El hibisco como pintura

Capítulo 21

The concert hall was deathly still, and the stench in the air made Gao Xiaoyuan feel very uncomfortable, and even more so, extremely nervous. She clung tightly to Xu An, her hands gripping his arm tightly, not daring to blink.

"Snap—" Xu An turned on the flashlight and scanned the concert hall.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Gao Xiaoyuan asked nervously.

"The last time you found the code on the blackboard, it was in the southwest corner of the teaching building, right?" Xu An asked.

Gao Xiaoyuan nodded.

"Do you know if there's anything special about the location of that blackboard?" Xu An continued to ask.

Gao Xiaoyuan thought for a moment, then suddenly realized: "That's right, that blackboard is right next to Class 0 of Grade 1!"

Xu An nodded in satisfaction: "That's right. The musical notes drawn on that blackboard are Moonlight Sonata, which means 'classroom.' So, it refers to something in Class 0 of Grade 11, where the moonlight shines on something when it rises. And that thing is the clock we saw on the blackboard in this concert hall. But the musical notes written on this blackboard in the concert hall must have another meaning." Xu An held up the clock in his hand: "The clock is stopped at 2:03, so it must be related to this time. But why didn't Li Biqi write it on the original blackboard, but instead wrote it here?"

Gao Xiaoyuan's eyes lit up: "This means it must refer to something that happened in the concert hall."

“Yes, something must have happened at 2:03 in the concert hall!” Xu An said with certainty.

Gao Xiaoyuan's body trembled involuntarily: "What...what will happen?" She looked at Xu An in fear.

Xu An looked coldly at the concert hall stage: "We'll know the answer in less than a minute."

Gao Xiaoyuan and Xu An both held their breath and waited quietly.

Thirty-six seconds, thirty-five seconds, thirty-four seconds, thirty-three seconds... five, four, three, two, one.

Suddenly, a melodious tune filled the concert hall; it sounded very beautiful.

“It’s ‘The Maiden’s Prayer’,” Xu An said softly, while scanning the concert hall with his flashlight.

"The Maiden's Prayer," isn't that a very famous piece? But who's playing it now, and it sounds like...

Xu An quietly walked forward, following the music, with Gao Xiaoyuan closely behind him. After passing rows of seats, Xu An stopped in front of the stage.

"The sound seems to be coming from the stage," Gao Xiaoyuan said softly.

Xu An didn't say anything, but jumped onto the stage, and Gao Xiaoyuan quickly followed suit.

Xu An held up a flashlight and shone it on the stage backdrop.

A white gauze curtain hung neatly.

Xu An stepped forward and reached out to lift the veil.

"No!" Gao Xiaoyuan cried out in fright.

Xu An turned around with a faint smile on his face, seemingly comforting the overly nervous Gao Xiaoyuan, before turning back and lifting the white gauze curtain.

On the ground is a wooden heart-shaped music box. The lid is open, and a model of a girl dressed in ballet costume is spinning inside the music box.

The music was coming from this music box.

Xu An bent down and picked up the music box. Gao Xiaoyuan stepped forward and examined it closely: "What does this mean?"

Xu An didn't know either. He handed the clock and flashlight to Gao Xiaoyuan and carefully examined the music box from all angles, but found nothing unusual.

"Is this what we're supposed to find at 2:03?" Gao Xiaoyuan couldn't understand what secret this was all about.

Xu An reached out and tried touching the girl model inside the music box, but there was still no response. Xu An then tried closing the girl model, and at that very moment, the music stopped, and the surface of the stage model on which the girl model was rotating suddenly bounced outward.

Xu An and Gao Xiaoyuan exchanged a glance, then reached out and opened the cover, revealing a key. Xu An carefully took out the key, only to see several words engraved on the key handle:

Open Sesame

What kind of key is this? What secret does it hold?

7. The Principal's Message

Perhaps there are too many secrets in this world, and the owners of these secrets are often the people closest to you.

Principal Chen is in trouble.

Xu An: Xiao Yuan, I'm leaving.

Xu An handed the newly folded origami cranes to Gao Xiaoyuan.

Gao Xiaoyuan: Xu An, I knew you would come looking for me again.

The secret of that key was never found, and nothing new happened. Everything seemed to have returned to calm, as if nothing would ever happen again.

Gao Xiaoyuan went to and from school every day, repeating the same routine. Although her parents relentlessly questioned her upon her return, determined to find out the boy's identity, Gao Xiaoyuan was already prepared to remain silent. Her parents ultimately didn't go to see Teacher Duan, not because they didn't want to, but because they were too busy to attend to Gao Xiaoyuan's affairs. Chen Shuai, on the other hand, waited every day for Principal Chen's return, wanting to uncover the mystery of his origins. He continued to pester Gao Xiaoyuan like a fly, but Gao Xiaoyuan would forever remember what Lin Nana had told her.

Should she trust Chen Shuai, or should she be wary of him?

Days passed by, but Gao Xiaoyuan's doubts did not diminish in the slightest.

During the break between classes, Gao Xiaoyuan was still thinking about the key and the meaning of "Open Sesame" engraved on it.

"Open Sesame" is a classic line from the story "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," but what does this classic line actually mean?

