Die Landschaft ist wie ein Gemälde

Kapitel 49

"Where did she go?" I shook the nurse's arm, my heart pounding with anxiety.

The hospital bed was empty again. This time, her hospital gown and blankets were neatly folded. Her Walkman was placed on top of her clothes, the music abruptly stopped, as if she had said some kind of goodbye and would never return.

I felt weak in my limbs and dizzy, so I rushed out of the hospital and went straight to school.

I called Mo Yan: "Apple is missing! If she goes to the boys' dormitory, you must stop her no matter what! If anything happens to Apple again, I will never forgive you for the rest of my life."

I didn't care who brought the basket of poisoned fruit; I just wanted to ensure their past kindness wasn't extinguished.

The school was completely dark.

dark?!

Never before seen.

I asked the security guard what was going on.

〖JP3〗He said the school's power distribution room had malfunctioned, and the malfunction was very serious; it was likely that the power would not be restored overnight. 〖JP〗Section 128: Love and Friendship (7)

The endless darkness was incredibly disorienting to my eyes. The streets outside the school gates were still brightly lit, while the pitch-black campus felt like another world, a hellish realm. I groped my way deeper into the darkness; the boys' dormitory at the northernmost part of the campus was where Da Jeep lived.

North...

Tonight's moon is unexpectedly large, unbelievably large. It gradually rises higher and higher, casting its shadow upon all those in darkness, like a wheel of fate looking down from the heavens at the helplessness of human joys and sorrows.

North...

The North Gate, considered an inauspicious gate by the Black Tortoise, was sealed off by the school years ago. Since then, everyone only knew that University A had three gates—east, west, and south—and never knew why the north gate was missing. And now… the dormitory building of the large Jeep is shrouded in this ominous influence.

Please, please don't let anything happen!

But my heart was pounding so hard, it was as if a vast expanse of red appeared before my eyes...red?

It was blindingly red.

Why have all the buildings and roads I've passed turned red? That's not right! Even if the walls are red, how come the green of the trees has turned crimson as well?

I froze for a moment, my heart seemed to stop beating, and I felt a tightness in my chest, as if I was suffocating. When I clutched my chest and looked up again, I found that everything was normal.

phantom?

Is this another omen I foresaw?

Things that are clearly visible are not frightening; it is the vague and unpredictable phenomena that are unsettling.

The northernmost dormitory building was only a hundred steps away. I rushed over eagerly, at the fastest speed I'd ever been...

"boom--"

A deafening roar followed, and then a series of explosions. In the midst of my mental chaos, suddenly, the boys' dormitory building to the north exploded.

What happened?

Students kept running away from me in a panic.

"What happened?" I grabbed one of them and asked anxiously.

"I don't know! A small girl rushed into the first floor of the men's dormitory and lit something. It exploded right away; I didn't even see it clearly." The other person broke free, panting, and ran away.

My temples were so painful I lost all feeling...

Apple, is it really you?

I can't believe it.

I ran in the opposite direction from everyone else; the fire had already spread to the entire first floor. The rain had long since stopped, but the wind was still howling fiercely, and flames, carrying hot currents, rushed towards the second floor. A chorus of panicked screams erupted as people poured out of the exits like a receding tide.

I'm going to rush in.

A thick, long arm grabbed me, its force so great that it bounced me back.

"Mo Yan? How could it be you?" My eyes flashed with fear.

"Don't go! It's burned beyond recognition."

"What?!" My heart sank to the bottom of the sea. "Where's the apple?"

I grabbed his arm and screamed hysterically, "What did you do to the apple?"

"It wasn't us. She brought her own things in to look for the Jeep. Nobody saw clearly before it exploded. There's still a foul smell of gas in the hallway. It seems like the gas stove in the convenience store on the first floor leaked, and the fire started instantly and couldn't be stopped."

I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face: "I told you to keep an eye on her! Don't let her impulsively go see the Jeep! How could you let her..."

Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. I shook him off and frantically tried to rush into the inferno. Mo Yan chased after me, used brute force to hoist me onto his shoulder, and ran in the opposite direction of the fire.

"Damn it! Put me down!"

I cried and tore at his clothes and hair, but it was no use. A fiery red blurred my vision, tears streaming down my face, an inextinguishable flame...

apple!

apple!!

Did you just disappear like that?

I don't believe it!

I don't believe it!

It's so cold.

I was sitting in the school clinic getting an IV drip, my high fever persisting after the shock. Mo Yan said I was burning up, but I was shivering with cold. Mingyang's trench coat was on me, offering a little warmth, but I still couldn't stop trembling.

"Don't think about it anymore, okay? Your own health is the most important thing."

Mo Yan handed over a paper cup of hot water.

"Why haven't you left yet?" I kept my head down, unwilling to look at him, and refused to take the cup from his hand.

"Do you hate me?" He squatted down, his tall frame like a child who had done something wrong. "I'd rather you hate me than go to such a dangerous place."

"No...no..." I sobbed, tears welling in my eyes. "Why didn't you stop her? You know she's an emotional child, she can't stand being taken advantage of, and she's so impulsive, she's bound to do something stupid. Why didn't you stop her?"

