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Xiang'er bit her lip, her hands gripping the edge of the chair as she lowered her head. Upon hearing Ye Chenfeng's words, she lifted her gaze slightly to glance at him, but the moment their eyes met, she instinctively turned away, trying to distance herself from him.
"What are you afraid of?"
Ye Chenfeng deliberately moved closer to Xiang'er, hoping to sense something unusual about her. However, despite being so near, he felt no strange aura emanating from her—not even a hint.
He pondered the events that had transpired. Could it really have nothing to do with Xiang'er? But if it had no connection, that would be impossible. In this world, while coincidences do occur, having two incidents coincide like this was simply unbelievable.
"Xiang'er, do you not like Chenfeng Brother anymore?"
Xiang'er seemed lost in thought, as if weighing her response. When she heard him mention not liking him, she quickly raised her head and replied, "I like you; I've always liked Chenfeng Brother."
In that instant when Xiang'er looked up, Ye Chenfeng caught a glimpse of confusion in her eyes. Her expression fluctuated between seriousness and bewilderment; she was clearly frightened and hesitant. He reached out and grabbed her hand, but she jerked back in panic, stammering defensively, "It's not me; I didn't do anything. It was all him..."
"Who is he?" Ye Chenfeng pressed on without releasing her hand.
"I don't know! I don't know! Don't ask me; I don't know... I don't know..." Xiang'er suddenly lost control of her emotions, pulling her hand from his grasp and instinctively covering her ears. The terror on her face startled him. Before he could say anything else, Xiang'er turned and ran away without a backward glance.
Xiang'er fled, and Ye Chenfeng chased after her.
People in front scattered to avoid her. Those who couldn't get out of the way were knocked down by Xiang'er as she continued to sprint madly outside.
Xiang'er ran fast.
Ye Chenfeng found it difficult to keep up; he had experienced her speed back in Zhanglin Village. This was an orphanage, and once she burst out onto the streets, she would vanish into the bustling crowd. If Xiang'er escaped into the sea of people, he would be in serious trouble.
"Xiang'er, stop!" he shouted, but his frantic pursuit was futile. Spotting someone ahead, he yelled, "Stop her!"
Most of the people ahead were children playing outside or teachers temporarily hired to give lessons. They saw Xiang'er running and Ye Chenfeng chasing after her but were completely unaware of what was happening.
Xiang'er finally ran out of the welfare home.
She quickly disappeared into the bustling crowd.
Ye Chenfeng trailed behind, a beat too slow. He looked at the throng of people, like a tide, and after running for a while, he completely lost sight of her, left only to sigh in frustration. Behind him followed a young beauty who looked surprised and asked Ye Chenfeng, "What did you say to her? She..."
"I didn't say much to her, just talked for a bit, and then... well, that's it." Ye Chenfeng explained while politely extending his hand. "I'm sorry if my tone was harsh earlier. I'm one of Xiang'er's guardians. And you are?"
"I'm a substitute teacher at Purple City University, a junior named Li Xin."
"Purple City University? How come I haven't seen you before?"
"There are thousands of students at Purple City University. You can't expect to know every single one, can you?"
The young teacher, Li Xin, was anxious, fearing that people would misunderstand and think the welfare home was mistreating the children, causing them to run away. She had signed a contract with the welfare home specifically to teach its children. Each of those kids was her student.
Not one of them could be missing; nothing could go wrong. At least until they were adopted, they had to remain safe and sound.
With Li Xin's interjection, Ye Chenfeng found himself at a loss for words. He awkwardly pulled out his phone and dialed Qin Keqing's number.
Qin Keqing quickly answered the call, starting off with a curse. "Damn it! You've been unreachable; I couldn't get through to you! What the hell are you doing?"
"I’m telling you that Xiang'er has run away from the welfare home. You need to hurry and call those two to help me look for her," Ye Chenfeng said as he noticed someone rushing across the street they had just crossed, hurrying toward them.
From a distance, he saw that the person was wearing the uniform of a nurse from the welfare home. The nurse was shouting something as he ran and gesturing toward Li Xin, looking quite urgent.
