Shen Jingqi saw Lin Xiaocan's sweet smile.
Slowly disappearing in front of him.
Shen Jingqi's body paused.
Some things are beyond grasp.
Came suddenly, and went suddenly.
His hand rested on the white keyboard, brushing away a speck of dust.
Then, he slowly stood up.
Li Baiyu lay half-reclined at the foot of the bed with her eyes closed.
Her body slowly stretched out from a curled position.
A chilling aura swirled around her.
Her serene complexion battled against the world.
The strings of the violin to her right buzzed softly.
The milk tea ribbon tied in her hair gently came undone, with one corner lifting.
Shen Jingqi's fingers reached for the ribbon.
Picking up the lifted corner, he lifted it from amidst countless strands of hair.
The undulating long hair slanted down, covering the bed.
He turned, placing the milk tea ribbon on the piano.
Lightly touching the black keys.
It was Li Baiyu's murmur.
Shen Jingqi turned, seeing her furrow her brows and sit up at the end of the bed.
"Why am I home? What time is it now?"
Shen Jingqi handed over Li Baiyu's bag.
Li Baiyu smoothed her long hair, anxiously scrolling through her phone.
"Senior, you're okay now."
"It's already evening!"
"Senior, when we went to the restaurant for lunch, you said you saw an illusion. After that, you just woke up."
"In that period, it was the moment Lin Xiaocan appeared."
Li Baiyu held her phone, looking around the room.
"It's her. It's my first time coming into this room!"
Li Baiyu saw the flashing phone on the bed; it was Lin Xiaocan's.
"Let's go back to the hospital. I need to stay there for two days to clear my mind."
Li Baiyu stood up, regaining her calm and composed state. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on NovᴇlFɪre.nᴇt
Leaving Lin Xiaocan's room, Shen Jingqi paused for a moment, then shut the door heavily.
Tuantuan was at the door of the cat room, tail up.
Li Baiyu rushed forward a few steps.
Her face pressed against Tuantuan's forehead, resting for a minute.
After straightening up, Shen Jingqi noticed her hair was slightly disheveled.
"Senior, you have cat hair on your head."
"It's okay, I'll leave it."
Li Baiyu walked outside.
With no guarantee of returning soon, Shen Jingqi took the opportunity to add cat food and change the water for Tuantuan.
Uncle Li was already waiting.
"Miss, you're finally awake."
Uncle Li drove slowly, his voice filled with joy.
"I won't have any issues in the hospital for now. After discharge, make sure to stay by my side."
Li Baiyu looked at Shen Jingqi.
Shen Jingqi's mind felt heavy.
The content from the information bar above Li Baiyu's head had already appeared.
Her sub-personality emerged, and it was temporally linked to her illusion.
Was Li Baiyu's illusion an unbearable memory?
According to Lin Xiaocan, Li Baiyu had a certain wariness towards her illusion, and Lin Xiaocan herself was not affected by Li Baiyu's illusion; her presence indeed protected Li Baiyu to some extent.
Furthermore, the sudden disappearance of Li Baiyu's illusion was also a major enigma.
Lin Xiaocan attempted to track Li Baiyu's illusion, suggesting that she, too, did not touch Li Baiyu's illusion.
Therefore, regarding Li Baiyu's illusion Cong Nanxue, there are several hypotheses:
1. Cong Nanxue has signs of existence in reality, including a student ID, grades, diploma, ID number, etc.
2. Whether Cong Nanxue is of a physical state remains unconfirmed.
3. The woman I encountered at the crossroads near Shen University and the masked woman in Shen University's restaurant elevator—both had no information bar above their heads, uncertain if it's Cong Nanxue.
4. Cong Nanxue would suddenly vanish.
Shen Jingqi's mind spun as he tried to sort everything more clearly. Yet, the more he sorted, the more it felt like an overwhelming mystery.
"Senior, did you see your illusion, Cong Nanxue, at the school restaurant this noon?"
"Yes. After seeing her, I fainted."
"Well, was Cong Nanxue wearing a mask?"
Shen Jingqi wanted to confirm his vision and judgment.
"Not really, she doesn't usually wear a mask. Every time I see her, she's never worn a mask."
"Oh, then it wasn't her."
Shen Jingqi sunk into confusion.
Was that person not Cong Nanxue?
Only she had no information bar above her head; if not her, then who?
Shen Jingqi thought for a moment, suddenly slapping his forehead!
Who said Cong Nanxue definitely didn't have an information bar?
This was merely his assumption or perhaps just a coincidence.
He simply took the woman he saw at the Shen University crossroads, with no information bar above her head, as Cong Nanxue because Li Baiyu said she met Cong Nanxue there and had an argument, losing control, but that didn't mean what he saw was Cong Nanxue.
However, if he were to dismiss this clue, the search for Cong Nanxue would be like searching the vast ocean.
Li Baiyu's answer momentarily diminished Shen Jingqi's enthusiasm for exploration.
Only now did he realize there were too many chains linked to Li Baiyu. Those chains seemed interconnected and parallel, connecting time and space, like an endless maze. And he hadn't even found an exit or a path.
Originally, returning to the university, Shen Jingqi wanted to suggest that Li Baiyu contact her former teaching teachers to learn specific information about Cong Nanxue's video during the exams. But due to the illusion's appearance, it was temporarily shelved.
With Shen University approaching winter break, teachers were also beginning their holidays. Finding them again would have to wait until after the New Year.
Li Baiyu would be discharged in two days. Afterwards, Shen Jingqi would be by her side around the clock, making it difficult to leave.
Shen Jingqi planned to take the opportunity during these two days to visit Shen University, looking for the teachers who invigilated Li Baiyu's year-end exams, to ask about the situation.
Just need to ask those two teachers if they can find the video of Cong Nanxue taking the online exam, or just recall it.
"Senior, I plan to confront Cong Nanxue directly."
"But according to Lin Xiaocan, Cong Nanxue is elusive. I thought, start by gathering information indirectly."
"You mentioned the teachers who invigilated Cong Nanxue online. Could you tell me their names?"
"Wang Junyi, Xia Kang, they are both teachers in the biology department."
"Could you describe Cong Nanxue's appearance?"
Shen Jingqi continued to ask.
Li Baiyu seemed to be reminiscing, but her brow furrowed tightly, as if suppressing a certain pain.
Her hand clutched the seat, gripping tightly.
"She's about my height, very slender."
"She has single eyelids, a pair of almond eyes, and a mole in her brow."