Editor: Anonymous Stickman
“Ivy?”
“Ivy, open your eyes!”
“Ivy . . .”
Ivy felt a gentle hand caressing her face. A familiar cigar smell drifting from those fingers slowly brought her out of unconsciousness, and she opened her eyes.
This place was . . .
“Ivy!”
“Brother Xian? Dad?”
Ivy’s father, the Marquis of the Modiet, and her elder brother Ai Xian came into sight.
“Brother? Dad? I . . . I’m back?!” Ivy wanted to sit up in her excitement, but Ai Xian pushed her back down on the bed.
“Lie down, your body is still weak.” Ai Xian’s tone was unusually cold, and Ivy, as a result couldn’t help but glance at him oddly a few times. Was this person really the elder brother she’d always known? In her memories, Brother Xian had always been neatly dressed, spraying cologne on himself like it was water and shaving his beard clean, while wearing his signature gentle smile at all times. But now, Ai Xian appeared in front of her with bloodshot eyes, a chin full of uneven stubble, an unkempt shirt, and a strong smell of tobacco.
Ivy wanted to ask him what happened. But without waiting for her to speak, the Marquis of the Modiet came over and questioned her anxiously in concern: “Ivy, where have you been this past week?”
“Where did I go . . .” Ivy thought about how to answer his question before a shocking revelation settled in. She was gone for only a week?! In disbelief, Ivy repeated, “Are you talking about last week?”
“Yeah, you’ve been missing for a whole week. I mobilized all the police across the country and had them search almost every corner of the entire British Empire, but they still couldn’t find you! Those good-for-nothings. But last night, Ai Xian found that you’d run back home, collapsed on the grass. “
“Only one week . . .” Ivy murmured. She’d been in ancient Egypt for several months, yet in the modern times she’d only disappeared for a week! She looked down at her left wrist and found that the golden bracelet was still there. Taking a deep breath, she took the bracelet off and hid it under the quilt. “I don’t remember . . .”
“What?”
“I don’t remember where I went last week.” After thinking about it for a while, Ivy felt that it’d be best to just lie about it. It’d be too troublesome to explain otherwise. How could she tell him that she’d put on a bracelet and time traveled to ancient Egypt? And three thousand years ago? Ha, it’d only incur ridicule! It’d be better to keep her mouth shut to prevent everybody from thinking she was a fool.
Ai Xian’s brows furrowed, his face somber.
The Marquis of the Modiet stroked Ivy’s head dearly. “Poor Ivy, you must have suffered a lot. I’ll take care of you more thoroughly in the future. And starting today, I’ll send three bodyguards to follow you! Whoever dares to abduct my darling Ivy will end up with a death even worse than the extinction of the dinosaurs! “
A vicious light flashed in the old Marquis’s eyes. In his line of thought, a relative of theirs could’ve been behind all of this, and this wouldn’t be the first time. If the culprits were ever caught by him, they would surely have a death worse than the dinosaurs — even their future descendants would be erased from the world.
Ivy sighed, hoping that her father would not wrong their relatives. Although she hated those people, it’d be terrible for them to lose their lives just because of her small lie. From now on, for a period of time, it seemed as though she’d have to bring three followers. Thinking of this, she pouted.
“Marquis, you have a meeting with Her Majesty at three in the afternoon. You need to go.” The voice of the Marquis’s butler sounded on the intercom.
The Marquis of the Modiet sighed loudly. “This old lady, couldn’t she have found another time to meet?!” Although all of the British civilians were afraid to call the Queen in such a way, only Ivy’s father dared to do so. He hurriedly put his coat on and kissed Ivy’s forehead. “Ivy, I’ll be going first. Let Xian take care of you for me. I’ll come to see you again at night.”
“Father, pay attention to your safety.” Ivy put on her standard, well-behaved baby smile and waved goodbye to the Marquis sweetly.
The Marquis smiled back. What a lovely daughter! She really was the child of “her”. But who dared to kidnap his lovely little daughter away? If he ever found out, he mustn’t spare him! As the Marquis of the Modiet went to meet the Queen, the gentle expression on his face gradually disappeared.
Only Ivy and Ai Xian were left in the room.
