Gathering Information

Si Ming looked helplessly at the two distorted car fronts, completely baffled as to what was so interesting about them. In the end, he could only conclude that the world seen through the eyes of an artist is different from that of a normal person.

Ambulances and police cars arrived quickly; the former treated the injured, while the latter investigated the scene and reconstructed the course of the accident in order to determine who was responsible later.

Little sister, could you please move aside?

The police officer reached out and patted Hongdou on the shoulder, but she remained unmoved, as if immersed in another world, completely cut off from the outside world.

"Little sister, please don't disturb our work."

Despite repeated urging from the police, it was to no avail, and their attitude gradually became impatient. Si Ming quickly stepped forward, used a clever force with both hands to move Hongdou to the side of the road as if carrying a person, and then apologized to the police.

"She didn't do it on purpose; she's just a bit obsessed with painting. Once she starts painting, she forgets everything else. She didn't mean to interfere with your official duties. I'm truly sorry."

The police officer was quite magnanimous, waving his hand and not pursuing the matter. "It's alright, I understand. An elder in my family is obsessed with chess. When he's playing chess, he doesn't notice anything else, even if someone yells at him. Just be more mindful in the future. It's fine to like drawing, but don't bother others."

I will try my best to keep an eye on her.

Si Ming gave a wry smile, turned his head and looked over, and found that even though Hongdou had been moved, she was still unaffected and continued to draw in the same position. She seemed to have completely memorized the picture, her eyes fixed on the sketchbook, without looking up again.

After a long while, just as the sun was setting, Hongdou snapped the sketchbook shut, put the pen back in her pocket, and stood up from the ground.

"Finally finished... Ah!"

It seemed that her legs had gone numb from squatting for too long, and she lost her balance and fell to the side. Si Ming quickly caught her.

"Watch your step, don't you think about how long you've been squatting there?"

Hongdou tilted her head and asked, "Xiao Ming, have you been staying with me the whole time?"

Si Ming said helplessly, "Of course, with your single-minded state, you probably wouldn't even realize you were being kidnapped. How could I not be watching you?"

Hongdou suddenly fell silent. She glanced at the sketchbook in her hand and a complicated expression appeared on her face.

"I really miss those days. It was always like this when we went out together. Whenever I saw something interesting, I would grab my notebook and start drawing without a second thought. And when I finished drawing and realized I didn't know where I was, I would see you standing helplessly next to me. Even though you would always complain to me, you would never abandon me."

Si Ming wondered, is there really such a thing?

If that's true, the relationship between the two is far closer than I imagined, but why isn't this part of the inherited memories? Did the previous owner accidentally forget it?

"I don't know when it started, but you stopped playing with me. Every time I finished drawing, I found myself all alone in an unfamiliar place. When I turned around, I couldn't see you. In the end, I could only try to find my way back by myself... Gradually, I stopped going out."

Hongdou gently pushed Si Ming away, took two steps back, and hugged the sketchbook to her chest with both hands. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on her back, casting a long shadow.

Hongdou's face was shrouded in gray shadows, and a faint smile could be seen on her face, but it was very forced, devoid of joy, and instead filled with loneliness and solitude.

"I like to draw, but it seems like no one else likes it. My parents think it's too much trouble, so they just abandoned me. Xiao Ming, who used to always stand behind me, has also disappeared. I tried to make other friends at school, but it still didn't work. Every time I opened my mouth, I would make them angry. I was always criticized for 'not knowing how to read the room' and 'only thinking of myself.' In the end, I'm still all alone."

"I..."

Si Ming wanted to offer some words of comfort, but he didn't know where to begin. Would simply saying the usual comforting phrases like "I understand your pain" really help?

He suddenly realized that he didn't understand Hongdou at all.

The original owner distanced himself from Hongdou probably because he saw Hongdou talent in painting, which made him feel inferior and unwilling to get close to her anymore.

From this perspective, it's not wrong to say that the origin is "Hongdou's love of drawing".

Seeing that Si Ming was speechless, Hongdou smiled and turned away.

"It's okay, as long as I can keep drawing, that's enough. I'm used to being alone, yeah, I'm used to it..."

As if to convince herself, she repeated it a few more times, then stepped forward and never looked back.

Si Ming watched the other person's figure recede into the distance, then slapped his forehead and sighed, "I really shouldn't have come out to buy porn. What kind of mess is this?"

Chapter 86 Gathering Information

After the unexpected incident on the way to rent the film, the drastic change in Hongdou's personality that Si Ming had imagined did not occur.

After returning to the orphanage, Hongdou returned to normal, seemingly having completely forgotten about the incident. Her interactions with Si Ming continued as usual; she acted foolishly when she felt like it and provided "favors" when she needed to, fulfilling her duties as a naturally naive and beautiful girl.

If Si Ming hadn't witnessed her revealing her true feelings, he probably would have thought Hongdou was just a carefree, self-centered, and naive girl.

But once something has happened, it can't be ignored. Si Ming could sense that there was a transparent barrier between them. Although it was invisible, it definitely existed, preventing him from stepping into the other's territory.

Admittedly, this is also a kind of progress, because in the past Si Ming couldn't even perceive this barrier, thinking that the Hongdou seen through the barrier was the real Hongdou. Now, he can perceive some abnormality, just like the deviation between the image and the original after light is distorted by a medium.

For example, since then, Hongdou has never mentioned going out again, returning to a stay-at-home life, and rarely even leaving her art studio. Even if Si Ming makes the suggestion, she will refuse in her naturally naive way.

If Si Ming were still unaware of the truth as before, he might feel more at ease, not having to worry about the other person running off and disappearing while he was at school. But now that he knows the truth, he feels as if a stone is pressing on his heart.

"This is bad. This kind of seemingly affectionate rejection is the hardest to handle. If you keep your thoughts buried deep inside, you won't even know what happened when things hit a reef. In a way, it's better if she makes a scene and clearly refuses to communicate with me."

After several days of contact, while summarizing the intelligence and reflecting on his own actions, Si Ming suddenly realized that he might have missed a golden opportunity to reconcile.

"Thinking back on it carefully, she actually opened up to me that day, but I didn't respond appropriately in time, which made her close the door even tighter... Reality is such a garbage game; not only are there no choices, but you can't even save your progress!"

Si Ming scratched his scalp vigorously, pulling out quite a bit of hair. Fortunately, he was far from being powerful at the moment, and his hair was still quite thick.

"Who knows when she'll open her heart again? I really want to ask the god of romance, how can I turn a bad impression into a good one in one go?"

Actually, leaving it alone is not a bad idea. After all, it was the fault of the previous owner. I don't have a deep bond with Hongdou. In terms of relationship, I am not as close as Murong Qing.

But whenever Si Ming recalls that evening, the figure of the girl holding her sketchbook bathed in the setting sun, he feels a strange sense of guilt. If he doesn't do something about it, he becomes restless and uneasy.

"Sigh, since I've accepted the favor of this body, I must also bear the sins. There's no such thing as enjoying rights without fulfilling obligations in this world. Hmm, in the end, it's because I lack information. Those fragmented memories are unreliable; I have to find someone to inquire with."

But who should we ask?