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墨書 Inktalez
Ye Chenfeng and his mother were outside, whispering to each other about who knows what, while Ding Li, feeling frustrated, leaned against the bed and fell asleep.
It must be said that Ye Chenfeng was quite a decisive person. He did not follow his mother's advice to sleep in a separate room from Ding Li on their wedding night. After his mother stormed off in anger, he returned to the new bedroom.
Ding Li was very tired; she sensed Ye Chenfeng's return but was too lazy to open her eyes.
Ye Chenfeng helped her out of her bright red wedding dress, took off her shoes, and settled her comfortably in bed. Only then did he head to the bathroom to take a shower before going to sleep.
In another room, Xiang'er sneezed softly in her sleep and woke up just in time.
Looking outside, she saw that it had been dark for quite a while, and the house was very quiet.
There were no sounds from the television, no rustling of newspapers, and no frantic calls from Ye Mom.
Everyone was asleep! Even the furniture in the room seemed to be in slumber.
Only the tireless ticking clock continued its relentless march, tick-tock, tick-tock.
Xiang'er yawned, still thinking about her earlier sneeze. There was a saying in the countryside that sneezing for no reason meant someone was cursing you behind your back. Who could it be? Xiang'er pulled her blanket tighter; this bedroom felt too small.
Compared to Chenfeng's large bedroom, their room could easily be converted into two smaller ones.
Unable to sleep, Xiang'er cast a disdainful glance at the little white rabbit-shaped ticking clock. Annoyed, she got up and slapped it with a loud smack. The persistent tick-tock continued unabated, sounding particularly jarring in the quiet atmosphere.
Frustrated, Xiang'er picked up the alarm clock and removed its battery, hands on her hips as she scolded, "Let's see how you sound now."
“Xiang'er.” The voice from behind startled Xiang'er instinctively.
“Who!”
There was no one in the bedroom, except for Xiang'er herself and a New Year Picture hanging on the wall. Seeing the New Year Picture made Xiang'er furious; it was newly bought by Ye Dad, not to add cheer to the bedroom, but with the hope of using it as a template.
Ye Dad hoped that Ding Li would expand the Ye Family, starting with a big Fat Boy, just like the chubby little baby in the New Year Picture.
Xiang'er glared at the Fat Boy in the New Year Picture, her anger boiling over. She really wanted to tear that painting down.
Suddenly, something terrifying happened to the baby in the New Year Picture. His eyes were burning, and then his chubby little hands caught fire. An incredibly bizarre scene unfolded. The Fat Boy actually stood up and shouted, “Xiang'er.”
It must be an illusion; she was definitely seeing things. Xiang'er rubbed her eyes vigorously, and when she looked again, the baby in the New Year Picture was perfectly fine, smiling broadly with an adorable expression. There was no fire, no smoke, nothing at all.
How strange; how could she have had such an illusion just now?
Xiang'er turned back to her bed, but her eyes remained fixed on the New Year Picture as her mind wandered into daydreams. It must be an invisible person playing tricks; the invisible one in Ding Li's belly was a Demon. With this thought, she continued to sleep.
Tossing and turning in bed, she couldn’t fall asleep, feeling as if there were another pair of eyes in the room.
These eyes were different from others; they were like eyes from flames, possessing a strange power that pierced through everything, staring at her intently from the shadows.
The more Xiang'er thought about it, the more frightened she became. She pulled the blanket over her head and told herself that it was nothing but daydreaming.
In that dark cocoon filled with an indescribable scent, she fell into a deep sleep.
“Xiang'er.”
The call echoed once more, jolting Xiang'er awake. She opened her eyes, only to be met with darkness.
In this pure black space, she saw a swirling fireball.
Within the fireball was a face.
Indeed, it was a face, and this time she could see it clearly.
It was a very young face, with eyes that seemed to burn. Flames flickered from his mouth as he slowly approached Xiang'er. Surrounding the fireball was a dark, oppressive aura, filled with malevolence. At that moment, he appeared to be enveloped by this sinister energy, resembling an Evil Spirit clawing its way out of hell.
Xiang'er gasped in shock and hurriedly stepped back. “Who… who are you?”
The fireball laughed, a strange and eerie laugh.
“Xiao Xiao…”
“Don’t come any closer! Who are you?” Unable to escape his gaze, Xiang'er clutched her head in despair and crouched down. She felt trapped, as if there were no way out in any direction, like she was in a tiny space where one misstep could lead her to an abyss.
“Little girl, don’t be afraid. I’m here to help you.” His appearance was terrifying, and his voice carried an indescribable chill.
Xiang'er shook her head vigorously, refusing to listen to such a sinister voice. She didn’t want to see this horrifying figure when she opened her eyes again. She desperately tried to calm herself, hoping that when she opened her eyes the next moment, everything would be gone—that it would all just be a figment of her imagination.
One second, two seconds, three seconds—
Xiang'er opened her eyes once more. The fireball was still there, that face was still there, and that chilling expression loomed before her, piercing through her consciousness.
"Ah... ahhh..."
Xiang'er tried to scream, hoping to alert someone. She clearly remembered that there were many people in this room: Ye Mom, Ye Dad, her Chenfeng Brother, and her Ding Li Sister who was pregnant with a Demon child.
