Chapter 3 Chapter 2 The Lonely Mask

Ivy rushed into her room, closed the door heavily, and then locked it behind her, a heavy tiredness suddenly hit her.From the day she woke up, she decided not to think about going back to the past.She left her love in Abu Simbel three thousand years ago.At the moment when the heart was pierced severely, the splashed blood protected her beloved pharaoh, and also announced the end of another unforgettable entanglement.Everything seems to be an endless spiral, and every struggle seems so insignificant in the face of history. It seems that not giving up is not enough. Ivy smiled wryly, and leaned her body against the huge window.The rain fell, making the glass blurry, and the maid on the table had prepared black tea at some point.Reaching out to pick it up and stirring it gently, the silver Victorian-style teaspoon drew an elegant arc on the deep red water, shattering her face reflected in the black tea.Looking up, you can faintly see the London Bridge, and the water drops on the Thames, rendering the whole city a gloomy melancholy.

She put down her teacup with a jerk, grabbed her hair in frustration, and plugged her ears.Don't think about it, don't go back, don't live as if you were dead.She has come out, she can live well, live as before, what happened to that person three thousand years ago has nothing to do with her. irrelevant?Looking up, she suddenly saw the burn around her left hand that never faded, and the faint red seemed to be mocking all her efforts, as fragile as a cicada's wings.Frustrated, she swung her hand aside, hitting the phone next to her.The bell had just rang less than half a ring, and she just picked up the phone with such a wave.

There was silence for a second, and then the voice of the aged butler came in calmly, "Miss Ivy, Princess Randy wants to invite you to dinner tomorrow." Ai Wei paused, and then said: "You ask me what to do about this matter, you go to ask brother Xian or father." Then she threw the phone on the cushioned chair beside her, leaned back, and refused to pay any attention to it. Such a boring question. The butler continued unhurriedly, "Master Ai Xian agreed...do you need me to help you refuse?" Hearing that her brother allowed her to go out to play for the first time, Ivy swooped over and grabbed the phone, "Okay, tomorrow night."

Wen Lei Randy and Ivy made an appointment in a separate room of a rather famous Italian restaurant.Wen Lei is one of the few acquaintances of Ivy in this high society circle.She is a very sociable person, and also a big party animal. No matter what kind of party, she will intervene. She also has a wide network of contacts and knows how to make people happy.When Ivy first arrived in the UK, her accent was a bit strange, and what happened at home made her less likely to exchange her thoughts with others.Under Ai Xian's intentional introduction, she got to know Wen Lei. At that time, Wen Lei laughed and said that Ivy was an old antique, and she always liked to study some weird things at home, wasting her good dancing skills.So, no matter how unhappy Ivy was, she forced her out to attend some interesting parties.After coming down a few times, the two became familiar with each other.

"I heard you've had a rough time recently?" Wen Lei blinked playfully, "How about it, we have a very interesting party tonight." Ivy nodded without much interest, indicating that she heard it. Seeing that there was no one around, Princess Randy continued in a low voice, "It's a masquerade party, everyone dresses up in various strange looks, and gathers at Howell's house from nine o'clock in the evening until midnight. Very Interesting, there will be a variety of people attending, and there will be no media annoyance - if there is, no one will be able to see the face at the masquerade. I think you are almost in good health, come with me Come on, don't get bored at home." Wen Lei happily cut a piece of dessert and put it in her mouth, "I've already thought about it, I'll call Ai Xian in a while and say you're going to live at my house today, and then I'll Will find a way to get you out of those bodyguards."

Ivy put down the fork, and said without thinking: "My brother will definitely not agree. He restricts my social circle very much now." Wen Lei smiled, "I'll go and tell him, I'm always in this circle, besides...someone said they definitely want to meet you." Ivy was stunned for a moment, before Wen Lei could ask further, Wen Lei had already rang the bell beside the table, "Help me connect with Mr. Ai Xian." Maybe it's because I've known Wen Lei for a long time, maybe it's because I had a bad fight with Ai Wei just this afternoon, as if to ease the atmosphere, Ai Xian thought about it for a few seconds on the phone, and even agreed to Wen Lei's request simply, but asked Wen Lei should pay attention to the people around Ivy, and said that she would send some people to be near Howell's house just in case.Wen Lei readily agreed, and then dragged Ivy, who was still in an unbelievable state, into her car.

It takes less than thirty minutes to drive from the city to the Howell family's villa on the outskirts of the city.Howell Hobb is the direct son of the largest retail group in the UK, a good friend of Wen Lei, and a fanatic of partying as well.His villa is an old-fashioned English castle that his family bought from a declining nobleman. It has a strict symmetrical structure and brick walls covered with ivy. Inside the overly conservative appearance, there are singing and dancing every night, almost every day. exception.Here at Howell, even underage drinking is allowed. "I like the party at Howell's house the most." Wen Lei often said so.

