Operation Red Book

"Let's make peace..."

Ivy kept rehearsing it in her mind.

She didn't know how many times she had repeated it, how many different tones she had used, how many different wordings she had eliminated.

She kept repeating these words in her mind until she followed Princess Constance into the backstage of the competition, pushed through the crowded crowd, and saw Joshua curled up in a ball.

"Let's make peace..."

It's a simple sentence, but it's not easy to say.

Joshua's black satin tuxedo was sparkling today, but Ivy couldn't see the pattern of the dress.

He is so big, but he looks tiny when squatting on the ground.

Perhaps because she was tired of crying, Ivy did not hear any so-called "howling", but only saw a streak of shiny flaxen hair gel.

His shoulders shrugged slightly and his entire face was buried in his arms, leaving only a pair of red and tender ears exposed.

When he heard the news of Ivy's arrival, he shuddered, as if he heard some extraordinary name. If someone didn't know, they would think it was the resurrected Voldemort who had returned.

"Ms. Ivy..."

Alexander stood beside Joshua, frowning and winking at Ivy.

Next to him stood the trembling Ms. Bell, whose condition seemed much clearer than Joshua's, but still worthy of attention.

Ms. Bell did not cry like Joshua. She was pale, swaying, with unfocused eyes, and mumbling to herself in a drunken voice.

"Ha... you're finally here..."

Professor White said with a long sigh, he put one hand on Bell's shoulder and the other on his forehead with a bitter smile.

The unicorn appeared from somewhere and gently licked Ms. Bell's burgundy hair, removing a few of the star-shaped hairpins from her burgundy braids.

"That gray-haired boy has been crying and shouting for you to come over, just like you almost stayed in the consciousness space... God, please save him quickly, if he can't stop crying, I will be broken..."

After saying that, the unicorn neighed, walked slowly forward, rubbed Ivy's neck with its big head, then slowly walked towards Joshua who was whimpering softly, knelt on his knees, and whimpered intermittently.

There was a wailing light flickering in the unicorn's eyes, which were like a river of stars. The sorrowful desire was imprinted in Ivy's eyes, like an overwhelming force, but it could not cause a single ripple.

Ivy's mind was not on Joshua. She stared at the dazed Ms. Bell, looking between her and Professor White with suspicion.

"Uh... Miss Ivy, are there any ancient characters engraved on my face? Why is it worth your research at this time?"

Professor White felt uncomfortable being stared at by her. He pulled at the white fur collar on his shoulders and asked awkwardly.

"Mom...Dad...Mom...Beatrice...Beatrice..."

Ms. Bell was shaking her head, mumbling the English words for mom, dad, and Beatrice.

And this is exactly what Ivy is confused about - where is Beatrice who chased them off the stage?

Joshua cried and wanted to see her, so Princess Constance searched almost the entire Chinese wharf...

Ms. Bell wanted to see her parents, and Beatrice was not far away. Why did Professor White remain calm and watch Ms. Bell's eyes become distracted and her mind become disordered...

"The world's number one magic tool store"... That strange store name suddenly popped up in Ivy's mind.

Coincidentally, the Red Book once mentioned that Professor White was the owner of the "World's No. 1 Magic Equipment Store".

Ivy remained calm, but her mind automatically combined the two things.

The clown can split himself... The clown wants souls... Next to the clown's killing table is the "World's No. 1 Magic Equipment Store"...

Beatrice's disappearance, Professor White's calmness, Ms. Bell's unconsciousness... everything seemed to point to the same word - cover-up.

"Ms. Ivy?"

Professor White suddenly pulled her back from her distant thoughts. Ivy stared at that jade-like face, alarm bells ringing in her heart.

"Bell has me and this big fool to take care of him. It's okay. Go check on your good friend..."

As he spoke, Professor White pushed Bell to the other side, walked up to Ivy without saying a word, grabbed her shoulders, and turned her over.

"Hey!"

Ivy was startled, but held her breath the moment she turned around.

Joshua stood behind her at some point, like a silent black soul.

He lowered his head, his face was wet, his eyes trembled slightly, and tears flashed in the corners of his eyes.

Ivy stood at attention for a moment. She looked at his thin lips that were tightly closed in endurance. She wanted to leave but couldn't, and she wanted to speak but couldn't.

There seemed to be something blocking her throat, and she couldn't spit it out or swallow it. She knew she should say that sentence, the sentence she had practiced in her mind several times...

"Let's make peace..."

She said it skillfully in her mind.

At the same time, she saw Joshua's Adam's apple move up and down, as if he was about to say something before her.

But he didn't say anything, not even the corners of his mouth moved.

The two just stared at each other in silence, amidst the bustling noise, the cheers of the crowd, the silence of the night sky, and the gazes of others...

"Let's make peace..."

Come on! Come on! Come on!

Whether you say it first or not, say it quickly!

Is it difficult? Is it difficult to open your mouth? A 20-minute speech is no problem, and a half-hour report is not enough to explain. Are these few syllables so difficult?

"Let's make peace..."

Have……

Facing Joshua... the Joshua she both loved and hated...

It's hard...

"Let's make peace..."

Under the control of her brain nerves, Ivy's mind became hot, and her lips flew up and down, trembling continuously.

"Let's make peace..."

As she thought about it, the round letters swirled, jumped, and flashed in her mind...

She just had to read it out...

"Go to hell, skinny monkey!"

She said, and the air was silent for five seconds before she responded.

In the awkward atmosphere, everyone's eyes changed slightly, mostly from Ivy to Joshua.

And in the center of his sight, Joshua was trembling all over, tears pouring out like a spring, leaving behind the same wet and sticky tear marks from the past.

The right hand that wanted to pull Ivy's sleeve was unable to retract, and he didn't even have the strength to clench into a fist.

He suddenly hated his forehead so much. Without the thick bangs and thick glasses to cover it, he was so shy that he just wanted to crawl into the gap between the soles of his shoes.

He didn't want to be seen being so cowardly in front of Ivy...

"Ms. Ivy..."

"Ms. Ivy!"

Suddenly, two incredible voices came from behind Ivy. They were Christine and Princess Constance who had just arrived.

Ivy didn't know what her expression was. She only knew that when she turned around and looked at Christine, Christine was so scared that she immediately looked away.

"Ms. Ivy! Why are you…"

"What's wrong!"

Ivy interrupted the princess' questioning loudly. She stared and found that her eyes were unusually dry.

"What's wrong with me? He can call me a slut! I can't call him a skinny monkey!"

"no no……"

The princess was choked up. It was difficult to approach an angry Ivy, so she immediately ran to Joshua and begged him:

"Mr. Joshua! Don't you have something to say to Miss Ivy? Please say it! Say it now!"

The princess waved Joshua's arms frantically, but Joshua just lowered his head and said nothing. He was sad and tearful in a place where no one could see.

As the air flowed, the warm applause that broke out in front of the stage invaded the entire backstage, sweeping through everyone's heart like a huge wave.

"Forget it, I don't have time to waste with him."

After a long moment of silence, Ivy spoke in a low voice.

She frowned, turned around quickly, ignoring the princess' pleading eyes, grabbed Christine's coat hanging on her arm, and walked up the stairs to the stage without looking back.

"Let's make peace..."

As she stepped onto the red carpeted stage, these words still lingered in her mind, but her cold and numb body reminded her all the time:

This sentence can never be said.

The dry eyes finally turned wet, but it was not the right time.

Ivy listened to the light sound of her footsteps on the steps and quietly wiped away the hot tears with the back of her hand.