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"Gu Ming, the cook at Bailu Mountain is really careless."

"What?"

"He smashed all the vinegar jars, and the whole mountain smelled of vinegar."

"..."

"..."

"My throat really does hurt!" Gu Ming glared at me. "Eat!"

Xiao Bi and the others stood there laughing like foxes...

After dinner, Gu Ming went to discuss the matter of the female ghost at Er Gou Manor with Daoist Cang Yi. I didn't tell Xiao Bi and the others about it, because even if they didn't say it, I knew they were still upset about Fu Yi's situation. Everyone kept quiet about it, tacitly pretending it had never happened, and we were still good friends from the night before West Lake. So, I didn't want to involve them in anything from now on; they had suffered no less than I had.

In the afternoon, we discussed the white fox. Everyone said that they hadn't seen it since the day Cangyu brought it. We didn't dare to make a fuss and ask around, so we pretended to go for a walk and searched for it.

First, I met Cang Xiaohua, who was indeed fatter than me. However, she told me that she had gone down the mountain to eliminate pests a few days ago, but unexpectedly encountered a spider demon. She was careless and was injured by the spider venom, which is why she looked like this. She said she would recover in a few days.

I looked at Xiao Bi with a mournful expression. As we walked towards a sea of flowers, a fragrance different from the regular floral scent wafted over us—delicate and elegant. Just as I was about to ask what it was, the fragrance grew stronger and stronger. A handsome young man appeared before us, and the fragrance seemed to emanate from him. I smiled and asked his name. He said his name was Cang Li!

After searching for a long time in the flower bushes without finding any foxes, we suddenly saw someone reading a book under a tree in front of the bushes. The person was wearing a white dress, with clear eyes and a faint smile like a rare orchid in a secluded valley. When she saw us, she smiled, stood up, and greeted us. She was such a lovely person. After chatting for a while, we learned that she was the ugly Cang Zhenzhen that Xiao Bi had mentioned!

I was about to ask Xiao Bi what was ugly about her, but I couldn't find her anywhere. After wandering around for a while, I finally saw her under a pavilion, smiling at a man with a lovesick expression. She said, "Brother Canglang, with your high level of magic, do you still need to read these books?"

"Hehe, there's still a lot to learn. You flatter me."

"I think you could become a star even if you don't learn magic. You're so handsome, you'd definitely be very famous."

Deng Fei and I listened to this conversation from behind the pavilion, and suddenly realized why Xiao Bi wanted me to stay on Bailu for a few more days. Ugh, how embarrassing...

After dinner, we still couldn't find the fox. I decided to sound out Gu Ming tonight, hoping the fox might have been sent away. As I walked towards the bedroom, I bumped into someone. The person was really strong; I fell to the ground and scraped my arm. When I looked up, I saw that the person was an extremely beautiful woman with willow-leaf eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes, dressed in white, and she had a stunning presence.

She dusted herself off, stood up, and whispered an apology. I smiled, shook my head, and walked away...

April 19, 2005, the sky was gray.

Gu Ming has disappeared.

Last night, I wanted to ask about the little fox, but I couldn't find him anywhere in the yard. His phone was off, probably because it was out of battery. Suddenly, I wondered if he had gone back to Er Gou Manor to catch that female ghost. I was anxious, so I went to ask Master Cangyi. The master told me three words: "Impossible."

Later, Xiao Bi and the others, along with the people from Bailu Mountain, began to search separately. Deng Fei and I also walked down the mountain path. Halfway down, we suddenly heard a woman's voice. The voice was quite far away, and the wind was blowing intermittently, so we couldn't hear it clearly.

Following the sound, the voice gradually became clearer, and a familiar voice said, "I just like you. I liked you back in the mountains... You know you look down on me because I'm a demon... But in what way do I lack compared to that idiot... No matter what, I'm sticking with you. I like Gu Ming the most..."

Gu Ming?

Could Gu Ming be here?

It was already past midnight. I don't know if it was because the mountain was so high and close to the moon, but the moonlight was so bright that I could see the scenery nearby.

I walked over quietly and gradually made out two people standing under the tree. One was dressed in white, with a beautiful face, and her long, slender, fair arms were tightly draped over the other person. Her head was tilted slightly, resting on the other person's shoulder, and she was smiling sweetly. I recognized her; she had bumped into me after dinner. I didn't expect to see her again so soon.

The other person smiled, put one arm around the girl, and gently patted her head with the other, sighing affectionately, "Gu Ming likes you too, little one..."

I recognize this person. How could I not? I'm anxiously looking for him right now.

Gu Ming, it's good that you're alright.

She quietly retreated, smiled at Deng Fei, and whispered, "Go back."

Deng Fei opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing. He pulled me and walked up the mountain. When we got to our lodging, he pushed me into the house with a grim expression and said, "Pack your things and go back to school. You have to finish your graduation thesis. Your teacher called to urge you. I'll go tell the Taoist priest and the others that Xiao Bi and Jia Yanchang can stay a few more days. Their projects aren't urgent."

I nodded, my nose starting to sting, and gave a self-deprecating laugh. I packed my meager belongings into my bag and told Xiao Bi and the others I'd see them at school in a few days. Xiao Bi looked at me quietly, then laughed and punched me, telling me to get lost and not interfere with her dating handsome guys. Cang Zhenzhen escorted us down the shortcut from the back of the mountain. Deng Fei called a car, and we drove to Suzhou. Before the car drove off, Zhenzhen waved and whispered, "So rushed? Leaving in the middle of the night..."

