Start off on the wrong foot

Zhen Yu. Come to think of it, the reason why he was able to be with Ji Chen smoothly seemed to be because of this person.

It's really... really ridiculous!

June 24th, today, is Zhen Yu's birthday.

She still remembered that on this day a few years ago, Ji Chen got up early in high spirits and made the first cake in her life.

She was eagerly thinking about what expression that person would have when eating the cake she made with her own hands.

She waited downstairs of that person's house from morning until nightfall. The sky changed from a bright day to being covered by darkness.

She kept making phone calls and sending messages... but no one paid attention to her.

It was very hot that day. The cake was in her hand, and little by little, it slowly melted under the sun...

"I knew that you'd start thinking too much again at this time!"

Tian Yimeng came, bringing a few bottles of wine.

When she arrived, Ji Chen was leaning against the window... The lights in the room were off, but with the countless neon lights flickering outside the window, it wasn't particularly dark, and it was still possible to see clearly.

She had always thought that since this girl had Li Xuan, she wouldn't think about that person anymore.

But after all these years, how could she have forgotten how difficult it was to forget someone!

She knew that over the years, Ji Chen had been constantly looking for news about that person. That person had blocked her, but she still insisted on using other people's accounts to find even the tiniest bit of news about him.

But over the years, that person seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth, heartlessly leaving no news at all.

People say that when you have a new love, you'll forget the old one. But Ji Chen's new love was found because of the old one. Thinking about it, it's really ridiculous!

"Why? Tell me, I clearly gave all my tenderness, all my courage, all my pride, and all my schemes to the same person at that time! They all say that as long as you work hard, you won't regret it. But why, even though I tried my best, the ending was still a complete failure?"

Ji Chen took the wine from Tian Yimeng and took a few gulps.

The wine had a strong aftertaste and was very spicy, but it still couldn't numb Ji Chen.

"Was I wrong from the very beginning? They say that whoever takes it seriously first loses. But it was clearly him who took the first step before me. Why did I lose?"

Over the years, when encountering such situations, Tian Yimeng had always just been a listener, and this time was no different.

Ji Chen stood up from the sofa: "I seem to have done something wrong again. Li Xuan is a really, really good person. In fact, he shouldn't have become my tool! I... I think I've thought about really liking him, but why, every time it comes to this, all my efforts are in vain? I... I really..."

Ji Chen couldn't help but shed a few tears. The countless neon lights shone on her face, but they couldn't make her look the slightest bit elegant or lively.

"Silly girl, why have you never asked me if I want to be your tool?"

Under the reflection of the countless neon lights, it was still gloomy, but it was never just Ji Chen alone. Li Xuan should be regretting now, regretting having such sharp ears and regretting uncontrollably listening to every word Ji Chen said. He was a bit choked up.

"I've known for a long time that you were with me with a plan! But... but I've already forgiven you! Silly girl!"

Li Xuan clenched his fists a little tighter. The red wine on the table was tinged with the color of the moonlight, and it became a deeper shade of dark red, which was particularly charming. On this summer night, there was no rain. The sky had been a clear blue all morning, and it was clear throughout the night with high visibility. But it still made people feel suffocated.

Ji Chen wanted to give up, give up struggling, and give up sinking deeper and deeper in the quicksand of the swamp.

She wanted to let go, let go of Li Xuan and the former self who treated her with sincerity.

In Shanghai, this city that never sleeps, even though Ji Chen was feeling down all night, the countless neon lights outside the window were still there to accompany her through the night.

Finally, the colors of the neon lights were replaced by the brightness of the day. The sun the next day wouldn't lose its orbit or direction because of other people's matters.

The beams of light also replaced the neon lights and shone in from outside the window. The round circles of light were reflected layer by layer on Ji Chen's face and body. Her slightly tipsy and reddish cheeks were made even more dazzling by these circles of light.

"Dong - dong - dong —" There was a knock on the door. There was a delay between every two knocks, and after the fourth knock, there was no sound.

Ji Chen was holding the glass of red wine that she kept swirling, staggering and stumbling towards the door. Tian Yimeng had left last night, and Ji Chen was the only one in the house.

It took Ji Chen a while to find the door with that glass of wine, and she barely managed to find the door lock based on her muscle memory.

When she finally opened the door, there was no one outside. She was a bit impatient and wanted to close the door. When she lowered her head to find the door lock, she noticed a delicate breakfast placed on the ground.

In fact, it wasn't particularly delicate. It just happened to suit her taste. It was still the same old combination: soybean milk, deep - fried dough sticks, and a bowl of mushroom and lean pork congee without century eggs...

He seemed to have promised to make three meals a day for her.

