Chapter 31: Don't Lose It This Time
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
The sunlight shines directly on the earth, bringing some warmth to the cool noon of autumn.
The wind blows through every small villa, carrying the distant fragrance of food, like a clarion call for families to return home.
The girl gets off the car, looking poised and unhurried, but her steps are swift.
The wind lifts her long hair on the side of her face, and the ends flutter in the air like seaweed, her turquoise eyes full of unrest.
With a belly full of questions, Wei Qingyu pushed the door back home.
She rushed like a shooting star chasing the moon, but after she stood at the entrance, she was welcomed by a strange quietness.
Not far from the table, Ji Xiao was quietly bowing in front of the small pot in the middle.
A spoonful of soup just brought by Aunt Wu, who was serving food in the kitchen, was about to be brought into her mouth but unfortunately, she got caught by Wei Qingyu.
At this moment, Aunt Wu in the kitchen also brought the last dish to the table.
Seeing Ji Xiao sneakily sipping the soup with a spoon again, she couldn't help but nag like an old mother: "Miss, the soup has just been served and it's still hot. You should scoop it into your bowl first and let it cool down before eating. Eating hot food easily leads to esophageal cancer..."
Ji Xiao looked at the goose meat clear soup in her hand and suddenly felt less appetized. She raised her hand and put her spoon back into her bowl, impatiently saying, "I understand, Aunt Wu. Are your hands tired? Just put the dish down."
Aunt Wu was interrupted by Ji Xiao and didn't continue speaking. She simply said, "Miss, this is the last dish, Stir-fried shrimp with diced vegetables."
As the shrimp approached on the white porcelain plate, its aroma became even more fragrant.
Ji Xiao looked at the dish placed beside her, pointed to the opposite seat, and said, "Put it there, then you can all go."
"Yes," Aunt Wu nodded, and she went downstairs with the servants who were still tidying up in the kitchen.
Seeing the servants all leave, Ji Xiao turned to Wei Qingyu, who was still changing shoes at the entrance, and asked, “You're back?" She didn't notice Wei Qingyu's eagerness when she entered earlier. As she asked, she casually drank the soup that she hadn't finished earlier when she was interrupted by Aunt Wu.
It was this ordinary demeanor of the girl that eased Wei Qingyu's earlier uneasiness.
She bent down to put her shoes into the shoe cabinet, pretending as if nothing had happened, and calmly responded to Ji Xiao with a simple “Mm."
"You came back just in time," Ji Xiao said, looking pleased as she looked at the rich variety of dishes on the table. She asked Wei Qingyu, "How is it? Doesn't it look rich and appetizing?"
Wei Qingyu walked to the table wearing soft slippers, silently gazing at the array of food.
Indeed, it was rich and appetizing.
There was a wide selection of vegetables and meats, with enticing aromas wafting through the air.
In the middle of the table, there was a pot of soup with beautiful oil patterns floating on the surface, emitting an exceptionally fresh and tender aroma.
However, Wei Qingyu was puzzled.
Why did Ji Xiao ask Aunt Wu to prepare all these on an ordinary day?
Wei Qingyu pursed her lips, wanting to speak, but Ji Xiao didn't notice. Instead, she just urged, "Sit down quickly. I'm really starving."
"This is a specially prepared 1500-calorie nutritious meal that I asked Aunt Wu to prepare for you."
Upon hearing Ji Xiao's words, Wei Qingyu hesitated for a moment before sitting down.
Wei Qingyu was slightly startled when she sat down after hearing Ji Xiao's words.
She hadn't expected Ji Xiao to specially prepare this table of dishes for her. Why would Ji Xiao go to such lengths for her?
Seeing Wei Qingyu's reaction, Ji Xiao thought she might be feeling intimidated by the 1500 meters. So, she continued, "I've inquired about it these past few days. None of the ten or so Omegas participating in the 1500 meters pose a threat to you. Some of them are even people you've outrun last year."
Ji Xiao spoke while eating with her chopsticks, her voice somewhat muffled, "You don't need to worry. Just relax. They are all amateurs."
Wei Qingyu absentmindedly responded with a "Hmm."
She wasn't particularly concerned about competing against those Omegas. Thanks to Ji Xiao's support, with her regular exercise, she was confident in her physical fitness. Even against Alphas, she had a ninety percent chance of winning in endurance.
However, Ji Xiao thought otherwise.
Seeing Wei Qingyu's lack of enthusiasm for the topic, she thought she might be worried about it.
So she used her hand to cover half of her face, putting on a mysterious look, and whispered, "Let me tell you, when the time comes, Qi Qi and I will accompany you in the inner circle. I've already bribed those guys in charge of the management, and got the privileges!"
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
“Isn't this Young Miss particularly powerful?" Ji Xiao's voice was full of pride, her golden-orange eyes slightly curved, like holding a crescent moon.
In the past, when Wei Qingyu heard Ji Xiao's arrogant words like these, she would furrow her brows. But this time, she didn't feel disgusted at all.
It seemed like everything Ji Xiao did was for her.
Just like at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.
Or the day when Uncle Liu Hu mentioned her as her savior...
"Don't just eat plain rice. Try this," Ji Xiao interrupted Wei Qingyu's thoughts again, placing a meaty poultry leg into her bowl.
At a glance, Wei Qingyu recognized it as a goose leg.
The image of the young girl who had shielded her that day reappeared in Wei Qingyu's mind, slowly merging with the present Ji Xiao before her.
