Chapter 31

The garden had suffered considerable damage, but fortunately, there were enough townspeople to help. Even so, by the time Xiao Si and Li An’an returned home, the sky had already darkened. The last rays of sunlight vanished, and people on the street were trickling into their homes in twos and threes.

The living room light was on, and two neat rows of flowerpots, at least twenty or thirty of them, were arranged on the coffee table, already filled with soil.

Looking down, she saw freshly blooming lilies on the floor, their roots still attached. They looked incredibly fresh, not like they had just been bought from a market, but more like—

They had been plucked from someone’s flowerbed on the way home.

Yang Caisi, who had been stretching her arms, froze mid-motion. She stared at the dozens of lilies, the corner of her mouth twitching uncontrollably.

Jiang Liu’s efficiency was, as always, truly admirable.

She cleared her throat, trying her best to suppress the smile tugging at her lips, and put on a clumsy, puzzled expression. “Sister Liu, are you… planning to plant flowers?”

Fortunately, Jiang Liu was so engrossed in the flowerpots that she didn’t notice her strange expression. Upon hearing her, she tilted her head in her direction. “Yeah, aren’t they pretty?”

She grabbed a flower, tossed it into a pot, and buried it with a few quick scoops of dirt. Without even bothering to dust the soil from her hands, she picked up the pot of crookedly planted flowers and turned to Xiao Si, her eyes sparkling.

For a moment, Yang Caisi was speechless, unsure whether to laugh or feel exasperated. After staring blankly for a while, she took a deep breath and forced a smile. “They’re beautiful! Sister Liu, you’re amazing!”

To prove the sincerity of her words, she even leaned in to touch a lily’s leaf. Perhaps she used too much force, because the already slanted bouquet tilted to the side as if it were about to fall asleep.

Her outstretched hand froze in place, her expression a little awkward.

Jiang Liu nonchalantly shoved the flower stem deeper into the soil, her smile seeming to say, “See? All better now, right?”

Yang Caisi thought, …Whatever makes you happy.

She nonchalantly withdrew her hand and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “An’an and I are going to make dinner.”

As their footsteps faded away and the sound of running water came from the kitchen, the smile on Jiang Liu’s face softened slightly as she continued her rough planting.

Zhao Ziming glanced at her several times, finally unable to resist speaking in a low voice. “That’s not how you plant flowers.”

He pushed a flowerpot forward, earnestly demonstrating for Jiang Liu. “The hole in the soil needs to be just the right size, so that…”

Jiang Liu cut him off without hesitation. “So burying them deep will stop them from running out?”

Zhao Ziming paused. “…That makes sense.”

Jiang Liu planted the flowers rapidly, almost mechanically completing the task with no regard for aesthetics or survival. She shot a look at the other two.

“After dinner, get Li An’an to help move these to the balcony.”

Zhang Xiaochen made an “OK” gesture and confidently tapped his shoulder, as if to say, “Leave it to me, you can count on it.”

With the preparations complete, Jiang Liu dusted the dirt off her hands and leaned back on the sofa, letting out a soft sigh.

Tomorrow was the last day of the highway repairs. If all went well, they should be able to clear this instance tonight.

When a person relaxed, their mind tended to wander. As Jiang Liu listened to the sounds from the kitchen, Yang Caisi’s figure unwittingly appeared in her mind’s eye.

Realizing this, she felt a wave of annoyance and shook her head, trying to banish the image.

Why am I thinking about her again?

The jacket she wore was one she’d brought in from the public area. The innermost pocket was securely zipped, and inside it lay a tattered old photograph.

It was the one Chen Xiu had dropped in the first instance.

Jiang Liu had originally thought it was just a smokescreen created by the game system to mess with people, but now—

The more she learned about the instance, or rather, the more she interacted with Yang Caisi, the more certain she became that she had forgotten something.

The Lost Way System.

She murmured the name, her gaze deepening.

It seemed she would have to properly test Yang Caisi after leaving this time.

“Sister Jiang?”

Two consecutive calls from behind brought her back to her senses. She met Xu Meng’s slightly worried gaze. She looked at Jiang Liu strangely. “Are you okay? I called you several times.”

Jiang Liu rubbed her brow. “I was just thinking. What’s up?”

Xu Meng carefully studied her expression. Seeing that she was fine aside from being lost in thought, she relaxed and pointed towards the door, her tone urgent. “Cheng Ji is awake.”

Normally, someone waking up should be a good thing. Even if she wasn’t his actual brother, Cheng Da, she should still be happy.

But seeing Xu Meng’s hesitant expression, Jiang Liu’s heart tightened.

Something was very wrong with Cheng Ji’s condition.

When she entered the room, Zhao Ziming and Zhang Xiaochen were each using a hand to pin him to the floor. The veins on their exposed arms were bulging, proof of how much force they were using.

The eighteen-year-old boy was full of boundless energy. Even while pinned to the ground, he twisted and struggled, his legs kicking wildly.

Cheng Ji’s eyes were vacant, as if he were possessed by a ghost. His forehead was beaded with sweat as he snarled and roared at them. The sound was bizarre, like the grinding of teeth that sent shivers down one’s spine, or like something issuing a warning.

Cheng Da was crying his eyes out. Seeing Jiang Liu was like finding his pillar of support. He rushed over, grabbing her sleeve and begging, “Sister Jiang, what’s wrong with my brother?”

Jiang Liu frowned, worried the commotion would alert the people in the kitchen. She closed the door behind her and walked to the window in a few steps. “What happened?”

