Volume 13
Chapter 29: Once There Was a Full Mirror (Part 3)
At eight o’clock in the evening, Lu Li turned off the hot air conditioner and prepared to lead Baili, who had been memorizing her speech, to see Hupo. He didn’t actually like having the hot air conditioner on. Being blown by the hot air made him a little dizzy and hypoxic.
“…In conclusion, I offer a profound self-criticism for my actions and will work day and night to compensate for your losses, forever upholding your position in this family…” An Baili had copied a speech from somewhere. It gave Lu Li a headache. This seemed to be the manuscript from the conservatives during the horseback incident in the constitutional movement. Could it be used to apologize to Hupo?
Lu Li still had to admire her. A seventeen-page apology manuscript, and Baili could recite it without missing a single word after one afternoon. He, at least, couldn’t do it. If this fool had put her mind to her studies, she would have at least had a little say in school back then.
“Li, do you see any problems with my wording?”
There was a problem, a big problem. Why were you addressing Hupo as “Mr. Wen,” and why were you using the honorific “you”? Was this politics, being so serious? Although he had a thousand thoughts in his mind, Lu Li still gave a thumbs-up. “No problem. Hupo will definitely be moved to tears when she hears it.”
“Okay!” An Baili gave herself a pep talk and strode toward Hupo’s room. This girl strode to Hupo’s door but didn’t dare to knock, turning her head to look at Lu Li pitifully. Lu Li didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and gently knocked on the door. “Hupo, Baili and I are here.”
“Come in.” Hupo’s one sentence inexplicably held a sense of authority. Lu Li subconsciously straightened his back. He was reminded of the scene when he was called to the teacher’s office in junior high. The wild ideas he had just had instantly vanished when he saw Hupo. Lu Li’s eyes widened, and there was only one thought in his mind: So beautiful.
Tonight’s Hupo wasn’t wearing her usual pure white one-piece pajamas, but was only draped in a thin nightgown. Her fair skin shone with a warm luster under the orange warm light, her graceful figure faintly visible under the outline of the nightgown. That touch of indifference mixed with her youthful innocence brought a unique charm at this moment.
He swallowed, for a moment forgetting what he had come here to do.
His phone dinged. Lu Li took it out and saw it was a message from the Annoying Ghost with the pink avatar:
[There’s a ghost in my room.]
What ghost.
Lu Li saw through the Little Tiger’s little scheme at a glance. She was probably trying to lure a lecherous ghost over. After a young girl’s first night, her curiosity and longing for sex would be completely liberated.
Lu Li didn’t reply for the time being. He actually wanted to accompany Hupo tonight.
An Baili followed Lu Li in. The girl’s mind was far away, and she didn’t notice the ambiguous exchange of glances between Lu Li and Hupo.
she had her hands behind her back and greeted in a small voice, “Sister Hupo… good evening.” This was the first time she had called Hupo “sister.”
Lu Li sat down at the dressing table. He was just a middleman; there was no need for his presence to be too strong. He left the time to Baili and, out of curiosity, opened the drawer of the dressing table, wondering what kind of makeup Hupo would use.
An Baili’s little head felt as if it had been in a car accident. She was completely muddled and had forgotten her opening lines for a moment, stammering and not knowing how to start the topic. It was Hupo who spoke. “Baili, the Outstanding Representative said you had something you needed to see me about?”
An Baili grunted in agreement and, casting aside the lengthy manuscript, said in a small voice, “I-I heard that you also remembered things from the past, Sister Hupo…”
“Mm.” Hupo’s voice was calm, her gaze drifting slightly, as if falling on Lu Li without quite doing so. “I remember everything.”
“…Mmm…” After hearing Wen Hupo’s words, a ridiculous idea suddenly sprouted in An Baili’s mind. She wanted to turn into a mole and drill into the ground.
“That’s…” Her voice was too low.
Hupo asked, “Are you talking, Baili?”
“I’m sorry…” It was like the buzzing of a mosquito.
“Why are you apologizing?” Hupo continued to ask.
“You… you helped me so many times before, but I… I bit the hand that fed me and even insulted you…”
“Is there more?”
“And I used all sorts of low-down tricks to compete with you for Lu Li… The very insulting rumors in university were spread by me on the campus network… I’m sorry…”
“Mm-hmm, I know.”
