Simple soul

Secrets Hidden

"Come on, don't look," Hai pulled Xiuxiu out of the gathering crowd again. "It's not a big deal. It's just that this building happens to be built on an active volcano deep underground."

"Didn't they know that?"

"Of course they knew. Otherwise, why would they build a hot spring hotel on the 1st to 18th floors?"

"Why build it so tall?"

"Who knows? Maybe they were paid."

Xiuxiu hadn't been in Pineapple City for long. She had memories starting from when she was in Pineapple City. Yes, she had a secret that she couldn't tell anyone: as long as she went to another place, all her previous memories would disappear. If there was such a record in the Guinness World Records, she would surely be at the top — the loneliest person in the world. In Pineapple City, she had no social relations, no parents. She only knew that she was thirty years old and that everything had to be slowly built up like a spider weaving its web. However, she guessed that she might have fallen in love with someone before and been abandoned, which was why she had the motivation to move to a new place.

Being cared for by someone she had a crush on in a new city was quite a happy thing. After a while, they came to an open-air parking lot. It seemed that Hai had foresight as he had parked his blue Ferrari here. "Get in the car quickly. I'll take you to a place."

"Oh, is he going to take me for a drive alone at this moment of human crisis?" A warm and sweet feeling flowed through Xiuxiu's heart again.

The Ferrari sped at 120 miles per hour, ignoring the traffic rules of the small city, overtaking other cars like a gust of wind. Soon, it pierced through the evening twilight and drove towards a higher mountain. "Seriously, don't we need to care about the others in the company?" Xiuxiu lowered her head and held her skirt like she was in her first relationship. "They're used to it." "Where are you taking me? What's our relationship now?" Xiuxiu blushed as she said this.

"We're colleagues. What else could it be?" Hai's eyes were fixed straight ahead, concentrating on driving. He didn't have the mood to talk about love with her. This poured cold water all over Xiuxiu's heart. She had already decided that no matter where they went, once the car stopped, she would run back. Fortunately, the current geographical change range hadn't reached the boundary of her memory loss yet.

It seemed that Hai knew what she was thinking. He put his right hand on her left hand. "Don't move. We'll be there soon."

They got out of the car. There was something on the mountain. It looked like a tower but also not quite like one. It resembled a sculpture but not a modern one. It could only be described as a huge old thing. It was the first time Xiuxiu had seen such a thing. She had severe night blindness, the kind that wouldn't get better no matter how many carrots she ate.

"Is it a new discovery in the world?" She shouted in her heart. "Can I really meet aliens?"

Hai took Xiuxiu's hand and walked into a dark cave. Inside the "old thing" was actually a mottled courtyard full of dust. It didn't look big, but its layout was elegant and unique. In this space, Xiuxiu felt very strange. She had a sense of inexplicable security in her heart, the kind of security one feels when finding a place of refuge in a strange land. She seldom had such a feeling. The style of this mansion was mixed. There were inscriptions in the Slender Gold Script of the Song Dynasty, decorative pieces of famille rose porcelain from the Qing Dynasty, and screen walls from the Jiangnan region in the Republic of China. It was very much like a modern artistic imitation. When it came to professional art issues, Xiuxiu wouldn't lose her memory. "Oh, we've made a major discovery! Should we call the mayor now? Do you have his number?" Xiuxiu nudged Hai's ribs hard with her elbow. "It seems we've found a miracle!" Clearly it was a modern imitation, but Xiuxiu deliberately said it was an ancient artwork. She just wanted to tease Hai and show off her cute and wild ideas.

"Don't be so naive."

"Recently, some scholars have put forward a bold speculation: During the Neolithic Age, there was a human civilization that surpassed modern times. The African Homo sapiens walked out of Africa and, relying on some advanced civilization, quickly wiped out the indigenous Homo sapiens on the primitive continent... So it's speculated that during the Neolithic Age of human beings on Earth, it was influenced by some superpower, and it's very likely that it came from outer space."

"Where did you read that?"

"On the Internet."

"Can you believe what's on the Internet?"

"I read it on a very niche forum. A person said this, and then the comments went off track. They criticized him harshly, saying that he was too pseudo-scientific. Hehe." This was a flirting technique Xiuxiu had just learned from the Internet.

"This mountain is called Motai Mountain," Hai touched the inside walls, as if thinking about something, more like waiting for something. "Xiuxiu's intuition is still so sharp. Nothing has changed," he thought, and then he wasn't so anxious anymore. His breathing even became much calmer.

He seemed to come here often. He led Xiuxiu through three doors and along a long corridor.

"They'll be here soon," Hai said.

"Hmm? Who are they?"

"Your organization."

"Wait a minute. What on earth are you talking about? Actually, this is just a modern imitation. I was just joking," Xiuxiu was a bit worried. Suddenly, she felt that Hai was so deep and calculating. Maybe he wasn't suitable for her at all. She might be toyed with by him without even realizing it. "Hmm, maybe he's using PUA on me," Xiuxiu thought.

"No, this is an ancient civilization base station," Hai said as he continued to lead Xiuxiu inside. After passing through the fourth door and walking up nine steps, it seemed that they were about to arrive at the main wing of an ancient quadrangle courtyard. But what appeared in front of them was a vast expanse of land, with a warm bonfire under the moonlight. Mountains, forests, moonlight, and a bonfire. Xiuxiu was amazed. She hadn't seen such a poetic natural landscape for a long time.

"Come and warm yourself by the fire. It's a bit cold, isn't it? Even in the summer evenings in Pineapple City, it's quite chilly."

The two of them sat down silently, facing each other. The firelight flickered on the faces of the two thirty-year-old people born in the 1990s.

"You kissed me just now," Hai smiled slightly, like an older brother teasing his little sister next door.

"No, I didn't. Did I?" Xiuxiu also smiled. It seemed that Hai deliberately changed the topic.

"You can't like me," Hai stopped smiling and poured a basin of ice-cold water over Xiuxiu's head again.

"What's so great about having a girlfriend?" Xiuxiu lowered her head, feeling more and more aggrieved. She stood up and turned to leave. Hai had to use a lot of effort to hold her back. "Don't go. That's not what I meant."

"Is it because you think I'm ugly and fat? Am I eating your rice or something?" Xiuxiu was still angry.

"The meaning of our existence in this world isn't for love," Hai suddenly played the role of a philosopher. This made Xiuxiu a bit flustered.

"Stop being so mysterious," she said.

Hai was silent. Xiuxiu looked at his lowered face through the firelight. His long eyelashes looked like "fly legs", making him look pitiful. After a while, he took the initiative to stand up and kissed Xiuxiu on the right cheek, then sat back in his original position.

Coincidentally, just at this critical moment, some voices could be heard. Hai pricked up his ears to listen. "Oh no, strangers are coming." Hai pulled Xiuxiu and walked into the "old thing", found a room, and quietly stayed there.

Xiuxiu heard someone say, "Why is it the design institute handling this? This should be the job of the archaeological research institute." "The archaeological research institute has already collected the data. They were all confused. They couldn't date it, so they asked our design institute to come over." "Is there anything the archaeological research institute can't handle?" "They probably think that this is a modern building." "Alright, alright. Listen to me now."