After midnight

Chapter 139 The Mysterious Zhao Village

"Who wants to play with me?" Just after dinner, Xiao Su went upstairs to take down her new toy, checkers. She put the checkers on the table and then looked around the house, like a princess inspecting her territory.

"It's you." Xiao Su raised his chin proudly.

"Yes, as you wish, my princess." Su Ziling said, and walked to the table happily.

"…But checkers is fun only when there are three people, Sister Qiqi?" Xiao Su tilted his head to show his goodwill to Qiqi.

"Okay." Qiqi stroked her hair and walked over to sit next to Xiaosu.

So, Xiao Su, Su Ziling and Qi Qi each took a chess piece of a different color and started fighting on the chessboard. After a few rounds, when everyone was fighting fiercely, the doorbell suddenly rang. An Yan was reading a book on the side. He was the first to react. He was always the first to react.

He heard the bell and looked up at Qiqi with burning eyes.

"I go back first."

"I'll open the door."

Qiqi and Su Ziling said in unison.

After watching Qiqi walk towards her room, Su Ziling walked towards the door. He even waited for a while at the door before opening it. After Qiqi and Su Ziling made some moves, An Yan put down his book and sat in the place where Qiqi had just sat.

"Lin Nuan? Long time no see."

Hearing Su Ziling's voice, An Yan stood up with his eyes moving. He walked back to the living room and stood in front of the table, quietly waiting for her to come towards him. Lin Nuan saw him and greeted him with a smile.

"An Yan, long time no see."

"Yeah, long time no see." An Yan smiled faintly.

"An Yan, can I go to your study and take a look?"

"Okay." An Yan nodded and walked to the front to lead the way.

As soon as Lin Nuan walked in, she noticed the chessboard on the table. She didn't want to disturb Xiao Su's fun, so she asked An Yan to go to his study. Lin Nuan followed An Yan and the moment she moved, all the smells in the space rushed towards her. Lin Nuan was startled.

She looked at An Yan's back, turned her head and took a deep breath, then licked her lips and quickly chased after him.

After An Yan and Lin Nuan entered the study room on the second floor, Su Ziling, who had been standing by, walked towards Qiqi's room. Qiqi's door opened easily with a twist, but Su Ziling still knocked on the door before going in. He walked in and saw Qiqi sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze, seemingly not noticing him coming in.

"Qiqi, it's Lin Nuan." Su Ziling said as he leaned against the door.

"So, you'd better not leave this room again tonight."

"I know." Qiqi turned her head and stared at Su Ziling. She knew that the person who came was Lin Nuan, that woman. In fact, she heard Su Ziling's shouting shortly after she entered the room.

"Then there's nothing else. I'll go out first." Su Ziling scratched the back of his head.

"Wait a minute." Qiqi called him. "Su Ziling, come over and talk."

"What are you talking about?" Su Ziling looked a little surprised.

"Sit down." Qiqi said, pointing to the end of the bed.

"Okay, what do you want to talk to me about?" Su Ziling sat over obediently.

"Lin Nuan must have something important to tell An Yan. I think you must know it."

"Sorry, I guess I don't know."

"Don't you know about Eleven?"

"I don't know how much you know." Su Ziling suddenly stood up and looked down at you.

"I don't know much, everything is my own speculation."

"Then what is your guess?" Su Ziling kept on asking, like a kitten with its fur standing on end, on high alert. If Qiqi hadn't mentioned this, he could still live in the illusion that they were not enemies.

"Su Ziling, you don't have to be so hostile to me."

Qiqi sat there motionless, she raised her head and looked at Su Ziling coldly.

"I see you have such a strong hostility towards me."

Su Ziling spoke each word slowly so as to appear less angry.

"I know you can feel it, but I didn't expect you to care so much." With a chuckle, Qiqi laughed unexpectedly.

"I don't care about you, if it weren't for An Yan..." Having said that, Su Ziling suddenly changed the subject and stopped talking.

"Why you?" Qiqi's expression changed again when Su Ziling mentioned An Yan.

"What?" Su Ziling frowned.

"Why did the 'Guardian' have to be you? Don't you think you're too dependent on An Yan?"

"It's not just you, me, Lin Nuan or anyone else who is too dependent on him."

Without giving Su Ziling any room to refute, Qi Qi said, "I'm tired and want to sleep. You can go out. Don't worry, I won't go out again before Lin Nuan leaves."

As soon as he heard Qiqi was driving people away, Su Ziling immediately walked out and closed the door. He went back to the living room and clenched his fists tightly before he used reason to suppress his extreme emotions. Too dependent on An Yan? Yes, Su Ziling had to admit that since he stepped into this world, An Yan has always been the person he relies on the most. After all, it was a matter of life and death at the beginning.

"Brother Ziling?" Xiao Su keenly sensed something was wrong, so she ran over and hugged his waist.

