Hints at GL - Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The brief intoxication eventually gave way to sobriety. Zhong Ning put some distance between herself and Su Yuan, turning away with a hint of annoyance at herself. Am I being too lenient with Su Yuan? Even though she wasn’t certain if Su Yuan was being serious, she had allowed her to kiss her time and time again.

Fortunately, Su Yuan didn’t try anything else.

The second encore had concluded. The noisy performance was replaced by light background music, the volume gradually lowering as the crowd began to disperse, surrounded by the sound of loud laughter.

“Let’s head to the front first,” Su Yuan said, putting an arm around her and leading her in the opposite direction of the crowd.

Once they reached the front row, breathing finally became easier. Su Yuan smiled and pulled Zhong Ning in front of her. “Wait here for a bit while I make a call to check.”

Su Yuan held the phone to her ear, her fingertips absentmindedly tapping against Zhong Ning’s waist. It felt like an intentional flirtation, yet also as if she weren’t paying it any mind at all.

Zhong Ning felt a restless itch in her heart, but seeing as Su Yuan’s call had connected, she simply caught the woman’s hand with a bit of reluctance.

“Is it over on your end?” Su Yuan glanced at Zhong Ning with a faint smile, speaking to the person on the other end while reflexively squeezing Zhong Ning’s hand. “…Mhm, so when would be a good time to head over?”

Su Yuan’s warm fingertips slid gently across Zhong Ning’s palm, sending a tingling sensation through her hand. Zhong Ning bit her lip, wanting to pull away, but Su Yuan pulled her closer against her front.

“We’re at the very front railing of the stage right now…” Su Yuan stared straight at her, a shallow smile on her face that made it impossible to tell where her true thoughts lay. “Mhm, will it be too late if we wait for everyone to leave? Alright… then I’ll wait for your call.”

The call finally ended.

Su Yuan’s gentle eyes locked with hers for a moment, her thin lips curving slightly. “Why is your face so red?” she teased, her hand brushing over Zhong Ning’s cheek. “What, did you not like today’s live show?”

Zhong Ning thought to herself: How does she have the nerve to ask? She hadn’t even paid close attention to the latter half.

Theoretically, she should say she liked it, but a sense of bashfulness prevented her from saying the word. After a long moment of internal conflict, Zhong Ning awkwardly averted her gaze. “…Well, you certainly seemed to like it.”

Su Yuan gave a meaningful smile and was about to speak when—”Hm?”

“Sorry… let me take this.” She glanced at the caller ID, and her smile visibly vanished. “…Mhm, still here. We won’t be heading back together; we have things to do later.”

Even through the phone, Zhong Ning could hear Ruan Mu’s voice. Feeling uncomfortable, she brushed Su Yuan’s hand off her waist and took a step to the side as a distraction.

“They said they’re leaving first,” Su Yuan said after hanging up, her eyes lowered as if deep in thought.

The shift in Su Yuan’s expression over those few minutes clearly displeased Zhong Ning. Up until now, Su Yuan hadn’t explained what exactly was going on between her, Ruan Mu, and Jing Han. Zhong Ning felt that since they had reached this stage, Su Yuan owed her an explanation.

If this were Jing Yang, she would have said in a fit of rage, “If you don’t explain this clearly today, don’t touch me ever again!”

Zhong Ning wasn’t that extreme. She felt it was fine to wait until Su Yuan wanted to talk, but the prerequisite was not running into Ruan Mu every day. Who could stand having their mood ruined every few days?

Su Yuan didn’t notice her expression. Her phone rang once more. “Okay, we’re coming over now.” She straightened up and said to Zhong Ning, “Let’s go. We can head to the backstage from this way.”

The backstage was a temporary construction that looked like a small warehouse from a distance.

Su Yuan’s friend was a British girl with high-contrast punk hair and a large tattoo covering her entire right arm. She looked a bit unapproachable. “A!!” She seemed incredibly happy to see Su Yuan, opening her arms for a hug. “I thought you said no!”

“That’s why I’m here,” Su Yuan replied with a laugh.

The two chatted in low voices for a few moments before the punk girl finally noticed Zhong Ning. She startled slightly. “Oh…” Then her eyes darted around, and she raised an eyebrow. “So you’re ready to start a new life?”

“I was worried about you having such a long dry spell, but it turns out you’ve been making moves in secret.” She sized Zhong Ning up playfully. “Hmm…”

Su Yuan gave her a playful shove. “Alright, stop fanning the flames for me.”

The punk girl shrugged, signaling she understood. “Fine. Let’s head in now before Hurts leaves.”

Zhong Ning followed them into the “warehouse” room, walking down a short corridor. The door to the innermost room was slightly ajar, and she could hear laughter and Theo’s thick accent.

The punk girl knocked, and they walked in.

Theo had already taken off his suit jacket and was just in his white shirt. Because he had performed so intensely, the back of his shirt was soaked. He stood up when he saw them enter, clearly familiar with the punk girl.

“No problem.” He quickly agreed to the photo request, then looked around apologetically. “Oh, it’s quite a mess in here. Why don’t we head outside?”

