"Oh my, oh my. Watching you two being all lovey-dovey like that, even I, as your mother, feel a little embarrassed." Li Mingxue glanced teasingly at Chu Lian and Inori. Looking at the two girls, she smiled inwardly and joked.
"Mom, honestly..." Chu Lian turned back and protested with a hint of annoyance, though she knew her mother was helping ease the atmosphere, so she did not truly blame her.
"Alright, alright. Take Anna back to sleep first. What, are you planning to keep holding her forever? Bring her to my room. When I'm not busy, she can sleep with me. Just watch—I'll handle her." Li Mingxue waved her hand, telling Chu Lian to go do her own things and not worry about accompanying her.
"Okay." The girl nodded and stood up. She glanced toward Inori on the second floor, then walked upstairs. When she reached her side, she suddenly leaned close and gently blew against her ear.
Puff
"Lian..." There was a trace of reproach and a trace of delight in Inori's voice. She watched Chu Lian carry Anna toward Li Mingxue's bedroom. Her hands, folded in front of her abdomen, tightened slightly. After turning her face aside and hesitating for a moment, she followed.
Of course, the place she intended to go was not Li Mingxue's bedroom, but Chu Lian's—the very room where they had acted so recklessly last night.
Thinking about what had happened last night, she felt a flicker of guilt. If her emotions had not fluctuated so violently, causing Eve to briefly awaken, then what followed would never have occurred.
The image surfaced in her mind—Chu Lian's unbearably shy expression as she was "served" by them, and the memory of herself standing there without a single thread on her body, together with the other girls, doing those things to Chu Lian.
She did not know what to do with herself.
That was probably why she had come out so late today to see Chu Lian. She had needed time to steady her emotions. Otherwise, if she saw her and found herself at a loss for words, that would have been terrible.
"Alright..."
While she was lost in her thoughts, Chu Lian returned after putting the sleeping Anna down. Seeing her standing there in a daze, she waved a hand in front of her eyes. When she realized Inori had not noticed her at all, she bent slightly, hands braced on her knees, leaning forward until her face lifted beneath Inori's chest, looking up at her lowered head.
"Ah, Lian..." Inori had no choice but to snap out of it. Chu Lian's simple and direct way of waking people up really was startling.
"Well? Awake now? What were you thinking about?" Chu Lian asked curiously. Inori was not usually someone who daydreamed, so why was she doing so now? And right outside her bedroom, no less.
"Nothing..." How could she possibly let her know what she had been thinking? Tell her she was thinking about last night? Just the thought was mortifying enough—how could she say it aloud?
So when faced with Chu Lian's question, Inori stammered for a moment before decisively changing the subject. "Who did you run into outside just now?"
"That... I should probably explain together with Mom." The topic Inori shifted to was exactly what Chu Lian had meant to mention earlier but had momentarily forgotten.
Now that she remembered, she might as well make it clear to her mother. After all, the Wang family and the Chu family shared significant ties. Her mother undoubtedly knew those connections well—perhaps even deeper secrets that she had not yet told her due to Chu Lian's age and strength.
"Mm..." Inori allowed her hand to remain held by Chu Lian's.
At this point, the other had already completely blended into her life. No matter how many problems arose, she could never bring herself to reject her.
Last night was the final chance... and the best one, wasn't it? Yet I still had not the slightest intention of leaving... Lian, do you know that my entire life has already been branded with your mark?
If I left you, if I exiled myself from you, what would remain of my life? Perhaps only the memories of you, accompanying me forever.
Her thoughts were tangled and complicated—impossible to cut through, impossible to sort out. She wanted to harden her heart, yet she simply could not. She could only admit that she could not lose her, nor could she leave her.
"Mom, I forgot to mention something just now. I think you probably know what I'm about to say." Holding Inori's small hand, Chu Lian walked over to Li Mingxue, who was curled up on a corner of the sofa reading a book.
"Go on. I'm listening." Li Mingxue glanced at the two girls and shifted slightly to make room for them.
After pulling Inori down to sit, Chu Lian took a sip of the slightly cooled tea, only to find her mouth faintly bitter. She set the cup down.
One hand continued holding Inori's. The other rested on her knee.
She hesitated.
Seeing this, Li Mingxue frowned slightly, lifted her own teacup for a sip, then asked, "What are you hesitating about?"
Knowing she had to say it sooner or later, Chu Lian fell silent for a moment before finally speaking.
"Well... I turned Wang Tingsi into a girl."
"Pfft—" Li Mingxue turned sideways and spat out the mouthful of tea she had just swallowed. Wiping the corner of her lips, she stared wide-eyed at her seemingly innocent daughter.
Just how much hatred did you have toward him to make him "turn" into a girl?
