Chapter 19: Malicious Stalking
Whether it was an illusion or not, the day passed quickly. Everything was still as usual, with no abnormalities. In a blink of an eye, it was time to leave school. Lu Zhiyin stood up and left the school as usual, heading towards the restaurant where she usually worked. The school at closing time was as noisy and chaotic as ever. Lu Zhiyin walked slowly through the crowd. On the side of the street, on the rooftop of the tallest apartment building nearby, Leng Qing Qiu stood at the edge of the rooftop. She looked down at the street below, her gaze fixed on the white figure, not looking away. In the past week, she had found a way to investigate the background of someone named “Lu Shiyu.” According to the school’s archives, she went to the address in another city and did not see the girl’s home. All she saw was a patch of abandoned fields on the outskirts of the city, and the ruins of a few adobe houses. Leng Qing Qiu didn’t know how Lu Zhiyin’s archives managed to deceive the school’s vermin and enter the school. However, what she was sure of was that the person in front of her was not what Lu Zhiyin described. In fact, was Lu Shiyu even her real name? The answer to this question was still unknown. After visiting the place described in the archives, Leng Qing Qiu could confidently believe that everything the person in front of her said was a lie. Leng Qing Qiu closed her eyes. She took out her phone and caressed the screen. Perhaps this person was not Lu Zhiyin at all, and only had Lu Zhiyin’s face. Perhaps Lu Zhiyin was truly dead. It didn’t matter. She looked the same as Lu Zhiyin, and that was enough. Leng Qing Qiu wanted to control her, she had to control her. Leng Qing Qiu remembered that she had gone to a bar with Lu Zhiyin once. Lu Zhiyin was drugged, and it was during that incident that Leng Qing Qiu obtained indecent videos of Lu Zhiyin. Those videos were still on her phone. She could use those videos to threaten “Lu Shiyu.” Leng Qing Qiu thought that no matter how much Lu Shiyu denied it, she and Lu Zhiyin looked the same after all. If she uploaded the videos to the campus network, the students in the school would only think that the person in the videos was Lu Shiyu, not someone who had passed away. She would not actually upload the indecent videos of her beloved to the internet, but she could certainly use these videos to threaten Lu Shiyu. No one would not care about their own reputation, would they? … On the street, Lu Zhiyin inexplicably felt a chill. She turned her head and saw a bustling crowd, with nothing out of the ordinary. The warm sunlight at dusk cast an orange-red hue on the earth, bringing a sense of warmth. The sunlight did not reassure Lu Zhiyin. She looked up and saw, in the distance, the brown-haired girl standing on the rooftop of the apartment building. “Leng Qing Qiu… she’s watching me…” A chill ran down her spine. Lu Zhiyin didn’t know what Leng Qing Qiu was plotting, but she could predict that it was nothing good. “… Hmm? Did you notice?” Their eyes met. Leng Qing Qiu smiled. The eerie smile made Lu Zhiyin run back to the restaurant quickly. After Lu Zhiyin disappeared from her sight, Leng Qing Qiu came down from the rooftop. She went to the restaurant, sat down at a dining table in the lobby, ordered several expensive dishes, and then set her gaze on the entrance to the kitchen. As Leng Qing Qiu watched the open kitchen door, Lu Zhiyin had already started her work for the night. Putting on an apron, she began to wash the mountains of greasy bowls and plates. Leng Qing Qiu’s smile made her absentminded. Was she afraid of Leng Qing Qiu? Hatred and fear, which one was stronger? Lu Zhiyin couldn’t quite tell. She tried to immerse herself in her work as much as possible, telling herself that Leng Qing Qiu wouldn’t do anything, that she wouldn’t dare to do anything, at most she would just play ghost to scare herself. Repeating such words in her heart, Lu Zhiyin worked until very late. After washing all the dishes, she stayed in the shop for a long time, still feeling uneasy. When she confirmed that it was safe and prepared to leave, it was almost eleven o’clock. “It’s so late, nothing should happen now.” Mutting to herself, Lu Zhiyin took off her apron and tidied the wrinkles on her school uniform. Her fingers were slightly wrinkled from long exposure to water. Lu Zhiyin