When you realized someone was entering, your back was already embraced by the newcomer, and a familiar icy soft sensation spread from your back.
You smiled gently and called out the newcomer’s name, "Zhao’er."
Turning around, you looked at Zhao’er, soaked by the hot water, and tenderly soothed her head with a smile.
You noticed that, between you and Zhao’er, there had formed an invisible tacit understanding—not just romantic feelings, but perhaps also an inseparable bond of family affection.
Whenever, wherever you touched her, a flutter stirred in your heart.
Perhaps, this was the effect of the Star Stealing Life-changing Talisman — your fates had already merged.
The moment Zhao’er called out your name, your body instinctively shivered slightly, your soul trembling gently, and you wrapped your arms around Zhao’er, smiling and saying, "Alright, I’ll feed you now."
Three drops of blood, equivalent to being bitten by four or five mosquitoes, had no significant effect on you, but they were Zhao’er’s primary source of sustenance.
Although Zhao’er also ate food, those were merely additions to her life, like fruits that you had to eat daily but couldn’t use as a staple.
To avoid giving others a chance to criticize, after watching television in the living room with Lin Panxia for a while, around ten o’clock, you took Zhao’er to her room, coaxed her to sleep, covered her like a father, and tiptoed out of the room.
The entire process was observed by Lin Panxia. When you quietly closed the door and noticed Wu Qiyi also standing at the balcony on the second floor, looking down at you.
Facing the intense gaze of these two beauties, you found yourself a little overwhelmed and said with a smile, "Why are you two looking at me like that?"
"Brother Mu Yun, I find you are the first boy I can’t understand," Lin Panxia walked around you, "From the outside, you don’t look any different from anyone else."
"Nonsense, how different can I be from others?" you said unhappily.
Upstairs, Wu Qiyi rarely spoke, "What exactly is your relationship with her?"
"Right, I asked Zhao’er, and she couldn’t clarify either."
Scratching your head, you started explaining, "Zhao’er is a distant relative of mine, like my dad’s aunt’s cousin’s uncle’s kind of relative. You can see, Zhao’er’s mind is like a child’s."
"What do you mean ’like’? It clearly is, I’m telling you, don’t do anything creepy to Sister Zhao’er, or I’ll have Sister Qian Ling lock you up."
As Lin Panxia was speaking, the door to Zhao’er’s room suddenly opened, and Zhao’er, half-squinting, exuding a lazy fragrance, flung herself into your embrace.
Holding Zhao’er, you shrugged at Lin Panxia.
But you knew, to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, now was the best time to clarify the facts.
So, holding Zhao’er, you sat down on the soft couch, while Lin Panxia lay next to you with her little dolphin, looking at the already asleep Zhao’er, and Wu Qiyi came down from upstairs with a book, sitting beside Lin Panxia.
"Brother Mu Yun, tell us the story of you and Zhao’er."
Taking a deep breath, in just a brief three seconds, your mind spun rapidly, soon constructing a romantic, mysterious, and supernatural love story.
"This started with a graduation trip; after filling out college applications, you were bored at home, so you went alone to your ancestral home. It was a remote mountain village with poor transportation, connected to the town by only one bus per day."
Seeing you speak so earnestly, Lin Panxia sat up clutching her dolphin toy, looking at you with a curious eye.
"It turns out, I am also a hero’s relative. My grandfather was a soldier and died on the battlefield. This trip was to tend his grave."
As you said this, you noticed Wu Qiyi’s beautiful eyebrows slightly raised, as if she had touched upon some crucial information.
"My grandfather was also a soldier, what was your grandfather’s name? Maybe he and my grandfather were comrades."
You laughed and shook your head, "My grandfather was just an unknown soldier, nowhere near your grandfather’s stature."
"Nonsense, they are both soldiers, there can’t be much difference, it’s just that my grandfather was educated and had more uses."
For the first time seeing such an expression on Lin Panxia’s face, you couldn’t help but laugh, suddenly finding this somewhat pampered young lady different, truly a soldier’s descendant.
"That morning the weather was nice, as I climbed the mountain under a clear sky. There was also a funeral in the village, and her grave wasn’t far from my grandfather’s. His grave was overgrown with grass, and as I was clearing it, thunder suddenly roared, and then the sky darkened."
Saying this, you picked up a water cup from the table and gulped down the water inside.
"Go on, what happened next?"
Lin Panxia seemed very interested, her little feet wiggling nonstop.
"Then, not far below, the men carrying the coffin suddenly shouted, ’The corpse is coming alive!’ and the coffin started shaking violently, scaring everyone into running every which way."
"And you?" Lin Panxia asked.
Touching your nose, you said somewhat sheepishly, "I too, hid behind my grandfather’s grave, thinking he would protect me."
Lin Panxia stuck out her little tongue, "Superstitious."
"The coffin continued to shake, and the only path down the mountain was blocked by it. The sky darkened significantly, thick clouds massed, fierce winds picked up, and it looked like a heavy rain was coming. With no other options, I had to bite the bullet and approach the coffin."
"And what happened next?"
Lin Panxia was now fully engrossed in your story, even Wu Qiyi closed her book and turned to look at you.
Continuing, you deliberately looked down at the sleeping Zhao’er, "Honestly, I was scared at that moment; after all, it was a shaking coffin. As I approached, the lid suddenly flew off! I didn’t understand what was happening, I just turned and stealthily peeked inside, just one look, but it was like the whole person was enchanted. Then the lid smashed down, hitting my body and I fainted, falling into the coffin."
For Lin Panxia, this story was far more thrilling and exciting than any horror movie she had watched, she eagerly asked, "What happened next?"