The moment those words were uttered, both Wang Jue and I froze. Recalling the tender intimacy between Wang Jue and Hua Gu, and then looking at the Wang Jue now—effeminate to an extreme and sharp-tongued—one couldn't help but wonder what Hua Gu would think if she saw him. Was it not precisely what the Ghost Infant had just whispered: "Daddy's back, and he doesn't want me anymore"?

Not long after the Ghost Infant scrambled back inside, Hua Gu emerged with A Li. They were overjoyed to see us safely returned. Hua Gu shyly approached Wang Jue, reaching out to help him shed his soiled clothes. To her surprise, Wang Jue spun around, evading the hand Hua Gu extended.

Hua Gu was stunned into immobility, her expression clearly asking: just two days ago we were inseparable, how could a short trip turn him into a stranger who refuses to acknowledge me? The atmosphere became terribly awkward.

I had no choice but to pull Hua Gu aside, using the recounting of how my elder sister was rescued as a means to ease the tension. Finally, I carefully broached the subject: "Is there something unusual about Wang Jue?"

Hua Gu replied with a wronged sigh, "It’s like he’s become someone else. All the affection from before is gone. He looks at me like I’m a stranger, even with a touch of disgust!"

"That’s exactly how I feel. Do you think he resembles a woman at all?"

Hua Gu tilted her head, studying him for a long moment, offering neither confirmation nor denial. Seeing her still so distant, Wang Jue seemed to possess the look of mortal enemies meeting after a long separation—eyes blazing with hostility.

It was A Li who acted more sensibly, bringing water and bread from the kitchen for Wang Jue and me to stave off hunger. Wang Jue snatched the bread and retreated to the balcony to eat alone, refusing to sit with us, continuously directing glare after glare at Hua Gu.

I sighed, asking Hua Gu if there was any way to figure out what was happening with Wang Jue. Hua Gu remained relatively composed, saying she needed to return to the village to ask the old matriarch; the request the matriarch had made for my help was still pending, and she hoped I could spare some time to accompany her back to Miao Village. I stroked A Li’s head and agreed to go to Miao Village as soon as I had settled my elder sister and the others.

The rest of the night, Hua Gu, A Li, and the Ghost Infant retired to their room to rest. Wang Jue preemptively rushed into the master bedroom and locked the door, leaving me to make do with the sofa.

Wang Jue's increasingly pronounced effeminacy and selfish behavior were truly disheartening. Recalling the Wang Jue who once single-handedly traveled to Wangcheng to help me find my sister, who braved mortal danger with me in Miao Village, the funeral parlor, and the Sea of Lost Souls, my heart felt like a vessel overturned with five flavors, an unending torrent of emotions surging through me.

As dawn was just beginning to break, I got up and called Wen Shu, deciding to start unraveling Wang Jue's past through her.

When Wen Shu answered my call, she paused first, leaving several seconds of silence on the other end of the line.

Then, an agitated voice burst through: "Where on earth have you disappeared to all this time? You never came back after that day you went to the Public Security Bureau! I figured you went to the hospital to see your sister, left the food on the table, and went home on your own. Since then, you’ve been completely unreachable—your phone was either off or out of service! I wanted to report you missing at the police station, and I asked several friends, but they all said since I’m not your family, or anyone from the school or the neighborhood committee, I couldn't file a report! I thought about going to the school to investigate, but I was afraid of alarming the administration and jeopardizing your readmission. In the end, I posted a missing person notice on the forum, but all I got were soaring click-through rates and absolutely no results..."

After finally getting all that out, the speaker took a long, heavy breath. The person listening was already streaming tears.

Honestly, I desperately wanted to tell her everything that had happened during this period, just like a story. But I didn’t want her entangled in this mess of complications, and even less did I want her living in constant fear worrying about me. So, I simply said softly, "Wen Shu, I miss you so much."