novelraw Chapter 168 Old Beauty of the Past
Chapter 168 Old Beauty of the Past
“6.”
For a moment, Jiang Ran had nothing to say.
This card had truly put him in checkmate.
To be honest, he really did not want to accompany Cheng Mengxue to Jingshan Bamboo Cemetery.
Inside and out, in every possible sense, he did not want to go.
But—
Back at the birthday gathering, he had indeed made a promise. He had agreed that a bet was a bet, and that no matter when it was used, this [Designated Dare] card would remain valid.
What was more—
He himself was still holding onto a [Designated Truth] card, waiting for the right chance to use it.
If he refused Cheng Mengxue now, wouldn’t that also mean his own card would lose its validity as well?That would not do.
He had kept that card for a very important purpose.
Helpless, he could only smile and agree.
“Fine. Just like you said, a bet is a bet.”
“But the same goes for when I decide to use that [Designated Truth] card. You have to keep the agreement too.”
“Though agreements are usually only good against gentlemen and useless against scoundrels, I still hope the two of us can have at least some sense of contract spirit.”
“Of course, no problem.” Cheng Mengxue agreed immediately. “Since we pinky-swore and made a promise, then naturally we have to keep our word and honor it.”
“Alright then.”
Jiang Ran spread his hands. “When are you planning to go? What’s the itinerary?”
Cheng Mengxue crossed her arms and thought for a moment.
“On the 30th, we both still have classes. If we rush to Hangzhou after class that day, the timing will be too tight.”
“Mmm—”
“It’s a rare holiday, and it counts as a trip too. I don’t want it to feel so rushed. How about we sleep in and leave on October 1 instead?”
“That way, after we arrive in Hangzhou on October 1, we can casually find somewhere to have fun, relax a bit, and then go to Jingshan Bamboo Cemetery the next morning.”
“Generally speaking, don’t people usually visit graves in the morning? It’s quieter then, and there are fewer people.”
Jiang Ran was amused by the arrangement.
“No way, big sis, are you seriously planning to go sweep your own grave? I thought you were just curious and wanted to take a look.”
“But—”
Jiang Ran quickly calculated in his mind.
This actually seemed like a very good opportunity to carry out his plan.
Delaying it by a day and leaving on October 1 was pretty good too.
That would leave him enough time to prepare, and to properly communicate with Officer Liu from the Donghai City Public Security Bureau so they could set up an ambush in advance.
He mainly had two considerations—
The first was naturally his own safety.
Nothing was more important than safety. It was better to be cautious.
He really was puzzled why, out of nowhere, she had proposed going to Jingshan Bamboo Cemetery to look at a gravestone.
That behavior was genuinely strange.
The second was that he could use this chance to execute his verification plan.
He had already told Xu Yan before that he would find an opportunity to carry out one final verification on Cheng Mengxue.
Once it was confirmed that she was 100% a fake disguise, the Donghai police could arrest her immediately and follow the trail back to the mastermind behind everything.
99.99% and 100% might not seem far apart numerically, but in nature they were worlds apart.
99.99% was still only suspicion.
100% was hard confirmation.
Jingshan Bamboo Cemetery—
It truly was a good place.
Far from the city, it would allow the Donghai police to set up in advance. If everything went smoothly, they might not even need to alert the enemy, and could strike completely by surprise.
“But—what you said does make sense.”
Jiang Ran smiled faintly.
“Since we’ve decided to make this a relaxing trip, there’s no need to rush around. Better to take it slow and stay leisurely.”
“It’s just that we’re too familiar with Hangzhou. If you ask me what’s fun there, I honestly can’t think of much beyond strolling through malls and watching a movie.”
“Or is it that—you already have a plan? Is there somewhere in Hangzhou you want to go?”
Cheng Mengxue turned around and leaned against the railing again, watching the sun that had already sunk below the earth.
[Hangzhou Paradise.]
She suddenly said, “Come to think of it, even though we grew up in Hangzhou, we really never went to Hangzhou Paradise even once, right?”
