It was a calm night.
The sneak attack never happened, and worried neighbors looked around in nearby yards and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't you dare to come? Those bastards are smart!" Kuipa looked at the sun in the sky, and the sunlight cast a layer of oily light on his face, but he was still in high spirits, without a hint of fatigue. He turned to look at Wear The nephew who went out neatly, two huge dark circles came into view, "I didn't sleep well last night. Are you more tired than me who stayed up late? My body is so weak at a young age, so cheer up and go to school. I'll wait for you after school. Go home and I’ll teach you some life lessons!”
"Why don't you take a break?" Dean asked with concern as he put on his shoulder bag.
"Back then, I lay down on the beach for three days and three nights without sleep... Even though I'm older, staying up all night is just like getting drunk." Jacob ate the slices of bread that Tang Ya's grandma had just baked, his beard covered with His big mouth exuded the strange smell of mayonnaise, guacamole, fermented wine, and barbecue, "Quickly go, don't be as verbose as your missing dad!"
…
Dean bit a piece of bread and rushed to school by bike.
When he locked his car in the parking lot, he clearly felt that the atmosphere today was a little different. Students gathered in groups and discussed quietly, with an eagerness to try on their faces.
The atmosphere on the entire campus was lively, like the eve of a grand festival.
"Man, I feel relieved to see you intact."
Rust walked from the school gate waving. Today he changed out of the same hooded jacket and wore a blue and white shirt. He was generous and decent. His back was straighter than before, and his face had a hint of confidence. brilliance.
Dean nodded quietly, yesterday's hard work was not in vain.
"What's going on? Is there a holiday coming up?"
"There are still two weeks until Memorial Day! The day after tomorrow, Saturday night, the rich second generation, baseball team patron, Bob Lowe is going to hold a birthday party at the villa on the top of the mountain in Mon Carlo."
Last recalled,
"It was also held last year. The party had food from all over the country, beer, vodka, soda, whiskey tubes, and various exciting games - drinking and kissing contests, quick matching... As far as I know, there were at least dozens of singles last year Men and women get single on party night.”
"Can we drink casually?" Dean frowned. This was different from the impression he had in his previous life. Isn't it strictly forbidden for students to drink in the United States?
"Which law stipulates?" Rust said enthusiastically, "No one will care about private parties as long as there is no accident due to drinking."
"You know so well, have you been there?"
Rust nodded,
"Bob has a lot of followers and acquaintances around him. Anyone who looks familiar can go! His acquaintances can also recommend friends to play. In short, except for the guys who ruin the atmosphere, most people can go, including us. .Last year you were unwilling to do anything, so I went to open my eyes by myself."
"This guy is really good at winning people over. No wonder an outsider dares to claim the throne and is so popular."
Dean's cheeks were tense and his expression was cold and serious. This was not good news for him.
"The day after tomorrow, let's go and see it together?" Rust suggested,
Dean patted his friend's shoulder, returned the few dollars he borrowed yesterday to Rust, and said, "Bob and I don't want to fight each other. If I go to his party, what if he takes the opportunity to humiliate me? But You are different, go have fun and find a chance to get rid of being single. You will graduate next year, you should find a dance partner for the graduation party in advance! "
Rust licked his lips with excitement, then shook his head.
"If you don't go, then I won't go either! We are comrades in the University Alliance and we will advance and retreat together!"
"Dude, no need for that."
"I will never go without you!"
Seeing Rust's resolute attitude, Dean was moved.
Only in the student days could such pure friendship exist.
"Back to Mona...have you found any clues?"
The two walked into the porch side by side,
"She worked at Super lo cinema, do you know that place?"
"A very famous movie theater, not far from the apartment where I live... along the nearby department store to the north..."
"By the way..." Dean paused, remembering what he saw in his hallucination, "Do you know the sewers in Las Vegas? There are people living in them?"
"I guess you asked the right person! Grace is a hotel lobby manager. She is used to meeting all kinds of people and hearing all kinds of strange stories. She once told me... The sewers in Vegas are so big that it is beyond imagination, like an underground city. .”
