I lowered my head and pushed Sid away, and flew out of the suffocating window of the convenience store, gritting my teeth and squeezing into the crowd, eager to plunge myself into the most inconspicuous corner of the crowd, and the sound of Andrew's banter lingered in my ears. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

……

[Oh.] 】

[Looks like I've put a little less stuff in your bag.] 】

……

Let go of your uncle!

Squeezing through the crowd, I stopped with a black face, my chest heaving slightly from running.

Looking around, there was noise in my ears, voices were far or near, a mother and daughter passed in front of me laughing, the little girl was holding a pink marshmallow and blossoming, I looked at her back in a blue dress and fell silent for a while. The crowd was surging, and the back of passing by hurriedly blended into the bustling noise behind him in the next second, as if he had never met me, just like a silhouette of this huge virtual time and space, flashing by, fast-forwarding to the end, unable to capture the life that may be full of meaning for them.

Crowd......

I silently watched a couple holding hands and brushing my shoulders, a housewife with a brown cloth bag with her head down and a mobile phone hurrying, a few young men whistling across the stone steps of the square a few steps away, their whistles were soft and melodious, as if passing through this layer after layer of people, the river flowed into the infinite depth, hiding the darkness of the truth, like a black hole, engulfing it all.

Which one is real, exactly?

I looked at the unfamiliar faces, the corners of the eyes, the tips of the eyebrows, the wrinkles, the bridge of the nose, the joy and sorrow, the smile and the scolding...... Faces and independent personalities flashed in front of my eyes, and the next second they merged into the noise that was within reach.

[The physical body cannot travel through time and space. 】

[But thinking can.] 】

A thick cloud obscured the warm light, and the light that faintly penetrated the clouds sprinkled on the ground, making it look a little weak and pale.

Does all this really exist......

A middle-aged man with a briefcase brushed my shoulder, and after a few steps of his movements, I steadied myself and drifted with the flow, and for some reason, a fog of confusion as pale as the sun crept up to my heart. The truth that is about to come out is hidden behind that mist.

Suddenly, some familiar faces looked at me expressionlessly through the mist, I seemed to know them, I should know them, and a sad sense of familiarity came to my heart, and for a moment the memories were pulled, and I gritted my teeth and shook my head.

If the dead could speak.

Will they accuse?

"Jingle ......"

Suddenly, the faint sound of bells came from the dazed mist.

The chaotic mind seemed to be frozen in an instant.

I was stunned.

The crowd was noisy, and a high school student on the phone bumped into my right shoulder, and the crowd pushed and shoved, and I leaned to the side, my ankle touching the cold stone steps of the square.

"Jingle ......"

The sound of the bell rang again.

This time, it's more real.

It's like a thread through the darkness, pulling, blurry, but inextricably linked.

I subconsciously raised my head, looking for the direction from which the bell came.

The sea of people was heavy, and countless figures overlapped, staggered, and flashed.

Unfamiliar faces, unfamiliar conversations, just a few words, men, women and children, passing by......

"Jingle ......"

You've heard it. 】

[The voice.] 】

"Jingle ......"

I......

A trace of anxiety fermented inexplicably in the bottom of my heart, and I clenched my fists sideways and squeezed past a few office workers in white stand-up collar shirts, holding my breath to catch a clearer sound of bells.

"Jingle ......"

I didn't have time to think about it, the bell was like a lead, leading me to the more confused white fog ahead.

I quickened my pace, lowered my body and squeezed away the two muscular men in tank tops, the crowd pushed and shoved, my center of gravity was unsteady and I almost tripped over the muscular men's shoes, they pouted and cursed, and by the time I looked back and wanted to apologize, they had disappeared into the crowd behind me.

"The show is about to begin!"

"Let me hear your cheers—"

The sound of cheers and complaints was mixed, and the lights of the stage loomed not far away, and the white and yellow lights intertwined to illuminate the background board, which was slightly dim due to the lack of light, and the crowd was even more noisy. The concentration of carbon dioxide made it a little difficult to breathe, and I struggled to squeeze past a group of schoolchildren who were playing around with school bags, stopped, pulled my neckline, and felt a little hot in my body.

Raising my foot up the stone steps, slightly increasing my vision, I frowned and swept my eyes over the unfamiliar faces in all directions.

I knew she was right here.

[Find her!] 】

"Jingle ......"

Hurriedly looking at the ground, I couldn't help but breathe for a moment when I fixed a small white figure under a magnolia tree on the west side of the square.

She stood beside the thick trunk of the tree, looking at me calmly, her warm brown hair scattered over her tiny shoulders, the hem of her white dress was a little wrinkled, the pale light made her face look a little malnourished, the shadow of the magnolia tree hung over her shoulders, the wind brushed the tips of her hair, brushed the corners of her skirt, and the bell tied to her ankle with red thread rang softly.

Really......

I looked at the little girl a few meters away in silence, a chaotic thought, inexplicable sadness like the music of an ancient music box, quietly turning in the atrium of the heart trapped in the dark, I subconsciously took a step forward.

As if sensing my movements, the little girl stepped back, turned slightly, and looked at me and gently raised the corners of her mouth.

My heart tightened.

The next moment, the little girl turned around and squeezed into the bustling crowd.

Wait a minute!

I stepped down the stone steps, gritting my teeth and squeezing in the direction she had disappeared.

"Please let ......"

I struggled to squeeze through the walls.

The corners of the girl's white skirt loomed into the bustling crowd, and I stumbled over a few rough stone steps jutting out of the ground with a frown.

"Jingle ......"

