Journey of Lies

Check-out date.

Jiangxia went downstairs early for breakfast. Her flight was at 3 p.m., and she checked out of the hotel at noon, so she arrived at Don Mueang Airport at just the right time.

This hotel is a four-star hotel, and its breakfast is just as plentiful as those in five-star hotels.

Jiang Xia took the plate and waited for the toaster to serve the toast while reminiscing about Lin Shuting at the art center that day.

After thinking it over, she called her last night. The other party answered and hung up after realizing it was her.

Suddenly, a piece of freshly toasted bread appeared on the plate.

Jiang Xia snapped out of her daze, looked up, and saw the familiar floral shirt. He was holding a clip in his hand, indicating that there were still people queuing behind her.

After making way, Jiang Xia turned and walked towards the egg-frying area, with the man in the floral shirt following closely behind.

"One omelet, thank you."

"One more, please."

Seeing the man imitate her, Jiang Xia couldn't help but turn to look at him.

"You came alone, want to play together? I know this area well, I can play with you for free."

"I don't know you at all. Please stay away from me."

Ignoring her eye roll, Sheng Zhi continued, "My name is Sheng Zhi, Sheng as in midsummer, and Zhi as in knowing."

Jiangxia ignored him.

"I work as a freelancer, and I travel and live in several Southeast Asian countries all year round. What about you?"

Jiang Xia reached out the plate to take the freshly made scrambled eggs, turned around and walked to the drinks area, poured herself a hot Americano, but was blocked by the man when she turned around.

"If you're not interested in Bangkok, I can recommend Pattaya, Phuket... or Chiang Mai is also a good option."

Sure enough, Jiang Xia's expression changed.

"Are you really that lacking in boundaries, or are you just naturally outgoing and a social butterfly?" Jiang Xia walked around him and was about to step towards the dining table when she was almost bumped into by a child running around.

While dodging, the hot Americano she was holding spilled out, instantly staining her white dress.

Sheng Zhi handed her a tissue, but Jiang Xia had completely lost her patience. Taking the tissue, she said irritably, "Nothing good ever comes from you!"

After quickly eating a few bites of breakfast, Jiang Xia hurriedly went upstairs to wash her skirt by hand.

As soon as I entered the door, a message popped up on my phone saying that I had accepted their QQ friend request.

It was Sun Min, her high school classmate with Xu Xiujie. They sat at desks next to each other for a whole year and had a good relationship.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 202ᴋᴋs.ᴄᴏᴍ]

Moreover, Sun Min is Guo Peng's wife, and Guo Peng is the old classmate who told Jiang Xia and Xu Xiujie that he had a woman in Thailand.

Back then, the four of them were considered prominent figures in the school. She and Sun Min were the top two in their grade, Xu Xiujie was a well-known artistic talent, and Guo Peng was a key player on the school basketball team.

[Sun Min: Jiang Xia?! Where did you find my QQ number? That's amazing, we haven't seen each other for so many years! How are you?]

[Jiang Xia: Xiaomin, I contacted your former teacher through the class group. How have you been these past few years? Are you still in Canada?]

[Sun Min: I'm fine, but I moved from Canada to Los Angeles. What about you? Are you still in China?]

Before Jiangxia's message could be sent, Sun Min sent another one.

[Sun Min: Have you and the great painter Xu gotten married? Are you having a baby yet?]

Jiang Xia lowered her eyes and sat down on the sofa, replying: "Xiao Min, are you available to talk now?"

[Sun Min: It's not convenient. The child just fell asleep, and it's past 9 PM here in Los Angeles. What's wrong? Should I contact you again during the day?]

Jiang Xia couldn't wait any longer, so he quickly typed out his questions in the input box.

She asked all the questions that had been on her mind for days.

For example, where is Guo Peng now? What has he been doing these past few years? When was the last time he contacted Sun Min?

[Sun Min: Xiaxia, you've confused me. You know we've been divorced for a long time. I don't want any involvement with people or things in China. I've even deleted my WeChat account.]

[Jiang Xia: Xiao Min, Xiu Jie is dead. He jumped into the river. It would have been over once the matter was settled, but Guo Peng saw my group message and came to the memorial service. He said a few words before he left, and my mind is in turmoil. Don't blame me, I really don't understand...]

The typing status went back and forth until finally, Sun Min called.

Jiang Xia answered the phone immediately, and Sun Min's voice was very soft on the other end.

After a rustling sound, Sun Min's voice gradually became clearer: "Xiaxia, how could Xiujie... Sigh, please accept my condolences... I don't actually know much about what you want to ask."

"Guo Peng is a loyal person. Back then, Xiu Jie spent all his time in the art studio, so Guo Peng was more familiar with you. Moreover, you two even met at work later. He probably couldn't get over his conscience when he told you."

Hearing Sun Min's words, Jiang Xia was even more confused. "Xiao Min, do you mean what Guo Peng said is absolutely true?"

