Chapter 170: The Cannon Fodder Who Can’t Survive Three Chapters (13)
“Sorry…”
After Su Jin and Chu Yinxi left, Bei Xing and Su Mingxiu were alone under the tree. Bei Xing, who hadn’t even been touched by direct sunlight, looked like a wilting plant, her head drooping as she apologized.
Su Mingxiu, her beautiful face framed by her crimson dress, a faint smile on her lips, asked: “What are you apologizing for?”
Why?
Because she had caused trouble for Su Mingxiu.
She had disliked Su Jin since the snake demon had tried to kill her and then tricked her father. She had been ready to attack, a talisman hidden in her hand, but seeing Su Mingxiu’s wary expression, she had realized that she had underestimated Su Jin’s power.
The snake demon wouldn’t be fooled so easily this time.
Su Jin was a demon, not bound by human morals or laws. If Bei Xing had followed her usual survival strategy, she would have kept quiet, not provoked the demon.
“Because… my impulsive actions put you in danger,” she said, her eyes lowered, her eyelashes fluttering, her remorse seemingly genuine, a stark contrast to her usual dismissive attitude.
“Oh?” Su Mingxiu, intrigued, “So if I weren’t here, you would have acted differently?”
Bei Xing felt like a fraud, relying on Su Mingxiu’s protection, but she didn’t shy away, although her cheeks flushed slightly. “Yes, I still dislike her, but I wouldn’t have been so… reckless. So, I’m sorry.”
Su Mingxiu guessed that she hadn’t understood Su Jin’s hint about the horns.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t be apologizing.
Since Bei Xing didn’t know, Su Mingxiu wouldn’t tell her, only expressing her approval of Bei Xing’s apology. “It’s okay, memorize the first twenty hexagrams of the I Ching tonight, and I’ll forgive you.”
“Huh?”
Bei Xing stared, speechless.
Su Mingxiu smiled. “Being straightforward is good, but you need the strength to back it up. So, memorize the first twenty hexagrams.”
“If you try to avoid it, I’ll punish you, understand?”
Bei Xing, usually protesting loudly at any mention of studying, now only puffed out her cheeks and agreed obediently.
“Okay.”
That afternoon, Bei Xing’s mind was filled with the Qian hexagram, her progress stalled at the first line: Hidden dragon, do not act.
Her classmate, studying for the CET, was flipping through a dictionary: “Abandon, to leave, to give up, to fall into…” Their voices were soft, but in the quiet classroom, they could hear each other.
They exchanged glances, both wearing expressions of suffering.
Then, one continued struggling with the Qian hexagram, the other with the “A” section of the dictionary.
Back at the Bei residence, Bei Xing, like a student cramming for an exam, was memorizing the hexagrams, not even interested in dinner. At 7 PM, after reviewing them twice, she called out to Su Mingxiu: “Quick!”
“Test me now!” Before she forgot everything.
Su Mingxiu chuckled, then flipped through the book. “Since you’ve memorized them, memorize twenty more.”
Bei Xing: “?”
She stared, wide-eyed, her hard work seemingly unappreciated, feeling frustrated.
Holding the I Ching, she blinked at Su Mingxiu slowly, then pouted.
Su Mingxiu’s smile deepened. She leaned closer, her cold fingertip tracing Bei Xing’s chin. “Want to be tested now?”
Bei Xing hesitated, unsure if this was a trap or a treat. “Can I… hear the questions first?”
“Sure,” Su Mingxiu grabbed the TV remote, turned on the sports channel, and pointed at a soccer match. “If you want to be tested now, tell me the score of the next game, and I’ll consider you proficient in divination.”
Bei Xing, who had only googled the Creative and Receptive hexagrams: “?”
…If she could predict World Cup scores by memorizing hexagrams, she wouldn’t be… well, she wasn’t poor anymore.
But thinking about her love for money, she ignored Su Mingxiu’s question and asked hopefully: “Master, are there any divination techniques for predicting lottery numbers?”
She would memorize ten books for that!
Five million yuan, here I come!
She received a flick on the forehead, stumbling back and hitting her lower back against the doorknob, the pain making her gasp.
Su Mingxiu chuckled, knowing that Bei Xing wasn’t destined for such wealth. As Bei Xing rubbed her back, she said slowly: “Even if I taught you, you wouldn’t be able to win the lottery, even with talent, you wouldn’t get that five million, do you still want to learn?”
