After distancing herself from Lu Yunze, Jiang Sui didn’t return to the Manor. Instead, she found a secluded spot in a nearby park and sat down.
The surroundings were quiet, with only the faint chirping of insects.
She stood up, placing her palm against a tree beside her, curling her fingers and peeling off a piece of bark.
The anger in her heart had long since faded, yet she still felt a heavy oppression inside.
She couldn’t quite put this feeling into words. Her mind was consumed by what he had said—clearly, the Explosion had nothing to do with her, so why was she inexplicably being blamed?
Her thoughts were filled with his words, “Not worth saving,” which even caused a sharp pain in her chest as her heart pounded fiercely.
“But thankfully, he wasn’t foolish enough to lose all his basic judgment.”
The reaction from the awakened Lu Yunze still left Jiang Sui somewhat satisfied.
She sat down again, lowering her head and sinking into deep thought.
Ultimately, it all came down to this: he believed the Explosion in the Science Building was related to me. Why did he think that?
Was it simply because I gave him a teaser earlier in the day? If that were true, then Lu Yunze’s imagination was far too impressive and it was directed at me.
No, this won’t do. With so little evidence, I can’t find the reason.
“So many lies told, but when I speak the truth, no one believes me. It’s truly pitiful.”
“Indeed, I even feel sorry for you.”
Accompanied by a few soft footsteps, Black Cat’s figure appeared from behind. She jumped onto the bench and curled up on Jiang Sui’s soft lap.
“Senior, do you know something?” Jiang Sui asked, stroking the fur on her back.
At times like this, having a cat that’s soothing but doesn’t hiss makes the mood considerably better.
“Uh, well…” Black Cat suddenly hesitated, “You must promise not to blame me, okay?”
Jiang Sui’s heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”
“Considering that you can’t reveal yourself in front of Lu Yunze in the future, I thought I’d prepare a handy little tool for you.” Black Cat explained, “But it’s the first time I’m trying it out, so I need to test how well it works.”
“Ah?”
Jiang Sui raised an eyebrow, while Black Cat jumped off her lap and turned her back to her, fiddling with something.
The next second, under Jiang Sui’s watchful eyes, Black Cat’s figure shifted and gradually transformed into human form. She slowly stood up and turned back to look at her.
The moment Jiang Sui saw that face, she felt suffocated.
“Isn’t this my face?”
Jiang Sui jumped up, her expression changing a couple of times before she immediately understood what was going on.
“So it’s you, impersonating me and causing trouble?!”
The furious young maid quickly stepped forward and grabbed Black Cat by the collar, her eyes blazing with anger.
“Hehe, calm down, calm down.” Black Cat grinned awkwardly her expression looked mischievous, practically begging for a beating.
“Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down?”
Jiang Sui’s gaze grew icier, as if she might pull out the Remnant Moon Scythe at any moment.
“Do you realize that because of you, the goodwill I worked so hard to build almost vanished? Lu Yunze came at me with a barrage of insults it was you all along, senior.”
“I didn’t want this either.” Black Cat shrugged. “Who knew he would return to the Science Building and specifically come up to the Rooftop? I almost blew your cover, you know?”
She took two steps back and wiggled her hips, showing Jiang Sui her face—which was indeed Jiang Sui’s—but her figure didn’t completely match. A long cat tail stretched behind her.
Due to the dim lighting and the urgency of the situation, Lu Yunze hadn’t noticed these flaws.
“You might as well have shown him; then I wouldn’t be the one taking the blame.”
Jiang Sui shot her a glare.
“Lu Yunze is an overly sentimental person. That Explosion hurt his friend, and you appeared at the scene wearing my face. Senior, you nearly destroyed the progress I risked my life for.”
“Sorry about that. I’ll make it up to you later.” Black Cat clasped her hands together, speaking sincerely.
Jiang Sui just looked at her like she was an idiot and said nothing.
The misunderstanding was cleared. Now the real trouble was how to reconcile with Lu Yunze.
She couldn’t just expose Black Cat to divert his anger.
Thankfully, this wasn’t a dead end. There was still a chance to repair things with Lu Yunze.
Thinking of this, Jiang Sui felt much lighter until a metallic, sweet taste filled her mouth, making her realize she had accidentally bitten the tip of her left index finger.
Licking the blood before it could drip onto the ground, Jiang Sui looked back at Black Cat.
“Senior, were there only the two of you there at the time?”
“There was someone else.”
“Who?”
“The one who coveted your looks a few days ago.”
Jin Shun?
At the mention of that name, Jiang Sui’s thoughts immediately cleared.
“I know what to do now.”
Jiang Sui smiled, her smile eerily sinister under the moonlight.
After learning that Wu Xuan had awakened, Lu Yunze hurried nonstop to the Hospital and found his ward.
Gathered in the corridor, besides Wu Xuan’s family, were the club members who had suffered lighter injuries.
When they saw Lu Yunze, they smiled and greeted him:
“I think it was Lu Yunze who saved us back then, right?”
“Yes, it was me.”
“So I wasn’t mistaken. Thank you so much.”
The club members kept expressing their gratitude, almost making Lu Yunze shy.
“Is Senior Wu Xuan alright?”
Mentioning Wu Xuan, the club members’ faces filled with worry.
“He survived, but… it’s not looking good. He’ll need to stay hospitalized for a long time. When he woke up, he mentioned your name, so we called you.”
“Can I go in now?”
“Yes.”
After greeting Wu Xuan’s family, Lu Yunze pushed open the ward door and sat by Wu Xuan’s bedside.
It was clear his condition was serious. The blanket covered his lower body tightly, but the exposed skin showed obvious burns.
When Wu Xuan noticed someone entering, he turned and forced a smile upon seeing it was Lu Yunze.
“You came. I wanted to thank you.”
“Just doing what I can.” Lu Yunze smiled slightly. “Is it not too severe?”
“Actually, it’s okay. The worst injury is a broken leg,” Wu Xuan shook his head. “But compared to being given a second chance at life, what’s that?”
They laughed together, but after the moment, Lu Yunze’s expression grew serious.
“Senior, do you remember what happened? Why did the Explosion occur out of nowhere?”
The Music Club’s classroom was filled with instruments could it have been a short circuit that caused the fire?
“I remember back then…”
Wu Xuan’s expression suddenly clouded, his brow furrowed as he struggled to recall.
“What happened… I can’t quite remember.”
“Hm?” Lu Yunze was momentarily stunned. “You called me and said Jiang Sui was there with you.”
“Jiang Sui, that little maid from your home?”
Wu Xuan was also taken aback.
“She… shouldn’t have been there.”
“Ah? Didn’t you call me?”
“Did I?”
“…”
Lu Yunze held his breath and lowered his voice.
“Senior, think harder. Was there anything unusual at the time?”
Upon hearing this, Wu Xuan racked his brain, but for some reason, the memories before the accident were extremely blurry. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall only sharp headaches remained.
“Oh, there was a guest.”
Several members had arrived earlier, so when Wu Xuan, the president, showed up, someone was already hosting a guest.
“Who?”
“You should have heard this name before Jin Shun.”
“I see. I understand now. Thank you, Senior.”
After bidding farewell to Wu Xuan, Lu Yunze left the Hospital.
Jiang Sui who wasn’t present, the sudden visit from Jin Shun, the strange pair on the Rooftop, and the blurred memories of Wu Xuan.
The truth behind everything was about to be revealed.