He covered the mouthpiece of his phone and said to Li Xin, "Sorry, it seems someone is looking for you over there."
Li Xin had prepared many things to say and was ready to vent her frustrations on Ye Chenfeng after he finished his call. But now that she heard someone was looking for her, she turned to see it was Liu Master.
Liu Master was the gardener of the orphanage, dedicated to tending to the flowers and plants. Occasionally, he would be called upon to help some of the disabled children in the orphanage. He had a talent for storytelling; the various tales he spun felt so real that they captivated many children who gathered around to listen.
As a result, all the kids at the orphanage adored Liu Master, secretly calling him Story Liu.
One day, Story Liu approached Li Xin to share a terrifying incident that had just occurred a few minutes earlier: the Director of the Welfare Institute had died in her office, and the scene was horrific.
Ye Chenfeng and Li Xin, upon hearing this news, couldn't help but gasp in shock. Just moments ago, he had been with Xiang'er, pondering how there could be an aura of death surrounding the Director when she seemed perfectly fine and was so young.
They didn't have time to look for Xiang'er and hurried back to the orphanage.
All the children were inside, huddled together.
Law enforcement had arrived and set up a perimeter around the office.
Ye Chenfeng and Li Xin rushed over but were unable to enter; they could only listen to Story Liu's brief account.
Story Liu explained that the Director had mentioned assigning him a task related to an upcoming event. She wanted him to tidy up the garden and introduce some new plant varieties to give the children a fresh experience.
After waiting for quite some time and finishing one story after another without seeing the Director, he grew impatient and decided to check on her in her office.
In the past, whenever Story Liu knocked on the door, the Director would immediately know it was him.
However, this time he knocked for a long while without receiving any response.
Feeling puzzled, he pushed the door open and stepped inside. What he saw made his heart drop: the Director lay sprawled on her back, her eyes wide open in horror, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Her face was charred blackened as if burned by fire.
The office desk bore faint scorch marks, and her body was unrecognizable from being burned beyond repair.
The investigation results from the relevant authorities revealed that the cause of death for Ye Chenfeng's mother was identical to that of the deceased—both had been burned from within their bodies. This marked the second bizarre death incident, and the authorities were taking these strange cases very seriously.
As the body of the director was about to be taken away, Ye Chenfeng squeezed through and addressed the officer in uniform, "Excuse me, I am Ye Chenfeng, a relative of the first bizarre death case. May I see the director?"
"I'm sorry, but we do not have the authority to allow you to see him," came the stern refusal from the officer as they took away the director's body.
The police tape around the office remained intact, prohibiting anyone from entering or exiting without permission. A white seal marked the director's office.
Ye Chenfeng closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath, replaying the events in his mind—how the director had mentioned that Xiang'er was talking to herself in the middle of the night, as if she were conversing with someone or arguing about something!
Was the director's death related to this?
Stepping outside with Li Xin, who wore a pained expression and sighed heavily, "What a good person she was. How could she die so inexplicably? And in such a bizarre manner!"
If anyone felt more heartbroken, it was Story Liu.
According to him, the director was like an older sister to him, caring for him in every way possible.
He had once been a scavenger, earning only a few dollars a day by wandering through the streets. Then he happened upon the director one day while she was telling stories to someone and thought to invite her to the welfare home to tell stories to the children.
With nothing else to do, Story Liu took on the role of gardener at the welfare home.
Good people live longer!
He sighed again, worried whether future directors would continue to employ him. He wondered if he would still be able to spend time with the children there and share his experiences by turning them into stories for them.
With his mind occupied, Ye Chenfeng couldn't comfort Story Liu. He excused himself and set off in search of Xiang'er.
"Are you going to look for her?" Unexpectedly, Li Xin followed behind and asked him.
Ye Chenfeng told Li Xin that he was going to find Xiang'er, and she insisted on coming along, believing that having one more person would make their search more effective.
This was how Li Xin got to know Ye Chenfeng.
Xiang'er was not from Purple City, and she was unfamiliar with its surroundings, so Ye Chenfeng couldn't guarantee where she might go.