Even if you disliked him, even if you hated him, even if I knew you would run into him and settle your own affairs, I never imagined the result would be like this.
"You..." Li Mingxue started to speak, but seeing her daughter lower her head, she could not bring herself to scold her. Instead she asked, "Did you use a knife, or your leg? I refuse to believe you'd do it personally."
Hearing that, Chu Lian immediately understood the misunderstanding. She had transformed Wang Tingsi's entire body into that of a girl while his mind remained male—not used violence to forcibly make him "become" one.
Mother, is that really how you see your daughter?
Half amused and half exasperated, she looked up and protested, "Mom, what nonsense are you talking about? How could I possibly do something like that? I just used a special method to grant him power, at the cost of something in return. He knew about it and agreed. You can't blame me for that."
"..." Li Mingxue stared at her in silence for a while. She knew very well how cunning her daughter could be. She also knew how obsessed Wang Tingsi was with his identity as the heir of the Wang family. If he were not a boy, what motivation would he have left to pursue revenge?
"Fine. I did sign a contract with him without telling him that one of the possible costs included turning into a girl. I gave him the power for revenge. It was a fair and just transaction. I didn't deceive her at all!"
Chu Lian spoke with complete confidence. Spacetime Traveling Merchants valued fair trade above all else. The fact that she had succeeded in making the deal and obtained what she wanted meant it had been entirely equitable.
"Turning him into her without his knowledge... you really..." Li Mingxue trailed off, unsure how to continue. She decisively changed the subject instead. "So where is he... I mean, she now?"
"She's cultivating in the Nether River. After all, what I signed with her was a Nether River Contract. Without putting in effort and paying the price, how could she possibly gain the strength for revenge?" Chu Lian did not hide anything she was allowed to share.
"A Nether River Contract..." Li Mingxue clearly knew what that was. After a moment of thought, she looked up and said, "I didn't expect Lian'er to possess something so precious—and to be willing to let Wang Tingsi use it. That's surprising."
"Because I know his origin. He's the reincarnation of Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of Han. In his previous life, he and I had unresolved entanglements. Helping him now is simply settling my own karma. After this, we'll be people with no ties to each other. The Wang family won't feel inexplicable goodwill or hostility toward our Chu family anymore. And we won't instinctively reject the Wang family either." Chu Lian nodded. There was nothing to conceal about that.
"Past life and present life... it truly is a difficult story to comprehend." Li Mingxue tilted her head slightly in thought before decisively dropping the matter. "Since you chose to do this, you must have your reasons. I won't pry further. I only want to know—what's your plan?"
"I gave her a little over three years. I hope that by then she can carve her way out of the Nether River. Otherwise, it will count as a failure. The Nether River Contract has extremely strong enforcement. If she does not appear before me as promised and become a servant under my command, she will sink forever in the Sea of Desire within the Nether River, never to return." As Chu Lian spoke, she glanced at Li Mingxue with faint concern, afraid her mother might reject such ruthlessness.
Unexpectedly, her mother did not seem disturbed at all. Perhaps she had already grown accustomed to it.
"You didn't give her the Desire Asura path, did you?" Li Mingxue caught the key phrase in her words and asked curiously.
"It was the Desire Asura..." Since her mother had asked directly, Chu Lian did not hide this part, though she had not originally intended to mention it.
"You child, honestly..." Her suspicion confirmed, Li Mingxue gave a helpless smile. "Desire Asura is indeed considered a relatively powerful path among the Asura. But the experiences required to cultivate into one... very few can endure them. Especially when her soul is still male. Lian'er..."
She did not finish the sentence, but Chu Lian understood perfectly. Scratching her head in embarrassment, she explained, "It's not that terrifying. Those who fall into desire and cultivate through indulgence become only the lowest tier of Desire Asura. The truly powerful ones walk the path of overcoming their own desires. Though there are indulgent Desire Asura who reach great heights, compared to those who cultivate through restraint, their numbers are far fewer."
"I don't have much confidence in her. But I have great confidence in his obsession with his male identity. If she truly wants revenge and to stand at the top once more, admired by all, then restraining desire is her only path. If she can't even manage that, there's no way she'll claw her way out of the Nether River within three years."
Li Mingxue found herself at a loss for words. Indeed, Wang Tingsi was, at heart, an extremely self-centered person. As long as she refused to abandon the so-called 'royal bloodline' and her ambition to lead the Wang family, she might truly succeed.
After a moment, another thought surfaced. "Lian'er, do you know what has been happening within the Wang family recently?"
"I only know the general outline. I'm not clear on the specifics." Chu Lian nodded. This was something she needed to understand—and the only person likely to know was her mother.
"Then let me tell you..." Li Mingxue gazed up at the white ceiling as she slowly sank into recollection.