Chapter 16 Chapter Sixteen Concerning the Fulfillment of the Undead

On the sixth day after Xiaoni ran away from home, I accompanied Aunt He to the police station to report the case. I told Aunt He that I dreamed that Xiao Ni was admitted to a university. Unexpectedly, Aunt He was not relieved. She frowned and said, some people say that dreams are opposite to reality, so Xiao Ni will not have any accidents outside, right? So I decided to go to the police station, maybe there would be another way to find Xiaoni. The policeman on duty wrote down the relevant situation in a big notebook, and then told us to leave. Is it that simple?I thought the police would take some measures.

The policeman said, that's the only way to do this, first write down the situation.But we will spread this situation to various places, and we will contact you if there are clues.For example, a female corpse was found outside the province a few days ago. After the news got out, we found clues locally. What the policeman said was true, but the example he gave frightened Aunt He and me. Since then, we have been terrified and terrified of the phone ringing at home, because it can bring both the best news and the worst news. In the evening, when I turned on the TV to watch the social news, I was also afraid that there would be a report that a female corpse was found somewhere on the TV.

However, the more afraid I am, the more I have to watch TV.Fortunately, there is nothing to scare me.It was Fang Qiang, whom I had lost contact with for a long time, who let me see it on TV. It was still the same face with a single scar, but now it seemed to be in high spirits.He is already the creative director of a major advertising company.The report said that a month ago, he applied for a job in this company with zero wages, and within 20 days, he came up with an advertising idea for a multinational company's local promotion.The creativity was highly praised, and the advertising company immediately promoted him as the advertising creative director.

I was very surprised.This Fang Qiang, who lives in a dream, was only able to work as a security guard in the entertainment city more than a month ago, why did he suddenly become a big deal? I called this advertising company. It was the switchboard of the company. I said Fang Qiang's name, and the operator quickly answered the call. When a familiar voice sounded, I said I was Jun.He said he recognized my voice.We chatted like old friends.He said he always wanted to contact me, but he was too busy to have time.It just so happened that these two days were his free time at work, so he asked me to meet immediately.

It's half past eight in the evening, and I'm a little hesitant.What's important is that Xiaoni couldn't find it, and I couldn't get up enough energy to meet friends outside. I told him the situation, and he was very surprised by Xiaoni's disappearance.He said that he still remembered seeing Xiaoni when we went to the unfinished building together. How could she run away from home, such a good girl?He said that because of this, we must meet, maybe he can think of some ways to find Xiaoni. I was overjoyed and immediately agreed to meet.He decided to meet at a small coffee shop near my place called "Liu Xiang", which he said was on the street diagonally across from the Lanwei Building.I wonder why he is so familiar with my area.

Following Fang Qiang's direction, I went downstairs and walked up the street and found this small cafe.Before he arrived, I found a seat by the window and sat down.Outside the window is the bustling night scene, and the towering unfinished building stands like a black monster in the night not far away. In less than ten minutes, Fang Qiang arrived.He was neatly dressed and carrying a briefcase, as if he was still on business at night.He said that I lost weight, and I said that maybe it was caused by the anxiety after Xiaoni disappeared. We sat across from each other, and the two cups of coffee on the table created the atmosphere of meeting old friends.In the dim light, the scar on his left face appeared darker.Before my eyes, there was the image of him coming to watch the night with me in the unfinished building. Now I know, he sees me as the shadow of Xiao Ke or Bei.One of the two girls who died in distress while traveling must be similar to me, so Fang Qiang became obsessed with me for a while.

Of course, now I cannot say that I have learned about his past from Professor Feng.It's just that I don't know if his dream life is completely over.I've seen the intensity of his hallucinations, seeing Ke and Bei as his wife and girlfriend respectively, and the hallucinations must have occurred when he carried their bodies off the cliff.This unfortunate incident during the trip of his classmates made him stay with the ghosts of the two girls for a long time after graduation.And now, has he come out of the hallucination? I said, I haven't seen you for more than a month, you have become a news figure.

