A girl smaller than Yi Qingju herself smiled sweetly at Qi Weiran.
Behind her, a gardenia flower blooming in the cracks of the stone swayed gently in the wind. Even with her face dusted with ashes, the girl was mesmerizing.
Xiao Zhi, a lovely name.
[Xiao Jiji, you better explain this to me.]
Staggering to her feet, Yi Qingju looked at her significantly shrunken frame and nearly blacked out.
Xiao Jiji's feeble voice echoed in her mind: [Host... you died, then came back to life, and due to some accident, you've temporarily time-traveled to when the original owner was very young. Remember to eat more so I can talk to you. I'm shutting down for now, over.]
Listening to that information-packed speech, Yi Qingju was utterly dumbfounded.
What the hell, she died?
"You should leave, it's getting dark."
As she stood dazed, the young boy sitting in front of her suddenly spoke up.
Yi Qingju snapped back to her senses.
She surveyed their surroundings and was surprised to find that they were actually inside a cave.
A cave—a place she had only seen on TV.
"Little brother, aren't you leaving?" Yi Qingju asked, almost taken aback by her own childish voice.
So squeaky, a loli voice.
The amber eyes of the young boy flashed with surprise, then he stood up and gazed down at Yi Qingju, silently protesting her form of address.
Yi Qingju looked up at the boy, who was a head taller than her, and after a moment of silence said, "Okay, little brother, why are you here?"
Upon hearing this question, the boy pursed his lips and said nothing.
Well, she had wondered what Qi Weiran was like as a child, but seeing him in the flesh before her, the emotions were too complex to describe.
Compared to the cool, aloof amber eyes he had as an adult, the young Qi Weiran looked much more childlike. With his round eyes and long black hair nearly covering them, he exuded an innocent air. His mixed heritage features were even more pronounced than when he grew up, making him look like a veritable little prince.
If she wasn't mistaken, his ragged appearance and being here at such a young age—could it be that she had arrived at the time when Qi Weiran was abducted and sold?
"You're not from around here, are you, little brother?" Yi Qingju couldn't help but take a step forward.
No sooner had the words left her mouth than the originally pitiful-looking Qi Weiran shot her a fierce glare, his eyes suddenly flashing with murderous intent.
"Are you going to snitch on me?"
Still young, he couldn't yet exude the restrained pressure of his adult self, so he came across as ferocious.
Yi Qingju was taken aback.
Was he hiding here?
But wait, the original owner was never abducted as a child, so why was he here too!?
"Stay back!" Qi Weiran warned, brandishing a sharp stone as a weapon.
Yi Qingju raised an eyebrow, realizing that even as a child, Qi Weiran was exceptional, maintaining absolute wariness and suspicion even toward a little girl.
Yi Qingju kept walking forward as if she hadn't seen the crude weapon.
Qi Weiran's eyes narrowed. "You—don't come any—"
Fresh red blood dripped from the girl's soft palm onto the ground, each drop startlingly vivid.
Ignoring the pain, Yi Qingju grasped his hand, the sharp stone cutting into her own palm as well.
She didn't know if her actions had shocked him, but he was now staring at her wide-eyed and bewildered.
Casually smearing some blood on her clothes, Yi Qingju opened her skinny arms and hugged Qi Weiran's slender, underdeveloped frame, patting his back gently. "Don't be afraid, little brother. I won't tell anyone."
The boy's originally rigid, tense body gradually relaxed under the soft caresses of the girl's small hands.
"Really? You won't tell anyone else?"
Qi Weiran's voice, yet to break, was still childlike and almost squeaky, instantly melting Yi Qingju's heart into a ball of cotton.
"Yes, I swear."
She released him and smiled up at him sweetly.
The little girl, with her hair in two pigtails and wearing a rather plain, bloodstained dress, looked angelic with that one smile, causing Qi Weiran's heart to skip a beat.
"Little brother, what's your name?" Yi Qingju asked, sitting down and patting the spot beside her, indicating for him to join.
