Si Moshen's expression changed slightly, but he didn't respond.
The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward. Just as Chen Yixia was wracking her brains to find something to say, Si Moshen's voice suddenly rang in her ear.
"I want to ask you a question."
Si Moshen turned his head and stared at Chen Yixia seriously.
Infected by his solemn attitude, Chen Yixia nodded earnestly.
"If someone very important to you suddenly disappears one day, but then you find this person, only to discover that he or she doesn't remember you at all, what would you do?"
Hearing this, Chen Yixia's eyes flickered. This person... was probably talking about Qing Mian...
Chen Yixia fell silent for a while, then looked at Si Moshen seriously.
"Do you want to hear... what I would do?"
Si Moshen gave a soft grunt.
Chen Yixia nodded silently and began to think seriously.
After a while, her gaze returned to Si Moshen.
"If it were me, I would try my best to make the other person remember. You just said that this is a very important person. Since I've finally found this person, why should I just watch him or her slip away again?"
Chen Yixia said her thoughts sincerely.
In her worldview, if someone was very important to her, that person must feel the same way about her.
Since they were important to each other, there was no reason for them to forget each other.
Important people were those who should walk forward side by side.
Listening to Chen Yixia's answer, Si Moshen's expression remained unchanged. He still had that poker face.
Just as Chen Yixia was about to speak, Si Moshen's voice came before hers.
"Thank you." He said.
Chen Yixia was utterly shocked, twice as much as before.
She actually heard the words "thank you" from Si Moshen's mouth. This was even less likely than winning a million dollars in the lottery.
Chen Yixia stood there, stunned, not knowing what to say. By the time she came to her senses, Si Moshen's back had just disappeared around the corner.
...
At the same time, as Qing Mian walked, Si Moshen's words just now kept echoing in her mind.
Although the words were harsh, they made sense.
If she had known that Chi Yu had an accident at that time, there was no doubt that she would have flown back to the imperial capital immediately. Si Moshen was completely right about this.
But how could he be so sure? Everyone had kept this from her, as if everyone could guess her reaction at the very first moment.
They knew what she would do, so they all tacitly decided not to tell her about this and let her study in peace.
The more Qing Mian thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. Even Lu Wenxi had chosen to keep this from her all the time. Was she really that useless? That weak?
Weak...
Suddenly, Jiang Zhirou's words flashed through Qing Mian's mind.
"You're too weak."
When she heard this at that time, her first reaction was to refute, but she had never really wondered why Jiang Zhirou would say such a thing.
Qing Mian suddenly stopped in her tracks, and her expression became complicated.
Right...
Why would she say that?
If she could become a little stronger, even just a little, would everyone treat her differently?
They wouldn't be like they were now. Whenever there was an important matter, their first reaction was to keep it from her.
If she could be stronger, so strong that everyone would think of her the moment they were in danger.
Qing Mian couldn't quite describe the emotions in her heart right now.
She just felt stuffy, as if she was wrapped in layers of thick fog.
It was an unprecedented sense of panic. She seemed unable to see herself clearly, but... Jiang Zhirou seemed to know her very well, yet her knowledge of Jiang Zhirou was limited to just this name.
She was clearly the same person...
Why was this happening...
Qing Mian's expression became increasingly ugly. She stopped and stood still, trying hard to recall something.
Her earliest memory was of the days in the orphanage. She was bullied by the other kids there. After that, it was Chen Yu'an who took her home. Nothing significant had happened in between.
Chen Yu'an doted on her and almost fulfilled all her requests. Since she was taken home by Chen Yu'an, she had never suffered again. Whether it was materially or emotionally, Chen Yu'an had tried his best to satisfy her.
Then later, Chen Yu'an sent her abroad.
She remembered that she was taken away right after getting off the plane and then sent to a place that resembled a chemical factory, but it was very clean and seemed different from the black factories in her previous memories.
Qing Mian tried hard to recall, trying to see everything around her clearly, but no matter how hard she tried, her memories were all blurred. Even the terrifying black factory that she had clearly remembered before was starting to become blurry, as if... there was something blocking it.
She couldn't lift that thing no matter what. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through the depths of her brain.
Qing Mian instantly clutched her head in pain and squatted on the ground.
She couldn't remember...
She completely forgot what had happened there and how she had returned to the imperial capital.
It was as if a part of her memory had been taken away.
Her memory was cut off in the middle and then picked up again from the moment she arrived in the imperial capital.
A terrifying thought suddenly flashed through Qing Mian's mind.
Could it be... that this part of the memory was stored in Jiang Zhirou's mind, or rather... it was Jiang Zhirou who had endured all that in Mexico back then...
Qing Mian's pupils dilated suddenly. She was momentarily frightened by her own sudden thought.
But why...
Jiang Zhirou seemed to be able to appear at will, but she couldn't. Did Jiang Zhirou voluntarily endure all that in Mexico back then...
"Jiang... Qing Mian? Why are you squatting here?"
Uncle Shen's voice interrupted Qing Mian's train of thought.
She slowly looked up at the person in front of her. As if she had suddenly grabbed a lifesaver, she reached out and tightly clutched Uncle Shen's sleeve.
Uncle Shen was greatly startled by her sudden action. He staggered back two steps. "What's wrong with you? What happened?"
Qing Mian tightened her grip on Uncle Shen's sleeve. She swallowed hard and stared intently at the person in front of her. "Uncle Shen, could you please tell me... about Jiang Zhirou..."
Hearing this, a meaningful look flashed across Uncle Shen's eyes. Then he gently patted the back of Qing Mian's hand that was clutching his sleeve and slowly said, "Get up first."
He helped Qing Mian up. After making sure she was standing steadily, he continued, "What do you want to know?"
"...Everything." Qing Mian said firmly.
"I want to know everything about Jiang Zhirou."
It also included... everything about herself. Was she Chen Qing Mian or Jiang Zhirou?
Uncle Shen's eyes darkened, and a strange look flashed across his face. After a while, he nodded. He pointed to the pavilion in the garden downstairs. "Let's go there and talk."
Saying that, he took a step forward and walked outside. Qing Mian wisely followed closely behind.