The sense of humiliation inside her burned like an endless flame, as if her lungs were being incinerated into liquid, melting drop by drop into red fluid.
How she longed to rush recklessly through the glass door, run to Gao Sijin’s side, and embrace him tightly like a movie heroine.
But Yu Qingxue’s warning kept her from moving. She feared that if she acted, misfortune would befall her and Xiaona. She had no choice but to take her little sister’s hand and walk farther and farther away from the building where Gao Sijin lived.
“So unreasonable…”
Her tangled emotions made Feng Xiaohe want to shout out loud, but suddenly yelling on the street would only attract strange looks.
She wanted to live, to be happier with her little sister Xiaona than anyone else. But the thought of spending the rest of her life without Gao Sijin by her side felt like a hand choking her throat, making her unable to breathe.
“Sister…” Feng Xiaona bit her silvery teeth, her gaze intense. “I’ll study hard. One day, through knowledge, I’ll become someone who fills the Tsukiyuki family with deep fear. Then I’ll make sure you find true happiness.”
“Xiaona, having ambition is good, but forget it. We’re just ordinary commoners; we have no capital to fight with.”
“Who says we have no capital? Five million will be our capital to win Brother back. I absolutely won’t let today’s matter go.”
Usually, Feng Xiaona always gave off the feeling of a cute puppy, but now her eyes concealed a killing intent like a vicious wolf. Feng Xiaohe suddenly remembered that her little sister was not a lamb to be slaughtered. When the time was right, she could even be ruthless enough to blind a classmate with a pen.
Although Feng Xiaona was only a 14-year-old girl, her lips curved into a cruel arc. Even though she was the little sister for whom Feng Xiaohe would sacrifice everything, seeing her like this gave Feng Xiaohe an indescribable sense of fear.
“Are you still Xiaona?”
“Sister, of course I’m Xiaona. I love you the most, Sister.”
Feng Xiaona wore a bright smile, looking pure and adorable, but deep in her eyes flickered the flames of revenge and an obsession with ultimate happiness.
“Apart from my dearest sister, I also love Brother Sijin the most.”
“Xiaona, later on, Sister will marry another man…”
“If Sister really does something like that, I’ll kill myself right in front of you~” Her cheerful, playful tone had spoken something truly terrifying. “Sister will marry Brother Sijin. The three of us will be together, forever and ever living in perfect happiness like a sphere. As long as I work hard enough, no one in the world can stop our family of three from reuniting. I’ll work hard, Sister.”
It was as if her little sister had broken, or perhaps mistaking her for a spoiled puppy had been a mistake from the start. She was a hunter, a carnivore in the jungle, who would never submit to anyone.
“Anyway, let’s head home for now, Xiaona.”
“I understand, Sister. Although I said I’d win Brother Sijin back, right now I’m still too weak. I’m only fourteen, with no power or influence, and no capital to fight the Tsukiyuki family.” Her slender, youthful hand gently hooked onto her sister’s hand. “Sister, can I take care of the five million you just received? I want to invest it. Don’t worry, Sister, I’ll definitely make this money multiply several times over in a short time.”
With memories of two lifetimes, Feng Xiaona vaguely remembered stock market trends and the trajectory of future technology development. So with this five million in principal, she could quickly multiply it through profitable investments.
Facing her little sister’s stubborn gaze, Feng Xiaohe hesitated for a moment before placing the card into her hand.
The two sisters walked along the street. The surrounding noise had nothing to do with them; a silent wind blocked out all sound. Each was lost in their own thoughts.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong, Sister?”
“Xiaona, wait a moment.”
Turning a corner and passing a bookstore, Feng Xiaohe spotted a poster. It advertised an upcoming light novel from Dengeki Bunko. What first caught Feng Xiaohe’s eye was the female character on the poster: a maid with a sickly smile, her wine-red eyes lacking highlights, a perfect, dashing high ponytail reaching her waist, her curvaceous figure clad in a black maid’s long dress with a slight sexual suggestion.
Most crucially, the weapon in her hand—a flame-shaped dagger.
Feng Xiaohe recognized the character at a glance: this was Kuroki Nao, the heroine from a completed work by Gao Sijin. The poster prominently displayed the title 《In the Name of the Maid》 in Chinese, and below in small text, it said something about a major new author debut from China, pen name Tsukiyuki Nishiki, scheduled for release on the 25th.
“Little Ai’s book goes on sale on the 25th?”
She did the math: today is the 23rd. So the day after tomorrow?
Feng Xiaohe had originally planned to buy plane tickets and leave with Xiaona today, but now she decided to stay two more days. Just two more days. She wanted to buy several copies of Gao Sijin’s book as mementos. Even if she couldn’t read Japanese, she would buy them, because this book was written by Little Ai.
“Little Ai, just knowing that you’re still writing here is enough for me.”
Her gloomy mood immediately lifted considerably. That book which no one cared about back home had actually reached the point of being published as a physical book here. This made Feng Xiaohe beam with joy. Though this joy couldn’t dilute the pain of parting with Gao Sijin, it gave her great comfort.
Now she had to quickly share this good news with Feng Na and Qu Xiqian, who were also fans.
“Is that enough, Sister?”
“Yes, Sister is already satisfied.”
“Even if you’re satisfied, I will never accept it!”
Feng Xiaona stared intently at the exquisitely made poster, her small face instantly turning cold as ice.
How could she possibly accept something bought with Brother’s freedom and Sister’s misfortune?
Her lips quivered, and she could no longer suppress the bitter sting in her eyes. When she had left Yu Qingxue’s side earlier, Feng Xiaona hadn’t cried, because tears must not be shown to enemies.
But when she saw her sister so weak, so easily satisfied, Feng Xiaona could no longer hold back her feelings. She shouted at her sister:
“Why should your and Brother’s happiness be made someone else’s plaything? Why aren’t you angrier? Why did you give in so easily? Is it really happiness just seeing Brother still writing? What kind of false happiness is that? Yu Qingxue wasn’t wrong—Sister, you’re nothing but a docile herbivore! One day, I’ll kill every person standing in the way of your happiness and create a world just for the three of us. Even if you’re so useless, I’ll always protect you from any harm, even if I have to become a devil…”
