Chapter 256: Chapter 256

Shi Nian spoke frankly about her genuine feelings. Such words, even when facing Xiang Yuan before, she had never spoken so sincerely. In truth, regarding that nightmare, even today she still feels uneasy, wanting not to bring it up again; moreover, the people in that dream seem so unreal.

But today, facing him, she still said it all.

Perhaps it was because—she truly liked him. Even with a faint intuition, she treated him as a substitute for that person in the dream. Because he shares the same sense of integrity, kindness, a bit of prideful arrogance, and—naughtiness with the person in the dream.

It seemed like all her feelings towards that person could find corresponding connections with him. That’s why she couldn’t help but like him, couldn’t resist his obsessive closeness since the beginning.

But she was really worried that she was only treating him as the shadow of the person in the dream, so continuing on would be unfair to him.

It wasn’t easy for her to say these words, and after speaking, she didn’t feel good either, so she lowered her head deeply, not daring to look into his eyes.

The car was vibrating.

She was startled, thinking it was just her illusion. She looked forward, through the windshield, using the scenery outside as a reference, only then confirming that the car was really vibrating.

Actually, cars moving and such, is not news, like car shake; but the car vibrating at such a small amplitude and frequency felt a bit eerie.

She calmed herself and immediately felt the cause of the car’s vibration came from beside her.

Shi Nian turned her head in surprise to look at him, seeing him leaning on the steering wheel, with his shoulders shaking violently; not only his shoulders, but also his two long legs were shaking at the same frequency...

Shi Nian was shocked.

Shi Nian couldn’t bear it, hurriedly reached out and touched his shoulder: "Sorry..."

Yet he awkwardly raised his head, his facial features twisted, his voice hoarse as he said: "Sorry, I need to use the bathroom."

"Oh?" Something seemed off.

His facial features shook even more violently: "...Sorry, sorry, I have an urgent need."

After he said this, he opened the car door and dashed into the emergency center, asked a nurse, then headed straight to the bathroom at the end of the corridor.

In one breath into the bathroom, he raised his eyebrows and stared at himself in the mirror. But his vigilance remained, so he quietly stepped into a stall, listened for any sounds, as if no one was there. He walked two steps along each stall door, bent over to look through the gap under the door, and saw no one’s feet.

Only then did he rush back to the mirror, looking at his distorted facial features quickly returning to their original position, merging into a big smile.

These arcs and lines, really did resemble the smile of the clown on Rosa’s windshield.

He was laughing, indeed, holding it back all along, not crying, but bursting into laughter.

A false alarm, yet he could only chuckle in secret.

Laughing foolishly for a while, he splashed water on his face. Wiped his hands with tissue, but still couldn’t help staring at his strikingly handsome face in the mirror, raised his eyebrows high, and snorted at his reflection.

"What, knowing she likes you makes you look ? Let me warn you, don’t go overboard."

He put on a serious expression again, propped his hands on the washbasin, leaned his face closer to the mirror, as if confronting the self beyond the mirror: "Hey, four years ago you, don’t become arrogant. Because I know best what kind of backstory you had. What were you back then? A spoiled rich kid, you even called yourself a scumbag, how could you compare to the me now?"

As he spoke, he stood up straight again, smoothed his hair, pushed it all high to his hairline, revealing his perfectly sculpted facial features: "And now I am, I’m a police officer, even a guest professor at Kangchuan University with several books published. Justice, upward-looking, professional, serious... No matter which point pulled out, surpasses you by miles."

He winked at his reflection: "Since she could fall head over heels for the you from four years ago, she would definitely love the me now even more. Four years ago, little Tang Tang... Kiss, goodbye."

Finally, finishing his single combat with "the four years ago self," in good spirits did he slip his hands into his pockets, whistling as he walked out.

After Tang Yanqing left for a long time, a restroom stall door slightly moved. A pair of handcrafted sharp-toed black men’s leather shoes stepped down from the toilet, standing on the ground. Immediately a tall black figure emerged from the stall, did not pause, directly walked out of the restroom.

It was late, and Shi Nian was writing an article when suddenly his phone rang.