"Xiao Su, you don't want to do your homework? I'll just wait for them in the living room."

"Okay, then I'll go up."

"Go ahead." Su Ziling pinched her cheek, just like An Yan often did.

Lin Nuan silently looked at An Yan's study. It hadn't changed much since the last time she came here. There were probably a few more books or two pots of flowers. Lin Nuan turned her eyes away from the succulent pots, turned around and said to An Yan, "An Yan, I actually have nothing to do with you. I just passed by Xindu to see you."

"Yeah." An Yan said, touching her arm. "It's cold outside, and you're wearing too little."

“It’s okay, it’s not that cold.” Lin Nuan really wasn’t cold when she walked all the way here, but she felt a little cold when she was wandering outside.

"have you eaten yet?"

"Ate."

"Then I'll go get you some hot water."

"No need, An Yan, it's really not necessary." Lin Nuan grabbed An Yan's arm, then quickly let go.

"Then please sit down, Lin Nuan, I just want to ask you something."

"What are you talking about?" Lin Nuan asked curiously as she sat down on the cushioned chair.

"You went to see Fang Hao, why?"

“Why so many questions? Let’s just cooperate.” Lin Nuan said casually.

"If it's about Eleven, then why don't you come to me?"

An Yan looked straight at Lin Nuan, all the way into her heart. Lin Nuan lowered her head and remained silent. If she wanted to speak, she would have to explain too much. If she had to explain too much, she wouldn't know where to start. But these were not the reasons why Lin Nuan couldn't speak. Once she spoke out, she would have to expose her thoughts and situation. She didn't want An Yan to know.

"I don't know how to say it, Anyan, really." After thinking for a long time, Lin Nuan could only evade him.

"Okay, let me tell you. Lin Nuan, I have always known exactly what is going on in Beichuan. I know exactly what everyone is thinking and Eleven's situation. So, believe me, Lin Nuan."

"I believe you. An Yan, I have never stopped believing in you." Hearing An Yan say this, Lin Nuan sighed. She deliberately said, "You are God, you are the greatest 'Son of God', you can do anything, but I beg you, An Yan, can you please not be like this."

"Lin Nuan, don't you understand? This is what I have to do, not for anyone else."

An Yan clenched his palms and met Lin Nuan's gaze.

"Okay, tell me. What's your plan?" Lin Nuan took a deep breath.

"I plan to take advantage of the situation. Everyone is playing his role and I will appear at the most appropriate time."

Lin Nuan put her hands on her temples, thought about it carefully, and then smiled. She understood what An Yan was going to do.

"Good luck, Anyan. It's getting late, I have to go back."

"You're going home so late?"

"Yeah, let's go back to my house." Lin Nuan said and stood up.

"I send you."

"Okay, thank you." Lin Nuan smiled sweetly.

"Lin Nuan, it's so late, are you leaving?" Hearing the noise, Su Ziling quickly stood up to see her off.

"Yes, my father is still waiting for me at home."

"Go back to Jiudu?"

"Ah."

"Then be careful on the road. I won't see you off. An Yan!" Su Ziling shouted.

"Okay. Don't forget to monitor Xiao Su's homework. I'll be back soon." An Yan was a little helpless.

"Yes, I know. Go ahead and don't worry."

"Are you getting along well with Su Ziling?" After leaving the house, Lin Nuan held back her smile and teased An Yan.

"Well, he's not a very thoughtful person. If possible, I'd like to keep his simplicity."

"An Yan." Lin Nuan turned her head to look at him, "I found that you have changed and become more frank."

"Because you are Lin Nuan, we haven't seen each other for a long time."

"No, it's not because of this." Lin Nuan was stunned for a moment but shook her head.

An Yan's change was because of Su Ziling, Xiao Su or the deceased Lin Xuanfeng, but it was not because of her, Lin Nuan.

"Lin Nuan." An Yan called her softly. "You are the first light in my life, and this can never be denied. Without you, I would not be able to accept Lin Xuanfeng or others so smoothly. I know what you are thinking. Since my senior brother died, I have indeed thought a lot. What I want to say is that no matter who you are, you can come to me directly, forever."

Lin Nuan's eyes instantly turned red. This was probably the best outcome for her ignorant youth.

"Okay, I got it. An Yan, just send her here." Lin Nuan strode forward.

An Yan knew Lin Nuan too well, just as no matter what An Yan became, Lin Nuan also knew him. So since An Yan had something to do, she might as well pretend that she knew nothing. Lin Nuan wiped away her tears and shook her hair, shaking off all the smells that she accidentally picked up.

"Are you back?" When An Yan came back, Qiqi was standing in the living room waiting for him.

"Well, are Zi Ling and Xiao Su both up there?"

"Yes, you're going up?"

"Yeah, you should go to bed early too."

