Deep Illusion

Deep Illusion

The sky darkened, and the number of pedestrians on the road gradually decreased; the wind finally broke the suffocating atmosphere that had been lingering for several days. A rumble of thunder drifted in from afar on the wind.

Another downpour, mixed with the crackling of hail, poured down.

"Why isn't Yi Qi here again today!" the homeroom teacher yelled. "She didn't even ask for leave; this is blatant disregard for discipline!"

"It's possible that it's raining, and her home is far away and the road is difficult to travel," said Liu Yu, the discipline team leader, timidly.

“Even if it’s difficult to leave, you should at least let her know. She can’t just not come. She definitely can’t be among the top students this semester. And whenever she arrives, I need her to come see me immediately.” At this point, the homeroom teacher’s anger seemed to have subsided a bit, and her tone gradually calmed down; in its place, the rain outside the window became even more unrestrained.

Liu Yu didn't know what else to say, so he could only agree briefly before hurrying out of the teacher's office and running back to the classroom through the rain from the school's office building. For some reason, his mind was in turmoil today; he felt something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it, so he kept it to himself, feeling sullen and unhappy.

Upon entering the classroom, he found that the teacher had already started the lesson, so he gave his permission and returned to his seat. His seat was right behind Yi Qi's.

He stared blankly at the empty seat in front of him, completely oblivious to what the teacher was saying. He knew that Yi Qi had skipped class more than a dozen times in the past month alone, and on several occasions, she had left school before the end of the semester, making it seem as if something was troubling her.

The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. In the end, he decided to stop thinking about it and focus on listening to the lecture.

Mu Feng, Yi Qi's deskmate, didn't pay much attention to the lesson either, his mind preoccupied with Yi Qi. He'd noticed that Yi Qi had been acting strangely since the beginning of summer. He also noticed that every time Yi Qi skipped class, it was on a rainy day, just like outside. He sensed that Yi Qi was subtly hinting at something to him, but he still couldn't figure out what it was…

The bell finally rang, but the teacher was still lecturing on the podium, seemingly uninterested in continuing. Frustrated, Liu Yu nudged Mu Feng in front of him with his pen and asked, "Do you think Yi Qi has some kind of illness?"

Mu Feng was also thinking about this, and said:

"No way, I feel like something's wrong with her."

"What is it?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you too. How would I know?"

"You don't think anything will happen to her, do you?"

"Probably not. They've come back safe and sound every time." At this point, Mu Feng suddenly remembered that he hadn't memorized Yi Qi's phone number despite being deskmates for so long, so he casually said...

"Give him a call after school to say hello."

"Okay, what's the number?" Liu Yu said, pulling out the phone number list his homeroom teacher had given him from the book, only to find that Yi Qi's name was missing.

"You don't know either? Isn't it in the phone book?" Mu Feng said in surprise.

"No?!"

"What's wrong with you? You forgot to remember it even though it was so close."

"..." Liu Yu knew he was in the wrong and didn't say anything more.

After school, Liu Yu and Mu Feng found Yi Qi's friend Ruo Fei to ask for her phone number, but she didn't know it either, which made Mu Feng and Liu Yu a little skeptical. Yi Qi and Ruo Fei were inseparable, surely they hadn't even called each other? But judging from Ruo Fei's expression, she seemed serious and wasn't hiding anything. When they asked where Yi Qi lived, they got the same answer again. Mu Feng couldn't hold back any longer: "Aren't you and Yi Qi so close? How come you don't even know this!" Ruo Fei also raised her voice, "And you're one to talk! You're always chatting with Yi Qi, how come you forgot to ask for her phone number!"

This sentence left Mu Feng speechless.

The torrential rain, influenced by a tropical storm, continued; considerable water had already accumulated on both sides of the road. Unable to ascertain Yiqi's condition, the three could only patiently wait for her to return.

A week passed in the blink of an eye, and the rain still hadn't stopped; the whole world was gray. Yi Qi still hadn't returned. This confirmed Mu Feng's suspicions; Yi Qi might not return until the weather cleared up.

On the weekend, Liu Yu was woken up early by Mu Feng's phone call. As soon as he opened his eyes, he was met with the sunlight streaming through the curtains, which was very dazzling, and the world regained its colors.

Liu Yu picked up the phone, and Mu Feng's voice immediately came through the receiver:

"Aren't you up yet? We're going somewhere today, so hurry up. You and Ruofei will meet at the school gate at 7:30."

Before Liu Yu could even speak, the phone rang with a hang-up tone. Liu Yu could only rub his sleepy eyes and start washing his face and brushing his teeth. Finally, everything was ready. He asked his mother for a temporary leave, got on his bicycle, and went out.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [3]: Liu Yu looked at his watch and realized it was still early. Thinking about his stomach, which was full of resentment towards Mu Feng, he thought that when he saw that kid, he would definitely make him treat him to breakfast.

