Chapter 104: Marking and Softness
Zhu Yiqiao answered the question at the end of the letter with a kiss.
Then—
She put the letter back into the blue envelope in front of Ming Fei, re-sealed it with the kitten sticker, and finally placed the entire letter into the password-protected safe in the cabinet.
This also seemed to be part of her answer, at least Ming Fei understood her willingness and cherishing.
The hem of the smoke-gray bathrobe brushed against her calves. As Zhu Yiqiao approached Ming Fei after putting away the letter, Ming Fei saw the rose petal-like marks on her neck, calves, and wrists.
She should have been embarrassed.
But she felt… that these marks she had made were filling her with a sense of possessiveness.
…Making her feel shy, yet also inexplicably happy.
It was strange, she thought.
Zhu Yiqiao seemed to see through her thoughts, whispering as she approached,
“Ah Fei, me too.”
Ming Fei deliberately pretended not to understand: “Me too what?”
Zhu Yiqiao was straightforward: “Like you, I feel happy. Sensing your scent all over me, seeing you walking towards me in my bathrobe, these all make me happy.”
And they also filled her with possessiveness.
Ming Fei’s dimple appeared: “Then is Jiejie willing?”
Zhu Yiqiao looked at her: “I am.”
The two intertwined pheromones seemed to stir again. Ming Fei kissed Zhu Yiqiao’s right cheek and led her to the sofa for dinner.
At Zhu Yiqiao’s suggestion, they went to the multi-function living room and had dinner together, looking at the spring scenery in the garden and the snowy landscape in the distance.
During dinner, Ming Fei received a video call invitation from Ming Zaozao.
Ming Zaozao on the display was sitting on a wicker swing chair by the French window, a teddy bear plush toy on her left, and a puppy plush toy on her right.
This was an indoor swing Xu Zhou had specially added for her.
The comfortable swing swayed automatically, and Ming Zaozao, seeing them, immediately smiled.
“Mommy, Mama!”
They both responded.
Ming Zaozao happily shared the day’s events, like how she drew virtual pictures for the penguins, seals, and sea lions at the aquarium, and how she found a lost card in another area and returned it to the aquarium staff.
Everyone praised her for being a good girl!
After listening, Zhu Yiqiao and Ming Fei, loyal audience members of Zaozao the Great, also applauded and praised her.
Zhu Yiqiao, a smile in her eyes: “Zaozao is so amazing.”
Ming Fei’s eyes curved into crescents: “How can there be such an amazing little baby like Zaozao? Zaozao the Great must know all kinds of magic, right?”
Ming Zaozao was bubbling with happiness from the praise.
They chatted for a while longer. After dinner and the video call ended, Zhu Yiqiao, taking advantage of the brief respite, opened her terminal and the floating screen to catch up on work.
She had only taken two days of leave.
Fortunately, everything was progressing smoothly at the Trial Court, the military, the government, and among the high-ranking officials of various countries. They would all be able to start their annual leave as scheduled in two days.
As soon as her terminal connected to the intranet, Zhu Yiqiao received the investigation results from Min Man.
The Timon tribe branch case was still being handled by the Trial Court. Three investigation teams went to their homeland according to procedure, and with the help of the robotic search leopard, finally found the skeletal remains of the Timon tribe branch at the bottom of the cliff by the snow mountain.
After more than a hundred years, or perhaps… because the murderers had disposed of most of the remains at the time, there were very few traces left at the bottom of the cliff.
The investigation team buried the remains of the tribe members in their homeland, erected a monument for them, and notified other members of the Timon tribe to come for a memorial service.
Meanwhile, Wei Lingyu found the list of all the murderers involved in the Timon tribe branch massacre. All the names on the list had already been eliminated by Ismuriel.
According to the background investigation, all the people on the list had criminal records or undiscovered criminal facts even before the Timon tribe branch massacre.
The six main culprits would have been sentenced to death according to the law at the time.
At the same time, Lan Lubai, who was in Moli, led the team with Colonel Xu, following the clues left by Ismuriel to the real research institute base, and discovered Kristen Le’s written criminal records inside the base.
And also, a diary recording Ismuriel’s life over the past century.
