In the blink of an eye, New Year’s Eve was fast approaching.
The ancient town had grown very lively lately, and even the green lane was bustling with noise. Behind Ji Hua’s house ran a small river, facing ancient residences with black tiles and white walls, adorned with bright red lanterns. Over the past few days, flat-bottomed wooden boats had been drifting back and forth on the river to the sound of constant peddling cries.
Children love excitement, and for nearly the entire day, the little girl spent her time pressed against the windowsill watching those boats. A peddler selling small snacks noticed a remarkably cute little girl staring straight at them from the windowsill, her large eyes bright and sparkling, making anyone who looked at her feel an involuntary surge of affection.
Some vendors retrieved a few packets of small snacks from inside their boats. Fortunately, the distance between the boat and the window wasn’t far, so a vendor handed the snacks directly to Wen Huaiyue.
Wen Huaiyue accepted them happily, though she looked troubled. “But Uncle, I don’t have any money.”
“Little girl, these are a gift from Uncle. No money needed,” the vendor said with a chuckle.
Wen Huaiyue’s eyes curved into two crescents. “Thank you, Uncle.”
The snacks the vendor gave her were a few packets of glutinous rice cakes, soft and white on the outside with a layer of red bean paste inside. Wen Huaiyue loved soft, sticky little snacks the most.
She walked into the room just as Ji Hua was waking up, sitting drowsily in front of the mirror. Seeing Wen Huaiyue, Ji Hua asked casually, “Where did those come from?”
Afraid that Ji Hua wouldn’t let her eat them, Wen Huaiyue bit her lip and whispered, “An uncle gave them to me.”
“Look at you,” Ji Hua scoffed at her cautiousness. “I’m not going to steal them from you.”
She gave a lazy yawn. “Come here and brush my hair.”
Over the past few days, Ji Hua had unexpectedly discovered that Wen Huaiyue had decent hair brushing skills. Her hair was very long, and upon waking up from sleep, it would occasionally tangle. Lacking the patience to untangle it strand by strand, she usually resorted to violent brushing, causing strands of hair to fall out one after another.
Wen Huaiyue was the complete opposite. She brushed very carefully, and being a child without much strength, her force was just right. Making the most of available resources, Ji Hua had her take over this chore every day.
Wen Huaiyue put down the snacks, washed her hands, and then used the comb to slowly smooth the hair out. She didn’t speak, remaining quiet and still.
Ji Hua suddenly opened her eyes, which had been closed, and asked, “Does your neck still hurt?”
Wen Huaiyue thought for a moment and shook her head. Ji Hua would bite her neck every day or two. Aside from the pain during the first few times, subsequent times seemed to produce no sensation at all, though there was still a slight tingling itch.
Meanwhile, a medium-sized bite mark was left on the back of her neck, refusing to fade. Ji Hua wouldn’t let her apply ointment, saying it would smell bad.
The back of her neck only hurt slightly when touched by water during showers; at all other times, she felt nothing.
Wen Huaiyue had gone from initial terror to grudging acceptance. After all, for a child, having her neck bitten by someone for no apparent reason was still somewhat difficult to accept. If not for the fact that Ji Hua disliked crying, Wen Huaiyue wouldn’t have developed her current state of slight numbness.
After finishing combing her hair, Ji Hua crouched down to examine the mark on the back of her neck, feeling an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
She simply loved leaving marks on her blood source. That ugly mark was an embodiment of Ji Hua’s unknown, selfish desires.
Strangely enough, whenever she found a suitable blood source in the past, she would usually feed once a month. Yet this little child before her possessed a magical charm that made her completely unable to wait that long.
Whenever a few days passed without drinking, a blazing craving would surge throughout her entire body, as if she had been fitted with an uncontrollable desire.
Giving it no further thought, Ji Hua assumed it was just an aftereffect of having gone too long without blood. Besides, she had lived for hundreds of years; the older she grew, the stronger her craving for blood would become.
It was normal.
