RotA – Chapter 20

The tone Chu Ci used when asking these two questions was what one would call deadly serious, much like a well-behaved student still in school.

Yet, the more she acted this way, the more Chai Yuening was at a loss as to how to explain this misunderstanding to an inhuman who lacked basic knowledge in this area.

It wasn’t that it was inexplicable, but that it felt like it would be very awkward after the explanation was clear.

After all, even Jing Mu next door understood that this place was no romantic venue.

People who came here didn’t need to be a couple, much less cultivate any feelings. All they had to do was lie down in the bathtub, let the colored lights flash, and they could seize the moment for pleasure.

Whether they would ever see each other again was all up to fate.

In You Lan’s eyes, the two of them had spent a night here together, both wrapped only in the towels and bathrobes specially prepared for the guests’ “convenience.” It was obvious that something had happened.

Although absolutely nothing had happened between them, nor could anything possibly happen, considering they still needed to live here and receive You Lan’s help before getting their supplies, Chai Yuening felt it was best for Chu Ci to remain ignorant of certain things to avoid unnecessary awkwardness.

So, after thinking it over, she finally said only one thing: “You Lan isn’t a proper person, and she can’t say anything proper. Whatever she says, just pretend you didn’t hear it.”

“Not a proper person?” Chu Ci didn’t seem to quite understand Chai Yuening’s words. “She’s helping you.”

“Yes, I’m very grateful, and our team has always maintained a cooperative relationship with her.” Chai Yuening got up and walked to the table, poured herself a glass of hot water, and continued, “But honestly, if the Chief Security Officer of the Seventh District was someone who actually did their job, she would definitely be the one who frequented the detention center the most in the entire district.”

As Chai Yuening spoke, she lowered her head to blow on the steaming glass, then turned around, leaned back against the wall, and casually brought up the past: “Have you forgotten? She even had you sent there once.”

Chu Ci: “I remember.”

Chai Yuening nodded in satisfaction. “In this world, the most beautiful people often have mouths full of lies. A smart person should just let it go in one ear and out the other, as if someone just farted next to them.”

After saying this, she subconsciously glanced at Chu Ci.

This little inhuman was very beautiful. On the surface, she was harmless, petite, and delicate, but in reality, she was covered from head to toe in inscrutable secrets.

Truth is indeed truth, applicable to all things.

Such a thought flashed through Chai Yuening’s mind.

The next second, Chu Ci quietly lowered her eyelashes, seeming just a little bit unhappy.

The swing slowly stopped moving.

Chai Yuening couldn’t help but freeze.

She didn’t know if anything had shown on her face in that moment of idle thought, but a wave of guilt inexplicably washed over her.

Chai Yuening blew on the hot water in her hands, somewhat at a loss, her restless gaze wandering around the guest room, which was much more spacious than her own home.

After a brief moment of awkwardness, she walked over with the cup. “Have some water.”

Chu Ci raised her eyebrows slightly, not looking at Chai Yuening, but just staring quietly at the cup being offered to her.

After two or three seconds of silence, she pursed her lips and took the cup with both hands. The water in the cup was at a moderate temperature, not scalding, and felt very comfortable in her palms.

Chu Ci lowered her head and took two small sips, then held it silently in her hands.

The warm steam drifted upward, dissipating before it could touch anything.

Chai Yuening pulled over a stool and sat down opposite the swing.

She was a little taller than Chu Ci, but sitting on the small stool now, she was suddenly a good deal lower.

She looked up slightly at Chu Ci and asked softly, “You actually wanted to say something to me, didn’t you?”

A fleeting hint of panic flashed in Chu Ci’s eyes.

Chai Yuening saw her fingers, which were holding the cup, tighten a little more forcefully than before.

“I know you have something you want to say to me. Even though you haven’t said anything yet, and you’re even hesitating, afraid of something, the fact that you have this thought means that telling me these things is what your heart truly hopes for,” Chai Yuening said. “Face your own heart, make your own choice, and trust the people you are willing to trust. Then, someone will help you share the burden of those things weighing you down.”

