Volume One, Chapter Thirty-Two: Candid Confessions

Other than the undergarments she bought first, which Mu Qing hugged tightly to her chest, the rest of the shopping trip saw more and more bags piling up on the arms of Mo De, who pushed her wheelchair. From toiletries to slippers and socks, from bedsheets and duvet covers to cosmetics… halfway through, Mo De had to go fetch another shopping cart, maneuvering one hand on the wheelchair, the other pulling the cart. The awkward spectacle drew so much attention that Mo De, never one to seek the spotlight, found herself nearly suffocated by the weight of so many eyes.

They finished with clothes and moved on to daily necessities, then from those to snacks… For Mo De, this was her first time shopping with a girl; even with her exceptional stamina, she was now gasping for breath. At the moment, they were shuffling forward in the long line outside the milk tea shop. She glanced at Mu Qing, who waited listlessly by their luggage in the distance, and suddenly realized she might have been thoroughly played. Wasn’t it Mu Qing who needed her help in the first place?

At last, the ordeal of queuing ended. Mo De squeezed through the crowd toward Mu Qing, handing her a cup of “milk tea porridge” overflowing with toppings, only to see Mu Qing spread her hands, bandaged fingers flipping back and forth in a show of utter helplessness.

All right, so the service had to be full package.

Mo De took big sips of her own ordinary pearl milk tea while feeding the young lady beside her a feast of luxurious flavors, growing ever more anxious about the coming days of cohabitation. But she had never been good at refusing people, especially when Mu Qing pleaded with such shameless persistence. Well, if fate had brought things to this point, she’d just accept it and think about the future later.

She glanced at Mu Qing, who lounged in the wheelchair, face radiant with satisfaction as she drank her luxury milk tea, and couldn’t help but sigh. “We’re all one family—how can the difference be so vast?”

“Huh?! …Cough, cough, cough!” Mu Qing immediately choked and started coughing violently. Mo De had to set down the milk tea and help her breathe.

“What do you mean, family? Who’s here? Cang or Bai? Or could it be Father…” Mu Qing, looking rather disheveled, asked Mo De.

“It should be your brother. Last night, he waited for you in the hallway with me before your checkup,” Mo De replied, rhythmically patting her back.

“What’s Brother Cang doing in Qin City?” Mu Qing gestured that she was fine. She had expected her father to make a phone call at most to cover up her battle scars, but hadn’t anticipated her eldest brother would come in person. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? And why did he leave without even seeing me?”

“Well, you didn’t ask.” Mo De shrugged, feeling somewhat triumphant. “But your brother seemed to have business to attend to—once he was sure you were all right, he left in a hurry. He said he had to go to the capital.”

“Knew it, he’s a sieve,” Mu Qing muttered, perfectly aware of her brother’s ways. Perhaps due to his fondness for drink, Cang was always a bit slow on the uptake; once he started talking, he was all sincerity, often letting slip secrets without realizing.

“Did anyone else come with my brother?” She tried to take out a tissue to wipe her mouth, but the pain from her unhealed fingertips stopped her. Mo De noticed and took out a tissue, gently wiping her mouth for her.

Though a bit uncomfortable, Mu Qing didn’t refuse, merely turned her head slightly.

“There was a female officer too, probably traveling with your brother. She stayed in the examination room all night—didn’t you see her?” Mo De asked as she put the tissue away.

“So Sister You was there too. But I was lying in the examination pod the entire time, didn’t notice what was happening outside. If she and Brother Cang are headed to the capital, something big must be brewing again.”

Hua Ziyou, Cang’s ever-present secretary and supervisor, always there to stop his big mouth from causing trouble.

“Good thing I resigned early, otherwise I’d be dragged along as a laborer again.” Mu Qing looked relieved and signaled for Mo De to hand her more milk tea, feigning nonchalance.

“What do you mean, resigned?” Mo De asked, still holding up the milk tea.

“Can’t get into too many details—there’s a confidentiality agreement. Let’s just say my former employer was… a state-run enterprise.” Mu Qing chewed her mouthful of toppings as she spoke.

“You must know about all the hidden groups and organizations in the world. They don’t show themselves to the public, but they do keep things running behind the scenes.” She studied Mo De with interest. Someone so young, yet with such strength and real combat experience—clearly, she’d learned much from that Li Changsheng about the world’s true face. “Kid, are you registered under any organization yourself? With Li Changsheng?”

Mo De’s expression didn’t change as she took a sip of her pearl milk tea.