When we arrived in Suzhou, I thought Deng Fei would stay overnight before leaving, but to my surprise, he pulled me straight to the station, saying, "There's a train here. If we take a plane, we'll have to wait until noon tomorrow. It's better to take the train to save time."

My nose stung even more. I probably won't arrive by car until tomorrow night, while the plane only takes two hours. Deng Fei just wants me to leave here as soon as possible. It's really kind of him to go to so much trouble to come up with so many excuses.

I fell asleep as soon as I got on the bus. Sleeping is the happiest thing in the world...

At noon, I could no longer force myself to keep my eyes closed. I got up to eat: two big bowls of noodles, three ham sausages, and four tea eggs. I felt so full and satisfied...

In the evening, we finally arrived at the station. After getting off the train, we got on a bus. I thought we were going back to school, but we ended up stopping somewhere else. Deng Fei said it was a place he rented. I laughed and said, "How come I didn't know you rented such a nice place?" He glanced at me and said, "There are too many things you don't know..."

Deng Fei cooked a late-night snack. I ate too much at noon, and my mouth was watering at the sight of the fragrant glutinous rice balls, but my stomach wouldn't cooperate. The delicious food was right in front of me, but I couldn't enjoy it. Ugh, that's the most frustrating thing…

Before going to bed, I realized I couldn't find my phone. Thinking back, I figured I'd probably left it in the car or somewhere else. Oh well, what's done is done; it's better to lose something than something worse. I used Deng Fei's phone to call my parents and tell them what happened, saying they might be busy with their graduation project these days and would contact me if needed.

When I returned the phone to Deng Fei, he looked at me with a puzzled expression for a long time. I figured he was worried about the long-distance call cost. So petty! I gave him a disdainful glare, flopped onto the bed, and went to sleep…

April 20, 2005: Cloudy, no sun.

I was startled when I saw Deng Fei's face as soon as I opened my eyes in the morning.

Deng Fei said, "I'm so handsome, what are you afraid of?"

I said helplessly, "You're too handsome, I feel inferior."

He smiled smugly, "That's right. The teacher called again. The thesis topics have been assigned. We are two parts of the same big project. It's not difficult. We don't need to go to the lab recently. We can just look up some information first."

"kindness."

"Then don't go anywhere for the next few days. Focus on reading and looking up some research online..."

"Deng Fei," I interrupted him, "Stop talking, there's no need for this."

Silence fell for a moment.

"Xiao Mo, aren't you going to ask clearly?" Deng Fei patted my head.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to get the information I need."

"You're always like this. If I hadn't brought you back, you would have run away on your own anyway, wouldn't you?"

"..."

"When you're in a good mood, you're picky about food; when you're in a bad mood, you stuff yourself with everything. Weren't you tired of pretending to smile yesterday?"

"..."

"You're usually quite reckless, but this time you've become very cautious. You must be thinking things through carefully after you get back, right?"

"..."

"Do you lack confidence in this relationship? Or do you lack confidence in him?"

"Deng Fei, I'm hungry."

"I'll go make something to eat."

"Are there any glutinous rice balls left from last night? Let me have some first."

"You...you can't change your nature..."

At noon, Deng Fei told me that Gu Ming had probably returned and that he had called him.

I nodded, without asking what they said. I just felt I needed to think about it. I wasn't quite sure what I was thinking about, but I just wanted to think it over carefully.

In the evening, I ate grilled squid, sweet and sour pork, shrimp and cucumber, and goji berry and white fungus soup. When did Deng Fei's cooking become so good? I can't figure it out. Oh well, never mind...

April 21, 2005, light rain, going to sleep.

It started to drizzle this morning; the sky, which had been gloomy all day yesterday, finally cried.

Deng Fei and I started working on our paper. My topic is the cloning of a certain gene fragment. At this stage, we are simply searching for information online and organizing our experimental ideas. However, there are many articles on this gene fragment research on journal websites. We downloaded a lot of them and then opened and filtered them one by one to keep the ones that were useful to us.

And so, I was busy until noon. My stomach started growling, so Deng Fei went to cook. I planned to go to the kitchen to help, but after working for a while, I realized that I was just making things worse. Deng Fei glared at the unevenly chopped cucumbers I had cut and started waving me away, saying, "Can't you go play for a while, you kitchen killer!"

Seeing him wearing an apron and standing with his hands on his hips, I suddenly felt ashamed, so I slunk away...

A pleasant symphony of cooking music drifted from the kitchen. I opened QQ to play games, and as soon as I logged on, I noticed messages beeping incessantly. Xiao Bi said, "I discovered that Daoist Cangyi can access the internet in his room. He's always chatting on QQ, that old devil!"

"I think Canglang is getting more and more handsome. He's always clinging to me, I just can't help it."

"Jia Yanyan told me to tell you to eat less."

"Also, we avenged you; that fox is almost bald."

"Well... Gu Ming went back overnight after you left. He looked terrible. Don't overthink it, you know..."

A stranger said, "Want to read the latest martial arts, romance, horror, and erotic novels? Please visit , and there are pretty girls waiting for you..."

Another stranger said, "The world of games is all on . The latest online game, Swordsman Online, lets you experience the love, hate, and passion of the virtual world. Click the link below to enter..."

Finally, there was a strange message: "You're back. Let the game begin."

Just as I was wondering what was going on, the message started beeping again, so I opened it.

Why did you leave?

My heart sank; it was Gu Ming.