Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The old couple’s house – a small 2-story house – was next to the river. The river in front of the house had frozen over, and one could see winter and snow on the horizon. The old couple described what happened along the way, and she had some inkling of what was going on.
“What’s your name? The elderly person asked.
Eleven’s tongue almost slipped and she almost said her name. While she was in a secluded place where the villages lived spartanly, nobody would know her name. As she thought about it, it did not feel quite right and she could not find some name as a stopgap. “I’m number seven in the family, so my family calls me Little Seven,” she said.
Ye Wei and her were the youngest amongst the seven disciples The Old Witch was most pleased with. As she was two months younger than Ye Wei, she was indeed number seven.
A day ago, a man claiming that he was traveling with his lover came to the village but encountered a storm and became lost form said partner. He tried looking for her in the snow for a long time but to no avail. He happened to encounter the old couple and requested lodging. The kind elderly couple took him in.
According to the man, he had to stay here until he found his long-lost lover. The elderly couple had no children, and were undoubtedly happy with somebody else with them. They allowed him to stay as long as he wished.
Such stories were one too many amidst this wintry backdrop. While many of such stories were heard of in wintry Norway, these stories became a tad more romantic given Norway’s environment and the story of The Snow Queen. The desolate landscape of this place made stories seem much sadder.
The elderly couple opened the door and happily called out. A man, in a black windbreaker with a gray scarf around his neck, came out of the house. He did not seem old, but was undoubtedly good-looking. He had a pair of sky-blue eyes and was extremely good-looking. He was however very tall and his clothes – while a tad too thick for him – should be standard-size. His thick and short hair made him seem extremely attentive.
He greeted the elderly couple and then moved the box over before greeting Eleven. The man’s delicate face frowned as a bitter glance raced past it as though he was an aggressive person who ruled the underworld.
Eleven looked at him coldly and fearlessly. The two of them, whose gazes were like lightning, did not seem like people who could be trifled with. Even till today, Eleven was fearless of whomever she met as she was confident that nobody could harm her.
It as though they were trying to figure out each other’s identity.
The elderly couple excitedly told the man about Eleven and asked him if she was his long-lost lover. Both of them had scarves of almost the same design and color, and the elderly couple saw them as an item however they tried.
The man shook his head and looked at Eleven before he moved the box on the sled into his room.
The elderly couple unconditionally accepted him and he would do the heavy lifting that he would never allow the elderly couple to. The elderly couple knew that there was a misunderstanding and did not mind. They warmly welcomed Eleven into the house.
Eleven nodded and followed the elderly couple into the house.
There was a heater in the house which made it much more comfortable as warm air leapt at her. The elderly lady prepared a cup of hot milk for her as she knew that she must have been freezing after walking in the snow for a long time.
Eleven politely thanked her and looked down as she drank her milk. She indeed felt much more comfortable.
“What’s his name?” Eleven took her chance and asked the old lady as the man got busy with the elderly man in the kitchen. The box contained ingredients that he was sorting out.
“Anthony,” the elderly lady said.
Eleven looked towards the kitchen quietly. Anthony?
As snow fell outside the window, the inside of the house was as warm as spring.
Anthony and the elderly man moved the ingredients from the box into the fridge, and the elderly man took off his jacket and dusted the snowflakes off them. He then hung his jacket up on the hangar in the living room.
The elderly woman also dusted off the snowflakes off her jacket and hung it. If they did not step out of the house, they need not dress too thickly. The elderly man was slightly more afraid of the cold and opted for a slightly thicker windbreaker. Both of them were extremely tall and old, but were in extremely good shape and looked good in their jackets.
Anthony’s room was downstairs. After he nodded to Eleven and acknowledged her presence, he entered his own room.
“Little Seven, aren’t you feeling hot? I still have some clothes from my youth. Let me find one for you,” The elderly lady asked passionately. Eleven gave it some thought and agreed. The elderly lady brought her upstairs.