"No, I don't know anything. I just trust Guo Peng's character. Although we're divorced and I don't want to see him again, I know him well. I don't think he's the kind of person who spreads rumors. Besides, Xiu Jie is gone. Why would he talk nonsense to you?"

Because this person is Guo Peng, he is the most honest, upright, and outspoken among his classmates.

"I'm remarried, and my husband doesn't like me caring about Guo Peng. I hope you can understand, Xiaxia..."

"I understand. Sorry to bother you, Xiaomin. Get some rest."

Just as she was about to hang up the phone, Sun Min suddenly called out to her, "Xiaxia!"

"you say."

"Since you've brought this up, there's something I've never told you before. I don't know if I should say this now that Xiu Jie is gone..."

"If you think this can help me, just say so."

Sun Min remained silent for a long time on the other end of the phone.

"Xiaxia, do you remember the year we graduated from high school? The four of us had planned to go on a picnic together, but I didn't go."

"I remember that day you said you weren't feeling well, so Guo Peng rode his bicycle straight to your house."

"Actually, Xiu Jie came to see me that morning," Sun Min took a deep breath, preparing herself mentally before speaking, "He said he wanted me to be his nude model, that he thought I was perfect for the role, and even promised me a certain amount of payment. I think he must be crazy!"

Jiang Xia held the phone, momentarily speechless: "He..."

"I didn't tell anyone about this, and Guo Peng didn't know either. Of course, I didn't agree to it either. I just thought of him as an art fanatic."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Xia seemed completely lost.

Xu Xiujie approached her about the nude model during her first semester of freshman year. She was both nervous and excited. She thought Xu Xiujie had only chosen her, and she thought her years of unrequited love was mutual.

After a while, Jiang Xia changed her clothes and looked at the white dress in the sink, which had absorbed the coffee stains into every crevice. No matter how much she scrubbed, it was no use.

All the emotions finally erupted and collapsed in a dress.

Jiang Xia braced her hands on the edge of the sink, head bowed, tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks.

She didn't even have the courage to look up at herself in the mirror.

This dress is one that Hsu Hsiu-chieh likes.

It should be something they like.

Xu Xiujie likes black and white, and most of his paintings use this color scheme.

After crying for a while, Jiang Xia wiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand, thinking that she would ask the hotel for some detergent later, or send it to the dry cleaners if necessary.

As soon as he stood up straight, Jiang Xia suddenly felt dizzy.

She tried to steady herself by holding onto something, but her back accidentally bumped into the bathroom door frame.

Perhaps it's because I haven't been eating or sleeping well these past few days.

Before this conjecture could even be formed, Jiang Xia heard a mineral water bottle fall to the ground from the bar counter.

How come...

The shaking intensified over the seconds, and Jiang Xia realized it was an earthquake.

I instinctively crouched down against the wall, and the tremor quickly subsided.

Before she could calm down, a commotion broke out in the hallway outside the door, and the residents of this floor rushed out one after another.

Jiangxia had never experienced an earthquake, but earthquake preparedness tips from the news kept flashing through his mind.

I opened the door and watched as everyone rushed toward the stairwell.

Exclamations of "OMG" came from different foreign languages. Just then, a cleaning staff member on the floor saw Jiang Xia standing there in a daze and quickly came downstairs, gesturing in Thai to indicate his name.

Afterwards, Jiang Xia followed the others downstairs.

On the 27th floor, Jiang Xia was already panting heavily after walking only six or seven floors. Looking back, he saw that the stairs were gradually filling up with guests, and it was just as crowded going down.

Suddenly, a couple called out from behind Jiangxia, "Dad! Mom! Mingming, Xiaomin!"

A family of six, spanning three generations, met in the stairwell. Two children, looking bewildered, were held in the arms of their parents. "Mommy, where are we going?"

The elderly couple's clothes were soaked with sweat. The old lady waved her hand and said, "Let's rest for a while before we go. Your dad and I can't walk fast."

"Yes, it shook really badly just now, it was terrifying."

"Mom, let's not block the way from behind. Let's go downstairs slowly, and we need to be careful of aftershocks."

Knowing that the family spoke Mandarin, Jiang Xia made eye contact with them, nodded, and continued walking down the street.

With five floors remaining, Jiang Xia overheard another Chinese couple looking at their phones saying, "They say it was a magnitude 7 earthquake, and Bangkok felt the strongest tremors!"

Jiang Xia then realized that he had left his phone on the bathroom sink.

She wanted to go back upstairs to get her phone, but everyone was going downstairs, and she couldn't go against the flow and squeeze through.

Besides, she had finally made it almost to the first floor, and she didn't have the strength to go any further.

Upon arriving at the lobby on the first floor, all staff members were at the hotel entrance dispersing guests.

Nearly a hundred people stood scattered in front of the hotel. The main road next to it was not as noisy as usual. Vehicles moved slowly, and most of the motorcyclists stopped to watch. Everyone looked very nervous.

"My God! There's such a huge crack on the SkyTrain overpass!"