Observation Chapter 14
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Observation Chapter 14: Ye Li’s disappearance
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly let you do that.” Lin Qian said with a smile. “It wouldn’t be right to have you two beautiful ladies handing out flyers on my behalf. Especially when you already have enough to carry as it is. Thanks for the offer though — I’ll manage somehow.”
“What? Are you saying that beautiful women can’t be helpful too? Sounds like all you think I’m good for is my looks.” Ye Li teased in a half-joking tone.
“Come on, Ye Li, that’s not what I meant at all.”
“Fine, fine… Whatever you say. Besides, it won’t take long to hand them out. It’s not like I’ll be stuck with them forever; They’ll be gone before you know it.” She passed the bag to her friend beside her. “Here, An Lan. Hold onto this for me, alright?”
“Sure.” The girl named An Lan nodded.
Lin Qian casually assessed her. In contrast to Ye Li’s elegant beauty, An Lan was the picture of adorableness — a small, oval face framed by rich, chocolate-brown hair that flowed naturally while gently curling at its ends. Coupled with her petite frame…
…She was the image of a sweet girl, captivatingly cute and innocent.
‘Mhm…’
Lin Qian rubbed his chin.
If Lin Yin had the makings of a second female lead, then An Lan, based on his years of writing dark and twisted stories, was tailor-made for the third.
‘She is sweet and innocent on the surface, until the mask slips, exposing the cruel and sadistic desires hidden within her… and then, she’ll..’
Needless to say, both girls were utterly oblivious to the dark and creative storm brewing in his mind.
On the other side, Ye Li extended her hand toward Lin Qian. “Come on, just hand it over. We’re classmates; There’s no need to stand in ceremony with each other.”
Her wrist, flawless and white as snow, was as captivating as the finest luminous pearl — drawing his eyes and dazzling them with its radiance.
“Fine. Here you go.”
Seeing her determination, he did not argue further. He took out about a dozen or so flyers from the stack and handed them to her in a symbolic gesture of acquiescence.
But before he could even utter a word, Ye Li silenced him with a playful roll of her eyes. “Come on, you’re not even trying to accept my help.”
“Haha. I appreciate the offer, but it wouldn’t be fair to overload you two with a mountain of flyers. Well, I’ll get back to it then. Enjoy the rest of your evening!” Lin Qian smiled faintly, thanking them again before heading to the intersection on the other side of the road.
“…”
Ye Li stood still in place, her gaze following him until his figure disappeared into the distant neon lights.
“Lili, who was that…? A friend of yours?” An Lan asked after glancing at the flyers in her friend’s hand.
“Oh, that’s Lin Qian. We met in foreign language class today.”
“Really? You just met today? I dunno, Lili… I can’t help but feel… there’s something more going on here.” An Lan’s eyes curved up at the corners, revealing a mischievous look on her face. “Don’t tell me… you lik~”
Girls loved to gossip, especially in the company of their close confidantes.
And An Lan was no exception to that rule; Her big, expectant eyes were begging for details.
Under the intensity of her gaze, Ye Li’s cheeks started to feel hot.
“An Lan, don’t get any ideas! I just realized… we have some things in common, that’s all.” She exclaimed, giving An Lan a light knock on her head.
And that was all there was to it.
While Lin Qian had made a decent first impression on her, it just meant they had some common ground for conversation.
Given it was the first time they had met, it was too soon for her to admit to anything more than a sliver of fondness for him.
“We haven’t even known each other for that long, so you can stop reading too much into it, alright?”
“Yeah, you’re right.” An Lan nodded and decided not to press the issue further.
She knew Ye Li well enough to tell when to drop a subject.
She quickly changed the topic, saying: “He seems like a nice person though… The way he speaks is quite refined, unlike other guys… But I don’t know… there’s something about him that feels… a little off.”
Even so, she had to admit she had quite the good first impression of him.
“Ooh~ For An-an to say those words… That’s not something I hear everyday, you know?” This time, it was Ye Li who gave An Lan a knowing look. “Don’t tell me you’ve actually…”
“What, me? No way!” An Lan pouted, “Come on, let’s go. I want to check out the shop from last time.”
“Mhm.”
With that, the pair got to work distributing the flyers. It was clear that being beautiful had its advantages; Ye Li’s stack was gone in less than 30 seconds.
The two of them walked side-by-side towards the intersection.
Suddenly, Ye Li came to a halt and turned her gaze toward a beverage shop.
She bit her lower lip, a serious expression suddenly clouding her expression.
‘Why do I feel like… someone is watching me…?’
“What’s wrong?” An Lan asked, a confused look on her face.
“O-Oh, it’s nothing.”
Ye Li shook her head. “Perhaps… that was just my imagination.”
………
Night, 10 pm.
Lin Qian returned to the bar and punched out, collecting his earnings of 180 dollars for the night.
While the 30 dollars he would get for the last hour of work was tempting, the last bus at 10:30 pm meant he had no choice but to let it go.
A taxi this late would eat up all the extra cash he would make.
He decided to stop by the convenience store next door to buy a bottle of mineral water. Just as he twisted the cap off, someone suddenly bumped into him.
The impact sent half the water sloshing out of the bottle and splashing onto the ground.
“…”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.” A man wearing a strikingly-red baseball cap apologized with his head bowed low.
It was hard to tell if his unclear speech was due to a slight lisp or the cloth covering his mouth.
His peculiar appearance made Lin Qian eye him a little longer. “No worries.”
It was just a bit of water; There was no need for him to make a big fuss about it.
“Heh, thanks, thanks!”
The man bowed repeatedly and moved to the side with great care, his movements overly cautious as if he expected another impact any moment.
A moment later, he entered the store.
Watching him leave, Lin Qian finished off his water and tossed the empty bottle into a nearby trash bin.
‘Next up…’
“Lin-…? Lin Qian?!”
A voice—laced with panic and a touch of surprise—came from behind him.
“An Lan?” Lin Qian turned around. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
He found An Lan clutching several paper bags, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.
From her panicked expression and the tone of her voice, Lin Qian could not shake the feeling that something was seriously amiss.
“I…I…”
“Take your time. There’s no rush, just speak at your own pace when you’re ready.”
“Huff… Huff…” An Lan gasped for breath before blurting out, “Have you seen Ye Li?”
Upon hearing An Lan’s words, Lin Qian put two and two together. “Ye Li? No, I haven’t. Has she gone missing?”
“Y…Yeah… I’m not sure what else I can do, so I… figured I’d try the address on the flyer… and see if you can help?”
“It’s fine. Just start from the beginning and tell me everything, slowly and clearly.”
“We were at the mall… and then… my stomach started aching. By the time I got out of the bathroom, Ye Li was gone!”
“Did you try calling her? How about asking around? Someone might have seen where she went.”
“I can’t get through to her. The people nearby said… they saw her leave by herself…” An Lan’s face fell, tears welling up in her eyes. “But she rarely misses my calls… Lin Qian, what should I do?!”
Being a freshman with little life experience, she was completely out of her depth. The situation unfolding before her eyes left her paralyzed with indecision.
“Let me see… Do you have her family’s contact information?”
“No…”
“Call your counselor. They should be able to get you that. Give them a call, and if…” At this moment, Lin Qian noticed that her face had stiffened while looking past him.
Turning around, he asked: “What’s wrong?”
“T-That man… I…I saw him earlier…”
“Who? Which man?”
“That guy over there, standing to the left of the entrance.”
Hearing that, Lin Qian followed her gaze, his eyes landing on the figure. It was the same man he had bumped into earlier.