The Exorcist

Because Xiaoxia helped the director check the files, it was already past dinner time when she got home. As soon as she entered the door, she only saw Wan Li sitting there reading a book with gusto.

"Where's Ruan Zhan?"

"He went to the supermarket to buy something." Wan Li didn't even look up.

"But his car is still outside." Xiaoxia looked outside the door. Today's weather is very unusual. It's the middle of November. It's raining in winter. It feels very wet and cold. If you get wet, you will definitely get sick.

"It's not far. It's ten minutes away. He uses his legs."

"Did you bring an umbrella?"

"Ah?" Wan Li finally looked up, "Is it raining? I thought it was going to snow. Don't worry, he's not stupid. He will come back when the rain stops." He said and ran to the door to check the weather. "However, the winter rain doesn't seem to stop easily, so it's hard to say. He still has things to do at night, and he might run back in the rain."

"Can you go pick him up?"

"No." Wan Li was surprised by Xiao Xia's suggestion. "Two grown men are going back and forth. People who don't know the inside story will think that we are broken arms, which will seriously damage my image. Also, how can he fall in love with me for this?" manage?"

Xiaoxia was furious, "I don't want to listen to your nonsense, I'll go myself."

"You? No need, right? This little rain won't kill anyone."

"He is our only great mage. If something happens to him, everyone will have a hard time." Xiaoxia said as she ran upstairs, then took an umbrella and ran out again.

She didn't want Ruan Zhan to get sick, whether it was to make better use of him or because she felt sorry for him, she couldn't figure out at all.

Wan Li watched Xiao Xia coming and going in a hurry, and couldn't even say a word. He could only remain silent for a long time in front of the still-turbulent breath, and then said to himself: "Now A Zhan is going to hand over the gun, this damn girl is going to Hit his weak spot." He slowly walked back to his seat, thinking of the childhood time he spent with Ruan Zhan.

At that time, every rainy season, the school gate would be full of parents after the rain, holding umbrellas to pick up their children and take them home. Although Ruan Zhan's father adopted him, he was very serious and indifferent to him and never went to school to pick him up. At this time, Ruan Zhan would leave alone in the rain. He didn't know how to take shelter from the rain or run away. He just walked back step by step. Even if anyone wanted to hold an umbrella with him, he would stubbornly refuse. For this reason, people in the town even spread rumors about how weird Ruan Zhan is.

He didn't understand it when he was a child, and he even got angry about this, thinking that since we are all good friends, there is no need to distinguish between each other. But after Ruan Zhan was drunk for the only time since he was a child, he realized that Ruan Zhan was so envious of someone who could wait for him in the rain, and so longed for someone to pick him up when it rained, even just once.

But he has never enjoyed such ordinary warmth!

Now the confused but considerate Xiao Xia ran away recklessly, which was the first time in A Zhan's life. I'm afraid his cold heart would melt for her. It's ridiculous to think that so many women want to capture Ruan Zhan's heart, but no one thought that such a small thing can do it.

Thinking like this, he could no longer sit still and read a book. He ran to look under the eaves in front of the store, but Xiaoxia was nowhere to be seen.

Because Xiaoxia was running quickly, for fear of not being able to catch up, she saw Ruan Zhan carrying a bag of things from a distance, and was walking out without thinking. "Stop!" she yelled, scaring everyone including Ruan. Many people inside jumped.

Running made her chest rise and fall violently, and her feet were so weak that she had to grab Ruan Zhan's arm with one hand to keep her balance. "Do you have any common sense?" She scolded loudly, regardless of whether anyone was watching around, "Yes. If you have to leave immediately for something important, you will definitely get sick if you get caught in the rain in this weather."

Ruan Zhan stood there, a little confused for a moment. He watched Xiaoxia trying to calm down her breathing, still holding the umbrella in her hand, and listening to her complaining about him in the tone she only used when talking to the people closest to her, he suddenly felt something in his heart collapse. Can't tell.

"Yeah? You're not leaving again? How can I recruit you because I taught you not to get wet in the rain? Childish man!" Xiaoxia didn't understand Ruan Zhan's silence and pulled his arm roughly, "Stand closer, morning I know how to bring two umbrellas and always be with you, even I feel stupid. Hey, why are you standing still, are you really losing your temper? "

“――――”

"Hey, what's wrong? What's the matter?"

"No." Ruan Zhan smiled, his throat rolled up and down several times, and finally he said, "Let's go."

He stepped forward and put his arm around Xiao Xia's shoulders, bringing her to his chest. This made Xiao Xia's body stiffen for a moment, feeling that the two of them were a bit too intimate standing under an umbrella like this. But before she could decide whether this was appropriate, she felt something white swooping towards her, falling to the ground a foot in front of her.

She screamed softly subconsciously, and suddenly found a paper crane lying at her feet, with a pale body and blood-red eyes.

"It's this thing again. It's really annoying. Is folding like this popular now?" She kicked the paper crane, but she didn't kick it away from the already wet paper crane.

This uninvited guest made Ruan Zhan frown. He glanced at the paper crane, but then did nothing. He just looked around invisibly to make sure there was no other one nearby. "It came from Japan, right?" , maybe it means blessing, just ignore it and go back first.”

