DEG - Chapter 17
Chapter 17: Oh No, Her Nanqiu's Been Stunned Silly with Joy
The manor hadn't changed, but the room's decorations were familiar yet strange.
Jiang Xun had never seen Nanqiu use this kind of decorative style. She had always been bright and radiant, never so old-fashioned and retro.
Although it was still exquisite and luxurious, it inevitably carried an air of age.
But when Jiang Xun took a closer look, she froze on the spot.
Because many of the decorations in this room were originally her things.
The robot butler by the bed was a birthday gift she had personally made and recorded her voice for, to give to Nanqiu.
In the display cabinet were her gold medal and trophy from the military academy tournament victory. She had hung the gold medal around Nanqiu's neck right after winning it, but she had kept the trophy for herself.
The carpet and drapes that were originally in her room had become Nanqiu's decorations.
The white rose garden she had planted for Nanqiu was well-tended and still in full bloom.
The snow leopard, Xiao Mi, stood by the window, tilting its head in confusion, its nose twitching as if sniffing her scent...
It seemed she could tell a story, a reason for being, for every single item.
There were so many things, familiar yet strange, for which she couldn't find the fragments of memory in her blank mind.
The only fresh thing in the room was probably the delicate bouquet of red roses on the bedside table. There were still dewdrops on the petals, and a bow with scattered gold glitter was tied around the stems.
It looked a little familiar.
Like the bouquet she had given Nanqiu at her university graduation ball a year ago.
But that one should have withered long ago, right?
Jiang Xun thought uncertainly.
In the room where Nanqiu and her lover should have been living, it was instead filled with traces of her existence.
For a moment, Jiang Xun felt a sense of suffocation.
After she died, did Nanqiu live here?
Jiang Xun pressed her lips into a thin line, her heart in turmoil. Unfortunately, she didn't have much time to explore the room.
She heard the sound of rushing footsteps.
It was Zuo Si.
The room's protective shield descended, protecting the house while also preventing anyone inside from escaping.
Jiang Xun instantly realized that the people in the manor had seen her break into Nanqiu's room through the surveillance system.
They had even recognized her, and not knowing how to make a decision, immediately reported it to Nanqiu's assistant.
It was a pity they didn't report it directly to Nanqiu.
Jiang Xun felt regretful and decided to hide first.
After all, Zuo Si was very cautious. If she couldn't be certain that this was Jiang Xun, she would arrest her directly, probably waiting until after Nanqiu's birthday to release her and let Nanqiu identify her.
But that would waste a lot of time.
But if the room's layout hadn't changed...
Jiang Xun rolled under the bed, lifted a floor tile, entered a password, and a hidden passage was immediately revealed.
She jumped in.
This was her and Nanqiu's secret space.
It was a small basement where they used to lie together on a soft bed, sharing private whispers, talking about the past and the future, and treasuring things they both found precious.
The layout here wouldn't have changed, right?
Jiang Xun thought uncertainly.
Then she froze in place.
In the small space, the soft bed still took up most of the room.
But on the photo wall, all the pictures had changed.
The landscape photos Nanqiu had casually taken were all gone, replaced entirely by photos of Jiang Xun.
A photo of her winning the military academy tournament, accepting the award on stage. She was smiling lightly then, but the photo couldn't hide her untamable spirit and brilliance.
Them at a ball, dancing together, Nanqiu's white skirt fluttering. In the luxurious venue, it was as romantic as a wedding.
These were all familiar photos that Nanqiu had once loved.
But there were many more that she didn't know about.
Nanqiu had taken them at some unknown time, or perhaps she had captured the images from some surveillance footage.
Her, with an injury to her abdomen, biting the corner of her clothes, long lashes lowered, casually applying medicine to herself.
Her, lying in bed, sleeping sprawled out, but tightly hugging Nanqiu's arm.
Her, standing on a high platform, the wind lifting her long hair, her expression cold, sharp, and serious, as if giving a speech.
Her, in the morning light, eyelids heavy with sleep, biting a hair tie as she carelessly tied up her hair.
There were many scenes she herself wasn't aware of, but Nanqiu had recorded them in photos.
Jiang Xun couldn't help but be dazed. Although she found it inexplicably strange, her heart was swelling, and turbulent emotions felt like they were about to overflow.
So, was this the room where she commemorated her?
Jiang Xun was very uncertain.
She heard Zuo Si leave, but she wasn't in a hurry to go. Instead, she looked at the photos one by one, trying to piece together memories she had almost forgotten.
Meanwhile, Zuo Si, having failed to find the intruder, rubbed her temples, feeling a deep headache.
That person had brazenly walked into the surveillance view, clearly wanting to be discovered.
But because she looked so much like the taboo existence in this manor, the person in charge had informed her the moment they saw the photo.
In that instant, Zuo Si knew who it was.
It was that Jiang Xun clone named Jiang Xun.
She really came to the family head's birthday banquet, and even broke into the family head's room.
Honestly, Zuo Si's feelings about her were complicated.
On one hand, she felt she was a fake, but on the other, she had watched all the Descenders' edited clips about her story.
This clone was just too similar to Jiang Xun.
Some of her behavioral logic was even more alike than the holographic image the family head had created.
Could it really be as the Descenders said?
Jiang Xun was reborn?
After all, rebirth seemed to be a very common phenomenon over on Blue Star...
With no other choice, Zuo Si had to report Jiang Xun's intrusion to Luo Nanqiu.
At that moment, Luo Nanqiu was in her study approving official documents. Her long lashes cast a shadow in the light, and her violet eyes were not as clear as they were in her youth.
