After Losing My Memory, I Went After My Archenemy - Chapter 18

“Lin Xi, is that you?”

In the darkness, Xia Rou whispered, confirming the identity with uncertainty.

The other person didn’t respond, but judging from her figure, the scent on her, and the voice just now, Xia Rou was basically certain.

“Let’s leave here first.”

Lin Xi’s voice came low from beside her ear, magnetic and full of a sense of security.

The next second, before Xia Rou could react, she was already embraced and led toward the area below the stage.

Clasped in Lin Xi’s arms, Xia Rou instantly appeared exceptionally petite. Furthermore, dressed in tattered clothes and wrapped in a blanket, she looked exactly like a fragile little white flower tossed about in the wind and rain.

Yet, she was a little white flower with someone protecting her.

With no time to worry about her current predicament, Xia Rou leaned happily into the Alpha’s embrace, giggling shyly to herself.

Meanwhile, the area below the stage had erupted into chaos because of the sudden “power outage.”

“What’s going on? Why did the power suddenly go out?”

“Did the circuit break down? Did the fuse blow?”

“It’s so dark, and it’s scary, wuwuwu.”

The process from the “power outage” to the power returning didn’t take long. Someone discovered the cut circuit and immediately restarted it. The venue instantly brightened, and the stage was now empty.

“She’s gone.”

At the first moment of the incident, Li Luoyi, who was worried about Xia Rou, finally squeezed out of the audience, only to find the stage empty.

Shen Miao followed closely behind, looking at the bare stage. She quickly pulled out her phone, “I’ll try contacting her.”

“What is the situation? The performance was halfway through, and now the person is gone.” Bai Chuchu criticized from off-stage, adopting the highly impatient posture of a pampered young lady.

Next to her, Hu Yudie was quiet, but inwardly, she was panicking. What was going on? Where had Xia Rou gone? Why hadn’t things proceeded according to the plan? What was that power outage just now?

On the other side, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the power outage, Lin Xi led Xia Rou all the way to the nearest teaching building. To avoid being seen, they didn’t turn on the lights.

In the quiet, dark space, only the breathing of the two remained, adding a layer of ambiguity to the atmosphere.

“Wait for me here.” Lin Xi instructed in a low voice, about to leave.

“Where are you going? I’m scared—”

Xia Rou quickly reached out and grabbed the other’s wrist, her voice trembling uncontrollably.

Lin Xi was about to reply when a patrolling school security guard passed by, shining a light and shouting, “Who’s in there!”

The blinding light shone through the window, like a searchlight hunting for criminals, leaving no place to hide.

Almost subconsciously, Xia Rou ducked into Lin Xi’s arms, her hands tightly wrapping around her waist, as if only by huddling together with her would they avoid detection.

Fortunately, the danger passed, and they weren’t discovered.

“…They’re gone.” Lin Xi lowered her gaze to remind her.

“Your waist is softer than I imagined.” Xia Rou obediently let go, looking up at her with a pair of clear, fawn-like eyes.

Lin Xi: “…”

Just then, an untimely incoming call broke the atmosphere.

Xia Rou answered the phone with a look full of resentment.

Before long, Shen Miao arrived, bringing the clothes Xia Rou had kept backstage as a backup, followed by Li Luoyi.

Seeing Xia Rou, wrapped in a blanket, emerge from the teaching building sheltered by Lin Xi’s tall figure, Li Luoyi’s eyes visibly dimmed.

“Are you okay?” Shen Miao rushed forward to ask.

Xia Rou shook her head, “I’m fine, thanks to Lin Xi. Otherwise, today wouldn’t just have been embarrassing for me.”

Being exposed in front of the entire school would have been a blow to a girl’s self-esteem.

“You had me so worried.”

Li Luoyi pulled Xia Rou away from Lin Xi’s side, her brow remaining furrowed for a long time.

“Since your friends are here, I’ll take my leave.”

Glancing at the two of them, Lin Xi dropped the comment lightly and walked away.

“Hey, Lin Xi!”

Xia Rou, wanting to chase after her, looked down at herself and was forced to stop. Her top priority was to quickly change her clothes.

And then… to find the person behind this accident.

“How could such an accident happen out of the blue!”

Shen Miao hugged her arms, completely baffled.

“I think someone did it on purpose,” Li Luoyi couldn’t help but guess.

“Everything seems very strange now that I think back—a highly suspicious coincidence. Shen Miao, do you know who was in charge of the setup for this school anniversary event?” Xia Rou asked.

“I remember the student council handled it this year. The Vice President of the student council is also surnamed Shen, I think.”

“I see.”

Xia Rou quickened her steps and walked away.

Li Luoyi followed without a second thought.

“Wait a minute, I’m coming with you.” Shen Miao quickly chased after them.

If Xia Rou remembered correctly, this year’s Student Council Vice President was Shen Xuan, Lin Xi’s good friend.

When she found Shen Xuan, she was surprised to find that the student council had already started investigating the accident that evening. Fortunately, surveillance equipment was installed everywhere. Through the surveillance footage, they quickly caught the “negligent” student—a male Beta.

Faced with irrefutable video evidence, the male Beta confessed to his actions without a single word of defense.

“Why?”

Xia Rou didn’t recall provoking or offending him in any way.

Perhaps feeling guilty, the Beta dared not look her directly in the eye. His ‘ready-to-die’ posture, however, left them at a loss as to what to do with him.

“I did it, so I did it. There’s no need for so many whys.”

