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"Who are you?" Xiang'er stared in terror at the pair of eyes emerging from the flames, those eerie eyes fixed intently on her. She was certain that it was just a pair of eyes, without a face, reminiscent of a scene from a fantasy movie.
Xiang'er was very afraid.
The flames in those eyes were like a venomous fire serpent, penetrating her heart with a message of fear. She felt every cell in her body burning, an unbearable discomfort, as the air around her was filled with scorching heat, making it difficult for her to breathe.
Ye Chenfeng and Ding Li rushed into the bedroom and saw Xiang'er tossing on the bed, crying out in pain. Something was wrong, he thought. He quickly activated his Yin Eye but saw nothing unusual. He took out the Ghost-Collecting Gourd but felt no trace of ghostly energy.
"Ding Li shouted, pulling out a towel to wipe the sweat from her face. "Xiang'er, wake up."
Ye Chenfeng raised his palm and recited the Calmness Spell, letting it slowly descend towards Xiang'er's forehead.
The Calmness Spell flowed through her heart like a clear spring, gently washing away the terrifying flames that had ignited deep within her. The strange eyes of the Flame Demon faded away like smoke in the sound of flowing water, and Xiang'er awoke.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw Ye Chenfeng. Forgetting everything else, she threw herself into his arms and sobbed, "Chenfeng Brother, I'm so scared."
Ding Li felt awkward. She was closest to Xiang'er, yet the child had leaped into Ye Chenfeng's embrace. With a dry smile, she said, "It's okay; it was just a nightmare. Get up and wash your face; you'll be fine."
Xiang'er relied heavily on Ye Chenfeng; she felt safe only in his arms. So even when Ding Li made it clear and urged her to get up and stop being clingy, the child still curled up in Ye Chenfeng's embrace until he lifted her chin playfully and said, "What's wrong? Missing home?"
To Ye Chenfeng and Ding Li, Xiang'er was just a little girl, not yet fourteen years old. What could she possibly think? It was likely just homesickness for her family combined with the trauma of having escaped death that caused her nightmares and made her act so affectionately.
"It's all right now; get up and wash your face," Ye Chenfeng repeated Ding Li's words to Xiang'er.
Xiang'er nodded obediently and got up to head to the bathroom.
As tranquility returned to the bedroom, Ye Chenfeng continued discussing the child's situation with Ding Li.
"Lily, what do you think of my suggestion?"
"Do you think Auntie will agree?" Ding Li quietly pointed toward the direction of the living room as she asked Ye Chenfeng.
"Just don't tell her," Ye Chenfeng thought, having just revealed to his parents that he was getting married. The look on their faces was grim, and he knew that if pushed too hard, they would surely shift the blame onto Ding Li.
He wasn't afraid of confronting his parents; he was more concerned about Ding Li being overly sensitive and getting hurt.
Ding Li was in a bad mood. She didn't want to go to Su Mother's house but felt she had no other choice. With a resigned "Oh," she sulked out of the bedroom. As she passed the washroom, she noticed Xiang'er staring intently into the mirror.
Xiang'er seemed so absorbed, as if there was something in the mirror that demanded her attention.
Ding Li leaned in closer to see what it was. There was nothing there! "What are you looking at? You seem so focused."
Ye Chenfeng had also come out. Seeing Ding Li talking to Xiang'er in the washroom, he smiled silently and headed toward the living room to continue discussing with his parents about Xiang'er staying and the marriage announcement.
In the washroom, Xiang'er appeared not to have heard Ding Li's words, lost in her own thoughts as she gazed into the mirror, her eyes filled with fear.
Xiang'er saw her reflection in the mirror, and a wisp of smoke began to rise from her head. At first, it was small, like the smoke from a man's cigarette, but then it gradually grew larger, as if her hair were on fire.
Then a more terrifying scene unfolded.
Xiang'er watched in horror as her face seemed to catch fire—her eyes, nose, and ears were all ablaze.
"Ah..." Xiang'er screamed, covering her face with her hands.
Her scream startled Ding Li so much that she jumped, unsure of what was happening.
In the living room, Ye Chenfeng and his parents rushed over to see what was going on in the washroom.
They immediately saw Xiang'er crouched on the floor, her face filled with terror.
Ding Li was shocked, her eyes wide as she braced herself against the counter, panic coursing through her.
Ye Mom looked at the two girls and then at the washroom. There was nothing there! Why was Xiang'er screaming? Annoyed, she asked, "What happened? What's going on?"
Xiang'er's face was pale, her body trembling, lacking the courage to lift her head and show her face. In her mind, she had already been burned beyond recognition, becoming a hideous monster.
