Ha, Karma! – Chapter 4

The Young Miss’s ears are red.

Fu Lianxue was biting an apple while crouching down to open a can for Baobao.

Chu Zhaoqiu left.

She wasn’t sure whether to say she left or fled – she hadn’t even had the chance to tease her once.

Her phone lay on the side table, still connected to a call.

“What?”

Cheng Hanxi’s surprised voice came through the phone.

“Your sworn enemy has fallen for you? Young Miss Chu?!”

Baobao heard the phone’s sound and immediately lifted its head, then jumped onto the table, curiously pawing at the phone with its tail held high, swaying gently back and forth.

No matter how many times it saw them, it remained curious about human phones.

Fu Lianxue smiled as she picked it up, placing a bowl full of food in front of it: “Eat up.”

Baobao didn’t hesitate, starting to eat immediately, not willing to wait even a second.

Fu Lianxue watched it with amusement in her eyes, stroking its head while thinking of Chu Zhaoqiu’s expression when she left.

The burning red ear tips, that unexpected expression, and that flustered look when exposed.

How amazing.

She never thought she’d live to see Chu Zhaoqiu like this!

Thinking about it, Fu Lianxue smiled even more.

“Yes, she likes me, and she’s the most fragrant person I’ve ever met.

“She doesn’t even realize she likes me.”

Remembering Chu Zhaoqiu’s expression from earlier, Fu Lianxue made an objective assessment: “She’s surprisingly innocent.”

Chu Zhaoqiu seemed like she had just realized what it means to like someone.

Twenty-three years old and experiencing first love [literally: heart window first opens], and surprisingly, it’s with her.

“Oh? Thousands of years ago, she never liked anyone else?” Cheng Hanxi asked.

“How would I know,” Fu Lianxue said, “It’s not like she’d tell me.”

“Can’t you smell it yourself?”

She could smell whoever liked her – that’s the ability of a charm demon.

But abilities need practice and learning.

Fu Lianxue stroked Baobao’s ears and said, “I was quite inexperienced back then, hadn’t yet mastered the scent-detecting technique.”

After thinking, she added, “Besides, was there even any need to smell? How could she possibly have liked me back then, after what she did to me.”

Who shows their love by pinning someone against a wall and stabbing them with a sword?

Only someone with a mental illness would call such cruel and heartless methods ‘liking’ someone!

Cheng Hanxi thought about it, found it reasonable, and brought the topic back to “innocence.”

“You won’t become her first love in this life, will you?”

“Maybe?”

“But you said she’s dedicated to demon hunting and exorcism, very responsible. So wouldn’t she think liking you is wrong and give up on these feelings?”

“Perhaps,” Fu Lianxue said, looking at the cat before her, “She’s very clever, there’s nothing she can’t do.”

“Then why hasn’t she achieved enlightenment and ascended?”

Cheng Hanxi’s words struck right to the point.

Ordinary people become cultivators not just to hunt demons and protect humans, but for a deeper reason—immortality.

Human life is too brief, merely a blink of an eye compared to heaven and earth.

Since ancient times, countless mortals have dreamed of achieving longevity equal to heaven, of immortality.

Cultivation became the only path to realize this dream.

Of course, immortality wasn’t cultivation’s only allure.

Becoming a supreme deity, receiving worship and reverence—such a brilliant future also tempted these practitioners.

Though the world above remained mysterious, it couldn’t stop people’s yearning.

Since Chu Zhaoqiu was a cultivator, and so clever that she could accomplish anything, why was she still human after thousands of years?

Did she not want to ascend?

“…”

Fu Lianxue: “Go ask her yourself, why ask me? Am I surnamed Chu?”

Cheng Hanxi smiled: “No need, I’m just curious.

“Because when you praised her intelligence, your tone was quite sincere.”

The hatred was real.

Acknowledging her excellence was also real.

