Chapter 116

A light rain was falling outside, finally breaking the stuffy heat of the past few days. Jiang Liu casually opened the living room window, listening to the pitter-patter of the rain outside, and was inexplicably reminded of the hotel in the public space.

When she first arrived, it was the height of summer. After this instance, she would probably be out just in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Memories of years past had been recalled bit by bit as her investigation deepened. Jiang Liu still remembered how every Mid-Autumn Festival, Xiao Si would enthusiastically make all sorts of mooncakes.

Modern people weren’t too fond of them, mostly finding them cloyingly sweet, but Jiang Liu had a good tolerance for them.

She had endured hunger and hardship. As long as something tasted decent enough to eat, she could always finish it as a snack.

In the festivals that came year after year, only this sense of ceremony allowed her to perceive the passage of time, preventing her from getting lost in the long river of time.

Just as she was thinking, a sweet aroma of pastry wafted over, accompanied by a very light footstep from behind. Jiang Liu, still immersed in her memories, subconsciously turned around. “What did you make today?”

The words rushed out without a thought, and only then did she see clearly that the figure behind her was no longer a familiar one.

Xu Meng was walking over with a plate of small cakes. Hearing her, she smiled and replied, “I saw there were ingredients in the kitchen, so I baked some cakes.”

The unfamiliar voice brought Jiang Liu back to her senses. Only then did she realize she had mistaken the person for Xiao Si. She couldn’t help but smile wryly, no longer standing by the window watching the rain, and sat down on the sofa with Xu Meng.

After learning last night that Tang Ruo was temporarily out of danger, the girl’s emotions had stabilized a lot. She was no longer listless and without appetite like the past few days, and even had the mind to make some small desserts.

Jiang Liu poured tea for the two of them and turned to look at the pair at the dining table.

Zhao Ziming had taken her place as the teacher, and he was getting a splitting headache from dealing with a slacker of this age. But the culprit himself was completely oblivious, and was even staring eagerly at the food Xu Meng had brought out.

Just as they had predicted last night, Jiang He was gone by early morning.

Her gaze shifted, and she gave Xu Meng a look, signaling her and Zhao Ziming to keep Xiao Liang steady. She herself leisurely went upstairs with a piece of cake in her mouth.

Probably afraid of being discovered by Xiao Liang, Tang Rui obediently pretended to be a toy during the day. He didn’t dare to move even when he saw Jiang Liu come in. His acting was simply breathtaking.

But Jiang Liu had no intention of letting him off. She sat on the edge of the bed and examined the teddy bear closely. In the daylight, she finally noticed a faint line of stitching on the bear’s body.

This line ran across the teddy bear’s chest, hidden in the messy fur, making it difficult to spot. It was clear that it had been torn open and sewn up again before.

An idea struck her. She took out her personal dagger and undid the thread. When she saw what was inside, a look of astonishment flashed across her face.

The thing hidden in the cotton was none other than an exquisitely made Red Thread Bracelet, with six copper coins attached to it, extremely similar to the one she had found at the bottom of the river.

It seemed the Qiao couple had also realized the problem in the old house and had specially called someone to deal with it.

But that wasn’t the most important thing—

Among the clumps of cotton, right in the center of the chest, pressed down by the copper coins, was a bright red piece of paper, its color even more dazzling than the red thread.

This red paper was square and no bigger than her palm. On the side facing Jiang Liu, Qiao Liang’s full name was written in formal seal script. But when she flipped it over, the back had the proper characters for Tang Rui.

Tang Rui, Qiao Liang.

Jiang Liu’s heart skipped a beat. She instantly realized that this was the countermeasure Lin Jiao had left behind.

She didn’t dare to delay. She reached out, flipped the red paper over, pressed it down again with the copper coins, found a needle and thread, and haphazardly sewed it up before hurrying downstairs.

The change happened in an instant—

Before Jiang Liu even reached the living room, she heard a pained cry by her ear. The voice was somewhat familiar, and even more strangely, it seemed to be right next to her.

Before she could even put up her guard, she saw a human face struggling to crawl out of a crack in the wall not far away. The moment it landed, it transformed into a real body, bit by bit being spat out by the wall.

The scene was truly bizarre. A round head had already appeared in the living room, but the body was still like a piece of paper, slowly inching its way out of the crack. If Jiang Liu hadn’t recognized it as Jiang He at a glance, her dagger would have probably already flown from her hand.

“What the hell?”

Xu Meng had never seen such a scene before. She was so scared she jumped up on the spot, letting out a scream and about to dodge to the side.

Jiang He gave a bitter smile. “Don’t attack! It’s me, it’s me!”

His face was red from the effort. He finally managed to squeeze himself out of the wall crack and let out a huge sigh of relief after landing. “Something’s happened, something’s happened!”

He didn’t have time for pleasantries and quickly ran to Xiao Liang’s side, not daring to even breathe too loudly, while shouting for Jiang Liu and Xu Meng to hide.

Jiang Liu frowned, a headache coming on from his shouting. “What’s going on?”

Jiang He looked equally nervous. “I don’t know. Sister Yang and the others suddenly said they were going to find Xiao Liang for revenge, and I was thrown out of the crevice.”

