SYLM Chapter 111

Chapter 111: Vanishing into Thin Air

Chapter 111 Vanishing into Thin Air

The swaying rain threads diagonally weaved into a net, blurring into a hazy watercolor on the spotless glass window of the dessert shop.

Chen Lu didn’t expect to run into an acquaintance at the dessert shop.

No, to be precise, she didn’t even know the man in front of her.

“Miss Chen? It really is you!”

“……”

Faced with the sudden greeting, Chen Lu frowned slightly. The young man in front of her was wearing a silver-gray tracksuit, and his face behind black-rimmed glasses wore a surprised smile. Chen Lu sized him up but didn’t recognize him.

Who is this guy?

Jiang Pengfei hadn’t expected that an autumn rain would bring the person he’d been thinking about for so long right to him. Naturally, he wouldn’t waste this opportunity and continued to strike up a conversation enthusiastically:

“Miss Chen, let me formally introduce myself. I’m Jiang Pengfei, a teacher at Ningcheng No. 1 High School. We met at the school lecture last time, the one where outstanding alumni returned to give speeches. Does that ring a bell? I originally wanted to get to know you then, but I never got the chance. I didn’t expect to run into you here so coincidentally today.”

“……”

Ningcheng No. 1 High School. Jiang Pengfei.

Chen Lu recited the name in her heart and took another look at the person in front of her, but she still didn’t recognize him.

She did remember the lecture, since it hadn’t been that long ago, but she didn’t seem to have ever heard the name Jiang Pengfei.

Seeing that Chen Lu wasn’t saying anything, Jiang Pengfei felt a little awkward but remained enthusiastic:

“You might not remember me. You were giving a speech on stage, and we were listening from below… Oh, right!”

As if he’d thought of something, the man quickly added:

“I was sitting with your high school homeroom teacher, Gu Wan Jun. Does Miss Chen remember?”

“……”

Jiang Pengfei tried to use Gu Wan Jun to jog Chen Lu’s memory. As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Lu’s expression froze for a moment, and she looked up at him, a meaningful seriousness in her eyes.

So that’s how to jog her memory.

Isn’t this the “study partner” Gu Wan Jun chatted with so happily last time?

The one who insisted on joining them for dinner but didn’t end up going.

“So it’s Teacher Jiang. I remember now.”

Chen Lu nodded in response, her tone seemingly colder than before, but Jiang Pengfei didn’t notice her aloofness. Instead, he became even more eager because he’d been recognized:

“Yes, it’s me. You remember now, right? Um, Miss Chen, are you free tonight? If you are, can I treat you to dinner?”

The rain outside the window suddenly grew louder, beating against the glass with a thumping sound. Hearing his purpose, Chen Lu’s eyes turned slightly cold, and just as she was about to refuse, a soft, warm body suddenly pressed against her arm.

“Lu Lu, you– Oh, Teacher Jiang is here too.”

Gu Wan Jun’s appearance broke the existing situation. Her already gentle tone dripped with sweetness. Her slender arm passed through Chen Lu’s elbow, and her fingers naturally intertwined with hers, as if declaring her ownership.

Chen Lu’s eyes flickered slightly. She didn’t need to turn around to imagine the pair of peach blossom eyes, always full of affection, now curved into just the right arc, seemingly gentle but actually hiding a sharp edge.

Jiang Pengfei was clearly stunned by Gu Wan Jun’s appearance. His slightly complicated gaze lingered on their intertwined arms for a moment before he slowly opened his mouth:

“Teacher Gu…? Long time no see.”

“Yes, long time no see.”

“I enjoyed chatting with you during the last lecture. I didn’t expect to meet you here.”

“……”

Gu Wan Jun’s eyebrows twitched slightly. She subconsciously glanced at Chen Lu beside her, then changed the topic, answering with a question:

“What are you doing here, Teacher Jiang?”

“I’m on a business trip to Yunjiang City. My family wanted to eat the desserts from this shop, so they asked me to buy some.”

