our secret base

Chapter 17 Running away from home
"—Ji Chunzao ran away from home."

It was three days after Yan Jingxing learned the news, he felt a tightness in his chest when he heard the news.

However, the girl did not come to class for two days.She didn't seem to come to school at all, nor was she in the dormitory.

That day, after Ji Chunzao told him, "I want to let go and do it!", the two parted.

She didn't say exactly what she was going to do.Even if Yan Jingxing asked, she just replied: "Leave it to me, you just have to wait patiently!" with a mysterious attitude.

It was a coincidence that Yan Jingxing knew the cause of this incident.He was going to look for his uncle in the office this morning, but he saw a familiar figure of a parent at the door.

A middle-aged woman with gray hair, thin body, and a bag on her body.

Isn't this Chunzao's aunt?

He was startled, and subconsciously stood in front of the office door, peeking inside.

"Excuse me, are you...?"

She asked the teacher who came forward.

"I'm Ji Chunzao's parent, has she come to school?"

"Ji Chunzao?"

The teacher turned to look at his colleagues.

"I know her, which class is she in?"

"Class one every two years." Someone said, "But teacher Gao, the head teacher, is not here these two days..."

The school has not officially released the news, and some teachers do not know the specific situation.But the gossip has already spread among the grades. After all, almost all the people who attend the cram school are from the Experimental Middle School, and there are several parties involved in the class.

When Yan Jingxing came to the school the next day, he could feel that the atmosphere in the morning classroom was different from the past, with an impetuous and restless atmosphere.

He heard all the students around him discussing the accident last night. Everyone said that Teacher Gao suddenly went crazy and injured several students. Now he has been arrested and locked up in a mental hospital.

"Yes, what a coincidence, Teacher Gao is not here. Where are the other teachers, have you seen her?"

Several teachers in the first class exchanged a few words with each other, and quickly came to a conclusion.

"I didn't see her in class."

"I asked the students in the same dormitory as her. Ji Chunzao hasn't come to school for the past two days."

"Is she staying home and sick?"

"No, she's not at home these days." Aunt Chunzao replied, "That's why I came to school to look for her."

There was a lot of discussion in the office, and the expressions of the teachers became serious.

"She's not at school or at home. Could it be that she ran away from home?"

Yan Jingxing, who was standing outside the office, heard the conversation of the teachers. He turned his lower body, leaning his back against the wall, his heart pounding.

Chunzao, she... ran away from home?
His first subconscious reaction was regret.

He clearly knew the danger existed, but because of that dream—if different opportunities come together, things will change dramatically—out of such selfish thoughts, he didn't stop Ji Chunzao.

"Did you call the police?"

"Call the police?" Aunt Chunzao immediately shook her head, "No, she will come back. I just came to ask, don't take it to heart."

The teachers looked at each other and watched the middle-aged woman turn and leave the office.

……

As soon as she went out, she saw Yan Jingxing, and her eyes widened immediately.

What happened at the entrance of the mall that day obviously left a deep impression on the other party.

"you……"

"Chunzao disappeared? Where did she go?"

"Didn't she hang out with you often? I want to ask you."

Aunt Chunzao replied angrily.

"Going to the beach, I guess. She used to sneak out and come back wet after swimming all day, and I couldn't help her."

"Even so, will she not go home?"

"Who knows, it didn't happen before." The woman left in a hurry after leaving a word.

"I'll go find her!"

Yan Jingxing shouted behind her, but the other party ignored her.

……

"what are you doing here?"

Yan Jingxing ran into another acquaintance in the corridor.

"That person just now must be Chunzao's aunt."

The classmate of the team leader held a large stack of homework books and quickly buried her head.She poked her head out and was looking in the direction of the woman's back.

"Did Chunzao do something again and was called a parent by the teacher?"

I thought you broke up with Chunzao.

As if seeing through his thoughts, Xie Yuzhi added another sentence:
"The two of us are roommates after all. We haven't seen her for the past two days, so we thought we went to find aliens with you again. But judging by your expression just now, don't you know the reason why she didn't come to school?"

Xie Yuzhi looked at him with an inquiring look of "what's your mood now?"

Yan Jingxing sighed, said "Let me help you", took away half of the homework books piled high in her hands, and the two walked towards the office again.

