Memory Lost

Su Mian's body feels as if it's about to break from all the pushing and shoving. Just as she steps out of the tunnel and arrives above ground, the sun stings her eyes. She lowers her head immediately to avoid it. But in this quick moment, she spots a clown standing about a hundred meters away from her. And between her and the clown, that tall and straight figure is running directly toward the clown!

Her whole body freezes; she squeezes her hands into fists.

Five seconds!

If Han Chen can get five more seconds, it will be enough!

For sure! Han Chen is trying so hard to save him, so for sure he'll be able to!

But.

In the next second, she hears a loud deafening sound.

All the noise in the world seems as if it has been covered by this sound.

She sees a massive fireball rise from where the clown is standing. And the clown's face and body are instantly engulfed in flames. She can even see the clown's tearful expression.

The airwaves rush toward both her and Han Chen. She sees Han Chen drop to the ground immediately. She drops to the ground at the same time. She then feels a wave of strong heat hitting her. Everything in front of her goes dark as she loses consciousness.

……

Su Mian falls unconscious for no more than a few minutes.

It's because her position was farther away from the explosion. In the haziness, she feels someone embracing her and calling her name anxiously, "Jin Xi? Jin Xi!"

Su Mian's head still feels heavy, but her strong willpower enables her to be able to open her eyes.

She sees Xu Si Bai.

His hair and shirt are in a mess. Clearly, he has rushed over here. Those pair of clear eyes are blazing as they stare at her, "How are you? Are you okay? Can you hear me?"

Su Mian's ears are ringing due to the explosion. She can only hear a very tiny voice coming from him. She grabs his arms and struggles to get up. She sees Han Chen on the ground in front of her. He's not moving and is lying exactly where he was. A couple of officers are running toward him with a stretcher. Su Mian pushes Xu Si Bai's hands away and stumbles toward him.

She makes it to him. Su Mian embraces him without caring about what others think. His eyes are closed and his handsome face is covered with black residue from the smoke. The corner of his forehead was probably struck by a flying piece; blood is flowing slowly from it.

_____

In the afternoon at the hospital.

Han Chen is lying on the hospital bed and hasn't woken up yet.

Su Mian sits beside the bed and stares at his face quietly. Chatterbox and the three of them are standing behind her. Chatterbox coughs lightly and says, "Xiao Bai, don't worry too much. The doctor said that Leader has superficial wounds only. He has only fainted from the impact and will be fine."

Su Mian says without turning her head, "I know."

Xiao Zhuan presses her shoulder, "Chatterbox and I will go back to the station first. Cold Face will keep guard outside. Take care of yourself."

"Mm."

The three of them leave the room quickly.

Su Mian keeps quiet for a while before holding his slightly cold and dry hand. She still feels her heart aching.

She's not worried about his body.

It's just that the words Han Chen said before turning around to save the clown seem to have been engraved in her heart.

He said, how could I stand and watch somebody lose their life before my eyes?

But in those short few seconds, he couldn't save him. With his stubborn personality, he definitely won't feel good after waking up.

Thinking back at each and every scene from this morning, she feels hate.

If only……

When the little girl fell down, everybody was running away frantically, so many people passed by her yet no one reached out to help her——If it wasn't because of this, how would Han Chen have wasted the precious time to save someone?

If that big man didn't provoke him and caused him to waste time; if people didn't ignore the commands; if the clown himself didn't suddenly feel the need to take revenge on society and started running off……there was clearly a criminal investigator who was willing to sacrifice his life to stay by his side and die with him, yet he went crazy!

Thinking about all this, Su Mian grits her teeth.

But how can she blame these people? Everybody has strong desires to survive. In the midst of chaos, who wouldn't lose their mind and forget their morals……

It's just that she can almost imagine A and his other comrades laughing and showing their mocking expressions right now.

Hey criminal investigators, aren't you the messengers of justice and here to protect the citizens?

But the one whom you're trying to protect has exposed his human nature and messed up your plans, causing you to miss out on saving this person's life in the last second.

And as if to confirm her thoughts, the phone in her pocket beeps twice to alert her of a notification.

She holds it up. Someone has sent her a video. The number is unknown.

Her heart races. A bad feeling surges up in her heart.

She clicks open the video and stares at the screen.

It starts playing.

Her eyes immediately open wide.

It's a very dark alley. There's only a dimly lit light source coming from above. The alley is narrow and it's hard to make out anything; only the faint sound of cars passing by can be heard. And in the sky above, half of the moon is hanging.

Three men are standing in the video.

One is in the front and two behind him. They're all quite tall.

The one in the front is wearing the same clown costume and has heavy makeup on, making it hard to see his facial features. He's standing very straight and is not moving. The other two men behind him look more casual. They're leaning against the wall in the left corner. The shadow there hides their faces as they smoke. The right side of the wall is empty.

A few seconds later, the clown suddenly bows toward the camera; his movements are elegant. When he raises his head, Su Mian can see a hint of a smile in his eyes. Those eyes are completely different from A.

L! He's L!

This realization slams right into Su Mian's heart.

In the peaceful and warm afternoon of the hospital room brightly lit by the sun. Han Chen is lying beside her while she's watching the video and feeling cold sweat down her spine.

And then, L starts to dance.

A very elegant and stylish jazz dance. His gaze turns happy and focused as he dances in front of the camera. Every move is completed beautifully. And a few times, he even reaches out his hand and bows in front of the camera as if he's inviting you.

Su Mian hears the other two men behind chuckling softly. freℯ𝓌e𝚋𝐧𝘰vℯl.𝐜𝚘𝗺

L finally finishes dancing.

The video ends right after he spreads his arms and bends down to bow. A and R behind him look as if they're watching enthusiastically.

L lifts his head and as if he's the representative of the three, he looks into the camera, and at her, and reveals an eerie smile.

……

Su Mian keeps quiet for a very, very long time before she lowers the phone and raises her head.

She can sense that this is not just a provocation.

L's dance……is an invitation.

With four people's lives and causing commotion in the city as a welcoming gift; an earnest and serious invitation that cannot be refused.