When Ming Fei came over, Zhu Yiqiao opened Ismuriel’s diary and traveled back a hundred years with her, reading this diary that recorded Ismuriel’s gradual transformation into Kristen Le.
[October 2, Year 11 New Calendar, sunny, mood: unclear.
I saw them on the display screen again.
Why can they, as criminals, pretend to be good people in front of the media? Why are they still alive and well? Why am I the one being punished day and night?
I don’t want to be left behind.
I miss them.]
[May 19, Year 15 New Calendar, light rain, mood: terrible.
Perhaps I should be grateful.
I am the one who was left behind.
Because they were so good, I didn’t want their hands to be stained with the blood of sin. I will do everything, I will end everything.
Fifteen years since our separation, I keep having nightmares about that night. When I wake up, I miss our homeland, I miss you all.]
[August 20, Year 37 New Calendar, heavy rain, mood: unclear.
The plan went smoothly today.
But, I don’t know why, when I saw my reflection in the water on the way back, for the first time, I felt… like a stranger to myself.
What about you?
If you saw me like this, would you feel estranged, sad, unable to accept it?]
[November 2, Year 74 New Calendar, sleet, mood: unclear.
According to the season, the Qingzan flowers in our homeland are blooming.
For a moment today, I really wanted to go back and see, but in the end, I didn’t.
Suddenly feeling a little tired.
Perhaps it’s because I’m getting old, I keep thinking of you all these days.]
…
[December 28, Year 167 New Calendar, heavy snow, mood: very good.
Time flies.
Over the years, I only dream of you occasionally. I think, perhaps you also find me strange now, completely changed.
But recently, every morning, noon, and night, I keep dreaming of you, dreaming of our life together in the snow mountains, dreaming that you still call me Little Ismuriel.
I guess it’s because I don’t have much time left, and you were always so kind, even though I’ve become Kristen Le, you don’t want to see me leave alone.
I wonder—
Who will be the first to see this diary and read this entry.
When you see this, I should be gone, all the past revealed. After a hundred years, I have finally completed my plan.
All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows,
Like dew or a flash of lightning. That is how they should be viewed.*
These are the words my mother taught me many years ago. Seeing this, perhaps you would ask me, knowing that a hundred years are like a fleeting dream, why did I do this, do I regret it?
I can firmly answer, I have never regretted it, and I won’t regret it even a hundred years from now.
However—
Stranger, I was once indebted to someone many years ago, and I am willing to give the world one last gift.
To the southeast of the side door of Laboratory 605 of the research institute, there’s a potted plant. Buried beneath it is all the money and assets I obtained from those murderers over the years. I don’t know the exact amount, but it should be enough for many people to live without worries from now on.
Finally, goodbye, and may this world never see another Kristen Le.]
After reading the diary, both of their hearts were heavy with complex emotions.
After a moment of silence, Ming Fei speculated, “So, she used the Timon tribe’s symbolic language as a mark, on the one hand, to leave a clue, deliberately guiding the investigators to discover it, and on the other hand, to mock the true culprits who were played by her?”
Zhu Yiqiao: “Perhaps there’s another meaning.”
“What is it?”
Zhu Yiqiao said, “Longing and remembrance. Perhaps when she looked at that symbol, she was constantly remembering her tribe members, constantly reminding herself not to forget them, not to forget her hatred.”
Ming Fei didn’t speak, just hugged Zhu Yiqiao tightly.
In the following time, Zhu Yiqiao continued to work, and Ming Fei accompanied her, quietly reading, their hands clasped together.
Time passed bit by bit.
At 9:30 pm, Zhu Yiqiao closed her terminal and asked Ming Fei to renew her marking.
Ming Fei not only had deft hands skilled in shadow puppetry and various handicrafts, but her lips and tongue were also soft and nimble. Especially with Zhu Yiqiao, during the marking, and at other times as well.
In the bathroom, steam mingled with the fragrance of pheromones. Zhu Yiqiao sat on the vanity, a blanket beneath her, a faint blush on her face. There were two mirrors in the room, and as she looked at their reflection in the opposite mirror, her ears felt unusually warm.
Her fingers buried themselves in Ming Fei’s soft, long hair. As Ming Fei kissed her again and deepened the kiss, the white blanket became damp.