"I don't know, that's why I want to find her. After school... No, forget it, I'll ask the teacher for leave today."

Xie Yuzhi glanced at his profile.

"Chunzao will be fine."

"Huh? Why?"

Yan Jingxing asked strangely.

"Intuition. In my opinion, she is a special person. I don't have good intentions to help people casually. Just like everyone, as long as they see me, they will think that I will have achievements in the future; when I see her, I have the same feeling." a feeling of."

"..."

To be honest, Yan Jingxing didn't understand what she was talking about, was she praising herself?Judging by her calm expression, it probably didn't mean that.

"I see what you meant that day. Didn't you plan to continue to be friends with Chunzao? Why do you feel that you think highly of her?"

"The two are not contradictory. No matter what kind of person she will become in the future, it still makes me feel unbearable to talk about 'alien' all day long."

Xie Yuzhi put down her homework on an empty desk, and brushed her hair that was hanging down her ears.

"In short, I think if Ji Chunzao chooses to leave people's sight one day, it must be because she is disappointed with everyone. But now, hasn't she met you? So don't worry, she knows it well."

Yan Jingxing didn't think something would happen to her.In fact, what he was really dissatisfied with was——

"The problem is, I regard her as a friend, but I make my own opinions without saying a word. Don't you know that others will worry?"

Xie Yuzhi blinked and said again:
"Maybe she felt the danger, so she didn't want to involve you."

"Is it dangerous... I know that too."

Yan Jingxing held his chin, trying hard to put himself in the position of Chunzao to think about the problem.

Because of the vague memory of the encounter in childhood, it became the biggest psychological obstacle for Ji Chunzao when using the summoning ability.

But she said that she didn't want to stagnate, and she must have been affected by his appearance in the process-in short, she finally mustered up the courage to face it proactively.

So you have to face it alone?But this...

Isn't it too brave?

"Oh, no, I still can't let go. I'm going to find her."

When Yan Jingxing walked out of the office again, he had already made up his mind.

"me and you together."

But what he didn't expect was Xie Yuzhi's reaction beside him.

"……what?"

He looked at her strangely.

This person said that he didn't want to have anything to do with Chunzao, but he didn't let it go at all.

"is this necessary?"

"This is my decision, not discussing it with you." The girl frowned, "I will call a car to drop you off now, and we can go together if you want to, but if you don't want to, we can also separate and find our own way." .”

"...I hope you can give me a ride, thank you."

Yan Jingxing begged honestly.

"Very good." Xie Yuzhi nodded in satisfaction, "Do you know where she is now?"

"I heard from Aunt Chunzao that she often goes to the beach alone."

"So that's how it is, the sea... But isn't the target range too big?"

"I might know where she went."

Yan Jingxing said in a low voice.

On the sea, it is vast and free, and there are only a few people, which will not affect the surroundings.

If Ji Chunzao is looking for a place to do what she wants to do, it is indeed the most suitable place.

The problem is just like what the girl in front of me said, I only know the two key words "near Baiyue Town, and the seaside", the scope is still too large, and it is impossible for the two of them to find it.

But, if... If Ji Chunzao wants to be found by him, the answer may be the only one——

"Then let's go now."

Xie Yuzhi clapped her hands without asking why, and acted extremely decisively.

Fifteen minutes later, the two junior high school students with schoolbags on their backs had already left the school gate.

*
"It should be in that direction. Along the road, can you see a rest stop? It's near there."

The black car drove smoothly on the suburban road.

Yan Jingxing, who was sitting in the back row, put his face close to the window, watched the scenery outside the window fly by quickly, vaguely recognized the familiar intersections and signs, and explained the location and direction to the driver.

Xie Yuzhi didn't sit in the passenger seat, but sat next to him, holding her schoolbag and closing her eyes to rest.

Occasionally he couldn't help turning his head to look at her.

The girl's eyes were closed and she was sitting upright, her thick eyelashes trembling slightly like the wings of a butterfly, casting shadows on her eyelids on her snow-white face.

Xie Yuzhi's breathing was long and steady, Yan Jingxing began to wonder if she was really asleep, she was motionless, she looked like a statue carved out of jade.

"Is that the place?"

The driver confirmed to him.

