Chapter 211

211 – Her Name Is Qi Qiqi

On her way back, in front of the inn’s gate, the muddleheaded Xue Qilin ran into Shui Yun’er, who walked out of the gate in a hurry.

“– I’m going to see an old friend.”

When she asked in surprise where Shui Yun’er is going, she only got this answer.

Eh, does Little Yun has an old friend in Chang’an? Why would she go meet them in such a hurry this late? Although she was curious, but Xue Qilin didn’t press the issue. She can’t just cheekily go with her, right?

Since it’s already approaching dusk, she specially advised Shui Yun’er with the words “be careful” and “come back early”. After Shui Yun’er repeatedly promised with a smile, Xue Qilin and the girl parted, and then she went through the inn’s gate.

I wonder if Little Seven is awake yet? After sleeping for an entire day, she should have woken up already, right? If she is awake, then how should I tell it to her? As she worried about how to explain Gong Tianqing’s case, Xue Qilin proceeded towards the courtyard house they rented.

As she walked absentmindedly, she didn’t pay attention to the surroundings. Consequently —

“Oh –!”

She just crossed the courtyard house’s gate, when she bumped into a wall-like something, and then staggered back a few steps.

“Why is there a wall here all of a sudden?”

After barely stabilizing herself before plopping on the ground with her but, Xue Qilin rubbed her nose and looked up. Hair dark as black ink enveloped by faint reddish light of the setting sun entered her eyes at once.

It’s Qi Qiqi.

Bathed in the reddish color, the outline of her figure seems a little fuzzy.

“Ah, it’s Little Seven! What’s the matter? After sleeping all day, shouldn’t –”

“Qilin, where have you been?”

Qi Qiqi looked at Xue Qilin expressionlessly and spoke in a monotonous tone — clearly, she is angry. The ahoge on her head is erect.

With an “ah –!”, the smile on Xue Qilin’s face suddenly froze.

“Ugh... I went out for a stroll...”

Xue Qilin’s eyes wandered about. She didn’t tell Qi Qiqi about Gong Tianyang’s case since she doesn’t know how to explain it.

When she heard that, Qi Qiqi fell silent for a while.

“Where did you go for a stroll?”

“The strips.”

“Why didn’t you inform me that you were going out?”

“Ah, you were sleeping, you were sleeping so deeply that I didn’t want to wake you up...”

Although what Xue Qilin said is essentially the truth, but she still concealed things from Qi Qiqi. As a result, her words lacked confidence. To put it bluntly, she has a guilty conscience. She doesn’t even dare to look Qi Qiqi straight in the eyes.

Ah, I really don’t know how to lie... even if it is a white lie, but as long as the target is Qi Qiqi...

Qi Qiqi, who probably saw through the lack of confidence in Xue Qilin’s words, fell silent again. But, her cheeks got increasingly redder, and she started shaking inexplicably.

“Then couldn’t you have written me?!”

At this moment, Qi Qiqi lost her usual bearing.

She must no longer care about anything. Otherwise, she would never have roared hysterically in public like a madman.

“Was it that hard to leave me a note?”

Qi Qiqi stared at Xue Qilin. There is an anger surging in her bright red eyes, and it’s threatening to burst out of the eye sockets and swallow the lass before her.

Ho, how come she’s angry? Xue Qilin took a step back in confusion. She has no idea why Qi Qiqi is angry.

“Why are you all like this?”

Qi Qiqi took a step back unsteadily, looking like she would fall at any time. Xue Qilin advised her to be careful and extended a hand to support her. But, her hand was slapped away.

Xue Qilin stared at Qi Qiqi in a daze, unable to think straight momentarily. She didn’t realize that her hand was slapped so hard that it turned red.

“Leaving without a word...”

Qi Qiqi’s anger suddenly receded like the tide and disappeared

She sat weekly on the ground and, as if she fell into an ice cave, curled up.

“All of a sudden... disappeared from my world one day... left me alone... father did it... Older Sister Qing did it... Qing’er did it, and even Younger Sister Shui and Qilin did the same...”

Qi Qiqi trembled. Large, translucent beads slid down her pretty face, fell on the ground, and shattered.

She’s crying — she’s crying again.

When she realized this, Xue Qilin felt like someone took a knife and dug out her heart.

“When I opened my eyes, I found that you guy were gone... no one was there... the whole room just contained the sound of breathing — awful, this feeling is really awful...”

— the darkness scattered.

Ah, so that’s it... Xue Qilin outlined a bitter smile on her face. She suddenly realized why Qi Guiyuan sent her here.

She finally understood that Qi Qiqi is much frailer than she imagined.

In Xue Qilin’s former impression, Qi Qiqi is smart, beautiful, and extremely gifted in martial arts and shoulders such a large sect at the age of sixteen. Furthermore, she is kind and earnest. Even if she is compared to a living legend, it would not be an exaggeration.

Qi Qiqi is always surrounded by dazzling brilliance — um, she is dazzling, and because of this, people can’t see the real her.

She is just sixteen, she is still just a child.