The atmosphere around them was somewhat awkward. Ivy played with her fingers and kept her head down, not daring to look at Ai Xian. She felt that Brother Xian was in a bad mood, but she didn’t know why. Her past experiences told her that it’d be better to talk less when she didn’t understand the situation.
But Ai Xian seemed reluctant to speak first, instead sitting silently beside Ivy’s bed while staring at the ground with bloodshot eyes.
“Brother Xian . . .”
“Ivy . . .”
The two spoke at almost the same time, and upon realizing this, they both closed their mouths, trying to avoid each other’s gazes.
“Ivy, you speak first.”
“No, Brother Xian, go ahead.”
Another silence passed between them.
“Where did you go?”
“I, I said I forgot . . .”
A dead silence once more graced them.
“Ai Wei.” Ai Xian turned to look at her and Ivy internally screamed ‘Not good!’. Brother Xian had called her by her full name. She flinched back instinctively.
“I didn’t tell Father that you disappeared inside a strange light because I knew he wouldn’t believe it,” Ai Xian spoke slowly, stopping momentarily. “So I’m sure you remember, but you either feel like nobody will believe you or you just don’t think telling about it is necessary. ”
Sure enough, her little trick could not have blinded him. Ivy couldn’t help but admire her brother once more, but at the same time she became more nervous.
“So tell me, where have you been this past week?”
Ivy pondered for a bit and softly replied, “I forgot.” She wasn’t going to tell him or anybody else because she never wanted to think about it again.
Ai Xian’s delicate eyebrows tightly screwed together, the expression in his eyes screaming two (T/N: 2 in Chinese, 4 in English) words — “I don’t believe you” (不信), as well as a complex and fleeting emotion that even Ai Xian himself might not have felt yet.
“Then I’ll ask another way.” Ai Xian gently flicked the bangs in front of his forehead, revealing his beautiful aqua blue eyes, which were a color as clear as the sky. It was almost as if he were silently showing her that between them, their blood was thicker than water. “Who is Bifitu?”
What?
Seeing her look of surprise, Ai Xian’s face froze with a layer of frost and his clear eyes reflected the deep sea before a storm, giving birth to endless waves. “You called this name while you were in a coma.”
She called Bifitu’s name? Haha . . .
“Ivy.” Although Ai Xian’s tone was still gentle, it couldn’t conceal the tumultuous emotions in his eyes. “Where did you go this week?” Bifitu was a foreign man’s name! If Ivy was with him, what had happened? Did she like that man? Ai Xian couldn’t restrain his emotions and his speculations almost swallowed his reason.
Looking at the scowling face of Ai Xian, Ivy asked in a small voice: “Brother Xian, are you . . . jealous?” Was he? Slight joy springed up in her heart.
Ai Xian instinctively turned his head away and refuted without thought: “What foolish words! You’re my sister, so of course I’d have to care about you!” Was that really the case? He didn’t really know himself.
But his thoughtless statement felt like a dagger inserted into Ivy’s heart. A self-deprecating smile inched on the corners of her mouth. Why should she hold a trace of hope when it just hurt herself, and she obviously knew that this would always be the answer?
“So, Brother, why do you have to ask me such a question? You’re going to marry Mina. Why do you care about my business? I can like and marry whomever I like. it doesn’t have anything to do with you, Brother! “
“Ivy, I . . . “
“Brother, you can’t be so selfish! You’re all happy, so why don’t you let me go forward too!” She turned her head around, but that was just to prevent Ai Xian from seeing the tears in her eyes.
“Ivy!”
“Brother, please leave. I don’t want to see you!”
“Ivy!”
“Out!”
Walking out of the room, Ai Xian lit a cigarette. He took a deep breath and watched the smoke drift over his fingertips into the cold air.
His calm heart had always been disrupted time and time again by her, by the girl named Ivy. It’d been like this ever since a few years ago. She was like a beautiful stone, inadvertently falling into his icy lake, letting the cold water bounce and roll.
He’d always believed that he was correct and he ignored everything, just to get it all back on the right track.
However . . .
Was this decision really correct?
And if all of it was correct, how would he explain the disturbing and painful emotion inside his heart?