"Qi Weiran."
Choosing a clean rock, Qi Weiran sat down.
Noticing her curious stare, he took her wrist and examined the wound, murmuring an apology: "Sorry."
Yi Qingju felt like she was dreaming.
What a bargain, to have Qi Weiran apologize to her!
Damn, why didn't she have a voice recorder?!
"It's okay, it doesn't hurt. I was the one who forced my way in, it's not your fault." She shook her wrist and smiled blithely.
Seeing that he wasn't saying anything more, Yi Qingju asked, "Little brother, why are you here?"
"I was sold to a family here. They wanted me to be their son, but I refused, so I ran away and hid in this cave." He briefly explained the situation but didn't go into the specifics of his ordeal.
A child, yet he spoke so articulately and clearly.
Definitely Qi Weiran.
He had his pride, so Yi Qingju didn't pry further. Instead, she stood up. "Little brother, I'll go find you some food."
There was no telling how long he had been hiding here. Even as Qi Weiran, he would die without food, let alone being a child who needed nutrition.
Qi Weiran was taken aback.
He wanted to reach out and stop her, not because he feared she would snitch, but the first thought that crossed his mind was—
Will you come back?
But Qi Weiran didn't voice it aloud. The obedient yet unsociable child didn't know how to ask others for anything.
After studying the cave's structure and determining the general direction, Yi Qingju glanced back at him.
The cave was dim and cold. Qi Weiran, wearing only a T-shirt, hugged his knees close, his frail back pressed against the wall, eyes downcast and unmoving.
Nothing like the global business tycoon he would become decades later.
Hesitating for a moment, Yi Qingju went over and squatted down, grasping his icy little hand. "Little brother, wait for me to come back."
The warm, gentle touch on his wrist stunned Qi Weiran. By the time he recovered, all he could see was her retreating back.
...
Yi Qingju didn't know how Qi Weiran had found this place, but she struggled to climb out of the cave, covered in dirt.
She looked up to see a vast expanse of lush greenery, the towering trees and dense foliage blocking out the sky.
"Damn, if I hadn't run into Qi Weiran first, I would've thought I ended up in a primeval forest."
After walking aimlessly for a while, a large hand suddenly grabbed Yi Qingju's shoulder!
She nearly cried out in alarm, whirling around to face a rugged, swarthy man who smiled sheepishly upon seeing her startled expression. "Girl Ju, Uncle Li gave you a fright, didn't I?"
Dressed in an ill-fitting blue robe and carrying a sack over his shoulder, the burly man released her arm.
Yi Qingju was perplexed. This person knew her?
"No," she replied hesitantly.
Relieved, Uncle Li patted her shoulder before turning to leave in the direction Yi Qingju had come from.
Panicked, Yi Qingju quickly blocked his path. "Uncle Li!!"
Qi Weiran was still back there!
The girl's shriek nearly made the old man stumble.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
Yi Qingju ran ahead of him, suppressing her nervousness: "Uncle Li, where are you going?"
Uncle Li smiled: "Ah, this matter, you Girl Ju, gave me quite a fright."
He didn't condescend to her just because she was a child, but said mysteriously: "Let me tell you, but don't tell anyone else, okay?"
Yi Qingju nodded vigorously.
He then said in a low voice: "Recently, I've been feeling an invisible force gripping my throat, making it difficult to breathe. There's also a constant chill at the back of my neck, so I plan to go up the mountain to a deserted place and perform rituals to worship the Old Deity."
Yi Qingju was initially puzzled, but after scrutinizing him, a mischievous look flashed in her eyes as she said: "Uncle Li, you don't need to worship any deities. Just give me some food, and I can solve your problem."
Her tone was firm, and her beautiful cat-like eyes were clear and sincere.
Old Li looked at her skeptically, then hesitantly took out a golden chocolate monkey from his pocket.
Yi Qingju swiftly took it, then smiled and said:
"You have your autumn clothes on inside out."
