Round One (16)

A faint thread of awkwardness lingered in the tense atmosphere. The main reason was that Si Jiu hadn’t expected herself to be so utterly “exposed” before Shen Huai. In Shen Huai’s eyes, she must have appeared utterly foolish just now.

“Pretend I was never here. Farewell.”

Seeing that Shen Huai had no intention to make a move, Si Jiu turned to leave. No way she was going to stick around—Shen Huai now possessed the body of ultimate yang, and who knew where he’d acquired his formidable skills, becoming a chosen child of fate. As a ghostly spirit, she was no match for him.

Perhaps Shen Huai was simply stunned by her antics. If not now, when would she flee?

“Stop!” Shen Huai cried out urgently, accompanied by a sharp clatter—she guessed he’d just tossed the entire bowl of noodles away.

Seriously? Did he have to be so zealous about hunting evil?

“You think I’ll stop just because you say so? Do you take me for a fool?” Si Jiu shot him a grimace, bullying Shen Huai’s condition, and relying on her current vessel’s advantage, zipped right through the wall and vanished without a trace.

So she never saw, in that moment behind her, Shen Huai rising directly from his wheelchair, trying to chase after her.

Staring at the suddenly empty room, Shen Huai stood rooted, his expression flickering rapidly, his gaze growing darker and deeper.

Si Jiu dove headlong into a mirror, and once her heart stopped racing, annoyance settled in.

“Ah! Coward!” Regret crashed over her. Deep regret. Why had she bothered seeking out Shen Yu, playing tricks on the little fool?

Now that Shen Huai had discovered her existence, surely he would scour the entire villa for her, eager to rid himself of her once and for all?

But fortunately... he likely wouldn’t guess that her true lair was inside the mirror.

Otherwise... he wouldn’t have allowed the bronze mirror and “Tang You” to share a room for so long... would he?

Si Jiu ignored Shen Huai’s odd behavior of late, clinging to a shred of hope, finally feeling a bit better.

But before long, Shen Huai shattered her hope again.

He returned carrying another bowl of noodles—steaming hot, topped with two golden fried eggs.

So he’d gone and made another bowl just now?

Not only that, he placed the noodles right in front of the bronze mirror.

Then, without a word, he left the room again.

The sound of the wheelchair rolling away was unmistakable—he truly was gone.

Yet Si Jiu felt not the slightest urge to sneak a bite.

After quite some time, Shen Huai returned.

This time, two puppets trailed behind him, rattling and clattering about, doing who knew what. Soon, Si Jiu watched as the puppets approached the canopy bed, lifted “Tang You” from the mattress, and carried her out.

Si Jiu: “!!!”

He’d discovered her inside the mirror?

But that couldn’t be right—even if he had, wouldn’t simply moving the bronze mirror out suffice? That he was willing to move “Tang You” instead!

No, more precisely, he hadn’t moved her himself, but had others do it—even if those “others” were his own creations.

A sense of foreboding rose in Si Jiu’s mind.

The wheelchair rolled back and forth inside and outside the room for quite some time. At last, the puppets returned, and the canopy bed was dismantled and removed.

Si Jiu: “???”

After all that commotion, peace finally settled; the door creaked shut, and Shen Huai appeared once more before the bronze mirror. Si Jiu saw that his pallor was more ghostly than any spirit.

Si Jiu frowned.

Shen Huai glanced at the now cold noodles, silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke, “Don’t want to eat? I remember you used to love them.”

Si Jiu: “...”

“Tang You” was no longer in the room—there was no uncertainty about whom he was speaking to.

Given his recent odd behavior, and all those little details she recalled only now, Si Jiu had no doubt that he’d found her—and recognized her.

Si Jiu’s figure drifted out from the bronze mirror, growing steadily more solid, appearing boldly before Shen Huai.

Shen Huai gazed at her deeply, his fingers brushing the bronze mirror, never once taking his eyes off Si Jiu.

“When did you recognize me?” Si Jiu folded her arms, leaning against the wall to Shen Huai’s left, flashing him a faint smile. “Long time no see, Huai.”

Shen Huai’s fingers tightened in an instant, his eyes flickering with dangerous, unfathomable light.

“What should I call you? Tang Tang?”

Si Jiu curled her lip. “You’ve already guessed—I’m not Tang You.”

She thought to herself, something must have happened the night she got drunk, allowing Shen Huai not only to discover her, but to deduce her identity.

No wonder, upon waking the next day, the little fool’s expression had been so strange.

But just how much did Shen Huai know about her “identity”? To what extent?

Though she could be reckless when drunk, her lips should have remained sealed.

Concerning the Dimensional Management Bureau, the Golden Finger Division, the dimensions and missions—all these were covered by confidentiality regulations.

Ugh! Her head ached.

Wine and revelry had led her astray.