Wen Lei and Ai Wei changed their clothes in the car ahead of time. Wen Lei wore a leather jacket that looked like a little devil, with a thin tail on the back.Ivy chose an antique Egyptian dress, a white linen dress, with a long black wig, a gold necklace, a "Horus" headdress and fine gold-trimmed sandals.That was the decision she finally made after looking at it for a long time.Putting on their masks, the two walked towards the villa with an invitation card in hand.The guards at the gates all wear the armor of the Iron Knights.Open the door, the room is already full of people, all kinds of weird characters make the space full of heat.Vampires, werewolves, knights, princes, angels, demons, elves, zombies——Wen Lei's eyes could not help but light up, and she hurriedly explained to Ivy, "I'm going to play, let's meet at the door."

Ivy panicked, she didn't want to be alone in this chaotic environment, "Didn't you say someone was looking for me?" "He only said he wanted to see you, I'm not responsible for the introduction." Wen Lei replied mischievously, "Don't worry too much, the identities of the people who come here from Howell are guaranteed and absolutely safe, besides, you are dressed like this look, no one will recognize you." She ordered while taking the wine handed over by the waiter, wagging her tail happily, and walked into the house. Ivy didn't have time to hold her back, she had already disappeared into the crowd of strange people.She couldn't help but secretly sighed, if she had known that Wen Lei had such a personality, she might as well not have come.The waiter next to her was still standing quietly, so she reached out for a glass of orange wine and drank it down in one gulp.The light orange flavor is slightly spicy, but it doesn't have the pungent taste of alcohol.She thought it was very good, so she picked up another glass, and then went upstairs.The music in the hall on the first floor was too loud, she wanted to find a quiet place, and go back quickly when she made an appointment with Wen Lei, so as not to be scolded by her brother afterwards.

Howell's castle is quite big, but the party is surprisingly lively.When Ai Wei came to the second floor, she found that they were all people. Everyone was drinking and having fun. Some people were already slightly drunk, and they entangled on the sofa and started making out.She continued to go up, and there were several rooms on the third floor, and the doors of some rooms had been closed.She went round to the tower and continued up until she came to the balcony on the roof.When the night wind blew, there was actually a slight chill.Leaning on the outermost side of the balcony, she drank the orange wine in her hand again in one gulp, and her body felt much warmer.The faint taste of alcohol slid over her tongue, and her eyes swelled up inexplicably. She pulled her lips, leaned out, and looked out.

