Han Yanyan pondered for a moment and wrote, “That won’t do.”
A week later, Tang Ke received the note and was left dumbfounded. For an entire week, he couldn't make sense of it. Finally, on the following Monday, he left her a message: “So how should I call you?”
Another week later, Han Yanyan replied, “You can give me a name. I want to call you Little Star. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are. Your eyes shine like stars, they’re really beautiful.” After writing that, she rubbed her arms, feeling goosebumps. Coming up with that name had surely fried many of her brain cells.
A week later, she got a response: “Little Fairy.”
Receiving this nickname left Han Yanyan speechless. After all, Tang Ke had once said she was beautiful, like an angel. Was he trying to embrace both a little angel and a little fairy at the same time?
Though the projection was merely a child, the true self was someone who had weathered many storms, a person of great stature. So even when projecting as a child, their essence remained unchanged.
Well then, since he already had a little fairy, he should forget about the little angel.
Little Fairy.
Tang Ke repeated the name in his mind before going to bed, feeling that ever since he and his mother returned to the East District, life had become brighter. He had an angel sister, and now, he had a little fairy as well.
When he returned home for the weekend, he couldn’t contain himself any longer and told Xinya about the little fairy. Xinya was both surprised and amused, her heart filled with joy. It reminded her of the beautiful and innocent memories of her childhood, but also brought a pang of bittersweetness. Ruffling Tang Ke’s hair, she said, “You need to get along well.”
Tang Ke nodded, then asked his mother, “What about work?”
Xinya’s hand paused for a moment. “I went for an interview yesterday. It’s not finalized yet.”
At first, the Han family head had been coming to see her frequently, but then, all of a sudden, the visits had decreased in frequency. It made sense; after the initial novelty wore off, he likely wouldn’t have much time to spare for her. Xinya felt a great sense of relief.
Recently, the Han family head would only come to see her once or twice a week. Xinya was considering returning to work. The previous day’s interview was effectively successful; the only reason nothing was set in stone was that she hadn’t reported back to that man yet. He always appeared suddenly, and she didn’t dare proceed with her own schedule without informing him.
On Sunday evening, as she was taking Tang Ke back to the manor, she steeled herself and knocked on his study door. That room held too many unpleasant memories, and as she pushed the door open, she felt her body tensing up.
She prayed that Han Yanyan would also be in the study. Yanyan often stayed there with her father in the evenings to handle matters. On many weekends when she returned Tang Ke to the manor, it was Yanyan’s presence in the study that had allowed her to leave without worry.
But fortune didn’t always favor her. Only the Han family head was in the study.
“You can’t,” he said flatly, “Your time is all mine.”
Xinya lowered her head slightly. “I need to give the child a reason; otherwise, I can’t explain the financial issues.”
The Han family head replied, “I’ll handle it. You don’t need to worry. If you’re free, pick up your old hobbies again. Haven’t you always liked painting? Do you still draw?”
Even after marriage, even after her parents passed, Xinya used to live a life filled with music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and wine. But since her husband fell, those activities had drifted far from her reach.
“I haven’t touched a paintbrush in years,” she said softly. “I’ve put it all aside.”
“It’s alright,” the Han family head moved closer, his hand brushing her cheek. “You can take it back up anytime.”
His tone was gentle, and the warmth of his hand lingered on her cheek.
Xinya looked up at him. For so long, she hadn’t dared to meet his gaze. But that night, the flicker of warmth he showed gave her courage.
“Cousin, why are you treating me like this?” Her voice trembled.
The Han family head smiled slightly, lifting her chin.
“The way you looked at me just now reminded me of your old self. Ever since childhood, you were trained to hold your chin just so. Just enough to seem dignified, yet without coming off as arrogant.” He reminisced, “When you rejected me back then, your chin held just a little higher.”
“Very beautiful,” he smiled. “So beautiful, I’ve always remembered.”
But the warmth in his smile faded, replaced by a chilling aura that sent a shiver down Xinya's spine, stealing away her courage to meet his eyes. Her chin slipped from his fingers, lowering toward her collarbone. Her head hung down, naturally forming a lovely curve at the back of her neck.
The Han family head’s hand caressed the back of her neck.
“When you returned, you often hung your head in front of me, that lovely curve…” His thumb delicately traced from her hairline to the raised vertebrae of her neck. “It was beautiful, but in a different way.”
He couldn’t take his eyes off her slender, fair neck, leaning down to her forehead, he whispered, “If you want to know why, I can tell you…”
“The wolf walks in the forest, without any intent to hunt.”
“Until the rabbit appears.”
“The rabbit is inherently weak; its existence is an invitation to the wolf.”
“Because hunting is his instinct.”
“Xinya, that day… did you want to flee, to give up?” he asked.
Xinya trembled and replied, “Yes.”
“Why? You know this is the best path,” he said.
