Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"022"

Winter bayberries are either cold-storage stock or fresh fruit flown in from Southern Hemisphere countries where it's currently summer.

The scent was unmistakably fresh.

Xiao Lancui caught the fresh bayberry scent too. He loved bayberries, but last night's dreams had stirred up old memories, making him zone out for a second before he snapped back and uncapped his pen to take notes.

The moment he picked up the pen, he slipped back into the original body's writing posture. He usually sat up straight, but the original body hunched slightly, forearms flat on the desk, head bent so low it was almost touching the notebook.

To be safe, Xiao Lancui kept the original body's habits.

This time, he started taking notes by simultaneously translating the professor's lecture into Russian. He was noticeably slow at first, but by the time the lunch bell rang, he'd picked up the pace.

He hadn't been fast enough in the first half of the lecture and had missed some stuff. Now that class was over, he stayed in his seat, flipping back through his notes.

For the parts he hadn't managed to translate, he'd left blank spaces. He recalled everything the professor had said and filled in all the gaps from memory in Russian.

As he filled in the last blank, a soft voice spoke from above him. "You're not a Russian Language and Literature student from Jing University crashing this class, are you?"

Xiao Lancui looked up. The professor had appeared in front of him at some point.

The professor was past fifty, round-faced, and a bit stout. He smiled warmly, looking a bit like the Maitreya Buddha. He looked at Xiao Lancui with a smile and continued, "Our school doesn't have a Russian major."

Xiao Lancui capped his pen and smiled. "I'm self-taught, but yeah, I'm crashing this class." Used to being in a position of authority, he paused a beat before remembering to stand up. "Is there something you need, professor?"

The professor kept smiling. "I wanted to ask your name."

Xiao Lancui paused for a moment. "Xiao Lancui. Xiao with the grass radical, Lan from Lanting, and Cui with the wood radical."

"Cui's that ancient tree from the Tang Yun that's good for making walking sticks, right?" The professor nodded, glanced at the Russian notes that looked almost printed, and smiled. "See you next time, Xiao Lancui."

The professor's approval was obvious, and Xiao Lancui was used to it.

He'd been called a prodigy since he was a kid. When he'd topped the imperial exam at sixteen and become famous nationwide, everyone hailed him as a literary star come down to earth. There were even superstitious folks who brought their kids to wait along his route, claiming that seeing him in person would guarantee passing the imperial exam and landing a high official post.

All those empty titles disappeared after his legs were crippled.

Xiao Lancui put away his notebook and sipper cup, about to leave, when he suddenly turned to look toward the back door.

Someone was sitting there—a guy.

On the desk was a basket of... bayberries?

Looked like bayberries.

Xiao Lancui was in the third row of the lecture hall, and the guy was in the last row. Looking up from below, it was hard to see clearly.

But the guy's silhouette was really distinct. He stood out too much—his upper body rose above the seat back, meaning either his proportions were off with an overly long torso, or he was over 190 cm.

The guy's neck was also really long. In Xiao Lancui's view, it was the only patch of pale skin visible on him. He wore a structured black mask that covered everything below his eyes, and his bangs were so long they hid his brows and eyes—his face was completely hidden.

Feeling Xiao Lancui's gaze, the guy looked over. Xiao Lancui pushed down the weird feeling, looked away, and left with his bag.

At mealtime, the second cafeteria was filled with the smell of food.

Xiao Lancui got a meat dish, a veggie dish, and a soup, plus a steamed egg.

He still had no appetite but forced himself to eat, finishing in bits and pieces. He looked so bad that when he walked into the convenience store, Zhao Lan asked him right away, "You okay, classmate?"

Xiao Lancui smiled. "I'm fine, just didn't get much sleep."

Not sleeping well was pretty common at City University. The top school was full of geniuses, and most students started grinding from day one, let alone the seniors.

Graduation season brought huge pressure, whether from job hunting or applying to grad school.

Zhao Lan thought of Xiao Anfeng and really worried he might be losing sleep over stress too. Xiao Anfeng hadn't been to the second cafeteria in over half a month, and she missed him a lot. Her eyes kept following Xiao Lancui as she tried to think of a way to start a conversation.

