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Chapitre 7

Chen Yanfei quickly lifted her skirt and crawled over: "It seems I really know them! This is Mr. Song, this is Boss Li, and this one's surname is Zhao, right? He seems to be from Hong Kong, here to do business!"

"Alright!" Fei Xiao said, releasing her grip. The mist dissipated instantly, like the rising sun at dawn. "Let's go find those three people!"

"Do you know how to find them?" Chen Kai asked him.

"Of course, these things hold their memories; I remember them!"

After saying that, he opened the door and went out. "Let's go! My feeling is that they are all in this city. Let's leave quickly!"

Like a child who had done something wrong, Chen Yanfei tugged at Fei Xiao's sleeve and whispered, "Thank you!" Completely different from when they first met, Chen Kai finally understood why people say women are fickle.

"Oh, just stop saying I'm a liar!" Fei Xiao turned around and smiled at her, "If there's an afterlife, I hope you can be happy!"

"You're lying!" she retorted. "I didn't lie!"

"Sigh~" Feixiao shook her head, realizing she couldn't do anything about it!

The three of them went out of the community again and searched in the vast night. Feixiao seemed to know everything and quickly led them to the first person, a slightly overweight middle-aged man surnamed Li, a businessman.

He was currently drinking and socializing at a hotel, his face as red as a ripe tomato. A few seats away, Fei Xiao asked her, "Is it him?"

"No!" Chen Yanfei shook her head. In this decadent setting, she seemed to have rediscovered that indifferent feeling. She tossed her long hair and said, "He doesn't give me any sense of attachment!"

"Then let's hurry and find the second person!" Feixiao said, pulling them away.

The second person was found quickly, at another hotel very close to this one. The man surnamed Zhao, who spoke Cantonese, was also drinking and entertaining guests.

"Let's go, let's go!" Chen Kai glanced at him. He was a skinny old man. If he were a woman, he wouldn't commit suicide for a guy like this. It was obviously a mistake!

"Sigh, just one more. What if it's not right?" Chen Kai walked wearily into the night. The endless night stretched on; he wondered when he would finally uncover the truth.

“That’s possible!” Fei Xiao said. “That guy surnamed Song seems to still be working at the company! And he seems to be the youngest among all these people!”

"Then let's hurry up and go!" Chen Kai suddenly seemed to have found a point of excitement. No doubt, it must be this person! He glanced back at Chen Yanfei's dusty face. What kind of person could make such a proud and aloof woman, who had seen the coldness of the world, want to die for him?

After walking several more blocks, we finally arrived at the entrance of a large building, a very luxurious and tall office building.

“This is it!” Feixiao said. “His office is upstairs!”

The three of them walked in without being stopped by any security guards. It's likely that there are surveillance cameras everywhere in such a public place, so as long as they don't do anything wrong, no one will care.

After taking the elevator up, Fei Xiao led them to an office door. "We're here! This is it!"

He pushed open the door and went inside, passing through a series of small cubicles where ordinary employees worked. He stopped outside a door and, through a large glass window, could see a man in a suit and tie working inside. He looked to be in his early twenties and appeared quite shrewd.

"Is it him?" Feixiao pointed to the man inside from outside the door.

"I...I don't know. But when I see him, I feel a pang of sadness!"

“Then go in and see his reaction. I can see you and I guess he’ll feel the same way!” Chen Kai said to her.

Chen Yanfei nodded to them, her eyes filled with tears: "Thank you. Maybe it is him. Even if it isn't, I won't regret it. No one has ever been so kind to me or thought of me like this before!"

"Let's go!" Feixiao said to her with a smile, "We'll wait for you! Once you've said what you needed to say, you'll have no more attachment to this world!"

She tossed her long, beautiful hair, like a waterfall, as if searching for courage to continue her actions. Chen Kai looked at her slender, red-clad figure and couldn't help but feel sad for her. How could such a woman, such a brave and beautiful woman, die so suddenly? Even though he had only encountered her spirit, he was already captivated by her deep love.

After walking several more blocks, we finally arrived at the entrance of a large building, a very luxurious and tall office building.

“This is it!” Feixiao said. “His office is upstairs!”

The three of them walked in without being stopped by any security guards. It's likely that there are surveillance cameras everywhere in such a public place, so as long as they don't do anything wrong, no one will care.

After taking the elevator up, Fei Xiao led them to an office door. "We're here! This is it!"

He pushed open the door and went inside, passing through a series of small cubicles where ordinary employees worked. He stopped outside a door and, through a large glass window, could see a man in a suit and tie working inside. He looked to be in his early twenties and appeared quite shrewd.

"Is it him?" Feixiao pointed to the man inside from outside the door.