The moon looks extraordinarily large in the empty suburbs, and the faint golden color seems to dye all the places within sight with transparent splendor.Lowering his head, a soft light glowed in the creek not far from the castle, undulating with the fluctuation of the water as if breathing.She was a little intoxicated by the beautiful scenery, and suddenly realized that she might really be a little drunk.I don't know how much alcohol has been put in the orange wine, but the aftertaste is very strong. She can't stand still. The stream not far away is sometimes approaching and far away. Hearing the order, his body couldn't help shaking, as if he was about to fall. At this moment, someone grabbed her tightly from behind, and the slender arms were extraordinarily powerful.Her head was heavy, forming an opposing force against the pulling force on her body. The black wig and gold hair accessories were thrown out by her, and the moonlight sprinkled on her straight golden hair, spreading out behind her like a piece of flowing water, and then Then quietly flowed to the wall behind her. She raised her eyes, wanting to apologize to the person who held her back, but what she saw made her forget all the prepared words.The body trembled uncontrollably, and the surroundings turned into a haze, only the front of the line of sight was so clear. A red and white ceremonial crown, embellished with the horizontal hair ornament of "Uarras", a long white linen coat, a gold belt and wrist guards.No hair was visible, and a golden mask engulfed his face deeply.At that moment, she actually had an illusion.Where is he, London in the 21st century, or Thebes three thousand years ago?Beside the ancient city wall, feel the hot hands hug her tightly, and hear the never-to-be-forgotten oath ringing in her ears time and time again. She was so surprised that she couldn't even speak, she just stared blankly at the person in front of her.He didn't speak, but carefully pulled her back, his slender fingers slowly brushed across her face, gently and carefully, as if he wanted to keep every inch of her face firmly in his heart.There was a faint fragrance on his body, some woody smell, and some faint scent of blood.The icy moonlight made his skin almost eerie white, his hands trembled slightly, but he held her face up gently, so that her face faced him who was a full head taller than her. Through the mask, she could still feel their eyes crossing each other. Whether it was because of nervousness or the effect of alcohol, she could hardly utter a complete sentence, she could only piece together her own words intermittently, "Who... are you?" He didn't speak, and the cold mask outlined a permanent smile, but the expression behind the mask was never known. She squinted her eyes, her eyes were blurred, and her mind was in a mess. She covered his hand, and there was a strange coldness in his palm. The voice choked up at some point, "I miss you..." He remained silent, as if his body was still there. "Don't be nice to others, don't forget me, it's all lying to you. Even if you dislike me and use me—" She must be dreaming, so she must be able to tell the truth in her dream, "I still miss you very much, very much , want to see you very much... want to see you..." The two deep black eye sockets of the exquisite gold mask, like a black hole of nothingness, faced her emotionlessly.No matter what she said, no matter how sad she was, she never got half a response.He just hugged her, letting despair wrap her around her like a winding poisonous snake until it slowly devoured her. Suddenly, there was a commotion downstairs, someone came up the stairs quickly, Wen Lei's voice almost changed, "Ivy, Ivy, it's terrible, your brother..." Hearing this voice, the masked man let go of Ivy, and before she could react, he left the attic through another passage without anyone noticing.Ivy wanted to catch up, but her legs and feet were limp, and she almost fell to the ground. She could only look at his lonely back, and quickly and sensitively merged into the endless darkness.The balcony door was suddenly opened, and a pair of icy blue eyes came into view, followed by Wen Lei's embarrassed face. "There was an assassination incident nearby. It's very dangerous here. Come back with me..." Ai Xian's voice fluctuated from far to near, as if floating from another dimension. Ivy was looking for, looking for the figure of the mysterious mask just now, but the surroundings were so complicated that she would never see him again.There are more waves of sadness in my heart, Wen Lei's apologetic explanation and Ai Xian's unconcealed blame are gradually fading away. The world was spinning in her mind, her eyes became extremely heavy, it seemed that another overwhelming solar eclipse had occurred in her world, and it swallowed her fiercely.In the solemn darkness, she seemed to be standing on an endless wooden bridge, with an endless abyss beneath her feet. She heard him call her name softly, right behind her.She seemed to be able to hold his hand as soon as she turned her head, and she could enter his warm embrace as long as she took a step back, but when she opened her eyes suddenly, there was only that cold darkness around her.I can't see his face, and I can't hear his voice anymore... Forget it, she'll be fine, it'll be over, and she'll forget about it.However, tears flowed all over his face, and his limbs suddenly lost all strength. But if she forgets him, what is left of her? Is it like that, put on a mask that always smiles.Alone and hypocritically, a person lives in this remote modern age. She doesn't know, she doesn't want to know.She softened her body as if giving up, and just fell down in front of everyone.Wen Lei was so frightened that her face changed color, she repeatedly explained to Ai Xian: "I didn't know that she would drink herself so much..." Ai Xian glanced at Wen Lei, didn't answer, just bent down and carefully hugged her in her arms, walked down the stairs, passed the curious and somewhat caring eyes of everyone, and left the chaotic place. The dark brown car had already parked quietly at the entrance of Howell Villa, and the double R logo was shining faintly in the moonlight.She huddled in his arms, subconsciously frowned when the wind blew, and moved her body closer to him.The bodyguard stepped forward, signaling to take Ai Wei from Ai Xian.But he shook his head lightly, hugged her tighter with both hands slightly, hugged her and sat in the car, and carefully covered her with the thin blanket handed over by the driver. The car started smoothly, and the dark-colored cars followed quietly away. Wen Lei chased her out, and looked at the leaving convoy and let out a breath of relief, "There are still such people who dote on their sisters in this world, they are overprotective." Howell stood up and shrugged, "It's not an exaggeration to call it a lover." Wen Lei glared at Howell, "You can't talk nonsense, no matter how familiar you are, those two are also members of the Mordiet family. But, it's true, one or two, they do things so strangely." She paused , "That Baron Tiya even specifically said that he wanted to meet Ivy, but he didn't even show his face." Howell added curiously: "Baron Tia? Has he appeared again?" Wen Lei waved her hand, "Ah, yes. I said it all, it's all so strange." She muttered dissatisfiedly, frowning tightly. The wind at night was a little humid, blowing dark gray clouds to cover the bright moonlight.The golden mask stands alone in the deserted field, looking up at the sky that has not changed for three thousand years. Her breath, her heartbeat, her touch, her words—so brutal.The blood-like dark red jewel on the middle finger was slowly flowing like tears of light, and he had already made up his mind under the mask. The fate of correcting time and space is slowly kicking off at this moment...