My Girlfriend is a Cold and Aloof Sickly Beauty 75

Chapter 75: The Red String of Fate

Xiao Luohan initially thought she had misheard.

It wasn’t until she saw the action figure raise its hand towards her, its wrist stiffly rotating downwards, as if waving, that she came back to her senses and hurriedly reached out.

Touching the tiny hand, feeling its slight movements, Xiao Luohan’s nose tingled, and her vision blurred.

“Is the Xie family elder that powerful?!” Jiang Xue was also shocked. She stared at the action figure interacting with Xiao Luohan for a long time, then finally remembered to ask, “By the way, Sis, why did you suddenly think of going to the Xie family?”

“Seeing you two worried last night, I could roughly guess what it was about, so I thought about asking the Xie family for help, or at least for some answers,” Jiang Mei said. “Fortunately, the outcome was good. But the plum branches are her original vessel, so most of the time, Xiao Linghan will still reside in them.”

She looked at the newly bloomed plum blossom. “A-Xi also suggested a possibility, but it might take a few years to realize. I’ve already asked Uncle Seuss for help. If it works, Xiao Linghan will be able to talk to you directly in the future.”

“That would be wonderful!” Jiang Xue also became excited. “Elder Sister Red Fox… uh, Sister Xiao is such a good person, she should also come and see our world!”

Jiang Mei smiled but didn’t say anything, her gaze drifting towards the plum blossom branch.

—”Everything has a price, especially since she devoured so many resentful souls to create and maintain the passage between the two worlds. Even if those fallen soldiers admired her when they were alive, they were still men from a feudal society.”

—”And what she’s doing is something the men of that era wouldn’t accept or tolerate.”

—”Backlash from the resentful souls is inevitable. After all, those soldiers only wanted victory for Beiliao, not for their emperor to change gender. She should have realized this long ago. You shouldn’t interfere in the situation over there anymore, just protect the fragmented soul she sent.”

The Xie family elder’s repeated warnings before she left echoed in her mind.

While Jiang Xue and Xiao Luohan were imagining a future with Princess Zhemei, Jiang Mei was lost in thought, deducing the subsequent events that would unfold in that world.

The Emperor of Beiliao, who had murdered the Empress and failed to act, had already lost the support of the people. He would either die in a coup or be forced to abdicate.

But in that era, a woman becoming emperor required careful planning. Taking things too quickly would be dangerous, so the most likely person to succeed the throne was the Second Prince of Beiliao.

He might become a puppet emperor with the support of the Jiang family, with the true power remaining in the hands of the Jiang family, who had contributed the most. Then it would depend on whether the Jiang family wanted to seize the throne directly or “boil the frog slowly,” gradually eliminating their opponents and placing a suitable woman on the throne.

After all, that world was still in the Warring States period. Even if a female emperor ascended the throne, other countries would use it as an excuse to attack.

That was indeed not something ordinary people like them could interfere with. Even if Xiao Linghan was still maintaining the passage between the two worlds at that time, the help they could offer would be very limited.

Thinking of this, Jiang Mei decided to keep this from her sister and Xiao Luo for now, planning to ask Xiao Linghan about the situation when she had time.

Xiao Luohan spent some more time helping “Action Figure Elder Sister” move her limbs, then reluctantly went to take a bath.

A haircut always left stray hairs, so she had to wash them thoroughly.

At 1:00 PM, just as Jiang Xue spread out her review materials and workbooks on her weekend-only study desk, the doorbell rang.

At this time, she knew who it was without even guessing.

Xie Xitong, holding the large white cat, went straight to Xiao Luohan as soon as she entered and placed the cat in her arms. “Here’s Xixi for you!”

“Meow!!” The white cat immediately protested, about to wriggle free, but froze when Xiao Luohan gently stroked its fur.

It stared at Xiao Luohan for a moment, then shamelessly snuggled into her arms.

“It seems that Xixi running away from you last time was really because you were ‘not human’ in that state,” Jiang Xue said, not surprised.

She had enjoyed Xiao Luo’s petting and fur-brushing skills in her dream, in her white cat form, and knew how comfortable it was.

Seeing that their scheduled study time had arrived, Jiang Xue and Xie Xitong opened their workbooks, set a timer, and started their weekly “group study.”

Xiao Luohan had also prepared her books, the newly acquired Chinese and history textbooks, but she had only read a few lines when a fluffy paw landed on the page.

“Meow~” the white cat purred softly.

“…” Xiao Luohan couldn’t help but smile, finally understanding why Xie Xitong had said “It’s all the little kitty’s fault that I can’t focus on my studies.”

But when she decided to do something, not even the cutest kitten could distract her.

So, occasionally glancing up at Xiao Luohan while working on the problems, Jiang Xue saw her reading while petting the cat.

When the cat started getting clingy, Xiao Luohan would scratch its chin or even let it nibble on her fingers, making the white cat purr contentedly, but her attention was entirely on the textbook in front of her.

Jiang Xue: …

My respects, she hadn’t expected Xiao Luo to be such a master of multitasking.

Xiao Luohan’s reading speed was truly fast, and she was indeed confident in liberal arts.

