted down. Tian Lin lightly supported Cheng Suran on her back, wrapped her arms around her neck, raised her two feet, her hands hooked her knees respectively, and slowly stood up.

Very heavy.

The kid looks thin, but she is like a weight on her back. She seems to weigh at least ninety catties*.

*54 kg/ 119lbs

She weighs only one hundred pounds.

Tian Lin supported Cheng Suran's back from behind to prevent her from unconsciously losing her arms and falling down.

She got into the elevator slowly and swiped the room card. She saw that Jiang Yu was having a little difficulty carrying her, so she helped support the kid's butt with her other hand, trying to share some weight.

"What are you doing?" Jiang Yu squinted.

Tian Lin immediately withdrew her hand, turned away with a suppressed smile.

When they got to the eighth floor, the elevator door opened, and it happened that Qi Yan was waiting outside with her daughter, and bumped into them, she looked up and down in surprise, "What's wrong?"

"Get out of the way." With a sullen face, Jiang Yu flew over with a glare.

Qi Yan let them come out, took a step forward, and asked, "Is Xiao Ran all right?"

"Just fell asleep."

Right now Jiang Yu is not in the mood to argue with her about what she called her..

"Oh."

Qi Yan turned around again, and said, "You still have a conscience." She took her daughter's hand and entered the elevator, "Come on, girl, let's go for supper."

"..."

Entering the room, Jiang Yu carried Cheng Suran to the bedside, turned around, and carefully placed her flat on the bed with Tian Lin's help. She took off her shoes and gently covered her with a blanket.

In just a few minutes, it seemed like she ran 400 meters.

Horseback riding is not so tiring.

Jiang Yu sat down, panting a little, poured herself a glass of water, and drank slowly in small sips.

It's almost half past ten.

"Sister Yu," Tian Lin sat down next to her, glanced at her phone, and then at her, "Do you still want to terminate the contract? The money is ready."

Jiang Yu stared at the person on the bed, wondering what she was thinking, and her eyes were filled with chaotic and unclear emotions.

Finally, she shook her head.

"Not yet."

Author's Note:

Jiang Scum: I don't want you anymore!

Kid: Hug sister, and cry. yingying*.jpg

*cutesy crying

Jiang Scum: (soft-hearted) Be obedient.

Kid: plan, success! yeah.jpg