The early morning sunshine mischievously slipped in between the cracks of window curtain. The warm ray of light softly creeped toward the woman’s beautiful face, as if it was trying to smell the fragrance of her fair and tender face. Incidentally, the bedroom was also filled with freshly picked rose fragrance.
Saturday was a time of the week which people tend to dawdle in bed. However, this was completely opposite for Qi Yōu. On the weekdays, she would stubbornly toss and turn, refusing to get out of the bed. Yet on the weekend, she would obediently get up on time. Even the three brothers from Qi family were all astonished by this.
“Oh, little Jie is heading out already?” Although she didn’t dawdle in bed on the week, that also didn’t mean that she would be willing to get up early in the morning. Once Qi Yōu finished washing her face, she left her bedroom and entered the dining hall with her silk-like pajamas. Then she noticed that Qi Jie was already dressed in his casual shirt, she asked with a pouting mouth.
“That’s right. There’s some matter to take care of in the army. I will be a little busy for the next few days.” Qi Jie fastened his buttons, then he walked to Qi Yōu’s side and filled a bowl of sweet osmanthus soup dumpling for her.1
“Glup, ahh……” Qi Yōu drank so fast that her tongue was scorched. She sticked her tongue out as her hands were flailing about. Qi Ao hastily passed a cup of cold water to her.
“Oww……it burns!” Qi Yōu felt little bit better after she drank the water.
With a frown on his face, Qi Jie took out an empty bowl and poured the sweet osmanthus soup dumpling into it. Then he poured it back and forth for several times, then passed it back to Qi Yōu: “Here, it’s been cooled.”
When Qi Xun saw that Qi Yōu was drinking the cooled sweet osmanthus soup dumpling, he felt a sense of relief. Yet his mouth couldn’t help but ushered some remarks: “How can you be such an idiot, still don’t even know how to eat properly.”
With a humph, Qi Yōu gathered the big bowl of sweet osmanthus soup dumpling and all other breakfast items on the table toward her: “Little Ao, little Jie. Let us partake our meals together. Stinking little Xun is already full.”
“Ok.” Both Qi Ao and Qi Jie nodded. At the same time, the corner of their eyes gave an gloating expression to Qi Jie, who nearly exploded in annoyance.
“Tch, I will just have to eat something else.” Qi Xun stood up and walked toward the fridge: “Oh, I still remember strawberry in the bridge that I bought yesterday night……”
“I will swap with you!” Qi Yōu surrendered as she scrammed toward the fridge in an unmatched speed, a brilliant and fitting display to the definition of “without integrity”.
Qi Xun gave a victorious smile toward Qi Ao and others as he continued in eating his meal.
“Yōu, slow down when you eat. I will be heading out now.” Qi Jie thought for a bit and added another line of words: “Don’t aimlessly wander around the desolated countryside like the previous time. If you ever leave the house, remember to inform us ahead of time.”
It was uncertain whether Qi Yōu actually listened to his words. As Qi Ao was washing the strawberry with salt water, Qi Yōu was deeply engrossed in eating the strawberry one at a time.
After Qi Jie had left, Qi Ao finished in washing all the strawberry. When Qi Ao placed the glass bowl of strawberry in front of Qi Yōu, he recalled the words that Qi Jie had said before his departure. With a frown look on his face, he took the bowl of strawberry away from Qi Yōu.
The moment when Qi Yōu gave him a suspicious and sad expression, Qi Ai said in a serious tone: “We are all worried about you from that previous incident, especially for Qi Jie who was almost frightened to death. Therefore, you must absolutely inform us where and when you will be leaving. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be very happy, understood?”
Qi Yōu looked at the solemn look on Qi Ao’s face, then glanced back at the bowl of strawberry in his hand. She wrinkled her adorable little nose and nodded: “Okay.”
“Mommy, I will be leaving now. If you are going for a morning exercise or visiting the beauty salon, you must return home before eleven o’clock. Otherwise, you won’t get to eat Black Forest tonight.” Qi Xun was carrying a white jacket over his shoulder as he turned his head around and said.2
When Qi Yōu found out that she would be having cake tonight, her eyebrows immediately raised in delight. She vigorously nodded her head, in which only caused Qi Ao to sigh. This woman never remembered to brush her teeth, yet she rather insisted in eating ice cream all the time. At first, she was the one of the kind person who didn’t comprehend the idea that a starving human would die, but now she had became a foodie……
Once Qi Yōu worn the sweatshirt selected by Qi Ao, she waved her hand in farewell to Qi Ao and left the villa.
Passing through the grass lawn and into the underground garage, she got into her little car. After driving for a bit, she arrived at a city district which was a popular destination for woman. When she saw the signboard of a store named “Bright Blossom”, she got out of her car and entered the store.
