Chapter 1082: Chapter 56: All Right, All Right, I’m Here—What Are You Afraid Of?
She saw Xiao Nanqing tighten his grip on the wine glass bit by bit after hearing Yuan Lei say that.
Nie Xiaoxing was truly hungry.
But upon witnessing this scene, she suddenly felt a bloated sensation in her stomach, as if it were blocked. Looking at the bowl with less than half the rice eaten, Nie Xiaoxing closed her eyes, put down her chopsticks, and said, "I’m full. You all continue eating."
After speaking, Nie Xiaoxing didn’t give the three a chance to respond and got up to leave the dining table, heading outside to breathe fresh air.
...
Nie Xiaoxing had been outside for less than two minutes when Yuan Lei came out.
Seeing Yuan Lei.
Nie Xiaoxing’s eyes flickered slightly.
Yuan Lei walked toward Nie Xiaoxing hesitantly.
Nie Xiaoxing considered that she was at her home, and since she had deliberately prepared a large table of dishes for her, it wouldn’t be right to make the atmosphere awkward. So she took the initiative to say, "The environment here is really nice."
Hearing Nie Xiaoxing speak, Yuan Lei’s expression relaxed a bit, and she smiled sweetly, "This place was built with my parents’ lifelong savings."
"You’re really fortunate." Nie Xiaoxing said genuinely.
"I think so too, hehe."
Yuan Lei clasped her hands and walked over to Nie Xiaoxing’s side, "My parents are retired now, and my dad is taking my mom on world tours. So I usually live here alone."
"Alone?"
Nie Xiaoxing raised an eyebrow and glanced around, "It’s fine during the day, but aren’t you afraid at night?"
"Not at all!"
Yuan Lei waved her hand, smiling innocently, "I used to write paranormal novels, and I’d write them at three in the morning."
Nie Xiaoxing clicked her tongue, looking at Yuan Lei in surprise, "I didn’t expect you to be so courageous."
Yuan Lei shrugged, "It’s something I got used to over time. I know many people who have studied that world extensively, and I’ve explored various places with them.
At first, I was very scared when I encountered things, but eventually, I got used to it and felt they weren’t too different from us. Just the space they occupy is different."
Nie Xiaoxing pursed her lips, staring incredulously at Yuan Lei.
Yuan Lei blinked, seeing this, "What’s wrong?"
"...Nothing."
Besides saying it was nothing, what else could Nie Xiaoxing say?
Well, she’s an atheist!
But she really didn’t want to discuss this with her...
Because... she felt she was... talking nonsense! Ahem!
Saying this, Yuan Lei instead showed a look of disbelief, "Sister-in-law, aren’t you curious, or... scared?"
"Not really." Nie Xiaoxing responded flatly.
Yuan Lei, "... Sister-in-law, you’re really different from other girls."
"Am I?" Nie Xiaoxing walked to the side.
Yuan Lei watched her for a moment from where she stood before catching up, "I get it. It’s because you don’t believe that souls actually exist in this world, so you aren’t scared when you hear me talk about it."
"Maybe." Nie Xiaoxing said.
"..." Yuan Lei sighed, looking somewhat defeated at Nie Xiaoxing, "Sister-in-law, you’re really sparing with words."
Nie Xiaoxing stopped and looked back at her.
Yuan Lei clasped her hands behind her back, tilted her head to look at her, as if her face transformed in an instant, and suddenly said, "You’re so ugly!"
Nie Xiaoxing, "..." !!!
Because it was so sudden, so abrupt, Nie Xiaoxing was completely unprepared, and she shuddered, looking at Yuan Lei in disbelief.
Yuan Lei chuckled.
The light reflecting off her glasses was unusually eerie.
"You’re not worthy of my cousin!" Yuan Lei suddenly stopped smiling and stared directly at Nie Xiaoxing. When she said this, she was extraordinarily serious, even carrying a hint of resentment.
Nie Xiaoxing’s heart suddenly sped up.
She looked at Yuan Lei, and her pores were all on edge.
That feeling could only be described as... creepy!
"Little Xing’er, Yuan Lei, what are you two up to?"
Gu Yan came out of the house, standing at the door and called out loudly to Nie Xiaoxing and Yuan Lei.
Almost instantly, Nie Xiaoxing saw Yuan Lei’s face break into a smile again, once more showing that naive and innocent look. She jumped forward, intimately linking arms with Nie Xiaoxing, staring at her, her mouth slowly curling into a wide grin.
Nie Xiaoxing’s entire body went cold.
