Kaleidoscope of Death

Chapter 97: Door Eleven

Lin Qiushi listened in, and realized Ruan Nanzhu was talking to Zhuang Rujiao about joining Obsidian, and Zhuang Rujiao seemed to have agreed.

"Pleasure working with you." Ruan Nanzhu extended a hand.

"Likewise." Zhuang Rujiao gripped Ruan Nanzhu's hand back.

Lin Qiushi set the dishes before Ruan Nanzhu, and saw Zhuang Rujiao heading upstairs with her bag, seemingly on her way to her room. He was a bit shocked. "She... Isn't she with White Deer?"

Ruan Nanzhu pinched the bridge of his nose. "Li Dongyuan's death wasn't an accident."

Lin Qiushi startled.

Ruan Nanzhu, "someone got him killed." Leaning against the sofa, he quietly told the shocking tale. "Zhuang Rujiao found out the truth, and got revenge for Li Dongyuan."

His gaze fell on Lin Qiushi.

Feeling a bit odd about this stare, Lin Qiushi started to ask, but then heard Ruan Nanzhu say: "If it was me who jumped, what would you do?"

Lin Qiushi forced a smile. "Don't joke about that."

What he didn't know was how stiff his expression had gone; that smile of his wasn't masking his internal panic at all. Lin Qiushi had never considered such a possibility. Made aware by Ruan Nanzhu like this, panic rushed in in a flood, enough to leave him feeling suffocated.

Likely because Lin Qiushi's reaction was so strong, Ruan Nanzhu's brow lightly furrowed. He quietly spoke, "I've thought about it."

Lin Qiushi, "what?!" He wanted to keep asking, but Ruan Nanzhu was already done. He stood with a wave for Lin Qiushi, and left too.

Lin Qiushi watched his back with no immediate comprehension, not understanding why the gentle Ruan Nanzhu from yesterday seemed completely different today.

Could it be the matter with Zhuang Rujiao and Li Dongyuan that brought about some major change in Ruan Nanzhu?

Lin Qiushi couldn't understand Ruan Nanzhu's thoughts—couldn't even guess at any answers. He felt weird and uneasy, like he'd prepared for a lot, but in the end discovered that the other had backtracked first.

Zhuang Rujiao officially joined Obsidian, becoming one of their members. She even entered a couple of doors with Lu Yanxue.

After resting for a few weeks, Lin Qiushi too brought up entering a door again.

"Need me to come along?" was Ruan Nanzhu's question upon Lin Qiushi's request.

"No," Lin Qiushi said. "I want to train on my own."

"Okay," Ruan Nanzhu said. "I looked at the timing—that Gu Longming's fifth door should be opening soon. Are you still in contact with him? If you are, take him."

Lin Qiushi, "we're in contact."

Ruan Nanzhu nodded; the matter was to be so.

Lin Qiushi stared at him, words stopping in his throat.

These days, after his body recovered, Ruan Nanzhu had grown busy once more. Just like how it had been when Lin Qiushi first joined Obsidian, he was rarely seen inside the mansion.

"What? Is there something else?" Ruan Nanzhu asked.

"No," Lin Qiushi replied. "Good night."

He turned and left. He didn't know that Ruan Nanzhu silently stared after his back for a while yet.

Gu Longming's fifth door was at the end of next month. He'd first been worried about finding help, but then Lin Qiushi took the initiative, offering to cross with him.