"Some gold diggers who dreamed of getting rich overnight were defeated by the cruel reality and high consumption of Las Vegas and lived in the sewers... Some rich people spent money like water in the casino and lost all their wealth after a few nights. They became poor and became neighbors. They worked during the day and stayed in the sewers for free at night. They saved money and dreamed of making a comeback... There are also some disabled and mentally ill people who cannot support themselves living in the sewers..."
"There are all kinds of illegal and criminal activities going on there."
"That place is very dangerous. If you don't leave the sewer before the rainy season in Vegas, you will be drowned by the raging tide of the sewer..."
The more Dean listened, the uglier his face became.
The sewer is undoubtedly a mixed place.
How can Mona, who looks innocent and sweet, survive in a place like that?
With doubts, Dean's mood became inexplicably depressed. He felt an indescribable mania and worry.
He didn't sleep well last night either.
This is very strange.
It was obvious that Mona was not his type, and he had not even had any real contact with this girl.
But he couldn't help but care about her and miss her.
There is no doubt that this is a legacy of its predecessor.
"Dean, Dean, you are already dead! Stop torturing me. I promise to fulfill your last wish."
Throughout the morning, Dean muttered to himself and drifted off.
Lunch break.
He couldn't wait to ask for leave and rushed out of school and rode his bicycle. He just ran a few steps and felt that he was staggering and struggling. When he lowered his head and checked, he found that the tires were covered with cuts.
"What the hell, some wicked person did this!"
Dean had no choice but to borrow Rust's car. This guy's grades were not as good as his friends. He was worried that frequent leave would affect his grades, so he stopped following him this time.
"It must be someone who wants to please Bob. Be careful. Do you remember the way to the cinema?"
"Um."
Dean followed the road through the suburbs and entered the bustling downtown area.
North of the department store, entrance to Commercial Street.
The gold-lettered signboard "super lo cinema" shines brightly.
A giant banner was hung at the entrance of the theater, "On May 21, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is coming soon."
But on weekday mornings, only a few tourists took the escalator to watch the movie.
Dean parked his bicycle and trotted into the cinema foyer.
"Why are you here again?!" The conductor was a tall and thin young man who looked less than twenty years old. He had a simple and honest smile on his lips, but when he saw Dean, his smile instantly turned into a bitter smile, " I have said it ten times in half a month. Mona and I are just ordinary colleagues. We only chatted a few times at work. I don’t know where she will hide!"
"Can you please let me go!"
Dean's expression changed.
My predecessor has been here many times but couldn’t find Mona?
Is Mona missing?
He lowered his head and thought for a moment, then asked sincerely,
"Man, I just want to ask you one more time and I promise this is the last time I'll bother you."
"It's useless for you to ask!" The conductor waved his hand impatiently, "Go away quickly, don't delay my work, I'm going to call security!"
"What do you think?"
Dean pressed a two-dollar bill into the conductor's palm, who glanced sideways and said -
As if his face changed, a bright smile appeared on his gloomy face, he bowed gracefully, and stuffed the money into his jacket.
"Chris Irving, it's an honor to serve you."
The corner of Dean's mouth twitched. Las Vegas is indeed a city that is greedy for money, but he just took six hundred dollars from his uncle, so he is rich!
"I'll ask you to answer. This time, I want you to be as detailed as possible."
"I promise you won't miss a word?"
"Well, when did Mona and I meet?"
"you do not know?"
"Dude, forgot the rules?"
Although Chris felt strange, he stopped asking any more questions based on the professional ethics of taking money to eliminate disasters.
"I can only tell you what I know. You two met at least three months ago... Mona had a day off and came to the cinema with you to watch 'Alien'."
Have we known each other for at least three months?
Dean looked at the system, and the event progress began to slowly increase.
"Mona and I often watch movies together?"
"I came every week until half a month ago..."
"What movies do you watch?"
"You don't like watching romantic movies like other couples. You two have the same taste. You love science fiction and thriller movies... Jaws, Dawn of the Dead..."