Xiao Lancui knew. He walked around the shelves and, sure enough, found his beloved Matcha Milk Pudding Ice Bread in the fridge case.

He smiled slightly and grabbed two packs.

At the register, he saved Zhao Lan the trouble and started the conversation himself. "Boss, you finally got the Ice Bread in."

Zhao Lan breathed a sigh of relief inside and quickly smiled. "Oh, so you're the one who kept asking me to stock Ice Bread! The store's been so packed, I didn't recognize you!"

She was overdoing it, afraid that being too eager would make her intentions obvious and cause trouble for Xiao Anfeng.

Xiao Lancui looked down again, carefully picking out fruit-flavored candies by the register.

There were a lot of flavors, and he needed to take his time.

While making small talk with Zhao Lan, he smiled and said, "You'll recognize me from now on. I eat at least one Ice Bread a day."

Zhao Lan pretended to be stocking the Ice Bread and said, "No problem! As long as you come every day, I'll stock it daily." She added, "This one doesn't sell well, and it's made fresh daily—if it doesn't sell, I have to throw it out. I run a small business; I can't afford the loss."

Xiao Lancui had picked his flavor.

Last time he'd had strawberry candy; this time he grabbed a pack of bayberry-flavored candy.

That whiff of bayberry aroma from the classroom had stirred his cravings.

He also marveled at how fast modern shipping was. That kind of fragrance could only come from fresh bayberries, and since it was winter and not yet bayberry season domestically, that basket of fruit must have been flown in from a country currently in summer.

He looked up and smiled as he set down the candy. "I promise I'll come."

Zhao Lan beamed. She took the candy and scanned it, laugh lines crinkling at the corners of her eyes. "Done! Starting tomorrow, I'll stock it every day! Alright, that'll be 27 yuan total!"

Xiao Lancui scanned his code to pay and said casually, "Though I'm a senior with a lot on my plate and sometimes don't come to campus—how about we add each other on WeChat? I'll leave you a message the day before I come, so you can plan your orders more easily."

Zhao Lan couldn't have asked for more. She was so excited her hands trembled as she fumbled in her apron pocket a few times before successfully pulling out her phone.

After adding each other, Zhao Lan kept staring at Xiao Lancui's retreating figure. Once she was sure he was far enough away, she quickly tapped into his Moments.

However—

His Moments only showed the last three days.

Zhao Lan looked down in disappointment, but she quickly cheered up again. This was already better than ever before—now she had Xiao Lancui on WeChat, and the next time he posted about Xiao Anfeng, she'd be able to see it!

While Zhao Lan hummed a happy tune on her end, Xiao Lancui walked out of the second cafeteria, heading for the library. City University's library had an extensive collection, and he still had over an hour of lunch break to kill.

Before he could leave, a figure suddenly blocked his path.

Xiao Anfeng frowned. "I need to talk to you."

Xiao Anfeng had changed into another camel-colored turtleneck. Xiao Lancui gave him a faint look and said, "Make it quick. It's too cold, and I can't stand it."

Xiao Anfeng curled the corner of his mouth in a cold sneer. "Since you're so precious, I'll take you to a café."

He was about to turn away when Xiao Lancui interrupted, "No need. I know you despise me."

The corner of Xiao Anfeng's eye twitched. He immediately asked, "What else did you remember?"

"Nothing." Xiao Lancui really was cold. Despite his scarf covering most of his face, the chill seeped in from all directions.

Today seemed especially cold.

His lips had gone a bit pale too. "Your attitude toward me says enough."

Only then did Xiao Anfeng breathe a sigh of relief. He had truly worried that Xiao Lancui might have remembered something else—like the figure that pushed him into the sea being a woman. He got straight to the point: "I'm here to remind you that Huo Shenan is still in the hospital because of you. He used to be on good terms with you, so you should at least visit him. He's in Xingkang Hospital, Room 306."

Xiao Anfeng left right away, not giving Xiao Lancui a chance to say no.

On the ambulance ride taking Huo Shenan to the hospital, Huo Shenan briefly came to for a few seconds and actually grabbed his hand, asking, "Xiao Anfeng, are you alright..."

Only then did he realize that Huo Shenan liked him too.