thought that if this continued, her hands would probably not be as smooth as before. But it didn’t matter, it was a small matter that no one cared about. Shaking her head, Lu Zhiyin walked out of the kitchen. She relaxed her mind and walked towards the restaurant’s entrance, ignoring the people still in the lobby. At this hour, the people remaining were probably just staff. With this thought, as she passed a dining table, Lu Zhiyin’s clothes were grabbed. Feeling slightly surprised, she turned around and saw Leng Qing Qiu smiling at her. Silence, a deadly silence. Lu Zhiyin first felt a chill all over her body, and then fear surged into her heart. Her pupils contracted. She forcefully pulled her clothes corner and fled the restaurant, running towards the school. She thought that as long as she returned to school, as long as she returned to the side of that damned deity, everything would be fine. “…” Leng Qing Qiu remained in place. She sniffed her fingertips. The smell of detergent masked the scent of agarwood that should have been there. Somewhat disappointed, she stood up and left the restaurant leisurely, following the distant figure. “Hoo… hoo… Damn it, damn crazy woman… Why is she so persistent, chasing after me…” Running with all her might, Lu Zhiyin had never run so desperately before, gasping for breath. The cold air filled her lungs, her lungs ached like fire, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. Lu Zhiyin dared not stop, she just ran with all her strength. Unfortunately, her body’s physical fitness was very poor. She did not manage to return to the school dormitory, nor even to enter the school gate. At the entrance of a convenience store not far from the school gate, she was caught up by Leng Qing Qiu. A pushing force came from her back, and Lu Zhiyin fell forward. Her knees and hands scraped against the ground. Her school pants were torn, and the palms of her hands were abraded by the rough ground. Dust and small stones entered her wounds. Her body and lungs felt equally uncomfortable, and Lu Zhiyin closed her eyes repeatedly. Behind her, Leng Qing Qiu pressed down on her back, her hand clutching the back of her neck. Slowly getting up, Leng Qing Qiu quietly looked at the white-haired girl on the ground. “Uh… uh ah…” A long-lost pain surged, and Lu Zhiyin groaned a couple of times. She struggled to get up, ignoring the person behind her, and wanted to continue running towards the school, but Leng Qing Qiu grabbed her wrist and pulled her into her arms. “Lu Shiyu… right? That’s the name, isn’t it? I still remember it.” Leng Qing Qiu hugged Lu Zhiyin, leaning her head on the girl’s shoulder. She took a deep breath, sensing the faint fragrance on the girl, almost completely masked by the detergent, like a pervert. “Hoo… What do you want…” Hatred and fear surged at the same time. After finally being caught, Lu Zhiyin actually calmed down. Her lungs still ached slightly, and her voice was very soft. “…” Leng Qing Qiu did not answer. She cupped Lu Zhiyin’s shoulders with both hands, turned her around, and looked at the girl face to face. In the deep of the night, Leng Qing Qiu could not see the details of Lu Zhiyin’s face, but just the silhouette was enough to make her fall. “Like… she’s so much like her…” Leng Qing Qiu said, her voice filled with obsession, as she caressed Lu Zhiyin’s face with one hand. An unknown fire ignited. Hatred overcame fear. Lu Zhiyin stomped hard on Leng Qing Qiu’s toes, pushed her knee towards Leng Qing Qiu’s crotch, and at the same time swung her right hand to slap Leng Qing Qiu hard, just like last time. This time, she did not succeed. Her knee was pushed down by one hand, and her wrist was easily gripped by the other. As for stepping on her foot… Leng Qing Qiu wore thick short boots, so it didn’t even hurt. “Ugh… Let go of me, you pervert, you lunatic… I *******, **” Lu Zhiyin struggled desperately, even cursing. This was something that had almost never happened before. Leng Qing Qiu’s expression calmed down slightly. Her struggle and the way she cursed her parents were not like her childhood friend. But it didn’t matter. She could reverse all of this and make the person in front of her as docile as her childhood friend in her memory, couldn’t she? Quietly looking at Lu Zhiyin’s face, Leng Qing Qiu let Lu Zhiyin struggle. She planned to speak to the girl after she was exhausted.