Editor: Anonymous Stickman
“Ivy?”
“Ivy, open your eyes!”
“Ivy . . .”
Ivy felt a gentle hand caressing her face. A familiar cigar smell drifting from those fingers slowly brought her out of unconsciousness, and she opened her eyes.
This place was . . .
“Ivy!”
“Brother Xian? Dad?”
Ivy’s father, the Marquis of the Modiet, and her elder brother Ai Xian came into sight.
“Brother? Dad? I . . . I’m back?!” Ivy wanted to sit up in her excitement, but Ai Xian pushed her back down on the bed.
“Lie down, your body is still weak.” Ai Xian’s tone was unusually cold, and Ivy, as a result couldn’t help but glance at him oddly a few times. Was this person really the elder brother she’d always known? In her memories, Brother Xian had always been neatly dressed, spraying cologne on himself like it was water and shaving his beard clean, while wearing his signature gentle smile at all times. But now, Ai Xian appeared in front of her with bloodshot eyes, a chin full of uneven stubble, an unkempt shirt, and a strong smell of tobacco.
Ivy wanted to ask him what happened. But without waiting for her to speak, the Marquis of the Modiet came over and questioned her anxiously in concern: “Ivy, where have you been this past week?”
“Where did I go . . .” Ivy thought about how to answer his question before a shocking revelation settled in. She was gone for only a week?! In disbelief, Ivy repeated, “Are you talking about last week?”
“Yeah, you’ve been missing for a whole week. I mobilized all the police across the country and had them search almost every corner of the entire British Empire, but they still couldn’t find you! Those good-for-nothings. But last night, Ai Xian found that you’d run back home, collapsed on the grass. “
“Only one week . . .” Ivy murmured. She’d been in ancient Egypt for several months, yet in the modern times she’d only disappeared for a week! She looked down at her left wrist and found that the golden bracelet was still there. Taking a deep breath, she took the bracelet off and hid it under the quilt. “I don’t remember . . .”
“What?”
“I don’t remember where I went last week.” After thinking about it for a while, Ivy felt that it’d be best to just lie about it. It’d be too troublesome to explain otherwise. How could she tell him that she’d put on a bracelet and time traveled to ancient Egypt? And three thousand years ago? Ha, it’d only incur ridicule! It’d be better to keep her mouth shut to prevent everybody from thinking she was a fool.
Ai Xian’s brows furrowed, his face somber.
The Marquis of the Modiet stroked Ivy’s head dearly. “Poor Ivy, you must have suffered a lot. I’ll take care of you more thoroughly in the future. And starting today, I’ll send three bodyguards to follow you! Whoever dares to abduct my darling Ivy will end up with a death even worse than the extinction of the dinosaurs! “
A vicious light flashed in the old Marquis’s eyes. In his line of thought, a relative of theirs could’ve been behind all of this, and this wouldn’t be the first time. If the culprits were ever caught by him, they would surely have a death worse than the dinosaurs — even their future descendants would be erased from the world.
Ivy sighed, hoping that her father would not wrong their relatives. Although she hated those people, it’d be terrible for them to lose their lives just because of her small lie. From now on, for a period of time, it seemed as though she’d have to bring three followers. Thinking of this, she pouted.
“Marquis, you have a meeting with Her Majesty at three in the afternoon. You need to go.” The voice of the Marquis’s butler sounded on the intercom.
The Marquis of the Modiet sighed loudly. “This old lady, couldn’t she have found another time to meet?!” Although all of the British civilians were afraid to call the Queen in such a way, only Ivy’s father dared to do so. He hurriedly put his coat on and kissed Ivy’s forehead. “Ivy, I’ll be going first. Let Xian take care of you for me. I’ll come to see you again at night.”
“Father, pay attention to your safety.” Ivy put on her standard, well-behaved baby smile and waved goodbye to the Marquis sweetly.
The Marquis smiled back. What a lovely daughter! She really was the child of “her”. But who dared to kidnap his lovely little daughter away? If he ever found out, he mustn’t spare him! As the Marquis of the Modiet went to meet the Queen, the gentle expression on his face gradually disappeared.
Only Ivy and Ai Xian were left in the room.
