A faint sense of doubt arose in Shi Xinxin's heart as she heard the sound.
She glanced around following Yan Hao's gaze but didn't see the person he was waiting for.
"Senior Brother, who are you waiting for?" Shi Xinxin asked.
It wasn't that she didn't trust Yan Hao. Shi Xinxin vaguely felt that Yan Hao was hiding something from her, perhaps his secret was her own memory!
Therefore, Shi Xinxin couldn't let go of any detail, nor could she miss an opportunity to investigate the truth.
Yan Hao's expression remained unchanged. He secretly looked at Sheng Chenjin, received a head shake of acknowledgment, and then slowly said, "That person might not have arrived at the hospital entrance yet. I'll wait a bit longer at the entrance."
"The temperature has dropped quite rapidly today, Xinxin. If there's nothing else, you should go back."
Shi Xinxin's brows furrowed.
Yan Hao was clearly speaking in the gentle tone she was most familiar with, his face showing no hint of any hidden anomalies. He was still the senior brother Shi Xinxin was most accustomed to.
But why could she still discern something from his ordinary, placid surface? Shi Xinxin felt extremely uneasy.
Shi Xinxin rarely had such extreme thoughts. But she had already decided that she must get to the bottom of this matter!
So, despite Yan Hao's gentle refusal, Shi Xinxin spoke, "Senior Brother, I actually came to find you because there's something very important I need to ask you."
Yan Hao's eyes darkened as he thought of something. Just then, he saw Sheng Chenjin subtly shake his head.
Their tacit understanding reached its peak at this moment. Yan Hao smiled and said, "Oh? Then what important matter is it? Why don't you tell me here? I have an appointment with my friend to wait for him here."
Saying it here wouldn't be impossible. Shi Xinxin cautiously looked around. It was already evening, and apart from a few elderly people taking a stroll, there were no other suspicious individuals at the hospital entrance.
So, Shi Xinxin nodded, "Yes, this matter is indeed very important. Senior Brother, can you guarantee that no matter what I ask, you will answer truthfully?"
Staring intently at Shi Xinxin's serious gaze, Yan Hao felt a pang of panic.
He turned his gaze away as if nothing had happened, and for a moment, his eyes met Sheng Chenjin's.
In their eyes, they conveyed a subtle signal of refusal to each other.
Shi Xinxin caught the fleeting hesitation on Yan Hao's face, and also, it seemed like he was looking past her at something behind her...
Shi Xinxin quickly turned around, only to see Sheng Chenjin.
Unexpectedly, Sheng Chenjin raised an eyebrow slightly, "What? Not going to ask anymore?"
"That's not it, but what were you two doing exchanging glances just now? Is there something you're hiding from me?"
Shi Xinxin's heart was troubled by something, and her tone was unintentionally heavy.
Sheng Chenjin curved his lips, as if laughing at her for being too sensitive, "What could a couple of big guys like Yan Hao and I be doing? Are we going to exchange affections?"
Seeing his flippant demeanor, the heavy stone in Shi Xinxin's heart lessened. She glanced at Sheng Chenjin and then turned away.
She didn't find anything unusual about him either.
Almost the moment Shi Xinxin turned around, Sheng Chenjin gave Yan Hao a look, his smile completely gone from his face.
"Alright, I promise. But if it's a personal matter, I can also choose not to answer," Yan Hao said indifferently.
"Of course." Shi Xinxin's palms were sweating cold. She took a deep breath, "I'm asking you, in the period before I entered the sect, did something very important happen? Or rather, something that greatly affected my emotions?"
Shi Xinxin had carefully recalled the memories in her mind and found that her memory was blocked in the period before she became Feng Lao's disciple.
It was only about a year after her memory was blocked that she gradually regained consciousness and began to remember things.
During this year of unconsciousness, Shi Xinxin couldn't remember what had happened or whom she had met. These were blank spaces in her mind.
Thinking about the people she had interacted with during this period, Shi Xinxin could only think of Yan Hao.
After all, she had already become a disciple then, so she must have had some contact with her senior brother Yan Hao.
Yan Hao recalled for a moment and then shook his head, "You and I have always had a very good senior sister-junior brother relationship, and I know you very well. During the days you were by my side, or rather, within the sect, nothing that would cause such strong emotions happened."
No one noticed that as he said this casually, his hand, tucked into the pocket of his windbreaker, had clenched tightly.
Even a single detail about that matter, even the time, seemed to stir up the terrifying experience again, almost eliciting an instinctive fear response.
He hadn't expected that after so many years, just mentioning that matter, Yan Hao still couldn't control his instinctive reaction.
Fortunately, Shi Xinxin was considering the truthfulness of his words and didn't see the distressed expression on Yan Hao's face.
The moment she looked up, Yan Hao's expression returned to normal.
"Then... a while after you and I became senior brother and junior sister, were there any suspicious people around me?"
Shi Xinxin decided to ask from a different angle.
She felt that Yan Hao didn't seem to be lying when he answered, but something felt off subconsciously.
Yan Hao replied in the same tone as before, "As far as I know, you only had me as your senior brother at the time, and besides Feng Lao, there was no one else around you."
"However," Yan Hao added, "you had just joined Feng Lao's sect then. Your talent, performance, and techniques were all top-notch. Even if Feng Lao was the most crazy and erratic, he wouldn't have targeted you from the start."
Shi Xinxin was quite in agreement with what Yan Hao said.
There was indeed one aspect of Feng Lao worth mentioning, which was his excellent disguise. He was constantly performing, worthy of an Oscar.
It was precisely his outwardly righteous appearance that deceived Shi Xinxin into believing he was a capable and moral mentor, which led her to choose Feng Lao among the vast number of masters.
However... Feng Lao's talent was real, but all his talent was used in his madness.
After much thought, she still couldn't find any leads.
"Okay, I understand." Shi Xinxin had no choice but to temporarily give up the idea of finding out the truth from others. She sighed, "I'm sorry, Senior Brother, for disturbing you. I've asked what I needed to ask, so I'll be going now."
Yan Hao nodded, "Okay, be careful on your way."
Shi Xinxin turned to leave first. Not having received an answer, nor having identified any potential suspects, she was in a very bad mood.
Sheng Chenjin, behind her, listened until she had walked a bit further away, and then exchanged a look with Yan Hao, "No matter what method you use, you cannot tell her."
Yan Hao silently agreed.
Just at this moment, Shi Xinxin turned around. She was about to call out to Sheng Chenjin when she suddenly saw him and Yan Hao exchanging glances.
In their eyes, there seemed to be something that Shi Xinxin couldn't understand.
The hand holding her bag clenched tightly.