There was a sound of rain outside the window when it was getting light. After daybreak, the sound of rain gradually became louder.
When he woke up, Lin Nian opened the curtains in the living room, and the cold and humid air came outside. The rain and mist that drifted in after smashing the screen window stuck to his cheeks like spider silk. The streets were full of white flowers, and everything he could see was hazy.
It was hazy.
Standing by the window, he looked at Mandy on the street who was running back from treading water with an umbrella. She walked all the way into the yard and rushed in from the ajar door, wetting the insoles on the ground.
Before he even had time to put down his umbrella, he turned to look at Lin Nian, who was watching the rain by the window and said out of breath, "They're all gone... I originally wanted to wake them up for breakfast... but they're all gone!"
Lin Nian turned around and glanced at the wall clock in the living room. It was now seven o'clock in the morning, and the water on the stove was only half boiled. Lin Xian, who was sitting in front of the stove wearing an apron, was also awakened by Mandy's yelling and was confused.
After looking around, she found that there was nothing important and she started to take a nap again. It seemed that she was indeed a little tired from yesterday's work.
“The transfer students are gone.” Lin Nian summed up the key points that Panting Mandy wanted to make in one sentence.
"It's all gone. When I went in, I thought I had entered the wrong house. The bedding was all neatly folded and as neat as tofu. There was not a soul in sight... Did they get timid and escape quietly at night?
"Mandy regretted a little, "I should have slept with them last night."
"If they really want to escape, they will definitely not take you with them. Instead, they will suffocate you with pillows first." Lin Nian closed the curtains and walked to the dining table. There were two dinner plates on top, with classic dishes inside.
American breakfast consists of smoked bacon, fried eggs, two or three green broccoli flowers, and a glass of warm milk next to it.
"You mean... they didn't run away?" Mandy seemed to be infected by Lin Nian's calmness. She stopped panting, stretched her wet umbrella to the threshold, shook it clean, put it away, and put it on the shoe cabinet.
He took off his shoes in a single hop, trotted to the dining table and sat down.
"Part of the plan." Lin Nian slowly cut up the eggs and bacon, forked half a piece and put it in front of Mandy, turning to look at her.
Mandy was stunned for a moment, feeling embarrassed. Just when she was about to lift her ears and move closer, Lin Nian took the fork back and put it in his mouth, "I thought you didn't want to eat. There is something in front of you."
Eat your own share."
Mandy could no longer say anything about this childish behavior. She rolled her eyes, picked up the milk and drank it down in one gulp. She put down the cup happily and started to use the knife and fork on her plate.
“Eat slowly for easier digestion.” Lin Nian chewed broccoli and said, “Sister, have you ever played with a gun?”
“Gun?” Mandy bit her bacon and looked up at Lin Nian, “You’ve played with it, what’s the matter?”
“When did you play?”
“My uncle taught me this in Hawaii last year.”
“What type of firearm? Long gun or pistol?”
“I spent a summer vacation in Hawaii with my uncle’s family. His son really liked playing with guns, and he took me to a firearms training class for a whole month. During that time, I felt like my jaw and shoulders were about to burst.”
“Have you ever played with both long and short guns? But what type are you mainly good at?”
"Sniper rifle! Pull the trigger - bang!" Maybe she was infected by Lin Nian's childish aura. Now Mandy no longer talks like the cold goddess in school, she looks extra out of touch, and even uses pseudonyms.
Vocal words.
“What is the maximum effective shooting distance?”
"One thousand meters? Or nine hundred meters? I forgot. Anyway, it's just this number. The coach praised me for my talent and asked me if I had any intention of joining the army as a female soldier." Mandy finished her meal in three strokes, five divided by two.
He stared at Lin Nian's dinner plate again.
"I probably understand." Lin Nian nodded and finished his breakfast three times, five by two, without leaving any room for Mandy to covet.
After finishing breakfast, Lin Nian wiped his mouth and stood up. He picked up an umbrella and glanced at Lin Xian, "Sister, I'm going out."
“Ah...isn’t the school closed?” Lin Xian asked as he opened his dozing eyes and rubbed the corners of his eyes.
“Can’t I go to school when classes are suspended?” Lin Nian said, “A group of friends who are students living on campus held a party in school and invited me to play.”
"Be careful, don't catch a cold. The recent cold has been quite severe." Lin Xian walked up to Lin Nian and straightened his clothes, then looked at Mandy, "Will your senior sister go too?"
“Together, together.” Mandy nodded, as if she was a little sleepy after eating, and spoke very concisely.
"You two should take good care of each other and don't get into conflicts. Lin Nian, you too, please give way to your senior sister and don't be so annoying when you talk." Lin Xian sent Lin Nian and Mandy to the door and patted him gently.
The back of the head.