The atmosphere around them was somewhat awkward. Ivy played with her fingers and kept her head down, not daring to look at Ai Xian. She felt that Brother Xian was in a bad mood, but she didn’t know why. Her past experiences told her that it’d be better to talk less when she didn’t understand the situation.
But Ai Xian seemed reluctant to speak first, instead sitting silently beside Ivy’s bed while staring at the ground with bloodshot eyes.
“Brother Xian . . .”
“Ivy . . .”
The two spoke at almost the same time, and upon realizing this, they both closed their mouths, trying to avoid each other’s gazes.
“Ivy, you speak first.”
“No, Brother Xian, go ahead.”
Another silence passed between them.
“Where did you go?”
“I, I said I forgot . . .”
A dead silence once more graced them.
“Ai Wei.” Ai Xian turned to look at her and Ivy internally screamed ‘Not good!’. Brother Xian had called her by her full name. She flinched back instinctively.
“I didn’t tell Father that you disappeared inside a strange light because I knew he wouldn’t believe it,” Ai Xian spoke slowly, stopping momentarily. “So I’m sure you remember, but you either feel like nobody will believe you or you just don’t think telling about it is necessary. ”
Sure enough, her little trick could not have blinded him. Ivy couldn’t help but admire her brother once more, but at the same time she became more nervous.
“So tell me, where have you been this past week?”
Ivy pondered for a bit and softly replied, “I forgot.” She wasn’t going to tell him or anybody else because she never wanted to think about it again.
Ai Xian’s delicate eyebrows tightly screwed together, the expression in his eyes screaming two (T/N: 2 in Chinese, 4 in English) words — “I don’t believe you” (不信), as well as a complex and fleeting emotion that even Ai Xian himself might not have felt yet.
“Then I’ll ask another way.” Ai Xian gently flicked the bangs in front of his forehead, revealing his beautiful aqua blue eyes, which were a color as clear as the sky. It was almost as if he were silently showing her that between them, their blood was thicker than water. “Who is Bifitu?”
What?
Seeing her look of surprise, Ai Xian’s face froze with a layer of frost and his clear eyes reflected the deep sea before a storm, giving birth to endless waves. “You called this name while you were in a coma.”
She called Bifitu’s name? Haha . . .
“Ivy.” Although Ai Xian’s tone was still gentle, it couldn’t conceal the tumultuous emotions in his eyes. “Where did you go this week?” Bifitu was a foreign man’s name! If Ivy was with him, what had happened? Did she like that man? Ai Xian couldn’t restrain his emotions and his speculations almost swallowed his reason.
Looking at the scowling face of Ai Xian, Ivy asked in a small voice: “Brother Xian, are you . . . jealous?” Was he? Slight joy springed up in her heart.
Ai Xian instinctively turned his head away and refuted without thought: “What foolish words! You’re my sister, so of course I’d have to care about you!” Was that really the case? He didn’t really know himself.
But his thoughtless statement felt like a dagger inserted into Ivy’s heart. A self-deprecating smile inched on the corners of her mouth. Why should she hold a trace of hope when it just hurt herself, and she obviously knew that this would always be the answer?
“So, Brother, why do you have to ask me such a question? You’re going to marry Mina. Why do you care about my business? I can like and marry whomever I like. it doesn’t have anything to do with you, Brother! “
“Ivy, I . . . “
“Brother, you can’t be so selfish! You’re all happy, so why don’t you let me go forward too!” She turned her head around, but that was just to prevent Ai Xian from seeing the tears in her eyes.
“Ivy!”
“Brother, please leave. I don’t want to see you!”
“Ivy!”
“Out!”
Walking out of the room, Ai Xian lit a cigarette. He took a deep breath and watched the smoke drift over his fingertips into the cold air.
His calm heart had always been disrupted time and time again by her, by the girl named Ivy. It’d been like this ever since a few years ago. She was like a beautiful stone, inadvertently falling into his icy lake, letting the cold water bounce and roll.
He’d always believed that he was correct and he ignored everything, just to get it all back on the right track.
However . . .
Was this decision really correct?
And if all of it was correct, how would he explain the disturbing and painful emotion inside his heart?