Dean's lips curved slightly, they both had the same taste as him.
"How much do you know about Mona? How old is she? Where does she live? What is her personality like? Do she have any other friends?"
"Your questions are getting weirder and weirder. Are you playing Sherlock Holmes who has lost his memory?"
Dean slipped in another two-dollar bill.
"I swear, if I say one more word, I will cut off my tongue!" Chris laughed from ear to ear. "As far as I know, Mona is eighteen years old. She has a good personality and smiles at everyone. No matter how much the guests go overboard, she never gets angry. Unfortunately, she once lived in a sewer and was an orphan... It’s really hard for people to like her, so everyone seems to be a bit alienated from her, and no one makes friends with her.”
Well, no father, no mother,
Dean thought,
I don’t have any friends.
From these two points of view, she is indeed a perfect match for her predecessor!
"Where exactly does she live in the sewers?"
"I don't know. The Vegas sewers are incredibly big... It's like a maze. Only the residents inside can find the right path. You didn't find it either, did you? That's why you kept disturbing me."
…
Dean took a deep breath,
"Then what day did she disappear?"
"Half a month ago in the morning, it was her turn to be on duty, but there was no one... The manager thought she would only be absent for one day, but she didn't come to work from that day on, and she couldn't contact anyone despite trying her best. According to me, the sewer There is no way to contact the person, nor can we hand it over to the police!"
"I came to see her ten times? What did I tell you?"
Chris looked at Dean with pity in his eyes, as if looking at a poor ghost, "You want me to repeat what you said?"
"That's right, come on?"
Is this guy some kind of masochist?
Chris sneered in his heart,
"You said that the night before she disappeared, that is, the afternoon of April 19, she came to the theater with you to watch a movie. How could she suddenly disappear?"
April 19th?
Dean rubbed his chin.
This body's birthday is April 20th, the day Mona disappeared.
"In the first two days when he disappeared, you waited foolishly."
Chris's tone was full of mockery of a lovelorn fool;
Dean's lips moved, but it seemed as if an invisible hand was holding his throat, and he couldn't say a word.
"But after a few days, you realized something was wrong. You frantically looked for her and asked everyone in the theater. You even thought she had an accident and almost went to the police station to call the police."
Dean's chest rose and fell violently several times, and he felt a little difficult to breathe. His body began to lose control strangely, and his whole state became more and more abnormal.
"Until you told old Jack, our theater manager in his fifties, the whole thing."
"You said that you and Mona agreed to travel to Los Angeles together during the summer vacation. The night before she disappeared, April 19, you even handed her the two thousand dollars you had prepared in advance."
"After she took the money, her whereabouts were unknown the next day."
Dean's cheeks quickly lost color and became extremely pale. Chris' words were like knives, piercing his heart one after another.
No, I am not the predecessor.
I don't like Mona, why should I feel heartbroken?
"The manager said, there are no such coincidences in the world. Only an innocent fool like you, an innocent virgin who is blinded by love, thinks that she will come back and assumes that something happened to her."
"Do you know how much money two thousand dollars is? Ordinary office workers like us can't save it in two years, which is enough for people to take risks and break the law, and Mona is no exception."
Chris paused,
"Man, accept the reality and treat it like spending money to buy a lesson. Who hasn't been deceived when they were young? But Mona disguises herself too well. She is obviously as cunning as a fox, but on the surface she looks like a fool. "
"You didn't even leave any evidence?" Chris said with a trace of pity in his tone, "It would be difficult to report her."
So, my predecessor was defrauded of all my belongings and her emotions by a female liar?
Dean felt dizzy. He covered his forehead and felt weak.
"Man, what's wrong with you? What's wrong with you?"
Chris helped him to the sofa in the hall and brought him a glass of ice water.
"I'm fine, just leave me alone."
Dean's mind was in chaos, and the image of Mona kept flashing before his eyes.
Sunny smile.
So gentle and sweet.
She is actually a liar?
