El hibisco como pintura

Capítulo 4

He is Xu An.

Gao Xiaoyuan took a deep breath, but then her brows furrowed as she noticed that the bottom left corner of the photo was intact.

This photo is not the original one at all; it has been replaced!

Who concocted this photo, and who switched it? Why would that person do such a thing?

Gao Xiaoyuan fell into deep thought.

2. My lover is dead.

My favorite food isn't ice cream, but durian.

A Date in a Dream

Gao Xiaoyuan walked through the quiet campus carrying her schoolbag. The sun was about to lose its last bit of light, but Gao Xiaoyuan was unwilling to leave.

Who exactly is Xu An? Why did he lie to her? Will he... reappear?

Gao Xiaoyuan took a deep breath. Going home would still mean being alone, so she figured she might as well stay at school a little longer; perhaps she could find some clues. With that thought, Gao Xiaoyuan raised her head and walked towards the playground, facing the setting sun.

Just as Gao Xiaoyuan was passing by the gymnasium, she seemed to hear a thumping sound. She subconsciously stopped and slowly approached the gymnasium door.

The sound continued, “thump-thump—bang—”

Gao Xiaoyuan reached out and pulled open a crack, peering inside.

The basketball bounced repeatedly on the wooden floor, and the hand dribbling it skillfully controlled it. He was incredibly agile, looking every bit the basketball pro, and his tall, slender physique made every move look elegant and stylish.

Gao Xiaoyuan held her breath. She felt her heart racing, her blood seeming to flow faster and faster. She stared at him, stunned. He was back! He had appeared again!

"Which class are you in?" The voice that suddenly appeared came from behind Gao Xiaoyuan.

Gao Xiaoyuan was so startled that she turned around abruptly, only to see Grandpa Liu, who was in charge of guarding the school, staring at her with his wrinkled eyes.

"I...I'm a student in Class 3 of the first year of high school." Gao Xiaoyuan said nervously.

"Why aren't you home after school? What are you doing standing here daydreaming?" Grandpa Liu said, glancing at the gymnasium gate. There was a lock on the door, but it wasn't locked. "Sigh, I've told them so many times, but they always forget."

"I can't remember to lock the door, there's just no other way," said Grandpa Liu, as he picked up the padlock on the door to lock it.

In a panic, Gao Xiaoyuan immediately reached out to block the door and called out, "Uncle Liu, there are still people inside!"

"Is someone there?" Grandpa Liu glanced at the gate, then looked at Gao Xiaoyuan: "Is your classmate inside?"

Gao Xiaoyuan nodded frantically: "He's playing basketball inside." As she spoke, Gao Xiaoyuan opened the door, but she froze the moment the door opened.

The stadium was completely silent, not a soul in sight, and all the basketballs were neatly stacked in their hoops.

"Where is the person you mentioned?" Grandpa Liu asked, craning his neck to look inside.

Gao Xiaoyuan's lips moved slightly, but she didn't say anything. She just lowered her head in disappointment.

He disappeared once again.

"It's not good for a student to lie," Grandpa Liu said sternly but with a touch of kindness.

Gao Xiaoyuan didn't say anything, picked up her schoolbag, turned around and left silently, the sound of the padlock door coming from behind her.

Was that just a hallucination? Maybe... it really was a hallucination, Gao Xiaoyuan could only comfort herself with that thought.

I've been searching for him, waiting for his appearance. Every morning when I wake up and hear the first chirp of a bird, I imagine it's him speaking to me. As the last rays of the setting sun fade, I long for his arrival. Days passed, and my heart sank lower each day. I thought… he wouldn't appear; perhaps it was just a dream. But tonight's dream turned into a daydream. I saw him! His agile figure appeared in the gymnasium! I thought it was real; I truly believed he had returned. But it was just a daydream. Perhaps I longed to see him too much, or perhaps it was merely a phantom of my own desires.

Will he show up again?

As she finished writing in her diary, Gao Xiaoyuan stopped writing and looked up at the night sky outside the window.

The stingy night sky didn't offer a single star tonight, adding an unspeakable sadness to Gao Xiaoyuan's already complicated feelings. What kind of sadness was it? Why did her heart ache inexplicably whenever she thought of him?

Where are you? Will we ever see each other again?

After writing the last line in her diary, Gao Xiaoyuan closed the book and crawled into bed.

It was the beginning of another dream, and Gao Xiaoyuan only hoped it would be a good one.

The beginning of a dream is always touching. Xu An came and gently sat down by her bedside through the window.

He sat quietly, his gaze fixed on her without moving. His handsome face displayed his unruliness, and his indifferent eyes revealed his arrogance, yet there seemed to be another emotion present in them.

Gao Xiaoyuan tried to guess what that emotion was, but he disappeared, vanished. She suddenly opened her eyes and immediately heard the clear bird calls that only occur in the early morning.

As dawn broke, he disappeared once again. Gao Xiaoyuan sat up dejectedly, her gaze suddenly stopping after glancing at the table.

The diary was opened.

Gao Xiaoyuan quickly picked up her diary.

Beside the concert hall filled with fallen autumn leaves, I always enjoy listening to your voice from the phone booth, and today is no exception.

That's not Gao Xiaoyuan's handwriting. The handwriting looks like... a man's handwriting!

