Returning to High School to Save My Wife - Chapter 41

After the final self-study period ended, Liang Qi packed her schoolbag. Seeing that Jiang Yuan had not yet returned, she decided to pack Jiang Yuan’s bag as well.

She picked up the bags and stood up, preparing to go to the Activity Center to wait for Jiang Yuan, when she saw Yue Suxin returning alone.

Chen Jiayue had already finished packing Yue Suxin’s bag. “Sister Xin, why are you just getting back? I thought the group and solo rehearsals were separate?”

“Don’t even get me started. Rehearsal ended ages ago,” Yue Suxin said, sounding quite displeased. “Cheng Zhuocheng said he’d stay with me, but I couldn’t find him anywhere after I left the dressing room. I called him several times before he finally answered, only for him to say he had something to do today and hang up.”

“Maybe he really is busy,” Chen Jiayue said, handing her the bag. “After all, he was the one who offered to go see you this afternoon.”

“I thought he’d stay with me a bit longer,” Yue Suxin sighed, adjusting the oversized school jacket draped over her shoulders. “He just left me this jacket.”

“See? That just means he was worried you’d get cold,” Chen Jiayue teased with a smile.

“Humph, that might be true, but he made me wait at the entrance for so long. Wasn’t I cold then?”

“Alright, Sister Xin, don’t be upset. Didn’t you two agree to see a movie this weekend?”

“Oh, I almost forgot. My parents won’t be home this weekend. Maybe he can even come over for dinner in the evening. Jiayue, do you want to join us?”

“I don’t want to be a third wheel.”

“Hehe, then come over next time!”

The two left the classroom chatting and laughing. Liang Qi stood on the steps, looking out at the cold, quiet hallway after school. She promptly stopped a student who had participated in the choir.

“Hello, did Jiang Yuan’s rehearsal end?”

“Class Monitor? Didn’t the dance rehearsal end a long time ago? Hasn’t she come back yet?”

“What time did it finish?”

“Around 4:30 PM. If she isn’t back, maybe she was called away by a teacher.”

“Thank you.”

Liang Qi stopped at the top of the stairs, sensing that something was wrong. Yue Suxin was back, and even the choir students were trickling in, so why was Jiang Yuan the only one missing?

Jiang Yuan had gone to the rehearsal with Tan Zhiyan. If any problems had occurred midway, Tan Zhiyan should have told her, but Liang Qi had not received a single message. She tried calling Jiang Yuan, but the phone rang for a full minute with no answer.

She turned and called Tan Zhiyan instead. Tan Zhiyan picked up quickly.

“Qiqi?”

“Zhiyan, is your rehearsal over?”

“It’s been over for a while, but I’m still waiting for Yuanyuan. I haven’t left yet.”

“Yuanyuan hasn’t finished yet?”

“No, her side should have finished long ago, but I haven’t been able to find her. She isn’t answering her phone either. We agreed to meet at the Activity Center entrance. I messaged her as soon as I finished, but I don’t know if she’s seen it.”

“How long have you been waiting?”

“More than twenty minutes.”

“You waited that long without looking for her?”

“I did look! I went to their rehearsal hall and everyone was gone. Then I went to the dressing rooms, but I didn’t see her anywhere.”

“Zhiyan, stay where you are and wait for me. I’m coming over right now.”

“Oh, okay. I’m at the entrance. You’ll see me as soon as you get here.”

It was about a ten-minute walk from the teaching building to the Activity Center. Liang Qi ran the whole way.

The Activity Center was in a remote location. Aside from rehearsals and performances, almost no one went there. When she arrived at the entrance, there was no one in sight except for Tan Zhiyan.

“Qiqi!” Tan Zhiyan called out from a distance.

“Still no news from Yuanyuan?”

“No. I called her twice, but she didn’t pick up.”

“Did the people rehearsing with her see her?”

“We weren’t on the same stage. My group finished late. When I came out, I only saw one or two people from her group, and they said Jiang Yuan had already left.”

Liang Qi looked up at the three-story Activity Center. “Let’s go back inside and look again.”

Tan Zhiyan was surprised. “Liang Qi, you don’t think she’s still in there, do you? The auditoriums upstairs are all locked, and I’ve already searched the entire first floor.”

Liang Qi withdrew her gaze and looked at her. “Did you see Cheng Zhuocheng?”

“Cheng Zhuocheng? No, but I heard he came today to accompany his girlfriend and went to Yuanyuan’s rehearsal stage. Liang Qi, you don’t think Yuanyuan is with Cheng Zhuocheng, do you?”

“I ran into Yue Suxin just as school was letting out. She said she waited for him for a long time and he didn’t return with her. I’m worried he might be making trouble for Yuanyuan.” Liang Qi grabbed Tan Zhiyan’s hand. “Let’s check the rehearsal scene again.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll go in with you one more time.”

The Activity Center was somewhat old but very spacious. The hallways had loud echoes, and without anyone else around, the silence was somewhat frightening. Many rooms were locked, and very few were accessible.

Liang Qi led the way to the large rehearsal hall where Jiang Yuan had been. All the props had been put away; the stage was clean, and the seats were empty. They searched every possible room—restrooms, makeup rooms, dressing rooms, storage closets—but found no sign of Jiang Yuan.

Where could she be?

“Qiqi, we’ve searched everywhere here and no one is around,” Tan Zhiyan said, holding Liang Qi’s wrist. “She’s probably not here. It’s completely silent; it doesn’t seem like anyone is around.”

“Let’s head out first.”

Just as those words were spoken, a muffled thud sounded from outside. The sound seemed distant, but it made their hearts race with unease. Liang Qi instinctively looked up but saw nothing.

“Qiqi?”

“Was that a noise just now?”