“Welcome Miss Qi.” When the receptionist at the door noticed her arrival, she greeted her with a smile. Even though Qi Yōu was wearing a sunglasses, her inhuman like beauty was well-known in the store.
The “Bright Blossom” was a specialized center for female. It provided a range of beauty, dietary, exercise, recreational, and bathing services. It had a notable reputation within the young lady circle in A city. The store manager was a less than forty-year old woman named of Yi Bei. She frequently wore a Huaxia style red dress that showcased her prominent grace and elegance.
As soon as Qi Yōu entered through the store entrance, Yi Bei was already waiting for her. It was reckoned that Rix had sensed Qi Yōu’s presence, so he gave her the order to receive her. That’s right, this store actually belonged to Qi Yōu. The funding source of the store originated from her earning as a contracted hit man for the last dozen of years. In fact, contracted killing can be a lucrative business. Therefore, she was considered to be a wealthy woman even without the support of her sons. However, she didn’t establish this base of operation just for money making. Like a craft rabbit with three burrows3, it was a necessary measure for the protection of her family. After all, there was more than one enemies scheming against them.
“Right this way Miss Qi, he’s waiting for you upstairs.” Yi Bei, with a mysteriously beauty expression, said in a respectful tone. Five years ago, when Qi Yōu was investigating the individuals responsible for ordering the killing of Qi Ao and others, she happened to find and rescue Yi Bei near the coast. It seem that she had suffer a serious injury to her head, so she couldn’t remember a lot of things. Thus, Qi Yōu was the one that gave her the new name.
Qi Yōu nodded as she followed Yi Bei up the staircase to the VIP lounge on the second floor.
Yi Bei opened the door to room number 2017, which was exclusively reserved for Qi Yōu, “Master, please.”
Once Qi Yōu had entered the room. Rix, who was dressed in black clothes, gave a respectful bow to her. Since he was standing beside the window, the sunshine casted down on his fair blonde hair, which further amplified his gorgeous charm and handsomeness. If it weren’t for the misplaced trust with her blood related relatives, then he would already be in position of a duke. Yet he gave up that position just to be by her side. He even risked his own life through many life or death situations just for the sake of maintaining her base of operation. There was no telling the amount of time he spent without any sleep or rest.
“Master, you’re here.” When Rix saw Qi Yōu’s arrival, his unwavering eyes eyes slightly fluctuate for a moment, then returned to tranquility once again.
Qi Yōu nodded as she sat on a chair pulled up by Rix, then Rix withdraw to her side with a respectful bow.
“Rix, what’s the status of your investigation?” Qi Yōu was referring to the individuals that compromised base last time.
“Reporting to master, I have completed my investigation. It seem that they are not related to those people. The individuals were all originated from Huaxia. Interestingly, their abilities were stronger than normal human. I will need to infiltrate the Huaxia database for more of their information.”
“How mysterious?” Qi Yōu wrinkled her nose, then waved her hand and said: “There’s no need to continue. It wasn’t a major incident anyway, there’s no need to needlessly expose ourselves.”
“Understood.” After Rix replied, he silently stood at Qi Yōu side. This sight had remained the same for the last three hundred and thirty years.
When Qi Yōu was aware of this, her heart softened a bit. She raised her head to him with a smile: “Rix, let us go for a boxing spar. There hasn’t been any contracts for the last two months, I am worried that I might become rusty.”
When Rix saw her extremely bright and beautiful smile, he couldn’t help but felt a sense of mixed emotion. As a child, she was raised in a protective environment. Other than learning some fundamental theories and tactics, she never truly experience dangerous and sinister nature of outside world. Yet when she was betrayed by her relative and forced to desert her clansman, how did she manage to maintain her resolution?
He didn’t follow her for the first two year of her exile. At that time, he was uncertain of how his princess survived as a fugitive on the street. However, he will always remember that fateful day when he finally found her. She was eating an ice cream from human. As she looked into his eyes, she smiled with tears in her eyes. That smile was no longer filled with pure innocence nor naive love. Instead, that smile was filled with the coldness of miserable suffering. The same smile that would compelled him to do anything for her sake, even to the point of risking his life against the clan.
“If it is any matter related to killing, then Rix is happy to oblige.” Rix collected his thoughts as he gave a faint bow, his hand placed on his own chest. For his princess, he will forever be her most loyal knight.
1. [Sweet osmanthus soup dumpling (酒釀丸子} is a hot desert. It’s supposed to be sweet and chewy?
]
2. [TL Note: That moment when the children are the ones setting curfews for their mother lol.]
3. [A craft rabbit with three burrows (狡兔三窟) is idiom to describe a sly individual who has more than one plan to fall back to. A rabbit with three burrows basically means multiple hideouts against predator, which increased its chance of survival.]