At this point, seeing that Chu Ci didn’t respond, she continued, “One person’s strength is limited. No matter what it is, it shouldn’t be borne by one person alone. Didn’t you just lecture me about this last night? As a captain, I was always thinking of leaving my teammates behind to risk my own life, only to end up being the one saved by them.”

As Chai Yuening spoke, she herself smiled, a little embarrassed. “So, I’ve realized my mistake and decided that no matter what happens, I will face it together with my teammates.”

“Do you… still see me as a teammate now?” Chu Ci couldn’t help but ask in a low voice.

“What else? To get the Base to recognize you as part of our squad, I had to sign a liability form. If you behave abnormally one day, I’ll be held responsible,” Chai Yuening said seriously. “But I trust you. No matter where you come from, what you were, what you are now, or what you will become in the future, as long as you still recognize me as your captain, you are a partner I can entrust my life to.”

As Chai Yuening spoke, her eyes curved into a smile, and she asked, “So what about you? In your eyes, am I still your captain?”

The moment her voice fell, a faint light flickered in Chu Ci’s eyes, unseen by anyone.

She remained silent, but the tip of her foot gently tapped the ground, and the swing began to sway slightly again.

To Chai Yuening, this was not a lack of response, and the silence did not last too long.

Chu Ci spoke softly, “Have you ever thought of handing me over to the Base’s research center?”

Chai Yuening pondered for two seconds before answering honestly, “I have, but that wouldn’t be fair to you.”

Chu Ci: “But, in the face of a greater good, the fairness due to a single inhuman is utterly insignificant.”

“I’m short-sighted; I can’t see things that are too far off.” Chai Yuening took a deep breath and sighed. “I only know that I don’t have the right, nor should I, decide where you go… At least, I can’t do it myself. I won’t allow myself to send you to that kind of place.”

“Why? I’m not really a human.”

“Perhaps it’s selfishness at play.” Chai Yuening laughed self-deprecatingly, then stood up and stretched, saying seriously, “I’m just an ordinary person. When the executioner’s gun is aimed at others, I can still tell myself that it’s all for the safety of more people. But if it’s aimed at someone I care about… I really, really find it hard to just stand by and watch. Even if someone tells me that the person I’m risking my life to protect might only have a one-in-ten-thousand chance of retaining their self-awareness, I don’t want to give up… What if, what if a miracle really exists?”

Chu Ci looked up at Chai Yuening. “This is the first time I’ve heard someone say that.”

Chai Yuening smiled and asked in return, “What did you usually hear people say before?”

Chu Ci was silent for two seconds, then said faintly, “I don’t…”

Chai Yuening cut her off first, “You forgot!”

Chu Ci was taken aback for a moment. Seeing the smile in Chai Yuening’s eyes, she couldn’t help but let the corners of her own mouth lift slightly.

She said in a small voice, “I wasn’t lying to you before.”

“Huh?” The out-of-the-blue sentence left Chai Yuening a bit slow to react.

Chu Ci: “After I woke up in the Fog Zone, I really couldn’t remember anything. I wasn’t lying to you about that.”

Chai Yuening: “Then you…”

Chu Ci: “It was only after I got drunk that day that I discovered I might be a little different from everyone else.”

Chai Yuening: “Oh, that day.”

Chu Ci nodded.

Chai Yuening thought for a moment, then asked cautiously, “What about now? Have you remembered anything?”

This question clearly made Chu Ci fall silent for a long time.

Chai Yuening waited for a while. Seeing that she was unwilling to speak, she smiled nonchalantly. “If it’s not convenient to say, you don’t have to tell me. Whenever you feel like talking, I’ll be here to listen.”

“I have remembered some fragmented things…” Chu Ci said, her eyebrows curving into a smile. “They’re not important.”

