CHAPTER 1621: CHAPTER 1621: LOREN’S ’COMPANION

"Loren, where did you run off to? The teacher was just looking for you."

It wasn’t until they ran behind a slide that the figure holding onto He Ao finally stopped. He let go, placed his hands on his knees, lifted his head to look at He Ao, and gasped for breath before quickly asking.

He Ao turned his gaze, looking at the figure beside him.

It was a blond boy wearing light white clothes, slightly shorter than He Ao, with a few freckles and baby fat on his face, and calm blue eyes gazing at He Ao.

"Finn, don’t lie to me," He Ao looked at him and said softly, "The teacher wouldn’t be looking for me."

The blond boy was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then he paused and smiled, "Anyway, you can’t just stand in the rain right? Let’s go to the classroom first; everyone is preparing for the welcome party tonight."

"Welcome party?" He Ao was slightly surprised, then asked, "What’s the date today? What time is it now?"

"The seventeenth," Finn looked at He Ao with some confusion, he glanced at the old wristband on his hand, "Three ten in the afternoon."

Three o’clock on the afternoon of September seventeenth, the time Loren climbed out that year.

He had ’come back’.

He Ao understood where that sense of familiarity came from, everything was just the same as the day Loren left.

Only on the day Loren left, the sun was shining brightly, with not a drop of rain.

"Loren, you’re acting a bit strange today," Finn looked at He Ao, reaching out to touch He Ao’s forehead, "Did you catch a fever from the rain? Do you need to get some medicine from the teacher? Also, where did you get that spear?"

He Ao lifted his head to look at Finn.

Finn was the most popular child in the orphanage, he excelled in his studies, helped the teachers with work, and was kind to everyone.

Because of his relationship with the teachers, even the older kids who bullied others, wouldn’t dare pick on him.

He was also the only one who would approach Loren for a chat when Loren was alone, bringing classroom materials for him whenever he skipped class.

However, Loren didn’t consider them friends, after all, Finn was almost equally nice to everyone.

He Ao adjusted the straps, securely binding the long spear to his back, looking towards the small door next to the large trash bin, "Let’s head back to the classroom first."

"Alright." Finn nodded.

The two of them held up their umbrellas, quickly moving towards the small door.

When they reached near the trash bin, Finn lifted his gaze and spotted a child hiding beneath the slide not far away, then without hesitation, he pulled He Ao and hid behind the trash bin.

"What’s wrong?" He Ao softly asked.

"Shh," Finn hushed nervously, gesturing for He Ao to lower his voice and whispered, "It’s hide and seek."

"Hide and seek?" He Ao was a bit perplexed, whispering in a low voice.

"Close up the umbrella, and your spear," Finn quickly whispered in a low voice, "It wouldn’t be good to get caught."

He Ao closed his umbrella, loosening Vestara’s Spear on his back a bit, hiding it at an angle.

Fortunately, the spear had been scaled down proportionally, or it wouldn’t be so easy to hide.

The orphanage did often play hide and seek, but there wasn’t a habit of needing to hide when you see someone.

Is it some sort of abnormal ’rule’?

He Ao lowered his gaze, looking at the water surface beside him.

By the reflection on the water, he could just make out the child hiding beneath the slide; the reflected slide seemed much older and dirtier, and the child’s figure was somewhat blurry, like an elusive apparition.

At the moment, that child was cautiously peeking his head out to look back.

He Ao raised his gaze, scanning over several water surfaces, finding the water reflection that mirrored the scene behind him.

The content of the reflection seemed calm, as though there was nothing there.

Then, in the next instant, the reflection of a little girl in a white dress suddenly swept past the edge of the water surface.

Her speed was so fast, that He Ao almost couldn’t catch it.

He Ao immediately returned his gaze to the child hiding beneath the slide.

The child had obviously seen the girl in the white dress, quickly pulling back and hiding behind the slide.

He Ao quickly glanced across several water surfaces, seeing the little girl’s reflection.

According to He Ao’s estimate, the little girl should pass by the side of the slide without noticing if the child beneath didn’t move.

However, why did that little girl’s figure look so familiar?

The little girl slowly walked to the side of the slide.

Cre-eak—

It was at this moment that the child hiding behind the slide suddenly ran out, heading towards the classroom door.

In the next instant, the little girl in the white dress appeared in front of him, and ’looked’ at him.

Under the ’gaze’ of the little girl.

The running child’s body shuddered, a wisp of flame erupted from within, blazing into a fierce fire amid the pouring rain, then swiftly turned to ashes.

Leaving only a tiny piece of seemingly like a charred fragment of a hem, falling into the water, half submerged, half above the surface, appearing to float in mid-air under the reflection’s illumination.

Yet during this entire process, the little girl in the white dress had her back towards He Ao, so he didn’t see her face.

He merely vaguely noticed that on the back of the little girl’s collar, there also seemed to be a similar charred fragment.

From behind, she looks a bit like Sui.

At that moment, the little girl slowly turned around.

Brown strands of hair slightly drifted in the rain.

’Her’ ’face’ also became visible.

It was a whole, smooth mask of skin, devoid of facial features, only the eye sockets had slight indentations.

In the next instant, the gaze of that face suddenly shifted downwards, looking towards the pool where He Ao was watching.

Without hesitation, He Ao grabbed Finn’s hand.

The girl’s figure flickered intensely a few times, appearing beside the trash bin, slowly moving forward, following the edge of the trash bin as she walked forward.

And the moment she passed the trash bin, she turned her body, looking towards the back of the trash bin.

There it was empty, with nothing there.

She slowly walked to the back of the trash bin, slowly looking at the gap between the trash bin and the wall.

This gap wasn’t wide, just enough for a slender child to hide.

But when her gaze fell upon the gap, she saw only an equally empty crevice and a crushed packaging box below it.

Through this gap, one could just see the open small door in the distance.

She lifted her ’gaze’, turning away, walking off into the distance.

——

"Ha, phew—"

In the hallway behind the small door, Finn leaned against the wall, panting heavily, turning his face to look at He Ao, flushed with excitement, "Loren, you were amazing."

Whereas He Ao was vigilantly watching the small door, "Will she come in?"

"No," Finn shook his head, "’Ghosts’ usually don’t enter the house, they only move outside."

"Ghosts?" He Ao was somewhat puzzled.