TGSS - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Out of Contact

"You're back?" Tan Qing watched Chu He stride forward with a stern face and not a word, curiously craning his neck to look behind her, but saw no one.

"What are you looking at? Climb." Chu He shot him a sharp glare, her attitude icy.

Tan Qing was speechless. Am I some kind of terrible person? When she needs me she coaxes me nicely, and now that she doesn't need me she snaps at me.

Chu He clutched the red ribbon in her hand and her churning thoughts calmed a little. The mountain they were climbing this time had a very famous temple on it, one Chu He had often visited in her previous life to pray for blessings and make wishes. Because the company had organized a department team building outing, she had given everyone a red ribbon in advance and had them write down their wishes and prayers, so they could hang them on the ancient tree at the temple when they arrived.

Of course they sold them on the mountain too, but the vendors tended to jack up the prices, and she had been overcharged by several hundred before, so she had thoughtfully prepared them for everyone in advance. It would not cost her much and it could help build rapport among colleagues.

The higher they climbed, the more the originally dense group spread out. With everyone having different stamina, their paces naturally diverged. Thanks to her long-term fitness routine, Chu He was in fairly good shape. Tan Qing looked slender and delicate, but as a photographer who ran all over the world and accompanied Wen Xiaoying on outfit-and-travel shoots, he was no slouch either. The two of them were almost at the very front.

Zheng Xinyan, who had forced her way into Chu He's department, braced herself against a stone bench and could not help sitting down to catch her breath, a fine sheen of sweat covering her back. She turned to look down the mountain, where scattered figures stood on the winding stone steps, and wispy clouds gradually blurred the view below. The lush trees made the mountain air exceptionally fresh.

She tried to inhale the cool air, but her lungs and throat burned with a fiery sting. Damn it, she was so tired she had barely exchanged a few words with Chu He. Whose brilliant idea was it to do a weekend mountain climbing team building anyway!

Zheng Xinyan watched helplessly as Chu He climbed as if she never tired, her slender figure in black quickly disappearing around the bend in the stone steps.

"Chu He, why are you walking so fast?" Tan Qing was also getting exhausted and could not understand what Chu He was in such a hurry to get to the top for.

"Don't you know? This temple only offers a hundred fortune sticks a day." A gleam of interest flashed in Chu He's eyes. This was her hidden gem of a temple. Fortunately the map of this world was practically identical to her own world. If not for the conclusive evidence, she would have felt as if she had never transmigrated at all.

"Just for that?" Tan Qing found it inconceivable. He really had no idea when Chu He had developed such a hobby.

Chu He raised an eyebrow in displeasure at that, shook her head at him, and said in a mysterious tone, "You wouldn't understand."

By the time they finally reached the summit, the fine hair on Tan Qing's forehead was damp with sweat. He braced his hands on his knees and gasped heavily, his heart pounding so hard it felt about to leap from his chest.

Chu He looked back at him with faint disdain and mocked, "You're so out of shape, no wonder you got beaten up that day. You should train more when you get back."

The materialist Tan Qing did not want to join Chu He in that excitement and waited alone at the entrance for the others to come up. Chu He hurried off to draw a fortune stick. She made her way with familiar ease through the front hall with its red walls, along winding paths until she reached the main hall. In the corner, a monk sitting in a rocking chair wore round glasses, yet still carried an air of otherworldly grace.

He fanned himself with a folding fan, half closing his eyes as he casually pointed, signaling Chu He to scan the QR code on the right to pay first. When Chu He scanned it and found it was actually an Alipay red packet, her expression instantly turned complicated.

She silently reminded herself that everyone had to make a living, and was just holding up her phone to scan the QR code on the monk's table when a fair hand covered it.

Chu He looked over in confusion, only to see the monk open his clear, bright eyes wide and smile faintly. "Benefactor, I fear we do not have the ability to interpret your lot, so there is no need to waste your money."

"Oh?" Chu He was surprised inwardly, but her expression remained calm as she smiled lightly and teased, "How could it be uninterpretable? Am I that special?"

The monk kept smiling, as if he saw through everything. Chu He could tell from his look that arguing with such a person would lead nowhere, but just as she was about to leave, he called her back.

"Amitabha, though you cannot draw a lot, I can offer you a saying. Love is not bound by cause and effect, fate determines life and death."

Hearing these words that sounded almost like a curse, Chu He curled her lips into a smile, her eyes full of disdain. She had never believed in such nonsense as love. It was precisely for that reason that she had wished to trade her Romantic Luck in her next life for wealth in this one. Because in this life, she simply would not have such a thing as Romantic Luck.

Leaving the mysterious, mumbling monk, Chu He strode toward the centuries-old tree in front of the main hall.

Because the temperature was low on the mountain, the cold wind was even more biting. The red ribbons all over the tree swayed with the wind, like a tree in full bloom with brilliant red flowers, a truly beautiful sight. Looking at the scene before her, Chu He suddenly had a strange thought. Following her old memories, she circled the trunk and walked in one direction, standing on tiptoe to sift through the ribbons. In a daze, she caught sight of a familiar style of ribbon, and even the faint handwriting looked familiar.

Her fingertips trembled and the blood in her veins seemed to freeze. Time appeared to stand still in that moment. Chu He steeled herself and was about to pull the ribbon down when she felt it slip from her hand and flutter up with the wind. She frowned and jumped, her fingertips brushing the ribbon, but before she could grasp it tightly, it slipped from her palm.

She took a few steps in the direction the ribbon drifted, watching it float away until it vanished into the mist. Chu He leaned against the railing, her fingers tightly intertwined, and after a long moment she asked the System, "Did you do this?"

