Chapter 42

Chi Wanzhao couldn't make it back for lunch. The school had a small cafeteria that cooked for the children who didn't go home, including those from across the mountain who stayed for the midday meal.

Chen Junshan had to escort the bride's family back to town today, so he wouldn't be back for lunch, which meant Chen Yuan stayed at school.

Chi Wanzhao had just finished talking with the principal and was about to leave when Chen Yuan called out to her, followed by Wang Haining stepping out. They exchanged a silent look, and Chen Yuan asked if she could eat at school with them.

Looking into those dark, blinking eyes, Chi Wanzhao curved her lips slightly. Before she could refuse, Wang Haining spoke up: "Stay and join us. I'll call Xiyan over."

So Chi Wanzhao stayed.

But they waited in the cafeteria for a long while without seeing Kong Xiyan. Wang Haining went to make a phone call and learned that Kong Xiyan had been taking care of Yanyan and hadn't checked her phone, so she never saw the message. When she heard that neither Wang Haining nor Chi Wanzhao would be back, she breathed a sigh of relief and told Wang Haining she'd just have a simple meal at home.

Wang Haining couldn't persuade her otherwise, so she let it go.

Chi Wanzhao and Chen Yuan were in the small cafeteria.

It was called a cafeteria, but it was really a tiny room with four or five small square tables. Since the children weren't very tall, the tables were lower than standard. Chi Wanzhao sat beside Yuan Yuan, a proper adult with a child.

Wang Haining brought over the food and distributed it to Yuan Yuan and Chi Wanzhao. Looking at the small bowl in front of her, she didn't eat but chuckled to herself: "I never thought I'd be eating here with you."

Chi Wanzhao turned her head slightly, casting a faint remark: "There's a lot you haven't imagined yet."

Wang Haining nodded, lowering her gaze.

She remembered the first time she saw Chi Wanzhao, on that sunny afternoon. She and her mother had gone out and run into Uncle Chi.

The old mansion next to their house belonged to his family, but she rarely saw any of the Chi family. Her mother explained that they all lived abroad and seldom came back.

Uncle Chi, though, she would see once every New Year.

That day, when she saw Chi Wanzhao, the sun was strong. She was holding her mother's hand, coming back from outside, grumbling about never going out in the heat again, and her mother laughed at her childishness.

But then she looked up and saw Chi Wanzhao being led out by Uncle Chi.

She was elegant and refined, every gesture radiating nobility. That haughtiness was carved into her bones—no pretense, yet effortlessly looking down on everyone.

She was nothing like the classmates she saw at school.

Then Uncle Chi introduced her: "Come, this is your Aunt Wang, and this is her daughter, Haining."

Then he pointed to her: "This is my daughter, Xiaowan."

Chi Wanzhao extended her hand, poised and graceful. As their hands touched, she tilted her head slightly and said, "Chi Wanzhao."

Chi Wanzhao.

Wanzhao.

A line of poetry surfaced in her mind: "When the sun tilts toward evening glow, the crescent moon rises with early light."

A beautiful name.

She lived up to it.

She liked Chi Wanzhao, for no reason. That year Chi Wanzhao stayed longer for a family visit, and they met a few times in private, but she spoke little and always wore a calm expression, making it hard to tell if she was interested in what Wang Haining had to say.

Good times never last long, and that pleasant period soon ended.

Her mother got cancer—terminal.

She remembered the last time she saw Chi Wanzhao near the old mansion. She stood under the blazing sun, chilling to the bone, hands trembling, eyes swollen from crying, voice hoarse as she told Chi Wanzhao, "My mom is going to die."

Chi Wanzhao comforted her: "It'll be fine. Aunt Wang will be fine. Heaven helps the good."

Yes, heaven helps the good.

Unfortunately, her mother wasn't a good person.

So naturally, she didn't receive heaven's protection.

After her mother passed, it was Uncle Chi who helped with the funeral, and she never saw Chi Wanzhao again.

Until two years later, when Uncle Chi asked her home under the guise of a meal and told her what he called the truth.

What chilled her heart wasn't just her mother's relationship with Uncle Chi.

It was also the icy look in Chi Wanzhao's eyes and her cold remark: "Miss Wang, you really are a good actress."

Actress?

No, she wasn't good at acting at all.

At least with an old friend, she couldn't even pull off a casual look of indifference.

Wang Haining lowered her head, using her chopsticks to pick up some greens. As she chewed slowly, she heard Chi Wanzhao ask, "Are you here to hide from him?"

For the past three years, Chi Wanzhao knew he had never given up searching for Wang Haining, but there had been no news.

Hearing the question, Wang Haining gave a bitter smile: "Hide from him?"

"Why would I hide from him?"

"To me, he's just a respectable uncle, nothing more."

After speaking, she lowered her head, as if adding self-mockingly, "Besides, if the Chi family wants to find someone, don't tell me you can't."

Chi Wanzhao looked at her bowed head, thought of Kong Xiyan, and parted her thin lips: "You're thinking of the Chi family as far more omnipotent than we are."

Wang Haining didn't reply.

Chen Yuan sat to the side, struggling to follow their conversation. After finishing her meal, she sat on the bench. Chi Wanzhao glanced at her and said softly, "Full?"

Yuan Yuan nodded: "Can I go out and play with the others?"