Ye Chenfeng helped Ding Li up and looked at Xiang'er. She curled up into a ball, shivering.
“Mom, Ding Li is pregnant. Please take care of her.” Ding Li is pregnant? Ye Mom and Ye Dad were in disbelief, their mouths agape as they helped support Ding Li. They exchanged knowing glances and took the frightened Ding Li to the living room.
Ye Chenfeng had thought long and hard before finally deciding to tell his parents about this.
Ding Li was carrying his child, which meant she was having their parents' grandchild, their own flesh and blood. Surely they would treat Ding Li better!
As expected, once Ye Dad and Ye Mom learned that Ding Li was pregnant with Ye Chenfeng's child, their attitude towards her did a complete turnaround. They fussed over her with tea and fruit, insisting that she sit on the sofa and not move for fear of disturbing the pregnancy.
In the washroom, Xiang'er calmed down a bit under Ye Chenfeng's comforting words. Encouraged by him, she lifted her head to face the mirror.
Xiang'er trembled as she touched her face. Just as Qin Keqing had said, she would surely grow into a beauty that could bring disaster to the nation. Xiang'er had very fair skin, not at all resembling a child from the countryside. She looked very much like her aunt, Sister Sun—innocent and beautiful.
“See? There's nothing wrong! You were just having a nightmare and haven't fully woken up yet; it was all an illusion. You're still as beautiful and lovely as ever,” Ye Chenfeng wanted to comfort Xiang'er and randomly said what he thought she would like to hear.
“Am I really beautiful?” Xiang'er didn't look in the mirror but turned to Ye Chenfeng, her pale face gaining a hint of color.
“Yes! If you don't believe me, go ask Ding Li Sister.” Ye Chenfeng led the way out of the washroom to check on Ding Li in the living room.
Xiang'er replied with an “mm” and followed behind him.
Ye Chenfeng explained to his parents that Xiang'er had just experienced a chain reaction from a nightmare; there was actually nothing wrong.
“What we want to know isn't this; come with us,” Ye Mom said. Although she was quite pleased about Ye Chenfeng having a child, there was a problem: he had a child now—did he still have time for his studies? Besides, he was still a student; raising a child would require a lot of money.
There were expenses for formula milk and diapers.
Just giving birth would cost a significant amount. If it was a natural birth, it might be manageable, but if something unexpected happened, then the baby would need to stay in an incubator or something similar. All of this added up to considerable expenses.
Ye Chenfeng's heart raced as he followed his parents into the master bedroom.
The master bedroom was his parents' sanctuary.
He rarely came here unless necessary.
As a child, he was afraid of the dark and would sometimes sneak in to sleep with them. That was acceptable when he was younger, but as he grew up, he had been scolded for it.
Upon entering the master bedroom, he found his parents sighing heavily, not uttering a word.
Seeing their gloomy expressions, Ye Chenfeng remarked, "You called me here just to listen to your sighs?"
Ye Mom exchanged a glance with Ye Dad, and after a moment of hesitation, she forced a smile and said, "Child, is Ding Li's baby really yours?"
"What do you mean by that?" Ye Chenfeng felt a mix of frustration and anger but struggled to contain it.
"With the Spring Festival approaching, I don't want our home to be chaotic. Since this has happened, why don't we just settle this matter?" Ye Dad suggested in a conciliatory tone.
"I... I don't know how this happened," Ye Mom admitted. She wanted a grandchild but was also concerned about Ye Chenfeng's future and the costs associated with raising a child.
"Dad, are you talking about marriage?" Ye Chenfeng asked eagerly.
"Marriage! If you want to continue your studies, then forget about marriage," Ye Dad's firm words chilled Ye Chenfeng's heart.
"Then what were you just talking about?"
"What your dad means is that we should send Xiang'er to a welfare home, let Ding Li keep the baby, and wait until you finish your graduate studies before getting married," Ye Mom interjected quickly.
"What are you talking about? I'm an adult now; I need to have my own opinions. So I must get married, and Xiang'er has to stay by my side," Ye Chenfeng declared firmly before striding out of the master bedroom.
In the living room, Xiang'er was apologizing to Ding Li.
"Sister, I scared you just now, didn't I?" Xiang'er suddenly envied Ding Li Sister. Why couldn't she grow up? If she did, she could rightfully compete with Ding Li Sister for Chenfeng Brother.
Ye Chenfeng smiled as he watched Xiang'er chatting with Ding Li and went to the kitchen, thinking of preparing something delicious to treat Ding Li and Xiang'er.
