Baihe Fan

Chapter 14: Roughhousing

Xia Linxia searched the whole house but couldn’t find Xia Wudi. Panicking, she called Xia Yangxuan. “Brother, Wudi is missing!”

Xia Yangxuan was silent for a few seconds, then said, “Why are you laughing?”

“Sorry, I can’t help it,” Xia Linxia giggled. “Oh my, my turtle finally knows how to run away. Do you think this spy will return to you?”

Xia Yangxuan replied, “It is my token. If it gets lost, don’t bother coming home either. Just retire and become a janitor.”

“Waah!”

[Why is Xia Xia crying?]

[Looks like she lost a pet?]

[But it seems like she’s laughing too? Women are mysterious.]

[So pretentious. When will Xia Linxia retire from the industry?]

[Is she talking to her brother? Seems like they have a good relationship. Wonder if her brother is handsome, I’d marry him!]

After hanging up, Xia Linxia decided to continue looking for Xia Wudi. After all, she couldn’t just let her pet turtle disappear.

She searched the entire villa but couldn’t find it. Finally, she asked Ji Fengxue, “Have you seen Xia Wudi?”

Ji Fengxue replied, “You just remembered now?”

“You know where it is?!”

“Follow me.” Ji Fengxue led her to the artificial lake in the garden. Pointing, she showed two koi fish swimming leisurely, occasionally bumping into a transparent water tank. Xia Wudi was safely inside, habitually trying to climb out.

“This suits it well,” Xia Linxia squatted beside her, smiling. Normally, it was confined indoors. Now, being close to nature, Xia Wudi seemed more active.

“Did you put it here?” she asked.

“Who else?” Ji Fengxue replied, “You, as the mother, forgot about its existence.”

“I’m not its real mom; I couldn’t give birth to such a dumb child.”

“You are dumber than it.”

“Why are you resorting to personal attacks?” Xia Linxia bumped her shoulder. Ji Fengxue bumped her back… and soon, they were playfully shoving each other.

With a final strong push, Xia Linxia knocked Ji Fengxue to the ground and clapped her hands in triumph.

Ji Fengxue warned, “Careful, or I’ll make turtle soup with your son.”

“Fine, I want it spicy.”

Ji Fengxue: “…”

After a moment, Xia Linxia extended her hand to help Ji Fengxue up. Ji Fengxue took it, patted the dirt off herself, then bent over, wincing. “My tailbone is broken.”

“Really?”

“What do you think?” Ji Fengxue clutched her lower back, limping painfully.

“It can’t be. I didn’t use that much force.” Xia Linxia glanced back and saw a medium-sized stone where Ji Fengxue had fallen. She must have hit it.

Guilt surged within her. Holding Ji Fengxue’s hand, she said anxiously, “Let’s go to the hospital.”

“And the medical fees?”

“I’ll cover it.”

“Full examination, medical fees, and emotional damages—ten thousand. Pay up.” Ji Fengxue stood up straight, holding out her phone with a payment code, smiling serenely.

Xia Linxia finally realized, “You scammer!”

Ji Fengxue ran into the living room, with Xia Linxia chasing after her. “Stay still, I’m going to beat you today!”

Xia Linxia caught Ji Fengxue by the arm, and they wrestled. One of them stumbled, and they both fell onto the sofa. Ji Fengxue pinned her wriggling hands, their heavy breathing filled the room. Feeling childish, Ji Fengxue began to laugh.

Xia Linxia, frustrated, straddled her. This woman had played the victim, tricked her sympathy, and made her feel guilty. With her hands immobilized, she used her mouth instead.

Eyeing the slender, fair neck, she bit down hard.

The person beneath her froze, stopping even her breath for a moment.

Triumphantly, Xia Linxia lifted her head and glared fiercely. Seeing Ji Fengxue’s grip weaken, she freed herself and pinned Ji Fengxue’s wrists above her head. “Now you know I’m not to be messed with.”

Ji Fengxue lay still, staring at her, blinking. The pain in her neck was evident, but the warmth and wetness more so.

This woman—did she even know what she was doing?

“What are you… doing?” Song Wanyi’s voice broke the strange atmosphere.

Xia Linxia turned to see Song Wanyi and the others sitting across from them, eating watermelon, looking dazed with a few seeds still on their faces.

“So, you two play… like this?” Song Wanyi struggled not to say “intense,” taking another bite of watermelon and glancing at the elderly couple.

Though older, Fang Qiushuang and Tang Yuande were not surprised, having seen it all in the industry. Fang Qiushuang laughed, “Youngsters do play differently. But Xia, take care of your waist; it’ll trouble you when you’re old.”

Tang Yuande: “…”

Song Wanyi & Xue Hui: “We learned something new today.”

Xia Linxia: “…”

She looked at their position, then quickly released Ji Fengxue and slid to the side, awkwardly glancing around.

Ji Fengxue calmly sat up, straightened her hair, covering the bite mark, and smiled, “Shall we go shopping? Didn’t we say we were having hot pot tonight?”

Song Wanyi finished eating a piece of watermelon and said, “Sure, sure. Let’s do some accounting first.”

Fang Qiushuang agreed, “Since we’re living together, let’s pool our funds.”

“Okay,” Ji Fengxue had no objections.

Xia Linxia was internally baffled: What’s going on? Am I the only one who feels that something strange just happened?

Should I just pretend it was all a dream like they are?

“Let’s gather all the money we have,” suggested Ji Fengxue, taking the lead in organizing their finances.

“Right,” Fang Qiushuang nodded in agreement. “That way, we can manage our expenses more efficiently.”

“Everyone, hand over what you have,” Song Wanyi said, taking out her wallet.

Xia Linxia reluctantly handed over the money she had, still feeling bewildered by the previous incident. Ji Fengxue took the money and started organizing it on the table.

“Looks like we have a decent amount to get us through these three days,” Ji Fengxue said, looking satisfied.

Xia Linxia, still processing everything, mumbled to herself, “Was it really just a dream?”

Fang Qiushuang, noticing Xia Linxia’s confusion, chuckled, “Xia, you’re really out of it today. Are you okay?”

Xia Linxia snapped out of her thoughts and smiled awkwardly, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just… a bit tired.”

Ji Fengxue patted her shoulder, “Don’t worry, we’ll make it through these three days just fine. Let’s go shopping and get everything we need for the hot pot tonight.”

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Xia Linxia nodded, trying to shake off the strange feeling from earlier.

The group finished their accounting and headed out to shop for groceries. As they walked towards the car, Xia Linxia couldn’t help but glance at Ji Fengxue, who seemed completely unfazed by the earlier events. Maybe it really was just her imagination.

As they drove to the market, the group chatted and laughed, slowly easing the tension from before. By the time they reached their destination, Xia Linxia had managed to convince herself that everything was normal again.