“And the tickets for your trip with Lu Li that one time, I was the one who stole them… The original manuscript of your third-year university thesis was also thrown away by me…”
Laying out one thing after another, Baili had done quite a few bad things.
“Is that so?”
“The thing I’m most, most, most sorry for is… is that I… I used the Reincarnation Crystal when you were pregnant… otherwise, otherwise, you would have had Lu Li’s child…”
Hupo’s gaze went blank for a moment, but only for a moment.
“Is that all?”
An Baili couldn’t even lift her head anymore. She felt that with her past actions, even being beaten to a pulp by Hupo now wouldn’t be too much. In a novel, she would be that kind of villain’s lackey who does bad things and is always fiercely humiliated by the female lead in the middle of the story.
“If that’s all, then I forgive you,” Wen Hupo said gently.
What do you mean, ‘if that’s all’? An Baili abruptly looked up, her eyes red. “Why can you forgive me so easily, Hupo? I let down your good intentions so many times. Don’t you resent me?”
“That was because my way of helping you was wrong. To you, my condescending help was more like a handout, so I can understand you.” Wen Hupo was unhurried, her words clear. Her Chinese was no different from that of a native of Shenzhou.
“I…” An Baili choked up. “What about the trouble I caused you in university? You were pelted with eggs back then, and Lu Li even fought with someone over it. And I almost made you unable to graduate. Why can you forgive me for these things?”
Wen Hupo was speechless for a moment.
“And I caused your child to disappear. These things, how can you just say ‘forgive’ so easily? Hupo, ever since I made up with Lu Li, I’ve actually been tormented day and night by my sins. Lu Li doesn’t have the heart to scold me or hit me. Can’t you scold me, hit me? If you forgive me so easily, I’ll only feel… so pathetic and hateful…” Baili began to cry, but this time, the crybaby didn’t hide and cry alone. In their past life, after Lu Li and Baili had a fight, this girl would hide and cry alone, hiding everywhere, in the closet, behind the sofa, under the bed. Crying, fearing, hiding, and evading—these four words constituted An Baili.
Lu Li sighed slightly. He felt he needed to step in and soothe both of their emotions.
But just then, Hupo spoke again. “Baili. In the Amber family, there is a saying that everyone is born to suffer in this world. Suffering is a test for you and me. Only those who have experienced the suffering of life can ascend to heaven after death. But I have always hated this saying. Because in my opinion, the various sufferings one encounters after being born are all caused by various objective reasons. They are not fated, nor are they insurmountable. Some people can overcome suffering, draw nourishment from their past corpses, and become stronger.” Lu Li felt she seemed to be looking at him, whether intentionally or not.
“Some people will be crushed by suffering and from then on become a person with a personality defect in the eyes of society. You and I were born wailing, and everyone was originally crying in the same way. We originally had the same sky, breathed the same air. In fact, no one should be discriminated against by society because of these objectively existing sufferings.” She was perhaps not just talking about Baili, but also about herself.
“So, I hope the world can be a little more tolerant of these people. At the very least, I want to be a little more tolerant of the people around me. Baili, is this reason enough?”
When Wen Hupo spoke, her eyes were filled with a determined light. Lu Li remembered that she had once said this world was too uninteresting. Perhaps she had now discovered the shining points of this bleak world.
“If you want to be beaten and scolded to balance your guilt, then you can just obediently accompany me and Lu Li in the future. Don’t cause any more trouble. Just help me out more in the future and use a lifetime to slowly apologize, to me and to Lu Li.”
An Baili wailed. She walked toward Hupo, and Hupo gently hugged her. He heard An Baili sob uncontrollably. “Hupo, I’m sorry… I know I was wrong…”
“We all forgive you.” Lu Li felt Hupo’s smile was full of motherliness. “Lu Li and I have waited for you for three lifetimes. Welcome back, Baili.”
This sentence, which should have been said in their first life, was finally said in their third. This also represented a complete end to all the grievances between the three of them. The past was completely dispelled, leaving only a future full of hope.
…
Looking at An Baili, who was crying until her voice was hoarse, Lu Li knew that tonight’s good show was probably ruined. He could only helplessly take out his phone and reply to the Annoying Ghost:
“I’ll be there to catch the ghost in a bit. Wait for me.” Zhong Kui closed his phone and quietly closed the door as he left.
