"I don't need your protection, and I don't want to be your girlfriend. I'll make the clothes for you; come and get them in three days," I solemnly promised He Youfei.
He Youfei asked dubiously, "Will you really make them? Do you know how to make clothes?"
"I am the only bloodline of the Yin Yang Life and Death Embroidery; what do you think, can I make them?" I bluffed, puffing up my face to look more confident.
He Youfei, suffering from a terminal illness and having no other choice, could only choose to believe me. He barked fiercely, "I'm giving you three days. If you dare to deceive me, don't blame me for not being nice to you and your mother!"
After speaking, he viciously threw away the cigarette he had chewed up in his mouth.
Then he mounted his motorcycle with his entourage and left.
I stood there, flipping through my notes, searching for the record of the Life-Extending Robe.
My mom took the notebook from me, turned to the last page, and pointed to the torn traces, "Stop looking; you won't find it. See?"
"The records about the Life-Extending Robe have been torn out? Why?" I didn't understand why.
My mom looked exhausted, "Because it's a Forbidden Technique, it's against the natural order and harmful to others."
"Does that mean the Life-Extending Robe borrows life from other people?" I had thought it borrowed life from heaven.
My mom nodded and explained, "When your dad was alive, there were also people who asked him to make a Life-Extending Robe. You need two of those robes."
"One for oneself to wear, and the other for the person whose life was borrowed?" I blurted out, feeling a chill down my spine.
My mom, worried, said, "Yes, we can't engage in such a detrimental act, even if we know how. What are we going to do in three days?"
"I've thought it through. After I return from Granny Wu's tomorrow, we'll move," I said, looking at my mom with eyes glittering with determination.
My mom was very surprised, "Move? Where to? We don't have enough money to rent a place!" ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel⚑fire.net
"We'll have to find a restaurant or something similar that offers room and board for now. We'll go far away and start a new life."
The reason I suggested this was because the cheongsam at home was indeed coveted by too many people.
If we don't abandon this place, we'd end up in endless trouble.
My mom took a moment to compose herself, then looked at me with a complex expression and nodded heavily.
Dinner was two bowls of plain noodles with two pieces of fermented tofu.
Although it was a very simple meal, the two of us, mother and daughter, had our own warm comfort in each other's company.
We roughly calculated what belongings we needed to take with us.
It turned out there was hardly anything worth taking in our impoverished home.
We could almost just take a few pieces of clothing and go.
The reason I wanted to visit Granny Wu before moving was to find out on the road where it would be convenient to settle down.
If we found the right place, we could move directly there.
That night, I lay in bed.
Flipping through the pages of the notebook, I glanced from time to time at the cheongsam hanging on the wall.
Waiting for Yu Longting to appear, I wanted to talk to him about something.
But Yu Longting didn't show up all night, and eventually, clutching the notebook, I fell asleep without realizing it.
When I awoke, I was a bit disoriented.
The old notebook I was reading was still pressed against my chest.
I instinctively touched the empty space beside me; he indeed hadn't come all night – this was the first time he hadn't appeared since he started haunting me.
"Wanwan, get up. I've made breakfast and packed our things. They're light; no one will notice when we leave," my mom called out from the kitchen, holding a spatula, with the aroma filling the house, a place filled with the warmth of home life.
My eyes moistened. It had been so long since our house felt like a home, all because of these homely scents.
They made this place feel a bit like it used to when my mom was healthy.
Hurriedly wiping away my tears, I said, "Thank you, Mom. I was actually a bit scared that you wouldn't agree to move with me."