After midnight

When Qiqi returned home, the aroma filled her nose, and the brightness of the light instantly dispelled the coldness from her body.

"You're back?" An Yan put the last dish on the table.

"Well, where are they?" Qiqi responded simply, pulled out a stool and sat down.

"I'll be down right away." An Yan looked up and called again. "An Xiaosu! Su Ziling! Come down quickly for dinner!"

It didn't sound like An Yan was calling them for the first time, so Qi Qi smiled secretly and picked up the chopsticks. Sure enough, within a moment, An Xiaosu and Su Ziling opened their doors one after another, and the two ran down at almost the same frequency.

Su Ziling was the last to arrive. He pulled out a stool and sat opposite Qiqi. Su Ziling had obviously just taken a shower, and his hair was damp. He was probably very hungry, so he casually greeted and started eating. He didn't say a word, but wolfed down the food and kept picking up dishes.

Su Ziling, Qiqi looked at him and silently repeated his name.

Halfway through the meal, An Yan got up and went to the kitchen to add more dishes. Qi Qi seized the opportunity and leaned forward across the table. She whispered, "Su Zi Ling, I'll go to your room to find you later. I have something to tell you. Don't tell An Yan."

Su Ziling nodded.

At the end of the meal, Su Ziling was the only one left at the table. Su Ziling resigned himself to sending his bowl and chopsticks and the remaining plates to the kitchen. "An Yan, can I wash the dishes?"

"No, just go upstairs."

"Okay." Normally, Su Ziling would rush to do the work. He always believed that people who cook don't wash dishes, and people who wash dishes don't cook. But today, Qiqi wanted to see him alone, so he cleaned up the table outside and went upstairs.

As soon as he opened his room, he saw Qiqi standing in his room with her back to him. He followed Qiqi's gaze, quickly grabbed his hair, and stuffed the scattered clothes piled on the bed into the closet.

"Please sit down." Su Ziling patted the bed.

"No need." Qiqi walked to the window and leaned against it.

"Okay then, what do you want to talk to me about?" Su Ziling felt a little embarrassed.

"Here's to you." Qiqi handed over the envelope she had been holding in her hand. "When I die, open it and give it to An Yan."

"Why don't you give it directly to An Yan?" Su Ziling took the thick letter in silence.

"Do as I say."

"Okay, is this what you promised to give to An Yan in the deal?"

"Yes, it is very important. So please keep it safe."

"I understand. Qiqi, do you have anything else to say?" Su Ziling squeezed tighter.

"Gone."

Qiqi said it was okay but refused to move. She just leaned against the wall and looked at Su Ziling. Su Ziling felt uncomfortable being looked at by her and was about to say something when Qiqi spoke up. "What on earth are you thinking?"

"what?"

"An Yan."

Su Ziling scratched his hair in embarrassment; he still didn't quite understand what Qiqi meant.

"I think you are not qualified to be a 'guardian'." Seeing this, Qiqi said directly. Qiqi is small, with a fair and delicate face, but when it comes to speaking, her lethality is obvious.

Su Ziling fell visibly silent, and his expression turned ugly.

An Yan was completely unaware of the tense atmosphere in Su Ziling's room. He stacked the washed dishes one by one and put them in the cupboard, then wiped the stove and chopping board carefully. When he was done, he clapped his hands happily. But just before he left the kitchen, Yin sent a letter.

If Yin came to him directly, then the situation was definitely not urgent. But if Yin only sent a letter, then it meant that something was about to change or had already changed in a place they were not aware of.

The content of the letter was about Qiqi, saying that her day was no different from usual, and she sent Wusi back at around 5 o'clock as usual, and even the time she stepped on the hanging window to go home was exactly the same as usual. But she finally got home nearly 40 minutes late.

Anyan told Yin the time when Qiqi would be home. At first, it was just for confirmation and handover, but Yin soon found out. It turned out that the 40 minutes late was during this time. Anyan also noticed it, but he didn't think much about it. After all, he just wanted Qiqi to have more fun.

An Yan was silent for a while holding the letter. Qi Qi didn't tell him, so she must have her own reasons, and he didn't want to interfere too much. But since Ke Yin sent the letter, he thought there was something fishy about it, so he had his reasons.

