Chapter 189: Chapter 189

In the afternoon, the three girls got ready. It was mid-May, and fashionable girls were wearing long dresses by then. However, it was still a bit chilly in the evenings, so the three of them wore bell-bottom pants and various patterned shirts, looking stunningly beautiful with just a little dressing up.

Li Xianglu saw this and took out her lipstick and perfume, letting everyone spray some and apply a light red lipstick before going out. As Li Xianglu was tidying up the clothes, she saw Iro rush back in a panic.

Li Xianglu was taken aback and asked: "What’s wrong, Iro? Why did you come back?"

Iro said breathlessly: "I need to go back. Someone called the office just now, saying there’s an emergency at home and they need me to return."

Li Xianglu reassured her: "Don’t worry, it can’t be that serious. Otherwise, they would come directly to see you instead of calling the office, right? They weren’t even afraid that nobody would be on duty."

Iro calmed down after hearing this; indeed, if it were a real emergency, someone would have come to find her instead of just making a phone call.

With that realization, she gratefully looked at Li Xianglu, packed her bag, and left, mentioning that she might not come back tonight.

By now, it was already past seven.

Li Xianglu changed into her pajamas, leaned on the bed, took out a bag of guoba (crispy rice snacks), and poured half a bowl for Xiao Chong and half for herself; the two of them ate while reading books, one above and one below.

Li Xianglu was reading a foreign literature magazine that Xu Xi had mailed her. Now there were only the two of them left in the dorm, as two had gone to the social gathering and another had gone home; Xu Xin and Wang Ke said they were going to study on their own.

That left only her and Xiao Chong.

Drowsily, Li Xianglu fell asleep. She didn’t know how long she had slept when she vaguely heard someone open the door. Li Xianglu opened her eyes and saw Li Dayu; the social gathering was over, huh? But when she looked back, the other person was absent, and curiously asked, "Dayu, where’s Anna?"

Li Dayu, who was unaware that Lu Anna hadn’t returned, glanced at her bed, which was still as she had left it, and asked puzzledly: "Didn’t she leave earlier? Didn’t she come back?"

Li Xianglu jolted up from her bed, "Weren’t you supposed to go together? Why did she leave early?"

Seeing Li Xianglu’s serious expression and not understanding why, Li Dayu explained: "The social gathering went well, and everyone was chatting happily. After it ended, a guy spoke to Anna and then they left together. I waited a while and didn’t see them return, so I left."

Hearing this, Li Xianglu’s face changed as she suddenly thought of something: "Li Dayu, why did you suddenly invite Anna to the social gathering, when you hadn’t invited her before?"

Hearing this, Li Dayu looked tense and said: "No particular reason, just thought there were too few people this time so I invited her."

Li Xianglu looked at the somewhat evasive Li Dayu, felt a chill in her heart, and said coldly: "Li Dayu, you might know who Anna really is. If anything happens to her today, you are going to pay dearly!"

Hearing this, Li Dayu was completely stunned. It was just inviting someone to a social gathering, how did it get related to death?

Hearing something was off, Xiao Chong rolled off the bed and said: "What exactly happened? Speak up, Li Dayu! Some things can’t just be resolved with a simple ’I’m sorry’ afterwards!" This was Xiao Chong’s most profound realization after experiencing those events; saying sorry was pointless—it’s like rubbing salt into someone’s wound!

Li Dayu saw the situation and dared not hide anything, stuttering, "Yes, it’s Tie Bing, he said he said there is a classmate from Huqing who likes Anna. But he doesn’t know how to meet her, so he asked us to make an introduction." Tie Bing is Li Dayu’s boyfriend.

Li Xianglu’s face looked terribly upset, she quickly got out of bed, changed her clothes, put on sneakers and said, "Let’s go, take me to see where the gathering is, I need to find out."

Li Dayu said with some difficulty, "Everyone’s gone, there’s no one left."

Li Xianglu coldly said, "You don’t need to worry about that, just take me there. Xiao Chong, go to the male dormitory and find my husband. Tell him what happened."

Xiao Chong was reluctant: "No, I will go with you. You can’t go alone, it’s too dangerous." Saying this, he began to change his clothes and shoes.

Just as the three were about to leave, Wang Ke came in, paused upon seeing the trio, and Li Xianglu quickly said, "Wang Ke, listen, what I’m about to say is very important. Go to the male dormitory and find my husband, his name is Qin Xi. Tell him I’ve gone to find Anna. She went to a social gathering and hasn’t come back. I’m going to find her now, do you remember everything?" Wang Ke nodded quickly, locked the door after the trio left, and then went out.

Li Xianglu immediately ran out, followed by a panting Li Dayu. Xiao Chong was also extremely anxious, feeling that something bad was about to happen by the look on Li Xianglu’s face.

Fortunately, the two universities are not far apart. From Huqing University’s west gate to the east gate of Capital University, it’s just one bus stop away, about a ten-minute run.

Li Dayu led them to a classroom, the door was already locked, and everyone had left.

Li Xianglu looked at the darkening sky with intense anxiety, grabbed a passerby and asked, "Do you know where there is an abandoned warehouse?"

The person, looking puzzled, pointed to a narrow path and said, "Just continue straight here. About a hundred meters away, there’s an abandoned warehouse. But, I’ve heard it’s haunted."

Li Xianglu thanked him and then started sprinting. She couldn’t explain why, but she had an inexplicable worry inside her. She remembered Qin Xi’s warning, telling them to be careful, not to go out alone, and to remind Anna as well.

She had always suspected that Qin Xi was not right, suspecting that he, like her, had traveled from another time, but was somehow different due to Qin Xi’s assimilation into this era.

Also, his feelings for the Qin family were very genuine. Therefore, she began to suspect that Qin Xi was reborn. He knew about every event that would happen around him in the future.

So, the warning he gave must’ve been about something that happened in his past life, meaning Anna was harmed.

The thought made Li Xianglu’s stomach clench.

Though Anna was temperamental and not easy to get along with, she was straightforward and explicit in everything she did; even her outrageous actions had a certain clarity that made it hard for anyone to resent her.

What kind of harm could a girl endure that she couldn’t bear? Li Xianglu didn’t want to think further; she just ran desperately, never feeling before that a hundred meters could feel neverending.

The abandoned warehouse was within reach when Li Xianglu, thinking it might have been her imagination, suddenly heard crying sounds, scaring her to the point that her legs nearly gave way, nearly causing her to fall.

No, she needed to calm down; Qin Xi didn’t know this place. Li Xianglu quickly turned her head and said, "Li Dayu, go wait at the entrance. If anyone comes, lead them here."