“I thought these clothes were about to go to the dump pile, and little did I expect them to still be of use,” The elderly lady said as she went upstairs.
As they went upstairs, Anthony came out from his room. He changed into an off-white turtleneck fleece t-shirt and leisure pants. His good figure complemented his simple attire very well and made him seem like somebody from Upper Society. His actions and gestures were extremely charming.
The elderly man clearly took a liking to Anthony and bombarded him with questions. He asked Anthony whether he had found his lost lover, and Anthony looked upstairs whilst gently shaking his head.
The elderly man tapped his shoulder and consoled him. Young man, never give up. There’s always hope.
Anthony gently smiled and nodded.
“Mr Kurt, how did you run into her?” Anthony flatly asked.
Mr Kurt described how they encountered Eleven. “This woman was standing in the snow pitifully and in a daze. She looked like a lost lady, and we felt that familiarity with her as she wore a similar scarf as yours. We almost thought she was your lover.”
But alas, it was a misunderstanding.
“Do I give off similar vibes to her?”
Mr Kurt laughed as he pointed backwards to the snow outside the window.
The elderly man somehow managed to humor Anthony, and Anthony broke into a loud laughter.
Eleven followed the elderly woman upstairs. The elderly woman asked her where she wanted to stay as they had guest rooms upstairs and downstairs. Eleven figured that the elderly couple stayed upstairs and her staying upstairs would inconvenience them and hence said downstairs.
The elderly woman nodded and had her sit on the sofa as she rummaged for her clothes in the little room.
“Little Seven, you are of very few words. Young girls like you should smile more and be a tad more lively as people really like those traits in you,” The elderly lady said as she looked for her clothes.
Eleven was a little taken back. “It’s cold, and my teeth are chattering,” she replied.
The elderly woman smiled. “That’s understandable,” she said.
Eleven looked around the room and saw the black-white wedding photo of the couple on the wall that was taken decades ago. The couple in the photograph were extremely young, and the elderly lady then had striking features whilst the elderly man then was suave. They made a perfect match.
Not much longer later, the elderly lady pulled out a huge leather box and opened it. She took out several pieces of clothing – there were skirts, jackets, trousers and some accessories for young women.
Although the clothes were somewhat old, they were still bright and extremely beautiful and were in-style decades ago despite being out of time. It was just…
Eleven was in a tight spot.
These clothes seemed a tad too flowery for her.
She typically liked three colors – white, gray and black – instead of these flowery colours. She did not want to go against the elderly woman’s goodwill and opted for the plainest-looking short sleeve jacket that complemented her shirt.
The elderly lady passed her a few skirts to try on, and Eleven shook her head as she was not one to wear skirts. While the elderly lady lamented her pity, Eleven fell silent. How could she wear skirts that seemed fit for banquets and formal outings? She would become a laughing stock.
She chose a few longer-sleeved shirts and trousers before following the elderly lady downstairs.
When Eleven was at the stairwell, she saw a tall man standing downstairs and almost tripped over herself. The elderly woman called for Eleven to be careful and Anthony turned back to see Eleven clutching her clothes as her long hair drooped down and covered half her face.
“Are you okay?” The elderly lady asked out of concern.
Eleven shook her head as she looked down. The elderly lady led her to the guest room down stairs that was opposite Anthony’s guest room.
The elderly lady wanted to help her to tidy up the room, but Eleven stopped her. “I’ll do it myself.”
The elderly lady nodded and instructed her to come out once she was done. As it had been a long time they had many people in the house, the elderly lady preferred it to be bustling.
Eleven nodded.
As she left, Eleven closed the door and her gaze sank. That person’s back… That person’s back…
His back had left an indelible impression, and she was hugely in shock. His back seemed like Mo Ye’s back…
She recalled the first time they met each other. While his temperament was similar to Mo Ye’s, he could change his face and gaze but not his figure and temperament. He sounded like an awesome baritone whilst Mo Ye sounded like a deep yet magnetic bass.
If she wanted to, she could change her voice without requiring a voice modulator.