After thinking it over, An Yan decided to knock on Qiqi's door, but there was no response from inside. An Yan waited for a while and knocked again, but there was still no response. Qiqi was not in the room, An Yan guessed it almost immediately, but the living room was very quiet, the toilet door was half open, and he saw Qiqi enter the room after dinner.

An Yan hesitated but still unlocked the door, took a peek inside secretly, and confirmed his guess.

Qiqi sensed the resistance coming from Su Ziling, so she continued, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you don't work hard, nor am I saying you're not smart. In general, I'm not saying you don't have enough qualifications to be a 'Guardian'."

"But," Qiqi continued, "you are too cowardly when it comes to An Yan."

"An Yan is like water, no one can catch him. I have thought so before, and I still think so now. But I don't want my thoughts to be right, do you understand? The 'Guardian' of the 'Son of God'?"

Qiqi bowed her head and left. Before she finished speaking and left, Su Ziling did not say another word. After she left, Su Ziling also stood there for a long time, until a few minutes later, Su Ziling suddenly came to his senses and fell to the side, lying on his back on the bed.

Qiqi walked down the corridor. Above her head, An Yan was walking up the stairs. When An Yan knocked on Xiao Su's door and walked in, Qiqi had just walked down the last step. She walked through the lobby and returned to her room.

The next morning, Qiqi woke up before dawn. This was the earliest time she had woken up in a while. Qiqi left home soon after waking up and arrived at the bar before seven o'clock.

There were bursts of knocks on the door. After being woken up by Qing, Wu Si sat there in a daze for a while before he slapped his forehead and quickly went to open the door.

"Why are you here so early today?" Wu Si asked, unable to help but yawn.

"I can't sleep. If you feel sleepy, just sleep for a while. I'll just sit here for a while."

"No, wait for me for a while."

After Wu Si left, Qi Qi looked around the bar. Although she came here every day, she had never carefully observed the bar. The bar's color scheme was a bit strange and flamboyant, cold but passionate. After looking at it for a long time, people would unconsciously want to relax, as if they could blend in with the bar wherever they sat, without any abruptness. Qi Qi sat down and closed her eyes.

"Let's go." Not long after, May Fourth came back.

Qiqi opened her eyes, stood up, and followed the neat and handsome Wusi out.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the warm sun made Wu Si feel lazy. He looked at Qi Qi, "Qi Qi, what's wrong with you today?"

The two or three hours along the way were enough for Wu Si to notice Qi Qi's abnormality. Qi Qi looked around from time to time today, and even seemed to be walking on thin ice, as if there were some terrifying unknown creatures mixed in with the crowd.

"It's okay, I just feel too happy lately." Happiness floating in the clouds is at risk of falling down at any time.

"Yes." No one could empathize more than Wu Si. He was very happy at the moment but also more terrified, because he had been deceiving himself that he would lose Qi Qi at that moment.

"You haven't felt anything unusual recently, have you?"

"No, don't worry, I remember Qing's contact information." Wu Si said straightforwardly and confidently.

Qiqi nodded. Wusi seemed to like Qing very much. At least, their relationship was definitely not bad. It was great that Wusi was connecting with more and more people, gaining friends, love and a sense of belonging. Although the sun was hanging far in the sky, it was enough to absorb a little warmth.

Days like this are good enough.

From then on, Qiqi counted the days. One day, two days, three days. Today was the third day, the third day since Saner found her. In the evening of this day, Qiqi still stepped onto the hanging window to go home. She stood on the west side and looked at the last bit of Qingming in the distance. She watched Qingming being eroded by darkness in an instant, and then there was a violent crash from the hanging window.

After the collision, she stood firm, and when she saw who attacked her, she immediately took control of the window. It was announced at the beginning of the operation of the window that in case of sudden situations such as heavy rain and strong winds, the red button inside the window can be pressed to control the window autonomously. With the power stored in the window, it can find an open space within ten minutes and land safely.

At this moment, a joystick popped out from above the hanging window display screen, and Qiqi drove it and flew out quickly after Saner.

At six o'clock in the evening, the night lights in Wangchengshan Park were turned on, and they were hidden in the bushes on the way up the mountain, with shadows. Tourists dispersed from here one after another, and the way up the mountain was about to be closed.