Jiang Ran nodded.
“That’s true. Even though Hangzhou Paradise is a very famous amusement park in the Yangtze River Delta, locals are naturally disenchanted with anything local—kind of like how plenty of people from Tai’an have never climbed Mount Tai.”
“But now that you mention it, I do remember that when we were kids, you were pretty stubborn about dragging me there. Since I really wasn’t interested in amusement parks, it never happened in the end.”
“What made you suddenly think of that? If you want to go to an amusement park, the Shanghai Disneyland over in Mingjinghai should be more fun—well, alright, even I’ve never been to Disneyland, I’ve only heard online that it’s pretty good.”
Once Cheng Mengxue mentioned it, Jiang Ran really did remember.
Back when they were children, Hangzhou Paradise, this large-scale integrated theme park, had been quite famous. Every year, many tourists from all over the country came especially to visit.
It was said that it had many thrilling rides, top-tier for its time.
Only later, as more and more large amusement parks were built across the country, Hangzhou Paradise gradually lost its competitiveness. If Cheng Mengxue had not suddenly brought it up, Jiang Ran truly would have forgotten this “tear of the times.”
Cheng Mengxue really did seem to be interested in this kind of amusement park. Jiang Ran remembered that back in elementary school she had brought it up several times, saying they should go together during vacation, but in the end it never happened.
However—
At Jiang Ran’s Disneyland suggestion, Cheng Mengxue shook her head.
“Since we never got to go to Hangzhou Paradise when we wanted to as children, then let’s take this chance to go once.”
“They say, ‘Even if you buy osmanthus blossoms and carry wine together, it will never be the same as the wanderings of youth.’ Now that we’re grown up, going there for a stroll can count as—making up for a childhood regret.”
That night, when Jiang Ran returned to the dorm, he found Fang Ze packing his luggage.
“Where are you going?” Jiang Ran asked in confusion.
“For the National Day holiday, I’m planning to go back to America.”
Fang Ze replied, “I originally thought I’d be able to stake out some trace of my brother here at Donghai University. But I didn’t expect Teacher Yan to be murdered, and the killer turned out not to be my brother.”
“I can’t just leave him alone either. I might as well use this holiday to go back to America and think of another way, see if I can get in touch with him. Otherwise—I really can’t stop worrying.”
Jiang Ran watched Fang Ze place clothes into the suitcase one by one without speaking.
What a pair of miserable brothers.
Especially Fang Ze—on one hand, he had to bear the psychological burden of his own brother being a criminal; on the other, he wanted to catch him as soon as possible and lead him back from the wrong path.
“How are you planning to find your brother?” Jiang Ran asked.
“I don’t know either.”
Fang Ze shook his head.
“To be honest, it’s completely aimless. But I can’t just stay here doing nothing forever.”
“The world is so big, there are so many countries. I really have no idea where my brother is hiding.”
“It’s very possible we just keep missing each other. When I’m in Dragon Country, he’s in America. By the time I get back to America, he might have gone to Dragon Country again. Sigh—”
Fang Ze let out a long sigh, utterly helpless.
Jiang Ran closed his eyes.
He recalled the words spoken by the assassin Fang Yang in the 2045 future prison.
He remembered—
The assassin had indeed described the arrest process like this:
“After I killed Zhou Xiong, I kept hiding overseas and never returned home. I never attended the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets’ regular gatherings again.”
“Later, it wasn’t until I was arrested in Los Angeles and extradited back that I set foot on Dragon Country’s soil again.”
Right.
That was indeed what the assassin had said.
“How about trying Los Angeles?”
Fang Ze tilted his head. “Why Los Angeles?”
Jiang Ran shrugged.
“I can’t really explain it. Call it intuition, I guess. Look, doesn’t Los Angeles just feel like a city of crime?”
“It kind of feels like every criminal in America likes running there.”
“Heh, have you been playing too much GTA?”
Fang Ze laughed helplessly and continued packing.
“The map in GTA 5 is indeed based on Los Angeles, and in the game it’s called Los Santos. But—”
His hands paused over the suitcase, and he thought carefully.
