Chapter 4

Bai Chuxue couldn't stop thinking about the phone call.

"Don't remember."

The distorted voice echoed in her mind long after she and Fu Jingshen left the library.

Who would tell someone not to remember?

More importantly...

What was she not supposed to remember?

That evening, the Fu family's chauffeur drove them home.

Since the Bai and Fu mansions were located in the same private neighborhood, the two families often shared the ride.

Neither of them spoke much.

The silence wasn't awkward.

It was thoughtful.

Finally, Fu Jingshen broke it.

"Can you remember the number that called you?"

Bai Chuxue unlocked her phone and checked the call log.

She frowned.

"...It's gone."

"What?"

"The call isn't here."

Fu Jingshen took the phone from her.

He searched through the recent calls.

Nothing.

No unknown number.

No blocked caller.

As if the call had never existed.

He returned the phone to her.

"I believe you."

"You... do?"

He nodded.

"You wouldn't lie about something like this."

For reasons she couldn't explain, those simple words eased the anxiety in her chest.

It felt nice...

To have someone believe her.

The next morning...

The rain poured over Qingshan High School.

Students hurried through the front gate with umbrellas.

Bai Chuxue stepped out of the family car, only to realize she had forgotten hers.

Before she could run through the rain—

A black umbrella appeared above her head.

"You'll catch a cold."

She looked up.

Fu Jingshen.

"You brought an umbrella?"

"I brought two."

"You knew I'd forget?"

"You always do."

She laughed softly.

"I really was that forgetful?"

"You still are."

For a moment, they simply stood there, listening to the rain.

Then they walked toward the school together.

Hidden beneath one umbrella.

Dozens of students turned to look.

"Look!"

"They're sharing an umbrella!"

"They're so cute together!"

Bai Chuxue lowered her head, embarrassed.

Fu Jingshen didn't seem bothered in the slightest.

By lunchtime, the rain had become heavier.

The teachers announced that all afternoon sports activities were canceled.

Most students stayed inside their classrooms.

Li Yiran sat across from Bai Chuxue in the cafeteria.

"You two looked like a romance drama this morning."

Bai Chuxue nearly choked on her juice.

"It wasn't like that."

Li Yiran smirked.

"Oh?"

"Then why did Young Master Fu wait twenty minutes outside the school gate before you arrived?"

Bai Chuxue froze.

"...Twenty minutes?"

Li Yiran nodded.

"I saw him."

"He was standing there with two umbrellas."

"He said he'd wait."

Bai Chuxue unconsciously turned toward the cafeteria entrance.

Fu Jingshen was talking to several members of the student council.

He looked as calm as ever.

He had never mentioned waiting.

Not once.

Her heart warmed.

After school...

The rain finally stopped.

Bai Chuxue packed her books slowly.

As she reached for her literature notebook, a folded piece of paper slipped from between the pages.

She frowned.

"I don't remember putting this here."

She unfolded it.

The handwriting was messy.

Stop looking for your memories.

The truth will only hurt you.

Her fingers trembled.

The note continued.

Trust no one.

Not even Fu Jingshen.

A cold shiver ran down her spine.

"Chuxue?"

She quickly looked up.

Fu Jingshen stood beside her desk.

He noticed the paper in her hands.

"What is it?"

Without hesitation, she handed it to him.

His expression darkened as he read the message.

"This wasn't here this morning."

"No."

"Who gave it to you?"

"I don't know."

He carefully folded the note and slipped it into his pocket.

"I'm keeping this."

"Why?"

"In case we need it later."

His calm voice couldn't hide the concern in his eyes.

"We're going to the principal."

Principal Zhang listened carefully as they explained everything.

The mysterious phone call.

The threatening note.

The missing memories.

When they finished, the principal leaned back in his chair.

"This is serious."

He pressed a button on his desk.

"I'll have the security office check today's surveillance cameras."

Twenty minutes later...

A security guard entered the office carrying a laptop.

"We found something."

The three of them watched the footage together.

The classroom appeared on the screen.

Students leaving.

Teachers walking by.

Then...

At exactly 3:27 p.m.

A student wearing the Qingshan High School uniform entered Class 2.

The student wore a black baseball cap pulled low over their face.

They quietly slipped something into Bai Chuxue's notebook.

Seconds later...

They walked away.

"Can you zoom in?" Fu Jingshen asked.

The guard enlarged the image.

Everyone held their breath.

Just before leaving the classroom...

The student looked directly at the camera.

But instead of a face...

Only a white mask stared back.

The principal frowned.

"I've never seen this student before."

"They could be wearing someone else's uniform."

Fu Jingshen memorized every detail.

Height.

Build.

The backpack.

The shoes.

Nothing seemed familiar.

But one thing stood out.

The student wore a silver bracelet engraved with a tiny snowflake.

A strange feeling washed over Bai Chuxue.

"I've seen that before."

Both men looked at her.

"You remember?"

She closed her eyes.

The image was blurry.

Rain.

Someone running.

A silver bracelet catching the light.

Then...

A scream.

She gasped and opened her eyes.

"My head..."

Fu Jingshen immediately steadied her before she could fall.

"Enough."

He turned to the principal.

"She's had enough for today."

The principal nodded sympathetically.

"You two may go home."

Outside the office...

The campus was almost empty.

The sky had already darkened.

Bai Chuxue sat quietly on a bench beneath a maple tree.

Fu Jingshen handed her a bottle of water.

"Drink."

She accepted it.

"Thank you."

Several minutes passed.

Then she suddenly spoke.

"Jingshen."

"Hm?"

"If..."

She hesitated.

"...if I remembered something terrible..."

"Would you still want me to remember?"

He didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he looked at the crimson leaves drifting to the ground.

"When we were children..."

"You used to tell me something."

"What was it?"

He smiled faintly.

"'The truth is scary.'"

She blinked.

"'But lies are lonelier.'"

Her chest tightened.

Those words...

She had really said them?

He looked at her with gentle eyes.

"So yes."

"I want you to remember."

"Even if it hurts."

"Because living inside a lie..."

"...would hurt you even more."

For the first time since losing her memories...

Bai Chuxue smiled without forcing it.

"Thank you."

He returned the smile.

"You're welcome."

Across the street...

Inside a black sedan.

A woman wearing sunglasses lowered her binoculars.

"They're getting closer."

The driver glanced into the rearview mirror.

"What should we do?"

The woman looked at the photograph in her hand.

It showed two little girls.

One was Bai Chuxue.

The other girl's face had been torn away.

The woman's lips curved into a cold smile.

"If Bai Chuxue remembers..."

"She'll remember who was really supposed to die that day."

She slowly folded the photograph.

"And that..."

"...cannot happen."

The car silently drove away, disappearing into the evening traffic.

Unaware of the danger growing around them, Bai Chuxue and Fu Jingshen walked home together beneath the fading autumn sky.

Neither of them realized that the mystery wasn't just about forgotten memories anymore.

It was about a secret someone had protected for eleven years...

A secret worth threatening a seventeen-year-old girl to keep buried.

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