Two red telephone booths

Are there any phone booths next to the concert hall?

Gao Xiaoyuan arrived at the mysterious concert hall again, only to find that the doors were now sealed off.

Gao Xiaoyuan circled the concert hall but couldn't find a phone booth.

Is this the concert hall mentioned in the diary? If so, has the phone booth been demolished?

With a heart full of anxiety, Gao Xiaoyuan circled around again, but still couldn't find it. Just as she was about to leave, she heard the rustling of leaves.

Autumn is a season of gentle breezes and bright sunshine, but there's no wind here today. How can the leaves be rustling? Gao Xiaoyuan nervously and slowly turned around.

A brand-new red telephone booth immediately caught Gao Xiaoyuan's eye, and she couldn't help but gasp.

The phone booth stood not far from the concert hall, next to a towering tree, almost completely buried by autumn leaves. Gao Xiaoyuan walked slowly toward the phone booth, her heart filled with fear.

There was a phone booth on campus? But why have I never heard of it, or even seen anyone use it? And why is it so clean? Is someone cleaning it?

Gao Xiaoyuan peered into the phone booth. The interior walls were still clean, and a red phone hung on the wall facing her.

Beside the concert hall filled with fallen autumn leaves, I always enjoy listening to your voice from the phone booth, and today is no exception.

Gao Xiaoyuan remembered that line in the diary again. Did "today" refer to today? And who wrote that line?

"Ring ring—" A rapid telephone ring suddenly rang. Gao Xiaoyuan, who was deep in thought, was suddenly awakened by the sound. She stumbled backward and fell to the ground.

The phone kept ringing.

Gao Xiaoyuan instinctively bit her lower lip, clenched her hands tightly in front of her chest, and stared intently at the red telephone booth.

Who called? And who was they calling?

Gao Xiaoyuan's mind instinctively raced through these questions, and her body involuntarily trembled a few times. She slowly sat up from the ground, hesitated, and walked into the phone booth. Just as she reached out to pick up the phone, the ringing suddenly stopped.

Gao Xiaoyuan breathed a sigh of relief and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Ring ring—" The phone suddenly rang again.

Gao Xiaoyuan stared at the phone in horror, took a few breaths, and then forcefully picked up the receiver.

“…Hello—” Gao Xiaoyuan could even feel her voice trembling.

Did you miss me today?

Gao Xiaoyuan was taken aback. It was a girl's voice, and the voice was extremely melodious, like a lark, but she couldn't tell whose voice it was.

"Hello, who is this...?"

Before Gao Xiaoyuan could ask a question, the voice continued, "I miss you. I think about you every single second. Today in class, I drew your picture in my notebook, but Teacher Xia saw it. She confiscated my notebook, scolded me, and made me stand in the office as punishment."

Teacher Xia! Does this girl know Teacher Xia?

"I feel so wronged today, so I had to call you. I really wish the school would allow students to date, like in other countries, so we wouldn't have to be so secretive. I really hate these school regulations, I hate them so much..."

"Who exactly are you?" Gao Xiaoyuan interrupted the other person impatiently and asked urgently.

"Hearing your voice makes me feel much better. Let's stop here for today. I'll call you back tomorrow. Goodbye." The girl sounded a little reluctant to part, but she eventually hung up the phone.

The call ended abruptly, and Gao Xiaoyuan stared dejectedly at the receiver.

Who exactly is she? Why did she mention Teacher Xia? And why did she mention romance? Did she think she was talking to a boy? But she's clearly a girl, couldn't she tell? These questions kept lingering in Gao Xiaoyuan's mind.

Are they a couple?

When Gao Xiaoyuan arrived at the classroom where clutter was piled up, she looked up at the sign above the classroom.

The sign was covered in dust, and although the words that were originally written on it were illegible, Gao Xiaoyuan knew it must have been the sign for Class 0 of Grade 11. Unfortunately, it was gone. But why was it gone? What happened to those students in Class 0 of Grade 11 back then?

Pushing open the door, Gao Xiaoyuan found it was still unlocked. A cloud of dust swirled in the air before gently settling to the ground under the flashlight beam.

Gao Xiaoyuan raised her flashlight and scanned the storage room before stepping inside.

She arrived at Class 0 of Grade 11 again. Last time, she heard the sound of a cello, but this time Gao Xiaoyuan came looking for something herself. Although she didn't know who left that line of writing in her diary, nor did she know which girl's beautiful voice came from on the phone, the girl mentioned Teacher Xia, who was the homeroom teacher of Class 0 of Grade 11 back then. So Gao Xiaoyuan guessed that she must be related to Class 0 of Grade 11.

Pushing aside the long-forgotten clutter, Gao Xiaoyuan searched carefully, hoping to find some useful clues.

Time passed second by second, accompanied by dust in the air, but Gao Xiaoyuan found nothing. Apart from some broken tables and chairs and some discarded textbooks, there were no clues related to Class 0 of Grade 11.

Disappointed, Gao Xiaoyuan sat down on the chair next to her, the beam of her flashlight casually scanning the floor and the space between the tables and chairs.

"Thump—thump thump—"

That sound...

Gao Xiaoyuan held her breath.

"Thump thump—thump thump—"