He blinked hard, and the air around him rippled like water, hazy and dreamy.
He suddenly looked at the empty sofa beside him with feeling. A pair of figures leaning against each other suddenly appeared in the dim light of the ceiling in the distance.
"Is the movie good?"
"To be honest, I didn't pay much attention. I was thinking about other things. Tomorrow is your birthday, and I have prepared a big surprise."
Mona looked at her boyfriend with bright eyes, her face full of sweetness,
"Are you stupid? You've already said it and you still call it a surprise?" Dean shook his head, but a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"I know I'm stupid, but I don't need you to remind me again and again!"
"Then let me guess, your gift is - take me to your home?"
"What's so good about the sewer? It's wet and dirty! And I've been begging for this gift for a long time, and I won't let you down!" Mona waved her fist and said coquettishly,
"Is this why you leave so early every night lately? Don't wrong yourself. In fact, as long as it's from you, I like it no matter what gift it is."
Dean put his arm around the girl's shoulders and narrowed his eyes happily.
…
breathe…
How can there be such stupid idiots in the world?
Dean stood up and wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes. The strong sourness in his nose made him extremely uncomfortable.
"Ludian, you are you, you are not the fool before, and you don't like Mona either!"
He shook his head vigorously at the glass fish tank behind the sofa and emphasized repeatedly.
The reflection on the glass suddenly shook violently, and as the light and shadow changed, it formed a man with a round face and a hooked nose.
He once again fell into the illusion of another memory.
"I heard that Old Jack said that you were defrauded of a huge sum of money by a former employee of my movie theater?" Bob had a strong sarcastic smile on his face, and his strong right hand pressed the back of the neck of a man kneeling by the soft river beach. , pressed his head into the cold river water, "Hey, you are just a dead dog, a good-for-nothing clown, a nobody and a waste, without any dignity as a man."
"What makes you think that any woman would like you?"
"That smart woman with outstanding acting skills would have taken your money and gone to Los Angeles to enjoy the world of entertainment. I guess she is now lying in the arms of a handsome young man, telling you this joke."
Bob Lowe grabbed his hair and pulled his head up from the water. Looking at the pale, weak and desperate face that was drowned by tears and river water, he spat in disdain and disgust,
"Don't harass the employees of my movie theater again, or I won't be able to spare you."
He let go, got into the convertible car, and mocked,
"Idiot, if you feel so uncomfortable, why don't you die?!"
…
breathe…
Why do not you go to hell?
The words kept echoing in Dean's mind like a radio that couldn't be turned off.
That’s it, I remembered it all.
Dean sat on the sofa with his face covered, his shoulders shaking violently, and the strong sadness lingering around him like a real substance.
A few unsuppressed choked sobs flowed out from between the fingers.
At this moment, he could no longer tell whether he was Lu Dian of the Chinese Empire or Dean, an American high school student.
A Chinese teenager in a foreign country.
I lost my parents when I was young.
Weak character.
Being ignored and looked down upon by peers.
Being bullied and ridiculed by the ghost of the rich second generation of the baseball team.
His arrogant uncle was busy with his work, and he was away from him more often, so he lacked the care of his relatives.
But he broke his teeth, swallowed it all, and endured it silently.
Until one day, a smiling girl broke into his life.
With the same experience, lack of friends, and love for movies, the two hit it off and had an incomparable understanding.
He thought they were a perfect match, and he devoted himself selflessly to this relationship, giving everything he had, thinking it would blossom and bear fruit.
In the end, on my birthday.
The one I loved most delivered the fatal blow.
The surprise gift he was expecting turned into ruthless deception and abandonment, and he became a laughing stock in the eyes of others.
Hope disillusioned.
His love was a scam from beginning to end.
His life was a tragedy from beginning to end.
Dean Lew.
Only then will you choose self-destruction.
The man on the sofa said to himself.
…
Ding!
The system jumped suddenly.
Dean's red eyes were fixed on the progress bar.
Jumped to the full grid.
The progress is 100%.
Rewards, waiting to be withdrawn.
…