Suddenly, a flash of light startled Gao Xiaoyuan, who was deep in thought. She quickly looked up and saw Chen Shuai taking a picture of her with his phone.

"What are you doing?" Gao Xiaoyuan said irritably.

"Yellow Hair, you've seemed distracted these past few days. What's on your mind?" Chen Shuai pulled up a chair and sat down next to Gao Xiaoyuan.

"I wasn't thinking about anything." Gao Xiaoyuan ignored Chen Shuai.

"You left me and ran away that night without even saying sorry, and you haven't spoken to me for the past few days. What did I do to offend you?"

"I'm thinking about something, I'm too lazy to talk." Gao Xiaoyuan took out her phone from her pocket and started playing a game, completely ignoring Chen Shuai.

"Could it be..." Chen Shuai leaned closer to Gao Xiaoyuan, "that you're having another man behind my back?"

Gao Xiaoyuan turned her head sharply and glared at Chen Shuai: "What are you saying! We're still students, how could you say such a thing!"

Chen Shuai leaned back lazily in his chair, his feet propped up on Gao Xiaoyuan's desk, and said, "Are you thinking about Xu An?"

Gao Xiaoyuan angrily pushed Chen Shuai's foot away and continued playing the game on her phone.

Chen Shuai reached out and snatched the phone away, saying, "You seem quite comfortable using my phone."

Gao Xiaoyuan glared at Chen Shuai, too angry to say anything. Just then, her phone rang. Gao Xiaoyuan reached for the phone, but Chen Shuai held it up high: "I want to see who's calling." Chen Shuai chuckled as he pressed the answer button.

"Xiaoyuan—" Xu An's voice came from the other end of the phone.

Gao Xiaoyuan tried to snatch the phone, but Chen Shuai held her hands down.

"I'm Xiaoyuan's boyfriend, who are you?" Chen Shuai asked deliberately.

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Hey—why aren't you saying anything!" Chen Shuai said while pressing down hard on Gao Xiaoyuan's struggling hands.

"I am Xu An."

Upon hearing this name, Chen Shuai's expression darkened. He looked at Gao Xiaoyuan and said, "It really is Xu An!"

Gao Xiaoyuan angrily pulled her hand away and snatched her phone: "Hello—Xu An, it's me."

"Was that Chen Shuai just now?" Xu An's voice sounded somewhat hesitant.

Gao Xiaoyuan glared fiercely at Chen Shuai, but Chen Shuai raised his chin and rolled his eyes.

"Yes, he took my phone."

"That's my phone!" Chen Shuai shouted unhappily.

Gao Xiaoyuan glared at Chen Shuai again and said, "What do you want from me?"

"I'm looking for... actually I'm looking for Chen Shuai, but I don't know his phone number, so I'm calling you."

Hearing this, Gao Xiaoyuan was somewhat disappointed, and she reluctantly handed her phone to Chen Shuai.

Chen Shuai laughed and deliberately said loudly, "So you were looking for me!" Gao Xiaoyuan turned away angrily and refused to look at him.

Chen Shuai took the phone, looking nonchalant, and asked, "What do you want?"

"General Chen, I think something might have happened to Principal Chen."

Chen Shuai suddenly stood up straight, his eyes wide: "What did you say?"

“Principal Chen suddenly called me today and asked to meet, but when I arrived at the meeting place, I didn’t see her. However, I found a lost cell phone under a seat, and the cell phone belonged to Principal Chen.”

Where are you now?

"I live right across from the school."

Chen Shuai shoved the phone into Gao Xiaoyuan's hand, said nothing, and turned to run out.

"Chen Shuai, what happened?"

Chen Shuai had already disappeared without a trace.

Something serious must have happened, otherwise Chen Shuai wouldn't be like this. Thinking of this, Gao Xiaoyuan ran towards the classroom door. Just then, the bell rang for class, and Teacher Duan walked in and bumped into Gao Xiaoyuan.

"Class is starting now, where are you going?"

"I'm going out for a bit!" Gao Xiaoyuan waved her hand, turned around and ran away.

"Hey—hey—Gao Xiaoyuan—do you want to be punished?! Hey—" Teacher Duan stomped her foot angrily: "These kids nowadays are hopeless. Wait until your parents come back, and see what I say to them."

Gao Xiaoyuan rushed to the school gate, searching left and right for Chen Shuai, but couldn't find him anywhere. Just as she was turning around in disappointment to go back to school, she discovered that Chen Shuai and Xu An were standing on the other side of the road. She quickly ran across the road, and when she stood panting in front of them, Chen Shuai and Xu An were both stunned.

"Why did you follow me here?" Xu An asked.

"Did something happen?" Gao Xiaoyuan asked, panting heavily.

Chen Shuai didn't say anything, but just looked down at the phone in his hand.

"What happened? Don't hide it from me," Gao Xiaoyuan asked anxiously.

Xu An looked at Chen Shuai and then said, "Principal Chen may have had an accident."

"What!" Gao Xiaoyuan exclaimed in surprise. Just then, Chen Shuai suddenly ran to the roadside, flagged down a taxi, and got in.

"Chen Shuai—" Gao Xiaoyuan tried to call for a taxi, but Xu An grabbed her hand as soon as she reached out. "I know where he's going. Let's take the next one." Xu An said as he pulled Gao Xiaoyuan toward another taxi.