Section 129: Love and Friendship (8)

“I tried to stop her, but when I blocked her in the hallway, she looked up at me with bright eyes and asked, ‘Did you visit me at the hospital and bring me a fruit basket?’ I nodded. It was Agate who asked me to bring it. She said she felt she had gone too far and felt guilty. She wanted to visit Apple at the hospital, but she was too embarrassed and asked me to do it for her. Apple stared at me and asked, ‘You want to poison me with Agate, don’t you? If someone hadn’t accidentally eaten the fruit in that basket, I might be dead by now. I never thought you would do something so heartless for money.’ I was stunned. I wanted to go find Agate and confront her about why she did this. I swear, I really hesitated for a few minutes, maybe longer… Just for a moment, I stood there dumbfounded in the hallway, smelling a gas odor. I was still wondering where the smell was coming from when the dormitory room with the big jeep exploded, followed by… fire… You know how fast fire spreads when it comes into contact with gas. My shoes immediately caught sparks. I was terrified and ran outside as fast as I could…”

"You only cared about running away, didn't you even think about... what happened to Apple?" I bit my lip and clenched my fist.

I really want to punch him!

〖JP3〗“Don’t do this! Look at your hand…the medicine can’t get in, loosen your grip!” He pried my hand off. 〖JP〗

"Don't touch me!"

The cold tone was even colder than the confrontation in the air.

"You...hate me that much?" he whispered, his eyes filled with despair. He staggered backward, his body crashing heavily into the wall behind him.

I turned my face away from him, my tears falling onto the back of my hand, which also turned cold.

"I'm leaving." He turned away and wiped his eyes. "Take good care of yourself..."

That once elegant and graceful shooting posture has now become so wretched.

I pulled out the IV and ran back to the scene of the accident, trembling. There were quite a few onlookers; the police had cordoned off the building, and stretchers were constantly being carried in and out. Many people were injured. This completely broke the school's record of an even number of deaths every year; the extent of the casualties in this disaster was unknown. The shop owner who had been using a gas stove in the dormitory building without permission had also been detained. The crowd chattered amongst themselves, the topic constantly revolving around the girl who had rushed into the boys' dormitory and caused the explosion.

My heart feels like it's being ground down by a dull knife, apple! Silly child! I still couldn't hold you back... I couldn't seize fate by the throat...

The accident injured many people, but only the Jeep died. To be precise, the police did not find Apple's body; she vanished completely like a mystery.

I don't know whether to be sad or relieved. I prefer to believe she's still alive. As long as she's alive, one day I can still see her sweet smile, hear her hearty laughter and boisterous shouts, and see her again someday in the fifth student cafeteria, waving her arms and chatting about the World Cup with the boys, completely disregarding any ladylike manners.

That vibrant life will forever remain in my life, never leaving.

Yes, they never left.

In the dead of winter, I stood under a maple tree, reminiscing about old friends.

The wind rose and fell, leaving my feet damp. The sidewalks were lined with snow, a pristine white landscape, truly beautiful. I thought to myself, life seems to be constantly changing, catching you off guard. I never even imagined I'd be studying in Switzerland, but now, standing on Bernese soil, it's undeniable. Colorful balloons rose from the square, pigeons came to forage, children's innocent smiles—everything beautiful under the sun seemed perfectly ordinary.

"What are you thinking about, little girl?"

Someone called me. I turned around and saw Mingyang's light gray Armani trench coat fluttering in the breeze. His innocent smile always shone brightly in the sunlight: "Let's go!"

I walked over, and he lifted my left wrist, glancing at my Doubie Chrono Classic ceramic pilot's watch (IWC): "Perfect timing. Let's go home for dinner! Dad's waiting for us."

I nodded and followed him.

Two months ago, when I was at my lowest point, Mingyang came to pick me up. I didn't say anything; he understood everything just by looking into my eyes. The formalities were completed quickly; he wouldn't allow me to remain disheartened. I abandoned my original major and am now studying human medicine at Bern University, gaining a renewed understanding of the mysteries of life every day by researching nucleic acid genes and thousands of base genes. My current research focuses on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (BGF) genes. I think that perhaps one day, I can decipher the mysteries of the "ghost eye," making extradimensional life forms less mysterious. Of course, I'm still in the exploratory stage.

Mingyang held my hand tightly; the wooden eye carving on my right wrist, warm against my skin, connected us. Looking up at the sky, the heavens were so blue, intoxicatingly so, the clouds like thick cotton candy, drifting by one by one, carrying dreams and glory. I asked Mingyang, "Do you think the apple might end up with the great forest?"

He just smiled and didn't say anything.

After the apple disappeared, the great forest also vanished miraculously. Some say they saw a tall, handsome man swiftly carrying a girl away after the fire. No one knows where he came from or where he went; he and the girl who caused the fire disappeared without a trace.

One day, the phone rang at midnight. I answered it, but there was an unusual silence on the other end.

[JP3] After a silent response, I suddenly smiled; a joy welled up inside me, running wild like a deer. [JP]

I know that someone is also missing me, missing Mingyang and Father Di.

The bright moon is as beautiful as a fairy tale. I know that some people would rather live in a fairy tale forever. I'm reminded of a song I once heard, one that's related to fairy tales:

God knows

Our fate was already sealed.

I did not give up

Did not give up

I believe

Miracles will happen

Destiny can change

Oh, fate!

Something magical yet restrictive

Why do cages always seem to follow us like a shadow?

I refuse to believe in fate.

I refuse to believe in fate.