The golden-orange eyes remained bright, like gemstones, even though they had been obscured by dark clouds in the past. After the wind blew over, they still shone beautifully.
With this in mind, Wei Qingyu touched the small peach basket pendant in her pocket and said in a solemn tone, "Ji Xiao, don't interrupt me, and don't evade my question. There's something I need to ask you."
Ji Xiao paused in her soup-drinking motion, feeling a sense of foreboding as the words fell.
She pretended to remain calm, gently placing the small bowl down and softly saying, "Oh."
Wei Qingyu continued, "Where did you go during the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
Upon hearing this question, Ji Xiao froze.
She instantly realized that Wei Qingyu might have learned the truth about that day's events, and her heart skipped a beat.
Despite her self-proclaimed ability to conceal her emotions well, she had repeatedly warned Xie Yong and Qi Qi not to reveal what happened that day.
How could Wei Qingyu know...
Seeing Ji Xiao's expression, Wei Qingyu suddenly understood. Whether it was joy or shock, she remained calm and asked, "Did you go to my house during the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
Ji Xiao knew she couldn't evade this time, so she nodded reluctantly, “Mm."
"Then you knocked Uncle Ji unconscious and had the driver falsely claim he had to leave for something urgent?"
Wei Qingyu's simple question landed heavily on her heart, disrupting the calmness she had just regained.
She looked at Ji Xiao sitting across from her, lowering her gaze unnaturally, blinking several times, while various emotions surged within her.
So it really was her...
It was actually her!
After a moment of silence, Wei Qingyu raised her head and asked again, "Then why didn't you tell me the truth?"
Seeing the melancholy on Wei Qingyu's face, Ji Xiao couldn't help but clench the fabric of her pajamas on her knees.
She didn't tell Wei Qingyu the truth because she felt that such behavior didn't align with the original owner's character. But now, explaining it like this would make Wei Qingyu think she's crazy, right?
The idiom “desperation produces wisdom" is applied to any critical situation.
An idea suddenly flashed through Ji Xiao's mind, and she hurriedly explained, "That was my dad. What would you have done if you had known?"
The sunlight slanted into the dining room, causing a slight haze between them as the steam from the pot of soup rose.
It also made Ji Xiao's figure in Wei Qingyu's line of sight less clear.
Wei Qingyu looked into Ji Xiao's eyes and calmly said, "You should know that I wouldn't tell him."
Ji Xiao, of course, trusted Wei Qingyu's integrity and simply responded with an "Oh."
The air grew quiet, and Wei Qingyu silently gazed at Ji Xiao in front of her, with one last question lingering in her mind.
It was the biggest question in her mind these past few days.
Wei Qingyu asked, "I really want to know, why did you save me?"
Ji Xiao lightly licked her lips upon hearing the question. It was too complicated.
She adopted the original owner's arrogant and unrestrained attitude and evasively replied, “I just did... just for the sake of it, what other reason do I need? It's just helping out when seeing injustice, anyone would do the same."
Yes, anyone would do the same.
But it was precisely this that would make Wei Qingyu unable to believe it if it were anyone but Ji Xiao.
Wei Qingyu had never thought Ji Xiao could be this kind of person.
At least not since the incident when she was ten years old; she hadn't been the same person since then...
A ripple of hesitation appeared in those turquoise eyes. Ji Xiao knew that this incident didn't fit her usual character.
After a moment of contemplation, she tried hard to smooth things over, saying, "You've seen it yourself. I saved Qiao Ni, and I helped you with the Liu Meina incident. I... I just want to turn over a new leaf. Won't you give me a chance?"
As her words fell, the already quiet atmosphere became even more subdued.
Ji Xiao felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.
It was too quiet, eerily quiet.
At some point, Wei Qingyu lowered her gaze. Her delicate eyelashes were like a row of soldiers, tightly guarding the Queen's thoughts, revealing no hint of emotion.
Ji Xiao's heart pounded fiercely in her chest. Even when she was teaching her first class, she had never been this nervous.
She didn't know if the less than two months she had spent in this world had slightly eased the life-and-death tension between her and Wei Qingyu, nor did she know if her attempts to make amends just now could make Wei Qingyu believe in her genuine desire to change her ways.
A cool minty scent drifted through the air with the breeze, landing behind Ji Xiao, chilling her neck.
Ji Xiao couldn't help but shudder inwardly, feeling the glands on her neck were in danger.
"Hand."
A cold, clear voice broke the silence in the room.
Ji Xiao's anxious thoughts were interrupted, and she raised her head, puzzled.
Wei Qingyu still looked at her expressionlessly, but there seemed to be something different about her.
"Hand," Wei Qingyu repeated.
"Oh." Ji Xiao didn't understand, but obediently extended her left hand.
Under Ji Xiao's gaze, Wei Qingyu calmly lifted her wrist and gently untied the red string tied around it.
The round peach basket swung gently on the braided string, exuding an adorable charm as the girl with a touch of red entered Ji Xiao's puzzled eyes.
The slightly cool fingers, tingling like electricity, brushed across Ji Xiao's wrist, and the red string was once again looped around its rightful owner's wrist.
"Don't lose it this time."
The sunlight fell evenly on the girl, outlining a beautiful silhouette.
Wei Qingyu leaned over and tied a beautiful knot on Ji Xiao's wrist.
The mint is refreshing, the voice soft.
Author's Note:
Congratulations to Coward Ji for taking a huge step on the road to survival!
It has been really squeezed dry, Pigeon doesn't have a single feather left now.