Chi Wanzhao hummed in agreement: "Of course you can."

Chen Yuan jumped up and dashed out.

Wang Haining had finished too. She pursed her lips and sat on the bench; her side profile bore some resemblance to Chi Wanzhao's.

By then, only a couple of students remained in the cafeteria. They sat face to face, the atmosphere unusual.

After a long moment, Chi Wanzhao set down her chopsticks as well. She lowered her eyes, gritting her teeth, and slowly began, "If he..."

Wang Haining looked at her, puzzled.

Chi Wanzhao lifted her gaze. In her eyes were restraint and a tangle of emotions. She asked, "If he doesn't have much time left, would you go back to see him?"

Wang Haining's composed expression froze for a second. Chi Wanzhao didn't seem to expect an answer; she rose and left after saying this.

Walking out of the school, she could still hear the children's laughter behind her, adding a touch of warmth to the cold winter.

Back home, she was surprised not to see Kong Xiyan or Yanyan.

Chi Wanzhao assumed Kong Xiyan had taken Yanyan out for a stroll.

She sat at the edge of the bed, pulled out her tablet to contact Assistant Zhou, and checked the time from time to time.

An hour passed.

Two hours passed.

Her brow gradually furrowed.

Wasn't Kong Xiyan taking Yanyan out for too long?

It wasn't until three-thirty in the afternoon that Chi Wanzhao couldn't sit still any longer. She called Kong Xiyan, but couldn't get through—no signal. She knew the poor signal in the village. With a sigh, she grabbed her down jacket and headed out.

She hadn't gone far from the house when she ran into Chen Junshan, who had already returned from town.

Seeing her, he smiled and called out, "Xiaowan, is this your cat? I just got home and thought it looked like her, so I brought her over to check."

Chi Wanzhao took Yanyan and said softly, "Thanks."

Chen Junshan waved his hand: "Ah, it's nothing. Well, I'll be off then."

Chi Wanzhao nodded lightly and watched him leave.

Yanyan was found.

But where was Kong Xiyan?

Her expression darkened, and she called out to Chen Junshan, who hadn't gone far: "Shan—Shan ge."

Chen Junshan turned around: "What's up?"

Chi Wanzhao: "Have you seen Xiyan?"

Chen Junshan thought for a moment: "Teacher Kong? I just got back, so I didn't notice. Why don't you ask Auntie Er next door? Teacher Kong usually helps her with some farm work."

Chi Wanzhao nodded: "Thanks."

Chen Junshan waved and left.

Auntie Er of the Chen family—Chi Wanzhao had met her a few times, and Kong Xiyan had walked her past that door a couple of times, so she knew the direction.

She headed straight there, still holding Yanyan in her arms.

Yanyan was listless in her arms, lacking energy.

Just as she reached Auntie Er's door, she saw her splitting firewood. Chi Wanzhao stepped forward and called, "Auntie Er?"

Auntie Er tilted her head: "Oh, Xiaowan. What's the matter?"

Chi Wanzhao forced a smile: "I wanted to ask, did you see Xiyan this afternoon?"

Auntie Er scratched her head: "Teacher Kong? I saw her heading toward the mountain earlier. She said she was looking for some cat, but I didn't pay much attention. Why, she hasn't come back?"

Chi Wanzhao shook her head. Auntie Er frowned: "It's almost dark. It's dangerous for her to be alone on the mountain. Tell you what—you go check the foot of the mountain, and I'll ask around the village if anyone's seen Teacher Kong."

Chi Wanzhao nodded: "Sorry for the trouble."

Auntie Er bundled the firewood together: "Child, don't talk about trouble."

Chi Wanzhao and Auntie Er stepped out, and she went straight toward the mountain foot.

Changning Village was flanked by mountains on both sides. First, she took Yanyan back home, then walked quickly along the direction Auntie Er had pointed, arriving at the foot of the mountain. There was only overgrown weeds and a biting wind—nothing to be seen.

This mountain connected to the neighboring village, so there was a path. Chi Wanzhao and Kong Xiyan had come along that very path earlier.

Standing by the road at the mountain's base, she repeatedly called Kong Xiyan's phone, but couldn't get through. As time grew later, her face settled into a grim line.

Kong Xiyan was trapped on the mountain.

Earlier, not long after she'd prepared the cat food, she'd received Wang Haining's call. Just as she finished speaking, she turned her head and saw that Yanyan was gone.

Her heart clenched instantly, and she searched everywhere.

But there was nothing.

She hunted through the entire house but couldn't find Yanyan anywhere. Thinking she had to find Yanyan before Chi Wanzhao came back, she rushed around the whole village in a frenzy, until she heard someone say they'd seen a white cat heading up the mountain. Only then did she go up.

But the mountain was vast; finding a cat was no easy task.

She searched for a long time, never finding Yanyan, but instead she got lost.

Her sense of direction was poor to begin with, and she didn't want to return empty-handed, so she kept pushing deeper. She thought that if she couldn't find Yanyan again, maybe Yanyan would end up like Queen. Her eyes reddened as she muttered repeatedly, "Yanyan, Queen, Yanyan, Queen."

Obsession shackled her reason; she only knew that if she kept going forward, maybe she'd see Yanyan.

She never realized she was already deep in the vast mountain.

She didn't even notice the sky gradually darkening.