Volume 2 Chapter 81 What a ruthless family
Dad... Mom...
With deep thoughts echoing in the girl's heart, only she knew how much weight those few words carried, it was as if... her entire heart seemed to be shattered.
Perhaps it was a father-daughter, mother-daughter connection, the pulse of true blood ties that seemed to make one's heart tremble with that silent call. On the other side, Hifumi and Shizuka, who were about to solve their lunch with the help of the mountain people, seemed to be drawn in as they lifted their heads towards the direction where the boy and girl were, and both widened their eyes without saying a word.
They were standing there, drenched from head to toe, it wasn't hard to imagine that they had been caught in the rain. A pang of heartache instantly covered up the inexplicable feeling from just now. Akagi Hayato rushed over faster than Shizuka and hugged the girl tightly, gently stroking her hair with a mix of pampering and concern, "Baby, why did you come out in the rain? You're soaked to the bone! What if you catch a cold?! Xiao Liu, how could you take care of your sister like this?!"
Kaito glared at him with an air of coldness that seemed even more indifferent than usual, and thought to himself: Seriously! Didn't they just ease up on their relationship? Why did he feel like Kaito's attitude was even worse than before? And to make matters worse, he had his precious standing behind him like a poor little thing!
Qingmu didn't bother to explain and remained unmoved, causing Qingmu Duan's face to turn dark.
Shizuka Ryoko also came over, looking at Katsuragi Tsurugi tightly hugging the girl and didn't go over, anyway she knew Katsuragi wouldn't let her hug, it's just that she also felt how Katsuragi suddenly became even colder than before? Was it an illusion?
"Daddy..." The girl couldn't help but burst into tears in the warm embrace of Qiong Mu Duan, having seen him dote on Qiong Mu Xiang so many times before, yet it was never her who received such affection. Her heart ached with a mix of emotions, still reeling from the cold blow she had just received from Qiong Mu Liu. The warmth of Qiong Mu Duan's embrace was almost scalding to her frozen heart, and all she wanted to do was cry uncontrollably!
Du Mu Duan listened to the soft and timid calls, his body stiffened, his heart sank more and more, but he didn't know why it was like this. Why did his heart still have a feeling of missing a corner, yet it was clearly still intact, just like... something important had long since left him, but he didn't know...
He lowered his head in confusion and looked at the girl in his arms. Would baby call him that recently? Why would baby cry...
Xing Mu Duan's face turned dark as he glared at Xing Mu Tong, "Is it you who bullied Bao Bei?!" Since waking up, Bao Bei had been very strong and wouldn't cry! It must be this brother who suddenly became cold that hurt her! Bao Bei endured unbearable grievances, that's why she cried! It must be like that!
The more he thought about it, the lighter one end of the wooden stick became, while the other end grew heavier. He didn't know why, but he could only feel increasingly annoyed, his face growing darker and darker, his eyes fixed on the flowing water, becoming more and more menacing.
Shizuka Ryoko couldn't help but look at Katsuragi Tsubasa with concern, and also glared at Katsuragi Tsukasa for a moment. She couldn't blame her for thinking the same as Katsuragi Tsubasa - this kid! Originally thought he was starting to thaw out with his treasure, but instead things got worse! This really made her not understand!
"Baby! Don't cry! Mommy will teach your brother a lesson!" Jingxiang Liangzi was heartbroken, this was her precious daughter who she treasured! How could her cold and unfeeling son make her baby cry?!
Shizuka Ryoko wanted to comfort the girl, but she kept her head buried in Katsuragi's chest, her small hands tightly grasping his clothes, and a faint sobbing sound came from her, like a whimpering little beast, pitiful enough to make Shizuka Ryoko's heart ache! As for Katsuragi, he was even more furious! He glared at Katsuragi Tsurugi with a fierce gaze, as if he wanted to devour him alive!
However, Tsumugi and Shizuka still had a strange feeling in their hearts. What was it that made them feel like something was off about the baby? If it were that warm and gentle girl, would she really be unable to bear it and cry? They needed to know what kind of outrageous thing Tsumugi had done in order to understand.
"Kogane! What's going on?!" Shizuka Ryoko looked at the girl who was sulking in Katsuragi Tofu's arms with a very gloomy expression, asking Katsuragi Kogane.
How can she feel that her baby is so strange? But also damn familiar! Familiar? Of course! This is her daughter! But she really couldn't accept that the usually calm and confident baby would be like a weak little beast clinging to her father!
How could she not feel a sense of strangeness!
