Hints at GL - Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Morning 8:00 AM, Village

The black Aston Martin pulled up in front of a villa in the small town. Su Yuan gently removed her sunglasses, leaning in toward the person beside her. “Zhong Ning,” she called softly, “Wake up, we’re here.”

“…”

But Zhong Ning merely knit her brows, huddling deeper into the seat with a look of reluctance.

Watching her small movements, a surge of warmth flowed into Su Yuan’s eyes. “Mhm?” She leaned down and kissed those soft lips, the movement was very light, yet it caused Zhong Ning to slowly open her eyes.

“Still won’t get up?” Su Yuan chuckled, her lips brushing against Zhong Ning’s.

Awakened by the soft sensation, Zhong Ning’s eyes were still misty. She frowned, the grumpiness of being woken up didn’t subside just because Su Yuan was kissing her. “Su Yuan, you’re so annoying.”

Because she lacked the strength to truly resist, her voice sounded more like she was acting spoiled. “I haven’t even finished sleeping yet. Why do you have to wake me up so early for hypnosis?”

“Alright, enough teasing.”

Su Yuan held her, coaxing her with a shallow smile. “Jacky is only free today lately, I didn’t have a choice.”

Having waited all these days to finally enjoy Su Yuan’s tenderness in peace, Zhong Ning naturally wanted to indulge a bit more. “No,” she bit her lip, pestering her playfully, “What if I have an exam tomorrow and I don’t pass?”

Su Yuan smiled. “I can support you.”

Zhong Ning stared into those gentle eyes for a while. Even coming from Su Yuan, this “idol drama” type line still made the tips of her ears turn beet red. “I don’t need you to support me. Go away.”

When they saw Jacky again, he was fastening his shirt cuffs, seemingly preparing to head out. “Oh…” Jacky’s deep eyes surveyed the two of them, and he said plainly, “Anna, I’m happy to see you starting a new life.”

“Thank you,” Su Yuan replied softly.

For some reason, Zhong Ning felt Su Yuan’s “thank you” carried a different layer of meaning. Just as she was about to say something, Jacky spoke up. “Come in first.”

He didn’t intend to waste a single second, speaking as he walked. “I have an academic conference to attend later; I can probably only spare one hour for you.”

Listening to the ticking clock in the study and looking at the massive mural on the wall, Zhong Ning gradually drifted into a dream.

This time, when a fearful Zhong Ning walked into the bar, Su Yuan grabbed her before she could even open her mouth to ask questions. “Shall we go sit over there together?”

Zhong Ning looked at her strangely. Who exactly was this woman? She hesitated over whether to listen to her, but the moment a warm hand touched her palm, she actually followed.

The two sat down in a sofa corner on the east side.

A blonde waiter walked up to them, and his lines had clearly changed. “Ladies, what would you like to drink?”

Zhong Ning frowned at him. That face with its friendly smile was overly familiar. Come to think of it, the woman opposite her was the same; the two of them seemed much clearer than anyone else in the surroundings. “I…” She opened her mouth but couldn’t quite say what felt wrong.

“Whiskey, thank you.”

Su Yuan softly interrupted her train of thought.

The waiter placed two glasses before them and gestured politely. “No ice, please enjoy.” He then left quickly as other customers called for him.

Zhong Ning thought about it, prepared to let her doubts go, but just then she felt her phone vibrate. It was a text from an unknown number: “…Look at your surroundings through the camera in your hand.”

“Mhm? What does that mean?” Zhong Ning murmured, but just as she went to pick up the camera beside her, Su Yuan pressed her hand down.

“Could I have a look?”

Su Yuan’s voice was extremely soft, possessing an almost irresistible magic.

Zhong Ning’s face flushed, and she actually handed it over. She watched the other woman look through her camera for a while, then suddenly couldn’t help but ask, “Sorry, have I met you somewhere before?”

Su Yuan looked up at the sound, but only smiled. “What do you think?”

That intentional or unintentional teasing made Zhong Ning feel a bit hot for some reason. “I’m sorry, I really can’t seem to remember…” She felt the current conversation was as awkward as forgetting an old acquaintance. “I just feel like we definitely must have known each other before.”

Su Yuan looked directly at her, the corner of her mouth curving. “It seems quite a few people have tried to hit on me that way.”

Zhong Ning’s face reddened as she hurried to defend herself. “No, I didn’t mean it that way, I… just,” in the midst of this fluster, she completely forgot to take the camera.

Su Yuan didn’t seem concerned with her explanation, merely picking up her glass leisurely. “Tell me,” she asked softly, “How many people are in this bar?”

Zhong Ning was startled. How many people? She didn’t understand the purpose of the question, but she still scanned the room and counted carefully. “Including the waiters, about seven or eight people.”

“Is that so?”

Su Yuan’s gentle eyes looked straight into hers. Gradually, that gaze shifted to the two people beside her. “Do you know them? I mean, the two people sitting next to you.”

Zhong Ning turned her head; sitting next to them were two elderly people with Asian faces.