Yes, it must be the demon child in Ding Li Sister's belly causing this.
With this thought, Ding Li felt a surge of courage and asked the fireball figure before her, "Who are you? Why are you helping me?"
The fireball let out another strange laugh, then spoke in a harsh voice, "I am like you; we come from the flames. My name is Xiong Biao. I can smell the scent of flames on you; only you can see me, and only I understand you."
Xiong Biao—Xiang'er found this name unfamiliar. "I don't know you. Who exactly are you?"
"Little girl, do you want to be with Chenfeng Brother?" Xiong Biao avoided revealing his identity and instead lured Xiang'er in.
"But... but Chenfeng Brother only sees me as a sister. They want to send me to the orphanage."
"NO, little girl. As long as you agree to cooperate with me, they won't send you to the orphanage. Even if you do end up there, with my protection, no one will dare to bully you."
Xiang'er thought that this Xiong Biao brother was really nice.
Xiong Biao saw through the little girl's thoughts and raised a finger. "Call me 'Uncle.' I can't remember my age right now, so it's best if you just call me Uncle."
"Uncle, could you please not appear in front of me like this? I'm really scared."
"Hey there, did I scare you?" Xiong Biao said, and as the fireball vanished and the smoke cleared, a tall man with a fierce expression appeared before Xiang'er.
Seeing this man, Xiang'er trembled and instinctively took a step back.
"Don't be afraid. As long as you agree to cooperate with me, we will become the best of friends. Whatever you need, I can help you with," Xiong Biao forced a friendly smile and reached out his hand toward Xiang'er.
Xiang'er nervously swallowed and asked, "How do we cooperate?"
"You'll understand once you follow my instructions."
"Oh."
After exchanging a few words with Xiong Biao, Xiang'er felt her fear lessen and stopped retreating. She was curious about the way Xiong Biao proposed to cooperate.
Xiong Biao instructed Xiang'er to close her eyes and then slowly raised his hand. With a soft hiss, Xiang'er felt a sharp pain in her chest, accompanied by a burning sensation. In a panic, she opened her eyes and saw Xiong Biao's finger glowing with an eerie red flame as it touched her chest.
The innate shyness and panic of the girl caused Xiang'er to let out a desperate scream.
Ye Chenfeng was the first to hear Xiang'er's cry. He scrambled up, not having time to explain to Ding Li what was happening, and hurried straight to Xiang'er's bedroom door.
"Xiang'er! Xiang'er, are you okay?"
Ye Chenfeng's shout startled his parents.
In an instant, the entire Ye Family was alarmed.
The room was as bright as day, all attention focused on Xiang'er’s door.
The door wouldn’t budge; it must have been locked from the inside by Xiang'er.
“Xiang'er, what are you shouting about?” Ye Mom searched frantically for the key to the door, but in vain. Seeing Ding Li also awake, she urged her to go back to sleep. “You should sleep; Xiang'er must be having a nightmare. It’s probably nothing serious.”
Ye Chenfeng sought Ye Dad's opinion and prepared to shoulder the door open.
But unexpectedly, the door swung open, revealing a sleepy Xiang'er who was still yawning.
“Are you okay?”
Xiang'er smiled sheepishly and said, “I’m fine; I just had a nightmare.”
Hearing this, Ye Chenfeng couldn’t help but chuckle. “Come on, if you’re going to have nightmares, at least don’t scare someone half to death.”
Xiang'er made a silly face and stuck out her tongue, apologizing, “I’m sorry.”
“Ugh, you really know how to cause trouble,” Ye Mom shot her an annoyed glance before turning back with Ye Dad to continue their sleep.
Ye Chenfeng was the last to leave. He looked at Xiang'er and then into her room, thinking there shouldn’t be anything wrong. Yet, he felt an inexplicable sense of unease creeping in.
“Chenfeng Brother, are you still going to take me to the orphanage with Ye Mom?”
“I’m still considering it. Let me discuss it with your brothers tomorrow before making a decision.”
"Oh."
Xiang'er watched Chenfeng Brother leave, and as the door closed, she hurried back to the bed. She furrowed her brows, deep in thought about what had just happened; it felt like a strange dream. However, when she lifted her shirt, she revealed a butterfly-shaped scar.
The shape was ugly, resembling a dancing butterfly, and it was red.
This scar didn't look like a tattoo; it seemed more like a burn mark.
Yet Xiang'er had no recollection of such a peculiar scar on her body until just seconds after that strange dream. Feeling a sharp pain in her chest, she glanced down and was shocked to discover the butterfly-shaped scar had appeared.
Feeling frustrated, Xiang'er lay down again, unable to make sense of it all, slipping back into a state of insomnia.
After tossing and turning for a while, she vaguely heard someone calling her name. When she opened her eyes, she saw the face from her dream again; the owner of that face was Xiong Biao.
Xiong Biao said, "From now on, we are bound by a contract. You are my contracted person, and whatever happens to you, I will be able to sense it..."
"No... no way... what contract? Contracted person? I don't want this..." Xiang'er struggled, trying to break free from an inexplicable bond.
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