He smiled and said that the TV station happened to find me in a program about college students' employment.This is not a good thing, if I do not do well in the future, it will be miserable. I asked him how he came up with the idea of ​​doing commercials. He said, after I was fired from the entertainment city, I was bored in the house for three days, and it has been two years since I graduated from college, why can't I find a good job?What I study is philosophy, but I don't have the conditions to do scholarship.And it is impossible to find a job based on this, and with my appearance, others are afraid of seeing it.I managed to get a security guard in the entertainment city by virtue of my tall stature and fierce appearance, but after the beating incident, the boss couldn't keep me anymore.I spent three days thinking about it, and finally discovered one of my strengths, that is, I love fantasy, and imagination is the source of all creation. Does business not need imagination?So, I came up with an ad idea.

When Fang Qiang was speaking, his gaze immediately moved away as soon as he met me.This panic shows that he still lacks experience with the opposite sex.He looked at the street outside the window more often, as if he was talking to this night view of the city. I said, why do you keep looking outside? He said, sorry, I was observing the flow of people outside by the way.Our company is going to advertise on that unfinished building, and I have to evaluate the advertising effect of this location from many aspects. I suddenly understood why Fang Qiang chose this place for our meeting.I said, it's your idea to advertise on unfinished buildings, right?

He said, yes, the location of this unfinished building is excellent, and with its height of more than 20 floors, an entire advertisement is enough to attract attention.Moreover, this kind of building does not need to consider the lighting problem that covers the windows when advertising, which is really a rare advertising space.Moreover, doing so also hides the ugliness of unfinished buildings, and the beauty of the city also benefits. In my previous relationship with Fang Qiang, I rarely saw him have such logical thinking.It seems that people can really change a lot.I said, it was not in vain that you came to watch the night with me in the unfinished building, otherwise you would not have noticed this unfinished building.