Wangchengshan Park is located in the southern part of Xindu. Wangchengshan, located in the southeast corner of the park, is another famous landmark of Xindu besides the water maze. Climb up Wangchengshan and go to the octagonal pavilion at the highest point to overlook the entire Xindu.

Just after half past six, two white shadows chasing each other cut through the night sky of Wangchengshan Park and fell one after another.

"There's a shooting star!" The child glanced back inadvertently and saw it and exclaimed.

"Where is that? Don't you want to go home?" The adults didn't see anything, so they immediately questioned their children and dragged them out of the north gate of Wangchengshan Park.

Although the green vegetation on the hillside of Wangcheng Mountain Park is not lush in winter, it still occupies a large area. The tall pine and cypress trees whirred in the wind. Qiqi pushed open the glass door and stumbled when she stepped on the soft ground. She used up the last second to ensure a safe landing to the greatest extent possible.

San Er, she looked around. It was dark all around, and she could only vaguely recognize that there was no sign of another hanging window falling. Qi Qi found a direction and walked out. After about fifteen minutes, she groped her way to the lighted path. Whether to go up the mountain or down the mountain, Qi Qi stood there. She stood there thinking for less time than she thought, and she gritted her teeth and walked up the mountain.

At seven o'clock in the evening, the tourists dispersed and the park gate slowly closed. The higher Qiqi walked, the flatter the road became, and the steadier she walked. However, the wind was strong at night, and her heart could not help but pounding. She looked down at the clothes she was wearing, feeling a little regretful.

The road up the mountain was crooked and winding, and she was the only one there. Sometimes, when she looked out of the mountain from the sparse vegetation, she could see the lights of the city, like the stars in the sky. Wangcheng Mountain was not very high, with a vertical elevation of less than 500 meters. But even if she walked up from the middle of the mountain, it still took her a lot of time. At this moment, it was past eight o'clock, and she had not yet reached the top.

After turning another slope, Qiqi stopped immediately because there was a tall figure standing in front of a rock protruding from the side of the road, and the street lamp on the other side stretched his shadow long.

"The finish line is five hundred meters behind me. Qiqi, have you thought it through?" Saner asked.

"I haven't thought about it yet." These four words were easily caught by Youjing, and the wind blew them into San'er's ears. San'er couldn't help but frown. He hadn't thought about it yet, but he still came here.

"If you have anything to ask, please ask as soon as possible." Qiqi changed her gentle tone, as if what happened just now was just an illusion.

"Then let me ask, what is your bargaining chip for living in the enemy's lair?"

"The destruction of all of us, myself included."

Suddenly, a cold wind blew in, making San Er's hair stand on end. He could easily understand sixty-nine and five-four, and could figure out one point zero-one, but seventy-seven, he suppressed his trembling body and lightly went around behind the rock.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Qiqi took a few quick steps. Behind the rocks, Saner had already disappeared. She looked up the rock slope, only the dry grass made a regular friction sound under the wind. Qiqi calmed down and continued to walk up along the road.

The last 500 meters were a bit shaky and long. Qiqi slowly ascended the mountain in a spiral shape. Finally, at 8:30, she stepped on the last step and came to the tallest octagonal pavilion in Xindu. Unlike her imagination, the octagonal pavilion stood on a wide platform, on which were planted many trees and specially cultivated flower beds.

Qiqi walked up to the octagonal pavilion, then walked down the steps and took two steps forward, and she could reach the guardrail more than one meter high. She stood in front of the guardrail, and the dreamlike sea of ​​stars appeared in front of her. She almost recognized the water maze standing in the center of the city at a glance. The beauty of the water maze was really unique. Then she shifted her gaze a little to the left, and Wusi was now on a six-story building there.

What about home? Where is it? Although Impression East City Bank is classified in the East District, it is not far from Wangchengshan Park in terms of geographical location. Qiqi retracted her gaze and lowered her head to look for it. It seemed to be here, but also seemed to be going a little further there.

As if he had endured enough, Song Yu walked out from the plum tree in the southwest corner of the empty platform.

Following him were zero one, three two and six nine.