In the master bedroom, the couple was troubled. Finally, Ye Mom reluctantly took out all their savings and counted them—there were a total of eighty thousand.
This wasn't even enough for Ye Chenfeng's wedding expenses, let alone the costs of having a child.
Not to mention their desire to adopt Xiang'er.
Seeing Ye Mom's worried expression, with her brows furrowed and a frown on her face, Ye Dad felt sorry for her. He chuckled and said, "Honey, I still have some pocket money..."
Ye Mom took the bank card that Ye Dad handed over, her heart racing as she hurriedly asked, "How much?"
Ye Dad mysteriously held up two fingers and said, "This amount."
Ye Mom raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Two thousand?"
Ye Dad shook his head.
"Twenty thousand?"
Ye Dad nodded.
"That's still not enough!" Ye Mom sighed, gripping the bank card tightly. Her frown never relaxed. "This is really frustrating; if only I had known..."
Ye Dad quickly interrupted, fearing his wife would say something inappropriate. "Don't say that."
"What am I saying that's inappropriate? I'm just saying that if I had known earlier, we should have just had a daughter; it would save us from worrying about these trivial matters."
"Go make dinner; I'll talk to the kids." Ye Dad couldn't bear to continue discussing this with his wife. Ye Chenfeng's education expenses, household costs, food—everything required money. If it weren't for him working overtime, they wouldn't even have this little pocket money!
Ye Mom was tight-fisted; once the money was in her hands, not a single cent would slip away.
There were plenty of women who played mahjong, but Ye Dad knew that his wife had never played even once, unwilling to risk losing the hard-earned money.
"Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings," he sighed. "All we can do is our best and leave the rest to fate!"
Ye Chenfeng went to the kitchen, busying himself for half the day, but in the end, it was still Ye Mom who prepared the meal.
They ate in the living room.
Xiang'er deliberately chose to sit next to Ye Chenfeng.
Ding Li, being pregnant, received special care from the whole family.
Ye Mom and Ye Dad took turns serving food into her bowl, making Xiang'er green with envy!
"Chenfeng Brother, I want to eat eggs and tomatoes." Even though the dishes were within reach, Xiang'er insisted on acting cute and asking Ye Chenfeng for help.
Seeing this scene made Ye Mom very angry.
Ye Dad secretly smiled, thinking his son's charm was strong enough to win over everyone, young and old alike.
Ding Li noticed Xiang'er’s antics but didn’t show it on her face. She continued to act like a big sister, taking care of Xiang'er.
After dinner, the family engaged in a heated debate about Ding Li's pregnancy and whether to keep Xiang'er around.
Ye Mom was adamant about not letting Xiang'er stay. Ye Dad remained neutral, while Ye Chenfeng found himself fighting alone. Now Ding Li had joined in since she was carrying Ye Chenfeng's child; sooner or later, she would be part of the Ye Family.
After much back-and-forth, Ye Dad finally persuaded Ye Chenfeng to agree to send Xiang'er to the Purple City Welfare Institute.
"Mom and Dad, I agree with sending Xiang'er to the welfare institute, but let her stay here until after the Spring Festival before we take her," Ye Chenfeng said. This was just a delaying tactic. He still had a few good friends who had expressed their willingness to help Xiang'er before heading home!
Thus, Xiang'er temporarily stayed at Ye Chenfeng's home.
Ye Dad and Ye Mom discussed and agreed to hold a simple wedding banquet without a certificate. The guests were primarily from the Ye Family, but they also invited Su Dad and Su Mother.
Upon hearing that Ding Li was pregnant, Su Dad and Su Mother were overjoyed, their smiles wide enough to make it seem like their mouths would split.
Immediately, they promised that as long as Ding Li gave birth to the child, they would cover the cost of baby formula. They were even willing to raise the child themselves, as long as Ye Chenfeng had no objections.
Xiang'er was quite sensible; upon seeing Su Dad and Su Mother, she called them "godfather" and "godmother." Her sweet little voice made people feel affectionate and heartbroken at the same time.
Thus, the debate within the Ye Family came to an end. From then on, they continued to keep an eye on the matter concerning the child in Ding Li's belly.
However, Xiang'er did not particularly like the child in Ding Li's womb.
She remembered standing in front of the mirror in the washroom when Ding Li stood at the door. She witnessed a wisp of smoke with sparks suddenly dart into Ding Li's sister's belly.
Xiang'er had a bad feeling; she believed that the child in Ding Li's sister's womb was a Demon.
She had seen the ritual for expelling Demons in Zhanglin Village. The shaman, adorned with bells, raised a flag decorated with various colors and designs, dancing around objects possessed by Demons, successfully driving them away.
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