At that moment, she suddenly felt her friend’s feelings toward this sworn enemy Chu Zhaoqiu were actually quite complicated.

Fu Lianxue paused, then snickered, bringing the topic back: “Anyway, she likes me now. Even if it’s just for a minute or a second, it’s still liking me—enough for me to laugh at her for thousands of years.”

Actually, of all her calculations, she never expected things to develop this way.

Chu Zhaoqiu, this proud Xuanmen disciple, actually liked her.

Oh no, rather, after reincarnation she actually liked her.

Judging by the number of their meetings, the reincarnated Chu Zhaoqiu had even experienced love at first sight with her.

She found it both surprising and strange.

Isn’t love at first sight just being attracted by appearance?

Could Chu Zhaoqiu actually be attracted to someone else, and to a demon she had personally wounded before??

Thinking of this, Fu Lianxue became even more gleeful, her face full of schadenfreude.

“When she remembers things from the past and looks at her current self, she’ll surely be furious, probably regretting why she didn’t just kill me back then, hahaha—”

Just imagining Chu Zhaoqiu’s frustrated expression made her excited and expectant!

She laughed so arrogantly that even Baobao stopped eating, lifting its head with round eyes to observe her, not understanding why the two-legged beast suddenly burst into laughter.

Cheng Hanxi on the other end of the phone: “…”

She wanted to advise against it, but didn’t know where to begin or what to say.

These two were indeed sworn enemies, and there was no reason to expect enemies to get along in this world.

After a moment of silence, she tentatively asked: “Will you… really kill her?”

Hearing this, Fu Lianxue lowered her eyes to stroke Baobao’s fur, watching it resume eating, then slowly countered: “Did my anger yesterday look fake?”

The scene from last night instantly flashed in Cheng Hanxi’s mind: “That was certainly real…”

She thought for a moment and added: “You really looked like you were ready to die together with her.”

In all the time she’d known Fu Lianxue, it was the first time she’d seen her lose composure, become so angry, not even caring if her identity was exposed.

At that moment, it seemed like Fu Lianxue’s eyes could only see Chu Zhaoqiu.

She hated her, wanted revenge, wanted to drag her to hell, even if it meant sacrificing herself—that’s what Cheng Hanxi felt at the time.

But now hearing Fu Lianxue speak about Chu Zhaoqiu so calmly, she couldn’t help but wonder if last night was an illusion.

It must have been an illusion, right?

Fu Lianxue wasn’t stupid, no matter how much she hated someone, she wouldn’t sacrifice herself—

“I really did want to die together with her.”

Fu Lianxue’s voice interrupted her thoughts, directly admitting it.

She never denied that when she saw Chu Zhaoqiu appear before her again, the resentment and hatred accumulated over hundreds of years was unprecedentedly intense—she truly wanted to kill her, wanted to drag her down to hell together.

“…”

Fu Lianxue’s honesty left Cheng Hanxi speechless, unconsciously beginning to worry as she tried to dissuade her over the phone.

“Stay calm, you absolutely must stay calm!”

“I am calm now.”

“…You need to stay calm in the future too.”

“We’ll talk about the future when it comes.”

“…”

Cheng Hanxi couldn’t help but ask: “Besides stabbing you with a sword, did she do something else to wrong you? Otherwise, why would you even think about dying together??”

After she asked, she heard two soft laughs through the phone, followed by Fu Lianxue’s childish tone.

“Look at you getting food on your whiskers again, let mama clean it for you~

“Aww, our Baobao is so cute, let mama give you kisses~”

Cheng Hanxi: “…”

She wasn’t listening at all, was she?!

Fu Lianxue leisurely cleaned Baobao’s whiskers, her eyes glancing toward the still-connected phone, speaking calmly: “Don’t be so curious, I know my limits, you don’t need to worry.”

She lifted up the adorably silly-looking Baobao, her eyes twinkling with a smile: “With me around, Chu Zhaoqiu won’t have an easy time!”

