Chapter 206
by Need_More_SleepChapter 206: The One Who Prefers Apples
Early morning, Yiwen’s house.
“Do you remember the new word I taught you yesterday?” Heli sat on the bed, holding Mi Xiaoliu’s left hand.
The hand had already healed and no longer looked as uncoordinated as before, though it would still take some time to fully adjust. The artificial bones and real ones had slight—almost imperceptible—differences in shape, size, and weight.
Her hand bones had been sealed in a jar since she was seven. Six years without using her real left hand meant even muscle memory was gone.
Mi Xiaoliu nodded: “Noisy.”
Heli let out a relieved sigh and handed her a lollipop.
“Pat me.” Mi Xiaoliu didn’t take the candy. Instead, she straddled Heli’s lap, burying her face in her chest.
“Okay.” Heli gently patted the back of her head.
She’s learned to act spoiled.
Though doing this in the middle of summer was really hot.
A knock sounded at the door. Heli tried to shift Mi Xiaoliu aside, but the girl clung stubbornly to her clothes, refusing to let go.
A rare moment of willfulness.
Fine, let her be.
“Come in.”
Raven stepped inside, pausing briefly at the sight.
This mother-daughter pair is adorable.
“Someone’s here to see you.”
“Mm.”
Heli tried to stand, but Mi Xiaoliu didn’t budge, still gripping her clothes.
So she lightly poked Mi Xiaoliu’s ribs, taking advantage of the ticklish reflex to lift her away.
She’d heard about last night from Yiwen and had pieced together most of what happened.
In the Lasvedo family, orange eyes guaranteed the awakening of the “Recording” ability. But heterochromatic children weren’t completely hopeless—just far less likely to manifest it, with uncontrollable energy and potential defects.
A heterochromatic child awakening Recording? No advantages, only dangers.
Except now, it seems the “no advantages” part might not be entirely true.
Honestly, even if a thousand orange-eyed Lasvedos stood by that meteor crater with intent, how many could actually record its flames?
Heli glanced out the window. The blue streak in the sky was still visible even from this distance. No doubt the Lasvedo estate would become a tourist hotspot until it faded.
Mi Xiaoliu must have lost control—and then literally self-destructed in front of the Lasvedo family. The Chairwoman or Gloria must have triggered her.
Luckily, Mi Xiaoliu was physically fine. The only problem was figuring out how to explain this to the authorities.
Downstairs, she found the Chairwoman waiting, holding a box of strawberry-flavored yogurt, her faint makeup barely masking her exhaustion. Gloria stood behind her, shifting restlessly, dark circles under her eyes.
Expected guests.
The Little Demon King wasn’t here—was he worried about crowding her? Or was he busy fertilizing the garden?
As Heli descended, the Chairwoman subtly craned her neck to look past her.
“Where’s Misha?”
“Doing homework. Her studies are only up to fourth-grade level right now.”
The Chairwoman took a step toward the stairs—
Then stopped herself.
“So you admit it. She is Misha.”
Gloria had no such restraint. She thumped up the stairs, though her steps were noticeably lighter than yesterday.
This old lady…
Had the little sister she’d been longing for actually been right beside her all along?
The Chairwoman switched the yogurt to her other hand and followed.
Clearly, they weren’t here for Heli—just using her as an excuse.
Mi Xiaoliu’s room was easy to find. Raven had hung nameplates on every occupied bedroom door, and Mi Xiaoliu seemed to be someone she considered a long-term resident.
“Xiaoliu’s (Cat) Nest.”
(The parentheses were added by Yiwen without permission.)
Perhaps because even Gloria’s quieter steps were still recognizable, by the time she pushed the door open, all she saw was a pair of pale legs peeking out from under the curtains, feet in slippers slightly turned inward like yesterday, toes curling nervously.
“Misha?”
Gloria gently pulled the curtain aside.
“What’s going on?!” Sasha, who had just woken up and knew nothing, paled at the name.
Mi Xiaoliu retreated to the corner, as far from Gloria as possible, clutching a pen.
Same as always.
Scared.
“You’re really Misha, aren’t you…?” Gloria’s voice was soft, uncertain. “Can you take off your glasses? Let me see.”
She reached for Mi Xiaoliu’s glasses.
Mi Xiaoliu trembled slightly but didn’t resist.
Which only made Gloria hesitate, her hand freezing mid-air.
“Don’t be scared, here—have some candy.” Gloria pulled out a milk tablet.
Her demeanor was completely different from yesterday.
