“Aunt, Cheng Orange and I are heading out for a bit! We’ll eat outside today!”
Shen Yao called out toward his front door.
He didn’t wait for his aunt’s response before hopping onto his weather-beaten white bicycle.
Cheng Orange quickly turned sideways, settled herself onto the back seat, and wrapped her arms around his waist.
He pedaled hard, making the bicycle bell jingle as he rode.
He thought to himself, the kind of people Qiao Yunxue usually scolds for breaking traffic rules are probably just like him.
“Shen Yao, where are we going to find Qiao Yunxue?” Cheng Orange shouted from the back seat, her voice muffled by the wind.
“At her house!”
“Do you know where she lives?”
“I do!” Shen Yao looked back and grinned. “Did you forget? I once went to her house to borrow her printer.”
The summer evening was just as sweltering.
Shen Yao was pedaling until sweat covered his forehead, but he didn’t dare slow down even for a moment.
If they arrived a minute earlier, maybe they could save a life.
He knew it had already been seven days since Qiao Yunxue made her testament.
He also knew that by now, Qiao Yunxue might have already passed away.
But unless he saw her body with his own eyes, he wouldn’t give up.
Even if she really was dead, he wanted to see her corpse and give this brief legendary story a perfect ending—this was Shen Yao’s life philosophy: to pursue completeness and leave no regrets!
The two arrived at the Villa District.
Shen Yao jumped off the bike, and Cheng Orange followed right after.
They saw that the courtyard was empty, and in the underground garage sat the Maybach.
Shen Yao knocked on the front door. “Auntie, Auntie, it’s Shen Yao!”
The housekeeper opened the door, looking surprised. “Little Shen?”
There was no time for small talk.
Shen Yao asked, “Is Qiao Yunxue home?”
The housekeeper shook her head. “Miss has been away for two days. She said she was going to see an old friend.”
Two days… Shen Yao let out half a sigh of relief—only half.
Luckily, she’d only left two days ago.
Maybe the worst hadn’t happened yet.
The housekeeper frowned and asked, “Little Shen, do you know what Miss is up to? There have been foreigners coming and going these past few days, all dressed in suits and looking very serious.”
It was probably for the testament arrangements.
That also explained why Qiao Yunxue only started her “grand” plan two days ago.
To ensure her testament was carried out, she had to stay in this world she’d grown weary of for a while longer, dealing with those suited, trivial people.
Shen Yao shook his head. “I don’t know.” Then he asked, “Did she say where she was going to meet that old friend?”
“No… We servants don’t dare ask about Miss’s affairs.”
Shen Yao and Cheng Orange exchanged a look.
Now they were in trouble—without any leads, where could they look for Qiao Yunxue?
The housekeeper hadn’t realized the seriousness of the situation yet. “Little Shen, come in and sit for a bit. I was just making dinner.”
Shen Yao gave a wry smile and politely refused, “Auntie, I have something urgent to discuss with Qiao Yunxue. Is there any way to contact her?”
“Do you have Miss’s phone number?”
Shen Yao’s heart skipped a beat.
Right, how could he have forgotten to call Qiao Yunxue?
He took out his phone and checked his contacts, only to realize he had already deleted Qiao Yunxue’s number.
Seeing Shen Yao’s dazed look, the housekeeper chuckled. “Miss didn’t give you her number? I’ll tell you, 173…”
Shen Yao felt a weight lift from his shoulders and quickly entered the number as the housekeeper recited it.
Nervous and anxious, he pressed the green call button.
The phone rang for a while before an automated message suddenly came: “Sorry, the user you are trying to reach is currently unavailable…”
Shen Yao abruptly put away his phone and jogged out the door.
The housekeeper called out, “Hey, Little Shen, why not stay for dinner!”
“Thanks, Auntie, but I have something urgent!” Shen Yao didn’t look back.
Cheng Orange hurried to catch up, worry on her face. “You couldn’t get through?”
Shen Yao nodded. “Not getting through is normal. But actually, it’s good news.”
“Good news?”
“The phone wasn’t hung up on directly—it rang for a while first. That means Qiao Yunxue is at least still alive for now, just unwilling to answer.” Shen Yao mounted the bicycle. “Cheng Orange, get on. Let’s go look for her.”
Cheng Orange got on the back seat. “But what if someone else picked up her phone?”
Shen Yao froze for a second.
Right, if Qiao Yunxue really went to end her life, someone else could have picked up her phone.
That would explain why he couldn’t reach her.
Isn’t that actually more reasonable?
Cheng Orange pressed her lips together. “Either way, let’s go find her. Do you know where to start?”
Shen Yao nodded, pushing aside those pessimistic thoughts for now.
His gaze swept around the garage.
“That red Japan Motorcycle is gone. Qiao Yunxue left on her motorcycle. Why would she do that? Where would she go by motorcycle?” His mind spun rapidly, piecing all the clues together.
Qiao Yunxue, that self-righteous woman, believed she had uncovered the secrets of Strangeness and the Zero Dimension, so she wanted to go to the Zero Dimension by dying at the hands of a Strangeness.
And how would Qiao Yunxue know where in Yaoguang City there were Strangeness?
No, she already knew—Shen Yao had told her himself.
If his “hallucinations” were not false, then the Ceiling Fan at school, the Steel Piano Wire in the Alley were all places where Strangeness had appeared!
That’s why she left on her motorcycle!
All the clues pointed to the same area.
“School!” Shen Yao stood up and pedaled with all his might, making his bicycle go as fast as a small motorcycle.
Both the Ceiling Fan and the Steel Piano Wire in the Alley were near the school.
For Qiao Yunxue, the school was the most efficient place to seek out Strangeness.
So she would definitely go to the school!
What a bitter irony—the girl who hated school the most would choose to end her life there in the end!
The two of them rode until they stopped at a small alley.
This was the very spot where Shen Yao had previously witnessed the Hell of Motorcycles.
At this moment, there was only an Old Granny sitting by the wall, cooling herself—no woman’s corpse in sight.
Shen Yao breathed a sigh of relief and told Cheng Orange to watch the bike.
He jogged up to the Old Granny. “Grandma, Grandma, may I ask you something…”
The widowed granny took her fan and fanned him. “Young man, take a rest, take a rest, look at you, panting so hard.”
Shen Yao caught his breath and asked, “Grandma, have you seen a girl with red hair lately? About my age, very pretty—she’s my friend, and I’m looking for her.”
The granny opened her mouth, showing only a few lonely teeth. “Seen her, seen her. Your friend is very rude!” She pointed at her own walkway.
“Two days ago, she rode a motorcycle back and forth here. I told her she was disturbing my rest—you know, at my age, I really need to rest…”
Shen Yao quickly interrupted the Old Granny’s complaints. “Grandma, I apologize for her. Do you know where she went afterwards?”
The Old Granny pointed to the exit where Cheng Orange was waiting. “She left from there.”
“Thank you, Grandma!”
Shen Yao felt lighter on his feet as he returned to the exit.
He was about to get on his bike, but Cheng Orange held him back, motioning for him to sit on the back seat.
She raised her thumb and pointed to herself. “Leave the rest to me.”
Shen Yao smiled knowingly and sat comfortably on the back seat.
As expected, Qiao Yunxue had been here, trying to kill herself by crashing into the Steel Piano Wire, but for some reason, she’d failed.
Then she left by the exit, heading toward the school.
As he watched the scenery flying by on both sides, Shen Yao prayed in his heart: Please, let us make it in time!
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