Eleven shook her head. Was she overthinking? Mo Ye was shot, and Meng Lianying was grievously wounded as well. Since Meng Lianying would not be recovering in time, how could Mo Ye, who cared for her that much, come to such a far-flung place?
He had no reason either…
Eleven’s gaze turned cold. Whatever the possibility, she could not let her guard down.
There was a bedside mirror at the head of the bed. Eleven went before the mirror and saw her delicate and somewhat beautiful face with its delicate features and pale skin. Ye Wei long had intricate artificial masks, and she was influenced by them and could not stand particularly ugly masks. Her mask, complemented by her long hair, hid her past self (save the coldness between her eyes).
If…
Eleven felt her heart sink and closed her eyes. If one wanted to identify another person, a few artificial masks weren’t necessary at all. The only one thing that had to change was one’s temperament.
The face in the mirror started to change. What was a cold face became hints warmer as her eyebrows curved whilst her pitch back eyes were round like grapes as she wore a smile…
Her smile was slightly stiff, and Eleven retracted her smile.
It was actually extremely easy for her to disguise herself as a completely different person. When Ye Wei back then was naughty enough to want to see her seduce men, she did it to satisfy Ye Wei’s curiosity.
As gorgeous her was no less gorgeous than Ye Wei, her sweet smile and delicate actions were standard.
As she recalled how Mo Ye could be outside, she could not bring herself to smile.
She smiled at the mirror… Once, twice, thrice…
She always felt that it was unnatural, and forced herself to recall when was the last time she disguised herself as another person which was a year ago. There was a knocking on the door, and Eleven thought it was the elderly woman knocking on the door. She recalled that Anthony had yet to hear her voice, and if she changed her voice… would the elderly woman become suspicious of her? To heck with that, as long as she did not use her actual voice.
“Please enter!”
As the door was opened, Eleven was aghast at tall Anthony leaning against the door with a slight smile on his face. “Mrs Kurt is calling you.”
Eleven suddenly clenched her fists tightly and then gradually opened them. “I know,” she smiled.
Anthony’s gaze seemed especially dark and Eleven quietly suppressed her smile. How weird could she get to be unable to smile despite facing the mirror the whole time, hate on Mo Ye when she recalled him and yet smile so beautifully at him?
She stood up and raised her eyebrows in a slightly teasing manner and lightened up her face substantially while reaching out her hand. “Hi there, I am Little Seven.”
Anthony looked at her gloved hands and curled into a slight smile. He reached out and held her hand. “Anthony here. Glad to know you.”
He held her hand with quite some force.
“Are you so used to shaking others’ hands this hard?” Eleven smiled and asked.
She loosened her hands, and Anthony shrugged. “I’m sorry, I didn’t expect you to be so…” He frowned extremely cutely as he seemed to ponder about his choice of adjective for her. He thought for a moment and finally said, “vulnerable.”
Eleven quietly smiled – something she had learnt from Scheming Chu when one did not want to speak.
Anthony, with his hands in his pockets, stood suavely. If Ye Wei were present, she would have posed even more suavely than him. As the person in question shouldn’t be Mo Ye, Eleven continued smiling quietly.
There was scarcely any resemblance.
But his look changed too quickly. He was clearly not like that when he entered the door.
“Your face looked frozen over, and I thought you really disliked me,” Anthony callously said.
“I was walking in the snow for a long time, and my face was frozen stiff. Aren’t you like that too?”
“Er yea. I was walking in the snow for a long time and came back as frozen stiff as you.”
“The weather is really cold.”
“Indeed!”
The two of them chatted and probed each other. “Anthony, Little Seven, why aren’t you out yet?” Mrs Kurt’s voice came over.
“Coming,” Anthony turned around and acknowledged with a gorgeous smile. “Ladies please.”
“Just call me Little Seven,” Eleven smiled charmingly as she closed the door and walked before him.
The smile in Anthony’s eyes deepened.
Little Seven?