Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 828: Paper Crane

In Caroline's memory, all her recollections about school, and anything related to it, were stuck in her middle school years.

What is university? She had previously hosted quite a few wealthy university students and heard many stories from those who came out to have fun. But what exactly is university? Arnold mentioned that his classmate’s dormitory was in the male dormitory area, which surprised Caroline: Arnold had a key to this dormitory. Arnold explained, “The accommodation fees here are too high; it’s much more expensive than the place I rent. So I applied for off-campus housing. However, the person who originally lived here is a good friend of mine; he secretly gave me a key so that I could rest here when I couldn’t make it home... Come in.” The double room was clean; the left side of the room looked quite messy, and Caroline even spotted a woman’s underwear. In contrast, the right side was very tidy; even the quilt was neatly folded into a square with sharp corners. “Sometimes he brings his girlfriend over…” Arnold chuckled awkwardly at Caroline’s discovery of the woman’s underwear. Caroline nodded in understanding and then asked, “But… what if your classmate comes back?” Arnold replied, “He’s currently interning at an outside company and hardly ever comes back. Don’t worry… By the way, you sit here for a bit; I’ll go buy some food.” Caroline hesitated, a hint of anxiety crossing her face. However, when Arnold opened the door, he wore a reassuring smile: “It’s fine; this place is very safe.” Caroline nodded. But after Arnold left, she quickly locked the door from the inside. She hurried to the window and looked down at the situation outside. Soon, she saw Arnold walking out from the dormitory and heading toward a nearby convenience store. Arnold seemed cautious as he frequently glanced around, gradually disappearing under the shade of the trees along the campus path. Caroline sighed with relief, feeling sticky all over; it had been two days since she last bathed. She walked into the bathroom equipped in the dormitory. The weather was hot, and she washed with cold water. As the cool water sprayed over her body, Caroline took a deep breath; the sudden drop in temperature stimulated her pores. She closed her eyes. In the darkness, the scene from the crossroad that morning suddenly flashed before her eyes… the mother pushing a baby carriage. Caroline jolted awake, rushing to the mirror and leaning in closely to examine her eyes. The whites of her eyes were still bloodshot… but it didn’t seem to affect her vision. She stared blankly at her reflection, hoping something would happen… or rather, hoping to ‘see’ something. She had a sense that the things she saw that morning, as well as the gas explosion that consumed her in the restaurant restroom the night before, were neither illusions nor coincidences—something must have happened to her. It made her recall an earlier dream she had—being chased by something dangerous, fleeing but unable to escape, eventually falling into endless darkness. Caroline instinctively touched her lower abdomen. “Has it… already been taken away?” If she was ‘seeing’ the future, this ability seemed beyond her control. Caroline stood in front of the mirror for a long time, but ultimately saw nothing and couldn’t think of any explanations. She even wondered if this ability to ‘see’ the future was only granted to her a few times. Is it always accurate every time? --- Arnold took more than half an hour to return from outside, carrying a lot of food and drinks. Caroline unlocked the door and let Arnold in. Once inside, Arnold stared blankly at Caroline for a moment. Caroline, freshly washed, was simply wearing a white shirt with her damp hair draped down, the shirt hanging just to the front of her thighs. Arnold seemed to swallow hard. Caroline was quite generous, saying, “My clothes got dirty; you don’t mind me wearing this shirt, right? I found it on your bed.” “It’s fine, it’s fine; wear it…” Arnold hurried past Caroline, heading to the desk by the window, busying himself with the items he had brought. “It’s mine; I left a few pieces here as spares. Uh… do you want something to eat? I bought some bread, oh, chips, and chocolate beans.” Caroline walked over to Arnold's side, not minding her arm brushing against his, and directly grabbed a bottle of beer from the bag. *Pop!