His face was cold and unyielding, his blue eyes shrouded in a thick layer of frosty air that made Shizuka Ryoko's gaze falter, her heart growing increasingly uneasy as she fidgeted with her fingers, suddenly feeling inexplicably afraid to ask.
"Never mind, let's get the baby changed into some clean clothes!" Yan Mu Du's voice could no longer maintain its elegant warmth, he just knew that the inexplicable irritability at the bottom of his heart was about to drive him crazy. This feeling had been gradually transmitted to him by the baby since she woke up, and as long as it involved her, his self-proclaimed strong calmness would easily collapse.
Shizuka Ryoko hurried back into the house and took out a change of clothes from her bag for the girl to change into, but...
The girl who has been in love with him for a long time still refuses to let go, nor does she raise her head or open her mouth to speak!
Shizuka Ryoko was holding her clothes in a knot, baby, this really made her feel at a loss!
“...Baby, change your clothes first, okay? You'll catch a cold later......” Akagi Tsurugi said in a low voice, suppressing the strange emotions in his heart. But what he heard was not even one ten-thousandth of tenderness towards that girl! She wouldn't let go! Didn't want to let go!
That feeling as if she had let go of his hand and he was no longer hers made her tremble with her body, but there were no other movements.
"Baby..." Rieko Shizuka and Tsubaki Taka exchanged a glance, both of their eyes flashing with a hint of helplessness. They really couldn't accept the current baby wholeheartedly. Unlike the previous baby, they were willing to give up everything for her, but that baby never made them worry, she would only warmly embrace them, warmly smile at them, and warmly... dazzle in front of them.
Rather than... it's as if she would be abandoned by the whole world the moment you let go.
How could they possibly abandon their beloved treasure?
"Baby, let's change your clothes first..." Yan Mu Du was really unable to control the strange feelings in his heart. He spoiled Baby a lot, but since that time when Baby woke up, he didn't need to coax her anymore. Originally, letting him coax his own daughter would make him very happy, it was a happiness of being a father, but now Baby couldn't give him that kind of feeling...
Ugh, Akane is really getting on my nerves. What's with this weird feeling?!
The girl still didn't move, and Mu Tong could feel the trembling body in his arms conveying unease. He looked down at the head in front of him with an inexplicably gloomy feeling.
On one side, Shizuka Ryoko had long been silent, biting her lip slightly, her gaze fixed intently on the girl.
On one side, the withered wood remained still, and an eerie atmosphere began to flow through this space...
“…go home” The girl in Tsukino Tsubaki's arms finally spoke up, softly, with a hoarse voice from crying, which made Tsukino furrow his brow. How did he feel that his treasure's voice was not like the calm and warm tone before? To be honest, he was now somewhat suspicious whether this girl was really his treasure or not, but she was indeed together with Tsukino Tsubaki. However, the current Tsukino Tsubaki didn't have the gentle look when looking at his treasure that he occasionally discovered before, it's really... strange!
This trip is totally messed up!
"Alright, let's go home..." Hu Mu Duan couldn't think of a reason why, the girl refused to change her clothes, he could only reluctantly agree with her, hoping that she wouldn't catch a cold.
Several people set off to return home, arriving at the place where they got off yesterday. The car had been waiting for them all along. At this moment, Xunmu Duan didn't have the mood to settle accounts with the travel agency. The girl in his arms was stuck to him, her face buried in his chest. Occasionally, Xunmu Duan wanted to push her away, but every time such a thought flashed through his mind, he would be shocked - why did he want to treat Baobei like that? Even though he reflected on it each time, he still couldn't help wanting to push the person in his arms away. He felt that his usual fondness for being stuck to Baobei had been lost somewhere outside.
The strange feeling in his heart made him unable to think of anything else, and he could only stare at the girl in his arms.
This is treasure, with snow jade bangle, the familiar fragrance of the girl on her body has always been familiar, but it feels wrong, making him very uneasy.
The car was filled with an oppressive silence until they returned to the Wang's house, where no one had spoken a word, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Welcome home, master, madam, young master and miss!" The butler said respectfully on the side, but no one paid attention to him. Jian Mu Duankang didn't have the heart to settle accounts with him, and what was even stranger was that when he heard the two words "young miss", he inexplicably felt a twinge of discomfort, but didn't know why...
He ignored everyone and went back to his room, the increasingly low and indifferent atmosphere making people's hearts palpitate with inexplicable oppression.
Shizuka Ryoko stood at the back, watching Akagi Tsubasa take the girl back to her room, fidgeting with her hands and staring complexly at the clean floor.
She felt as if the happy and blissful moments of this family had been sucked away.
