The Complete Guide to the Use and Care of a Personal a.s.sistant
Translator: Jury
Editor: NomNom
First Published on Chaleuria
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-one
There were parentheses at the end of the chapter t.i.tle and within them was written: Xiao Miao, I"ll wait for you.
"This… he…" Ling Miao couldn"t believe his eyes. The news of Su Yuyang and Ling Miao"s relations.h.i.+p had long spread through the Internet and everyone felt the sweet romance between them. No matter how one looked at it, the line, "Xiao Miao, I"ll wait for you," gave the impression that they had had a falling out.
"Exactly what is wrong with Su Yuyang?" Ling Miao very much wanted to question Su Yuyang but he hadn"t the courage.
He s.h.i.+fted his gaze from the chapter t.i.tle onto the chapter contents. Though it was a VIP chapter Ling Miao could still read the first hundred or so words. The first line of the chapter contained the same words: Xiao Miao, I"ll wait for you.
Su Yuyang seemed to have antic.i.p.ated that Ling Miao would look out for his updates and that Ling Miao would log in, and had written the words he wanted to say to Ling Miao into the chapter t.i.tle and the first line of the chapter which everyone could see.
Su Yuyang had said to Ling Miao, "I"ll wait for you." This was a temptation—one that Ling Miao could not resist, but every time he wished to follow it back to Su Yuyang"s side the guilt in his heart wrapped him like an invisible but very secure string so that he could only struggle.
"Su Yuyang." Ling Miao softly called Su Yuyang"s name as if Su Yuyang was currently right by his side gently pulling him into a hug.
It was very hard for Ling Miao to calm down so he turned off the laptop. He walked to the bookshelf and slid his finger over the spine of every book. On closer examination, the books were all auth.o.r.ed by the same person—Shu Yang.
Ling Miao pulled a book out at random, took it to the window, and slowly flipped it open.
On the inside cover was signed the name "Shu Yang," and beside the introduction was written "Su Yuyang." Ling Miao wasn"t sure when Su Yuyang had autographed these books. Now that he had returned home and coincidentally flipped open a book, he was shocked to see the autograph.
Ling Miao closed the book and stared at the traffic flowing outside the window. It was noisy but it calmed his heart. He didn"t think about Su Yuyang and he didn"t think about Tang Xuan, but his finger slid back and forth over the book cover.
Near noon, Feng Ji and An Yan who had gone out to look for Ling Miao now returned. They wore excited expressions and Su Yuyang asked ardently, "Do you have news of Xiao Miao?"
Feng Ji took a drink of water and panted, "I went to his apartment, but no one was there. A janitor said that he saw Ling Miao as he was going to work in the morning. He said that Ling Miao was walking down the street with two suitcases. He didn"t look too well and when he walked he wasn"t focused and almost got hit by a car."
"Then which direction did he go in?" Su Yuyang couldn"t contain his joy. It was as if he would find Ling Miao soon.
Feng Ji said regretfully, "We went in the direction the janitor said but didn"t find anything. Mostly, he left too early, so aside from street cleaners there weren"t many people on the road and not many people saw him. No one at the nearby hotels and internet cafes has seen him, either."
Su Yuyang"s smile froze on his face. The corner of his mouth twitched and he said, "This is already very good."
Ling Miao had two suitcases with him. Su Yuyang knew that one of the suitcases contained only his books. When Ling Miao had left, he hadn"t taken many things with him, but he had taken Su Yuyang"s books.
Su Yuyang"s laptop screen displayed his chat history with Mu Yu. Su Yuyang had pleaded with Mu Yu to check Ling Miao"s account login history. Initially, Mu Yu hadn"t been willing to disclose private information about the account, but because of Su Yuyang"s relations.h.i.+p with Ling Miao and Su Yuyang"s pleading, Mu Yu had agreed very reluctantly.
The results disappointed Su Yuyang.
The IP of the last login on the account was Su Yuyang"s IP.
Su Yuyang wasn"t sure if Ling Miao would keep up with Ma.s.sacre"s updates, either. Now, he tried every avenue by which he might be able to talk to Ling Miao: the novel, his microblog, a private message, the forums, the QQ group. He left a message in every place Ling Miao might appear.
An Yan was preparing food in the kitchen. Feng Ji couldn"t bear to disturb Su Yuyang and slipped into the kitchen too.
An Yan and Feng Ji walked out of the kitchen holding food and Feng Ji called, "Su Yuyang, it"s lunchtime."
Su Yuyang didn"t even raise his head. "I"ll come after writing this bit. You two eat first."
Feng Ji tenderly watched Su Yuyang"s busy fingers. He walked over and blocked the laptop screen: "I think your fingers are going to go dead. Can"t you take care of yourself?"
Su Yuyang looked at his shaking fingers. He shut his eyes and said, "These hands of mine—if they can"t keep him by my side, what does it matter if they go dead?"
Pah—
Like an enraged lion, Feng Ji punched Su Yuyang viciously in his face and knocked him to the ground. He picked Su Yuyang up by the collar and shouted, "You f.u.c.king look at yourself now. Are you still the Su Yuyang I know? Where did your carefree manner go? Do you think Ling Miao will be happy to see you like this? Or do you think that if you"re dead, Ling Miao will come back? You"re a f.u.c.king coward! If you can write so much your fingers go dead, why don"t you use the time to look for Ling Miao?"
Feng Ji punched Su Yuyang again.
An Yan worried that Feng Ji would escalate the matter further, and hurriedly went up and caught Feng Ji"s arm. Feng Ji pulled free of An Yan"s grip, took two steps forward, and prepared to punch Su Yuyang again. An Yan encircled Feng Ji"s waist with his arms and yelled, "Feng Ji, come to your senses!"
Feng Ji panted for breath. Suddenly he noticed the phone Su Yuyang had left on the ottoman. He picked up the phone and snapped photos of Su Yuyang then opened up his microblog.
This is what he"s like now! @WriterZeroSecondsAgo—Feng Ji
Feng Ji made a post with a photo attached to Su Yuyang"s microblog. The only indication he was still rational was that he didn"t send a private message and he didn"t link this blog post to their friend group.
Su Yuyang in the photo could only be described as "invalid." He seemed to be a completely different person compared to the lively persona he had presented at the Authors" Gathering.
Very soon, Su Yuyang"s phone began vibrating. Su Yuyang"s good friends had all sent questions but Feng Ji ignored them all.
Suddenly, Su Yuyang"s phone rang. The display read "Yan Yan."
Yan Li had called to question Su Yuyang and find out what had happened between him and Ling Miao. Feng Ji answered the phone. He briefly summarized the events and Yan Li cursed, "Idiot," then asked Ji Linxi if he had any ideas.
Ji Linxi and Ling Miao had known each other longest, so he probably understood Ling Miao better than the others.
It had to be said that Su Yuyang hadn"t thought of Ji Linxi because he was preoccupied feeling sorry for himself. And even with Ji Linxi, it wasn"t definite that they would find Ling Miao. But another person would bring new ideas and it might be Ji Linxi"s a.n.a.lysis that eventually led Su Yuyang to find Ling Miao.
Ji Linxi indicated that the pressure on him was mountainous. But Ling Miao had had a history of leaving home, so Ji Linxi did have some ideas.