“Do you mean this old couple? They look Asian…” She thought carefully. “But I don’t think I’ve seen them before, unless it was in a Japanese restaurant.”

Su Yuan pursed her thin lips. “Are they Japanese?”

Zhong Ning seemed to realize her voice was a bit too loud, so she took a sip of her drink and lowered her voice. “Mhm, they should be Japanese. You can tell by their clothes. And I think I heard them speaking just now.”

“Would you mind swapping seats with me?”

Zhong Ning was slightly taken aback, but for some reason, she actually swapped with Su Yuan.

Afterward, she saw Su Yuan politely greeting the Japanese couple. The three seemed to chat quite happily. Su Yuan took out a business card and handed it to them, and they, in turn, handed one back.

What is she doing? Zhong Ning felt it was strange.

But soon, Su Yuan sat back down and placed a strange business card before her eyes. Zhong Ning didn’t understand Su Yuan’s intent and thought there might be something weird on the card, so she read it aloud: “Passage? Isn’t this place the antique street?”

“Passage…”

Zhong Ning was lying quietly on the lounger in the study. When she finally uttered those two words, Jacky whispered instructions to Su Yuan: “Anna, have her continue and read out the postcode.”

Su Yuan nodded, gently stroking her hand.

But before she could say anything, Zhong Ning’s body went visibly rigid. She felt as if she saw a pair of eyes. Then, the scene in her dream was swapped out at some unknown moment, everything around her vanished, and she found herself in pitch-black darkness.

Zhong Ning’s breathing suddenly became very rapid. A familiar sense of trepidation washed over her. She seemed to know where she was, and because she knew, her entire body trembled with fear.

“What’s wrong with her?”

Su Yuan took Zhong Ning’s hand, a flash of anxiety appearing in her eyes.

But Zhong Ning couldn’t hear the call at all. She felt herself being pulled into the darkness bit by bit. She slapped at the space around her, trying to find a way out. “Let me out… why won’t it open… the cabinet.”

Zhong Ning’s words were intermittent, rising and falling until they were almost unintelligible.

Jacky frowned at her, lowering his voice to guide her. “Calm down, Zhong Ning. There are no cabinets around you, nothing at all. You are in the bar right now.”

But Zhong Ning’s lips trembled. “No, I must get out…”

Su Yuan couldn’t understand what the two of them were saying; she only knew that Zhong Ning was in extreme pain. “Professor, please wake her up. That’s enough for today,” her usually gentle voice became somewhat firm.

“I know, I’ll wake her up immediately.”

Jacky’s brow was furrowed as he continued to guide her. “No one can trap you now, Zhong Ning. Push open the cabinet door. Once you push it open, everything will end.”

Zhong Ning looked incredibly resistant; she didn’t want to follow that instruction at all.

After what felt like a long struggle, she suddenly snapped awake.

The moment she woke up, Zhong Ning’s mind was a complete blank.

She just couldn’t stop panting. The more rapid her breath became, the redder the rims of her eyes turned.

“It’s alright…” Su Yuan leaned in to pull her into her arms. That warmth gradually brought her consciousness back. Zhong Ning’s body was still trembling slightly, but she subconsciously hooked her arms around Su Yuan’s neck, unable to speak.

“You’re fine now,” Su Yuan comforted her softly, her brow knit with heartache.

Jacky stood behind them for a long time before finally speaking. “Forget it. Even though there’s still some time, let’s stop here for today. Zhong Ning, go home and get some rest. The next hypnosis should be delayed until at least next week; otherwise, you won’t be able to handle it.”

He paused, then instructed Su Yuan, “Anna, it doesn’t matter that she didn’t say the postcode. Since that couple has business cards, they must have a shop in the antique street. You two had better do some research beforehand; after all, there aren’t many Japanese people doing business there.”

Su Yuan helped Zhong Ning stand up. After a while, her emotions gradually stabilized.

“I’ll see you out to here,” Jacky said as he walked them to the door, taking the initiative to shake their hands goodbye. “Zhong Ning, rest well,” he instructed again. “Relax, don’t think too much.”

“…Mhm.”

When Zhong Ning returned to the car with Su Yuan, her thoughts were still revolving around the unexpected event just now. She didn’t notice that when Jacky shook her hand, he had somehow slipped her a note that read: “Come see me alone another day. Don’t tell anyone.”

Su Yuan didn’t rush to start the car. She just gently stroked Zhong Ning’s back. “Are you okay now? Do you still feel unwell?”

The concerned tone warmed Zhong Ning’s heart, and her tense emotions gradually relaxed. “It’s okay, I feel better now.” She thought slowly, then suddenly murmured, “There’s one more thing… I didn’t seem to see Theo this time.”

Because of the exhaustion, Zhong Ning’s recollection was a bit slow. “…I don’t know if I saw it wrong.”

“Don’t think about it. I’ll take you back to rest,” Su Yuan didn’t pay any mind to those things, merely leaning in to kiss her cheek. She whispered softly, “Wait until you finish your exam tomorrow, then we’ll talk about the rest.”