Er Ya walked ahead, swaying and humming, a slightly foolish grin on her face. Her mind replayed her past with Xia Shang, complete with a twelve-times filter.
Xi Fu followed not far behind Er Ya, her lips turned down in disdain.
What difficulty would there be in killing such a creature?
If it were the Tang family's Hidden Master, that would be one thing. She had already had people investigate her.
The Tang family's Hidden Master was raised in the wilderness from a young age, an unlettered village girl who, through a twist of fate, came to be with the Xia sisters. Riding on Xia Qingtian's coattails, she entered Z University.
Without the Xia sisters, this Tang family Hidden Master was nothing.
Ultimately, it was all because the Xia sisters were too much of a hindrance.
Xia Qingtian, Xia Qingyu…
Especially Xia Qingyu, she deserved to die!
If it weren't for Xia Qingyu, her foster father wouldn't have been so displeased with her and Tarik.
Tarik was truly something. What was so good about that Xia Qingyu?
This Tang family Hidden Master was, in the end, merely an insignificant person by Xia Qingyu's side.
For such a person, Tarik was unwilling to take action. It was truly infuriating.
She couldn't understand at all why Tarik would defy their foster father for such a trifle.
Tarik was her only light in that hellish existence.
When she was beaten, Tarik applied medicine for her.
When she was targeted, Tarik saved his own rations to help her.
Everything was taken from her: her father, her mother, her future, and her hope. Only Tarik was the light she most wanted to grasp.
She would never forget that day.
Her mother had hidden her in the wardrobe ahead of time. The dark wardrobe emitted the smell of decaying wood.
She saw her own father, standing by, his face filled with fear, cowardice, and a desperate hope that this would solve all his gambling debts.
Her mother's cries of humiliation, the stranger's filthy ramblings – these sounds became her long-standing nightmare.
After those men left, her mother sobbed uncontrollably, throwing things at her father with all her might.
Her father feigned holding his head and crying, recounting his hardships, apologizing to her mother, begging her to save him, to forgive him, not to call the police. He swore it was the last time.
Her mother kept crying, and her father kept pacifying her. When a seemingly eternal time had passed, her mother said she was going to take a bath, and her footsteps faded.
She saw her father, standing where he was… smiling.
At the time, she didn't understand why her father was smiling. She only felt that smile was chilling and filled her with dread.
Then followed countless "last times."
Each time, she was hidden in the wardrobe.
At first, she peeked out. Later, she could only cover her ears to block out the horrifying sounds.
But the sounds never stopped.
They didn't stop even after her mother died, and they still don't stop now.
Those sounds also frequently appeared in her dreams.
Her mother was dead, and her father was taken away by the police. They claimed he had caught her mother cheating, and it was a crime of passion.
More and more voices emerged, vividly describing her mother's promiscuity, claiming how many times she had affairs, and that many men in the community were her mother's lovers.
Everyone called her the child of an adulteress, cursed her for having a promiscuous mother.
Even in the orphanage, those curses never ceased.
Prostitute, demon, damned bastard…
Only Tarik never insulted her with such words.
Only he never used those demeaning terms for her mother. Though he was younger than her, he became her support when she was most afraid. When she fell into nightmares, he would shake her awake, fearing she would never wake up again.
That worried gaze, the unhidden kindness, those brown eyes that saw only her.
She knew then that this black-haired, brown-eyed boy was the only light she couldn't lose in her life.
When Xi Fu learned that someone was coming to adopt Tarik, she panicked.
She didn't want to be separated from Tarik. She heard that adopting children required a lot of money, so she went to steal Xiang Xueyuan's wallet.
She thought that if Xiang Xueyuan lost his wallet, he might not be able to pay, and the adoption would be interrupted.
At best, if she hid the stolen wallet on Tarik, the adopter would know Tarik was a child with sticky fingers, and perhaps they would hesitate and adopt someone else.
Although she felt a little apologetic, she knew she absolutely couldn't lose anything else.
She wanted to grasp that beam of light, to hold it tightly.
Xiang Xueyuan saw through her little trick at a glance.
At that time, she felt as if she were undergoing a public trial, standing in front of the hall. All the children were whispering, calling her a cheap slut, saying her blood was dirty, that she was the child of a prostitute.
At that moment, it was only Tarik who stood in front of her, shielding her behind him, telling her, "Don't be afraid."
The usually introverted, quiet Tarik yelled at the children around them for her: "Shut up!"
Her heart softened completely at that moment. Oh, how she wanted to grasp this light…
Xiang Xueyuan watched this farce. He stared at Tarik for a long time, then shifted his gaze to Xi Fu. After a long silence, he finally said, "I'll adopt these two children together, a son and a daughter. It's quite good, hehe."
Xiang Xueyuan smiled gently, his magnetic voice speaking words that were so pleasant to the ear, full of love.
Xi Fu and Tarik were stunned at first, then looked at each other and smiled.
Xi Fu was overjoyed. Although she wasn't very interested in the adoption itself, she knew they wouldn't be separated!
Even though it was dangerous around Xiang Xueyuan, and they had to undergo various training, it was incomparably happier than their life in the orphanage.
A soft bed, warm food, clothes without holes, not having their hair suddenly yanked, not having a little boy with an innocent face reach under her skirt.
Xi Fu was grateful for everything she had now. She was content with her current life.
If only Xia Qingyu had never appeared…
[Qing Kong, go with Xi Fu to see the fireworks. Go and experience the excitement. Perhaps this scenery is the last time you'll see it.]
Her foster father's words, so light and airy, his voice filled with affection, just like his gentle selection of her and Nie Qing Kong at the orphanage. But this time, it was a direct death sentence for Nie Qing Kong.
That was the only light in her dark world. A light she treasured like a jewel, the only light that could contend with her lingering nightmares.
How could she bear to let him die?
Therefore, Xi Fu decided. She would kill the Tang family's Hidden Master herself.