* The sound of the pull-tab echoed. Caroline casually sat on the bed, cross-legged. Arnold stole a glance and noticed she was still wearing underwear—seemingly aware of Arnold’s gaze, Caroline turned to him with a half-smiling expression. Arnold quickly looked out the window and sat down, opening a bottle of beer to drink. Bookworm… Caroline shook her head. After a long period of silence, Arnold stared blankly out the window until it was completely dark. He turned on the desk lamp, then turned back to say something, only to find Caroline had already fallen asleep. She lay on her side, her long legs overlapping, resting her head on her arm, apparently fast asleep. Arnold swallowed hard, then stood up, slowly approaching the bed. He quietly reached out his hand toward Caroline's face. Just as his fingers were about to touch Caroline’s cheek, they stopped. Arnold began to move his arm, gliding his fingers along Caroline’s body curve, without actually touching her, just hovering a couple of centimeters away. Suddenly, Caroline stirred and turned over. Arnold quickly withdrew his hand, relieved to see she merely changed sleeping positions. He let out a long sigh and pulled the blanket over Caroline. Only then did Arnold sit at the desk—he glanced back at Caroline again, seeing she was still motionless, then quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. He unlocked the drawer of the desk and reached inside his clothes to take out something, placing it directly into the drawer. He quickly locked the drawer again and put the key away—he glanced at Caroline, who still hadn’t moved. Arnold then leaned over the desk and soon fell asleep. In the depths of sleep, Caroline suddenly showed a hint of pain on her face; her fingers gripped the bedsheet tightly, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, though she didn’t notice. It was still the same dream. Under the light, the tattooed man, Boss Boston, and others… they were crazily stuffing something into their mouths. She struggled frantically, fighting… struggling… It was so painful. In the end, Caroline stopped struggling entirely; her body went limp, and she fell silent, as if she had already died… --- The sound of engines roaring. From one end of the long road to the other, like a long camera shot, it crossed in an instant. The red Venom GT dominated the road in mere moments, causing the cars on the road to shrink back in fear. “Damn it… that’s a red Venom GT!” “Who is that?” “The little princess of the Song Dynasty Group…” The red Venom GT had already vanished from sight on the long road, but now several luxury private cars entered the scene. However, compared to that stunning Venom GT, these luxury cars seemed significantly diminished. “Uncle Wu, sorry, we lost Miss Ying…” “Understood, you guys come back first. Let the second and third teams wait ahead, stay hidden, and don’t let Miss Ying find out. If anything happens, report to me immediately.” “Got it!” --- The car slowly stopped on a winding mountain road; this city was surrounded by lakes on three sides, offering a view of the endless sea. “Finally got rid of those annoying flies…” Song Ying opened the car door and stepped out first. “Come out; this is the best view, much better than those tourist spots.” “It really is nice.” Luo Qiu also got out of the car and walked to the railing of the road to look ahead. The night view and the sea view provided a panoramic look at the entire city. Song Ying took two bottles of sparkling water from the car’s mini fridge and said, “You’re quite brave, driving so fast without a hint of panic.” Luo Qiu accepted the sparkling water she handed him, smiling slightly as he replied, “I’ve had plenty of experience riding fast, so I’m used to it. Besides, you’re a female driver, so it doesn’t feel too abrupt, but it was indeed pretty fast.” As Song Ying sipped her sparkling water, she looked at Luo Qiu and asked, “A female driver? A girlfriend?” “Family,” Luo Qiu replied, gazing at the horizon. The sea breeze was gentle. Song Ying flicked her hair back, shrugged, and suddenly said, “Can you drive?” Luo Qiu thought for a moment and replied, “I've only driven a women's Mini, which belongs to my family, but I don’t have a driver’s license.” “Want to give it a try?” Song Ying pointed to her Venom GT and said, “Driving this, no traffic police will bother you, and you won’t need a license.” “Sounds like a pretty good