Alone, Beautifully – Chapter 149
by Little PandaJust Like the First Meeting (6)
“Say it one more time?”
How could Ye Zhen show up at this time?
Thinking about Xu Hankai, who was lying on the floor inside the house and couldn’t even make a sound from the pain, Xu Jiao realized for the first time that she was facing the worry of her carefully crafted image collapsing. When she locked eyes with the girl outside the door, her mind quickly flashed with three words:
What! To! Do!
It wasn’t just Xu Jiao who was a bit stunned; Ye Zhen, after knocking on the door, also felt a bit at a loss. After all, in her memory, the little sister next door was a pitiful girl bullied by her stepfather. Although her previous meeting with Xu Jiao made her realize that the current story setting was somewhat different from her vague memories…
But, could it be that even the scumbag Xu Hankai had changed?
Feeling a bit impulsive to uncover the truth, Ye Zhen had a sudden clever idea. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a mint candy that she had gotten with her lunch delivery from a restaurant, and held it out in her palm to Xu Jiao:
“I just recently moved here, and my family just made some desserts. Do you want to try some?”
Xu Jiao glanced at the mint candy in her palm, realizing it was meant to coax a child, but before she could decide whether to maintain her image in front of Ye Zhen, her eyes looked around the area near Ye Zhen.
Desserts?
Didn’t see any.
Not to mention a plastic bag, there wasn’t even a shadow of a takeout box.
What desserts? Are they like the Emperor’s new desserts, the kind only smart people can see? (This refers to the story “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” where only the “wise” could see the clothes.)
Ye Zhen successfully read the confusion in Xu Jiao’s eyes. She hesitated for two seconds, then quickly bent down to meet Xu Jiao’s gaze, smiling as she continued, “Big sister doesn’t know how many people are in Jiaojiao’s family, and doesn’t know how much to prepare. Why don’t you come with me to get them from my house?”
As she spoke, she quickly recalled the few osmanthus coconut cakes she had ordered at lunch and stored in the fridge, wondering if they looked homemade.
Before Xu Jiao could decide whether to agree, a sound of something falling suddenly came from the living room behind her.
There was a heavy “thud.”
Ye Zhen instinctively wanted to look inside, her gaze stretching far, but she saw nothing. When she lowered her head again, she was met with Xu Jiao’s slowly blooming, innocent, and pretty smile.
Ye Zhen: “…”
She hesitated for a second and then pretended not to know anything as she asked, “Is there anyone else at home?”
Xu Jiao stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly lied, “No.”
As if to contradict her, another noise of a collision came from inside the house, as if slapping her in the face with the truth.
Xu Jiao: “…”
Ye Zhen didn’t think much, only worried about what Xu Hankai was about to do to Xu Jiao. As she said, “Are the adults at home too? Let me say hello,” she gently moved Xu Jiao’s hand away from the door and stepped inside.
Xu Jiao was still arguing, saying “no,” but how could Ye Zhen believe that? Thinking of Xu Hankai’s despicable actions, her worry ultimately took over. Even if she knew that in the previous worlds she had been with Xu Jiao, there would probably be no problem, sometimes worry just happens, regardless of whether the other person is strong or not.
She quickly entered the house, leaving Xu Jiao, who tried to stop her, behind. Watching Ye Zhen’s much taller figure walk inside, Xu Jiao observed her until she noticed, at some point, something had been seized by pain and rolled to the table’s side… a person almost unrecognizable.
Terrifying red blood was everywhere on the floor, staining half of Xu Hankai’s clothes. During his previous painful rolling, it smeared all over the ground, mixed with some other fluids. Now this bloody figure was by the coffee table, and when he saw her come in, he opened his eyes wide, looking over with a terrifying face, causing Ye Zhen to gasp—
The next moment.
She turned around, made eye contact with Xu Jiao, and then quickly walked towards her.
Xu Jiao: “…” Sigh.
I already said there’s no one at home.
While looking at Ye Zhen, Xu Jiao felt a bit leisurely and communicated with her system in her mind: “Oh no, my introverted persona might be collapsing. If this world fails, can we start over?”
She was quite reluctant to part with this big sister.
And also, she wondered if Ye Zhen might have nightmares after seeing such a terrifying scene.
Xu Jiao felt a bit of regret, thinking she shouldn’t treat her savior this way. Xu Hankai brought this on himself, and Ye Zhen had done nothing wrong. Why should she have to witness this scumbag’s punishment scene?
She shuffled her toes awkwardly and moved her lips as if trying to explain something. But before she could, Ye Zhen quickly came up to her, and her first reaction was to pull Xu Jiao into her arms, preventing her from seeing Xu Hankai’s miserable state. At the same time, she took out her phone and quickly dialed:
“Hello? Is this 120? Someone is injured here, the address is…”
Xu Jiao, held in her arms, smelled something on Ye Zhen’s clothes—perhaps laundry detergent residue or perfume. She closed her eyes and didn’t struggle, listening to Ye Zhen calmly make the call, and thought dazedly:
Is the big sister next door really such a calm person?