“Never mind,” Bei Xing replied immediately.
Ignorance was bliss.
Actually, according to Bei Xing’s fate in this world, she had no talent for metaphysics. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have known Chu Yinxi for so long without any benefits. But Su Mingxiu’s arrival had changed everything.
Bei Xing wasn’t naturally gifted, Su Mingxiu was force-feeding her, spoonfuls of knowledge and power.
Knowing she couldn’t win the lottery, Bei Xing’s motivation waned, and she slumped at her desk, like a wilting plant. The housekeeper brought her dinner and the herbal medicine Su Mingxiu had prescribed.
It smelled… fragrant.
Bei Xing stared at the dark brown liquid, remembering the herbal remedies she had taken in her previous life, even searching online for the ingredients, finding one with a beautiful name—
Yemingsha.
Then she had discovered its true nature: bat droppings.
She wondered if the servants had been so efficient, already gathering the ingredients, even preparing the concoction. She stared at her reflection in the dark liquid, wondering…
Should she search online for the ingredients?
If she didn’t, she might be drinking something disgusting. If she did, she would still have to drink it, even if she knew what it was.
Su Mingxiu, seeing her apprehension, thinking she was afraid of the bitter taste, offered her some grapes, but Bei Xing, after a glance, continued staring at the medicine.
“What are you thinking about?” Su Mingxiu finally asked.
Bei Xing, almost letting the medicine get cold, looked up at her. “Wondering… if there’s anything… weird in it.”
“No,” Su Mingxiu replied.
“Great!” Bei Xing quickly drank half the bowl in one gulp, trying to avoid the taste, but the bitterness still overwhelmed her. She put down the bowl, covered her mouth, and was about to rush to the bathroom—
A cold, pale hand stopped her.
Su Mingxiu whispered something in her ear, and Bei Xing froze, her face flushed, then she forced herself to finish the medicine.
She glared at Su Mingxiu, tears welling up in her eyes, the bitterness lingering on her tongue.
Because Su Mingxiu had whispered: “This medicine costs 20,000 yuan.”
Why… so expensive?
Bei Xing returned to her desk and finished the rest of the medicine, not even leaving a single drop.
Su Mingxiu, leaning against her desk, the lamplight illuminating half of her sleeve, her shadow stretching across the floor, asked: “Tastes good, right?”
Bei Xing: “…”
She looked at Su Mingxiu, then suddenly stood up and leaned closer, her lips almost touching Su Mingxiu’s, when a cold hand stopped her.
Her lips, still tasting the bitterness, were covered by Su Mingxiu’s hand, her eyes, clear and bright, now filled with a silent accusation.
Su Mingxiu’s eyes narrowed slightly, then she leaned down and kissed the back of her own hand,
Her gaze meeting Bei Xing’s, as if offering her a substitute for the stolen kiss.
But Bei Xing only felt… cheated.
She pulled back slightly, the bitterness still lingering, wanting Su Mingxiu to taste it too, but Su Mingxiu wouldn’t budge.
“It’s really bitter,” she mumbled, looking up at Su Mingxiu, her voice full of exaggerated grievance.
Su Mingxiu, perhaps touched by the little one’s rare display of cuteness, couldn’t help but indulge her. “Then what do you want?”
Bei Xing held up a finger.
“Just one kiss, okay?” she asked softly.
Even with her innocent act, Su Mingxiu could sense the hidden desire, the urge to share the bitterness, to make Su Mingxiu suffer too.
Too bad…
“No,” she said, her eyes crinkling slightly, the tear mole at the corner of her eye barely visible in the dim light,
Her heart as cold and hard as a butcher’s knife.
But after a moment, Bei Xing heard her offer a compromise: “Wait a little longer—”
“If you can endure it, I’ll reward you.”
“Double the reward.”
Bei Xing, who had always been threatened with punishment, now hearing the promise of a reward, her curiosity piqued, felt a surge of anticipation.
If not for her self-control, she would have haggled for more, even without knowing what the reward was.
She licked her lips, her gaze fixed on Su Mingxiu’s, and nodded reluctantly. “Don’t forget,” she reminded Su Mingxiu.
Su Mingxiu chuckled, her dark eyes deepening, as if she could see Bei Xing mentally noting the date and the promised kiss.
“Of course,” she said, thinking, Just don’t run away when it’s time to collect your reward.
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