Ji Chen squatted down, carried the tray back into the house, and the red wine that had been in her hand was quietly placed on the floor near the door.

There was a blue sticky note attached to the tray, which read: Eating century eggs too often is not good for your health. Also, drink less wine.

It was just a few simple sentences, but the tears that Ji Chen had finally dried up after a night were moistened again by the new ones that fell, coming back to life.

He had let her down, and she had let him down.

She picked up the bowl of congee and then reached out to take the spoon beside it.

She scooped up a small bite of congee and put it in her mouth. She chewed the food in her mouth, and then it went down her throat and into her esophagus...

Her stomach, which had been in turmoil due to drinking wine all night, unexpectedly settled down after that small bite of congee, leaving only a warm feeling in her stomach.

People, even though they know their own feelings of warmth and cold, still stubbornly insist that the cold is what they want.

"Master, you have a call! Master, you have a call! Master..." Ji Chen picked up her phone and swiped up.

"Xiao Qi? What's wrong?"

"Boss, it's not good. The Animal Protection Association you joined just now informed us that a hacker netizen intercepted a message about the smuggling of wild animals. They will be passing through the suburbs around Shanghai with the captured wild animals tonight. I'll send you the address now. The police have already made arrangements, but they don't have enough veterinarians. So they called our clinic. What do you think..."

"Okay, I see. Send me the exact time and location on my phone!"

She was in a very restless mood today, and this phone call completely woke her up. She definitely had to go. Although avoiding Li Xuan was one of the reasons, the most important thing was that she really hated those people who smuggled animals.

In this world of natural selection, the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak, is inevitable. It's the law of nature. Humans are at the top of the food chain.

It's understandable that we eat grains, as well as chicken, duck, fish, and meat. But at the very least, we shouldn't brutally kill or abuse them.

Ji Chen took her change of clothes and went into the shower room to wash off some of the smell of alcohol on her body.

In fact, Ji Chen wasn't extremely drunk. Although she had been drinking all night, even though the time span was long, she only took sips from time to time, so the amount she drank wasn't that much.

Even though she had been slightly tipsy all night and her head was still 隐隐作痛,it wasn't a serious problem anymore.

"Ding - dong —" A text message from Xiao Qi came on her phone. The time was 9:30 p.m., and the transaction location was near the village where she first met Li Xuan...

That village was no longer in Shanghai, and it was quite a distance away.

But Ji Chen didn't think much about it. Her mind was full of the scene of those wild animals covered in blood and curled up together.

Ji Chen's heart clenched. After packing for a few minutes, she immediately ran to the animal clinic to pack all the items she needed to bring tonight.

Afraid that it wouldn't be enough, Ji Chen almost packed all the injections and medicines in the clinic and took them away, leaving only one or two emergency doses.

After packing everything, she took a few veterinarians with her. In the clinic, only trainee veterinarians who knew some simple wound dressing were left.

They set off by car early and, after meeting with the local police station, they set up an ambush in a forest not far from the transaction site.

People filled their stomachs with compressed biscuits bought from the local residents and washed them down with mineral water, and then they silently waited under the scorching sun for a while.

Finally, the scorching sun slowly set towards the west, and the burning pain on their backs caused by sunburn finally eased a bit.

In the forest at dusk, many unknown birds made creepy sounds. From time to time, a flock of birds would suddenly be startled and fly up, breaking the sky that had just become quiet.

Finally, the dusk passed, and the night fell. It was eerily quiet all around, and some scattered will-o'-the-wisps could still be faintly seen not far away. Ji Chen, as a veterinarian, of course knew that this was because there was phosphorus in human bones. After the body rotted and underwent changes, phosphine would be generated. The ignition point of phosphine was very low, and it could ignite spontaneously. When people walked, it would move behind them (because the pressure was lower where the flow rate was higher).

They knew this, but the local guiding resident didn't. He said foolishly, "You'd better not go. Do you know about the will-o'-the-wisps! The ghosts are coming! They must be here to stop you. Really! Just leave!"

"Oh, Uncle, stop talking! This will-o'-the-wisp is a normal scientific phenomenon!" Xiao Qi kindly explained to the villager.

"What do you know, young girl! You must never say such things. Be careful that they come for you later!" The villager retorted impatiently.

"Ah, come on, stop demoralizing us! These so-called will-o'-the-wisps are really just white phosphorus from dead people..." A male policeman couldn't stand it anymore and also retorted.

"You people really don't care about your lives! Then don't drag me to my death! Seriously! You're supposed to be the police! You really don't know anything!"

The villager didn't want to argue more about this matter and stubbornly stuck to his own opinion. As soon as he heard this, he quickly got up and walked angrily in the direction of his house without looking back...