The crisp sound of the bell seemed to distance me a little, I was in a hurry, scolded and pushed a middle-aged man to stumble, squeezed a bunch of laughing high school students to the left, I turned around to avoid the marshmallow held by a girl, but my right shoulder suddenly hit a solid chest, pushed back by the recoil force, I couldn't react, stumbled to the stone steps at my feet, and fell backwards.

Damn it!

I gritted my teeth, but the next moment I felt a force grip on my wrist, and the other party pushed a little harder, pulling my backward body.

"Are you alright?" A magnetic male voice rang softly in my ears.

There was a lot of noise around me, and I subconsciously raised my head and met a pair of dark green eyes.

Breathing is stagnant.

Standing in front of me was a tall blonde man, I raised my head slightly, and my eyes met the eyes that seemed to be dark green gems slightly covered with dust, deep, but faintly insightful chill. The man was in his early thirties, wearing a clean white shirt and neatly combed light blonde hair, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, his eyes were close to me, and the next moment, he calmly released his left hand that was holding my wrist.

"Miss, are you alright?" He repeated patiently, his voice low with reason.

A few passengers hurried by with their heads bowed and brushed his shoulders and pushed him towards me a little, the faint smell of cigars coming from his shirt, I had never seen him before, but the smell inexplicably made me feel a sense of familiarity, evoking some inexplicable gray tones, similar to sadness, similar to redemption, or, similar to despair.

I stared at him in a daze, my head blank, and I didn't say anything for a while.

"Miss?" The blonde man frowned suspiciously, his finger-boned hand dangling in front of my eyes.

[He ......]

Strange sensations spread in my heart, like paint dripping into a glass of water, gradually, spreading, encroaching.

No......

I've seen him.

The slightest thought surfaced subconsciously, and it inexorably occupied all thoughts, a blank brain, and some strange silhouettes interspersed from the depths of memory in an instant, pulling nerves, pain, compression, and a chill rushed up the spine.

Hospitals, Operating Tables, Wards, Treatment ......

Fragments of tattered and faded colors flashed through my mind.

The feeling of being bitten by ants spreads from the fingertips to the whole body, and the blurred images in my mind alternate, and my vision is somewhat blurred.

My memory......

In my ears, the noise became louder and louder, covering the surging crowd around me, I gritted my teeth and subconsciously curled up my shoulders, my hands tightly grabbed my hair, and squatted down in pain, but the pain from the depths of my buzzing head became more and more intense, as if there was a maggot-covered hand in my head that was bloody, pulling my scalp and tearing all my hair off!

Demon......

The demon in my body.

I hear you.

He was laughing.

He was laughing at my ignorance, laughing at me that I would be destroyed by him step by step in the end!

Damn it!

There was a dull ache in my head, a fine ache gnawing at my back, my ears filled with the buzzing sound of mosquitoes, and in the overlapping fragments of light and shadow, indifferent mockery, hypocritical concern, sneering, a child's hearty smile...... Intertwined, like a piece of shattered glass, the edge of the crack oozed blood, and the faces that could be reached were as far away as the next moment, flashing from front of them as quickly but vaguely as a rewind.

I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, but in the darkness in front of me, there was a faint pale face, staring at me, black and hollow, lifeless.

[Are you afraid?] 】

【You are being destroyed......】

Who are you......

You shouldn't accept him. 】

He?

[I warned him that this is our own business. 】

Vera. 】

He wants to destroy you. 】

Who is he......

[Don't you remember? 】

[The one you hate the most. 】

[Those who try to divide you and abandon you in the dark.] 】

Who......

Who is he?!

【Lawrence】

"Vera ......"

Lawrence.

Who is Lawrence......

I curled up and covered my head.

A low sneer came from the depths of my head, and a chill ran through my body.

"Vera ......"

Who am I......

Who the hell am I......

My hatred......

I......

"Vera!!"

A pair of hands pressed my shoulders and shook me violently.

I opened my eyes and raised my eyes blankly, the familiar face in front of me was a little distorted and blurred, and I realized that I was already covered in cold sweat before I knew it.

"Sid ......" I opened my mouth, and the hoarse voice sounded like wind pouring into my throat.

The familiar blonde boy squatted in front of me, his hands pressed on my shoulders, his dark blue eyes locked tightly on the blankness in my eyes, he tightened the corners of his mouth, his brows were furrowed, he was completely unhurried, his eyes were clear, I could see my own embarrassed reflection in them, his breath blew the hair on my forehead, and the faint smell of mint around me enveloped me.

What about the man?!

Suddenly, the tall blonde man from before sounded, and I hurriedly stood up in a trance, and Sid was caught off guard and was led backwards by me.

Looking around, there was a crowd of people, noisy, and hurried pedestrians talking about their respective topics.

My gaze swept over the unfamiliar faces, but I didn't see the middle-aged man with blond hair again.

"Vera ......" Sid stood up after him, his hands on my arm, his brow furrowed and his eyes deep into my eyes, "what's going on?" When I found you, I saw you crouching here alone...... Who bullied you? You tell me, I ......"

"Where is he?" I interrupted him eagerly.

"Who?" Sid was confused.

"A blond-haired, middle-aged, middle-aged man, white shirt, dark green eyes...... "I had no clue, and I was blushing through the details and distortions about the man, tugging at Sid's denim jacket and looking at him nervously, "Did you see him?" ”

Sid pursed his lower lip, thought for a few seconds, and shook his head.

"Who is he?"

I was silent for a moment.

“…… I don't know. Frustrated, I let go of my grip on Sid's coat.

"Then why are you in such a hurry to find him?"

I lowered my head, silently brushed the hair from my cheeks behind my ears, and shook my head tiredly.

"I just felt like he was the key piece of all the puzzles, and I thought I must have seen him, but I couldn't tell where I had seen him...... What the hell is going on here......" I muttered as if I was sure of my other self in my body, but there was no more sound from him.