Zhang Xiaochen’s hand was about to cramp up. He grimaced and said, “Don’t even mention it. He woke up and immediately tried to jump out the window. Good thing I was quick.”

Although it was only the second floor, the kid was all skin and bones. A fall like that could have seriously injured him.

Perhaps relieved at the sight of Jiang Liu, Zhang Xiaochen’s grip slackened. In that instant, Cheng Ji seized the opportunity. He broke free from his grasp, stood up using the leverage, and lunged at Zhao Ziming’s face.

“Watch out!”

Xu Meng cried out in alarm, but it was too late.

Zhao Ziming watched helplessly as the fists flew toward his left cheek, so fast he had no time to react. The next moment—

His head was pushed down by Jiang Liu as if he were a whack-a-mole. Her slender yet powerful fist intercepted Cheng Ji’s hand, and using the momentum of his charge, she flipped him over her back and slammed him onto the ground.

The previously ferocious Cheng Ji was like a helpless chick in her hands. He was slammed to the floor with a thud. Jiang Liu took a moment to hold out a hand. “Rope.”

Zhao Ziming let out a startled “ah,” still reeling from the shock of the previous moment. Hearing her, he fumbled to pull a rope out from under the bed.

Jiang Liu efficiently tied the boy up and tossed him aside before turning to the others. “Is everyone okay?”

Zhang Xiaochen shook his wrist, clearly bothered by the fact that he couldn’t handle the teenager. He shouted in a gruff voice, “What could happen to me?”

Even though I knew Jiang Liu was strong, for her to take down someone the two of us couldn’t hold… isn’t that a bit too freakish?

Jiang Liu ignored him and squatted down, frowning at Cheng Ji.

His arm had some scrapes from the fall, and crimson blood seeped from them. He had indeed returned to normal.

Why would he be out of his mind?

She lowered her gaze and suddenly noticed something strange.

Even tied up on the floor, Cheng Ji hadn’t given up struggling. His face was flushed as he used all his strength to move his body. And behind him was the window.

Jiang Liu’s eyes lit up, and she suddenly stood up to look out the window.

The garden had returned to its nighttime tranquility. The dim yellow light shone on the flowerbeds, and the plants, as if imbued with life, all trembled in her direction.

With a whoosh, she drew the curtains, plunging the unlit room into darkness. Jiang Liu said calmly, “We can’t delay any longer. We move after dinner.”

Just as she finished speaking, a knock came at the door. “Sister Liu, can I come in?”

The scene in the room was so bizarre that none of them had heard Xiao Si’s footsteps. For a moment, they just stared at each other as the door opened.

The light from the hallway streamed in through the crack, revealing the entire scene inside.

Zhao Ziming and Zhang Xiaochen stood on either side of Jiang Liu, their faces grim and expressions grave. Opposite them, Cheng Ji was tied up like a trussed chicken, looking for all the world like the victim of a bullying incident.

Xu Meng and Cheng Da were pale, one with tears still glistening in their eyes. The contrast made it hard not to jump to conclusions.

Staring at the scene, Xiao Si’s eyes slowly widened. The object she was holding slipped from her grasp and crashed to the floor with a bang.

Several question marks seemed to pop up above her head as she stammered, “Y-you guys…”

She stammered for a long time but couldn’t form a complete sentence. She just stared at Jiang Liu in terror, her mouth agape, frozen to the spot in a cold sweat.

Jiang Liu was speechless.

She cleared her throat and, in a moment of quick thinking, blurted out, “He was having an epileptic fit. We had no choice.”

Xiao Si swallowed hard and forced a stiff smile. “Oh, I-I see. I didn’t mean to… D-dinner’s ready!”

She stumbled over her words, and as if terrified of angering Jiang Liu, she quickly shut the door and vanished. Her hurried footsteps echoed down the hall, as if a monster were chasing her.

Jiang Liu covered her face. Had she left a bad impression on the girl?

The atmosphere in the room turned awkward, the previous tension instantly dissipating. Zhao Ziming looked at her, then at the closed door. “Why don’t you go after her and explain?”

Jiang Liu straightened up, a flicker of guilt flashing in her eyes, imperceptible to others. She said stubbornly, “She’s just an NPC. What’s there for me to explain?”

Zhao Ziming couldn’t help but snort.

Then why were you in such a hurry to falsely accuse him of having a seizure?

But remembering Jiang Liu’s swift moves, he only dared to mock her in his heart.

What they didn’t know was that—

The moment she closed the door, the expression on the face of the fleeing Xiao Si changed. The corners of her lips curved high, and her eyes crinkled into crescent moons.

Recalling Jiang Liu’s expression just now, she couldn’t help but cover her mouth to stifle a laugh, her heart nearly bursting with joy.

Jiang Liu is starting to care about her image in front of me. Does that mean she has feelings for me too?

Just the thought of this possibility made Yang Caisi feel a little giddy.

The Communication Ring on her hand vibrated. She subconsciously answered the call, her voice still tinged with a hint of laughter. “What is it?”

“Why are you in such a good mood in the middle of an instance?” The person on the other end sounded surprised.

Yang Caisi came back to her senses and deliberately wiped the smile from her face. Even in her guise as Xiao Si, she seemed to instantly transform back into the cold and aloof Flower on a High Peak from outside the instance. “Just say what you need to say.”

The person on the other end sighed. “I’m telling you, who did you offend this time? How did you get reported again?”