Chapter 2

Looking at her son's suddenly unpredictable expression, Chen Yulian became a bit worried. She made up her mind to take her son to see a doctor the next day, but she still smiled, "Xiao Qi, if you're not feeling well, just eat and go back to sleep. It's Monday tomorrow, I'll take you to see a doctor and get some medicine. We'll take a day off and rest."

"Okay."

Xiao Qi nodded slightly. He also needed some time to sort out his thoughts and adjust to his current mood.

Happiness came too suddenly, always leaving people unable to react.

Chen Yulian was still not quite reassured and decided to give her son a few more words of encouragement, "Xiao Qi, you turned eighteen last week, you're an adult now. You need to learn to take care of yourself and not worry your mother all the time, understand?"

"I understand."

Xiao Qi felt warm inside. In the next few years, the days he would spend with his parents could be counted on one hand. Listening to his mother's nagging over the phone was also quite comforting.

Now, hearing it in person, he felt even better having his mother by his side.

Yes!

Turning eighteen, he should start working hard for his life. Eighteen...

Hmm?

Had his birthday been last week?

Today is Sunday?!

Xiao Qi's face turned pale in an instant.

Extremely pale.

"Mom..."

"What's wrong?"

Chen Yulian was busy eating and didn't notice her son's face was as white as paper, and his voice was trembling uncontrollably.

"What... what's the date today..."

"Stupid child! Why are you saying such nonsense?" Chen Yulian looked up, and seeing her son's face, she was startled again, "Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"Mom! I'm fine, just tell me quickly!" Xiao Qi's hand holding the chopsticks was trembling uncontrollably.

"It's September 8th, Sunday... Hey! What are you doing?"

Before Chen Yulian could finish her sentence, Xiao Qi, who had been staring at the wall clock, dropped his bowl and chopsticks and ran towards the door.

Chen Yulian quickly grabbed her son's arm, her face also turning pale, "Son, don't scare me! What's going on?"

As she spoke, her eyes turned red, and a sense of worry and fear filled her heart.

Xiao Qi turned around and hugged his mother tightly, then let go and said, "Mom, there's no time. I'll explain when I come back!"

"But... it's so late, what are you going out for?" Chen Yulian frowned and asked.

The clock now pointed to 8:30 PM. Even in the summer, it was pitch black outside.

If it weren't for her son's honest nature, Chen Yulian might have suspected he was up to no good.

Xiao Qi held his mother's shoulders and tried to sound as relaxed as possible, "Mom, I have something very important to do, it's not anything bad. I'll explain when I come back."

He knew his mother's character. Despite her usual strictness, she was very indulgent towards her son, especially since he had always been well-behaved and studious.

As long as he explained properly, his mother would let him go out.

Sure enough, after a moment's thought, Chen Yulian nodded, "Xiao Qi, come back early, don't worry your mother... This naughty child~"

Seeing Xiao Qi run out without finishing his sentence, Chen Yulian was both angry and amused, but a thought flashed through her mind: Is this silly boy in early love?

Xiao Qi was certainly not in early love. In fact, while in the United States, he had never had a girlfriend, focusing all his energy on learning and research. Many of his peers were the same, so it didn't seem unusual.

It wasn't that Xiao Qi didn't like girls; on the contrary, he had many girls he secretly admired, especially his beautiful classmate, who often appeared in his dreams.

The reason he never had a girlfriend was due to an incident that happened tonight.

It was this incident that cast a shadow over Xiao Qi's life.

Now, with the chance to break this shadow, Xiao Qi was so nervous and excited that his whole body was trembling. He ran out at a speed faster than his usual.

However...

Running too fast wasn't a good thing.

After running out of the government compound and reaching the street corner, Xiao Qi sadly realized he had forgotten to fetch his bike from the bike shed.

Without a bike, how could he go to the Huang Forest to break the curse and save those two innocent and pitiful classmates?

As he gritted his teeth and was about to run back to the bike shed, he suddenly saw a figure.

Overjoyed, Xiao Qi rushed over.

Due to his large movements, the handsome young man pushing his bike and chatting with a girl noticed him early and looked up, stunned.

Xiao Qi didn't care if he was stunned, grabbed his bike, and said, "Master He, I need to borrow your bike!"