"Correct."

Yan Jingxing took a deep breath.

Ji Chunzao was at the place where the two of them first met - he wasn't sure about the answer.

But he had nowhere else to go.

"Just stop here."

Xie Yuzhi slowly opened her eyes.

"I'll go down with him for a walk, so you don't have to follow."

"But, miss..."

The driver hesitated to speak.Yan Jingxing naturally noticed that the person who came this time was not the one who subdued Teacher Gao last time. It seemed that Xie Yuzhi had more than one driver at home.

"Two 10 minutes, just give us two 10 minutes."

Xie Yuzhi put her schoolbag aside, pushed the door open from the co-pilot's side and jumped out of the car, her movements were very neat.

……

Today's sky is gloomy than in the past. In the distance where the sea and sky meet, gray clouds are gathering, and the blue sky is blocked by haze, like a sign of an impending storm.

The billowing sea water slapped on the reef, like the wet tongue spit out by a monster in the sea; amidst the howling and whimpering wind, the waves were getting higher and higher, hitting the bedrock under the road, splashing a lot of water.

"The weather is not very good. Is it going to rain?"

He set up the tent with his hands and looked into the distance, feeling a little worried in his heart.

"We find her as soon as possible and leave as soon as possible."

The captain's attitude was the same as before, as calm as if he had never been influenced by the outside world.

The two walked along the guardrail on the coast, Yan Jingxing silently recalled the scene of that day, and determined the current position.

is it here?

Already some distance away from the rest stop, haven't you arrived yet?
No, it seemed like I ran away last time...

Or, did I guess wrong?This possibility is relatively large.

He felt uneasy in his heart, and couldn't help breaking the silence:

"If Chunzao isn't here..."

"You mean you're not sure? We might be wasting our trip?"

"I said 'maybe' at the beginning."

"That's too bad." Xie Yuzhi sighed, "Wasting my time is a felony. As a punishment, I will let the driver leave you here and let you find a way to go back alone."

"..."

Yan Jingxing opened his mouth wide in shock, and then saw her frowning slightly.

"I'm just kidding."

"Don't be scary, okay, I think most people really can't tell if you're joking."

He replied angrily.

"I just want you to relax a little bit."

There was no "laughing" in Xie Yuzhi's expression.She quickly changed the subject.

"She didn't run away from home for no reason, did she? Even if she was found, have you thought about how to persuade her?"

Yan Jingxing did not answer.

The classmate of the team leader didn't know the reason, but he knew it very well.

Can he convince Chunzao to change his mind?Rather, can anyone really stop her who is determined?
Moreover, he obviously agreed with it before, and in Ji Chunzao's view, maybe it was inexplicable that he returned suddenly.

"If you can't find her here, do you have any other ideas?"

"Hmm...maybe in the nearby forest? Do you know what mountain her parents disappeared from?"

"You have the same idea as me. But if you want to organize people to search the mountain, it's a different situation. Depending on the situation, you should call the police first."

"Are you willing to make such a big splash for her..."

Although he knew that the girls around him didn't like this topic, Yan Jingxing still couldn't help but sigh with emotion. It seems that Ji Chunzao didn't just say it casually when he said, "The classmate takes care of her like a mother."

"If you want to do it, you have to do it to the end. I don't like to give up halfway, that's all."

Xie Yuzhi stared at the undulating sea in the distance under the gray sky, and answered in a low voice.

……

A few minutes later, Yan Jingxing saw a figure that was too familiar.

From that distance, she stood on the rock like a tiny black speck.But he still recognized her at the first sight, and couldn't help shouting:
"Spring algae—!"

He was a little excited and immediately waved in that direction.

The girl turned around.

Every inch of clothing on her body was dancing in the oncoming wind, and her long black hair stretched back like dark clouds falling from the sky.

Then, he heard laughter.

"Hehe...hahahaha...hahahaha..."

The clear laughter was submerged in the sound of wind and sea tide in the background sound, Yan Jingxing was shocked when he heard the vague laughter.

What... are you laughing at?Why is that weird?

"—I succeeded!"

Ji Chunzao put his hands to his mouth, shouted at the two people in the distance with all his might, and bowed so hard.

"I... succeeded!"

(End of this chapter)