He said, then I should thank you.Oh, what do you do now besides tutoring? I almost blurted out that I work for a civil investigation firm, but held back when I got there.It's not that I don't trust him, but because of the special nature of my job, I have to keep it secret from my relatives and friends.Because if my real identity is inadvertently passed on to the person under investigation, I will be defeated immediately. I said, apart from tutoring, I have not done any other work for the time being.Besides, Xiaoni is missing, and I have the responsibility to find her back, oh, didn't you say to give me advice? I told Fang Qiang about the situation before and after Xiaoni's disappearance. He thought for a while and said, if Xiaoni was just angry with you or her mother, he should be back in six days.Now it seems that things may be a bit bad. She may have encountered an irresistible force and is being imprisoned somewhere; or, she is tired of studying and wants to be independent early.In this case, she may have gone far away, even to a foreign country, and she wants to be a person before contacting her family... No!I interrupted Fang Qiang's words.The tail of his fancy was exposed again, and in this case, the bold imagination will make my heart ache.I said, Xiao Ni won't go too far, think for me, what else can I do to find her? Fang Qiang thought about it for a while and said, how about asking a reporter to write a report with the title "The sick mother longs to see her daughter", how about it? This may be a good idea, but I said, I don't want the media to help for the time being, because after the whole world knows about this incident, Xiaoni will have no face to go back to school in the future. This was a difficult problem, and Fang Qiang and I fell into silence.I looked out the window at night, and there were couples and old people walking under the trees on the sidewalk, as well as mothers pushing baby carriages.Not far away stands the black building.Suddenly, I saw a bright star in the middle of the unfinished building, probably on the tenth floor or so. The light showed that someone was in the building. Fang Qiang also saw the light.He said, both you and Xiaoni were frightened in that building, it seems that there are really people inside.Did you go upstairs to see it later? I said that I had been there two days ago, but I didn't go upstairs because the entrance of the building was sealed off by a brick wall. Who will be in the building?Facing the light, Fang Qiang muttered to himself.At this moment, the light went out, and the black building became more mysterious. I said, can't Xiaoni live in the building?There is a boy who likes her named Boss Xue, who is the son of Master Xue who guards the building. I saw this boy’s clothes hanging on the wire two days ago downstairs.Could it be that Xiaoni was with him, playing outside during the day, and living in that building at night to shelter from the wind and rain. My analysis was endorsed by Fang Qiang.He said that even if it was a small possibility, we should go upstairs and have a look. He asked me to go back to his house with him. He has a flashlight with five batteries, which was left by the security guard. Take it with you. This flashlight is convenient for going upstairs. We hurried out of the cafe, asked for a taxi and drove off quickly. Fang Qiang still lived in the rented house I had been to, but this time I didn't care to pay attention to whether there was any change in his house. After taking the flashlight, we went straight to the unfinished building by car. From the time I started working the night shift here to guard the building, to now I came here to look for Xiaoni, the changes in things are unpredictable.Fang Qiang and I searched for the entrance upstairs along the bottom of the wall downstairs. Fang Qiang said that since someone could go up, it proved that there must be another entrance besides the sealed entrance.We didn't turn on the flashlight, lest Master Xue, who guards the building, find out and stop our actions. However, we were still discovered.When a man's shout sounded in the darkness, a flashlight shone on our faces. I had no choice but to say to the dazzling light, Master Xue, I’m here to look for the things I dropped upstairs before. I am not Master Xue.A man's voice said that he had been in a car accident yesterday and was in the hospital. I walked up to this person facing the flashlight, and it really wasn't Master Xue, but a strong man in his thirties.I explained to him that I used to be the building guard here, and I might have dropped my watch upstairs when I went upstairs for inspection. The man muttered, why did he come to look for it when it was dark.I said I'm busy with work, but I can't help it.I also asked him about Master Xue's injury. He said that the injury was serious and he might not live for a few days.My heart suddenly became heavy. The new watchman doesn't appear to have any intention of stopping our movement.Finding things at night is no fun, he said.Oh, dare you, do as you please.After speaking, he shook the flashlight and went back to the duty room to sleep. I said to Fang Qiang in the dark, I should ask him where he can go upstairs.Fang Qiang said that there is no need to ask, he has already found the way. At the entrance of the building that was sealed off, there is a very low window next to it, which can be turned in without much effort, and then when you come out of the room on the ground floor, you will see the stairs going up in front of you. Fang Qiang turned on his sharp flashlight, and we started to walk up.The unfinished stairs had no guardrails, and we tried to walk along the side against the wall.There was a strong smell of ruins in the air. If Xiaoni dared to stay here overnight, it must be the idea of ​​a bold boy like Boss Xue, and he must be accompanied by him. According to the light we saw in the cafe, the people living in this building are probably on the tenth floor or so.Therefore, we climbed the stairs while remembering the number of floors of the building.When I got to the eighth floor, I got a little nervous.I remembered the scene I once met in this building—a person