"No, that's not right. This is too rash. How is that possible?"
Qiao Yuanji also knew that he must look silly and suspicious if he could only stare blankly at Jin Yan. The door to the office was wide open. The Transformers in the corridor outside were coming and going, chatting and laughing. No one suspected that there was a test going on in the office just a short distance away.
"Didn't Jin Yan already see the photo of me on the wall? Why would she dare to come to such a conclusion? Unless she was deliberately luring the snake out of its hole, right?
But if Jin Yan had already transformed, she should not have noticed anything strange from the bird food box. In order to come to the conclusion that the Shapeshifters would not feed the birds, one must first have the premise that the Shapeshifters lacked compassion. However, the Shapeshifters would not have such a premise. After all, in their own eyes, they were normal humans.
To discover that Qiao Yuanji was not a Transformers from the bird food box, there must be two things. One was a clear understanding of the nature of the Transformers, and the other was a simple but complete logic. The Transformers did not have these two things. At least, that was the case for now. She had observed so many Transformers, but for the time being, she had not found a counterexample.
Based on this inference, the possibility of Jin Yan being a Transformers was not high.
Qiao Yuanji swallowed his dry throat, but he still could not speak. The female student opposite her was also staring at her. The former's face was getting paler and paler, as though a layer of cement was gradually pouring into her face. It was so stiff and frozen that she could not even raise her eyebrows. However, her growing fear could still be seen. Jin Yan lowered her head and quickly retracted her trembling hand, which was originally resting on the table.
Qiao Yuanji suddenly understood.
"Isn't it the same for me?"
She did not know how many times she felt that she could not endure the feeling of suffocation for even a second longer. She wished she could grab those normal people who had not yet transformed, shake their collars, and point at their deformed faces, asking them to open their eyes and take a good look.
It would be fine if she could wake up one of her companions. Even if she was discovered and drowned by the crowd, she would at least shout once before she disappeared. If she failed, then everything would come to an end. She would no longer have to endure silently. It had only been two months since the new world began, and she was only thirty-three years old. She did not know how she would spend the rest of her life.
"Jin Yan must be feeling the same, right?"
She tried to steady her voice to break the silence in the room that seemed to have lasted for too long.
"… Didn't you see my photo?" Even if Qiao Yuan Temple could empathize with Jin Yan, she did not dare to rashly admit it, so she asked the safest question.
"Miss Qiao, is this a test you set? "Ms. Qiao … Is this a test that you set up? Are you using the bird food box to attract those who haven't transformed to come to you? "
Jin Yan asked.
"My father is a photographer … I know how to edit photos by cutting and piecing together negatives. Aren't you afraid that they'll suspect something? "The more Jin Yan spoke, the softer her voice became. Even Qiao Yuan Si found it difficult to hear her clearly. She couldn't help but glance at the door. Jin Yan was probably afraid of being overheard by passersby.
"." Jin Yan. "Jin She"., "I". ". Jin". "." Jin "., Yan. Jin. She. "I Yang". "I". "
"Since you are so sure, what are you afraid of?" Qiao Yuanji's heart was thumping, but he did not admit it.
Jin Yan closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Because I don't know the purpose of you setting up this test." When she answered, she closed her eyes. It was as if she had thrown caution to the wind. "Miss Qiao, why do you want to find other normal people?"
"The more normal people around me, the more dangerous it is." "The more normal people around me, the more dangerous it is." In the depths of Qiao Yuanji's mind, this sentence kept repeating. At some point, she put down her pen and reached across the table to hold Jin Yan's shoulder.
"This is not the place to talk." Qiao Yuanji's breath was trembling. "Come with me."
In the first week after he found Jin Yan among the sea of deformed faces, Qiao Yuanji felt that he must have been blessed by God.
As long as he had a companion, everything immediately changed. Humans were probably such creatures. When they were connected, one plus one was greater than two. For safety's sake, Jin Yan did not substitute for her class in the end. However, it did not matter. Jin Yan said that the reason she insisted on scheduling this class was because she wanted to observe Qiao Yuanji more.
"Miss Qiao, I really don't know what supports you," Jin Yan would sometimes say.
Jin Yan did not seem to take the fact that the Old World had already ushered in its end. Rather, she felt that it was just a way for Qiao Yuanji to view the world and express his feelings. On the premise that they did not talk about the past, Qiao Yuanji mentioned it twice. When he saw that she did not take it to heart, he let it go. After all, what difference did it make to their lives whether they accepted it or not?
Compared to the past, the general framework of their living environment had not changed, but there were already subtle, chaotic deterioration in many aspects. After becoming a marginalized person who was in imminent danger, Qiao Yuanji observed the world around her, partly out of curiosity and partly out of helplessness. Other than the gradual increase in negligence, deceit, perfunctory crudeness, and inferior absurdity, public security seemed to be slowly deteriorating. Some of the sensational news and stories made her suspect that it was the fault of posthumans.
As an anomaly hidden among the shapeshifters, an ordinary person who lived in the apocalyptic world, Qiao Yuanji clearly realized that her life would only slowly and bit by bit become worse in the future — if she was lucky enough.
