Transmigration La Consort du Dieu de la Guerre

Chapitre 28

Chen Shuai walked forward with his head down, looking listless. Female classmates passing by greeted him, but he didn't even look at them and just kept walking forward with his head down.

My mother has disappeared, and Gao Xiaoyuan has also disappeared. There are no clues at all. It seems that all leads have been lost. What should I do next?

Chen Shuai stopped and looked up at the teaching building in front of him. He suddenly realized that without Gao Xiaoyuan, going to school had become really boring.

"Hey, Huang Mao, playing hide-and-seek for too long gets boring. Come out already. If you're with my mom, ask her for me one last time. There are so many truths I don't know..." Chen Shuai muttered to himself, but before he could finish, a piercing scream came from the teaching building in front of him.

"ah--"

Then came a series of screams: "Ah—that's terrifying—"

A commotion broke out in front of the building, and the students all turned their attention to the library on the third floor, where the screams were coming from. Chen Shuai, however, kept his head down, yawning and walking listlessly forward, as if nothing had happened to him.

Suddenly, a girl rushed out of the building in a panic, almost bumping into Chen Shuai. Fortunately, Chen Shuai dodged in time and avoided being hit, while the girl lost her balance and fell to the ground. Chen Shuai sighed, walked over helplessly, squatted down, tossed his hair, and asked, "Are you hurt?"

The girl stared nervously at the third floor of the teaching building: "Murder, murder..."

"What did you say?" Chen Shuai wondered if he had misheard.

"Gao Xiaoyuan, Gao Xiaoyuan killed someone!" the girl shouted.

Startled, Chen Shuai grabbed the girl by the collar and demanded, "What did you just say?"

"Gao Xiaoyuan...she killed someone," the girl said, her voice trembling with tears.

Chen Shuai shouted loudly, "Where is Xiaoyuan!"

"She...is in the library..."

Without thinking twice, Chen Shuai stood up, rushed into the teaching building, and ran up the stairs.

The three-story corridor was crowded with students and teachers, all of whom looked both frightened and nervous.

Chen Shuai pushed through the crowd and quickly squeezed into the library.

On the ground to the right of the library, the author, Gao Xiaoyuan, leans against the wall, her eyes closed, a fruit knife clutched in one hand, the blood on the knife not yet fully congealed. In front of her lies a boy, his head turned inwards, limbs outstretched, blood still fresh on his lower back.

Chen Shuai stood frozen in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing. Just then, Gao Xiaoyuan's eyelids twitched slightly. She touched her head, her expression pained, and then slowly opened her eyes. She hadn't expected the first person she'd see to be the astonished Chen Shuai, but her second glance revealed a bloodstained fruit knife in his right hand.

"How...how could there be blood?" Gao Xiaoyuan panicked and threw the fruit knife on the ground.

Chen Shuai suddenly rushed forward and hugged Gao Xiaoyuan tightly, saying excitedly, "I finally found you! I'm so glad you're back safe and sound."

Gao Xiaoyuan froze, held in Chen Shuai's arms, unsure of what to do. Suddenly, her gaze fell on the corpse in front of her, a look of surprise on her face.

"That's...that's..."

The students screamed in alarm, and the teachers yelled "Call the police!"

Gao Xiaoyuan suddenly shoved Chen Shuai away, stood up, pointed at the corpse on the ground, and let out a terrifying scream, "Ah—"

"Gao Xiaoyuan, you've learned how to kill at such a young age!" the teacher suddenly shouted.

"Me?" Gao Xiaoyuan was stunned, but then she waved her hands and shook her head, desperately explaining, "It wasn't me, I didn't kill him!"

"I have already called the police."

"You should save those words for the police!"

"She is the murderer, she is the murderer!"

The suspicious gazes of her classmates and teachers pierced Gao Xiaoyuan's heart like needles. She wanted to explain, but no one would listen. No one believed her, not a single person believed her! But she wasn't the murderer; she hadn't killed anyone!

Gao Xiaoyuan suddenly clutched her head and screamed, then rushed out of the crowd and ran downstairs.

"Xiaoyuan! It hurts from laughing—" Chen Shuai wanted to chase after her, but there were too many people in the corridor and he couldn't squeeze through. The screams of his classmates and teachers had already drowned out Chen Shuai's voice.

Gao Xiaoyuan covered her head and ran wildly down the stairs, out of the teaching building, and out of the campus.

When Chen Shuai finally managed to squeeze through the crowd and chase after her, Gao Xiaoyuan was nowhere to be seen. She stood forlornly at the school gate, softly murmuring, "Xiaoyuan, where could you go by yourself?" He sighed, a bitter smile appearing on his lips, "But it's good that you're still alive." He turned to look at the third floor of the teaching building.