He hugged Xiaoxia's shoulders and carefully stepped over Zhihe's body. A feeling of being unable to grasp emerged in his mind, "Do you see this often?"

"It happens a lot lately."

"Where did you meet?"

"Are you interested in this?" Xiaoxia was a little curious.

"No, just chatting. Maybe I can also learn to fold paper cranes and pray for your peace!"

"No!" Xiaoxia flatly refused, and her reaction made Ruan Zhan feel her uneasiness, "I don't like this, its red eyes make me feel uncomfortable. If you give it to me, I will throw it in your face, don't I blame me for not telling you in advance!”

"If you don't like it, I won't give it to you, but you might be neurotic!"

This paper crane must have been controlled by magic to fly in the air, and it fell because of the rain! There must be something wrong here, and he needs to think about it carefully.

"Anyway, I hate this. It must be some dead kid somewhere who catches the trend, folds it and throws it around every day. I saw it once on the balcony of my house, by the window of the company, and also when I was having dinner with Wan Li. I've been here before, and it seems like I have a grudge against me, and the ghost always follows me."

"Don't be afraid, it's just a piece of paper." He comforted her softly, hugging her shoulders tighter to him, savoring this rare warm time.

Xiaoxia didn't notice Ruan Zhan's behavior was different from the past, and still told her about the trouble the paper crane caused to her. When he walked to the door of the store, Ruan Zhan suddenly stopped, "I like white shirts." He said to her.

"Ah?" Xiaoxia didn't hear clearly for a moment.

"I mean - a pure cotton white shirt is better than a mink coat." Ruan Zhan said again, and then walked back to the store without waiting for Xiaoxia to say anything else, until he drove to carry out his tracking mission later in the day. Not another word was said.

"It's so late, what is he going out for?" Xiao Xia asked Wan Li suspiciously.

Thinking about what Ruan Zhan said just now, she felt happy, but now she felt that these two men seemed to be hiding something from her.

"Are you married to him?" Wan Li asked back.

"Hey, you're from an alien planet? You don't understand Chinese, so why don't you start with the right words?"

"Since she's not his wife, why don't you care where he goes? Maybe to attend a magic meeting, maybe to pick up girls. Go upstairs to sleep, lack of sleep will easily cause wrinkles."

"Isn't it rare that you won't tell me if you don't tell me? I just wanted to ask if it is related to the Huahui case. Do you think I am such a gossip? You men are the best at covering up for each other, so I will ignore you!"

Wan Li made a gesture of invitation.

Seeing that Xiaoxia couldn't get anything out of the question, Wanli looked like something was wrong, so she simply went upstairs alone.

She lay on the bed and waited quietly, thinking about how to find out what Ruan Zhan was doing mysteriously. But until it was close to midnight, she couldn't figure out the reason, and Ruan Zhan didn't come back. Wan Li didn't go upstairs at all, but she herself fell into a half-dream and half-awake state.

In her dream, she felt an unusual smell and sound. She couldn't figure out what it was for a while, but when the feeling got deeper and deeper, she suddenly sat up from the bed.

The sound of beeps and the smell of fireworks -

Could it be a fire? !

She hurriedly jumped out of bed and ran barefoot to the stairs. She saw that the first floor had gradually turned into a sea of ​​​​fire. On the edge of the sea of ​​​​fire, Wan Li sat motionless on a chair. She didn't know whether he was choked by the smoke or was asleep and didn't know what was going on.

"Wanli, wake up! It's on fire!" She yelled as she ran downstairs and shook Wanli violently, but Wanli still didn't wake up, as if he had died.

"Wanli! What's wrong with you? Wake up!" She shouted again, but he still didn't move.

She glanced around anxiously, at a loss.

I saw that the fire was getting stronger at this time, burning the invisible bagua made of transparent pipes of unknown material in front of the door to pieces, making a "pop" sound, and Xiaoxia was so scared that she subconsciously held her head.

And then, as it was completely burned, Xiaoxia suddenly felt that time and space had changed. It's still the same place, but something just doesn't feel right. There was a chill all over her body, and there was actually a chill in this fire scene. She saw the flames twisting strangely, stroking the surrounding objects like human hands. Wherever they went, the fire spread faster. In the middle of the flames beside the door, several dark figures suddenly appeared, standing upright and assuming a boxing posture.

The one who was burned to death!

This realization made Xiaoxia so scared that she tightly held Xin Wanli's hand, although he was still unconscious. She has been exposed to cases like this, where people who were burned to death would have such a constricted posture, which is called a fist-fighting posture in forensics.

These charred black figures made long moaning sounds, emerging from the flames with malicious intentions and moving towards them! Very slowly, as if struggling to break through the invisible limit, but getting closer and closer.

The amulet Ruan Zhan hadn't been returned to her yet, and the bloodwood sword was still upstairs. She was almost a ration placed beside the evil ghost. She wanted to run, but she couldn't leave her alone.

"Wanli, wake up quickly." She called him desperately, and finally had to put his hand to her mouth and bite it down hard.