Therefore, after carefully finishing the first semester’s Chinese and history textbooks and exercises for freshman year, she decided to try the workbooks directly.

She couldn’t spare a hand to “appease” the kitten while doing the exercises, so she handed the cat to Jiang Xue, who was taking a break.

The cat howled in protest, its claws clinging to Xiao Luohan’s sweater.

“What… what should I do?” Xiao Luohan looked up helplessly.

She hadn’t expected Xixi to be so clingy towards her.

“I’ll take care of it,” Xie Xitong put down her pen, walked over, and skillfully pinched the cat’s paws, quickly detaching its trimmed claws from the sweater.

She gave the cat a treat stick, placed it in its usual bed, and said with a smile, “Be good, or I’ll let Mei-jiejie take care of you.”

Xiao Luohan: …?

Something about those words didn’t sound right.

She looked at the white cat in surprise and saw it obediently curl up in its bed, feeling even more puzzled.

Did the little creature dislike Mei-jiejie that much?

Jiang Mei, who had come downstairs for a break and to stretch, naturally heard this.

But she was used to it and didn’t bother explaining, simply returning to her room after relaxing.

Peaceful days always passed quickly. Xiao Luohan had just arrived in this world and started learning new things, and Jiang Xue was already facing her final exams.

“During our exams, why don’t you stay at home?” Jiang Xue asked, not forgetting Xiao Luohan amidst her preparations. “People aren’t allowed in the exam rooms, the teachers’ offices are filled with test papers, messy and busy, and the rented apartment is a bit noisy during the day. Sister Cheng said there’s some renovation going on recently.”

Xiao Luohan thought for a moment. “Then I’ll go to Teacher Sui’s place?”

She had promised Teacher Sui that she would visit when she was free.

Jiang Xue wasn’t very familiar with Teacher Sui. Hearing this, she couldn’t help but recall the scene she had accidentally witnessed between Teacher Sui and Dr. Qi, and felt that this adult wasn’t very reliable.

“I’m not at ease with you going alone,” she said. “If you just want a quiet place to read, why not consider the Xie family’s home? Grandma Xie will definitely like you.”

In her impression, Grandma Xie was a very kind elderly woman.

The Xie family…

Xiao Luohan had wanted to visit for a long time, but she hadn’t found a suitable reason and didn’t want to trouble Xie Xitong, so she hadn’t mentioned it.

Now that the opportunity had presented itself, she immediately agreed.

Jiang Xue asked her mothers to inform the Xie family in advance and also told Xie Xitong, who, as expected, welcomed Xiao Luo’s visit.

The day of the final exams arrived, and Jiang Xue left early in Sister Cheng’s car.

Xiao Luohan, who woke up later, quickly styled her hair into a half-updo, tied it with the red ribbon Jiang Xue had bought for her, sprayed the plum blossoms on the windowsill with water using the Scream bottle, then slung her canvas bag over her shoulder and went to the Xie family’s home with Jiang Mei, who was going to work.

Xie Xitong was about to leave, but seeing Jiang Mei about to go, she immediately bounced over. “Mei-jiejie, take me with you!”

Xiao Luohan instinctively looked over and saw Jiang Mei casually open the passenger door as she passed by the sports car, and then Xie Xitong naturally got in.

“Young people are so energetic,” Grandma Xie, who had just finished watering the plants in the courtyard, said slowly, walking over. “Let’s go, little one.”

Xiao Luohan quickly agreed and followed her slowly towards Grandma Xie’s private meditation room.

“Are you adapting well to the new era?”

As soon as she sat down, she heard Grandma Xie ask.

“Yes,” Xiao Luohan nodded. “Everyone has been very kind to me…”

“But even if you’re adapting, you must still be puzzled by many things that people here take for granted, right?” Grandma Xie asked with a smile.

“Yes, but then I remember that I’ve only been here for a little over half a month, so I don’t dwell on it,” Xiao Luohan replied. “I just let things take their natural course.”

Grandma Xie’s smile widened, and she poured her a cup of specially prepared Tieguanyin tea.

“When A-Xi said that I would definitely like you, I thought she was exaggerating, but now I believe her,” she said. “Compared to that sweet-talking and lively little A-Xue, you have a different charm—you must have suffered a lot in the old world.”

Xiao Luohan smiled faintly and asked, following the conversation, “Do you think… are there any similarities between me and A-Xue?”

That day, she had later heard from Jiang Xue about what Jiang Mei had learned from the Xie family, that her elder sister and Jiang Mei shared the same soul but different bodies.

Since their older sisters were like this, then they…

“If you ask me, then of course there are many,” Grandma Xie didn’t intend to hide it from her. “But you should know that even with the same soul, living in different eras and experiencing different things will naturally shape different personalities and habits.”

“Compared to the similarities, I think in other people’s eyes, you two are completely different people, right? Even you yourselves might not see each other as another version of yourselves.”

After this somewhat convoluted explanation, Grandma Xie took a plate of traditionally made plum blossom pastries and placed it beside Xiao Luohan. “If you truly want to tie the red string of fate with her, just be bold and try after she overcomes the tribulation of the college entrance exam.”