“If your sister saw this, what expression would she make?” Ji Hua muttered to herself, seemingly picturing something as she curved her lips into an unfathomable smile. “It would probably be a lot of fun.”
“Sister, what did you say?” Wen Huaiyue felt her scalp tingle from the way Ji Hua touched her.
“Nothing,” Ji Hua stood up. “Go play by yourself. Don’t bother me.”
“Oh.” Wen Huaiyue obediently went to the courtyard to look at the flowers. Ji Hua’s courtyard was planted with many flowers, stacked in lush clusters and looking exceptionally pretty.
Ji Hua liked to sleep on the recliner in the courtyard. Most of the time, she paid no attention to Wen Huaiyue; as long as the child didn’t go outside or make a fuss in the room, she could do whatever she pleased.
Wen Huaiyue plucked a handful of white plum blossoms, cradling the white flowers from the branches in her palm, and quietly crept up to Ji Hua, intending to play a prank.
She is asleep anyway, Wen Huaiyue thought naively.
Ji Hua lay with her eyes closed beneath a cluster of flowers, wearing a black turtleneck sweater that highlighted her fair skin. The sparse winter sunlight fell upon her face, softening the sharpness of her features by a few degrees.
Sometimes Wen Huaiyue felt that this fierce woman was very pretty, even better-looking than some of the actresses on television.
Focussed entirely on watching Ji Hua, she hesitated just long enough for Ji Hua to open her eyes. Those long, narrow eyes resembled a pair of icy winter icicles, cold and piercing. “What are you doing?”
Feeling guilty, Wen Huaiyue hurriedly hid the flowers behind her back.
Such clumsy little actions couldn’t possibly escape Ji Hua’s eyes. “What are you hiding in your hand?”
Wen Huaiyue fell silent.
Ji Hua reached around from behind, grabbed her hand, and forced her palm open, revealing a bunch of crumpled white flowers inside.
She scoffed, pinching the child’s cheek. “What were you trying to do? Huh?”
Possessing great strength without measuring her force, Ji Hua pinched Wen Huaiyue’s cheek until it turned red, causing the child to yelp in pain. “Ow, it hurts.”
Tears welled up in her eyes out of physiological reflex, but Ji Hua’s tone turned cold. “Cry and see what happens.”
Wen Huaiyue hadn’t actually intended to cry. Having been tormented rather miserably by Ji Hua over the past few days, her tears were forcibly suppressed by command, bringing out a stubbornness hidden deep within her bones. She glared at her without uttering a sound.
Finding her amusing, Ji Hua pinched her a few more times before letting go. She maliciously dumped those white flowers into the child’s collar, watching them slide down her neck as her expression suddenly tightened. “Are you too idle? Go run five laps around the courtyard.”
The courtyard wasn’t large, so running five laps wouldn’t be very tiring. This was Ji Hua’s newly invented way of tormenting her, making her run laps over the slightest thing.
Ji Hua simply felt that Wen Huaiyue’s physical stamina was too weak. As a pampered little heiress, she was too delicate for Ji Hua to bear looking at.
Looking as though she wanted to bite her but not daring to, Wen Huaiyue pouted and went off to run laps.
Lying lazily on the recliner, Ji Hua watched her run, offering commentary from time to time.
“Hurry up, are you walking?”
“Why did you stop? Two more laps to go.”
“Don’t step on my flowers, or you won’t get any dinner.”
A tiny accumulation of grievances the size of white plum blossoms gathered in Wen Huaiyue’s small chest.
Once she finished running, Wen Huaiyue didn’t dare pull any tricks and obediently sat on the rattan chair, drinking the herbal tea Ji Hua had brewed.
At that moment, a wave of merrymaking drifted from outside, mixed with the sound of firecrackers. The small town wasn’t as strict as the city, retaining the tradition of setting off firecrackers during the New Year.
Wen Huaiyue rarely went out. Although she usually appeared well-behaved and rarely showed her inner desires, a child’s playful nature could never truly be masked.
