Crazy Smartphone – Part One

Recalling the first encounter with this girl, she was walking alone barefoot on the mountain path, yet there was no sign of distress on her face. Moreover, her attire seemed overly neat, giving no hint of the panic one would expect from a lone girl escaping through desolate mountains. She appeared more like someone casually hiking, which led my male colleagues to jokingly remark that we had encountered a fox spirit in the Jade Plate Mountain. But such bizarre occurrences, which others could easily dismiss, now seemed to find their only explanation in this girl. Xu Xiaoman, since childhood, had been fond of playing with weapons like swords and sticks, much like a boy, and had learned martial arts from a wandering Taoist for several years. When the old Taoist parted ways with her, he gifted her a protective amulet made from a Heavenly Fragrance Pearl, claiming it was enchanted to calm the mind, strengthen the body, and ward off evil. For a girl with such a strong yang energy like her, wearing it close would be highly beneficial. Initially, this sounded like the spiel of a charlatan, and even Xu Xiaoman’s parents were skeptical. However, out of affection for her master, she had kept it close all these years. Later, several mysterious incidents occurred near her hometown, and while many villagers suffered, she always managed to turn danger into safety. Over the years, free from illness and disaster, she gradually came to believe in her master’s words. Though the modern world is advanced and disbelief in ghosts and spirits is common, Xu Xiaoman, having been trained by her master since young, was deeply fascinated by ancient techniques. Even now, as a police officer, she had never abandoned these skills. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have relied on her intuition to notice something extraordinary about Lin Feng after just one meeting at an electronics market, and after probing, indeed found him to possess hidden talents. Take, for example, Li Xiangdong, a senior teacher at Yushan High School, whose real identity was that of a man using dark arts to control female students. This world indeed holds many mysteries beyond common understanding. Therefore, Xu Xiaoman believed that Lan Yu, with her mysterious actions and repeated attempts to seduce Lin Feng, must be someone special. The colleagues who were fortunate enough to see her true face that day in Jade Plate Mountain were likely manipulated by her special techniques, while she herself might have been spared due to the Heavenly Fragrance Pearl. Otherwise, when Lan Yu left Lin Feng’s house and clearly saw Xu Xiaoman, she wouldn’t have pretended not to recognize her. Perhaps she assumed she had already erased Xu Xiaoman’s memory, which is why she was so surprised when Xu Xiaoman suddenly called out her name! The problem was, Xiaoyun was naive and acted on her feelings, naturally oblivious to these manipulations. After being mocked by Lin Feng’s mother, she must have misunderstood. Lin Feng’s mother’s sudden change of attitude was clearly due to Lan Yu’s meddling in the shadows. Initially, she aimed to drive Xiaoyun and herself away from Lin Feng’s house, and now she was using similar tactics to push them away. What was this woman’s motive in repeatedly separating them? From the intercepted conversations, it seemed Lan Yu was trying hard to seduce Lin Feng into a sexual relationship, which was rather unusual! Could it be that Lin Feng’s charm was so irresistible that she couldn’t help but pursue him by any means? Could there really be such strange occurrences in this world? No! Suddenly, Xu Xiaoman thought of one commonality between the two; Lin Feng seemed to possess some unknown special ability, and Lan Yu appeared to have similar capabilities. Could this be why she was so eager to get close to Lin Feng? Through her work, Xu Xiaoman had encountered individuals with unique abilities, reinforcing her belief that her judgment was correct, and this was the key issue at hand. After figuring this out, Xu Xiaoman decided, grabbing Wang Xiaoyun’s arm and pulling her back: “Xiaoyun, we must go back now!” Wang Xiaoyun, bewildered, shook her head: “I don’t want to go back and see that girl looking so lost.” Xu Xiaoman’s heart ached at the sight. If she hadn’t messed things up from the start, directly exposing Lan Yu’s deceit, she wouldn’t have given her so many opportunities to approach Lin Feng, nor would Lan Yu have had the time to manipulate Lin Feng’s mother against them. Ultimately, it was her own arrogance and overconfidence. Although she had known Wang Xiaoyun for only a short time, she already treated her like a younger sister, especially since she was the girl Lin Feng liked. Xu Xiaoman couldn’t quite understand why, after meeting this boy, she had this inexplicable urge to tease him. That day, when she saw Lin Feng by the roadside drain, she felt it was fate. Subconsciously, she didn’t want to see Lin Feng unhappy or hurt. And the more they interacted, the stronger this subconscious desire grew. That day, why did she decide to stop at that intersection to get some air and look into the drain for someone? Every time she recalled this encounter, Xu Xiaoman felt a mix of confusion and loss. More absurdly, she couldn’t rationalize to herself that she had not only saved Lin Feng’s life in an odd manner but also ended up staying with him in the hospital for a day and night – even good deeds by the police aren’t this thorough! Shaking off her thoughts, Xu Xiaoman, with no further ado, insisted, “No, we must go back,” and dragged Wang Xiaoyun back. Good grief, even Li Xiangyang in the flatland guerrilla team didn’t go in and out of the Japanese stronghold three times, but these two heroines, for a so-called rogue and a suspected Japanese girl, were about to enact a scene of entering and exiting three times. This time, listen to your sister, we must drive that Japanese girl away, and the rogue must not lose his virginity to her! Virginity? Oh, it’s too complicated to explain right now, perhaps your rogue’s virginity has some special effect for those with supernatural powers?! In this critical moment, the two of them made a U-turn, but no one could have anticipated how things would ultimately unfold. Upon seeing the two return, Lin Feng’s mother, now fully awake, was naturally thrilled and started bustling about to prepare a meal for them. The enthusiasm she displayed was a stark contrast to the angry, fierce old woman from just minutes before. Upon learning that Lan Yu had already left on her own and that Lin Feng was currently hiding in his room, both Xu Wang and Wang Xiaoyun breathed a huge sigh of relief, especially Wang Xiaoyun, who even secretly blamed Xu Xiaoman for making such a fuss. Lin Feng’s mother went to knock on his door, calling for him to come out, but after knocking for a long time with no response, she started to panic. Xu Xiaoman, known for her forthright nature, sensed something was wrong and immediately decided to break the door down. While Wang Xiaoyun was still pondering if this was the right course of action, Lin Feng’s mother wholeheartedly agreed. After Lan Yu left, before the two women returned, she had been calling for her son to open the door with no response, and now even Wang Xiaoyun’s knocking was unanswered, heightening her suspicion that something had happened to her son. A sense of foreboding enveloped her heart, and all three women were visibly alarmed. Forgetting any semblance of ladylike decorum, Xu Xiaoman braced herself, lifted her leg, and with precise force, kicked the door open. The three rushed in. Indeed, the situation was dire. At the moment they barged in, they saw Lin Feng, eyes wide open, lying sprawled on the floor with his lower body embarrassingly erect. Lin Feng’s mother let out a strange yelp and fainted on the spot. Fortunately, one was a police officer, and the other was from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners; despite their shock, they managed to act swiftly and in unison. Wang Xiaoyun went to check on Lin Feng, while Xu Xiaoman found emergency medication and quickly administered it to Lin Feng’s mother. They had been cautious since entering, feeling something was off, and had prepared in advance.