The police hadn't arrived yet, and all the students and teachers were still gathered at the library entrance, but no one dared to go in. Chen Shuai pushed through the crowd and entered the library again.

"Chen Shuai, you can't go in before the police arrive." Teacher Duan tried to stop him, but Chen Shuai acted as if he hadn't heard her. He boldly walked to the student's body and even brought his head close to the body's face. Suddenly, his expression darkened, and he froze, his brows furrowing.

"How could it be him?" Chen Shuai slowly stood up, unable to believe the scene before him.

Ergao Xiaoyuan lost her home.

As darkness fell, a wind began to pick up, rustling the fallen leaves.

Gao Xiaoyuan nervously walked into her residential compound and headed towards her building. When she was almost there, she saw two police cars parked downstairs. She quickly hid behind a tree and crouched down, cautiously peering ahead.

A group of neighbors were gathered around the police car, whispering and pointing as if they were watching a spectacle.

Gao Xiaoyuan swallowed nervously. She roughly guessed that the police car had come for her. But she hadn't killed anyone; she wasn't a murderer. Why didn't anyone believe her? Gao Xiaoyuan felt extremely distressed. She only hoped that her parents could believe her and not treat her as a murderer.

Ten minutes later, police officers emerged from the building where Gao Xiaoyuan lived and drove away in their patrol car. The neighbors dispersed as the police car drove off.

Gao Xiaoyuan breathed a sigh of relief and quietly slipped into the building when no one was paying attention.

In the living room, Li Yu sat angrily on the sofa, her face extremely pale. She picked up a glass of water from the table, tilted her head back, and drank it all in one gulp. Then she slammed the glass against the wall in front of her. The glass shattered into countless pieces on the floor. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Li Yu stood up impatiently and went to the door, forcefully pulling it open, only to be surprised to find a tired-looking Gao Xiaoyuan standing there.

"Mom..." Gao Xiaoyuan wanted to cry. Now, this family was probably the only source of warmth she could have. She threw herself into Li Yu's arms: "Mom, I'm not a murderer, it wasn't me. They don't believe me, they've wronged me, Mom..."

Gao Xiaoyuan couldn't help but shed tears. Suddenly, she was forcefully pushed away, and then she saw a pair of cold eyes—those eyes belonged to Li Yu.

"Xiaoyuan, I think you should go to the police station and turn yourself in." Li Yu's voice was devoid of any gentleness, as cold as a block of wood.

“Mom…” Gao Xiaoyuan looked at her mother in surprise.

“You’re still a child, under eighteen. Even if you killed someone, you won’t be sentenced to death. You should turn yourself in.” Li Yu looked at him as if he were a stranger.

"Mom, don't you believe me either?" Gao Xiaoyuan felt heartbroken.

“It’s not a matter of belief or disbelief. I think if your dad were here, he would also make you turn yourself in.” Li Yu kept blocking the doorway, seemingly very reluctant to let Gao Xiaoyuan in.

Isn't she her mother? Why would she do this? Doesn't she have any place in her heart? Gao Xiaoyuan cried harder and harder: "Mom... I'm your daughter, why don't you believe your own daughter..." Before Gao Xiaoyuan could finish speaking, Li Yu interrupted her.

"Xiaoyuan, there are some things I've always wanted to say, but I think it's time to say them now." Li Yu raised her chin, looking at Gao Xiaoyuan with a cold expression, and continued, "Actually, you're not my child."

Gao Xiaoyuan was stunned, staring at Li Yu in surprise.

Li Yu crossed her arms and glanced sideways at Gao Xiaoyuan: "I never wanted to have children in my life, but my husband liked them, so we adopted you from the orphanage. I never expected you'd cause us such a huge mess. However, considering I raised you for over ten years, I won't call the police. I'll give you a chance to turn yourself in. Okay, I've said everything I need to say. It's up to you what you do. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other. You'd better never appear in front of us again!" After saying this, Li Yu immediately closed the door, leaving Gao Xiaoyuan standing there dumbfounded.

This can't be real, this can't be real! Gao Xiaoyuan said to herself, what is going on? I have a family, I have parents, Mom must be lying to me, she must be.

Gao Xiaoyuan pounded on the door desperately: "Mom, don't leave me, don't leave me! I'm so scared to be alone! Mom, please open the door and let me in! Mom, please don't abandon me! I beg you, I promise I'll be good from now on! Mom—Mom—" No matter how much Gao Xiaoyuan cried and shouted, Li Yu inside the room remained silent. Gao Xiaoyuan slid sadly down the door to the floor, tears streaming down her face.

