“Jiang Zhi!”
This was the third time Zhou Xufang yelled out his name. Unlike the previous yells, however, this one sounded more apprehensive. Her arms waved around in wider arcs and from time to time, even her collarbone would peek out from behind the door.
At the very last moment, Jiang Zhi returned to his senses. Once more, his brows became furrowed.
Jiang Zhi was slightly relieved that his suspicion had been proven wrong by the solid evidence lying in front of him. He did not particularly enjoy the thought of Zhou Xufang treading constantly on the razor’s edge, living a life filled with bloodshed.
He placed the clothes onto her waving palm. Yet another problem popped into his mind. “Do you act this way around others too?”
Zhou Xufang’s arm shot back into the gap the moment she caught hold of the clothes.
“I’ve never been to another person’s home.” Not even once.
Jiang Zhi’s tense expression loosened up immediately upon hearing what Zhou Xufang had said.
The air inside Jiang Zhi’s bathroom was thick with steam. Zhou Xufang reached out and wiped the layer of condensation off the mirror so that she could get a better look at herself. Lowering her head, she looked at her wrist, which she massaged with her fingers.
It seems that the rate at which she regenerated was quicker than before.
The sound of Jiang Zhi’s coughs could be heard from time to time, even from within the bathroom. Perhaps being exposed to the freezing winter wind had further worsened his condition? Just as Zhou Xufang’s mind was about to go berserk from thinking about this, her thoughts were interrupted by her phone’s notification chime. Shuang Jiang had sent her a new email.
“Have you dealt with it?”
Zhou Xufang stared blankly at Jiang Zhi’s clothes for a while. “There are no scars on my arm so he shouldn’t be as suspicious as he was before now.”
Heaven was on her side—the unexpected downpour had given her the perfect excuse to get into Jiang Zhi’s home. She wasn’t a person who would use intricate plans like this to achieve her goals, especially if Jiang Zhi was involved, however, she was left with no choice. Concealing her identity was the top priority, at least before she got hold of Moonlight Bay.
“Ah Fang, do you really have to go and spend the rest of your life on Moonlight Bay?”
This was the first time Shuang Jiang had ever asked her such a personal question. She even sounded as though she wanted to dissuade her from cutting off all contact with human civilization.
“Yes.”
Zhou Xufang’s decision was absolute. She had to go. She simply wasn’t suited for living in a society. Somehow, the idea of living alone in the middle of nowhere appealed to her more than anything else.
It took a while before Shuang Jiang’s next email arrived.
“Can’t you stay here? You’ll be extremely lonely living on an island all by yourself.”
Could she stay here?
Zhou Xufang had asked herself the very same question 3 years ago. That was until one day when her neighbor had discovered who she really was. Before she was had the chance to explain her situation, that neighbor, who would always share the food she made with her, fainted out of sheer shock.
Soon after, she had moved to a place far away from where she originally stayed. This time, she bought an entire building block for herself. Zhou Xufang no longer wanted to have any neighbors nor did she ever doubt her dream of living on a stranded island by herself again.
“I’m scared,” Zhou Xufang replied.
Shuang Jiang asked her why she was scared.
“I’m scared that when the day comes where my secret is revealed, they will burn me at the stake.”
That year, when Zhou Xufang had escaped from the research center at Barley Hill, she had stumbled upon a kind-hearted couple that willingly accepted her into their home. In the beginning, they had treated her as if she was their own daughter. However, they had started distancing themselves from her upon seeing her eyes. Discovering her superhuman regenerative ability, they began calling her a monster. Word soon spread around the village and at one point, she overheard them talking about how they would stone her, beat her with sticks and pipes, then at the end, set her on fire.
She was terrified. Terrified of these people, and terrified of this man-eating world.
Jiang Zhi had given her another white sweater as well as a pair of sweatpants. Both of these clothing were oversized and she had to cuff the sweatpants thrice just to make sure she wouldn’t fall head over heels when walking around. Jiang Zhi, who was laying on the sofa, scanned her from head to toe the moment she stepped out from the bathroom, almost as if he was appraising a work of art. It was apparent from his face that this was a sickly man. Still, those eyes of his were like stars in a painting, enchanting those who gazed upon them.
Feeling a sense of unease, she pulled the hood of the sweater over her head in an attempt to hide her face away from Jiang Zhi’s eyes.
And yet, Jiang Zhi walked over and pulled the hood back down. His lips were very red, especially when in contrast to his pale-white skin. “Zhou Xufang.”
“Hm?”
He pulled the dry towel that she had draped around her shoulders and then plopped it on her hair. “Wipe your hair dry,” he said while averting his gaze awkwardly.
“Oh.”
She spread the towel over her hair and rubbed it dry sloppily. After washing her hair twice, the dye that remained in her hair was now barely visible.
Jiang Zhi stole a handful of glances at her before looking away with glowing red ears. “Would you like some milk?”
Her head peeked at him from underneath the towel. “Yeah.”
He grabbed two cans of milk before heading into the kitchen to heat it up for her.
She followed closely behind him. All of a sudden, she reached out her arm that was covered by an overly-long sleeve. “I can drink it cold.”
By then, Jiang Zhi had already emptied the cans into glasses and placed them into the microwave. “The weather is cold enough already, you shouldn’t drink cold stuff all the time.”
The guilt she was experiencing grew tenfold upon hearing Jiang Zhi’s words. She felt like a terrible person. Jiang Zhi was being so friendly with her and yet, here she was, deceiving him. However… she looked at the microwave and then up at Jiang Zhi. “You forgot to press the reheat button.”
“…”
‘The hell is that?’
How would he know anything about how to use a microwave!? Xue Baoyi had been in charge of setting up this home after all. Even the kitchen appliances which Jiang Zhi had never once used had been hand-picked by the man himself.
‘And where’s that button?’
Jiang Zhi stared at the microwave with a frown, scanning its many buttons for what Zhou Xufang was referring to.
Just then, a finger reached over.
Ding!
Zhou Xufang had successfully located and tapped the reheat button. “There, done.”
“…”
Xue Baoyi must be retarded for buying such a stupid device.
He coughed twice. “Do you know how to cook?” he asked.
“Nope.” Zhou Xufang instinctively concealed her face under the hood of Jiang Zhi’s sweater. Like a timid kitten, she peeked out from underneath the hood, and with a deadpan expression, she explained, “But I do know how to operate a microwave. I picked up that skill while working at the porridge shop.”