In the bustling heart of a vibrant Chinatown, a store was holding its grand opening, complete with a lion dance troupe energetically performing. A crowd of customers had gathered outside.
Meng Jingwei paused to watch, appreciating the captivating lion dance and reminiscing about childhood joys. It seemed such performances were rarely seen after growing up.
She stood among the crowd, watching a yellow lion balance on pillars, shaking its head and blinking its large eyes. Suddenly, it leaped onto a tall pole ahead, executed a backflip, and landed back down. Accompanied by the thunderous beat of gongs and drums, this spectacular display earned thunderous applause and cheers.
Just then, Meng Jingwei noticed a familiar figure in a goose-yellow cardigan emerge from the store. No, not just a familiar figure, but a face she couldn't forget. A face identical to her own. It was… Li Yun'er. Li Yun'er?! Hadn't she died?
A chill ran down Meng Jingwei's spine, causing her to shiver involuntarily. Her mind went blank. Separated by the lion dance troupe, she found herself gazing across at the person, their eyes meeting.
The next moment, Meng Jingwei turned and pushed her way through the crowd, running towards Li Yun'er. She hurried to where the woman in the goose-yellow cardigan had appeared and grabbed her arm, exclaiming, "Li Yun'er?"
The woman turned, revealing a stranger's face. With a hint of displeasure, she said, "Who are you? You've mistaken me for someone else, you're crazy."
Meng Jingwei's grip on her hand faltered. She couldn't help but stare at the woman for a moment longer before quickly apologizing, "I'm sorry, I mistook you for someone else." The person before her bore no resemblance to Li Yun'er at all. It wasn't her.
Meng Jingwei looked left and right, scanning the people around her. Everyone else remained in their places, engrossed in the spectacular lion dance, with no suspicious figures moving among the crowd. Everything was calm amidst the festivities, as if Li Yun'er had never appeared.
But Meng Jingwei was certain she hadn't been mistaken. Stepping out of the crowd, Meng Jingwei immediately began to run around, searching, looking… But people on the street were walking normally, some playing, others on their phones, none appearing out of the ordinary.
Meng Jingwei stood still, tucking a stray hair behind her ear, feeling a sense of frustration. Suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder. "Meng Jingwei?"
She jumped, startled, and turned, momentarily thinking it was Li Yun'er. But it was Chu Xue and Aimisen.
"Where did you go? Aimisen and I have been looking for you everywhere!" Chu Xue chided, then noticing Meng Jingwei's unusual expression, she frowned. "What's wrong? Did you see something?" Noticing Meng Jingwei glancing around, Chu Xue also looked left and right but saw nothing.
"No, it's nothing. I thought I saw an old classmate, but they were walking too fast, and I couldn't catch up to say hello. It's a shame." Meng Jingwei offered a flimsy excuse.
"You're silly," Chu Xue said, patting her shoulder. "If you can't catch up to your classmate, you can message them."
"They're a classmate from so many years ago, how would I have their contact information?"
"Ask your classmate, you should be able to find out. With how advanced communication is these days, finding someone isn't that hard."
"Never mind, it's not a big deal. Why bother looking for them?" Meng Jingwei waved her hand. "Let's go."
"Okay, let's go," Aimisen agreed.
The three headed across the street. Meng Jingwei couldn't resist looking back at the crowd in front of the store holding the event, a hint of confusion in her eyes. Li Yun'er was dead, so why was she alive? After Li Yun'er's death, Li Zirui went missing, and Li Fu'an and Zhao Ruolan sold their company and moved to Country C. Country C? This was Country C!
Meng Jingwei felt goosebumps rise all over her body, a chill running down her spine. "Jingwei? Meng Jingwei? Hello, I'm calling you." Chu Xue was talking to Meng Jingwei, but Meng Jingwei was looking down and walking ahead, as if not hearing her. Finally, Chu Xue sharply tapped her shoulder. "Meng Jingwei, are you hiding something from me?"
Meng Jingwei snapped back to reality, shaking her head. "No, I'm not. I was just thinking about what you said about Han Junyan being missing, where do you think he went?" Han Junyan? Li Yun'er? When Han Junyan left Lan City, news of Li Yun'er's death had surfaced. Seeing Li Yun'er in Country C now, could it imply a close relationship between Li Yun'er and Han Junyan? Meng Jingwei had an intuition that these two must have some connection. But she couldn't figure it out.
"Alas, who knows," Chu Xue sighed, then her eyes lit up. "That's right, Qing Muye also came to Country C today."
"Qing Muye? He, he's here too?"