"Why doesn't anyone believe me... Why does everyone abandon me... The teacher is like this, my classmates are like this, even my mother is like this... Am I really that hated by you all?" Gao Xiaoyuan suddenly let out a miserable laugh. She slowly stood up from the ground, bowed deeply towards the door, and softly said, "Thank you." Then she turned and walked weakly towards the stairwell.

The night was truly cold, so cold it was hard to breathe. Gao Xiaoyuan's heart was even colder, frozen solid. She stood on the top floor of the city's tallest building, where she could see a panoramic view of the city, its surface shimmering with multicolored lights, like the flickering flame of life. But Gao Xiaoyuan felt nothing for any of it anymore.

“I’m a murderer, nobody in this world believes me… I used to have a family, but now I have nothing. I’m an orphan too. Maybe I’m superfluous in this world, because my superfluity causes trouble for too many people.” A poignant smile appeared on Gao Xiaoyuan’s face. She took a deep breath: “So tired, so very tired lately. It’s time for a release.” Tears streamed down Gao Xiaoyuan’s face. She slowly closed her eyes, then lifted her right foot and took a step forward…

Suddenly, a hand grabbed Gao Xiaoyuan's arm tightly, and then another hand quickly wrapped around her waist, pulling her back from the edge of the building.

"You brat, what are you doing?!"

That voice… Gao Xiaoyuan suddenly opened her eyes and turned to look behind her.

Xu An, panting, glared angrily at Gao Xiaoyuan: "Is your brain made of stone?! You think you can just jump like that?!"

Gao Xiaoyuan's lips trembled slightly: "Xu An..."

Xu An pulled Gao Xiaoyuan back a few steps, then shoved her to the ground forcefully, angrily waiting for her to yell, "You really don't care about your own life? You just throw your life away so easily? You've gone too far! You're so selfish and stupid!"

Gao Xiaoyuan lay on the ground, staring blankly at Xu An, still in a daze. Xu An's appearance was too sudden; how could he be here, and how could he have pulled her back at the crucial moment?

Xu An took a breath and tried to calm himself down: "Xiao Yuan, I'm very worried about you, really worried about you."

Hearing Xu An's words, Gao Xiaoyuan, who was lying on the ground, couldn't help but cry.

Seeing Gao Xiaoyuan's condition, Xu An felt sorry for her and knelt down beside her, saying, "Don't do anything foolish again."

Gao Xiaoyuan suddenly sat up and threw herself into Xu An's arms: "Xu An, I don't have a father, I don't have a mother, and I don't have a home anymore. Why is this happening? Why did it turn out like this?" Gao Xiaoyuan cried sadly, like a wounded child.

Xu An gently stroked Gao Xiaoyuan's hair and said tenderly, "Cry, have a good cry. No matter what happens, I will believe in you, because you are Gao Xiaoyuan, the one I love..." Xu An didn't finish his sentence, but instead hugged Gao Xiaoyuan tightly in his arms. Perhaps some words don't need to be spoken, because some words can only be felt in the heart.

Strange things that happened when the three disappeared

Moonlight spilled onto a bench in the park.

Xu An helped Gao Xiaoyuan sit on the bench. The moonlight shone on Gao Xiaoyuan's pale face. Her tears had dried, but her eyes were still red.

Xu An handed the bottled water and hamburger to Gao Xiaoyuan.

"Thank you," Gao Xiaoyuan said softly, took a sip of water, but hesitated to eat her hamburger.

Xu An stared at Gao Xiaoyuan and asked worriedly, "Don't you have an appetite?"

Gao Xiaoyuan raised her head, looking into the distance with a confused expression: "What's wrong?"

Xu An looked at Gao Xiaoyuan, but he didn't understand what she meant.

"What on earth happened? Why did this happen to me? I can't make sense of it at all. I only feel lost, helpless, nervous, and scared," Gao Xiaoyuan sighed.

"You still have me."

Upon hearing this, Gao Xiaoyuan looked at Xu An in surprise.

Xu An smiled calmly: "I saved your life, so from now on your life belongs to me. Therefore, you need my permission before you want to end it."

Gao Xiaoyuan stared blankly at Xu An.

"Did you hear what I said?" Xu An asked.

Gao Xiaoyuan nodded blankly.

Xu An breathed a sigh of relief.

"How...how did you know I was on the roof of that building?"

"I heard about what happened at school, so I went to your house..." Xu An didn't finish his sentence; he had witnessed everything that followed.

Gao Xiaoyuan smiled bitterly: "So you've been following me all along, but I didn't know anything." She lowered her head. "I'm a murder suspect now, and I think the police must be looking for me. It would be dangerous for you to be with me."

Xu An didn't say anything, he just stared at Gao Xiaoyuan.

“I really didn’t kill anyone, but nobody believes me.” Gao Xiaoyuan felt very frustrated.