From now on, whenever she felt like it, she would work hard to make trouble for Chu Zhaoqiu!

Cheng Hanxi: “…”

That’s even more worrying!

Fu Lianxue happily kissed the cat, then suddenly remembered something.

—Oh right, why did that woman Chu Zhaoqiu come to find me earlier?

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After Chu Zhaoqiu returned to the Chu family home with A Li and Bu Yu, she shut herself in her room again.

She said she wanted some quiet time alone.

A Li and Bu Yu stood downstairs, worriedly watching her door.

Chu Sining, who was resting at home for the weekend, heard the commotion and came out of her room. Seeing A Li and the others had returned, she quickly ran downstairs to ask about the situation.

“Did my sister go to find you all?”

Bu Yu nodded.

“Where’s my sister?”

A Li pointed to Chu Zhaoqiu’s tightly closed door: “Taking some quiet time.”

“Why is she taking quiet time again? What happened, did they fight?”

Bu Yu shook her head: “Don’t know.”

A Li said: “Young Miss said she wanted to meet Fu Lianxue alone, wouldn’t let us follow.”

“Ah? Was my sister injured?”

A Li: “No.”

“Just…” Bu Yu pointed to her own ear, “Young Miss’s ears were a bit red.”

Chu Sining’s eyes widened: “Huh??”

She lifted her head to look at her sister’s room along with A Li and Bu Yu, and suddenly seemed to realize something. With a surprised expression, she turned and ran to tell grandmother.

“Grandmother, something’s wrong—”

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Inside the room, Chu Zhaoqiu sat in a chair, trying hard to calm down and compose herself.

She actually had no particular reason to find Fu Lianxue, she just wanted to see her, simple as that.

She had discussed her thoughts with Grandmother Chu Zhaohua.

Chu Zhaohua also agreed she should meet Fu Lianxue.

Chu Zhaohua said she had a knot [emotional burden] regarding Fu Lianxue.

“You’ve been preoccupied since returning yesterday, I think it’s related to Fu Lianxue.

“With an unclear mind, your steps become unsteady. Carrying worries is detrimental to cultivation practice.”

“To untie a bell requires the one who tied it, you should go.”

That’s what Chu Zhaohua had said then, in a gentle tone.

Chu Zhaoqiu thought her grandmother was right.

She should go, go find this “knot.”

But she never expected this “knot” would be… that she liked Fu Lianxue.

She liked Fu Lianxue, she actually liked Fu Lianxue.

So that’s why her heart fluttered when they met yesterday, why her first thought upon waking was wanting to see her… so this is what liking someone means.

But she never imagined the one to expose her budding feelings would be Fu Lianxue herself.

So direct and catching her completely off guard.

She could still clearly remember every expression and tone of Fu Lianxue’s.

The disbelieving, the schadenfreude.

And that brazenly triumphant smile saying: “Ha, karma!”

“…”

Chu Zhaoqiu slowly raised her hand to her forehead, closing her eyes wearily, her mood heavy.

Was I really that terrible in her heart before…

“Knock knock.”

The door was suddenly knocked.

“Xiaoqiu, it’s grandmother.”

Chu Zhaoqiu came back to her senses and got up to open the door for her grandmother.

After opening the door, Chu Zhaoqiu realized her grandmother was accompanied by her younger sister.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

As soon as she spoke, Chu Zhaohua reached out to touch her ears, gently examining them from left to right.

Chu Sining also stood beside them, craning her neck to look.

This left Chu Zhaoqiu completely bewildered.

She raised her hand to stop her grandmother’s: “What’s wrong?”

Chu Zhaohua nodded her chin toward her younger granddaughter.

“Ningning says Fu Lianxue got physical with you.”

Chu Zhaoqiu: “…?”

She couldn’t help but look at Chu Sining.

“What do you mean she got physical with me?”

“She pinched your ears red!”

“…?”

That’s not what happened at all…

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