CHAPTER 36

Although I already know that it’s impossible for Xue LuoYi to really take me out of Absolute Wing Hall, his words still quench my naive glimmer of hope that I can leave this prison, and even my heart, which has been beating extremely fast, gradually stabilizes.

I sigh lightly and don’t say anything back. Xue LuoYi becomes silent too, but I still hear his indifferent chuckle from time to time.

The distance is not that far, just like what Xue LuoYi said, and the car drives to a stop in front of a single-family house.

The house in front of us has the same dark blue roof as the Absolute Wing Hall, and its architectural style is somewhat similar to the Hall as well. The only difference is that the exterior walls are a solid color of rock, which is unlike the drab whiteness of the Prison.

There are several police officers in black suits stationed outside the house. If I guess correctly, they should have been transferred from the Outer Ministry Police Force on the periphery of the Absolute Wing Hall, but there are not many people, just two or three only.

Xue LuoYi leads me forward, greeting the personnel outside the house before taking me inside.

Inside the house are two long, dark corridors stretching from left to right. There are multiple rooms as well, but they are tightly closed. Passing at each room, thick layers of dust outside each door are very visible in the eye, which shows how all of them are truly rarely used. There’s no one else inside, just Xue LuoYi and I. Not even a single shadow of police officers could be seen.

I become a little uneasy in my heart. Following Xue LuoYi up the wooden stairs, the creaking sound of our leather shoes on the stairs shows that the stairs should be quite old.

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“Seeing that all the prison guards I found were abandoned by Gu Yan without even using them, although I’m not too concerned, but after all, it’s still a few lives, which can’t be considered trivial, so I simply let Gu Yan choose for himself. He himself would never pick someone he thinks as rubbish, right? That’s what I thought.”

“So Gu Yan chose me in the end?” I stop at the corner of the stairs and look up at Xue LuoYi, who was already high above the steps.

“Yes, he personally selected you out of hundreds of people who came to apply.”

“Why me?” I mumble.

“How would I know this, you’ll have to ask Gu Yan ah!” Xue LuoYi shrugs, gives me a blank look, and continues to walk upstairs.

I no longer respond and just tail behind Xue LuoYi in silence.

Xue LuoYi leads me to the second floor, and does not go further up. Instead, he heads to the long corridor on the right. At the end of the corridor is a room with the only door open, and a faint, white light is penetrating from the room into the dark and musty corridor, drawing white shadows on the ground.

Is Xue LuoYi going to take me to someone?

“Ye ShiJiu…” Xue LuoYi halts in front of the only open room, and fishes out a pocket watch from the pocket of his big, white trench coat and shows it to me, “It’s currently half past eight, and I… No, I should say that Gu Yan has given you four and a half hours just so you could enjoy to your heart’s content as much as possible. So you better not waste this chance and make the most of it.”

“Make the most of what?” I ask, feeling at a loss.

──『Make the most of it, it’s the first and the last time I’ll give you the greatest charity that I could.』 I suddenly remember the same inexplicable words Gu Yan had said to me during our breakfast.

“You’ll understand when you enter the room… I will wait downstairs until twelve o’clock sharp, then I’ll come up to remind you.” Xue LuoYi hooks half the corner of his mouth, pats my shoulder, and flutters away with a wave of his hand.

I stand still as a straight rod for a second, still trying to figure out Xue LuoYi… Or I should think of what Gu Yan is playing at.

I grunt softly, and although my heart is pounding with unease, I brush off my doubts and hesitations and just enter the room── there couldn’t be some kind of giant monster in the room, could there?

As soon as I enter the door, what catches my eyes is the white curtains fluttering with the cold breeze, mixed with the damp, cold air drifting into my nose, and most especially is the faint trace of a certain fragrance, a familiar fragrance that remind me of her──

However, before I have the time to react, my arms suddenly crash into a petite body that instantly crushes me into a tight hug. The white dress, which the lady’s wearing, seems to melt along the melodious and languidly swaying windows.

This isn’t real, is it?

I must be dreaming──

Holding the petite body in my arms, my eyes become scalding hot, and a burst of emotions seems to gush out of the rims of my eyes all at once, flowing along the rivers of my dropping tears, and blurring my sight of her along with the fluttering white window curtains.

“Brother…I miss you so much.” The girl in my arms says while pouting.

“I miss you too── Xiao Cheng.” I embrace the girl in my arms tightly and kiss her on her cheek.