The early morning sunshine mischievously slipped in between the cracks of window curtain. The warm ray of light softly creeped toward the woman’s beautiful face, as if it was trying to smell the fragrance of her fair and tender face. Incidentally, the bedroom was also filled with freshly picked rose fragrance.
Saturday was a time of the week which people tend to dawdle in bed. However, this was completely opposite for Qi Yōu. On the weekdays, she would stubbornly toss and turn, refusing to get out of the bed. Yet on the weekend, she would obediently get up on time. Even the three brothers from Qi family were all astonished by this.
“Oh, little Jie is heading out already?” Although she didn’t dawdle in bed on the week, that also didn’t mean that she would be willing to get up early in the morning. Once Qi Yōu finished washing her face, she left her bedroom and entered the dining hall with her silk-like pajamas. Then she noticed that Qi Jie was already dressed in his casual shirt, she asked with a pouting mouth.
“That’s right. There’s some matter to take care of in the army. I will be a little busy for the next few days.” Qi Jie fastened his buttons, then he walked to Qi Yōu’s side and filled a bowl of sweet osmanthus soup dumpling for her.1
“Glup, ahh……” Qi Yōu drank so fast that her tongue was scorched. She sticked her tongue out as her hands were flailing about. Qi Ao hastily passed a cup of cold water to her.
“Oww……it burns!” Qi Yōu felt little bit better after she drank the water.
With a frown on his face, Qi Jie took out an empty bowl and poured the sweet osmanthus soup dumpling into it. Then he poured it back and forth for several times, then passed it back to Qi Yōu: “Here, it’s been cooled.”
When Qi Xun saw that Qi Yōu was drinking the cooled sweet osmanthus soup dumpling, he felt a sense of relief. Yet his mouth couldn’t help but ushered some remarks: “How can you be such an idiot, still don’t even know how to eat properly.”
With a humph, Qi Yōu gathered the big bowl of sweet osmanthus soup dumpling and all other breakfast items on the table toward her: “Little Ao, little Jie. Let us partake our meals together. Stinking little Xun is already full.”
“Ok.” Both Qi Ao and Qi Jie nodded. At the same time, the corner of their eyes gave an gloating expression to Qi Jie, who nearly exploded in annoyance.
“Tch, I will just have to eat something else.” Qi Xun stood up and walked toward the fridge: “Oh, I still remember strawberry in the bridge that I bought yesterday night……”
“I will swap with you!” Qi Yōu surrendered as she scrammed toward the fridge in an unmatched speed, a brilliant and fitting display to the definition of “without integrity”.
Qi Xun gave a victorious smile toward Qi Ao and others as he continued in eating his meal.
“Yōu, slow down when you eat. I will be heading out now.” Qi Jie thought for a bit and added another line of words: “Don’t aimlessly wander around the desolated countryside like the previous time. If you ever leave the house, remember to inform us ahead of time.”
It was uncertain whether Qi Yōu actually listened to his words. As Qi Ao was washing the strawberry with salt water, Qi Yōu was deeply engrossed in eating the strawberry one at a time.
After Qi Jie had left, Qi Ao finished in washing all the strawberry. When Qi Ao placed the glass bowl of strawberry in front of Qi Yōu, he recalled the words that Qi Jie had said before his departure. With a frown look on his face, he took the bowl of strawberry away from Qi Yōu.
The moment when Qi Yōu gave him a suspicious and sad expression, Qi Ai said in a serious tone: “We are all worried about you from that previous incident, especially for Qi Jie who was almost frightened to death. Therefore, you must absolutely inform us where and when you will be leaving. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be very happy, understood?”
Qi Yōu looked at the solemn look on Qi Ao’s face, then glanced back at the bowl of strawberry in his hand. She wrinkled her adorable little nose and nodded: “Okay.”
“Mommy, I will be leaving now. If you are going for a morning exercise or visiting the beauty salon, you must return home before eleven o’clock. Otherwise, you won’t get to eat Black Forest tonight.” Qi Xun was carrying a white jacket over his shoulder as he turned his head around and said.2
When Qi Yōu found out that she would be having cake tonight, her eyebrows immediately raised in delight. She vigorously nodded her head, in which only caused Qi Ao to sigh. This woman never remembered to brush her teeth, yet she rather insisted in eating ice cream all the time. At first, she was the one of the kind person who didn’t comprehend the idea that a starving human would die, but now she had became a foodie……
Once Qi Yōu worn the sweatshirt selected by Qi Ao, she waved her hand in farewell to Qi Ao and left the villa.
Passing through the grass lawn and into the underground garage, she got into her little car. After driving for a bit, she arrived at a city district which was a popular destination for woman. When she saw the signboard of a store named “Bright Blossom”, she got out of her car and entered the store.