“Relax, I’m not digging. We can talk about you when the time is right,” Mu Qing laughed.

“If all those secret organizations are like private firms, then my old job was a state enterprise—same secrecy, same overtime, but maybe better benefits, just less freedom.” She looked down and took another sip. The extra-large, topping-laden milk tea was already gone, yet her flat stomach showed not the slightest change.

“I’d wanted to quit for ages but never had a good reason. Once I got infected with Black Fire, I finally had the perfect excuse to throw in the towel. Shopping, drinking milk tea, shooting the breeze—this is real life.”

“What will you do once the Black Fire is gone?” Mo De set aside the empty cups, gaze serious as she met Mu Qing’s eyes, searching for the truth behind those tea-colored lenses.

“Afterwards…” Mu Qing smiled, her lips curling up.

“I told you before, your mysteries fascinate me—the black flames, that man, the miraculous awakening of abilities, your uncanny speed in breaking through boundaries.” She met Mo De’s gaze. “Staying close to you might finally satisfy my damnable curiosity. It was curiosity that drew me into this storm in the first place. Now the storm has passed, and you are the only clue that remains.”

“I don’t want to talk about my past,” Mo De replied, voice calm.

“You misunderstand—I’m not here to dig up your past. I’ll wait for the day you’re ready to tell me everything. My instincts say you are the clue, the key—the storm begins with you, and the truth will come to you in its own time. You could choose to run from it all and avoid the truth.”

“But I don’t think you will.” Even through the tea-colored sunglasses, Mo De felt as if she saw flames flickering in Mu Qing’s eyes.

“I can’t trust you,” Mo De said, turning away to avoid Mu Qing’s burning gaze, hiding her expression.

“But I trust you completely,” Mu Qing replied, reaching up to remove her sunglasses, her bandaged fingers seeping blood again.

In the darkness, she found Mo De’s hand, which no longer tried to avoid her, and gently placed the sunglasses there.

“Their owner may be the source of all these mysteries, but I made a promise to keep certain things secret. Everything else, I am willing to share with you.”

“I choose to trust you, to trust my instincts, to trust the one who, after only a few meetings, would let me stay by their side, to trust the only boy who truly said goodbye to him.”

Her fingers tightened on the glasses until the knuckles turned white, then slowly regained their color.

The darkness receded, the burning eased, and as her vision returned, Mu Qing saw the boy before her, bending down to put her sunglasses back on.

“Until I trust you completely, I won’t tell you everything I know,” he said, face calm, yet Mu Qing sensed the barrier between them had lessened. Genuine joy welled up in her: for the first time, she was certain the boy was beside her not out of pity, but as a companion.

Caught off guard, Mo De was suddenly pulled into an embrace, her calm facade instantly shattered.

“Why do you always act so serious, like an old office worker? Young people should be livelier!”

“Let go, let go! Your wounds—”

“Ouch… that hurts!”

…

Laden with shopping bags, the two left the mall, hailing a large rideshare vehicle just to fit their things and the folding wheelchair. When the key turned in the lock and the familiar click echoed in Mo De’s ears, it sounded like music from heaven, soothing her exhausted body and mind.

She was home.

But this time, she was no longer alone.

“Which room is mine?” Mu Qing, sitting in her wheelchair, was like a wound-up spring, ready to leap out.

“The one at the very end. It needs some tidying—since Li Changsheng left, no one’s really cleaned it.” Mo De realized she no longer felt so bitter about that person’s departure.

“Can you show me first?” Mu Qing was curious about what his room would be like.

“All right.” Mo De set down the luggage and moved to push the wheelchair, only for Mu Qing to stop her.

“I’ll be living here from now on—can’t dirty the floors as soon as I arrive,” Mu Qing said, pointing to the grimy wheels.

Mo De looked at the dirt on the wheels, then at Mu Qing’s plaster-cast legs, and sighed, picking her up in his arms.

Mu Qing stiffened in surprise, her body going rigid, but when she saw Mo De’s helpless expression, she couldn’t bring herself to protest.

He opened the door. A thin layer of dust covered the bookshelf, desk, bed frame, and floor—but aside from that, Li Changsheng’s room was bare.

“Well?” Mo De couldn’t help but compare and thought the girl in his arms was noticeably heavier than Class Leader Su.

“It’s perfect. I’ll leave the cleaning to you, then.”

Mo De held back and finally convinced himself not to toss her out on the spot.