The group moved to the corridor outside. Since the punk girl still had work to do, she said her goodbyes. “Catch you later,” she signaled to Su Yuan and hurried off.

“Okay, shall we use your phones?” Theo asked for their preference.

“Um…” Zhong Ning looked at Su Yuan, not knowing how to start. “Could we take a bit of your time for a quick chat?” Su Yuan spoke up first, looking at him.

Theo looked at them strangely, completely confused. “Weren’t we taking a photo? Are you two journalists?”

Su Yuan didn’t answer but kept her eyes fixed on him until he felt a bit unnerved. Then she said in a low voice, “You have the ability to pause time, don’t you?”

“…”

The moment those words were spoken, Theo was stunned. He opened his mouth but simply swallowed as if his throat were dry. His blue eyes darted around in panic before he instinctively looked away.

For a long time, he couldn’t find his words.

But seeing that expression, the question had clearly been answered in the affirmative.

Su Yuan looked at him and said softly, “We aren’t here to cause trouble, and we certainly won’t tell anyone this secret. It’s just that there’s something very important we must discuss with you privately.”

Theo took a few deep breaths and finally gave in. “Fine, let’s go outside.”

“Alright, first tell me how you knew,” Theo said, leading them to a corner behind the stage, his nose beaded with sweat from the sudden confrontation. “Who exactly told you?”

“You went to a talk show in the US last month. You used that ability during a magic trick.”

Su Yuan’s words clearly brought an epiphany to Theo. His face went stiff in an instant, and he punched the stage support in frustration. “D*mn it, I knew that was too dangerous… I shouldn’t have done it,” he said, his regret deep and bitter.

But despite the regret, he was even more puzzled: “But how did you find out? How could anyone possibly notice?!”

“Because there are gaps in time,” Su Yuan replied, looking at him.

“Gaps?” Theo didn’t understand at all.

Su Yuan sighed lightly and explained carefully, “Put it this way… you pause time in the studio. Suppose you were sitting on the sofa before the pause. You move around in your own space, and then you sit back on the sofa and restart time…”

“After that sequence, do you really think your posture could return perfectly to that specific original position?” Su Yuan asked back, raising her eyes.

Theo opened his mouth, but for a long time, he couldn’t find a counterargument.

He thought for a while but still felt something was off. “But even so, it shouldn’t be possible to notice.”

“Yes, the naked eye of an ordinary person indeed cannot see it,” Su Yuan nodded, presenting a hypothesis. “But imagine if a person’s eyes could capture enough frames… they would definitely discover the gap in between.”

Theo stared fixedly at Su Yuan, cold sweat finally trickling down. “Are you saying—another super?” He found it hard to believe, yet he couldn’t argue. If someone like him existed, why couldn’t there be someone whose vision was sharp enough to capture infinite detail?

“So you’re the one?” Theo naturally assumed.

“No, it’s a friend of mine,” Su Yuan shook her head and added, “But don’t worry, he won’t tell anyone either. Regardless, I hope you’ll avoid doing that in public in the future. It really is too dangerous.”

This piece of advice finally signaled that they had no ill intentions. Theo conceded. “So? What is it you actually wanted to tell me?”

Zhong Ning and Su Yuan exchanged a look. Finally, they were at the main point.

Zhong Ning took a deep breath and said tentatively, “I hope what I’m about to say stays a secret between us. After you hear it, you must remain calm.”

Theo nodded solemnly.

“I… have the power of prophecy,” Zhong Ning said. The words felt incredibly embarrassing to utter.

Seeing Theo frown with hesitation, she had to steel herself and continue. “For several months, I’ve been having the same dream. In a bar, I see many people die.”

“At first, I couldn’t see their faces… but a few days ago I underwent hypnosis and found out the location of the bar and the identities of some people.” Zhong Ning looked at Theo and bit her lip. “I saw you.”

“What did you say?!” Theo’s entire face went rigid.

“I’m really not joking,” Zhong Ning added quickly, worried he wouldn’t believe her. “We came to find you just to warn you. Since I don’t know when exactly this will happen, I can only notify people one by one to keep you away from that place.”

Su Yuan opened Google Maps’ street view, showing him the location and pictures of the bar.

“…STARS?”

“I’ve never been to this place,” Theo answered firmly. He thought for a moment and frowned. “Even if you hadn’t said anything, I don’t think I would go there in the future anyway. I don’t like pubs much.”

Su Yuan nodded. “That’s good then.”

“So what do you actually plan to do? Will notifying people one by one really work?” Theo still found it a bit hard to believe. “Can it really stop this from happening?”

Zhong Ning answered hesitantly, “I can’t think of any other way. We do want to find out the cause of the event, but first, the prerequisite is to contact the people involved.”

“Earlier, we only theorized that there must be other supers among these people,” she looked at Theo. “I didn’t expect you would already confirm that theory.”

“Fine. It sounds like this is the only way—find everyone to find the cause.”

Theo had no other choice and simply asked them once more to keep his secret. “I’ll remember this. Here’s my number. If you find the others, you must contact me. Perhaps together we can find a common thread.”