Still Secretly In Love With My Enemy Today - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The doors and windows were wide open. A draft whistled through the room, making the bead curtains clatter.

“Who,” Senior Sister Chen finally spoke after a long pause, her voice full of disbelief, “who… taught you such bad habits?”

“Senior Sister, it’s not what you think,” I said, peeling my eyelids open just a crack. “There’s nothing going on between him and me…”

Senior Sister Chen’s voice immediately jumped an octave: “Before you say that, could you let go of his hand first?!”

Xie Huaishuang was still huddled in a bundle inside the cloak. I had instinctively pulled him behind me. His hands were twisting slightly within my grip, and his veiled hat brushed against my back as he seemed to look left and right, trying to judge exactly what was happening.

I was about to let go to prove my innocence, but then a realization hit me.

—Senior Sister Chen had also seen him from a distance several times. Right now, he was obscured, but if he stood directly in front of her, she might recognize his stature.

As a member of Iron Cloud City, she also very, very much hated the Temple and anyone in it—especially Xie Huaishuang.

…And Senior Sister’s whipping really hurts.

Gritting my teeth, I immediately pushed Xie Huaishuang further behind me. Bracing myself against Senior Sister Chen’s “I’m going to devour you” gaze, I shook my head, my mind racing through the messy room to find a place to hide him.

“Senior Sister, let me explain, there’s nothing between us…”

“You brat… without a word… running off to a brothel…”

Senior Sister didn’t seem to be listening. She was just muttering to herself. I couldn’t help but defend myself: “I left a message…”

“You left a message, but you didn’t say you were coming to a place like this!”

I finally spotted what I was looking for. Before she could stride over, I used the fastest speed possible to haphazardly yank the tassels binding the gauze curtains. I pulled Xie Huaishuang back a step, and the red curtains instantly fell between me and Senior Sister Chen, partitioning the outer and inner rooms.

Tugging the slipknot free, I hurriedly wrote “Don’t move” on his hand. I peeked through a gap, squeezed myself out from behind the gauze, and then reached back to pull the curtains tight, clenching the edges in my hands.

Behind the red gauze was that bead curtain; it should be enough to obscure Xie Huaishuang’s silhouette at least a little.

“What did you do? What is it that I can’t see?” Senior Sister Chen laughed out of pure exasperation. Staring at the shadow behind me, she sat down at the table. “Fine. Explain. Let me hear what kind of explanation you can come up with.”

I felt a wave of relief, but the moment I opened my mouth, my heart climbed back into my throat.

—I realized I truly couldn’t explain it!

To hide Xie Huaishuang’s identity, I had to omit why I came to Linlang Pavilion, why I paid a fortune for a month of his time, and why I wouldn’t let anyone see him. Other than me being morally bankrupt, there really didn’t seem to be any logical reason left.

“Speak,” Senior Sister Chen narrowed her eyes at me. “Why aren’t you speaking?”

“Senior Sister, you know me,” I said dryly. “Usually, I’m a good person.”

“Is that so?” I saw her hand move toward the short whip at her waist. “It doesn’t look like it right now.”

Senior Sister Chen was nearly ten years older than me. She was strict, even harsh, when teaching us how to draw blueprints or disassemble clockwork. Except for the high-pitched voice she used when talking to Senior Brother He’s cats, she always wore a cold face. But from Temple pursuers to the teacher’s ruler, she was the one who truly stood in front of us when trouble came. Most of the time, her iron whip—which drew blood the moment it touched skin—was just for intimidation.

Unless we did something truly bad. And right now, I felt she was playing for keeps.

—Actually, a reason was easy to find. I could just insist he was an old friend, that I heard he’d been harmed and fallen into this place, and that I was hiding his face to preserve his dignity. Wouldn’t that work?

But the more anxious I got, the more my brain stalled. I was currently a pile of messy mush. Seeing the situation, I steeled my heart and closed my eyes.

If she’s going to whip me, let her. As long as it ends this, it’s fine. It doesn’t matter if I get hit a few times; it’ll only hurt for two days. Being misunderstood is better than her catching Xie Huaishuang.

Hating him is my business, but that doesn’t mean I want him to fall into someone else’s hands.

“I’ll ask you again: is there really nothing to say?”

I shook my head.

There was a clinking sound of cold iron—Senior Sister had gripped her whip. When she unfastened it, it always knocked against the metal case on her hip.