And right now, only she and Xu Hankai were in the house. No matter what, a normal person entering such a room, seeing an adult in a state of torment while the child is completely unscathed and can even open the door with a normal demeanor, would find it very scary, right?
Wouldn’t they think she’s some kind of frightening person?
After Ye Zhen finished the call, she put her phone back in her pocket and looked down to see the top of the child’s head. She couldn’t help but reach out to touch it, finding Xu Jiao’s hair exceptionally soft, so she gently continued the motion.
Xu Jiao noticed her repeated touch and looked up at her, her dark eyes meeting Ye Zhen’s gaze, as she prepared to say the story she just made up:
“Dad, he…”
But Ye Zhen interrupted her, “Are you okay?”
Xu Jiao paused for a moment and shook her head, and Ye Zhen laughed, “That’s good.”
She led Xu Jiao outside, speaking in a tone meant to soothe a child, “Your dad might have accidentally gotten hurt. Why don’t you come to big sister’s house first and sit down while we wait for the doctor to come and help your dad, okay?”
Hearing Ye Zhen’s even more casual explanation than her own, Xu Jiao no longer tried to argue but instead felt a bit interested in Ye Zhen’s home, obediently letting herself be led away.
Xu Hankai was thus intentionally or unintentionally left in the living room to continue his punishment.
On the other side.
Xu Jiao was led by Ye Zhen back to her home.
When Xu Jiao stepped into the house, her first reaction was—
So this is what it looks like.
During her childhood, when she later grew to strongly reject her own home, this was the only place, a sort of sanctuary, where she could find a moment of peace. But back then, she could hardly remember anything from the outside world. It was only much later, after buying this house, that she could slightly recall the vivid presence of people in this dusty and dim world.
Just as she imagined.
Her gaze swept over the shoe cabinet by the door, to the blue fabric sofa in the living room, the beautiful white coffee table, the artistic floor lamp, and the wall-mounted bookshelf designed partly for decoration and partly for holding books.
Xu Jiao stared, as if wanting to remember everything here.
Ye Zhen, recalling a promise she had made earlier, walked toward the fridge in the kitchen, thinking about what she had seen in the Xu family’s living room. She sensed a very mysterious aura from Xu Hankai.
It was like…
Magic.
If she remembered correctly, when she was under the identity of Xia Jingzhe, she had come across records in her sect that described certain spells that could be cast by ordinary people, with illusions being one of them.
Illusions don’t require much spiritual power. Some ordinary people who seek immortality in Kunlun but lack the aptitude to enter even the outer sect might consider staying as disciples who handle chores. They use their meager strength to earn contribution points and then use these points to attend simple lessons.
When they have learned all they can, these people might go down the mountain to become street performers, relying on illusions. By setting up stalls during temple fairs and festivals, they can live more comfortably than those working in the fields.
But looking at Xu Hankai, it didn’t seem like the effect of ordinary illusions.
Strange.
She also didn’t sense any spiritual power in Xu Jiao. What level of illusion was this?
Ye Zhen absentmindedly opened the fridge, took out a stack of coconut osmanthus cakes, and carried the sweet-smelling treats outside, only to find Xu Jiao still standing in the same place, unmoving, as if entranced by her home’s interior design.
Ye Zhen’s gaze softened a little. She placed the plate of cakes on the coffee table and waved to the child:
“Jiaojiao, come here.”
Xu Jiao quickly walked towards her, but when she sat down in front of the sofa, her movements were cautious, as if she thought the sofa might break if she touched it. Ye Zhen found this amusing and then reached out, pulling her onto her lap, letting the child sit closely and affectionately in her embrace.
Xu Jiao’s throat moved slightly.
She wasn’t quite used to the previous head pats or the current hugging.
When Ye Zhen used a spoon to scoop up the pretty cake, layered with white and osmanthus flowers, and brought it to her lips, Xu Jiao’s back straightened even more, and her lips pressed tightly together, clearly looking a bit nervous.
Ye Zhen found it amusing and instinctively said, “How come I never noticed you were so shy before…”
Since she guessed the child’s identity, she didn’t hide her own knowledge much.
As soon as she said this, Xu Jiao was surprised—
“Before?”
Ye Zhen raised her eyebrows: “You just used an illusion on Xu Hankai. What, did you think I wouldn’t notice, Senior Sister?”
This title sounded so familiar.
Xu Jiao: “…”
Xu Jiao: “……Wait a minute.”
She raised her hand to make a “stop” gesture.
Let her sort this out.
Why did it seem like the soul inside her big sister next door, her savior, didn’t match the outside?
The room was silent for a few seconds.
With a very complex feeling, Xu Jiao slowly called out, “Xia Jingzhe?”
Ye Zhen nodded with a smile, resting her chin on Xu Jiao’s shoulder gently, not wanting to hurt the child. She confirmed and added, “Shen Yelan, Feng Qingyu, Yu Ye…”
“But I find I still like it best when you call me big sister.”
“Can you say it again?”
Xu Jiao: “…”
She swallowed down the word “scram” and voiced her more important question: “How are you here?”
Ye Zhen, amused, responded, “That’s what I should be asking you, Jiaojiao. This is my memory; how are you here?”
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