"Cousin, I’m chatting with Sister-in-law," Yuan Lei said cheerfully to Gu Yan.
Gu Yan raised his eyebrows with a smile and beckoned to Nie Xiaoxing, "Little Xing’er, come here."
Yuan Lei quickly tightened her grip on Nie Xiaoxing’s arm, "Cousin, I’m having a good chat with Sister-in-law, and you just want to take her away?"
"Take what? She’s my wife, why would I want to take her from you? She’s mine to begin with!"
As Gu Yan spoke, he swaggered over with his hands in his pockets.
Nie Xiaoxing’s face turned pale uncontrollably, her eyes seemed frozen as she stared at Gu Yan approaching.
Gu Yan came closer and saw Nie Xiaoxing’s condition; his handsome face darkened. He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her away from Yuan Lei’s grasp.
With the other hand, he nervously cupped Nie Xiaoxing’s pale face, "What’s wrong? Why do you look so pale? Are you feeling unwell?"
Nie Xiaoxing opened her mouth stiffly but couldn’t utter a word.
"What’s wrong with Sister-in-law? Ah... Sister-in-law, why did your face suddenly turn so white?" Yuan Lei looked at Nie Xiaoxing in alarm.
"I should be asking you that. What did you say to your sister-in-law?" Gu Yan glared at Yuan Lei.
Yuan Lei innocently frowned and whispered, "I didn’t say anything."
"I’ll deal with you later!"
Gu Yan said harshly, then bent down and picked up Nie Xiaoxing in his arms, striding into the house.
Yuan Lei watched Gu Yan and Nie Xiaoxing, her eyes under the glasses flashing with a cold light.
Xiao Nanqing stood at the doorway watching Yuan Lei, his long, narrow eyes slightly narrowed.
...
Inside a room in the house.
Gu Yan held Nie Xiaoxing’s small face, rubbing it, while also holding her hands and blowing on them, muttering, "Yuan Lei has been a troublemaker since young, she says whatever comes to her mind. Don’t worry about what she said, none of it’s true anyway."
"Tsk. Did she tell you some ghost stories again? She’s just bluffing! There’s no such thing in this world."
"It seems I can’t let you be alone with her in the future, to prevent her from causing trouble for you!"
"And you, you’re usually so brave, aren’t you? I take care of everything! Why be afraid of ghosts?"
"..."
Nie Xiaoxing pressed her lips, looking at Gu Yan. Listening to him, her heart was in chaos.
Gu Yan saw that Nie Xiaoxing was scared stiff, he held her close, kissing her forehead, and coaxed softly, "Alright, alright, I’m here, what are you afraid of? Even if ghosts really exist, they wouldn’t dare touch you with me around. I’ll protect you, okay?"
Nie Xiaoxing clutched the fabric on either side of Gu Yan’s waist, her face pressed against his chest, and after a while, she said, "I’m not afraid of those."
Gu Yan laughed, looking down at her, "Still pretending in front of me? Look at your pale little face."
Nie Xiaoxing lowered her long lashes, her eyes inexplicably heating up, and her voice came out hoarse, "...Gu Yan, I want to ask you a question."
"Ask," Gu Yan replied.
"...Is Yuan Lei really your cousin?" Nie Xiaoxing asked.
Gu Yan paused, looking at her, "Is that even a question?!"
Nie Xiaoxing raised her head from his embrace, her eyes filled with melancholy as she looked at Gu Yan, "You, you said before that she has someone she likes... do you know who it is?"
Gu Yan shook his head.
Nie Xiaoxing gripped his clothing tightly, "You don’t know?"
"Little San and I both asked her, but she wouldn’t say," Gu Yan said softly, "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"
"Could she be..." in love with you...
The last three words reached her lips, but Nie Xiaoxing just couldn’t say them out loud!
She could even imagine what Gu Yan’s reaction would be if she asked it outright.
He would definitely think she was crazy for asking such an absurd and baseless question!
After all.
They were direct cousins.
Gu Yan looked at Nie Xiaoxing’s anxious face, puzzled. He gently stroked her face with his hands, his fingertips softly pressing and kneading her skin, and said tenderly, "Eight years ago, my uncle and aunt both passed away in a plane crash."
Nie Xiaoxing’s eyes widened suddenly, gripping Gu Yan’s shirt, staring at him, "What did you say? Your uncle and aunt... passed away?"
Gu Yan slowly nodded, puzzled by Nie Xiaoxing’s intense reaction.
Nie Xiaoxing opened her mouth.
Just twenty minutes ago, Yuan Lei told her.
Her father had taken her mother on a trip abroad...
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