The System was utterly baffled by her accusation. "What is the Host talking about? I do not understand."

"What do you mean you don't understand? That wishing ribbon was clearly one I hung before." Chu He's tone was absolutely certain.

The System's mechanical voice sounded quite shocked. "What is the Host thinking? If you have doubts, I can find a way to retrieve that ribbon, only it will deduct your remaining Life Points."

"No need..." Even if you bring it back it definitely won't be the one I wrote. Trying to trick me out of the balance I worked so hard to save up from Daily Missions, dream on!

Still, if the System really wanted to hide something from her, there was nothing she could do about it, but she tucked the matter away in her heart for now and became a little more wary.

The mountain wind stung Chu He's face slightly before she gripped the red ribbon she had already written on and tied it to the tree with two tight knots. She crossed her arms and gazed at the ribbons fluttering all over the tree with a very gentle expression.

Chu He had always been a contradictory person, on one hand firmly believing that human effort determined everything, on the other unable to resist seeking help from vague, intangible forces. But when it came to Liang Zhouyi, she hoped Liang Zhouyi would get better and better, as if it were a debt she owed, and she was willing to do everything in her power in this world to make it up to her.

"President Chu is truly agile and full of energy." Zheng Xinyan and the others finally arrived after a long delay.

Tan Qing stood at the edge, keeping some distance from the crowd, his refined and handsome face looking quite exhausted. He was clearly not comfortable with this kind of socializing.

Much like Liang Zhouyi, socially anxious yet unable to avoid necessary social interaction, Chu He could not help smiling, then carefully searched through the crowd, but did not find that familiar figure.

"Where is Liang Zhouyi?" Chu He's originally relaxed expression instantly tightened. Looking at Zheng Xinyan blocking her way, a flicker of irritation rose in her. She waved her aside, walked into the crowd and asked again, "I'm asking you, where is Liang Zhouyi?"

"President Chu, don't worry, we'll call and ask." Faced directly with Chu He's cold and severe aura, everyone looked at each other in panic. Probably because Chu He had seemed so easygoing lately, they had forgotten what kind of person she essentially was.

Whether it was a WeChat call, a phone call, or even a DingTalk call, without exception, none of them went through.

Seeing that Chu He's expression was off, Tan Qing stepped forward, took hold of her and said softly, "Calm down, Liang Zhouyi isn't an eight-year-old child. Even if she didn't keep up, she can't just get lost, can she?"

Chu He's long lashes, dark as crow feathers, trembled. She smiled and said, "I am very calm. So tell me, what happened?"

It was obvious that several people in the crowd had very different expressions. Those few exchanged glances and all showed guilty, anxious looks in unison.

Chu He's gaze fell on Xu Lu like a searchlight. "Team Leader Xu, why don't you tell us? I saw you chatting happily with Zhou Yi just now."

Xu Lu swallowed, cold sweat breaking out, and opened his mouth before he managed to say, "Halfway up, I... I dropped something, and Zhou Yi went back to help me look for it. She should be here soon."

In fact, halfway up he had discovered that the wishing ribbon Chu He had given him had somehow been lost. His heart tightened, not wanting to leave any more negative impression on Chu He. Although it was a small matter, it was still somewhat inauspicious, but he did not have the nerve to order Liang Zhouyi to go look for it.

It was just that the few people he tried to send all looked troubled and evasive, talking around the issue, and in the end the task was pushed onto Liang Zhouyi. Liang Zhouyi had never been one to refuse, and she agreed without any resistance, and because her presence was so faint, she was quickly forgotten by everyone.

So much so that by the time they reached the top, almost no one except Chu He had noticed she was missing.

"Maybe the signal is bad on the mountain... or Zhou Yi put her phone on silent."

"Yeah, it hasn't been that long, what accident could happen on this mountain? Something must have held her up, let's wait a bit more."

Chu He pressed her temple, knowing they had a point, but Liang Zhouyi never put her phone on silent, and this mountain was very famous with good network coverage, so losing contact was almost impossible.

After waiting only fifteen minutes, Chu He still could not ignore the strong unease in her heart. She instructed Tan Qing to contact the scenic area staff, and if they still could not find her in a little while, to call the police directly.

Tan Qing sighed helplessly. He still thought Chu He was making a mountain out of a molehill, but he nodded seriously and advised her, "Don't worry too much, there might be some special reason."

Chu He nodded perfunctorily and hurried back down, suddenly feeling very regretful about having argued with Liang Zhouyi. Why had she said such angry words to Liang Zhouyi? It had been completely unnecessary.

"System, where is Liang Zhouyi? You don't want something to happen to her and have me fail my mission, do you?" Chu He's voice was very steady, almost betraying no emotion.

The System did not answer the question directly, and instead asked in return, "Are you afraid that something will happen to her, or are you afraid that if something happens to her you won't be able to return to your own world?"

"Is there a difference?" Chu He was taken aback by the question and said it without thinking.

The System was silent for a moment before saying, "I can help you locate Liang Zhouyi's position. She has indeed run into some trouble, but my help comes at a price."

Chu He's brow twitched. This price was probably her balance. She asked, "How much?"

"Thirty days of Life Points." The System asked for an exorbitant price.

Chu He nearly jumped up. "Thirty days, why don't you just rob me? Don't you know how hard it is for me to do those Daily Missions!"

The System ignored her. After walking for a while, Chu He finally steeled herself and said, "Thirty days then, thirty days it is!"

Where there's life, there's hope. If something really happened to Liang Zhouyi, I couldn't even grind missions, so what good would Life Points be?

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