“But it’s not the only one,” Xinya closed her eyes, feeling pain. “The cost is too great. I’m scared. I can’t do it. So…”
So in the end, when faced with that moment, she chose to abandon that path. The other paths might be tough, might be filled with hardship, and perhaps they wouldn’t lead her as high, but they were not impossible to walk.
But he was no longer the young man who would let go.
“But you didn’t resist. If you had shown just a little bit of resistance, I might have let you go,” the Han family head said. “You simply fled. As prey, when you turn your back to the hunter, what kind of ending do you expect?”
“For such prey, the education I received taught me not to worry unnecessarily. Just use my claws to tear her skin, use my teeth to bite through her flesh.”
“Xinya, you… are very delicious.”
Xinya inhaled deeply, tears rolling down her cheeks.
The desk was made of solid wood, over a hundred years old, very hard. Her wrist was pressed against the surface, causing her pain. Those memories felt like they had happened just yesterday. He had pulled her back onto the road she wanted to abandon, leaving her with no choice but to walk forward.
The way she cried was completely different from how she had rejected him years ago. Like a reflection in a puddle, rippling and breaking into disarray.
This was precisely the look the Han family head loved to see the most. The more broken she became, the more he remembered how beautifully determined she had looked when she held her chin high, resolutely rejecting him.
— Thank you, Cousin, for your affection, but I want to live with dignity. I don’t aim to be someone else’s lover, and I don’t need you to bear the weight of my life.
The Han family head’s thumb brushed lightly across Xinya’s fair cheek.
“And… during this time, I’ve been spending a lot of time with you,” he continued. “Women always think too much. Perhaps it has given you the wrong impression that I hold some of my youthful affection for you?”
His fingers left her cheek, casually gliding down her neck and shoulder, along her arm to her fingertips, gently grasping her hand and lifting it to his lips for a kiss.
“You’re wrong, little rabbit,” he kissed the pale blue veins of her delicate wrist. “I’m simply enjoying.”
The skin broke beneath his teeth, but it didn’t matter; there were healing chambers available. Blood flowed down her arm, staining her clothes, but it didn’t matter; there were plenty of expensive dresses here for her to change into.
The pain made Xinya flinch. She thought she had grown accustomed to it, but she hadn’t. This kind of pain could never be “gotten used to.”
She, just like that day, offered no resistance. The little rabbit, seeing the wolf’s sharp teeth, lost the courage to fight back and could only tremble helplessly.
Yet it was this weakness that awakened the hunter's instinct to kill.
In her own room, Han Yanyan quietly listened. When the inappropriate noises reached the receiver, she cut off the line.
In the Han family head's study, it was impossible to place a listening device—high-tech anti-eavesdropping equipment would immediately trigger an alarm.
But in this house, Han Yanyan possessed the same highest authority as the Han family head. However, even the Han family head couldn’t imagine that Han Yanyan would use her privileges to silently open up communication to eavesdrop openly.
So, parents really shouldn’t casually give their children important things; one truly doesn’t know how they might use them in strange ways.
Is this the original sin of the weak?
Han Yanyan rubbed her temples. This was beyond her limits; it wasn’t her business.
This world was twisted beyond measure. In Yao and Qiao Wenxing’s world, she didn’t feel this kind of distortion. For the most part, everyone’s basic views could still coexist. Qiao Wenxing was just an ordinary rich young man, foolish enough to consider suicide for love. Yao had an extraordinary background, lineage, and legacy, but despite being royal, he sought to overthrow the monarchy. Regardless of the reason, based solely on this matter, Han Yanyan would always support that endeavor wholeheartedly.
But this general, this esteemed individual, was exceedingly formidable. His worldview had warped to the brink of a black hole.
Han Yanyan knew the life story of this general well, yet she couldn’t help but be amazed that he had scaled such heights in life while harboring such twisted views. His unwavering belief in his warped worldview had distorted hers to the point where even her biological mother could barely recognize it.
Han Yanyan was a female author, or rather, a female web author. In her constructed narrative, there would undoubtedly be a complicated entanglement between the Han family head and Xinya. Their melodramatic affairs would lead to Tang Ke facing some humiliation in his youth, becoming one of the soft points that could tear him apart and eventually trigger another side of his character.
But now, everything had become completely twisted. Ever since she discovered that the healing chambers in the study had been frequently used by Xinya, it became clear that things were not merely off track; they were completely out of order.
But this world’s “big daddy” was not like the previous one, who could be cajoled or soothed. This big daddy only recognized strength and power.
Han Yanyan felt a piercing headache. But with the world having developed to this point, she found herself unable to change its structure. All she could do was take advantage of any favorable conditions to achieve her goals.
She stood by the window, gazing at the manor courtyard.
She had always felt that for all that Tang Ke was to endure, even if she wasn’t solely at fault, she bore at least half of the responsibility. But now, it seemed that the true tormentors of Tang Ke were not her at all.
The true self of Tang Ke was projecting his beliefs onto the entire world, with green face and sharp teeth, ready to tear young Tang Ke to shreds.