lying straight on the ground, with a pair of bare feet sticking out from under the rags covering it.Is that my hallucination?However, Xiaoni also said that when she and her classmates made a bet and came to this building, she met a woman with red lips.If Professor Feng thinks that my death delusions often make me hallucinate, what about Xiaoni?Not everyone is hallucinating. The tension and continuous climbing made me out of breath. Fang Qiang, who was walking in front, stopped and turned around and said, are you scared?I said a little bit, and he said that he was also afraid, but thought that if Xiaoni dared to come here, what are we afraid of? This remark gave me courage, and I said go ahead. The ninth floor is here, and we will start searching from this floor.It suddenly occurred to me that this floor was also the floor that Xiaoni asked to reach when she bet with her classmates.We entered the corridor, and the partition walls of the rooms inside were all in an unfinished state, some of which were only half-built, and the doors and windows were also empty frames.In the movement of the flashlight, these incomplete walls and empty doors and windows give people a gloomy feeling. Suddenly, Fang Qiang called out.I looked up, and his flashlight was shining on a man sleeping on the ground, his bare feet sticking out from under the rags.I cried out too, my heart felt like it was about to burst.Fang Qiang's flashlight drew an arc forward tremblingly, my God, there were several people sleeping in disorder on the ground, and one of them sat up suddenly, covering his eyes with a dirty hand. They're all bums!Fang Qiang's voice saved me from hell.In the strong beam of light from the flashlight, these dirty guys sat up one after another, showing a very scared look. Fang Qiang shouted, we are guarding the building, who told you to come here? In fact, Fang Qiang's questioning was completely superfluous. I knew that he could only get rid of the shock just by yelling like this. Perhaps seeing that we are not the police, these homeless people showed a look of indifference.One of the guys with disheveled hair said to Fang Qiang, brother, we have no place to sleep, this building is empty and empty. Fang Qiang also calmed down, and took a look at the environment here with a flashlight—there was a straw mat on the floor, and there was a dilapidated desk against the wall, and there were a few candles of uneven length on the desk.It seems that this place used to be a resting place for construction workers, and these homeless people would really find a place to sleep. How long have you lived here?Fang Qiang continued to drink and ask. The answers came one after another, some said they had stayed for a few nights, some said they had just found this place tonight, and only one person said that he had lived here for a long time, and the previous guards had never overtaken him.The intention of the person who said this was obvious, to ask Fang Qiang to let them go. Fang Qiang shot the flashlight at the man who had lived there for a long time, he was an old man.Fang Qiang asked him, have you seen a female middle school student come upstairs recently? The old man turned his head to avoid the direct light of the flashlight.He said, brother, you are joking, why do female students come here?I never saw it.More than a month ago, a lunatic woman came upstairs. She looked like a ghost, and her lips were painted as red as blood. Anyone who saw her was scared, so we drove her downstairs. Fang Qiang looked back at me, meaning that this was the end of it.I said let's go. When we got to the stairs, Fang Qiang said, let's go up and have a look. I said no, judging from the current situation, Xiao Ni would never come to this building. Fang Qiang said that going up was not to look for Xiaoni, but to go up to a higher place to feel it, so as to further confirm the effect of advertising outside this building. I cursed in my heart, what a workaholic.But thinking that he accompanied me to look for Xiaoni, I couldn't justify refusing him to look up. We continue to go up.In the darkness, wherever the flashlight came, every floor was desolate like ruins, and it was impossible for there to be any more people. About to reach the sixteenth floor, I was too tired to walk anymore.Fang Qiang said, I'm sorry, just feel it here. As we approached an empty window, we could see the lights of the city, and even though it was late at night, the traffic on the street was still drifting by like fireflies.Fang Qiang was counting the number of tall buildings standing shoulder to shoulder, and he said that people in those buildings would see the advertisements here. It seems that Fang Qiang is a person who is obsessed with fantasy and reality, so he must have type A blood.However, I was suddenly very angry with him. He, Ju Lie, was able to turn his mind from looking for Xiaoni to work all of a sudden, which seemed somewhat heartless. Since Fang Qiang and I were facing out the window at this time, I suddenly felt a slight movement behind me.who?I turned around abruptly and shouted to the darkness inside the building. Fang Qiang was taken aback by my shout, he asked me what I heard.I said there seemed to be someone.Fang Qiang immediately shot around with the flashlight, and the ruined walls looked a little hideous when they were illuminated. Fang Qiang said, did you hear wrong?Look at this place, there are no people there. Just then, at the edge of the flashlight, I saw a black figure flicker and disappear into the nearby darkness. I exclaimed, see, a woman, and I saw her long hair flutter when she moved away. Fang Qiang chased after him, but there was nothing behind the broken wall.There were bricks and thick plaster on the ground. Fang Qiang illuminated the ground with a flashlight and said, "Look, there will be footprints if you step on this place, and no one has walked here." Am I wrong?I thought of the gesture of the long hair when the figure walked away just now, as if I had seen it before.By the way, when I went to Fang Qiang's rental house to look for him, I happened to meet a young woman coming out of his house. She had long hair and was tall. I followed