It was an unfamiliar number. Shi Nian hesitated slightly before answering.

The caller was a woman of some age, whose voice Shi Nian had never heard before.

She introduced herself immediately: "Hello Shi Nian, this is Rosa’s mom."

Shi Nian was slightly taken aback: "Oh, hello. I’m not sure why you’re calling so late. Is there something you need?"

Rosa’s mother sighed: "Shasha said you asked her about the clown incident. She was very young at the time and doesn’t remember much of the details, so she asked me to talk to you."

From Rosa’s mother’s tone, Shi Nian sensed a hint of tension. She gripped the phone: "Alright, please go ahead."

Rosa’s mother began her story:

"In our small town, there is an annual international clown festival. On that day, clowns from all over the world gather in the streets and alleys of our small town. They’ve painted their faces and put on clown costumes, performing freely on the roadside. They might be performing magic tricks for children or selling various interesting gadgets, and sometimes there’s a choir... The clown festival is the grandest annual event in our town, and it has been held for many years, even since we were children. It became the fondest childhood memory for generations."

Shi Nian could sense the twist intuitively: "But for Rosa?"

"But for Rosa..." Mrs. Luo choked up, unable to continue.

Shi Nian gently said, "I’m sorry..."

Mrs. Luo took a deep breath, controlling her emotions.

"In the many previous years, the clown festival was always fine. But for some reason, maybe times changed, and people’s hearts changed with them. Shi Nian, you know the clown disguises, and all the citizens in our town loved the clowns, so some malicious people saw this opportunity and also dressed as clowns to appear there. Under the cover of darkness, they committed theft and various bad deeds. But they could rely on their costumes to prevent anyone from capturing their recognizable features."

Shi Nian’s heart tightened. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novel✦fire.net

Mrs. Luo took several deep breaths before she could continue her story: "That night my husband and I had promised to take Rosa to the theater to watch the clown stage play. But my husband suddenly had to work late, and I... I couldn’t finish my work by the end of the workday, so I had to stay a little longer at the office to complete it. That’s why we didn’t make it to the theater that night."

"That very night, a thief dressed as a clown climbed into our window..."

"Oh my god!" Shi Nian exclaimed, covering his mouth in shock.

No wonder Rosa cried out in the hospital room, "The clowns are climbing through the window," "Mom, I’m scared."

But instinct wouldn’t allow Shi Nian to indulge in sympathy. She quickly asked, "Did that clown only steal your family’s possessions? What about Rosa, was she okay?"

On the other end of the line, Mrs. Luo’s emotions finally broke, and she began to sob.

"Shasha was brave, trying to use Dad’s bat to drive the clown away. The clown was startled and then... then took Shasha as well. He knocked Shasha out and then put her in a clown prop bag, carrying her boldly across the streets of the city, yet no one knew my Shasha had been taken away by him."

Mrs. Luo’s sobs were hindered by emotion: "I’m sorry, I really don’t want to talk about what happened afterward."

Shi Nian felt the veins on her forehead throbbing but still asked as calmly as possible: "I only have one last question—how did you find Rosa afterward?"

Mrs. Luo’s sobbing continued: "A year later at the clown festival, a small clown suddenly appeared at our doorstep, with a laughing clown face painted with a series of tears, just standing in front of our house without leaving."

"By then a year had passed since the incident, and the police had no news. We thought Rosa was already... So we couldn’t appreciate any clowns, I even wanted to chase that clown away. But suddenly that clown said: ’Madam, where is this? It feels so familiar to me.’"

Shi Nian’s heart started pounding intensely.

Mrs. Luo’s crying voice continued, but her emotions gradually calmed down: "That voice, even after a year, I wouldn’t forget it! I grabbed her, took her into the bathroom, and washed the paint off her face, only then realizing—it was my Shasha, she came back!"

Shi Nian had already sensed something but was still surprised.

"Did she mention where she went during that year or who took her?"

"No," Mrs. Luo sobbed: "She was traumatized and couldn’t remember the events of that year. It took my husband and I a whole three years to take her to see a psychologist, to help my daughter forget this past. Now, she just inexplicably fears clowns but no longer remembers what happened."

[Second update in the morning]