Tanaka had already brought the girl back to his own room, but the girl in his arms still refused to let go, as if she were a part of him. To his surprise, he felt a growing sense of impatience, and though he was shocked at himself time and again, he couldn't help but feel a strong urge to push her away.
He just can't afford to risk hurting the baby by forcing her to let go, so he quietly waits for her to release her grip.
...But they just held each other quietly until it was almost dark! What's wrong with her after all?!
Her clothes had dried quickly, but her body still felt chilly. As she thought about this, a faint sneeze sounded out. Han Mu suddenly felt somewhat annoyed that the girl didn't take care of herself properly. In the end, he couldn't bear it anymore and pulled open the hand grasping his clothes, taking her to the bathroom to wash up with hot water.
Tick-tock, tick-tock...
A few transparent tears fell to the ground after she turned around from the edge of the tree, the girl still lowered her head, her long golden hair didn't shine with a dazzling light like the sun, it looked so dull.
That lonely figure made the emerging Mo Duan's heart skip a beat, and his eyes flashed with complex emotions. He walked up to her side and stroked her hair, "Baby, tell Daddy, what's wrong?"
He hopes she will tell him herself what's going on, he is so entangled that he is about to die.
However, the girl turned around and silently lay down in her quilt, hiding herself inside. Indeed, only a gloomy space belonged to her, not the kind of father who would play with her to make her happy, not the kind of father who would compete with her for attention, nor the kind of father who would want to hold up the whole world for her to play with, but this father who rejected her.
No need to prove it anymore, they don't know that their real daughter is back, they just find it strange, strange how the original girl suddenly changed, why wouldn't they think that now she is their real daughter? Has that substitute... completely replaced her?
"Baby..." Jian Mu Duan stared blankly at her as she hid under the covers, his hand wanting to pull them open but ultimately not reaching out, his blue eyes filled with a complexity he himself didn't understand.
The open door was gently closed, and the whole room seemed to fall into a dead silence. But soon, a very suppressed cry sounded, muffled and dull, coming from under the quilt.
Finally... is she the only one left?
No, the girl knew she had lost everyone... and also lost herself... even she was no longer herself, what else did she have left?
Dad and mom... these two people carry so much of her expectations, hoping they won't be as cruel as her brother... but they are all family members, different personalities, yet equally cruel...
Her heart... shattered into pieces... can't be picked up again...
She alone is the outcast of this family, initially ignored by her indifferent brother, now abandoned by everyone, even herself, to the point where she has to abandon herself...
Yes, how could it not be a different kind. She deserved it, she couldn't do what that girl did, being loved by everyone. Same body, different soul, so different fate. They all loved that girl, but completely forgot about her. Even when she reappeared in front of them, they didn't recognize her, rejecting her...
What a... ruthless family...
"Baby! What's wrong with you!" Mu Tong had just closed the door, but he heard the girl's sorrowful and suppressed crying voice, his heart was twisted into a knot. He couldn't help but want to pull open her quilt, but the girl was startled by him, not expecting him to still be there, and she tightly wrapped herself in the quilt, not letting him open it.
"Treasure, darling!" The sound of Jing Mu Duan's voice was filled with gritted teeth and remorse, as if she was torturing him!
“…I want to rest, I'm tired…” Desperately pretending to be calm like that girl, letting Jianmu Du not suspect anything, she had already given up hope of him thinking of her as his real daughter, even if he did remember, he would reject her, he and Jianmu Tong were the same, they both wanted that girl…
But she's not a good actress. The girl's composure is something that not everyone can achieve, and the seemingly calm tone of her voice brings endless eeriness to Kiriya Daisuke.
"Dad, I need to rest..." The girl spoke up again, just wanting him to leave. With him around, the space felt too oppressive, and she couldn't even cry hard, don't crush her already shattered heart anymore.
"...The complicated eyes, shining with blue light, he couldn't ask her anything anymore. This girl who didn't open up to him was too unfamiliar. His treasure, how did she become like this..."
For an instant... there was a feeling of time flowing backwards.
Du Mu Jian suddenly grasped this feeling tightly, his eyes widened suddenly, staring at the person on the bed through the quilt, his breathing became lighter.
He finally knew where the problem lay, this was exactly what it looked like before the treasure woke up!
His heart seemed to have found an outlet for its emotions, and at the same time, it was as if he had found the source. He rushed over and was about to pull open her quilt, "Baby! Are you or are you not my baby?! Tell me what's going on!"
The person on the bed no longer responded, she had already fallen into darkness, wanting to break free, wanting to escape this suffocating place...
When she hastily pulled open her quilt, all she saw was her pale face due to fainting...