"Lin Nuan..." Qi Qi stopped talking as soon as she said this. She just wanted to say hello, but she didn't expect the word Lin Nuan to come out of her mouth. Sure enough, An Yan stopped and turned to look at her, "Lin Nuan is a very sensitive person. She looked at your room several times after she came out of the study. Maybe she didn't even notice it herself."

"my room?"

"She must have sensed something, but she doesn't really know. By the way, have you been sleeping well lately?"

"Fortunately."

"Well, let's go to bed early." An Yan said and went upstairs.

Qiqi stood in the living room for a while and thought about it, but to no avail. She simply turned around and went back to her room. As soon as she returned to her room, she figured it out. It was the smell. She took the lotion and sprayed it on her palm. A fresh smell came to her nose. That's it. Even if she didn't have perfume on her body, the smell of this thing was enough to prove the existence of a woman.

Lin Nuan is such a powerful woman. Qiqi put the lotion back to its place and became dazed.

Late at night, Song Xinjun was lying on the single bed in room 305, unable to sleep. The night was very quiet, and he could not hear a single sound. After tossing and turning in bed several times, he turned on the desk lamp. Opposite him, Lu Li was sleeping soundly with his back to him.

"Lu Li?" he called tentatively.

Lu Li didn't respond to him. He must have fallen asleep. Song Xinjun thought about turning over. However, when he turned over again, he was startled and broke out in a cold sweat. Because right in front of him, Lu Li opened his eyes and looked at him.

"you!"

"Shh!"

Lu Li quickly raised his index finger and then got out of bed and squatted under the bed. Seeing this, Song Xinjun had no choice but to squat under the bed like him. The two looked at each other, knees touching, and it seemed that they could finally find a chance to make things clear.

"Song Xinjun, you think what happened during the day is strange, right?"

"Ah."

"Me too."

During the day, the news that Eleven appeared in Zhaojia Village spread quickly, and they all rushed over this time. But when Song Xinjun and Lu Li arrived, they could only see Eleven's back. They wanted to chase him, but Eleven quickly ran into the mountains and forests and disappeared.

"Why is Eleven hiding?"

"Given his strength, we should be the ones to escape."

"Yeah, so why is he hiding? According to Eleven's personality, he should have killed us long ago." Being able to massacre all the people in Beizhong in that way, Song Xinjun didn't think he would escape.

"That's very strange, but there's one more thing, Song Xinjun, didn't you notice that we were the last two to arrive? If we received the letter at the same time, we must have been closer to Zhaojia Village."

"I'll ask Zhou Chen about this tomorrow." Song Xinjun said after lowering his head and thinking for a few seconds.

"Okay, that's it for now." Lu Li said and went back to bed to sleep.

When the group split up the next day, Song Xinjun seized the opportunity and pulled Zhou Chen, who was left alone, over.

"What's the matter? Are there any instructions?" Zhou Chen was also very cooperative and he said cautiously.

"No, it was yesterday. I wanted to ask you what time you received the letter yesterday."

"A letter notifying you to go to Zhaojia Village?"

"Correct."

"Ten-thirty in the morning. I remember it clearly."

"That's strange. We received the letters at the same time."

"Is there anything strange?" Zhou Chen asked puzzledly.

"Look, yesterday Lu Li and I were assigned to the North Street area, and you were assigned to the South Street area. Zhaojia Village is in the north. If we received the letter at the same time, then why did you arrive before us?"

Zhou Chen raised his head and thought that this seemed to be the case, so he recalled it carefully and said as he thought: "After receiving the letter yesterday, Lu Yuan and I have been on the road, very fast, and we did not run into you along the way. After arriving at Zhaojia Village, we went to the back mountain, where we first ran into the captain and Song Luo and others. At that time, Eleven seemed to be about to escape, and Lu Yuan and I kept chasing him from a distance."

The captain and Song Luo left Beichuan to go to a nearby village to gather information. There seemed to be nothing wrong with them appearing there first. Song Xinjun paced back and forth for a few steps and suddenly turned to Zhou Chen who had been looking at him, "What do you mean when you said you went to the back mountain after arriving at Zhaojia Village? Did you go directly there? Did you not enter the village?"

"I didn't go into the village. I went directly there."

"Do you have the letter? Let me see it." Song Xinjun suddenly became excited.

"I don't have the letter, but I remember the contents very clearly. 'Eleven appears in Zhaojia Village, come quickly.' Not a word more or less."

"Yes, that's right. We did the same. The letter didn't specify the exact location. Lu Li and I walked around the village for a long time and found something wrong, so we ran to the back mountain. Why did you go straight to the back mountain?"

"How would I know the route that Lu Yuan led?"

Zhou Chen also realized that he had said something outrageous. He was very surprised and met Song Xinjun's sharp eyes.

Why does Lu Yuan act like he knew the news in advance?