Chai Yuening looked at Chu Ci for a long time, then nodded solemnly. “Okay.”

She thought to herself that she was quite happy right now.

She chose to believe Chu Ci’s words, to believe that Chu Ci’s arrival was a coincidence, to believe that she hadn’t been schemed against or used.

As for the other unknowns, although she was very curious, she really didn’t want to delve too deeply.

Because everyone has secrets, and everyone has the right to keep their secrets hidden. Any attempt by anyone to touch them is a transgression.

If one day, Chu Ci was willing to tell her voluntarily, she would be very happy to listen and keep it a secret for her.

She hoped that day would come.

The days of freeloading on You Lan’s territory were quite leisurely and comfortable.

The hotel staff would deliver meals at a fixed time every day. The little girl next door also benefited, and her previously low spirits seemed to have been soothed quite a bit.

The black market in the Seventh District was as bustling as ever.

The bars, KTVs, and hotels under You Lan’s name continued to do excellent business.

No matter what was happening outside, there were always people indulging in the bliss of a drunken, dreamlike existence amidst the neon lights.

Every time Chai Yuening opened her door and happened to see people passing by with their arms around each other’s shoulders, she would suspect that You Lan was too busy with “business” to remember her request.

But her old partner proved reliable at the critical moment.

On the third night of their stay in the Seventh District, an incredibly expensive, military-grade heavy armored vehicle—the kind an ordinary person could never get their hands on—was parked to the right of the hotel entrance, so imposing that anyone who passed by couldn’t help but stare.

Three days later, Chai Yuening saw You Lan again, right in front of this vehicle.

Before she could even say hello, a car key was thrust into her hand.

“Everything you wanted is in the back compartment. I’ve already written up an IOU for you; it’ll be enough to keep you paying it off for several years,” You Lan said, pausing as her gaze unconsciously shifted elsewhere. “You’d better pay me back in full before you get into any trouble.”

Holding the car key, Chai Yuening was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

To avoid missing anything, she climbed into the rear compartment for a look around, and after confirming everything was in order, she jumped down.

You Lan stood to the side with her arms crossed. “Do you know how to drive this thing? It’s not like that broken-down car of yours. I couldn’t find anyone who dared to be your driver.”

Chai Yuening: “I’ve seen people drive one. I guess I know a little. I’ll get the hang of it once I try.”

You Lan: “…”

Chai Yuening: “Thanks.”

You Lan: “When are you leaving?”

Chai Yuening: “It’s so late now. We’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

You Lan was silent for a moment, then sighed softly and raised her eyebrows in a smile. “Stay safe.”

“Yeah.” Chai Yuening nodded. “I’m hard to kill. I’ll definitely pay you back.”

“Enough of that. Your little treasure is watching from behind. She looks pretty downcast; she must have been scared these past two days. You still have one night, so you should comfort her properly.” As You Lan spoke, she leaned close to Chai Yuening’s ear and said in a suggestive tone, “That colored light in the bathtub has three settings. It creates a great atmosphere, has a very high satisfaction rate. You two have to try it.”

“…” Chai Yuening was momentarily speechless. Before she could think of an explanation, You Lan had already turned and left.

Watching You Lan’s departing figure, Chai Yuening couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.

When she came to her senses, she walked back toward the hotel.

Chu Ci, who was waiting for her by the revolving glass door, suddenly asked, “What did Boss You say to you? You look… as if you’re facing a formidable enemy.”

Chai Yuening waved her hand. “It’s all just about debts and paying back money.”

“Why are you blushing?” Chu Ci’s gaze was sharp, her tone slightly more turbulent than usual.

“Am I?” Chai Yuening touched her face in surprise. It did seem… just a little hot.

“She suddenly got very close to you, said something, and you started blushing.”

“…You’re seeing things.” With that, she walked into the hotel without looking back.

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Author’s Notes:

Someone is nervous, someone is on alert.

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