“Welcome Miss Qi.” When the receptionist at the door noticed her arrival, she greeted her with a smile. Even though Qi Yōu was wearing a sunglasses, her inhuman like beauty was well-known in the store.
The “Bright Blossom” was a specialized center for female. It provided a range of beauty, dietary, exercise, recreational, and bathing services. It had a notable reputation within the young lady circle in A city. The store manager was a less than forty-year old woman named of Yi Bei. She frequently wore a Huaxia style red dress that showcased her prominent grace and elegance.
As soon as Qi Yōu entered through the store entrance, Yi Bei was already waiting for her. It was reckoned that Rix had sensed Qi Yōu’s presence, so he gave her the order to receive her. That’s right, this store actually belonged to Qi Yōu. The funding source of the store originated from her earning as a contracted hit man for the last dozen of years. In fact, contracted killing can be a lucrative business. Therefore, she was considered to be a wealthy woman even without the support of her sons. However, she didn’t establish this base of operation just for money making. Like a craft rabbit with three burrows3, it was a necessary measure for the protection of her family. After all, there was more than one enemies scheming against them.
“Right this way Miss Qi, he’s waiting for you upstairs.” Yi Bei, with a mysteriously beauty expression, said in a respectful tone. Five years ago, when Qi Yōu was investigating the individuals responsible for ordering the killing of Qi Ao and others, she happened to find and rescue Yi Bei near the coast. It seem that she had suffer a serious injury to her head, so she couldn’t remember a lot of things. Thus, Qi Yōu was the one that gave her the new name.
Qi Yōu nodded as she followed Yi Bei up the staircase to the VIP lounge on the second floor.
Yi Bei opened the door to room number 2017, which was exclusively reserved for Qi Yōu, “Master, please.”
Once Qi Yōu had entered the room. Rix, who was dressed in black clothes, gave a respectful bow to her. Since he was standing beside the window, the sunshine casted down on his fair blonde hair, which further amplified his gorgeous charm and handsomeness. If it weren’t for the misplaced trust with her blood related relatives, then he would already be in position of a duke. Yet he gave up that position just to be by her side. He even risked his own life through many life or death situations just for the sake of maintaining her base of operation. There was no telling the amount of time he spent without any sleep or rest.
“Master, you’re here.” When Rix saw Qi Yōu’s arrival, his unwavering eyes eyes slightly fluctuate for a moment, then returned to tranquility once again.
Qi Yōu nodded as she sat on a chair pulled up by Rix, then Rix withdraw to her side with a respectful bow.
“Rix, what’s the status of your investigation?” Qi Yōu was referring to the individuals that compromised base last time.
“Reporting to master, I have completed my investigation. It seem that they are not related to those people. The individuals were all originated from Huaxia. Interestingly, their abilities were stronger than normal human. I will need to infiltrate the Huaxia database for more of their information.”
“How mysterious?” Qi Yōu wrinkled her nose, then waved her hand and said: “There’s no need to continue. It wasn’t a major incident anyway, there’s no need to needlessly expose ourselves.”
“Understood.” After Rix replied, he silently stood at Qi Yōu side. This sight had remained the same for the last three hundred and thirty years.
When Qi Yōu was aware of this, her heart softened a bit. She raised her head to him with a smile: “Rix, let us go for a boxing spar. There hasn’t been any contracts for the last two months, I am worried that I might become rusty.”
When Rix saw her extremely bright and beautiful smile, he couldn’t help but felt a sense of mixed emotion. As a child, she was raised in a protective environment. Other than learning some fundamental theories and tactics, she never truly experience dangerous and sinister nature of outside world. Yet when she was betrayed by her relative and forced to desert her clansman, how did she manage to maintain her resolution?
He didn’t follow her for the first two year of her exile. At that time, he was uncertain of how his princess survived as a fugitive on the street. However, he will always remember that fateful day when he finally found her. She was eating an ice cream from human. As she looked into his eyes, she smiled with tears in her eyes. That smile was no longer filled with pure innocence nor naive love. Instead, that smile was filled with the coldness of miserable suffering. The same smile that would compelled him to do anything for her sake, even to the point of risking his life against the clan.
“If it is any matter related to killing, then Rix is happy to oblige.” Rix collected his thoughts as he gave a faint bow, his hand placed on his own chest. For his princess, he will forever be her most loyal knight.
1. [Sweet osmanthus soup dumpling (酒釀丸子} is a hot desert. It’s supposed to be sweet and chewy?]
2. [TL Note: That moment when the children are the ones setting curfews for their mother lol.]
3. [A craft rabbit with three burrows (狡兔三窟) is idiom to describe a sly individual who has more than one plan to fall back to. A rabbit with three burrows basically means multiple hideouts against predator, which increased its chance of survival.]
