Volume 1 Chapter 93: The Young Lady, the Maid, and the Dream
A joke was still just a joke. “Your Majesty” really sounded way too childish... like one of those old internet memes from years ago.
Even though she tried hard to keep up with popular culture, was she really just a middle-aged office worker who could not follow modern trends anymore? No wonder Xingwan used to laugh at her every day...
Still, the non-human girl in front of her probably could not understand why she was laughing anyway.
Thinking this, Bai Muxue shook her head and smiled helplessly.
“Eh? Didn’t you just tell me to call you ‘Your Majesty’? Then what should I call you?”
Of course, Heidi had no idea what Bai Muxue was thinking. Seeing the girl reject the title she had just suggested herself, Heidi tilted her head in confusion and asked.
Although “Your Majesty” did sound a little strange, it was not impossible if Miss Kaguya wanted her to say it...
But why did she deny the title herself afterward?
Miss Kaguya really is an unfathomable person!
Heidi silently came to that conclusion in her heart.
“Hm? Anything is fine,” Bai Muxue answered without thinking. “For example...”
She paused for a moment. Not wanting to spend too much time on this topic, she casually said,
“Just call me Young Lady.”
After all, everyone in the Bai family called her that already, so there was nothing wrong with it!
“Young Lady? Alright...”
It definitely sounded smoother than “Your Majesty”...
Heidi obediently nodded. Then she lightly coughed twice, straightened her small face, and showed a serious expression.
“Then, Young Lady, I, Heidi Theresa, from this moment onward, will always stay by your side. I will become your sword and shield and complete every task you give me.”
A black magic staff appeared in the girl’s hand. She knelt on one knee and quietly but seriously looked at Bai Muxue. Her red eyes were unbelievably clear, and under the cold moonlight falling over her body, the clumsy and timid girl strangely gained a different kind of charm.
“Ahem... alright, get up, get up. There’s no need to make it so formal.”
Hearing Heidi seriously say such embarrassing lines out loud, Bai Muxue immediately felt awkward.
She was already used to people calling her “Young Lady” every day, but hearing a young girl seriously swear loyalty to her like this still felt strange.
Still, no matter what Dian was planning, Heidi truly seemed serious about this and clearly did not have any bad intentions.
Heh, I didn’t expect this slightly foolish girl to actually be pretty cute...
Bai Muxue pressed her lips together in a faint smile but said nothing more.
At first, she thought this would become a difficult problem to deal with...
But after thinking about it again, if handled properly, could this not also become an opportunity for herself?
Leaving Sasha aside for now, Heidi herself already possessed strength far beyond ordinary people. As long as things were arranged properly, Bai Muxue could let her handle certain things... things that Bai Muxue herself could not do while unable to transform.
Bai Muxue glanced again at the blood-red life countdown in the corner of her vision, which showed only three days remaining.
A vague plan slowly began to form in her mind.
“Then, Young Lady, where should we go next?”
As Heidi slowly stood up, she asked the question instinctively.
The professor had told her that from now on she should stay with Miss Kaguya... and now the Young Lady had indeed agreed.
But as for where they should go next, or what they should do afterward, Heidi had never even thought about those things before.
If Miss Kaguya had kept refusing her, she would not even have a place to stay anymore. Luckily, she agreed...
Thinking about this, the nervous feeling in Heidi’s heart finally eased.
“Mmm... it’s already so late. Let’s go home first?”
Even though she only had three days left to live, Bai Muxue felt surprisingly relaxed right now. Even her tone sounded lighter than before.
“Eh!”
Hearing this, Heidi suddenly raised her head and said in disbelief,
“Go home? You mean go to Miss Kaguya’s—ah no, Young Lady’s home?”
Based on Heidi’s fixed image of Miss Kaguya, she originally thought Bai Muxue would keep testing and teasing her over and over again. She believed she would need to pass many difficult trials before finally earning the Young Lady’s approval...
But unexpectedly, the Young Lady was directly taking her home!?
Although the Young Lady acted so wild and crazy after transforming, she was actually a very gentle person in private...
A small feeling of gratitude appeared in Heidi’s heart.
“Mhm. Otherwise what? If you don’t want to come, then forget it.”
Bai Muxue raised an eyebrow after hearing that. Without waiting for the still-dazed Heidi, she turned around and started walking away.
“Eh, wait, I’m coming, I’m coming! Wherever Young Lady goes, I’ll go too—”
Under the bright moonlight, the two girls’ lovely shadows stretched long across the quiet and empty street.
………………
The night grew deeper.
Unlike Bai Muxue, who was still wandering outside, Qin Xiyao had already fallen asleep early and drifted into a dream.
In the dream, the once-clear sky had been completely covered by dark clouds. Violent thunder roared endlessly, while fierce winds swept across everything on the ground without mercy.
A flash of lightning split across the sky, and rain slowly began to fall.
At first, there were only a few drops, but soon it turned into a heavy downpour. Raindrops slammed hard against the ground, splashing water everywhere. The water gradually gathered into streams and quickly spread through the streets.