Before receiving Zuo Si's message, she rarely rested. After approving these documents, she still had to consider how to deal with that Little Emperor.
When would Qi Yi finally die?
Luo Nanqiu couldn't help but wonder.
Only when all her enemies were dead would she have no reason to continue clinging to existence in this world.
Then, when she reached the underworld, she would have an explanation for Jiang Xun.
She wanted to live...
But Qi Yi wasn't obliging.
A faint trace of a smile touched her lips, but after she read Zuo Si's message clearly, the cold smile froze on her face.
She knew Zuo Si would definitely search with all her might.
There weren't many places to hide in her room, and Xiao Mi hadn't swallowed one of the intruder's legs whole.
Luo Nanqiu's mind instantly started buzzing, her heart about to leap out of her chest.
The official duties she used to numb herself, to fill all her time, suddenly became tasteless.
She couldn't hold back; she just wanted to return to her room immediately, right now.
She wanted to know if that Jiang Xun really knew about their secret space.
She shot up and ran out, even stumbling a few times because she stepped on her long skirt.
She ran to the room and saw the snow leopard Xiao Mi standing outside the window, looking relaxed. It even meowed at her.
Luo Nanqiu could barely control her breathing and heartbeat.
She scrambled under the bed, lifted the tile, entered the password, and jumped down.
With a muffled grunt, she fell into someone's arms.
She heard that person say in an extremely cheerful voice, "Nanqiu!"
"I'm back!" She held her, nuzzling against her neck like a very affectionate puppy.
Luo Nanqiu froze on the spot.
Her violet eyes instantly filled with moisture. She stiffly turned her head and saw an extremely familiar face.
The curve of the smile was exactly the same.
Jiang Xun's eyes were sparkling as she looked at her.
Large teardrops fell uncontrollably from Luo Nanqiu's eyes.
Luo Nanqiu pressed her lips together, trying to keep her mind calm, trying to figure out if this Jiang Xun was a fake.
After all, the dead cannot be resurrected.
But her body's instincts completely suppressed her reason.
Her brain was screaming frantically, "It's Ah Xun! It's Ah Xun!"
Her cold fingertips uncontrollably caressed Jiang Xun's cheek, as if trying to use her fingers to confirm her existence in place of her tear-blurred eyes.
Jiang Xun let her touch her.
But she also unconsciously bit her lip.
Her heart was unconsciously infected with a trace of Luo Nanqiu's sorrow.
"Nanqiu..." she mumbled.
"I'm sorry."
Jiang Xun's long lashes lowered, her gaze dimming.
She didn't know why she was apologizing, but she felt that she should be.
Because of her death.
Because she was so late.
She had been gone from Luo Nanqiu's world for six years.
But Luo Nanqiu covered her eyes.
Jiang Xun lost her sight, but she could feel the slight trembling of Luo Nanqiu's palm.
She could more clearly perceive Luo Nanqiu's choked breaths, feel her tears falling in large drops.
A sense of guilt immediately welled up in Jiang Xun's heart.
When she was dying, her last thought was: what would Nanqiu do after she died?
In the eyes of outsiders, she wasn't a necessity for Nanqiu.
But only they themselves knew.
They were each other's most important person.
Jiang Xun kept apologizing.
Luo Nanqiu's mind, which had still held a sliver of doubt, completely lost its reason.
She was muddled and dazed, following her instincts to hug Jiang Xun and cry her heart out. Large tears overflowed, her thin shoulder blades trembled slightly, and her tears soaked Jiang Xun's shirt.
Until Luo Nanqiu cried herself tired and was held by Jiang Xun on the soft, large bed.
Luo Nanqiu hugged her knees, staring at Jiang Xun's figure without blinking, with an intensity that would make anyone's skin crawl.
But Jiang Xun wouldn't. She only felt guilt, only felt heartache.
Jiang Xun sat on the side of the bed, held out her wrist, and deliberately put on a pitiful expression. "Nanqiu, I'm handcuffed."
Her slender, fair wrist looked even more delicate bound by the black handcuffs.
To prevent Jiang Xun from escaping, the Little Emperor had put ability-suppressing handcuffs on her.
But in Jiang Xun's view, the biggest use for these handcuffs was preventing her from wiping away Luo Nanqiu's tears.
Luo Nanqiu's gaze lowered to the handcuffs, then returned to Jiang Xun's face.
She gave a sluggish "Oh."
She reached out and grabbed the chain connecting the handcuffs.
And pulled Jiang Xun closer.
Luo Nanqiu's dark hair was a bit messy now, and her violet eyes had become clear and calm again.
But because she had cried, the corners of her eyes were tinged with a moist red, as vivid as peach blossoms.
But perhaps because she had been melancholic for too long, she no longer had the pampered look of her youth when she cried, that sort of grievance that needed coaxing.
Now, just a press of her lips added an air of gloom and silence.
Coincidentally, she was wearing a black gauze dress today.
It inexplicably gave off a sense of widowhood.
She wanted to slap herself. What on earth was she thinking?!
But Nanqiu had really changed so much.
Before, she was a little sister who needed her care. Now, even after a crying spell, she had the feel of a mature, beautiful older sister.
Jiang Xun's gaze couldn't help but shift away slightly.
Her heart also beat a little faster out of a guilty conscience.
But Luo Nanqiu remained silent for far too long.
Jiang Xun's arm grew stiff from waiting. She could only speak again, aggrieved, "Nanqiu, aren't you going to unlock them for me?"
Luo Nanqiu's thin lips pressed together slightly. "Mm."
But she didn't move, just continued to watch her intently.
Oh no, her Nanqiu's been stunned silly with joy.
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