The spring breeze felt a bit icy on her hands.
"It’s nothing, it just doesn’t look very comfortable."
Xu Si didn’t explain further. She sat back in the luxury car, her expression cold and grim.
That tattoo was all too familiar, pulling her back into a distant mory. If she rembered correctly, it was a mark unique to dangerous elents of the Underground City.
But it rarely appeared on Hong Kong Island this year.
Xu Si forced herself not to panic, yet she wanted to confirm Pei Zhen’s whereabouts imdiately.
After the opening ceremony concluded, Xu Si refused to stay and continue the inspection, instructing the security personnel to keep an eye on the back door of the mall. She left Anshi behind and drove back to the Xu Mansion in a frenzy.
With no ti to park the car in the garage, she walked briskly into the villa and, following the servants’ directions, made her way to the backyard.
The blood-orange sunset stained the horizon. This year, the breezes were light and the clouds wispy. The opulence of Hong Kong Island seed a world away from the Triad Society’s reign.
The warm spring unfolded slowly, the air alive with the vibrant energy of revival. It felt as if, by not focusing on it, the future might delay its arrival.
Butler Ge followed, carrying Xu Si’s bag. She maintained her brisk pace onto the stone-paved path and, looking up, caught sight of Pei Zhen.
The young man had gentle eyes and well-defined features. He was sitting by the ornantal fish pond, petting a small white cat. He wasn’t wearing his school uniform and looked more mature.
No one had claid the cat, so Xu Si had decided it could stay. It had beco his pet and was now affectionately nuzzling his hand with its endearingly pert nose.
He gently tapped its head with his fingertip. "Little Ears, no stealing fish."
The air was cool with mist from the pond. Seeing him still at ho, Xu Si breathed a sigh of relief and called out, "Azhen."
Pei Zhen turned his head, a hint of gentle surprise in his eyes. He imdiately scooped the cat into his arms to prevent it from running towards Xu Si.
"Didn’t you say you’d be out until evening? Why did Auntie co back so early? Is sothing wrong?"
Xu Si nodded, then hesitated and shook her head. Her face was tinged with the faint red glow of the setting sun. She didn’t ntion encountering soone from the Underground City, inventing an excuse instead:
"It’s not really anything important. I just suddenly wanted to co and see you. Seeing you by my side makes feel at ease."
"Is that so? Then go ahead and look, Auntie."
Pei Zhen chuckled softly. eting her gaze, he good-naturedly allowed her to look at him for a long, long ti.
Until he once again noticed the dazed look in her eyes.
Pei Zhen’s fingers tightened. He asked lightly, "Who is Auntie thinking about?"
Xu Si was startled. Coming back to her senses, she realized she had once again uncontrollably drifted into thoughts of the past.
She would never speak to anyone in this lifeti about the bizarre and outlandish matter of her rebirth.
Especially not to Pei Zhen.
So she shook her head again and said softly, "I wasn’t thinking about anyone. I’m going to change my clothes. Rember to eat later."
"Alright, go ahead, Auntie. I’ll co soon."
The western sunset gradually faded. Pei Zhen, smiling calmly, gazed deeply at her slightly panicked, captivating eyes.
Ah, so Auntie can lie too, he thought.
The spring breeze rustled around them. His slender fingertips wove through the cat’s pure, flawless white fur, playfully teasing its sensitive ears.
The cat nad Little Ears let out a soft, high-pitched OW, sounding distinctly questioning, like a human "Hmm?"
Pei Zhen was taken aback. "Are you asking a question?"
As if on cue, the little cat OWED again.
The corners of Pei Zhen’s smoke-gray eyes lifted, his lips curving into an enticing arc as he murmured, almost inaudibly:
"It doesn’t matter. I don’t care about such trivial lies."
People change.
He used to hate deception the most.
But when it ca to his auntie, he suddenly felt that as long as that one promise was true, it didn’t matter if everything else was a lie.
As always, he just wanted to stay by her side.
「That very night.」
Xu Si had a nightmare for the first ti.
In the dream, she was shot in the head on the street, countless bullets piercing her skull and chest.
Then a sentence replayed endlessly in her mind.
"Miss Xu, are you really not afraid of death?"
Upon waking from the dream, Xu Si called Anshi. She instructed him to ensure that the people sent to investigate the factory were exceptionally careful and to minimize personnel movent through the back door of the mall.
Ever since she saw that tattoo, she knew these people were the masterminds behind the shooting incident. However, she still had no idea what that group was doing, holed up there.
Stopping business operations was impossible; she feared it would tip them off and make her a target.
Yet, if things continued like this, she felt sothing bad was bound to happen sooner or later.
Only she, having returned from the future, knew of the horrors of the Underground City. But without Pei Zhen, they hadn’t beco a large-scale organization and didn’t truly control half of Hong Kong Island.
All she could do now was wait.
Wait for the other party to reveal their true intentions.
「...」
Hong Kong Island is a sweltering city.
March passed, and the temperatures remained high. It wasn’t until just before the Qingming Festival that a widespread, unsettling rain finally fell.
Xu Si dressed in black mourning attire. Accompanied by Butler Ge and a group of bodyguards, she went to the cetery to pay respects at her parents’ graves. She brought many offerings, but anyone with sharp eyes could tell that the portion before her mother’s grave was more substantial.
The mountain was enshrouded in thick fog and heavy dew. The smoke from burning incense further reduced visibility.
Xu Si knelt, kowtowed, and placed incense sticks into the burner. Following tradition, she silently made a few wishes in her heart. Then, she personally swept the fallen leaves from beside the two graves before putting on her sunglasses and starting down the mountain.
The long stone steps were so white they glead.
Butler Ge wiped his moist eyes, moved. "The Madam can rest easy. Miss Xu has grown up and is now supporting the entire Xu Family."
Xu Si folded back her black cuffs, which were still lightly dusted with ash. "I hope they can rest easy. Butler Ge, you’ve worked hard during this ti too. Managing the household affairs isn’t easy."
Butler Ge bowed his head slightly, his gaze gentle and affectionate. "It’s my duty. I’ve been with the Xu Family since I was young. I was supposed to leave at forty, but Miss Xu didn’t look down on ."
"How could I look down on you?" Xu Si said, gathering her loose hair and speaking softly. "As long as the Xu Family stands, I’ll ensure you have a comfortable retirent."
Butler Ge wiped away another tear, genuinely grateful. "Yes, Miss."
The Xu Family cetery occupied an entire hill on the outskirts, making it much quieter than a public cetery. Generally, no outsiders would co to this secluded wooded area; only they used this path.
However, halfway down the stone steps, several sharp bird calls pierced the sky, as shrill as if a throat were being torn.
Xu Si frowned and stopped in her tracks.
She turned her head towards the source of the sound, but could see nothing aside from towering trees. As her gaze shifted downwards, she saw that the sign reading "Xu Family Cetery," which had been fixed to the railing beside the stone steps, had been knocked to the ground and defaced with a red X.
Butler Ge was shocked. He walked over to the sign and dabbed at it with a handkerchief. "It’s freshly painted, Miss Xu. It looks like soone’s prank."
Then, one of the bodyguards found a letter on the ground.
A line of text was neatly printed on it:
—Mall, Xu Si, Pei Zhen, Ge Tai, Anshi.
Similarly, the words "Mall" and "Pei Zhen" also had red X’s drawn over them.
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