When they arrived at the school gate, they found that Ruofei had just arrived as well, and Mufeng was already waiting there.

"Why did you call us here so early? I haven't even had breakfast yet," Ruofei said first, stealing most of the lines that Liu Yu had been preparing for so long.

Mu Feng said embarrassedly, "Well, last night I suddenly had an idea."

"What are your thoughts?" Liu Yu asked.

"I don't know if you checked the weather forecast yesterday, but the tropical storm has finally left the land and moved towards the sea, and today will be a nice sunny day..."

Ruofei quickly interrupted Mu Feng's inertia, "Very well, it seems you still care about our little things in life, but what does this have to do with us? You need to think this through. The comprehensive exam is next week, and you really have the heart to waste this time calling us out?"

“I think, since Yi Qi has been missing for so many days and we can’t contact her, could we follow the direction she went home? Maybe we can still find her home,” Mu Feng said, revealing the purpose of his trip.

"Are you bored? Why do you care where she lives? Maybe Yiqi will come to school on Monday. Why are you so concerned?" Ruofei was still a little reluctant.

After listening for a while, Liu Yu finally spoke up, saying, "Since we're here, let's do as Mu Feng says. Maybe we'll really make some discoveries."

The minority obeys the majority, and Ruofei reluctantly followed Mu Feng and Liu Yu towards the direction where Yi Qi was going home.

There were very few pedestrians along the way, probably because it was still early. At that moment, all three of them felt that this road was so unfamiliar. Although they had all grown up in this city, they rarely walked this road. It wasn't that they had never been here before, but everything was so new.

After riding her bicycle for an unknown amount of time, Ruofei noticed that the buildings on both sides of the road were gradually getting shorter and fewer. She really didn't want to walk anymore, so she ducked into a small shop on the street. Actually, Ruofei didn't want to buy anything; she just wanted those two tireless guys to rest for a bit. Mu Feng and Liu Yu were also a little tired, and seeing Ruofei like this, they had no choice but to follow her in.

This small shop, its contents a jumbled mess, resembled a general store. Suddenly, Ruofei let out a scream. Mu Feng and Liu Yu rushed over to see what had happened. Ruofei was holding a bracelet in her hand, excitedly saying, "This is the same one Yi Qi is wearing! I asked her where she bought it, but she kept it a secret from me. Well, I guess I ran into her here after all."

"Are you kidding me? We didn't come out here to go shopping," Liu Yu said.

“Wait, I think I did see Yi Qi wear this bracelet before. Since I can see it from here, it means her house isn’t far from here.” Mu Feng also picked up a bracelet.

At this moment, the old man behind the counter finally couldn't help but ask Ruofei, "Young lady, who is this for?"

"It's my own fault, doesn't it look good on me?" Ruofei didn't even notice the old man's surprise, quickly paid, and followed Liu Yu out. Mu Feng bought another identical bracelet after him, because he felt the pattern on it was so strange, yet he felt like he'd seen it somewhere before. Without thinking too much, he also left the shop, completely unaware of the old man's expression as he sold the two bracelets.

Once outside, they continued walking, but this time they didn't just search aimlessly. Instead, they started asking passersby for directions to Yi Qi's house. Since seeing a bracelet identical to Yi Qi's, their confidence had grown, and they believed they were close to finding her.

But things didn't go as planned. Before long, they discovered that no one in the area recognized Yiqi. Just as they were feeling dejected, they returned to the "general store" that sold bracelets. They then realized it wasn't a general store at all, but a funeral supply shop selling offerings to the dead. Next to it was a sizable cemetery, and only one or two sparse houses were occupied by farmers working the land; there was nowhere else to live. Realizing this, they were stunned. After a long while, Ruofei finally murmured in a trembling voice, "Let's go back!" Only then did they come to their senses, hurriedly hop on their bicycles, and flee in panic.

Before long, they were back at school. Just then, the clock on the school's political education building struck 11:45, and the usual dismissal bell rang. The three, panting, finally calmed down and began to feel hungry.

They found a KFC nearby and sat down. Still shaken and starving, the three of them didn't know what to eat, so they each ordered a Coke and found a seat by the window.

"Oh dear, how did we end up in a cemetery! I've always been afraid of places like that, especially spending half a day there. Just thinking about it makes me feel unlucky," Ruofei said, taking a big gulp of cola.

“It is indeed a bit unlucky! By the way, no wonder Yi Qi’s bracelet is so unique and can’t be bought anywhere. She doesn’t tell anyone either. It turns out she is wearing a…” Liu Yu suddenly interrupted himself before he could finish speaking.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [4]: An ominous feeling linge

……