relationship,” Luo Qiu blinked. “You could say that,” Song Ying smiled. “But I prefer to call it a privilege… the Song family privilege.” Luo Qiu wasn’t resistant to new experiences, and driving an expensive sports car was certainly an appealing opportunity. He readily agreed. They switched seats, and Luo Qiu looked at the steering wheel and the array of instruments, suddenly feeling a bit at a loss. Song Ying directly started the engine and casually said, “Basic operations are pretty much the same, but I modified this car a bit. Don’t press the accelerator too hard when you start; take your time to get used to it. Here, put your hands here…” Song Ying even took Luo Qiu’s hand and placed it on the steering wheel. “Don’t drive a supercar with one hand.” The Venom slowly navigated along the winding mountain road, remaining quite stable. Song Ying nodded and said, “You’re adapting pretty quickly; you can try to speed up a bit. Keep an eye on the road ahead; there are many turns on this mountain road…” She was quite a qualified ‘coach.’ “What’s our next destination?” Luo Qiu asked Song Ying, looking ahead. “Are we going to the mountain top?” Ahead was a fork in the road, one leading up and the other down. “I’m not interested in going to the mountain top to watch the sunrise with you,” Song Ying replied. “Let’s head down; I’ll tell you how to go once we’re down… The speed is still too slow; go faster.” “It’s already fine,” Luo Qiu shook his head. “There’s a speed limit here.” “I told you, don’t worry about those rules,” Song Ying frowned. “Rules are made by people and are meant to be broken.” Luo Qiu shook his head. “Then it would be chaotic.” Song Ying scoffed and shook her head. She simply opened the car window, letting the night breeze in. Although they hadn’t fully pushed the car's performance, it seemed to consistently maintain a speed close to the limit, and the engine’s roar echoed through the mountains. Song Ying gradually noticed that, even without speeding, this guy drove surprisingly smoothly… He seemed to maintain a steady speed. How was he managing that? “Your deiving is quite stable,” Song Ying frowned. Luo Qiu softly replied, “I’m used to it… Someone in my family works a lot and gets really tired, and sometimes falls asleep in the car. If the ride is too bumpy, it will wake her up.” “Is that so…” Song Ying pondered, then suddenly said, “Turn left ahead, then get on Third Avenue. You’re coming with me to a place. I heard you understand the local language and script? If so, just keep driving straight on Third Avenue and stop at the Dynasty Hotel. I’ll take a nap first.” “Okay.” Song Ying closed her eyes, and apart from the sound of the engine, she felt remarkably calm... before she knew it, she was genuinely feeling sleepy. ... Eventually, Song Ying tilted her head slightly, causing her body to lean forward. But the safety belt tightened against her, waking her up. When she opened her eyes, she found that they were still in the car. She glanced around and noticed that they had stopped. About forty to fifty meters ahead was the entrance to the Dynasty Hotel. The sports car was parked in a spot by the roadside. She looked at Luo Qiu, who was focused on folding something with a banknote... it seemed like a paper crane. “How long have we been here?” Song Ying frowned. “For a while,” Luo Qiu replied softly, continuing to fold the banknote into a paper crane. “I figured you must be pretty tired, so I didn’t wake you.” Song Ying instinctively checked her phone... it was past midnight—12:39 AM. She remembered that when they started down the mountain, it was just past 10 o'clock. The journey from the mountain road to the hotel should have taken less than half an hour. This guy... “Boring,” Song Ying shot a glance at Luo Qiu. “What a waste of time!” Luo Qiu smiled and said, “But you should feel refreshed now; it’s not all bad.” He placed the finished paper crane on the steering wheel. “Get out!” Song Ying suddenly opened the car door, feeling inexplicably annoyed. ... At almost the same time, a black private car pulled up to the entrance of Chinatown. Most shops had already closed, and the restaurants were in their final stages of winding down, with only a few bars still open. Lluvia, dressed in a black leather jacket, got out of the car and nodded at O'Neil. The two then stealthily made their way toward the office building of the Chinatown United Chamber of Commerce.