"I...I don't know. But when I see him, I feel a pang of sadness!"

“Then go in and see his reaction. I can see you and I guess he’ll feel the same way!” Chen Kai said to her.

Chen Yanfei nodded to them, her eyes filled with tears: "Thank you. Maybe it is him. Even if it isn't, I won't regret it. No one has ever been so kind to me or thought of me like this before!"

"Let's go!" Feixiao said to her with a smile, "We'll wait for you! Once you've said what you needed to say, you'll have no more attachment to this world!"

She tossed her long, beautiful hair, like a waterfall, as if searching for courage to continue her actions. Chen Kai looked at her slender, red-clad figure and couldn't help but feel sad for her. How could such a woman, such a brave and beautiful woman, die so suddenly? Even though he had only encountered her spirit, he was already captivated by her deep love.

The door opened silently, and the man inside seemed to sense someone entering. He glanced up casually, and his face immediately contorted with astonishment. Standing in the doorway was a glamorous woman in a red dress, with bright, clear eyes and lips like rose petals. The woman bloomed in the gray office, making her even more alluring.

"Xiao Fei?" he said, and the pen in his hand fell to the table, dripping a black ink stain on the document he was about to sign.

“It’s me!” Chen Yanfei said. “How are you now, Zi’an?” When she saw his face, she remembered everything. This man named Song Zi’an had treated her so well, cherishing her like a princess, but she didn’t know how to appreciate it.

The man had a handsome, rugged face, but now grief had contorted it beyond recognition. "Xiao Fei, what's wrong? No matter what, it's enough that you came back to see me!"

"Zi'an, I'm so sorry!" she said, covering her face with her hands, tears streaming through her fingers.

"Don't be like this! I'm so happy to see you!" The man said as he walked up to her and wiped away her tears. "They all say you're dead, but I don't believe it. I know you'll come back to me and be my bride. My little Fei just went out to play for a while."

"No, no!" she said, looking up at the man before her. Such a good man, a good man who could give a woman like her, whom everyone scorned, a place to belong—why hadn't she cherished him? "I...I'm already dead!"

"No way, you're as beautiful as ever, how could you be dead?" The man still didn't believe it. "I don't care who you are, I know your past, but I just want to be with you for the rest of my life, is that not even allowed?"

"Zi'an!" Chen Yanfei said, tears streaming down her face again. "I'm not good enough for you. You should find a better girl. Someone like me is not good enough for you!"

"Is this all you came here to tell me?" the man said, tears streaming down his face.

"Yes, I owe you too much. If there is an afterlife, I will definitely repay you~" After saying that, she turned and ran out, crashing into Fei Xiao's arms as soon as she opened the door. "Take me away, take me away! I don't want to see this man again!" She screamed hoarsely, never expecting that the past she was searching for would be so unbearable to recall. The love she had lost and the feelings she hadn't known how to cherish were now laid out before her. What was the use? What was the use? She was already dead. Even if she regretted it, what then? The past was the past, and it could never be brought back. It was better to forget it, better to turn around and never look at him again, this man who had once been so devoted to her.

"Hey, are you sure you don't want to talk to him anymore?" Fei Xiao asked the person in her arms.

"No, no! I know you have a way. I need to get out of here right now!"

"Xiao Fei, who is this person?" The man surnamed Song chased after her, his face filled with anger when he saw Fei Xiao.

"Okay, let's go!" With that, he hugged the woman in red in his arms and disappeared in a flash.

Chen Kai and Song Zi'an were left standing there in astonishment in the empty office. The quiet, white cubicles seemed as if no one had ever been there, and a faint fragrance lingered in the air.

"Hey, hey, hey, what kind of man are you to leave me all alone?" Chen Kai said, then ran off, afraid that the man beside him might remember something and come after him.

Song Zian stood alone outside the office door, feeling dazed. It all seemed unreal on this late summer/early autumn night. Perhaps it was just a dream. In the blink of an eye, everything vanished. After youth faded, everything was gone.

Chapter Two: Gifts

Chen Kai scrambled downstairs. Fei Xiao and Chen Yanfei, one in white and the other in red, stood out starkly in the darkness. The night breeze was cool, enough to dispel all worries.

"Hey, how could you just leave me all alone like this?" Chen Kai shouted as he ran over. These two guys were really inconsiderate.

"Forget it, I don't want to look anymore~" Chen Yanfei sighed softly.

"Why? Didn't you find him? Isn't this the person you're looking for?"

"I don't think so?" Fei Xiao shook her head: "She hasn't disappeared yet, and her wish hasn't been fulfilled!"

"But I don't want to look anymore!" Chen Yanfei sobbed softly. "Maybe it's better for me to forget everything. I shouldn't think about the past anymore!"