She looked longingly toward the front gate, the yearning within her burning brighter than the winter sun.
She cast a tentative glance at Ji Hua.
Showing unusual mercy, Ji Hua waved her hand casually. “Go if you want, just don’t cause trouble for me.”
Wen Huaiyue sprang up from the stool like a spring, dropping the flowers she was holding.
“Thank you, Sister.”
With that, she ran toward the front gate. Ji Hua called out a reminder, “Close the door.”
Ji Hua shifted her attention back to her phone. The interface of WeChat displayed a group chat consisting of employees from the female protagonist and male protagonist’s company. Back then, to gather more information about them, the original host had used some unknown method to infiltrate their company.
The people in this group were exceptionally gossipy and knew a lot of news about the female protagonist and male protagonist. Ji Hua normally didn’t log into WeChat; finding it noisy, she had set it to mute notifications and forgotten to delete it.
Logging into WeChat for once, her attention was caught by the three characters Wen Huaiyue popping up, so she clicked into it.
[Hey, President Wen and President Meng haven’t been coming to the company much lately.]
President Wen refers to Wen Yao, the female protagonist and Wen Huaiyue’s sister.
President Meng refers to Meng Wang, the male protagonist.
[According to the grapevine, they say President Wen’s precious younger sister has gone missing, and the two of them are searching day and night.]
[Wen Huaiyue? That super cute little girl? It seems so. I used to often see President Wen bring her to the company, but she hasn’t been seen lately.]
[Wow, speaking of Wen Huaiyue, I played with her for a bit last time. She’s so well-behaved and cute, I want to cuddle her.]
[What happened to her? Why did she go missing? Could it be that crazy woman Ji Hua who did it?]
“Crazy woman?” Ji Hua arched one eyebrow.
[It’s possible, who doesn’t know that asshole Ji Hua has always had it out for President Wen? And Wen Huaiyue is President Wen’s precious younger sister, isn’t that common knowledge? A dog driven to a wall might jump over it, so it’s not impossible.]
[No way, my friend saw her jump into the sea last time. She’s probably dead by now, highly unlikely.]
As the group members chattered away, not a single one guessed correctly. Ji Hua let out a cold laugh.
A bunch of fools.
At that moment, someone timidly sent a message.
[I actually wonder if it could be the boss of Guangmao Real Estate. Didn’t his company’s capital chain break a while back? I heard he even engaged in illegal fundraising and wanted President Wen to help him with financing. President Wen refused, and the two sides kept locking horns. The boss of Guangmao Real Estate used to run in rough circles; if he was driven to desperation and grabbed Wen Huaiyue to threaten President Wen, it’s not impossible.]
The group erupted once more with varying opinions.
Finally, they reached a collective conclusion.
[Anyway, no matter who grabbed Wen Huaiyue, President Wen probably won’t let them off.]
Ji Hua thought to herself, how exactly does she plan not to let them off?
She had maliciously detained Wen Huaiyue, prevented her from going home, made a delicate little flower do all sorts of chores, and even drank her blood. With one thing after another, not only would Wen Yao not let her off, but the little girl herself would probably harbor deep resentment once she recovered her memories.
So what if she did?
Ji Hua thought indifferently, she can’t kill me anyway.
She stretched her limbs, intending to call Wen Huaiyue back. Just as she stood up, she heard a commotion not far away, accompanied by a few children’s shrieks.
Frowning, she pushed open the door and walked toward the left. To the left was an open space that had always been a playground for children.
Those shrieks hadn’t come from Wen Huaiyue. Wen Huaiyue was standing to the side, glaring fiercely at a chubby kid opposite her, who was glaring right back with equal anger.
Looking closer, Wen Huaiyue’s down jacket had a few holes burned into it, her fists were clenched tight, and her hair was somewhat disheveled.
“What’s going on?” Ji Hua asked expressionlessly.
Hearing Ji Hua’s voice, Wen Huaiyue snapped her gaze toward her, looking somewhat aggrieved while stubbornly holding back her tears.