But the Xiao Liang in front of them was sitting properly in his chair, and there was nothing unusual about the surroundings.

While Jiang He was still confused, Jiang Liu had already reacted quickly, rushing towards the stairs in three large strides.

Before she even got close to the room, she saw a puddle of water at the doorway. Following the trail, she saw that the teddy bear that Tang Rui had inhabited was now lying on the ground like a rag, completely soaked.

Three ghostly shadows surrounded the teddy bear, one of which had almost completely wrapped itself around it.

“It’s Xiao Ruo!” Xu Meng rushed in right behind her and immediately noticed a paper figure to the side. It was Tang Ruo, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

As for the other one—

It was just floating in the air with a piece of cloth on its head, conveniently covering its slightly eerie face. It tilted its head and waved at Jiang Liu.

Jiang Liu said, “…Are you cosplaying someone?”

Yang Caisi pulled at the cloth on her head, her tone full of affection. “I was afraid of scaring you.”

Jiang Liu’s mouth twitched. Faced with this rare display of thoughtfulness from her, she actually tasted a bit of sweetness. A moment later, a smile bloomed on her lips. She raised an eyebrow at Yang Caisi and said thoughtfully, “He’ll be trapped in this body forever. I’ve gotten revenge for you.”

As her words fell, the air in the small space suddenly fluctuated, and the figures of the three girls flickered in and out of view.

In the blink of an eye, they had returned to their normal appearances, their forms gradually becoming transparent until they disappeared completely.

[Congratulations to the player for completing the mission and successfully protecting Xiao Liang.]

[Side quest completion detected. Now entering the settlement page…]

The cold system voice sounded, and the group soon found that the house was continuously receding. They were about to be extracted from the instance.

Listening to the point settlement items, a hint of mockery appeared in Jiang Liu’s eyes, and her lips curled into a slanted smile. She could hardly wait to see Qiao Ke’s expression now.

Xiao Liang’s soul was merely placed inside the teddy bear; he wasn’t considered dead or harmed. And they had successfully dealt with the monsters behind him.

From The System’s perspective, he would no longer be attacked by Qiao Pan’er and the others, so he was naturally in a safe state and no longer needed protection.

Qiao Ke had schemed and plotted to create such an instance, and now it had all come to nothing. His mood must be quite something.

But when the group stood on the mountainside waiting for the Guide, the figure they saw was not Qiao Ke’s.

Yang Caisi had changed back into her work uniform, a jacket neatly draped over her arm. Her shoulder-length hair flew in the wind, and her gaze accurately found Jiang Liu across the green ground.

Jiang Liu’s expression was one of unconcealed excitement, the corners of her eyes and brows lifted in joy. She practically jogged to her side and was tightly embraced by those slender yet strong arms.

“Congratulations on clearing the level.”

Yang Caisi smoothed her wind-tousled hair, the warmth in her eyes no longer concealed. Her clear pupils reflected Jiang Liu’s image, as if she were the only person in the entire world.

“Same to you,” Jiang Liu muttered softly, reluctantly leaving her embrace.

As the instance receded, the scene of the public space gradually appeared. A withered leaf drifted from somewhere and landed on Yang Caisi’s head. She carefully reached out to pick it off, staring at the familiar face, lost in thought.

Before her memories had returned, she didn’t feel anything even if they didn’t see each other for one or two instances.

Now that her memories had returned and their feelings had deepened, after just a three-day instance, she couldn’t even control the longing in her heart.

Fortunately, everything was getting better.

“If you want to be lovey-dovey, wait until there’s no one around. I have serious business to discuss,” Lin Jiao’s cool voice sounded, her head tilted as if in jest.

The two came back to their senses but didn’t drop their intimate demeanor. Jiang Liu took Xiao Si’s hand and looked at the girl, the sense of familiarity in her heart growing stronger. She frowned slightly and said with certainty, “I’ve seen you before.”

Not last time at the coffee shop, but a long, long time ago.

Lin Jiao shrugged, every movement carrying a carefree air. “It’s good that you still remember. We can be considered old friends.”

She didn’t mean to explain further, just strode forward. “This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go to my place first.”

As she spoke, she turned and glanced at Xu Meng. Although her tone was cold, it also contained a hint of consideration. “They are both there.”

Zhao Ziming scratched his head and curiously sidled up to ask, “Why isn’t the Guide Qiao Ke?”

Lin Jiao glanced at him sideways. “You treated him like that, and you still expect him to personally come and guide you?”

Qiao Ke had disappeared as soon as the instance ended. She had simply taken over, just in time to settle things once and for all.

As they approached the coffee shop, Jiang Liu’s heart began to race.

She had a feeling that with Lin Jiao’s appearance, all the things she didn’t know about her past would be revealed.

When the long-sealed secrets were unveiled, what exactly was waiting for her?

As Jiang Liu pondered, her steps subconsciously slowed. This hesitation was noticed by Yang Caisi, who squeezed her hand.

“I’m fine,” Jiang Liu understood her meaning and couldn’t help but chuckle softly. She let her hand be enveloped, and the warmth dispelled the subtle unease in her heart, making her steps instantly lighter.

No matter what she had to face, as long as the two of them were by her side like this, she had nothing to fear.