Jiang Jinran tugged at her backpack strap and walked into the arts building's corridor.
Things had come to this.
She knew she had to come here.
It was so early that there was no one in the arts building.
Jiang Jinran followed the corridor all the way to the stairwell from last time.
Faint morning light spilled through the windows, forming an eerie blend with the dim stairwell.
Jiang Jinran could see countless tiny specks of dust floating in the murky air illuminated by the sunlight.
She instinctively narrowed her eyes.
Jiang Jinran stepped onto a stair, suddenly reached out to knock on the stairwell wall, and called up the stairs-
"Come out!"
At first, only silence answered Jiang Jinran.
She didn't know how long had passed, but just as she was getting discouraged and thinking of backing down and leaving-
A very faint sound of footsteps, a barely perceptible patter, slipped into Jiang Jinran's ears.
Here he comes.
She had come to the arts building to meet that mysterious person.
After what had happened yesterday, she could now be certain-
That mysterious person connected to Divine Sound most likely bore her no ill will. There was even a secret cooperative relationship between them.
Since that was the case, she didn't need to worry too much about her personal safety.
She would come straight to him and ask about everything.
She didn't want to keep guessing, either!
The footsteps drew closer and grew clearer.
Finally, Jiang Jinran saw a pair of black sneakers.
Her gaze moved upward to a teenage boy dressed in a black shirt and black pants.
He looked only seventeen or eighteen.
His black hair was neat and sharp, and his narrow eyes were like obsidian shining in the night, flecked with points of dark, deep light.
The boy's skin was very pale, the kind of extremely cool-toned white through which blood vessels were clearly visible.
He seemed to radiate cold from head to toe, with little color in his face.
"What do you want with me, Xiao Ran?"
Suddenly, the boy who radiated cold curled his lips, his eyes curving into crescents.
Like a noble cat suddenly waving a paw at you in a friendly gesture, this somewhat cute smile on such an icy, cold-blooded-looking face was inexplicably eerie.
Yet it didn't look out of place.
Jiang Jinran knew nothing about this boy.
The original owner had left none of these memories behind.
Jiang Jinran felt as though her mind had been formatted by the original owner.
Only some trivial everyday memories remained, while crucial, secret information seemed to have been wiped clean with a single click.
The boy before her clearly knew her.
She could only do her best to act familiar with him.
"The Hope Cup..." she began tentatively, secretly watching the boy's expression.
The boy's eyes curved again. "The Hope Cup... I'm sure you saw the news, too. Thanks to you, it went very smoothly."
Jiang Jinran's brain worked rapidly. On the one hand, she didn't want to reveal that she had no memories; on the other, she wanted to draw more information out of the boy.
She pressed her lips together and said, feigning distress, "Have you ever thought about what would have happened if I hadn't managed it yesterday..."
The boy walked up to Jiang Jinran. His eyes were like Buddhist prayer beads gleaming coldly, without a trace of worldly warmth. He smiled indifferently. "I wasn't counting on you in the first place..."
Jiang Jinran: ...?
"Those tasks I gave you were just to train you," the boy said matter-of-factly. "But you did unexpectedly well."
A rough outline of this series of secrets surrounding the original owner had already begun to form in Jiang Jinran's mind.
She pursed her lips and said with feigned casualness, "How long are you planning to stay in this arts building that never sees the light?"
At that, the boy suddenly leaned his head toward her-
Jiang Jinran got quite a fright.
Her eyes instinctively widened.
A faint, refreshing smile curved the boy's lips. If his gaze and air hadn't been so cold and gloomy, Jiang Jinran would have thought him an utterly fresh-faced, adorable boy.
Yet his personality was completely different from his looks and air.
At that moment.
The boy's face was very close to hers. She could even see her own clear reflection in those pitch-black pupils-
"Aren't I like this... because of you?"
The boy's voice was clear and pleasant, like wind chimes in summer.
Because of her?
How was this because of her...
The missing memories and a plot that wasn't even mentioned in the novel left Jiang Jinran feeling rather tormented.
But Jiang Jinran couldn't let the horse's hoof show. Even if she didn't know, she had to pretend she did.
Unexpectedly, the boy suddenly added, "The organization sent me to protect you in secret, so I can only stay here... You know, I can't let my appearance be exposed. I have to hide."
"Xiao Ran, actually-"
The boy's voice suddenly deepened a little. "You shouldn't have come looking for me today."
Jiang Jinran's heart suddenly lurched.
This guy hadn't noticed something, had he...
Jiang Jinran felt a little nervous, but not a trace of panic showed on her face. At the same time, her mind was processing the enormous piece of information she had just learned.
The "organization" the boy had mentioned...
That organization had to be Divine Sound!
At this point, everything was clear.
The boy and the original owner were actually both members of Divine Sound. Divine Sound seemed to place quite a bit of importance on the original owner, even assigning someone specifically to protect her...
But although the original owner was valued, she clearly had little combat ability. The boy didn't trust her to accomplish any tasks and had merely let her participate for fun...
How exactly had the original owner come into contact with Divine Sound, joined it, and ended up with such a special position there-
Someone of little use, yet given special protection?
As for the boy before her, he had to stay near the original owner to protect her, but for some reason, perhaps he couldn't show his face, so he could only hide in this mysterious arts building.
And at the Central Theater yesterday, after the lights went out, it had probably also been the boy acting in the shadows who had done all of that.
Jiang Jinran's mind sorted through everything in an orderly fashion. Outwardly, she looked at the boy and said softly, "I know. I shouldn't have come looking for you... It would be bad if you were exposed."
"But what happened yesterday..." Jiang Jinran said haltingly. "I was a little curious, so I wanted to ask you about it..."
"It was pretty much what the news said," the boy replied succinctly.
Jiang Jinran curled her lips. "I see."
Jiang Jinran left the arts building.
She now had a general understanding of the situation.
Although she still had many questions and there was much she couldn't explain, Jiang Jinran couldn't ask the boy directly. That would definitely arouse his suspicions.
Everything would have to be taken slowly.
She would work toward it little by little.
She thought of the Divine Sound Badge in the original owner's room. As it turned out, there had been clues to everything.
That badge was something the original owner had left behind.
Original owner, what exactly were you trying to do...
None of this was in the book. You were just a cannon-fodder villain, so how did you suddenly end up joining a mysterious organization?