The elementary school-aged Qin Xiyao stood at the school gate, staring blankly at the parents anxiously waiting with umbrellas and the cars parked nearby in small groups.
As the rain grew heavier and heavier, the noisy students all rushed into the rain to find their parents...
Before long, the school gate became empty and silent. Only a few lonely cars remained in the rain, their headlights flickering weakly in the strong wind.
Qin Xiyao knew very well that none of those remaining cars had come for her.
She also clearly understood that her parents were not coming.
But even so, she could not stop herself from imagining it.
Imagining that familiar car driving through the rain toward the school gate, her parents stepping out with umbrellas, then holding her hand and taking her home.
But the more she imagined it, the more tears filled her eyes uncontrollably. She quickly lowered her head and wiped them away with the back of her hand.
She could not show weakness in front of her teachers and classmates. Otherwise, she would definitely cause trouble for her parents.
Maybe...
Maybe I did something wrong, so Mom and Dad are not coming to pick me up?
Was it because my ranking dropped by two places on the last test? Or because I did not finish breakfast a few days ago?
No, that’s not it.
They are not doing this on purpose. They are not ignoring me.
They are just too busy.
Yes... that must be it.
Qin Xiyao patted her already red cheeks, forcing all the tears and sadness back into her heart. Then she placed her schoolbag over her head, gritted her teeth, and ran into the rain.
The rain blurred her vision. The freezing cold spread through her entire body, and the fierce wind nearly blew away her small frame.
“It’s okay... as long as I get home, Mom and Dad will...!”
Holding onto that thought, the young girl clenched her teeth and kept running all the way home without stopping.
Her hands trembling, she took the key out of her completely soaked schoolbag and opened the front door.
But what greeted her was only darkness and dead silence.
She fumbled around and turned on the light. The pale white light illuminated the entire empty living room. The furniture, decorations, and potted plants had all long been moved away. Inside the huge house, only the girl’s thin figure remained.
“Ah...”
Qin Xiyao stood there blankly for a long, long time before finally realizing what had happened.
Oh... right.
Dad had already signed the divorce papers with Mom. He was going to leave soon...
And this place would also be torn down before long.
A strong feeling of dizziness suddenly rushed into her head. Her body, already weak and not good at exercise, had finally reached its limit after being soaked by rain and running so much.
Qin Xiyao collapsed straight onto the cold floor. An unhealthy red color appeared on her cheeks, and her breathing became faster and faster.
All kinds of complicated emotions flooded into her heart at once. The coldness that seemed to reach deep into her bones forced Qin Xiyao to curl up her small body tightly, but she did not even know how to express those feelings.
She could only let her tears mix together with the rainwater dripping from her hair onto the floor.
The heavy thunder and noisy rain filled the sky outside, but inside the silent living room, only the girl’s quiet sobbing could faintly be heard.
“No... don’t...!”
Qin Xiyao suddenly opened her eyes and looked around in panic.
But what appeared before her was not that empty living room.
Instead, it was her own soft and warm bed.
Still half-dazed, Qin Xiyao struggled to sit up. Looking at the bright sunlight outside the window, it took her quite a while before she finally came back to her senses.
“How strange... why did I dream about something from so long ago?”
She had thought she had already forgotten about it, yet the cold and heartbreaking sadness from that dream still felt so clear, as if it had just happened moments ago.
Qin Xiyao sighed and picked up her phone. It was already almost eleven in the morning. For someone like her, who usually slept early and woke up early, this was definitely very unusual.
“Honestly... I thought I had already stopped caring about these things.”
She wiped away the remaining tears at the corners of her eyes, yawned, and slowly walked into the bathroom.
After quickly cleaning up and dressing herself, Qin Xiyao once again returned to her usual elegant and calm appearance, with a faint smile on her lips.
Yes... I’m not the same as before anymore.
Mom treats me very well, and now I also have...
The sweet scene between her and Bai Muxue from the night before yesterday suddenly appeared in her mind again, making the smile on the girl’s face become even brighter and gentler.
Still smiling, she did not think too much about it and directly sent Bai Muxue a video call request.
It’s already this late... surely Xiao Xue isn’t still sleeping, right?
Well, although she does like to have fun, she shouldn’t completely mess up her sleep schedule like this...
Qin Xiyao silently thought to herself while using the phone screen to touch up her makeup.
The video call connected.
Just as Qin Xiyao expected, Bai Muxue appeared on the screen with messy hair and sleepy eyes.
“Uwaaah... morning, Xiyao...”
The girl kept yawning, clearly still half asleep.
Pfft, Xiao Xue really is too...
Qin Xiyao lowered her head with a smile and was just about to tease her a little when she suddenly heard a clear voice with a hint of shyness coming from behind Bai Muxue.
“Young Lady, does this outfit really suit me...? It just feels a little strange...”
A blonde girl wearing a cute maid outfit appeared at the edge of the screen while quietly muttering to herself and peeking around curiously.
Eh?
Looking at the girl who suddenly appeared in view, Qin Xiyao froze in surprise.