Looking at the tissue Xia Qingyu handed over, Nie Qingkong hesitated, "250? Doesn't sound good..."
"This one's a freebie, no charge," Xia Qingyu's lips curved upwards. "Buy four, get one free."
"Thanks." Taking the tissue, Nie Qingkong blinked, feeling something was a bit off.
"Remember, you owe me 200 yuan," Xia Qingyu stated seriously, looking into Nie Qingkong's eyes. "If you dare to harm anyone around me again, I'll collect it with interest, remember that!"
With that, Xia Qingyu closed the door directly in Nie Qingkong's sight.
Looking at the firmly shut door, Nie Qingkong rubbed his still sore and aching nose bridge, then looked at the tissue in his palm, his lips curving slightly upwards.
Xia Qingyu was still the same Xia Qingyu he knew.
Fierce on the outside, but her heart was kinder and softer than anyone's, and she even gave him a tissue~
Turning around, Nie Qingkong met a pair of eyes full of amusement.
Nie Qingkong's expression stiffened, and the hand holding the tissue immediately hid behind his back.
"This nose..." Xia Qing Tian chuckled and said, "Qingyu really went hard on you. Looks like she was furious."
Nie Qingkong's expression was a bit awkward. He frowned slightly, looking at Xia Qing Tian, and asked, "What exactly do you want!"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Xia Qing Tian said, "I already warned you."
Xia Qing Tian pointed to his eyes. "When you open the door, look ahead, pay attention." Xia Qing Tian then pointed at Nie Qingkong, "You might get beaten."
After explaining, Xia Qing Tian shook his head helplessly. "You can't even pick up on such an obvious hint?"
Nie Qingkong's mouth twitched slightly. Was that what he meant?
It would be a miracle if he knew!
"Anyway," Xia Qing Tian said, crossing his arms, "I helped you just now, right?"
Nie Qingkong didn't want to admit it but couldn't deny it. He warily looked at Xia Qing Tian and asked, "What do you want?"
"Don't be nervous, I just want our Young Master to do me a small favor," Xia Qing Tian said with a smile, walking towards Nie Qingkong. "A, very small, very small favor."
Watching Xia Qing Tian walk closer step by step, Nie Qingkong gasped, feeling his heart race and a cold sweat break out on his back.
What was this demon going to do now!
...
Gaia's mission today was a failure.
Being spared from death was already the master's mercy.
Gaia knew she should be grateful.
But it was late at night, and Gaia didn't know where she could go.
The fireworks outside continued, the excited cheers of guests could be heard from the deck, and the smell of sulfur filled the air.
Passing by a window, Gaia glimpsed the fireworks-filled sky through the glass. In her memory, she had seen a similar scene.
Back then, before the kidnapping incident, her family of five stood by the riverbank, and it seemed someone was proposing, setting off many fireworks.
She couldn't remember the past clearly, but she remembered that fireworks display very well.
Dazzling fireworks, a lively crowd, and her father holding her, his stubble a little prickly.
Her sister was held by her mother, giggling at the fireworks.
Her brother tilted his head up, with two shiny snot trails under his nose, illuminated by the fireworks.
...
A sharp, high-frequency sound startled Gaia from her memories. Her gaze darkened, and she immediately rushed in the direction of the sound.
The sound guided her to the place where she had accidentally injured the master's only daughter.
As she stepped into the hall, Gaia hesitated, her steps faltering.
The whistling sound that had summoned her had already stopped.
After freezing in place for a moment, Gaia felt something was wrong. Just as she turned to leave, she heard the sound of a piano.
The piano notes were clear and crisp, a fluent melody echoing, it was a nursery rhyme.
"The Doll and the Bear Dance."
For some reason, the melody felt very familiar, as if a valve in her memory had been opened.
Her fingers unconsciously moved along, as if she knew how to play it too...
Stepping forward, Gaia approached the piano, her eyes hazy and hesitant.
It felt like something very important had been forgotten, what was it?
It seemed to be related to those dazzling fireworks, related to this piano piece, related to her family.
What was it?
"Miss Li." A gentle and pleasant female voice came along with the piano music.
Gaia, still in a daze, jolted and turned around, her eyes filled with wariness as she looked at the still playing piano and the woman behind it.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Xia Qing Tian," Xia Qing Tian's hands didn't stop as she spoke softly, "I'm your sister's best friend."
"Sister?" Gaia frowned and said coldly, "Who is playing tricks! I don't have a sister at all!"
"You really don't have a sister?" Xia Qing Tian's fingers hovered above the keys, no longer playing.
"My sister died in an accident long ago! You lured me here like this! What are your intentions!" Gaia immediately drew the dagger hidden beneath her skirt and held it in front of her, shouting, "Get out!"
"Died?" Xia Qing Tian chuckled, stood up, walked around the piano, and slowly approached Gaia. "But we were just chatting about you not long ago, talking about things before you were kidnapped. You practiced the piano for a long time, you liked to wear blue cotton dresses, and that time your family went to see the fireworks..."
The moment Gaia saw Xia Qing Tian emerge, she recognized her as the enemy who had tried to stop her with a gun. She immediately lunged forward, preparing to stab the dagger into Xia Qing Tian's chest, to end her life.
But as she heard Xia Qing Tian mention that grand fireworks display, Gaia's body stiffened. She looked at Xia Qing Tian's eyes in disbelief, as if searching for any trace of a lie.
"Someone was proposing, right?" Xia Qing Tian saw Gaia stop her movements and continued, "By the riverbank, it was so cold that snot was running down our noses, and the fireworks were so beautiful, lighting up half the sky, just like tonight."
Seeing Gaia's hesitation and confusion, Xia Qing Tian felt a sense of relief in her heart, knowing that Li Xiaozhong was reliable.
These memories, after so long, he still remembered them, which was enough to prove that the Li family also placed great importance on their eldest daughter.
"Miss Li, your family misses you very much," Xia Qing Tian said, looking at Gaia, who had been trained into a killing machine, with a hint of heartache in her voice.
She should have grown up by her parents' side, perhaps becoming a carefree girl like Li Xiaoxiao, or maybe a reliable and steady elder sister.
She should never have become like this.
"Li?" Gaia murmured the surname, and it seemed as if something sealed in her mind was surfacing, or perhaps a hand was forcefully trying to focus on the door that was about to open.
The direct result of their confrontation was a burst of heart-wrenching pain.
"Ah... So painful!" The dagger fell from Gaia's hand onto the ground, and she collapsed to the side, her strength gone.
"Miss Li!" Xia Qing Tian was stunned and immediately reached out to catch Gaia.
Closing her eyes, Gaia was in Xia Qing Tian's arms, her vision went black, and in intense pain, she fainted.