Volume One, Chapter Three: Tempestuous
Most of the information came from one person. Ignoring the others, Mu Yao first sent Wang Rui a message to let her know she was safe. Then, she calmly sat in the police station lobby to change her train ticket and request leave. She was the first to go tomorrow, but she definitely wouldn’t make it in time. So, she decided to relax a little and conveniently “fall ill” at the crucial moment.
...
Gu Nanxiao leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, his eyes fixed on the girl playing with her phone nearby. The girl’s makeup skills were truly impressive. At first, he thought it was just a similar voice, but it turned out to be the real person. Gu Nanxiao smirked. For the first time in his life, he found himself interested in someone other than a suspect.
The diligent and responsible Chinese teacher everyone talked about at school, the stunningly beautiful doll-like girl at the cosplay convention, and the mysterious woman who had pushed open his door and lunged at him last night… they were all the same person.
He casually grabbed a bottle of mineral water and placed it gently beside her. Mu Yao’s view was suddenly blocked, and a familiar clean scent wafted to her nose. She lowered her head and silently moved to a different seat, putting as much distance between herself and the man as possible.
Gu Nanxiao raised an eyebrow at her reaction. Wasn’t she lively just a moment ago? Did he ask some embarrassing question that made her suddenly deflate? His first instinct was that he didn’t want to see her like this. After a pause, he picked up the water bottle and moved closer to where she sat.
Mu Yao lifted her eyelids slightly and shifted seats again. It was past midnight in the police station lobby. The two began a tacit game of chase and retreat. Unconsciously, Mu Yao moved to the very edge of the bench and, out of habit, stood up to keep going. Gu Nanxiao’s quick reflexes caught her before she could sit on the floor.
“Be careful.”
Mu Yao jerked her hand away and stood aside, arms crossed in grievance, refusing to communicate. Gu Nanxiao sighed helplessly. She understood the reasoning—after all, the police weren’t her relatives; it was unreasonable to expect them to give her special treatment just because she said something was wrong.
“Mu Yao…”
Her lowered eyes suddenly widened.
“You checked my personal information?! I just wanted to leave quickly, is that so much to ask?!”
All the exhaustion and tangled emotions of the night exploded from Mu Yao at Gu Nanxiao’s words. Her voice of disbelief echoed through the police station lobby. After speaking, she bypassed him, grabbed her phone from the bench where she’d thrown it, and left without looking back.
After she left, Gu Nanxiao chuckled ruefully and bent down to the spot where she had just sat. Good intentions taken for granted.
...
The next morning, Mu Yao sat on the high-speed train back to school, dazed and listless. She hadn’t checked the almanac before leaving yesterday; not only did she end up in one of the most bizarre cosplay incidents of her life, but she had also lost her phone charger. Estimating the time, she ordered a new charger and switched to WeChat.
She searched for familiar names in her contacts but found none. Instead, there was a new contact named “[Emoji].” Mu Yao: ... Perhaps there was no need to ask. Just from that name, she could guess everything.
...
Winter in the capital was biting cold, with piercing winds cutting across faces. People on the street huddled their necks and hurried. “Yao Yao, slow down! What’s gotten into you, running in this freezing weather?” Wang Rui shouted, struggling to be heard against the howling wind.
By the time Wang Rui arrived at the track, Mu Yao had already run countless laps. Just chasing her half a lap felt like plunging into an ice cellar. Yet the girl ahead seemed oblivious, stubbornly carrying on.
Mu Yao was full of anger and desperately needed to vent. She had just tried to participate in an event normally, almost got seriously hurt, and was now subjected to inexplicable arrangements. From start to finish, she was simply an incredibly unlucky citizen.
She got to school only to be scolded harshly by the counselor. Then came the makeup exam arrangement. Setting aside the strange difficulty of the content, it was her own fault. A message from the capital’s police station completely broke Mu Yao’s already bent spirit.
Apparently, the cosplayer involved had psychological issues and couldn’t distinguish game from reality, which caused the incident of injury. Because of this, the police station arranged psychological evaluations in batches for everyone present—at a designated hospital, at their own expense.
When people are speechless, they sometimes just laugh in disbelief. Seeing her scheduled check-up time, Mu Yao almost exploded. Morning defense, afternoon examination. Fine, she was busier than the Spring Festival Gala schedule.
The defense was her own doing, but what about the medical exam? She was just an innocent cosplayer trying to fix her makeup!
Wang Rui watched Mu Yao run faster and strip off layers of clothes in the cold, her anxiety growing. Eventually, a few friends teamed up to drag Mu Yao back to the dorm.
...
On the day of the defense, Mu Yao left the classroom with a sour face, quickly packed up, and headed to the capital. Upon entering the hospital waiting area, Mu Yao hesitated.
At that moment, Gu Nanxiao happened to look up toward the entrance. Mu Yao’s nerves instantly tightened, and she cautiously watched him, feeling his gaze on her was strange—as if harboring ill intentions.
...
Mu Yao spent a long two hours in the examination room. She felt that if this went on, her currently healthy mental state would become unhealthy. Looking at the freshly printed report in her hand, she sighed.
When she stepped outside, only one tall figure with long legs remained in the waiting room. The doors to other examination rooms were open.
Mu Yao: ... She vaguely remembered she hadn’t been the last to go in. When handing over her report to the tall figure, her eyes caught the thickness of the other people’s reports. Unintentionally peeking into others’ privacy, just judging by volume, hers was much thicker than six others combined.
Her gaze rose to meet the calm expression of the man.
“What’s going on?” he asked, noticing she hadn’t handed over the report after a few attempts.
“You have special circumstances, so you have more test items,” she replied.
In the instant of their eye contact, sparks flew. The small flame burning in Mu Yao’s eyes flared up, while Gu Nanxiao’s gaze held amusement.
She’d cracked the case—now she knew why her report was so thick. War was declared!
Mu Yao smiled slightly and loosened her grip on the report.
You, tall legs!
...
Back home, Mu Yao tossed and turned in bed until midnight. The anger she’d carried since the convention still choked her. Today, the tall-legged man had even caused this much trouble!
Unable to bear it, she grabbed the phone she’d tossed on the bedside table and searched for a suitable store. After some fuss, she looked at the successful payment screen and smiled with satisfaction.
Her irritation finally dropped from 100% to 99%. Not much, but enough to help her sleep.
On the day the item arrived, Mu Yao brought it to the familiar police station. Approaching the service desk, she suddenly realized a serious problem.
“Hello, miss. How may I assist you today?”
Mu Yao: ... Looking for trouble—what service is that?