If she was unlucky, the world might rapidly change into something she could not recognize overnight. She did not know which day she would be grabbed by the world the morning she stepped out of the house and burned to ashes.
Later, Qiao Yuanji found out that it was not the morning when she was burned to ashes.
On the day of the last ten months, after Qiao Yuanji entered the house, she received a message from Jin Yan on her answering machine. "Miss Qiao." The latter's voice was a little agitated. "Don't be angry when you hear this. I know you don't approve of what I'm doing. But this time, I'm 200 percent sure that I found another normal person who can see the transformation!"
Qiao Yuanji's heart immediately hung in her throat. Jin Yan was clear-headed and smart, but she was still young, after all. Sometimes, she could be said to be brave, but she could also be said to be reckless. Plus, she had run into Qiao Yuan Si the first time she came into contact with other people. Encouraged by this success, she always felt that she could find another Qiao Yuan Si.
"Don't worry. I didn't say a word about your existence to him. We agreed to meet at the park next to the school at seven o 'clock tonight. At that time, I'll carefully observe and consider him. "
'Seven o' clock? '
Qiao Yuanji raised her wrist to look at her watch. She quickly grabbed the hat and scarf hanging by the door, turned around, and rushed out the door.
Jin Yan had indeed given it more thought. At that moment, it was gradually entering winter. The park at seven o 'clock was already completely dark. Under the orange street lights, there were few people in the park. The view was wide and accessible. If something really happened, Jin Yan would have a chance to escape.
When Qiao Yuanji, who was searching everywhere, saw two figures on a bench in the distance, she hurriedly stopped and sat down on the edge of the flower bed. Under the shade of the tree, she pulled her hat down and raised her scarf. Her eyes were fixed on the figures who looked like a couple. The boy was a little older than Jin Yan, and he looked unfamiliar. He did not look like a student. Instead, he looked like someone who had already started working.
Qiao Yuanji sat far away and observed for a while. She gradually relaxed. At such a distance, she naturally could not hear anything. But from the atmosphere and body movements of the two of them when they were interacting, it seemed that everything was going smoothly. The two of them did not talk for long. After more than ten minutes, they nodded to each other. The boy stood up and left first.
Fortunately, the other half of her heart was put at ease. Qiao Yuanji had followed them just to ensure Jin Yan's safety. Now that she saw that the boy had left first and Jin Yan was fine, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. After thinking for a while, she stood up and followed the boy from a distance.
The boy did not seem to realize that he was being followed. The two of them, one in front and one behind, walked quietly in the dark. There were very few people in the park. Only a man who looked like an office worker walked past them. After a while, a female employee in a red company uniform walked past. Then, two girls of similar age with employee tags on their chests walked past. Then, a middle-aged man in a blue company uniform walked past.
… Were there very few people?
When Qiao Yuanji suddenly stopped and turned around to rush back, in the corner of her vision, the boy walked toward the park gate without looking back.
In that dark and cold winter evening, the scenes in her memory became as old and unreal as a black and white movie.
Qiao Yuanji remembered that she had been running back with all her might. It was only a two to three minutes journey, but it seemed that she would never reach the end. As for Jin Yan, she seemed to have suddenly appeared in front of her. Jin Yan was still sitting on the bench. She did not know when she had lowered her head, but her long hair covered the side of her face.
Beside Jin Yan, the office worker, the two girls with employee tags, the female employee in a red uniform, and the middle-aged man in a blue uniform were standing in a circle, surrounding the girl on the bench. When they heard Qiao Yuan Temple's stumbling and abruptly stopping footsteps, they turned their heads one after another.
Every one of them was a human face.
Qiao Yuanji was in a trance and did not notice their gazes at all. He just stared at Jin Yan.
Finally, Jin Yan slowly turned her head.
Thick, blood-red scratches crawled out from the corners of her eyes. It was as if blood was tearing the earth apart. They climbed up her face and tore it into several pieces. Her tears fell one after another, but they couldn't wash away the bloodstains on her face.
Qiao Yuansi sucked in a cold breath and made a small sound in her throat. By the time she hurriedly covered her mouth with both hands, it was already too late. As if they had heard some kind of signal, the group of company employees walked towards her step by step.
"As expected, there's still one more," someone said.
— — out of topic — —
I apologize for dragging it out for too long … Speaking of which, what if in the next few chapters, all of the characters suddenly start winning 10 million yuan, meeting Li Dongxu by chance, and falling in love (?)? Wake up as Natalie Portman or something. I hope you guys just pretend you didn't see it, okay?
Why? Because a bird crashed into my window yesterday …
There was a loud thud. Fortunately, the bird was fine, but it seemed to have hit it hard. It fluttered to the edge of the balcony, shook its head a few times as if it was dizzy, and rested for a while before flying away. Later, I looked at the glass. There were two small feathers stuck to it, and there was even some bird saliva splattered on it … Think about how hard it hit! My heart ached for it, and I wondered if I had a superpower that could make anything I wrote come true … So, please bear with me. Ah.
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