“Brother, why are you crying? This reaction should be done by girls, right?” My face is cupped by her as she gently drops a kiss on the side of my cheek. She strokes my cheek with her tender fingertips, and with a hint of glittering tears condensing in her widened eyes, her little white face also adorns a sweet smile that I hadn’t seen for a long time.

“Because brother misses you so much… Xiao Cheng.” I pull her back into my arms and hug her as if I want to melt her into my bones.

──It’s like a dream come true, because Xiao Cheng, who only appears in my dreams, actually emerges right in front of me, within my reach and within my sight, where I could see her face carefully.

“Someone came to inform me that I can see my brother, so of course, I immediately filed an appointment to see you right away! Who told you not to come home!” Xiao Cheng pouts, her face clearly displaying “I’m not happy”. 

“Ah… I’m sorry, because brother is busy with work.” I avert my eyes away from her, not wanting Xiao Cheng to see the weakness in my eyes.

Looking around the room, it’s actually equipped with a table and chairs, so I sit across Xiao Cheng, grasp her palm which is smaller than mine, and rub it gently, very reluctant to let go.

“Brother, don’t you guys have a vacation?”

“Well, um… Because there are only a few guards in the prison, it’s extremely difficult to schedule a vacation.”

“That’s too unsympathetic, right? Brother, you must be so exhausted. Look at you, you’ve lost a lot of weight, have you been eating properly?”

“Of course I do, it’s just that work is more tiring. On the contrary, look at you, you actually got chubbier while I’ve been gone. Someone’s been eating well.” I laugh lightly, only to have her pinch my palm with her fingers.

“Brother, you’re annoying ah!” she groans angrily.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but I think a little rounder is more beautiful,” I say with a laugh.

“Brother…” At first, I thought that Xiao Cheng would make a face, but I don’t expect her to just sigh slightly, and then hold my hand again as a slight worry appears on her face. “If you’re tired  of working, don’t force yourself. Although the salary is good, it’s not justifiable to let it damage your health. Besides, I would prefer that you can come home. You don’t have to worry about my tuition fees, without your current salary, you can go back to being a leisurely little cop again, then I’ll get another job even if we can barely make do with it.”

I stare at Xiao Cheng, and can’t help reaching out and touching her little head with long, flowing black hair.

“It’s okay. Brother hopes that you can take care of your schoolwork without any financial worry. Now this salary is very good, enough for your college tuition, living expenses, and new musical instruments, which I think is necessary, so I don’t want to quit this job yet.”

I didn’t tell Xiao Cheng the truth. It’s not that I don’t want to resign, it’s just I couldn’t…

“But brother, you’re so busy that you can’t even visit me, being alone at home makes me very lonely…” Xiao Cheng pouts again.

“Haha, you’re still talking like that now, but when you get a boyfriend, you’ll leave me behind.” I say while laughing lightly.

“Brother!”

“Okay, sorry…” I apologize and smile, gazing tenderly at Xiao Cheng, that pretty little face of hers that bears some resemblance to mine makes me want to lie to her. “Listen to me, when I have saved enough money, brother will resign and leave his current job, and then go home to be with you.”

This is a very serious lie… Whether there really is a day to leave is unknown, perhaps even the term “unknown” is too good to be true.

“Then brother, work a little harder, okay!”

“Ah, yes yes, Your Highness my dear Princess Xiao Cheng.” I take her hand and kiss it.

The appearance of Xiao Cheng makes my heart delighted, my chest is filled with joy and happiness. Except for Xiao Cheng, all the other things are thrown at the back of my head at once.

My time with Xiao Cheng, talking and holding each other’s hands, makes me so happy that I wanted to cry.

──However, four and a half hours is not as long as it sounds.

When Xue LuoYi emerges at the door and knocks with his fingers, I know, four and a half hours are already over while I thought only less than an hour had passed.

“Time’s up! Ye ShiJiu, it’s twelve o’clock, we should go back now.”

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Erza: OK, forgive my memory haha. Last chapter I said I couldn’t remember where it was explained about Gu Yan’s ‘past prison guards’, how funny it was then mentioned in this chapter😂, and I even ended up spoiling you guys😂. I already removed my explanation from the previous chap, but what I’m sure is this will be demonstrated one time in Cang Wu’s story (AWH Series #3). Silly me, really, my apologies (>_<).