This bell must be at least several hundred years old. It looks very ancient, with its complex patterns long since faded from their original appearance.
Mo Ran grasped the hemp rope tied to the clapper and yanked hard, ringing the bell for the first time.
Gu Yixuan, you must be safe and sound.
The second chime followed.
Gu Yixuan, you must be safe and sound.
With each strike, Mo Ran silently prayed the same prayer in her heart. Google seaʀᴄh N()velFire.net
She rang the bell all night long, with its sound echoing across the mountains, never ceasing.
By the time daylight broke, Mo Ran had struck the bell a thousand times. The palms of her hands were raw and blistered, her arms nearly broken and devoid of strength.
However, she had finally made a thousand wishes, each one the same: Gu Yixuan, you must be safe and sound.
Before the visitors began to ascend the mountain, Mo Ran had already descended.
She returned to the villa in Banshan Garden and, after resting in bed for three days, her hands healed.
Time passed, but still, there was no news of Gu Yixuan—neither from the grandmother nor elsewhere—like he had truly vanished from this world.
Mo Ran stayed in the villa, where everything familiar reminded her of her time spent with Gu Yixuan.
There were happy memories, and unhappy ones too.
All memories of her time with Gu Yixuan were precious to her.
Gu Yixuan, it turns out you are more important to me than I thought. Not feeling your presence makes me anxious and lost. My longing for you has seeped into my marrow, tormenting me daily like a constant shadow, subjecting me to endless agony.
If you are still alive in this world, please show up soon, okay?
I really can’t bear the pain of missing you anymore...
Gu Yixuan did not hear her prayers; he still did not appear. Instead, it was the people from the Gu family who showed up.
They came to repossess the house; Mo Ran couldn’t stay here any longer.
She wanted to ask them to leave the house for her, but she had no right to make such a demand...
The people from the Gu family were not Gu Yixuan; they had no relation to her.
The day before the house was taken back, Mo Ran moved out of the villa.
She took a few of Gu Yixuan’s clothes, his water glass, his slippers, his photograph, and his razor.
Actually, she wanted to take everything Gu Yixuan had used, but she couldn’t carry so much, and the Gu family would not allow her to take things from inside.