Now that he was making a move on Lu Siye, Huo Shenan's feelings for him were a huge problem. He wanted to push Xiao Lancui and Huo Shenan together—killing two birds with one stone, while also making Lu Siye more guarded around Xiao Lancui.

Xiao Lancui, though, couldn't begin to guess at Xiao Anfeng's little schemes. He didn't bother trying, and he didn't care much about what Xiao Anfeng said. Having already wasted a good chunk of time, he skipped the library and found a café to kill time during the lunch break. In the afternoon, he sat in on some physics classes.

The lectures were all top-notch. Three classes flew by, and Xiao Lancui was left wanting more. As students filed out one by one, he organized his notes. He had raised the difficulty for himself—this time doing simultaneous interpretation, switching between Russian, German, and English.

He'd made a mistake this time. He carefully fixed it, and when he looked up, it was pitch black outside. He pulled out his phone—7:10. Xiao Jingli had called half an hour ago and he'd missed it.

Tomorrow was Saturday. After a moment's thought, Xiao Lancui slung his bag over his shoulder, walked out of the classroom, and called Xiao Jingli back.

"Still at school, not coming home for dinner." Xiao Lancui walked toward the campus exit. The school cafeteria didn't have any real food left at this hour, so he planned to find a restaurant off-campus for dinner.

City University was a prestigious school over a hundred years old, with plenty of nice restaurants around it.

"Dad, are you free tomorrow?" Xiao Lancui asked his real question.

Sun Xiao had been transferred away, but he still wanted a backup plan—tomorrow he'd take Xiao Jingli somewhere they absolutely couldn't run into Sun Xiao.

Without waiting for Xiao Jingli to answer, Xiao Lancui went on, unhurried, "These past few days, I've been getting sudden flashes—fragments of images. They might be old memories."

Xiao Jingli's breathing got heavier. He laughed and said, "That's great. Let's book a doctor's appointment—want Dad to take you for a check-up tomorrow?"

Xiao Lancui gave a faint smile. "Thanks, Dad."

Not giving Xiao Jingli a chance to dig deeper, he hung up. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the two shadows on the ground cast by the streetlights—shadows moving toward him fast.

His eyes narrowed. Just then, two male students walked toward him from the front, chatting and laughing, but their eyes were clearly locked on him. Xiao Lancui immediately knew something was off. His fingertip hovered over the keypad, while his peripheral vision swept left and right. There was a patch of waist-high bushes he could use—cutting through them would buy him a few seconds from these guys, and he could use that window to call for help.

He quickly plotted an escape route, but it was too late.

The moment he moved, the four people around him closed in on him at once. At the same time, the taste of blood surged up in his throat. Before he could even reach the bushes, a wet towel was clamped over his mouth and nose from behind. An overwhelming wave of sweet, pungent, spicy fumes flooded into him.

It was ether.

Through the haze, he caught a faint, elusive scent of fresh orange. Then everything went black.

His phone slipped out of his hand and one of them caught it. The call to 110 was still connected, and the operator kept asking, "Hello? Are you there?"

The guy let out an "Ah" and apologized politely, "Sorry, officer—my little brother accidentally pressed my phone. Sorry about that."

The operator laughed and hung up.

The guy turned off Xiao Lancui's phone and tossed it into a trash can. He pulled out his own phone, made a call, and walked off with his buddies, supporting Xiao Lancui between them. Their voices faded away.

"Boss, it's done."

At the same time, two long, slender fingers—index and middle, covered in red and pale scars of varying depths—fished Xiao Lancui's phone out of the trash can.

Lu Ao closed his hand.

There was a *crack.*

The phone nearly cracked in half.

The impostor had plenty of enemies.

If these guys could take care of him, he'd reap the benefits without lifting a finger.

Lu Ao followed at a relaxed pace.

The guys, supporting Xiao Lancui with arms slung over shoulders, pretending to be close buddies, moved with clear purpose through the dark campus. After a while, they arrived at a spot.

A heavy iron door swung open. Even from dozens of meters away, Lu Ao felt the blast of cold air.

Lu Ao's fingertip slowly traced the blade in his hand. Oh—they were going to throw the impostor into a freezer?