Chapter 1918: Chapter 1918: Magic Apostle (39)
Suo Wei moved his things over to Chuzheng’s place, and the house that had been empty before quickly became stuffed to the brim.
Suo Wei didn’t really go out much either; most of the time he went to the Colosseum to deal with his own affairs.
Chuzheng would sometimes tag along, and then she’d see that stupid dragon.
It was said that the group led by the Magic Association wanted Suo Wei to hand over Dila, but no one knew what kind of deal Suo Wei reached with them, and the matter just fizzled out.
It wasn’t until Chuzheng saw Alice again that she remembered she’d kind of forgotten about her back then.
Of course, Chuzheng didn’t feel guilty; whether she saved people or not was her freedom, and nothing could be used to morally blackmail her into it.
Alice didn’t hold any grudge; she greeted her excitedly and even told her about what had been going on at school lately.
Elsa and Nina had both already taken a leave of absence.
If they didn’t, if they went back to school, even if they wouldn’t be ostracized like the original Chuzheng had been, they’d definitely be talked about behind their backs.
They’d both been lofty, high-and-mighty daughters of heaven for over ten years—how could they possibly tolerate people pointing fingers at them?
Elsa was considerably better off than Nina; Charles only had this one daughter.
Nina was the miserable one. She had an older brother and a younger sister; she’d been favored in the first place purely because of her talent.
Now that she’d lost all that, life at home grew harder for Nina by the day.
Not long after, Nina was made to "continue contributing to the family"—they picked out a husband for her and told her to marry.
Nina refused and ran away from home; no one knew where she went.
Elsa was living better than Nina, but after Maggie got pregnant and gave birth to a boy, Elsa’s status quietly began to shift.
Elsa’s temper grew worse and worse, and she started using any means necessary to go after her own little brother.
Charles had a pretty high tolerance; after several incidents, he still didn’t really punish Elsa.
Elsa only grew more reckless. Once she nearly got her little brother killed, and Charles finally couldn’t take it anymore and had her sent off to another estate.
After that, there was no news of her for a long time.
Chuzheng didn’t go back to the Magic Academy; after all, Elsa wasn’t there anymore, so there wasn’t much point in her going either.
She hadn’t expected she and Elsa would meet again.
It was during the hottest days of summer.
Suo Wei was handling business at the Colosseum; Chuzheng went over right on time to pick him up, and to conveniently complete the spendthrift mission that Bastard had given her.
As Chuzheng walked out of a shop with her things, a little Kid suddenly bumped into her.
The Kid’s footing was unsteady and he fell flat on the ground.
Chuzheng: "..." Out this young already, looking to stage accidents for money?
The Kid didn’t cry; he just tilted his head up to look at her. His little face was round and chubby, and after a while he lisped, "S-sis... Sister?"
Chuzheng glanced around herself. Calling her?
Who’s your sister!
Calling random people now!
Chuzheng reached out and picked the Kid up by the back of his clothes. Once she’d made sure he hadn’t hurt himself, she stepped around him and left.
The Kid sucked on his finger and tilted his head, watching Chuzheng.
"Young master!"
Someone rushed over, scooped the Kid up, and checked him over with lingering fear. "You scared me to death. How did you end up here?"
The Kid pointed at Chuzheng.
The man followed his finger, but apparently didn’t understand what he meant. He coaxed the child a bit, then carried him off in the other direction.
Chuzheng didn’t give the matter a second thought and went to pick up Suo Wei before heading home.
On the way, Suo Wei wanted something to eat, but he hated the heat and refused to step a single foot out of the carriage, so Chuzheng had no choice but to hold it in and go buy it for him.
Of course, this came at a price.
Suo Wei felt he could afford that price.
While waiting for the shopkeeper to pack the food, Chuzheng leaned on the counter, bored, watching the carriages outside.
"Miss, your order." The shopkeeper handed the package to Chuzheng.
Chuzheng paid, turned around, and saw that same Kid who’d staged that "accident" just now, wobbling down from the upper floor following someone, heading for the door.
Just as they reached the doorway, a person suddenly rushed in from outside, knife in hand, lunging straight at the Kid.
"Ah!"
"Young master!"
The attack came out of nowhere. The person with the Kid seemed to be just an ordinary man; though he reacted quickly enough to ram into the attacker, he still couldn’t subdue them.
The attacker was quite strong and broke free of the person holding them back, turning to stab at the Kid again.
The Kid seemed either frightened stiff or simply didn’t understand what was happening; he stood rooted to the spot, not moving at all.
Seeing the knife about to strike the Kid, Chuzheng sighed. Before the attacker’s knife could touch him, she grabbed the person by the collar and hauled them aside, then kicked at their wrist.
Clang—
The knife dropped to the floor.
By then, people who’d heard the commotion outside came rushing in and quickly wrestled the attacker to the ground.
The attacker was a woman, hair loose and disheveled, looking mentally unstable. She kept muttering, "Die! Die! Die!"
When her face was forced up, Chuzheng saw her clearly.
"Y-Young Miss?!"
Obviously, Chuzheng wasn’t the only one who recognized her; the people pinning the woman down recognized her as well.
-
It was only then that Chuzheng learned the Kid was Charles’s son, her half-brother on their mother’s side.
Sometimes blood really was a strange thing.
While those people were dealing with Elsa, Chuzheng slipped away from the side.
The next evening, Wuno came in with a strange expression to report, "Miss Xue Laiya, Madam Charles is outside and would like to see you."
Madam Charles... Maggie?
"I’m not seeing her." She and that woman had nothing to do with each other anymore; the original Chuzheng was already dead. What was the point of meeting now?
"Uh..."
Maggie came three days in a row, and Chuzheng refused to see her each time.
In the end, for some reason, Suo Wei brought that Kid in.
"Sis... Sister." The moment the Kid saw her, he called out in a milky voice.
"What are you doing?" Chuzheng stared at the Kid.
"Isn’t he cute?" Suo Wei put the Kid down on the sofa and asked with a smiling face.
The Kid scrambled over to Chuzheng on hands and feet, grabbing her sleeve.
Chuzheng: "..."
"Do you like him?"
"Don’t you like him?"
"No. Put him back where you found him."
Suo Wei puffed out his cheeks and said in a soft voice, "Dila says kids this size taste the best. It likes them the most."
Chuzheng: "..."
Knew it. No way he’d suddenly grown a conscience.
Chuzheng picked up the Kid and headed out, but Suo Wei tugged on her sleeve. "Dila really wants to eat him. No one saw anything anyway, just give him to Dila."
Chuzheng turned back and warned him, "Suo Wei, I’m warning you. You are not allowed to do that."
"..."
The boy let out a disgruntled snort and stomped upstairs.
Chuzheng carried the Kid outside; Maggie was running all over looking for him.
She’d glanced away for just a second and the child had vanished, scaring her half to death.
When she saw Chuzheng carrying him out, the heart Maggie had been holding up finally dropped heavily back into place.
"Xiao Zheng..."
"Keep a close eye on your son." Chuzheng handed the Kid over to her. "And don’t come here again. I’m doing just fine."
"Xiao..."
Maggie watched the front door close, her expression complicated.
In the end she sighed, adjusted her hold on the Kid, and left.