Then came the rustle of fabric; she was likely standing up.

And then, the clink-clink of the bead curtain and the rustle of light gauze—my heart leaped. I snapped my eyes open and turned around.

Xie Huaishuang had parted a gap with his fingertips. Layers of red gauze draped over him as he poked just his head out. His features were clearly illuminated by the sunlight, and his deep green eyes turned toward us in confusion.

Didn’t I tell him not to move! —Can this man give me a single moment of peace?!

Senior Sister Chen’s footsteps stopped dead. She stared straight at the half of Xie Huaishuang’s face that was visible. My entire body tensed instantly.

—If Senior Sister is determined to attack, I have about a seventy percent chance of escaping if I take Xie Huaishuang with me…

“This is…”

I was watching the movement of the whip in Senior Sister’s hand, ready to grab him and run at the slightest sign of trouble. But I heard her voice suddenly become softer than before: “Did… did he do anything to you?”

Xie Huaishuang couldn’t hear her. He just reached out a hand to grope forward until he caught my sleeve. He gave it an inquiring tug and asked in a low voice, “Do you have an enemy?”

“…”

It seemed everyone present had their own unique interpretation of the situation, and Xie Huaishuang had absolutely zero self-awareness regarding the fact that he was my greatest enemy.

I braced myself, pointed to my eyes and then my ears, and looked at Senior Sister Chen: “He has some… issues right now…”

I had recognized him as the detestable High Priest the second I saw him. How could Senior Sister not recognize him? It was glaringly obvious.

I hoped she could read between the lines. Even if she recognized him, I hoped she wouldn’t immediately start calling for blood. After all, attacking him now would be a bit like taking advantage of someone in peril.

Senior Sister Chen froze. She frowned and glared at me, then loosened her grip on the whip slightly before tightening it again. “You… you could actually lay a hand on someone like this?”

“I didn’t!” I slapped away Xie Huaishuang’s hand that was tugging my sleeve and immediately cried out my innocence. “I really haven’t done anything to him!”

Senior Sister’s gaze lingered thoughtfully on Xie Huaishuang for several turns before looking back at me, her expression turning stern. “You two… explain yourself properly. What exactly is going on?”

She didn’t seem to intend to execute him on the spot. I guessed my earlier hint had worked; Senior Sister also felt that kicking a man while he was down wasn’t honorable.

“Senior Sister, you must have noticed too. The High Priest at the ceremony the other day was a fake, a replacement. So I…”

“What… fake?”

“Eh?” I was confused. “You didn’t see it?”

Senior Sister Chen knit her brows in thought, neither confirming nor denying. “Keep going.”

“So, I was in a hurry that day to find the real High Priest. And then…”

“What does that have to do with you staying in a brothel?”

Oops. Putting these two things together, she must have figured it out by now.

“I saw him being bullied yesterday. I couldn’t exactly… just watch and do nothing, pat my robes, and walk away, could I?”

While replying to Senior Sister, I also had to write on an anxious Xie Huaishuang’s hand, telling him everything was fine, she wasn’t a bad person, she was just a friend, and so on. My head felt twice its normal size.

Senior Sister’s gaze shifted back and forth, resting on Xie Huaishuang for a long time. After a moment, she sighed. “Fine… I understand.”

As expected, she figured it out. At least she understands that I’m doing this because he is my rival, and for no other reason.

“It’s good that you understand, Senior Sister.”

She shook her head, turned back to sit down, and nodded at me, signaling for us to sit as well.

I drew two lines on Xie Huaishuang’s hand. He understood, stepped out from the red gauze, and followed me slowly to the table, searching for a seat. I told him where to go, and his deep green eyes landed on Senior Sister. He was actually… a bit curious.

Senior Sister’s eyes flickered. “How… did he become like this?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

As we settled at the table, she kept staring at Xie Huaishuang, her thoughts unknown. Finally, she spoke to me.

“For him to be in this place… he is a person of a bitter fate. I thought you had picked up those filthy habits of visiting ‘flowers and willows’ and taking pleasure in such miserable people. That’s why I was so angry.”

Xie Huaishuang being harmed to this extent… he is indeed a person of bitter fate.

He was sitting there quietly, looking around. I looked at him and nodded in deep agreement, then suddenly shook my head as I realized what she meant.

“How could I be that kind of person!”