No matter how much she pretends, she cannot hide this truth –, or in other words, this weakness. Much like other children, she also longs for family, fears the dark, dreads loneliness, and cries.

If the girl’s brilliance was stripped, and she appeared bare in front of everyone, she would look the way she is now.

Yes, even though she is a living legend, Qi Qiqi is just an ordinary person. Her heart is made of flesh, not cast of iron. There are times when her heart can’t bear it.

At the moment when she truly realized this, Xue Qilin inadvertently smiled.

It is a gentle smile, a smile full of heart-felt warmth.

“Idiot.”

Not minding that her knees will be dirtied, Xue Qilin knelt in front of Qi Qiqi and embraced her gently.

Just this was enough to make Qi Qiqi’s trembling gradually subside and vanish.

“Didn’t I come back?”

A soft voice full of warmth swayed gently in the air.

Xue Qilin caressed Qi Qiqi’s soft, long hair and whispered warmly.

“So stop crying!”

“Qilin, you really won’t disappear abruptly?”

Perhaps, this is the warmth that Qi Qiqi has been craving for a long time.

In order to seek more warmth, Qi Qiqi buried her face in Xue Qilin’s embrace and rubbed gently. Xue Qilin let the girl’s tears wet his clothes, wet her heart.

“You really won’t?”

“I won’t, not unless I die.”

Since Qi Qiqi is seeking peace for her weak, restless heart, Xue Qilin can only respond to her expectations with commitment.

“I will always stay with you, look at your face, listen to your voice — observe your feelings.”

These are no mere words.

To guard her — this is something Xue Qilin has been thinking for a long time now.

Life... her life has been devoted to the girl in her arms since long ago due to Qi Guiyuan’s words.

Although Xue Qilin is a selfish person that only lives for herself.

But, among the many things that make up “her self”, the existence called “Qi Qiqi” is the only one that cannot be discarded. Although Qi Qiqi is not the only person in her world, but her world will collapse if Qi Qiqi were to disappear.

— all this was predestined long before Xue Qilin came to this world.

Their encounter engraved their “destiny”.

Qi Qiqi was silent for a long time.

It was not until the sun sank and the curtain of night fell that she finally spoke with warmth, relief, and love.

“Look at me, stay with me, love me until death do us part.”

Qi Qiqi looked at Xue Qilin with tears in her eyes, her face flushed.

“Okay, Qilin?”

Looking at the delicate face in front of her, Xue Qilin smiled and gently wiped the tears off Qi Qiqi’s eyes.

“Okay, I will look at you, stay with you, love you until death do us part.”

“Really?”

“Really. Even if you marry someone and move somewhere else one day, I will follow you cheekily and witness your happiness.”

“Really now, I don’t want to get married!”

Seeing Qi Qiqi pout and look like she really doesn’t want to get married, Xue Qilin was a little stunned.

“Er, why won’t you get married? You have to get married, okay?”

“Are you willing to part with me and marry me off?”

“Er, this...”

Qi Qiqi grumbled cutely, leaving Xue Qilin speechless.

If she is asked whether she is willing to part with her or not, Xue Qilin can only answer that she is not. In her mind, no matter what, the beautiful and talented Qi Qiqi must not be handed over to some scumbag to be ruined.

However, if one day Qi Qiqi really falls in love with a man and wishes to stay with him forever, Xue Qilin has no reason to stop her.

Everyone has the right to pursue happiness, not to mention Qi Qiqi. No matter how reluctant she is, no matter how unwilling she is, Xue Qilin can’t destroy the other party’s happiness for her own sake. At most, she will be sad for the rest of her life — she doesn’t know why she will be sad, she just feels that she will.

As if she’s dissatisfied with Xue Qilin for not giving her an answer, Qi Qiqi snorted.

“In short, if you won’t get married, I won’t either. You are quite a few dozens of years old, yet you still didn’t get married, then why should I get married!”

That’s such childish wording. Xue Qilin rolled her eyes.

“Then you’ll never get married and be a leftover woman [1] who makes men all over the world drool.”

If as she said, Qi Qiqi won’t get married if Xue Qilin doesn’t get married, then she will really die alone. After all, Xue Qilin absolutely won’t get married.

Even though she already got used to her female body, and even forgot the fact that she used to be a man, there is still a last shred of dignity — the dignity of a man — deep in her soul that cannot be erased.

Her getting married? Only when the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, only when everything in the world is reversed.

“What leftover woman... I don’t like this wording, it’s so vulgar!”

Qi Qiqi pouted and grumbled, while Xue Qilin spread her arms.

“It’s a fact.”

Qi Qiqi glared and waved her fist, and Xue Qilin immediately pretended to be scared and shrank back.

“Qilin, you’re really rotten!”

When she heard Qi Qiqi’s angry complaint, Xue Qilin wrinkled her nose.

“Oh, I’m really scared...”

Then, their gazes met.

Reflecting each other in their eyes, they saw themselves clearly and genuinely realized that —

They exist in the other party’s eyes.

After a moment of silence, they burst into laughter.

Beautiful laughter intertwined into a sweet melody and reverberated in this evening.

＊

[1] – leftover women, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheng_nu