Lin Nian seemed to be a little hurt from being photographed. He paused for a while and raised his head with a grin on his face. He glanced at Lin Xian who was smiling and then at Mandy and nodded, "I understand, you still have to go to work today, right?"
It’s raining heavily outside, so be careful and don’t fall.”
“You think I’m you, I’m still young.” Lin Xian laughed, “You still want me to fall late due to this little rain? Maybe I can still paddle across with this rain.”
“Stop talking, I’m going to be late.” Lin Nian waved his hand, handed the umbrella on the shoe cabinet to Mandy, took a new black umbrella and walked out of the door, “I’m leaving.”
“Do you need me to drive you?”
“No need, my senior sister will drive.”
“I think I’m a driver...” Mandy rubbed the corners of her eyes and muttered, holding an umbrella and following her out.
After a while, the sound of a sports car engine starting was heard next door. The headlights shone into the heavy rain. With the roar of the accelerator, the red Porsche jumped past the door of the house like a fish and sped towards the far side of the street, leaving only Lin Xian.
One person stood under the eaves of Yuluo, watching them smiling and waving goodbye.
—
—
Perhaps due to the heavy rain, there were very few pedestrians and vehicles on the streets of Carmel today. The Porsche drove at a speed of 80 yards on the street, galloping for a while before gradually slowing down at the traffic light.
Even if the road is sparse and there are no other vehicles, you still have to drive carefully, because various car accidents have proven that a large truck will always rush out from another intersection at the traffic light in this kind of weather.
“It’s a good thing you bought a hard-top car, otherwise the car wouldn’t be able to drive today.” Lin Nian raised his hand and patted the roof of the car that was crackling with rain.
"Really? I didn't think much of it at the time. My uncle gave me the car for my birthday...ah." Mandy yawned and tapped her hands on the steering wheel in boredom. She turned to look at the deserted driveway.
"Today was pretty good. There weren't many cars. Every time I drove this car and waited for a traffic light, I felt like I was being treated as a corpse to say goodbye."
"What's the meaning."
“The way other car owners look at you...” Mandy pointed to her own eyes.
“Didn’t you sleep well last night?” Lin Nian glanced at Mandy’s lackluster eyes in the rearview mirror and said,
"Some, right? I shouldn't be chatting with you late at night." Mandy forcibly cheered up, opened her eyes wide, and glanced around the street, "But there are really no people on the street today. It's raining so hard and many shops are closed.
Not open."
“It’s a good thing that it’s not open. It reduces the flow of people and reduces the spread of influenza.” Lin Nian said casually.
Mandy thought for a while and had nothing to say. She waited for the traffic light to turn green, put it in gear, stepped on the accelerator and flew out.
As she drove all the way to school, she didn't see many cars on the road, but she passed four or five police cars with their sirens on. Mandy was so frightened that she immediately slowed down, but those police officers seemed to have more important things to do.
Things had to be done, so she didn't have time to check on her speeding sports car, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.
Soon, they arrived at Carmel College. The police cars that used to be at the school gate were gone. It seemed that the evidence collection was basically completed, and all the bodies were collected in the forensic department. Now the university is officially suspended.
In this kind of heavy rain, the usually bustling doorway seemed deserted and quiet.
As soon as the Porsche approached the school gate, someone immediately locked the door. It was one of the transfer students, wearing a black raincoat and gesturing to them to let them in.
After seeing him, Mandy also breathed a sigh of relief. It seems that these transfer students did not run away, but arrived at the college early... But don't these guys eat breakfast? How can they find the strength to catch the murderer if they don't eat?
?
The Porsche slowed down and drove into the parking lot on campus. As soon as it stopped, a transfer student wearing a raincoat came over in heavy rain and opened the car door for the two of them and held up an umbrella. Lin Nian stepped out first, took the umbrella and walked around to the driver's cab.
Mandy also took the answer and asked the transfer student who was walking next to her: "Is everyone here?"
“It’s all here, all preparations are done.” The transfer student handed over a black raincoat and shouted loudly... The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and this was the only way to speak without being disturbed by the sound of rain.
“The chairman said he was worried that the weather today would affect our plans.”
“What’s the plan?” Mandy couldn’t help but ask... She really didn’t know how they were going to catch the murderer today.
"The weather is very bad today. It may be a good thing or a bad thing." Lin Nian stretched out his hand to Mandy to indicate that she didn't need to ask any more questions. He then pulled the transfer student's raincoat on and walked towards A not far away.
A teaching building.
“The president and the chairman are already waiting for you in the teaching building.” Upon seeing this, the transfer student immediately walked to the front to lead the way.
Mandy, who was following the two men, held an umbrella and glanced at the water on the ground. When she raised her head, she looked at the thick dark clouds that had begun to surround the top of the teaching building at some point. Occasionally, lightning flashed like a white python, illuminating the sky.
The gap between the dark clouds.
She felt a little depressed... everything seemed to be a sign that something was about to happen.