"Hey, hey, Aqi, this is my new bike! What are you doing... No, no... Don't break it, where are you going? I'll take you!"

Seeing his beloved bike about to be taken, the handsome young man quickly offered to be the driver, or he would refuse.

"Alright, I'm going to the Huang Forest, hurry up!" Xiao Qi, seeing the delay, sat on the back seat.

"Oh... Xiaoyuan, go home first, see you at school tomorrow!"

The handsome young man, seeing how anxious Xiao Qi was, didn't dare to delay and said goodbye to his female companion before riding off.

The handsome young man was named He Hao, the third son in his family, a classmate of Xiao Qi's. He wasn't a good student but was handsome and from a wealthy family.

Xiaoyuan was a term relative to "Lao Na" (old monk). He Hao liked to act mysterious, often saying that a young monk was "Xiao Na," so "Xiao Na" became his self-referential term. Xiao Qi usually called him "Master He."

Such a person should be very popular with girls, but unfortunately, his luck with women was not good.

The reason was that He Hao's mouth was too loose, like a telephone line. Anything you told him would surely be spread around, making both boys and girls dislike him.

However, He Hao was Xiao Qi's elementary, middle, and high school classmate, so they naturally had a good relationship.

Because of their good relationship, He Hao pedaled hard while grumbling about how hard it was to get Xiaoyuan to come out, and how Xiao Qi had ruined it, which was a grave sin.

Xiao Qi, tense and excited, didn't hear a word of He Hao's grumbling.

Xiao Qi's mind was now completely immersed in the event that had affected his life.

It was on September 9th, 2005, Monday morning at 6 AM.

Getting up to use the bathroom, he suddenly heard the phone ringing in his parents' room. His father answered it. When Xiao Qi returned from the bathroom and passed by his parents' room, he saw them hurriedly getting dressed.

Seeing his son's surprised look, his father, Xiao Xu, blurted out, "Yang Xue is in trouble! Big trouble!"

At that moment, Xiao Qi, who had been half-asleep, felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head. He shivered and became completely awake, all sleepiness gone.

Then, in a daze, Xiao Qi followed his parents to the hospital, where he saw his childhood friend, Yang Xue, lying on the hospital bed, covered in blood, with tubes all over his body, his head wrapped tightly. Upon closer inspection, the bandages were soaked in blood, and the bed was also covered in blood.

Yang Xue had been shot with a homemade gun and thrown into the Lu River.

Despite his calmness, Yang Xue had tried to pretend to be dead to escape, but the cruel criminal still threw him into the river.

If Yang Xue hadn't known how to swim and if a sand dredging boat hadn't passed by and rescued him, he might never have been seen again.

Despite his injuries, Yang Xue was still conscious. Hearing his mother sobbing and talking to Xiao Xu, he called out, "Is Xiao Qi here? Is Xiao Qi here?"

Xiao Qi, who had never seen such a scene, was almost paralyzed with fear. Even years later, he was amazed at his own courage to walk up to the bed and lean over to Yang Xue.

The strange and pungent smell of blood made Xiao Qi afraid of blood from then on, so he buried himself in school and didn't care about anything outside.

"Find Su Zi for me! Xiao Qi, find Su Zi for me!!"

This firm and unwavering voice, without a hint of hesitation, became a phrase that often echoed in Xiao Qi's ears.

Su Zi had already been found.

Thirty minutes later, Xiao Qi saw Su Zi lying still in the hospital morgue.

Su Zi, who could no longer breathe, still had a look of horror and pain on her face, indicating the immense suffering she had endured.

To preserve the original state for the police investigation, Su Zi's body had not been cleaned or tidied.

When Xiao Qi first saw her, he saw not only her face but also her torn clothes, the numerous small wounds all over her body, and her legs, which were spread apart and could not be closed.

This scene, along with the one at Yang Xue's bedside, became Xiao Qi's two greatest nightmares.

He had never forgotten them, and they cast a shadow over his life, making him unwilling to interact with others until a few years later.

Perhaps it was also because of his own cowardice.

Sitting on the bike, Xiao Qi recalled this scene and shook his head with a self-deprecating smile.

But his face gradually became resolute.

Yang Xue!

Su Zi!

Wait for me!

I, Xiao Qi, am back, and I will not allow such tragic events to happen to you innocent ones again!

Never!!