Ji Nian couldn't see clearly. After wiping the water off her hands, she walked to the window, stood on her tiptoes, and looked outside.
"Is that a person? It seems like she's looking at me," she asked uncertainly.
Before the system could respond, the somewhat blurry figure in the distance suddenly began to move closer.
The movement was strange, causing Ji Nian to let out a soft "Huh?" She fell silent only when the figure came nearer.
It was a woman in a wheelchair.
The wheelchair's material was hard to discern, made of black metal, tall and wide, with intricate golden patterns carved into it.
The woman sitting in it wore a red dress, her black hair cascading like silk. Her right eye was deep and dark, like a bottomless pool, while her left eye was covered by a Tesse rose.
The woman's red lips curved slightly, her expression a mix of amusement and something else as she gazed at Ji Nian.
Her beauty was otherworldly, like a witch from the depths of a dark forest, exuding a fatal allure.
Yet, this stunning woman had only one complete arm. Her legs and the other arm were replaced by crystal-like prosthetics, making her seem like a doll confined to the wheelchair.
For some reason, Ji Nian, who usually couldn't resist ogling beautiful faces, felt a chill run down her spine this time.
It was as if she had been paralyzed, unable to do anything but stand there foolishly.
There was a path that bypassed the flower field, but the woman seemed uninterested in taking it—or perhaps she didn't even consider it an option.
She maneuvered her wheelchair like a lawnmower.
The Tesse roses were mercilessly crushed, their vibrant thorns rendered useless as they were pressed into the soil, their petals oozing a sap that resembled blood, silently protesting this one-sided brutality.
Ji Nian could only watch as the woman steered her machine closer, stopping right by the window.
Up close, the woman's magnified face made Ji Nian's head spin, as if she might be sucked into the depths of that mesmerizing eye at any moment.
Just as Ji Nian was about to speak, the woman on the other side of the window suddenly curled her red lips into a smile.
It was an eerie smile, with only the lower half of her face moving while her eyes remained still. Upon closer inspection, there was a hint of teasing and...
Pure malice.
"Ji Nian?"
Hearing someone call her name, Ji Nian, now covered in goosebumps, turned her head abruptly.
Shen Qingtang had emerged from the inner room, standing there with a puzzled look on her face.
"What are you looking at?"
"I..."
Ji Nian opened her mouth, gesturing for Shen Qingtang to look outside.
But when Shen Qingtang turned, all she saw was the flower field—nothing else.
If it weren't for the patch of destroyed Tesse roses, it would have seemed like Ji Nian had seen a ghost.
Shen Qingtang walked over, standing on her tiptoes to peer outside as well. "Wow, so many flowers. They're really beautiful."
"But..."
She hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "If you look at them for too long, they kind of look like splashes of blood."
Ji Nian: [...Where is she? System, did you see her?]
System: [She left when you turned around.]
Hearing this, Ji Nian let out a sigh of relief.
At least she hadn't disappeared into thin air.
The woman was undeniably beautiful, but in a way that felt dangerous—like it could cost you your life.
Who was she?
And why was she at Ji Tingzhou's private vineyard...
"Ji Nian? Are you feeling unwell? You seem distracted."
Shen Qingtang looked concerned. She went to wash her hands before returning to feel Ji Nian's forehead.
The touch of her cold little hand snapped Ji Nian out of the surreal, dreamlike state she had been in.
"I'm fine. It's just... I need to pee."
As she relaxed, Ji Nian suddenly felt the urge to go.
Wei Yang was waiting by the bathroom door, yawning repeatedly.
When the two girls finally came out, he wiped away a stray tear from the corner of his eye.
"How was it? Feeling better?"
Shen Qingtang nodded first. "It was nice, just like the uncle said earlier."
Still troubled by what had happened earlier, Ji Nian didn't say much, simply agreeing with a nod.
When they returned, they met with the manager.
Ji Nian pulled him aside mysteriously, and he obligingly bent down, asking in a low voice, "Is something the matter, Miss?"
Ji Nian pulled out a hundred-yuan bill from her pocket and pressed it into his hand. "Uncle, is there... someone in a wheelchair at the vineyard?"
Looking down at the red bill in his hand, the manager might have found such an act from an adult distasteful, but coming from a little girl, it was oddly endearing.
She even knew to offer a bribe before asking questions—too funny.
The manager, upon hearing her question, seemed to know exactly who she was referring to.
"Yes, there is."
"You must have met the storage keeper's sister. She wears a red dress, sits in a wheelchair, and is missing an arm and both legs, right?"
Ji Nian nodded repeatedly.
The manager shook his head, saying she was a tragic figure.
"She and her brother rely on each other. When her brother applied for the job here, he begged me to let her stay, promising to keep an eye on her. After much pleading, I agreed."
"But she usually stays in the staff quarters, near the woods. She rarely comes out. How did you run into her? That woman has mental issues. You weren't hurt, were you?"
Ji Nian shook her head, explaining that she had only seen her through the window.
She didn't mention the woman's eerie smile—after all, if she was mentally ill, it wasn't that strange.
Maybe she was just trying to scare a kid.
Hearing that Ji Nian was unharmed, the manager breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I'll have a word with the storage keeper. It's not ideal to have someone like that around."
Ji Nian didn't want to press the issue. Given the woman's physical condition, she must have gone through a lot. There was no need to be too harsh.
"It's fine, Uncle. Let her stay here."
"If there's anything they need, we can help them out."
The manager looked at Ji Nian's earnest expression and thought to himself, what a good kid.
He had heard rumors about the vineyard's new owner before Ji Tingzhou arrived. He had even prepared himself for the worst, expecting to deal with a spoiled child.
But reality was nothing like he had imagined.
Ji Tingzhou himself had a temper, sure. Before arriving, he had nitpicked several aspects of the vineyard, demanding changes to the interior design that were nothing short of torturous.
But in person, he wasn't as difficult as expected. Aside from being a bit of a neat freak, with strict standards for cleanliness, he was otherwise manageable.
Once he arrived, he simply sat quietly, enjoying his wine without requiring any assistance.
As for Ji Nian and Shen Qingtang, they were far from being spoiled brats. They addressed him politely as "Uncle," didn't run around or scream, and listened attentively to everything he said. It was clear they had been raised well.
Truly well-behaved children.
It just goes to show how unreliable rumors can be.
"Understood. I'll keep that in mind," the manager said with a smile.
"Oh, Uncle, one more thing," Ji Nian added before turning away.
She turned back and asked, "Her wheelchair and prosthetics looked really expensive. How could they be struggling?"
The manager explained, "When I first met the siblings, I was fooled too. I thought they were wealthy people here to experience a simpler life."
"Later, I found out that the storage keeper made the wheelchair and prosthetics himself, using cheap materials. They just look impressive from a distance."
Ji Nian had only glanced at them briefly earlier, as it would have been rude to stare at the woman's disabilities. She accepted the manager's explanation without further questions.