Mi Xiaoliu didn’t dare take it, covering her mouth in case Gloria forced it on her.
Gloria immediately tossed the candy aside, her chest tightening.
She knew exactly why Mi Xiaoliu was so afraid of her.
The Chairwoman stood silently in the doorway, watching.
It was hard to connect this bespectacled, boyish-looking figure with the girl from last night, but her build, facial structure, and the visible parts of her features matched.
Misha had grown up thinner than she’d imagined.
Because she’d suffered. Because she’d been tortured.
Silently, the Chairwoman placed the yogurt in the corner of the room, not knowing how to begin. She turned her face away, unable to meet Mi Xiaoliu’s eyes.
Even if she’d once planned experiments to resurrect Misha, she’d never considered how she would face her afterward.
Gloria reached into her bag and pulled out a cat-pillar plushie, offering it to Mi Xiaoliu.
“Remember this? It was your favorite when you were little—”
Mi Xiaoliu didn’t take it. Instead, she covered her face protectively, then opened the wardrobe and hid inside right in front of them.
“I’m sorry… Mom didn’t know it was you.” The Chairwoman quickly snatched the plushie from Gloria’s hands and shoved it back into her bag.
Only now did she realize Yiwen had been right—that day, it really might have been Nuomi who brought the plushie to Misha.
Even if Nuomi hadn’t, there was nothing wrong with Misha taking it herself.
And because of that plushie, she’d slapped Misha.
Her little Misha, already tormented because of her, had been struck by her own mother.
She was monstrous…
The Chairwoman knocked lightly on the wardrobe door. “From now on, Mom will never—”
“Heli.” Mi Xiaoliu pushed the door open and ran out.
“……”
The Chairwoman’s hand hung frozen in midair, unable to lower.
————————
What were the main benefits of a limousine?
You could sit facing each other, creating a business-like atmosphere even on the road—and, of course, flaunting your wealth.
Raven’s house clearly wasn’t the right place for a serious talk, so the Chairwoman had brought Heli here alone.
Out of the entire family, only Okulet could get close to Misha without issue. How had things come to this…?
“Why was she dressed like that?”
“To hide from Easter’s pursuit. She escaped.” Heli answered. “The glasses have color-blind contacts. Because of the flaw in her recorded flames, she can only see in grayscale.”
“……”
“Then why is she so thin?” The Chairwoman stroked the cat-pillar plushie in her hands.
Even without touching Mi Xiaoliu, she could tell.
“To conserve energy and make her easier to control, Easter rarely gave her real food. They sustained her with nutrient solutions to ensure growth and periodically killed her to reset her memories.”
The air froze for several seconds.
“You knew all along, didn’t you?”
“Knew what?”
“Don’t play dumb with me!” The Chairwoman hurled the plushie at Heli.
Then, belatedly, she picked it back up, gently brushing off nonexistent dust—even though it had lost its value as a “memento.”
“You had my daughter in your hands the whole time and didn’t tell me? You lied to get funding from me to revive the people who tortured her? What a brilliant scheme, Third Fractal.”
Heli lowered her head, staring at the red carpet. “You were the one who said she was ill-mannered and told me to educate her properly. You also said to keep her away from Gloria.”
Back when she’d had Mi Xiaoliu run errands for her, she’d arranged for them to meet—but Mi Xiaoliu had only wanted to stay as far from them as possible.
“Are you playing word games with me?” The Chairwoman narrowed her eyes.
Heli stayed silent.
The Chairwoman scoffed. “You were afraid I’d cut off your funding and resources if I found my daughter, so you hid her while keeping her close. How daring of you.”
“News about the Black-Clothed One never stopped during this time. Did you really think you were clever, that you’d protected her well?”
“Since you didn’t mistreat her, I won’t make this too difficult for you. Find someone else to fund your work.”
Heli opened her mouth but said nothing.
“Anything else to say?” The Chairwoman glanced at her.
“Xiaoliu… prefers apple-flavored yogurt.”
“……”
The Chairwoman said nothing.
—————-
Author’s Note: Update will be posted later today.
Last night I tried adjusting my sleep schedule, but mosquitoes kept buzzing around nonstop. At one point I got up thinking I might as well write for a while, but my brain was too foggy to compose anything properly. When I went back to bed—still buzzing…
If they just bit people and left it at that, fine. But no—they have to buzz right by your face when you’re trying to sleep, and they’re impossible to fully get rid of.
When will mosquitoes finally go extinct?
[Translator’s Note: See the index page for this Novel if you want to see the Amazon Link for the eBooks.]
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