Mu Rulan was smiling as usual, looking to be in a good mood. When she was almost done with her meal, she suddenly stretched her chopsticks out to block Ke Wanqing's chopsticks from grabbing a dish, cutely saying: "Mom, did you forget you can't eat too much of this?"
Ke Wanqing was surprised, staring at the bitter melon at the end of her chopsticks. She had almost finished half the dish by herself. The way that Mu Rulan gently chided her made her heart fill up with warmth, making even her eyes curve into crescents. "Alright, alright, I understand, you little minx."
Ke Wanqing's body ran cold, so it was better that she didn't consume too much bitter melon. However, braised pork ribs with bitter melon was her favorite dish, so she had difficulty. Oftentimes Mu Zhenyang would forget to remind her, and she couldn't help herself and would eat it.
Who didn't like having someone to care for them? Mu Rulan was her pride and joy, the apple of her eye.
Mu Zhenyang noticed and his face darkened immediately. "Didn't I tell the kitchen not to cook that dish anymore?"
"Aunt Lee just arrive at our house, the previous aunt probably just forgot to tell her. Don't be mad, dad. Tomorrow I'll let her know about this." Mu Rulan's voice was fresh and sweet, like with a bit of a wheedling daughter's tone, immediately softening Mu Zhenyang's heart. At least this child didn't act like her mother, forcefully making her way through most situations in a way that disgusted him.
"You don't have to meddle in such small matters." Mu Zhenyang said.
Mu Rulan nodded her head, putting down her chopsticks. "I'll be going up first."
"Alright… Don't forget to come down for a cup of hot milk before you sleep. I'll have it prepared in the kitchen."
"Mn." Translated by The Novelst
In those moments, Bai Suqing felt her existence being ignored, feeling just like an outsider being thrown out. Although she was in reality an outsider, it was an unpleasant feeling, especially since both parents had just been focusing all their attention on her just now.
As they continued the meal without Mu Rulan, Bai Suqing's expression had become ghastly, since Ke Wanqing and Mu Zhenyang had started another conversation with her, but the topics all revolved around Mu Rulan. They were praising Mu Rulan's achievements and excellence with pride. The conversation seemed to be for Bai Suqing, but in actuality the focus was Mu Rulan!
"Your face looks so ugly I can't swallow my rice." Mu Rulin spoke up suddenly from his seat across from Bai Suqing. She looked back, but couldn't see his eyes, obscured as they were by his glasses.
"Aiya, Qing Qing's face doesn't look well!" Ke Wanqing automatically interpreted the "face" that Mu Rulin had mentioned from her vantage point.
"P-probably because I'm a little bit tired." Bai Suqing said as she touched her face with a slightly stiff smile. She thought that if she wanted to achieve her goals, she would have to find a way to pull Mu Rulan down from her current position first in order to reach her desired spot in their hearts.
"Then you should eat more and get some rest."
"Mn."
……
Bai Suqing's room was to be on the same floor as Mu Rulan, Mu Rulin, and Mu Rusen's rooms. There was an empty guest room for her to stay in, which coincidentally happened to be situated at the end of the corridor like Mu Rulan's. So if they were both to open the door, they could see each other at the end of the hallway.
Bai Suqing was satisfied with the light purple painted on her walls, and felt really exhausted after sitting on the plane for two days and nights, so went for a bath and to sleep.
Mu Rulan gently hummed a song, finishing her sixth year paper and smiled, looking at the doll clok on her desk. She saw that it was already 1:30… it was almost time, hehe.
Bai Suqing was sleeping comfortably, but all of a sudden she felt her whole body start to itch. The itch worsened especially when she scratched at her skin. When she turned on the lights, a face filled with red spots and scratches stared back at her in the mirror, scaring her so much she broke out into a cold sweat.
Was this… an allergy? Translated by The Novelst
In the past, everything about Bai Suqing was fake, her pitiful act, her friendliness and her righteousness were also fake. But the only real thing they had discovered was her allergy to lavender.
She seemed not to know that she herself was allergic to plants like lavender, but because the sheets and blankets were all chosen by Ke Wanqing in her past life, it all became one of the guiltiest incidents in Ke Wanqing's heart. When a person felt guilty, she would immediately seek ways to absolve themselves, so she slowly started to take the side of Bai Suqing. Finally, this sort of unconscious guilt became a sort of "love."
Bai Suqing calmed down in a few moments after the shock. Since the incident had already occurred, she would use this opportunity to turn the tides. Her appearance now didn't fit to all their promises to take good care of her, especially since she had just moved in, so…
Bai Suqing opened her door to the dark corridor. It was very quiet. The moment she raised her eyes, a white figure appeared just at the opposite end of the hall, pitch-black hair covering her face, looking just like Sadako in "The Ring." Bai Suqing was so shocked by the scene that her face went extremely pale, almost fainting dead away.
"Are you alright?" Mu Rulan had accidentally bumped her knee when she was coming out of her room, so she bent down to inspect her injury. When she hurt the noise come from the end of the corridor, she raised her head and told Bai Suqing to wait. She knew that Bai Suqing was allergic, so she invited Bai Suqing into her room and found her some medicine.
"Oh so you have an allergy to lavender? Why didn't you tell us?" Mu Rulan acted like she didn't notice Bai Suqing's unwilling expression at all and pulled her into the room. Mu Rulan's room reflected her character: clean and tidy, yet very warm. However, it made Bai Suqing feel uncomfortable in her heart.
"Come, lay on the bed and I'll put some medicine on for you." Mu Rulan said.
Bai Suqing immediately shook her hands shyly: "Oh no no, you don't have to, I can do it myself."
"It's fine, you can't even reach to your back alone. If you still feel unwell tomorrow, mom will definitely feel guilty if she hears about it." Mu Rulan smiled as she squeezed out some medicine, but her words made Bai Suqing clench her teeth!
Bai Suqing's goal was to make Ke Wanqing feel guilty towards her. She was an expert in manipulating people's hearts. But since Mu Rulan told her this, she could only keep her suffering in her heart. How else could she maintain her image as a tactful white lotus?
Bai Suqing unwillingly took off her shirt and turned away from Mu Rulan. She didn't know if it was the medicine or Mu Rulan's fingers, but the moment she touched her, Bai Suqing felt an incredible, ice cold bite through her bones.
Mu Rulan smiled gently as her eyes followed her fingers moving on the young girl's back. Bai Suqing had fair skin with nice texture. As her fingers swept over her shoulder blades, she could feel the bones of her shoulder. Then she followed her neckline and moved downwards to her waist, going slowly back up. She was very seriously putting the medicine on her back, so seriously that even Bai Suqing found it weird and became afraid.
Especially thinking back to the moment she opened her door and saw a Sadako in the middle of the night was terrifying. Bai Suqing started to feel uneasy.
"Sister, are you done yet?" Bai Suqing's patience had reached her limit and her tone urged Mu Rulan to work faster.
Mu Rulan didn't respond, and out of Bai Suqing's line of sight, an obsessed look overtook her face. She gazed at Bai Suqing's spine and touched her softly: "Qing Qing's spine is extremely beautiful, and your skin texture is nice too."
Very…very…very suitable for her to make into a puppet doll.
Proofread by: Hannah