“Who?” Gao Yang pretended to not remember for a moment.
“Ms. Su, who taught the music appreciation class,” Mi Shi reminded him.
“Oh!” Gao Yang put on a look of realization. “She’s giving birth?”
“Yeah. Ms. Su told the class about the day she was expected to deliver before. I heard that she’s at the hospital now.” Mi Shi smiled. “I’m going to visit her. Do you think I should?”
No, you shouldn’t!
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She’s just the instructor of an elective class you took. You aren’t that close, are you?
Gao Yang swallowed his comments and put on a careless expression. “If you wanna go, go.”
“But it’s a little inappropriate for me to visit on my own, isn’t it?” Mi Shi was a little embarrassed. “Why don’t you come with me, Little Gao? It’ll be more natural for two people to visit.”
Gao Yang hesitated a little.
Mi Shi chuckled. “It’s fine if you don’t want to.”
“It’s not that.” Gao Yang decided to speak honestly. “Ms. Su just teaches our elective class. We aren’t that close to her, are we?”
“I know.” Mi Shi nodded. “But for some reason, the first time I saw Ms. Su, I took an instant liking to her. It’s as if she’s my mentor in life.”
“Is that so?” Gao Yang hid his increasing wariness.
“Ever since I was a child, my parents told me that I had to study hard and become successful. I didn’t dare to relax for even a second, and outside of eating and sleeping, I was always studying. Finally, I got into a good college as I wished...”
Mi Shi smiled bitterly. “I continued to study hard after entering college. I had to find a good job and earn enough to buy a property in the city. Then I’d find a wife and have a kid. Only then would I be successful.”
Gao Yang stayed quiet.
“However...” Mi Shi’s gaze seemed a little lost. “Lately, I started to feel like that wasn’t what I wanted, but what my parents and those around me wanted me to strive for. What is it that I want? I don’t know...but not that. It’s disheartening when I realize that my life seems preplanned.”
Gao Yang sighed. “Yeah, that would be disheartening.”
“Meeting Ms. Su and attending her class, though, I feel like I’ve found an answer.”
“Really?” Gao Yang was tense again.
“Every time I went to her class and listened to her play the piano, I was happy, I felt satisfied from the bottom of my heart, like I’ve found my purpose in life.”
“I realized suddenly that I don’t have to work every moment every day, that I don’t have to keep leaping forward like a clockwork frog. I don’t have to live my life as planned.”
Mi Shi got increasingly excited, his eyes glinting.
“I don’t have to wake up at seven every day. I can sleep in like you do. I don’t have to be frugal on my living expenses in order to buy study materials; I can afford to buy new clothes for myself. I can spend a day not doing anything and simply wasting time. I can do whatever I want to do. I don’t have to live according to the rules I set myself...”
Gao Yang encouraged, “That’s good. You should enjoy your life.”
“It’s not just about enjoying my life. It’s about how I see my life. I can’t put it into words. It’s just that every time I listen to Ms. Su play piano, I’m reaffirmed that life...can be lived more freely.”
Realizing that he had gotten too worked up, Mi Shi smiled bashfully. “Haha, sorry for all the nonsense.”
Gao Yang shook his head. “No, you make a lot of sense.”
Mi Shi had been acting strangely today. Gao Yang would like to use Lie Detection on him, but unfortunately, he had used the Talent on Wang Shu earlier, and it was still in cooldown.
“When are you going to visit Ms. Su, Old Shi?”
“This afternoon.” Mi Shi pumped himself up with a smile. “I’m not going to hesitate. I’m going to do what I want to do.”
“Sure. I’ll go with...”
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Just to be safe, Gao Yang decided to go with Mi Shi. Before he could finish, though, his phone rang. It was a call from Vermilion Bird.
Gao Yang turned away from Mi Shi and took the call.
“Can you talk?”
“Yeah.”
“Ke Yo woke up.”
Gao Yang paused. “I’ll be right there.”
He turned back to Mi Shi. “I’ve got a family emergency, Old Shi. I have to go home today. Why don’t we visit Ms. Su tomorrow? I’ll go with you.”
“Sure.” Mi Shi looked at his reflection in the mirror, seemingly in a good mood.
...
Leaving the Li City University, Gao Yang took a ride to the Black Tortoise Branch in the Walled City of Ten Dragons in the Feiyang District.
When he walked into the lobby, he didn’t see the familiar receptionists in black and white qipao, and the other staff members were gone, too, leaving the building empty and quiet.
Since Black Tortoise’s death, the wanderers under control had been set free without the influence of Puppeteer. At first, it did undermine the operation of the Qilin Guild. Awakeners had gotten used to having wanderers providing the basic services, and they were momentarily lost when they had to do everything themselves.
It didn’t take long for them to get used to it though.
Gao Yang headed to one of the monitoring rooms on the second floor. Outside the door, Vermilion Bird, dressed in a long white coat, stood leaning against a wall with a hand in her pocket and the other hand holding a cigarette.
Hearing his approaching footsteps, she looked sideways at him, shaking some ash off her cigarette. “Here you are.”
“Got anything out of her?”
Vermilion Bird shrugged. “Nothing.”
“How so?”
Gao Yang didn’t understand. Even if Ke Yo didn’t want to open up to them, Qilin should be able to easily interrogate her with Eidos, and Ke Yo would cave.
Vermilion Bird could tell what he was thinking. Instead of giving him a straight answer, she said, “You can talk to her.”
Pushing aside his confusion, Gao Yang nodded. “Does she know about Edmond?”
Vermilion Bird shook her head.
Gao Yang opened the door and entered.
In the white, enclosed room, Ke Yo sat on a white bed, dressed in a simple layer of light blue patient garb. Her head hung low, and her hands and feet were put in Black Gold shackles with special enchantment, keeping her Talent sealed.
She didn’t react at all when the door opened, as if she was a mannequin without life. On her pale face, her eyes seemed blank, or lost.
“Ke Yo.” Gao Yang went up to the bed and pulled a foldable chair, sitting down. “We meet again.”
Ke Yo quietly looked up at him, looking numb.
Gao Yang lied, “If you don’t want Edmond to die, you better answer my question.”
Ke Yo didn’t react in any way, like she didn’t care whether Edmond lived or died.
Gao Yang knew a thing or two about reading microexpressions, and his instinct told him that she wasn’t acting.
A few seconds later, Ke Yo opened her mouth, speaking in a soft, hoarse voice. “Who’s Edmond?”
Gao Yang hid his surprise. He quickly came to a realization.
Ke Yo had lost her memory.
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