her until I reached the unfinished building.When she reached the entrance of the building, she suddenly turned her head and smiled at me in the evening darkness, and then went into the building.The way she swept her long hair when she turned around left a deep impression on me.At that time, the painter's painting was hanging in the square mast room, and I believed that the woman I saw was Qingqing.And now, this model who has been missing for more than a year reappears, is it to give me the inspiration to find Xiaoni? After listening to my narration, Fang Qiang looked at me and said, Jun, these are all your dreams, don't believe it.It is possible for a person to have a dream when he is awake or walking, which is called hallucination.While that painting was hanging in my house, I also had many dreams.Even though you told me that the bare-backed model in the painting is called Qingqing, I often see her as Xiao Ke, or Bei, and sometimes you, and I can't tell who is who.I also felt her body on my back, which was the feeling I had when carrying Xiao Ke. She had just died at that time, and her body was still soft and warm.Oh, I haven't told you yet, it happened when I went on a trip with my classmates before I graduated from university... I said, I know everything, it was Professor Feng who told me about it.Has he ever given you psychotherapy? Fang Qiang said that he had never approached Professor Feng.More than a month ago, the beating incident in the entertainment city changed him.He hasn't been in a fight since he was scarred by a knife fight in middle school.This time, the three men who bullied the female executive in the private room of the entertainment city made his whole body explode. After fighting with them passionately, he felt relaxed all over.He returned to reality inexplicably in this way, and when he went home and saw the painting, he no longer had any hallucinations. This is a bit weird, and I was reminded again of the way the ancient Greeks treated patients with depression, that is, throwing patients from a cliff into the sea and then resuscitating them. This primitive treatment method does not know why. So, am I hallucinating about the woman in that painting too?Qingqing, this beautiful and depressed girl attracted me with her bare back, which made me worry about her fate. It was late at night, and Fang Qiang and I were about to go downstairs. When we found the stairs, there was a sudden bang in the darkness behind us, like a brick falling from a broken wall to the ground. Fang Qiang said, what's going on? I pulled the square mast and said, let's go.Because I think hallucinations may not yet explain all the mysteries of the world... Xiao Ni didn't find it, but my experience on the sixteenth floor of the unfinished building was like a premonition, which quickly left me dumbfounded. It was eleven o'clock at night when I came home from the unfinished building. I met the painter near my house, and he was walking on the boulevard. I greeted him and said, are you still taking a walk this late? He said that he was so bored that he came out for a walk. Immediately afterwards, he told me an amazing thing, Qingqing died!A few days ago, the police found her body on the 16th floor of the unfinished building I visited. After examination, it was found that she committed suicide by taking sleeping pills, and she had been dead for more than a year.Due to the ventilation in that building, the body did not rot, but it was almost dried. I had a chill. That beautiful bare-back portrait appeared in front of my eyes, Qingqing, why did she commit suicide? The painter said that he just heard the news from the teacher of the Academy of Fine Arts. There was a suicide note on Qingqing, and she said that she was tired of this world.According to the on-site analysis, she might have wanted to jump from upstairs at first, but for some reason she changed her mind and took a large amount of sleeping pills in that place where there was no one to help her.In any case, she chose that place out of a will. In the past, I knew from the painter that this professional model suffered from severe depression.Therefore, when it comes to the fact that she has been missing for more than a year, I already have a faint feeling that something is wrong.Even so, I was devastated to hear of her death. That night, I lay in bed and couldn't sleep.Ever since I came to Xiaoni as a tutor and got to know the painter, that painting has attracted me and confused me, and now, everything should be over. No more mysterious footsteps on the stairs outside.Even if there is, it is only a painter or a chrysanthemum sister.Lucky girl Ju, there are not many people who really want to leave this world, and Qingqing is one of them. and I?I heard the whistling wind again, it was the memory of falling from the building.I thought of my mother, who planted this memory in me.It is said that I was only two or three years old when my mother committed suicide by jumping off a building. I don't know if I saw anything in my eyes. Another possibility is that my memory of falling from the building came from Bei Bei.In fact, it is from myself.is it possible?I have no idea. There are too many mysteries in the world.And right now, little Nicole, don't get caught up in this mystery. I got up and turned on the computer, but there was still no news from Xiaoni in the mailbox. For the first time, I felt an ominous sense of panic. It was already midnight, and I wanted to take a look at Xiaoni's room.In order not to disturb Aunt He, I went barefoot to the door of Xiaoni's room.The moment I pushed the door open, I was lucky enough to see Xiao Ni sleeping in the room.But I know it's impossible, even if I see it, it's just my eyes deceiving me. Xiao Ni's room seemed very empty.Although the bed and wardrobe and other things are the same, but no one lives, the space seems to have increased.I always feel that Xiaoni should leave other things besides the one-sentence note before leaving, such as a letter to me or something.Although Aunt He has searched here several times and found no clues, I still want to look for it.It's not easy to run away from home. Doesn't she want to say