“It didn’t sound like it came from these rooms. Maybe it was from outside?”

Liang Qi ran quickly out of the large rehearsal hall. The hallway was empty, and the sound did not occur again. She left the hall and checked the first-floor restrooms once more, but still found no trace of Jiang Yuan.

She stopped in the first-floor lobby and looked up toward the stairs leading to the second floor. There was an iron gate there, and it was locked.

“When you arrived, was the second floor locked?”

“Yes, it is always locked. You can only get to the second floor by elevator.”

Liang Qi felt a brief moment of relief and turned to leave, but out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly glimpsed something reflective behind the iron gate. It looked familiar. She stopped, slowly walked up the steps, and knelt down to look. In that instant, her blood rushed to her head.

It was a Maneki-neko phone charm, the exact same one she owned.

In the second-floor ladies’ restroom, Jiang Yuan squatted in the corner, clutching the hem of her school uniform. Muffled, heavy thuds against the door echoed from outside.

“Jiang Yuan, do you really think no one can find you just because you’re hiding in there?”

“You actually dared to hit me with a chair. You’ve got quite the nerve.”

“Pursuing you was doing you a favor. Did you really think you were that charming?”

“Get the hell out here!”

With every word he spoke, the fear in Jiang Yuan’s heart deepened. She pressed her lips tight, not daring to make a sound, terrified that Cheng Zhuocheng would know for certain she was inside.

Her mind repeatedly replayed the events that had just unfolded. Cheng Zhuocheng had kept his hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming for help. In desperation, she had grabbed a nearby clothes hanger and struck him on the head. After a frantic struggle in the dressing room, Cheng Zhuocheng had snatched her phone in a rage, but she had managed to seize the chance to bolt.

The people from the rehearsal had already left. She originally wanted to flee the Activity Center entirely, but Cheng Zhuocheng pursued her relentlessly. Her physical strength was no match for his, so in her panic, she could only take the elevator upstairs. The classrooms on the second floor were all locked, and the stairs were sealed by the iron gate. The only place she could go was the restroom. Fortunately, the door could be locked from the inside, giving her a temporary reprieve.

A loud thud sounded outside as Cheng Zhuocheng kicked the door with force. The sound of the wood splintering made Jiang Yuan’s body tremble. Her heart pounded violently. She bit her lower lip, feeling that no amount of burning blood could melt the ice in her soul.

Save her. Please, someone save her.

She hugged her knees, feeling an unparalleled sense of despair. A gust of cold air passed through, making her skin prickle and her body shiver. With reddened eyes, she looked up and slowly turned her head to see that the restroom window was open.

The pounding on the door continued. Cheng Zhuocheng kept cursing, kicking the door every few moments. No one ever came to the second floor of the Activity Center. Her phone was gone, and the restroom door was thin. At the rate he was kicking, he would break through sooner or later.

She couldn’t escape. Jiang Yuan looked at the open window, her heart tightening inch by inch. This was the second floor. If she jumped, she might have a fifty-percent chance of being saved.

She didn’t know where the courage came from, but she took a step toward the window. Her body shook; her legs trembled. The fear of death and heights filled her, but despair surged like a tide, bringing her to the edge of the sill.

Was this really all she could do? Was there truly no other way? Her mother was still in the hospital, having just finished surgery. If she knew something happened to her daughter, she wouldn’t be able to bear it. Everyone at school would gossip about her.

Why? Why did this have to happen? Why was she forced to make such a difficult choice?

Thinking of the consequences of jumping, she slowly pulled back her leg. At that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed outside the restroom, and her breathing stopped.

Who was it? Was someone there? Could they help her?

With a loud bang as if a wish had been answered there was a heavy impact outside. Cheng Zhuocheng let out a muffled groan, and Liang Qi’s loud voice rang out through the door.

“Yuanyuan!”

The moment she heard that voice, the fear in her heart vanished.

“Liang Qi?” Jiang Yuan spoke with uncertainty, her voice thick with sobs. She couldn’t control her urge to cry. Fate had given her such a terrible hand, yet it had also given her the warmest sunshine in the world. She could not love her own life, but she could not help but love the person who saved her from crisis time and again. If a person cannot exist without love, then she wished only to love Liang Qi.

Outside the door, Cheng Zhuocheng had been struck on his head wound by the schoolbag. Blood blurred his vision, dripping down his face and staining his uniform.

“You… you actually dared to hit me,” Cheng Zhuocheng hissed, clutching his head and glaring at Liang Qi. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell everyone about this?”

“Compared to me hitting you with a bag, I think you’d be more afraid of people knowing you entered a ladies’ restroom!”

“Me, afraid?” Cheng Zhuocheng spat, his mouth twisting into a malicious grin. “Heh, Liang Qi, if you want Jiang Yuan’s reputation ruined, then go ahead and tell! I guarantee you’ll regret it!”

Cheng Zhuocheng kicked the wall hard and fled the restroom area, clutching his bleeding head.

With a creak, the door was slowly pushed open from the inside. The sharp sound pierced Liang Qi’s heart. Jiang Yuan emerged with red eyes. She stumbled as she stepped down, nearly falling, but Liang Qi hurried over to support her. The moment she touched Jiang Yuan’s arm, she felt the girl’s intense trembling.

“Liang Qi,” Jiang Yuan called out despondently, a plea for help in the midst of her despair that made Liang Qi’s heart ache.

Why was she only hearing this now? A wave of bitterness washed over Liang Qi. She reached out and pulled Jiang Yuan into a tight embrace, patting her back firmly and whispering comfortingly, “It’s over now, Yuanyuan. I’m here.”

She paused, then added, “I’m sorry.”

If only she had stayed by her side this afternoon. She had sworn to protect her.

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