Jiang Pengfei explained his purpose, but his eyes kept darting toward their close bodies, tentatively asking:

“Is Teacher Gu also here to see Miss Chen?”

“Oh, I don’t have anything important. I just came to pick up my daughter with Lu Lu. Duo Duo really clings to Lu Lu. This morning when she went to school, she was clamoring to have pizza with Lu Lu tonight. Lu Lu, should we go now?”

“……”

The way she said “Lu Lu” was so sweet and complicated, it sounded wrong no matter how you listened to it.

Jiang Pengfei was confused, but Chen Lu understood everything clearly.

How jealous.

Not only was she jealous herself, but she also brought out Little Duo Duo, who didn’t even live at home, as a shield. Gu Wan Jun, you really are something.

But she liked it.

After Chen Lu obediently replied “Okay,” she could feel Gu Wan Jun letting out a sigh of relief, and the arm linked with hers tightened even more.

Jiang Pengfei’s dinner invitation plan fell through. Although his disappointment was written all over his face, he still politely said goodbye to the two of them, saying that they should get together another time. Gu Wan Jun just smiled without saying a word. That bright smile disappeared the moment the woman turned around, replaced by a visibly tense jawline.

Looking at the backs of the two leaving, Jiang Pengfei seemed to belatedly realize something.

Did he offend this Teacher Gu? What was the relationship between Miss Chen and this Teacher Gu? Sisters? But the two of them didn’t look alike…

……

The rain seemed to be getting heavier and heavier.

As soon as she pushed open the door of the dessert shop, the cold rain immediately hit her face.

Chen Lu had just opened her umbrella when the warmth on her arm suddenly disappeared. Gu Wan Jun let go as if she had been burned. She quickly moved two steps to the side, raised her own umbrella, as if nothing had just happened.

What does this mean?

Seeing Gu Wan Jun return to her usual obedient, cautious self, keeping her distance from her, the pitter-patter of the rain completely extinguished the secret delight in her heart. Chen Lu couldn’t help but frown, feeling a lump in her chest.

Wasn’t she just holding her arm, calling her “Lu Lu,” why was she acting so cold now? Was it more interesting to chat and laugh with other men until her eyes disappeared?

Looking at Gu Wan Jun’s lowered eyelashes and pursed lips, Chen Lu suppressed the sour anger in her heart and said in a cold voice:

“My car is parked just ahead. One umbrella is enough for both of us.”

Gu Wan Jun looked up at her, her eyes flickering uncertainly: “The rain is too heavy, it’s not convenient. Let’s each use one umbrella. Let’s go.”

“……”

The little turtle was brave for only 3 seconds before retreating back into its shell.

Watching Gu Wan Jun’s almost fleeing back, Chen Lu silently clenched her back teeth.

Two minutes later.

The space inside the car felt particularly cramped due to the silence.

After getting in the car, Chen Lu didn’t start the engine immediately. Instead, she turned to Gu Wan Jun in the passenger seat, her voice colder than the rain outside the window:

“Gu Wan Jun, what do you mean?”

“……”

Both of them knew what Chen Lu wanted to ask. Gu Wan Jun couldn’t pretend to be stupid. She didn’t dare to look Chen Lu in the eyes, her gaze only landing on the winding water streaks on the car window:

“That Teacher Jiang seems to like you…”

“So?” Chen Lu raised an eyebrow and pressed: “What does that have to do with you? Why did you use Duo Duo as a shield to drive him away?”

“……”

A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating Gu Wan Jun’s pale face. The thunder rumbled, as if striking directly between the two of them.

Chen Lu stared at Gu Wan Jun intently. Before asking these questions, she had even thought that if the distance between her and Gu Wan Jun was 100 steps, she was willing to walk 99 steps, as long as Gu Wan Jun said she was jealous, or asked what was going on between her and Li Sa, she would reveal everything about her and Li Sa pretending to be a couple.

But Gu Wan Jun didn’t.

