Close Enough To Pluck the Stars” (GL) - Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Sister B was a person of sharp angles. Born into a family of musicians, she had been immersed in art since childhood and was known among her friends for being cool and profound. She had long been obsessed with the cello, Sister A, and combat techniques.

Currently, her left cheek was bruised, and her eyes seemed to be spitting fire. She looked truly terrifying.

Liang Ke tilted her “big head,” which was heavy with a dull ache, and panted softly. Between the lack of sleep last night and her missing glasses, her hearing and mental faculties had both declined, leaving her with no room for resistance. She could only blink her innocent big eyes and ask why.

Usually, strangers praised her eyes for being as pure as a frozen lake under a clear sky; people who knew her, of course, weren’t so naive—they would only ask if her prescription had increased again.

As a result, even Sister B’s skyrocketing temper faltered for a second under that gaze. She muttered, “Little brat,” and let go of Liang Ke’s collar.

Liang Ke fell back into the snow, then climbed up indignantly. While brushing off the snowflakes, she retorted, “What do you mean ‘brat’? I am an aspiring young woman with a proper job. I’ll be twenty-six in September. Yesterday, I even endured a ‘soul-crushing’ from my leader. I handle my psychological trauma through self-healing and never cause trouble for the organization.”

She had originally wanted to say “young scientific worker,” but then she remembered that at a certain cross-disciplinary academic report, Professor M—who was the same age as the security guard’s father—had referred to himself that way. She couldn’t help but feel a bit of a chill.

It wasn’t that she discriminated against Professor M for having a young heart despite his advanced age; there was nothing to discriminate against there. She simply loathed his greasy, shameless “academic thug” style, which had nothing to do with age.

“Don’t change the subject, I’m asking you a question! Where did you hide Sister A?” Sister B noticed Liang Ke’s mind wandering and pushed her anxiously.

“Huh?” Liang Ke let out a very dazed sound.

“Don’t play dumb! Why didn’t she show up for such a major performance today?” Sister B pressed further, step by step.

“You’re asking me?” Liang Ke regained some of her intelligence and pointed at her own nose. “Shouldn’t you be the one who knows best? Just look at what your relationship is.”

B was silent for a second or two, then said, “Just ordinary friends.”

Liang Ke had meant it as a rhetorical question, but hearing the other party shamelessly deny the facts, she couldn’t contain herself. She sneered, “Oh, you’re ordinary friends? Then what am I to her? Her ‘sweet lover’?”

B’s gaze turned cold instantly. She loomed over Liang Ke and growled, “Who knows? You’d have to ask yourself that, wouldn’t you?”

Liang Ke was about to go crazy. She said, “How can you slander someone like this? Let’s go find Sister A and expose your ugly, low-level thoughts that disregard the facts and suffer from late-stage paranoia right to her face!”

Sister B said, “I want to find her, but A left her phone on her bedside table this morning. The teacher in her dorm said she probably left in the early hours. The cafeteria and classrooms have already been searched by students. There’s only half an hour left until the performance and the lead chair is missing—do you think this is a small matter? Her last call was to you. You are currently the prime suspect.”

“That’s not right… she might be in danger.” Liang Ke snapped out of her self-defense. “Wait a second. I’ll take a leave of absence and go look for her with you.”

Liang Ke ran upstairs, ignoring the red light flashing on the attendance machine. She threw her snow-covered bag on her seat, tossed a workflow document to Ye Tianze, and said, “There’s a competition this afternoon, keep an eye on it for me.”

Ye Tianze gave an “OK,” signifying he had it covered.

“Good brother.” Liang Ke then knocked and entered Dr. Shu’s office.

The Calico Cat behaved herself, “meowing” sweetly: “Good morning! Um, Director Shu, I have an urgent family matter today and would like to take half a day off.”

Shu Qingchen looked up at the sound. She didn’t acknowledge Liang Ke’s change in title, but narrowed her eyes and asked, “What’s wrong with Professor Liang?”

Liang Ke waved her hands frantically, saying her grandmother was fine. She promised to be back before noon and wouldn’t delay work, asking the Director not to worry.

Shu Qingchen’s lips pressed into a thin line, and the temperature around her seemed to drop.

Liang Ke felt that tingling, numb pain in her palms from last night beginning to surge again. Not waiting for an answer, she turned and bolted out of the office to avoid doing anything else inappropriate. She didn’t want to damage their already fragile relationship further, and she didn’t want to delay the search for Sister A.

…

B. had clearly run over directly from the performance preparations; her outfit was sharp and elegant but offered no warmth.

Her cheeks were flushed red, and the backs of her hands were turned blue-purple from the cold. Fortunately, her physical condition was strong enough that she could still stand straight in the biting wind.

Liang Ke took off her thick, windproof down coat and gave it to her, leaving herself in just a regular short cotton jacket.

Sister B still coldly refused, saying coolly, “Don’t worry about me.”

“Just wear it. I’m not doing this to butter up a comrade with ‘ideological errors,'” Liang Ke said as they walked. “I’m afraid you’ll freeze to death before we find Sister A. Not only would that break Sister A’s heart, but I’d also never be able to clear my name. So, stay alive.”

The look in B’s eyes softened noticeably at the mention of Sister A’s name. She took the coat firmly and asked Liang Ke where to look.

“Naturally, we go to the places you frequent—your ‘harbor of love,’ ‘secret base,’ those little things only the two of you know.” Liang Ke used some terms Xiao Xiaoxiao had taught her, pretending to be a relationship expert, a matchmaker, and a twenty-six-year-old Cupid.

B was actually amused into a laugh. She didn’t understand how someone could act so childishly yet seem strangely reliable. Once her impulsive anger passed, her hostility toward Liang Ke faded.

What followed was a grueling search. Liang Ke had been engaged in high-intensity physical labor for days, but she persisted. They checked the parks and cafes B mentioned, and even bars and cat cafes that weren’t open yet, but found nothing.

As Sister B became increasingly agitated, a flash of inspiration hit Liang Ke. She drove the car directly to the high school she and Sister A had attended. Relying on her status as a “star alumna,” she talked her way past the gatekeeper and onto the playground.

“Why are we here?” Sister B was completely baffled.

“Last time you two had a conflict, Sister A sat at the school gate in a daze on a snowy day. I found her and brought her in for a walk to soothe her heart after her romantic setback.”

Liang Ke recalled that time, and then thought of Shu Qingchen’s hurried call from the conference hall and the current stalemate between them. She felt genuinely sad.

It was still winter break, so only seniors and some competition classes were in session. Liang Ke pulled Sister B around the playground until they reached the large tree with the “No Climbing” sign. She patted the trunk and looked up with effort.

Sister B looked up with her. Although the tree was full of branches, the leaves were all gone. There were several empty bird nests nestled within, and while there was a lot of snow, it was easy to see at a glance—there were no hidden corners where an adult could hide.

They hadn’t been despondent for long before Liang Jiyue’s call came.

It started with a stern criticism.

“You little kitten! Why aren’t you working properly? Why are you out there embarrassing me at the Institute!”

“Huh?” Liang Ke let out a very dazed sound once again.