He and Li Xin searched high and low through the streets and alleys, but Qin Keqing had also told him that she hadn't found anything. As night fell, a light rain began to fall with the wind, drizzling over every corner of Purple City.
Tired birds returned to their nests, and weary people hurried home.
Yet in the chaotic streets and alleys, calls echoed out.
"Xiang'er, where are you?"
In truth, Xiang'er heard the calls. Although she couldn't tell who was calling her, a deep fear gripped her heart.
It felt as if someone inside her was warning: If you betray me, the next person to die will be your beloved Chenfeng Brother.
I don't want Chenfeng Brother to die.
Xiang'er told herself countless times that she needed to stay away from Chenfeng Brother. She believed she was a harbinger of disaster; anyone who got close to her would not end up well.
The Director of the Welfare Institute treated her very well.
She was afraid, yet the director would only smile at her as she fell asleep before leaving.
Every time she woke up terrified from a nightmare, the director was the first to reach her side.
The children in the orphanage were all very happy, except for her. The voice inside her body tormented her constantly, urging her to find the remaining relatives of Ye Chenfeng.
Xiang'er was unwilling to go. She hid in a dark corner, sobbing softly.
Her slender shoulders trembled in the cold wind and rain, curled up like a homeless kitten.
In her line of sight, a lamp flickered in the darkness like a star. She did not feel the warmth of light; instead, she feared that the lamp would disappear into the darkness. People had gone to sleep, and happy children were nestled beside their parents, being spoiled and playing with their favorite toys. At the very least, they were in warm houses watching their beloved cartoons.
But Xiang'er had nothing.
She felt like the little match girl, only able to watch others enjoy delicious roasted goose through the window while she froze and starved in the icy cold until she succumbed to the frost.
Xiang'er had heard this story told by Story Liu at the orphanage. She hadn’t approached to listen but stood far away, envying those carefree little friends and those her age.
A pungent stench filled the air. Xiang'er knew she could only curl up by the trash can so that no one would notice her existence. Even if someone did notice, it would only be with disdainful glances.
A drunk man stumbled along, holding a bottle of alcohol, mumbling something incoherent yet inappropriate for children.
He spotted the little kitten curled up by the trash can.
The kitten looked pitiful and terrified, shrinking deeper into the trash can.
The drunk man was burly with long arms; he effortlessly grabbed hold of this homeless little kitten.
At the same time, he was surprised to find that this little kitten was actually quite pretty. She wore a floral dress with a high ponytail and was barefoot. Her dirty little face had eyes that sparkled with cleverness.
"Come here, kitty, let uncle play a game with you," the drunk man said as he caught Xiang'er.
Xiang'er was terrified; she struggled in vain. To the drunk man, she looked like a tender little cabbage. His bright eyes and drooling mouth paired with his perpetually foul-smelling hands held Xiang'er tightly.
Chi - the dress was torn, revealing the small body that was not yet fully plump, and lacked an alluring white and tender luster in the darkness. "My baby..." Drunk Man, Jiu Zui understood clearly. He couldn't wait to take off his pants, took out the stick-like thing, and pressed Xiang'er against the wall. Make it mandatory to play games only for adults. Xiang'er was terrified. This was the first time she had endured such a frightening thing. The panic from her heart forced her to shout heartbreakingly: "Help..." Drunk Man The object has not yet reached its destination. On the ground, a bunch of flames from his mouth suddenly exploded, and the flames instantly contained him, and the fire instantly swallowed up his items that made Xiang'er chill, and his huge body. Soon, in just a few minutes, the moment people found out, Drunk Man was like a black piece of burnt coke, and he fell to the ground with a bang. He could no longer drink, and he could no longer bully Xiang'er. Someone burned himself to death. This corresponds to a popular saying among the people: Those who play with fire will burn themselves. Ye Chenfeng heard people around him talking about this matter, so he hurried over with Li Xin. The charred corpse on the ground has been taken away, but the trash can is still there, but there is no Xiang'er he is looking for. "She, was she here just now?"Li The body spontaneously combusts. But even if you don't eat the hottest garbage in the legend, spontaneous combustion incidents will happen one after another and people will die. Why does this feel so evil?
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