Chen Lu has a girlfriend, what is Gu Wan Jun’s position or qualification to be jealous.

Gu Wan Jun took a deep breath, raised her eyes to look at Chen Lu, and squeezed out a smile that was uglier than crying: “Chen Lu, Li Sa is very good, you and her should be happy…”

“……”

This sentence was like the last straw, breaking all of Chen Lu’s patience.

No one can be brave forever, especially Chen Lu, who had already been abandoned by Gu Wan Jun once.

What does she take her for? What exactly does she take her for?

The rain outside the window suddenly intensified, and large raindrops hit the windshield, making a dense sound. The thunder rumbled, but it couldn’t compare to the anger churning in Chen Lu’s heart.

“Li Sa is very good?”

Chen Lu sneered, her voice almost squeezed out from between her teeth:

“Teacher Gu is very considerate of me, so what are you now, a third party?”

“……”

One thunderclap after another in the sky. The words “third party” deeply pierced Gu Wan Jun’s heart. The windshield wipers swung wildly but still couldn’t keep up with the torrential rain. Rainwater flowed down the car window, and a voice so light that it was almost drowned out by the rain:

“I…I…”

“You what?”

Chen Lu stared at her: “Gu Wan Jun, do you know how ridiculous you look right now?”

“I’m sorry…” Gu Wan Jun lowered her eyes and said with difficulty: “I shouldn’t have interfered in your private affairs…”

“It’s always apologies, always apologies. What I want isn’t your apology!”

“……”

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the sound of it hitting the roof of the car was deafening.

Looking at Chen Lu, who was so angry that her eyebrows were locked together, Gu Wan Jun didn’t understand why the little girl was so angry, or maybe she knew, but she didn’t dare to think about it at all. She tried to calm herself down, but when she opened her mouth, her voice still trembled:

“Besides ‘I’m sorry,’ I don’t know what to say. Chen Lu, I just… I just hope you and Li Sa can be happy…”

“……”

Hearing this, the car fell into silence. After a long time, Chen Lu suddenly smiled, that laughter colder than the autumn rain outside the window.

Good. Very good. Gu Wan Jun, you are very good.

She shouldn’t have been soft-hearted.

Chen Lu didn’t say anything else. She fastened her seat belt and started the car, the air inside the car freezing.

Rainwater gathered into streams on the car window, like the words that Gu Wan Jun could never say in her heart.

She wanted to tell Chen Lu that she was jealous, she wanted to tell Chen Lu that she hated Jiang Pengfei’s fervent gaze, she wanted to tell Chen Lu that she hated anyone other than her approaching Chen Lu, she wanted to ask Chen Lu if she could not be with Li Sa, if she could only like her…

But she couldn’t say a word of these words, and in the end, they all turned into bitter silence.

The windshield wipers moved mechanically, cleanly splitting the falling rain, but they couldn’t split the ever-thickening barrier between the two.

Yunjiang Century Garden.

When the car stopped downstairs in the complex, the heavy rain outside the window had turned into a drizzle, but it was still drizzling on both of their hearts.

It was already evening when they got home. Chen Lu didn’t lock herself in the study in a fit of pique like the last time she was angry. Instead, she went straight to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and started cooking. Gu Wan Jun couldn’t figure out what she was thinking, so she could only carefully help out beside her.

In the cold light of the open refrigerator door, Chen Lu’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and it was impossible to tell what her mood was. Gu Wan Jun wanted to take the greens in her hand, but as soon as her fingertips touched the vegetable leaves, Chen Lu immediately let go and turned to get the cutting board, without even looking at her.

During this time, Gu Wan Jun kept trying to start a conversation, but Chen Lu didn’t look at her at all. Soon, the only sound in the kitchen was the sound of the knife falling on the cutting board.

The rain outside the window was still drizzling. Dinner began in silence and ended in silence.

“I’m done eating.”

Chen Lu put down her chopsticks. She didn’t wait for Gu Wan Jun to finish eating as usual. Instead, she got up and left directly.