“But what you said makes sense too. Since searching anywhere is aimless anyway, I might as well try my luck in Los Angeles. Hopefully your good omen works.”
“Speaking of you, Jiang Ran, the National Day holiday is so long. Where are you planning to go? Or are you staying at school?”
“I’m going back to Hangzhou.”
Jiang Ran lay on the bed and plugged his phone into the charger.
“Xiaoxue said she wants to go back to Hangzhou for a bit and wants me to go with her.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Fang Ze smacked his lips.
“You’re really busy, huh? Keeping one company after another. Aren’t you tired from standing in so many boats at once?”
Whoosh.
Jiang Ran instantly sprang upright from the bed.
“You really seem to have a very deep misunderstanding about me. I am not the kind of American boy you’re imagining.”
“American boys aren’t like that.”
Fang Ze zipped up the suitcase.
“You’re a Japanese boy.”
Jiang Ran was completely speechless. He turned a concerned gaze toward this exchange student from across the ocean.
“Fang Ze.”
“Hm?” Fang Ze raised his head.
Jiang Ran spoke sincerely.
“I’m begging you, please consume something normal.”
After that—
Jiang Ran also picked up his backpack and casually packed a few things.
He took the glass bottle containing the letter paper, along with that [Designated Truth] card, and placed them into the bag first.
This National Day trip with Cheng Mengxue would depend on those two props.
[September 29, 2025. Weather: Overcast.]
[The date of divine punishment has been decided. It will be the morning of October 2, at Jingshan Bamboo Cemetery in Hangzhou.]
[Things are going more smoothly than I imagined. Jiang Ran took the bait immediately.]
[Father told me to choose a place that was remote and had an open field of vision.]
[Jingshan Bamboo Cemetery is simply the perfect place.]
[The cemetery is far from the city, sparsely populated, and with the excuse of visiting a grave in the morning, it is both safe and concealed.]
[I do not need to do it personally. Father has arranged for a sniper to be hidden in a nearby high-rise.]
[As soon as I lead Jiang Ran to a high point without cover, the sniper can fire and bring his sinful life to an end.]
[By coincidence, Cheng Mengxue’s gravestone is located on the highest, most open point of the cemetery. As long as I lead Jiang Ran up the steps, my mission will be complete.]
[I am very excited now. My mood is joyful.]
[The judgment of justice, and the mending of life’s regrets, are arriving at the same time. This is heaven’s greatest grace upon me.]
[Even if I have paid much and sacrificed much, I am willing. It is worth it.]
[Little brother, your sister is coming to bring you home.]
[Countless painful days and nights, all for the sake of waiting for this day when effort finally bears fruit.]
[Let this story end in Hangzhou.]
[Hangzhou.]
[Hangzhou.]
[Hangzhou.]
[This is the place where I was born, where I grew up, where I died.]
[And yet I have—never once gone there.]
Tap.
Cheng Mengxue closed the diary and locked it in the drawer.
Then she capped the pen.
And twisted off the desk lamp.
———
“Hm?”
At that moment, her roommate climbed down from the upper bunk ladder and stared at her in shock.
“X-Xiaoxue, what’s wrong with you?”
“Huh?”
Cheng Mengxue looked puzzled.
“I’m fine. What’s wrong?”
“You—”
Her roommate was dumbfounded, pointing at her face.
“Why are you crying?”
“Hehe, how is that possible? What are you even talking about?”
Cheng Mengxue laughed.
How could she possibly be crying? Why was her roommate saying something so strange?
By habit—
Her right hand touched her cheek.
In that instant—
She froze.
Wet.
Warm.
She pulled her hand away and stared at the glistening moisture on her palm, with no idea where it had come from.
W-What is this?
Where did these tears come from?!
Panicked, she hurriedly stood up and looked toward the mirror stuck to the wall.
There, in the mirror, a girl with tears strung like pearls turned to look at her.
It was a face—
Familiar.
Strange.
Heartbroken.