“I asked you a question?” Ji Hua patted her head.
Wen Huaiyue didn’t answer, remaining silent.
An older boy spoke up, “Fatty threw a firecracker at her, burned her clothes, and called Yueyue a stray puppy with no mommy or daddy, so Yueyue went to scratch his face.”
A little girl chimed in, “Yueyue hadn’t even scratched him yet, and Fatty tried to hit her. We wouldn’t let him.”
“Is that so?” Ji Hua said in sudden realization, squatting down to look at Wen Huaiyue at eye level. “Is that true?”
With a stubborn expression, Wen Huaiyue kept her mouth shut and implicitly admitted it.
Picking up the firecracker from the ground, Ji Hua placed it in the child’s palm and said softly, “You didn’t cry, very good. Now, however he bullied you, you bully him right back.”
Wen Huaiyue looked up at her.
Ji Hua’s expression remained calm. “As long as you are in the right, it isn’t your fault, and there’s no need to hold back.” She patted Wen Huaiyue’s cheek. “Go on, don’t let me down.”
With that, she stood up and stepped behind her.
Clenching the firecracker tightly with a fierce glare in her eyes, Wen Huaiyue hurled a few firecrackers at the boy. These children’s firecrackers carried little danger and wouldn’t leave wounds when thrown at someone, but clothes were another matter altogether. Since they still had sparks, they easily burned small holes into cotton garments.
Wen Huaiyue kept hurling them at his cotton-padded jacket. Though chubby, the little boy was quite agile; he dodged one or two, but his clothes still ended up with several burned holes.
The chubby boy wailed loudly.
Hearing her son cry, his mother rushed out. Seeing the holes in his clothes, she couldn’t help shouting, “What’s wrong with this girl? How can you throw firecrackers at people? Didn’t anyone teach…”
“Shut up,” Ji Hua interrupted coolly, her tone carrying an indifferent chill. “Teach your own son properly first. It’s not your place to teach my sister how to behave.”
Ji Hua rarely lived here; her house had stood uninhabited for years. This time, she had returned to live there for over a month without going out or socializing with neighbors, keeping entirely to herself. The surrounding people had all labeled her a weirdo.
Today, she wore a black sweater and light-colored jeans. Being very tall with features that were excessively refined and sharp, she radiated an aloof detachment when wearing a cold expression.
Sensing this person was probably not someone to mess with, the woman kept quiet.
Too lazy to spare her another glance, Ji Hua scooped up Wen Huaiyue and walked past her.
Back home, Ji Hua acted as if nothing had happened. “Go change your clothes.”
Uneasy, Wen Huaiyue tugged at the hem of Ji Hua’s sweater. “Sister, am I very useless?”
Without missing a beat, Ji Hua replied, “Nonsense, useless as hell.” The ruthless tone then took a sudden turn. “Still, you didn’t cry today, so you’re somewhat useful.”
Wen Huaiyue stared at her in a daze.
Unable to bear looking at her pitiful, stray-dog-like expression of failure, Ji Hua roughly ruffled her soft hair. “Remember my words for the future. Don’t let yourself get wronged; whoever provokes you, stomp right back. Don’t act like a crying piece of trash.”
She had uncharacteristically spoken a lot today, though her tone remained flat and cold, laced with a cynical disdain of impatience. “Everything that chubby kid said was fake. Don’t go thinking too much like an idiot.”
“Can I ruthlessly stomp back at anyone who makes me unhappy?” Wen Huaiyue asked suddenly.
“Of course.” Ji Hua plucked a flower. “Provided you are ruthless enough and strong enough, otherwise you’re still an idiot.” With that, she tucked the flower behind the child’s ear.
“Go change your clothes quickly, throw that jacket away.”
Ji Hua walked into the living room.
Blinking, Wen Huaiyue wondered what to think. She took the flower off her ear, gazed at it for a long time, and then bit her lip as she clenched the flower tightly in her palm.
The flower was crushed, and red floral juice seeped out between her fingers.