something to the family or to me after she makes a decision? I searched patiently in the room.It turns out that leaving me a letter was just wishful thinking on my part.However, I found a notebook in her bedside cabinet. She kept several diaries in it. Judging from the date of the first one, it was written during the summer vacation. It seems that she did not have the habit of keeping diaries before. I hold the diary and read it under the lamp July 6 This summer vacation, sister Jun is going to live in my house.I'm so miserable, I have to study homework during the summer vacation.My mother said that I will enter the third year of high school at the beginning of the next semester.It's really scary, people will lose a few catties when the college entrance examination is approaching.Hee hee, lose weight! Sister Jun can be regarded as a beautiful woman.In the past, every weekend when she came to make up lessons for me, I always asked her to be merciful to me and not to push too hard. In short, my mother would not give her less money.She is reasonable, she said that she has also gone through the college entrance examination, the important thing is to master some learning methods. I took the opportunity to say that if I want to go out for a few days during the summer vacation, it is best to travel.Combine work and rest!My mother and I have applied for N times, but it didn't make sense, and Sister Jun agreed to help me apply. OK! July 19 Today I called Sister Jun "Sister", which I think is very kind.She was so kind to me, I wish she was really my own sister.This idea came to me after I came out of the hospital. I think it's great to have a sister. I know that my mother secretly regards Sister Jun as her daughter, and I was not happy about it before.But now that I think about it, my mother is pitiful enough. If her first daughter hadn't died, she would have grown to the age of Sister Jun by now. However, my mother kept talking in front of me about how sensible and diligent Sister Jun is, as if accusing me of being ignorant, which made me feel uncomfortable.Several times I tried to talk back to her, but I held back.Because I don't want to embarrass Sister Jun, I admit that I also like Sister Jun very much. Sometimes I think, if she is really my mother's biological daughter, my classmates will be envious of me having such a sister. July 25 Today, I borrowed a sum of money from Sister Jun, but she didn't ask me what to use it for, she was too understanding.She said I would talk about it when I wanted to, as if she knew I would tell her about it later. But I really can't tell her about it.Boss Xue and his buddies went to a parking lot and smashed the car. I know they just wanted to have fun.But things got serious, Boss Xue was going to Longfeng Mountain to hide.His family is very poor, and only I lent him money to travel.Fortunately, Sister Jun helped me, otherwise I would have nothing to do. My friend Xue and I have been known by several classmates, but it’s okay, this matter will not reach my mother’s ears.Boss Xue is the leader among the boys. If he is my husband, no one will dare to bully me. I just don't know how she will think about it to sister Jun, so let's talk about it later. July 29 My mother has never been able to find a job, and I am also anxious.Sister Jun is really like my mother's daughter. She not only tutors me, but also works outside. I know she wants to help us.I have been there when Sister Jun was on vigil in the unfinished building. I think our life is very bleak. Once I talked with my classmates about what I want to change after I die.Some say they want to become clouds, some want to become trees, and some want to become flowing water.Strangely, no one expressed a desire to become human again.I said at the time that I wanted to be a bird when I died.When I was a child, I read in a book of fairy tales that when a person dies, he can turn into a bird by holding a feather in his hand.I thought that would be nice, but who's going to put a feather in my hand when I die? I also had a phone call with Mr. Xue today.He said that he was very good in Longfeng Mountain, but he was very lonely. He wanted to come back before school started, and the incident of smashing the car would be calm. August 2 Sister Jun is gone, I drove her away.I hate her.I finally found a summer job at the investigation company, but she firmly opposed it, and even went to the company boss to cancel my contract.She worried that I would be bullied by men for this kind of work.But how do you make money without taking risks?Seeing my mother anxious about finding a job made my heart ache. My mother has been scolding me today, saying that I have no conscience to drive away sister Jun, and she is worried about my studies.In fact, I really don't want to study anymore, so what if I am admitted to university?It's not about making it difficult to find a job.Alas, there is no meaning at all. Being a human being is really not as good as a bird in the sky. Sister Jun just left for a day. To be honest, I missed her again and wanted to call her back, but I didn't have the courage to call her.I was so confused, I wanted to cry, I wanted to cry, I wanted to die.What should I do? There are only a few entries in Xiaoni's diary, but they are heavy enough for me.I put the diary back where it was, and went softly back to my crib.Aunt He's groans came from the next room, I don't know what kind of uncomfortable dream she was having. I regret that I cut off Xiaoni's dream of job hunting.She also wanted to solve her mother's problems, my eyes were a little wet thinking of this.However, seducing a man to bed, is this kind of work possible?I think the man's wife is insane to put up a lot of money for an investigative company to do this kind of thing.Although according to the investigation plan, Xiao Ni will not actually have sex with the man, but will take his underwear when he goes to the bathroom to take a shower to prove that the man has cheated, but the psychological damage left by this kind of thing to a girl will be huge Yes, I have to stop Xiao Ni from doing this kind of thing, there is no way. It's past midnight, Xiao Ni, where are you?