Over the past two years, because of the matter concerning Lin Xi, Shen Xuan hadn’t had much affection for Xia Rou. But setting aside personal prejudice, as the Vice President of the Student Council, she was supposed to handle the matter fairly and justly. Moreover, the Student Council was the main organizer of this year’s school anniversary celebration, so they were primarily responsible for such an accident.

Shen Xuan: “I will report this student’s malicious behavior to the school. The necessary disciplinary action will be taken.”

Coming out of the Student Council office, Xia Rou was still shaken. Her behavior was usually high-profile and ostentatious, but she had never done anything to actually infringe upon others’ interests. Why would someone do this to her? It was hard to imagine unless they harbored deep hatred.

Seeing her looking downcast, Li Luoyi comforted her, “The person has been caught, don’t worry too much. Go home early tonight and get a good night’s sleep.”

“She’s right, Xia Rou. Don’t overthink it, just go back and rest early,” Shen Miao said.

An imperfect school anniversary, an imperfect performance. Xia Rou felt regretful about the month of hard practice she had put in, the meticulously designed stage and costume, and the tragic end of her little dress.

However, all the imperfections also created a unique memory for her and Lin Xi tonight—a memory that made her heart pound just thinking about the circumstances.

…A small blessing within the disaster?

Waving goodbye to her friends, Xia Rou got into her family’s car and drove away from the school.

The school anniversary had long concluded, but the lights in the school photography club activity room were still on. Lin Xi and a few members who stayed were working overtime to organize all the footage from that night.

“President, I ordered some late-night snacks. Want to eat some with us?”

The Omega club member, whose voice was gentle and quiet, walked up to Lin Xi.

Lin Xi, busy processing the shooting material, didn’t even lift her head, saying, “You guys eat; I’m not hungry.”

The student wanted to say more but was afraid of bothering her, so she quietly walked away.

“Yan Nannan, hit a wall with the President again, have you?” The male Alpha member teased her when he saw her sulkily return.

“Even food can’t shut you up.”

The Omega, who had been quiet and shy moments ago, seemed to have transformed, now looking fierce and unapproachable.

“Still working overtime? My side of the matter is already settled.”

Shen Xuan appeared by Lin Xi’s desk at some point.

“Almost done. You don’t have to wait for me,” Lin Xi glanced up and then buried her head back in her work.

The next second, remembering something, she looked up at Shen Xuan again, “Was the person caught?”

“It’s strange that you are so concerned about that Xia Rou matter today.” Despite her doubts, Shen Xuan answered honestly, “They were caught. It was a male Beta from the Computer Science department. He didn’t offer any defense, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. We had solid evidence.”

“Just one person?”

Lin Xi frowned slightly, a flash of confusion in her eyes.

Shen Xuan was stunned for a moment, “Yes, just one person. What’s wrong?”

After a moment of thought, the calmness returned to Lin Xi’s expression, and she said flatly, “Nothing.”

Shen Xuan looked down at the time, “It’s getting late. Are you planning on finishing everything?”

“Almost done. You can go first.” Lin Xi didn’t insist that she wait.

Shen Xuan yawned, “Forget it, let’s go together. Taking a taxi alone at this hour is expensive.” With that, she pulled up a chair and sat facing backward, resting her arms on the backrest for a nap.

After midnight, only Lin Xi and Shen Xuan remained in the silent club activity room.

After locking the door, Lin Xi looked helplessly at the extremely tired Shen Xuan, “I told you not to wait for me.”

Shen Xuan looked at the time again, “It was only an extra hour. I saved the cost of a cup of milk tea.”

Lin Xi: “…”

The two shared a ride home and separated at the alley entrance.

Lin Xi arrived in front of her uncle’s antique shop and looked down, pulling the key out of her bag. Just then, her phone rang. It was her.

Seeing the caller, Lin Xi hesitated for a few seconds before answering.

“What is it?”

“Thank you for what you did tonight.”

Lin Xi’s hand, holding the key, paused slightly, “Just to say that?”

“Mm!” The Omega on the other end answered with satisfaction.

Lin Xi: “…”

Entering, closing the door, going upstairs, putting down the bag—the rustling sounds continued, but their phone conversation hadn’t ended.

It was quiet but not absolutely silent. Xia Rou looked uncertainly at her phone, which still showed an ongoing call, and quickly called out:

“Lin Xi, are you still there?”

“Still here.” Lin Xi held her phone in one hand and collected the clothes drying on the balcony with the other.

She also didn’t know why she hadn’t hung up, allowing such an uninteresting conversation to continue.

“Are you also a bit sleepless like me? Why don’t we chat? Hmm, what should we talk about? Oh, the moon is so full and beautiful tonight. Can you see it on your side?”

Xia Rou sat on her bed, facing the window where a bright full moon hung outside.

Hearing this, Lin Xi looked up at the sky, “I can see it.”

“Actually, my biggest regret about the performance being ruined wasn’t anything else, but that I didn’t get to let you see it.”

Lin Xi pursed her lips and remained silent. In fact, she had seen it.

“Okay, I shouldn’t disturb your rest anymore. I really need to sleep, too—I don’t want dark circles. But… could I get a good night’s sleep from you?”

After the request was made, there were tens of seconds of silence on the other end of the line, so long that Xia Rou had already given up hope.

Then, to her surprise, she heard a not-too-loud, not-too-soft “Good night” come from the other side.

It felt like a violent pounding against her heart.

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