Watching Chen Lu’s back disappear in the direction of the study, Gu Wan Jun blinked her eyes. The sweet and sour pork ribs in the bowl still tasted the same as she remembered, but she couldn’t taste the sweetness.

After clearing the dishes, Gu Wan Jun came to the study. The moment she pushed open the door, her eyes flickered slightly, and a surge of unbearable sorrow welled up in her throat.

Chen Lu’s desk, which had been placed directly opposite her desk, had been moved to the front of the window. Chen Lu was sitting at the desk, coding, her back facing her. The desk lamp stretched the little girl’s shadow very long, all the way to her feet.

They were so close, but there seemed to be a Milky Way between them.

So, Chen Lu was starting to distance herself from her?

She knew that doing this was the right thing, so why was she so sad?

Thinking of the days when Chen Lu had disappeared as soon as she woke up from a dream in the past five years, Gu Wan Jun shook her head with a wry smile.

This was already a gift to her.

Two weeks later, Tang Ying was discharged from the hospital.

The first thing she did after being discharged from the hospital was to bring a pile of documents to find Fu Yi Wen.

The entrance of SWEET HOME restaurant.

The sound of high heels hitting the ground was sharp and urgent, causing passers-by to turn their heads. However, when Tang Ying stood in front of the restaurant and saw the notice [This store is for sale] conspicuously posted on the glass door, her pair of phoenix eyes, which had been hiding anticipation and eagerness, instantly became as cold as ice.

What a joke.

Tang Ying frowned, her slender fingers caressing the notice on the door, and then suddenly tore it off. In just a few seconds, the offensive piece of paper made a piercing tearing sound between her fingers.

Fu Yi Wen.

Tang Ying gritted her teeth and dialed the phone, only to hear a mechanical female voice repeating the prompt that it was turned off. The fingers that were trembling with force almost crushed the phone.

Fu Yi Wen was gone.

How could a living person just disappear like this?

She’s playing disappearing games with her?

No way.

She had plenty of ways to bring her back and tie her to her side.

In the next three days, Tang Ying used all her connections and spent a lot of money to hire private detectives to search in 24-hour shifts. She almost turned the entire Yunjiang City upside down, but she still couldn’t find Fu Yi Wen.

“Miss Tang, we really can’t find any travel records for Miss Fu…”

Faced with such an unapproachable Buddha, the president of the detective agency personally came to report, with fine beads of sweat oozing from his forehead:

“She’s like… she’s vanished into thin air…”

“……”

In front of the floor-to-ceiling window, Tang Ying, who hadn’t closed her eyes for three days, had heavy dark circles under her eyes, but she was still sitting upright.

“Keep looking.” The wine glass in her hand was heavily placed on the table, and the glass collided with the marble, making a crisp sound: “Triple the price.”

“But Miss Tang…”

“Five times, keep looking for me.”

“……”

The president wiped his sweat and gritted his teeth to accept the task.

The door opened and closed again. On the table, the red wine glass that had just been placed down reflected Tang Ying’s sharp but haggard face.

Vanished into thin air.

How could she vanish into thin air?

Unless there wasn’t enough money or power.

Tang Ying nodded, then shook her head again.

But if she couldn’t find Fu Yi Wen even by throwing money and mobilizing power, what should she do?

If she could never see Fu Yi Wen again…

Tang Ying frowned and stopped thinking about it.

Night fell. Watching the useless reports sent by the private detective, Tang Ying realized that conventional methods were useless, so she took the car keys and drove to Gu Wan Jun’s house.

Yunjiang Century Garden. 1602.

The door was knocked so loudly that it shook the sky. When she opened the door, Gu Wan Jun was startled by Tang Ying’s condition.

The woman, who had always been calm and self-possessed, was now disheveled, her lips were chapped, and her eyes were bloodshot. It was obvious that she hadn’t slept for several nights.

“Tang Ying? What’s wrong with you…”

“Is Chen Lu here? I have something to ask her.”

“……”

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