Turning back to them, she said, "Thank you, but I'm so tired, even more tired than when I was alive. Let's go back!"

"Go back where?" Chen Kai asked.

"I haven't even fulfilled my duty as a host when I get back to my home!" After saying this, he sighed again. This feeling can only be recalled in retrospect, for at the time it was all in vain.

Chen Kai watched her retreating figure, which seemed even more forlorn than when she arrived.

It was already past midnight when the three of them returned to the Royal View Apartment. Chen Kai sat on the sofa and stretched his legs. He no longer cared whether someone had died on that sofa; all he cared about now was whether it was soft enough.

"Who could it be?" Fei Xiao muttered to herself.

"Sigh, don't think about it anymore. They haven't even looked for you, so why are you still thinking about it?"

"How could this be? How could there be something I can't find?" Fei Xiao said, looking dejected, as if she had really suffered a great blow.

"Sigh, did you do your best? And didn't she find a part of her past?" Chen Kai said, stretching lazily. "I'm so tired. I've been running around for so long, it's already past three o'clock!"

He reached out and touched the telephone next to him. "Beep—" A long tone rang out in the dark room.

"Wow, that startled me! How come the call is still going on?" Chen Kai was so startled by the sudden sound that he sat up abruptly.

But before she could recover from her shock, a middle-aged man's voice rang out: "Yanyan, what's wrong? Why aren't you answering?"

It was a recorded phone call. Then came another message: "Stop acting like a child. This is Teacher Liu. Call me back when you have time!"

Chen Kai and Fei Xiao were both surprised. They looked at each other for a long time. "Teacher? The fourth man is actually the teacher?"

"What's wrong? You two?" A soft, alluring voice came from behind, sounding somewhat ethereal in the darkness. The two quickly turned around and saw Chen Yanfei, heavily made up, emerge. "I never thought I could still put on makeup after I'm dead! I've decided to leave tomorrow. Whether I find anyone in this world or not, I have no regrets!"

"Um, um..." Chen Kai asked cautiously, "What impression do you have of the teacher?"

"What? What teacher?" She stared wide-eyed, completely bewildered, having truly forgotten everything.

"Where's that notebook, that yearbook?" Feixiao asked her hurriedly.

"Right here?" she said, picking up a notebook from the ground and handing it over. "What are you thinking about?"

Feixiao held the notebook, feeling around for a while, and found a ring inside the cover—a small silver ring. Her heart skipped a beat. This woman, no matter who gave her anything, had never made any promises. Only this tattered notebook contained a ring that meant someone could take care of her for life.

"Do you recognize this?" Fei Xiao asked, handing her the small ring.

Holding the ring, her smile froze on her face. After a long silence, she said softly, "Forever abandoned, my fireworks companion."

"What? What do you mean? Have you remembered something?" Chen Kai was overjoyed, finally the truth was about to be revealed.

"That's right, I'm going to ask him. I know who I'm supposed to see!" With that, he ran out of the room and eagerly rushed into the dark corridor.

"What's going on? Who is she going to see?" Chen Kai was puzzled.

“This is the person!” Fei Xiao said, handing Chen Kai the worn-out notebook. The first page contained words of blessing, which, in the moonlight, could be faintly seen to be the ones Fei Xiao had read to him before. The signature at the end was in a flamboyant, cursive script—Liu Wencai.

Chen Yanfei seemed to have remembered something. Wearing red high heels, she ran ahead without getting tired. The two of them chased after her, but there was always a distance between them. Chen Kai watched from behind as her clothes fluttered in the wind, like a moth in the night, not knowing where it would fly.

Chen Kai didn't know how long he had been running, but his legs gradually felt unresponsive. Since meeting Fei Xiao, he could train his long-distance running anytime. He also felt increasingly out of place in this world. With so many modes of transportation available, he ended up running whenever it mattered.

"Feixiao, take a break, I can't go on!" Chen Kai squatted down on the ground.

"Hurry up, or I'll leave first, and you can come back later!" Fei Xiao said without changing her expression.

"Oh, don't leave me alone! I'm afraid of the dark!" Chen Kai cried out, but still gritted his teeth and followed.

After running for an unknown amount of time, Chen Yanfei finally stopped in front of a tenement building.

"This, this is the place you're looking for?" Chen Kai gasped for breath. This place was clearly inferior to the office building where that guy surnamed Song had been. What kind of person lived here that could make a beauty like Chen Yanfei give her life?

"Shall we wait here?" Chen Yanfei turned to them and said, "He's very tired, so let's not disturb him." Her eyes were full of tenderness and reluctance.

"Huh?" Chen Kai had never seen her eyes like that before, and he was surprised. They were so tender and gentle, and her previous arrogance had vanished.