How could I, Zhu Pingsheng, be the type to kick someone when they’re down? I’ve only ever wanted to win against him fairly. How could I take pleasure in his misfortune!

“Yes. I misjudged you for a moment.” Senior Sister Chen said, then looked at me solemnly. “Answer me properly. Your feelings for him… it’s not just a passing whim, but genuine?”

“Of course it’s not a whim,” I said immediately. “There’s not a fake bone in it.”

I’ve been chasing him to trade blows for ten whole years. Heaven is my witness—my desire to win against him is as real as it gets.

“So, what do you intend to do now?”

I thought about it and answered honestly, “I… don’t know. Perhaps take him away.”

Or perhaps kill him. But I usually don’t say things out loud if I’m not certain.

“As for the Temple matter, let’s wait a little.”

It’s hard to say what’s going wrong inside the Temple right now. The only clue might be Xie Huaishuang himself.

Senior Sister Chen stopped talking and just nodded, lost in thought.

“The High Priest being replaced is indeed very suspicious,” she said. “I will inform the City Lord, but you don’t need to worry too much. The Temple matter is important, but there are many people in Iron Cloud City; you aren’t alone. Since things are as they are, this is a life-long matter after all. You should… you should settle this first. I’ll come find you when there are other clues.”

I was so moved. I was obsessed with finding the despicable High Priest to settle accounts, and many in Iron Cloud City couldn’t understand why I was so persistent, why I treated it as a top priority. Senior Sister only asked me once, and now she understands me so well—though her phrasing of “life-long matter” was a bit odd, she actually understands me!

“Don’t worry about anything else. The City Lord and I will help you prepare what needs to be prepared. Just take good care of the person.”

Though I didn’t really know what needed to be “prepared,” Senior Sister was so considerate that she thought of things I hadn’t even considered. She truly is my own senior sister.

“Senior Sister,” I looked at her with gratitude, “I really don’t know how to thank you.”

“No need.” She looked at me and gave a rare smile. “Since you call me Senior Sister, this is part of my duty.”

She then turned serious: “Regarding the two High Priests, besides what you’ve said, do you have any other clues?”

The one in the Temple now is a fake. The real one, needless to say, is sitting right here. I thought for a moment and shook my head. “I’m not clear on the beginning or end of it yet. Aside from this, a person in black told me about it on the day of the ceremony, but I could only tell that they were a swordsman.”

Actually, I didn’t want anyone to know about Xie Huaishuang being in a place like this, but there was no helping it now. Senior Sister Chen was deep in thought about the person in black. I spoke up again seriously, “Senior Sister, one more thing.” I pointed at Xie Huaishuang. “Don’t mention this to anyone else except the City Lord.”

Senior Sister raised her right eyebrow and nodded. “Fine.”

She curled her fingers and tapped on the table a few times. “When do you plan to take him away?”

I glanced at Xie Huaishuang. Having been ignored for so long, he seemed a bit unhappy—his expression hadn’t changed at all, still that same flat, emotionless face, but I inexplicably felt he was a bit disgruntled, so I touched his fingertips.

Xie Huaishuang blinked, lifted his eyelashes, and his gaze fell on me.

“I don’t know yet.” The thought of this left me without a clue. “We’ll see.”

“Fine. —Let me say a couple of words to him?”

I asked Xie Huaishuang, and he nodded, extending his right hand and spreading it open.

“Senior Sister, don’t write too hard, but don’t write too light either,” I gestured. “If it’s too light, it tickles.”

“…”

Ignoring me, Senior Sister looked down. She unfastened the sharp iron gauntlet from her right hand and wrote something on Xie Huaishuang’s palm. I heard Xie Huaishuang’s voice, very soft: “No—it was he who saved me.”

Senior Sister nodded and wrote another sentence. This time, Xie Huaishuang didn’t answer immediately. He lowered his eyes and stared at the tabletop in a daze for a long time. A flicker of a glance from the corner of his eye darted toward me, and then he pursed his lips, showing no other reaction.

—Even though he can’t see, he seems to really like pretending that he can.

Senior Sister looked at him and gave an mm. I was curious: “What did you say?”

“It wasn’t meant for you.”

Fine. If you won’t say it, you won’t. I was just asking casually; I didn’t really want to hear it anyway.

…At worst, I’ll just ask Xie Huaishuang later.