Transmigrated as Jane’s Ghostly Godmother - Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Interlude — The Child has Grown; Scaring Her Doesn’t Work Anymore

It was a girl, not particularly tall and rather slight of build. Though she looked like a girl, she was likely around eighteen or nineteen. Her hair was gathered into a neat bun, combed so tightly that not a single stray strand escaped her temples, revealing a smooth, broad forehead.

Because she had been walking in such a hurry, her cheeks were flushed crimson, yet one could still tell her natural complexion was nearly pallid.

Jane opened her mouth to say it was no matter, but looking at this face, a powerful sense of familiarity surged within her. It rendered her speechless, making her almost want to reach out and grab the stranger’s hand.

Lin Zhao noticed her strange reaction. She reached out and patted Jane’s shoulder, then waved at the girl on Jane’s behalf, signaling that it was alright.

“May the Lord bless you.”

The girl offered them another apologetic curtsy before turning to continue her hurried pace toward her destination. Jane curled her fingers into her palm; with the girl’s departure, that sense of familiarity turned into regret. She let out an involuntary sigh.

“What is it, Jane? Do you know her?” Lin Zhao asked with concern, sensing the shift in her mood.

“…No, I have never seen her.” Jane remained silent for a second before speaking the truth. Now, even she felt that the impulse to stop the stranger had been far too inexplicable.

She shook her head to toss the thought aside, looked back at Lin Zhao, and picked up the conversation that had been interrupted: “So, about that nursing school?”

The mask beneath the hood turned toward her, unmoving. Sensing that Lin Zhao was checking to see if she was forcing herself, Jane pulled the corners of her mouth into an exaggerated, crinkled grin. This coaxed a soft chuckle from beneath the mask before Lin Zhao followed up on the question.

“Exactly. To show her respect for Miss Nightingale, Miss Constance has significantly lowered the contract price for the school. Besides, since our ship back to Funchal isn’t until tomorrow afternoon, she invited me to visit the school with her tomorrow morning to see if the uniforms can be improved further.”

“I thought Miss Constance’s shop only did bespoke commissions?” Jane looked back at the tailor shop. The lady who had felt so familiar had just pushed the door open and entered.

By a twist of fate, the information broker who had worn her “professional mask” for several years replied meaningfully: “Consider it a business expansion. The market changes in an instant; it is always better to be daring and try new things than to be stuck in one’s ways.”

“Understood, Teacher Lin. I’ll remember that,” Jane teased. Hearing the serious tone—reminiscent of their usual lessons—she couldn’t resist adopting a formal tone herself.

“Then, Miss Eyre, I hope you apply what you’ve learned,” Lin Zhao followed the lead smoothly, then shifted topics. “According to the schedule, Mr. Eyre will take you to a closing meeting for a new business deal tomorrow morning. Are you prepared?”

Jane’s smile collapsed instantly. Thinking of the doubled workload she had taken on in the first half of the year to prepare for entering the business in the second half, she slumped her shoulders. “Perhaps? Mr. Alva said that practical field study would be more interesting than indoor lessons. I hope he wasn’t joking.”

“It probably won’t be that much more interesting. Although with Mr. Eyre there, you won’t run into any troublesome characters for now.” Lin Zhao thought of the various merchants common in the business world and spread her hands. “In the pursuit of profit, you’ll find all sorts of people in business, and anything can happen.”

“I can imagine. After all, Father told me to learn from you and wrap myself up tightly in a cloak first.” Jane had become an expert at acting spoiled with Lin Zhao over the years; she tugged on the hem of Lin Zhao’s cloak. “You originally said you would go with me.”

“Apologies, an urgent business matter came up.” Lin Zhao extended her hand slightly to let Jane hold her arm more comfortably. “Besides, in matters of trade, Mr. Eyre is far more experienced than I. You’ll be fine. Also—being cooped up in a cloak all day isn’t very pleasant; you should be mentally prepared for that.”

Despite the heavy covering, Jane could perfectly imagine Lin Zhao’s expression. Those eyes were likely curved again, brimming with fragmented bits of laughter. Smiling at the thought, Jane tugged the cloak again, and the two resumed their walk toward the hotel.

Before they had gone far, Jane couldn’t help but steal glances at the person beside her.

In these past few years, she had grown quite a bit taller. When she used to look at Lin Zhao, she had to tilt her head far back, and even then she could only see the other’s arms and the ends of her hair. Now, she could look over Lin’s shoulder and see her jawline peeking through strands of hair when she occasionally turned her head to speak.

Two days ago, Lin Zhao had measured her height and remarked with great sentiment: “Thanks to Mrs. Alves’ strict dietary requirements, you really have grown quite a lot.”

At the time, Jane hadn’t said anything. She simply let Lin smooth her ruffled hair while she squinted her eyes, calculating the height difference between them. When they first met, the other was about 20 inches taller than her; now, that gap had closed to about 6 inches.

I wonder if I can grow a bit more? Jane thought, her gaze drifting to the area beneath Lin Zhao’s eyes.

She was still bothered by the bruise she had seen in her dream. Over the years, she had developed a habit of observing Lin, and whenever she looked, she couldn’t help but start from the skin a few inches below the eyes. Unlike herself, Lin Zhao hadn’t changed at all in appearance. Her hair was the same length as when they met, and her skin never darkened even after days in the sun. The “Ghost Lady” was true to her nature; even time could not leave a mark on her.

“What is it?” Her gaze lingered too long. Lin Zhao let go of her arm and lowered her head slightly toward her. “Is there something on my face?”

“…No, nothing.” Jane opened her eyes wide and looked away.

But Lin Zhao didn’t quite believe her. She leaned in closer, chasing after Jane’s darting eyes. “You can tell me anything. I will work hard to solve it.”

Lin Zhao said this often, and Jane thought she had long grown used to it. But perhaps because she had just been secretly watching her, facing that earnest gaze brought specifically to her eyes made her ears flush red.

“I know you will.” She took two steps back and turned to run, nearly fleeing in a panic. “Father told me to find him. I’m going ahead!”

Snapping back from her memories, Jane realized she was “stealing glances” at her again—though perhaps it wasn’t stealing, since half her body was turned toward Lin and she was staring quite openly. Fortunately, she was half a step behind Lin, who was wearing a hood and concentrating on the path, so she likely hadn’t noticed.

She withdrew her gaze with a bit of awkwardness.

Actually, that habit of observation wouldn’t matter even if it were discovered or spoken of. Lin Zhao wouldn’t be angry; she would probably just spread her hands and let Jane look for differences to her heart’s content. After all, in their unconventional “disguise lessons,” Lin Zhao always told Jane to make good use of her observant nature.

When she first heard this, Jane found it strange. Do I have such a habit? Besides, how is that an advantage? The next second, her mind had drifted to a different thought: Why is Lin always so certain, as if she knows me so well?

In the early days at Whalewood, they had argued about this point. Since then, whenever Lin Zhao sensed something was wrong with Jane’s mood, she loved to press her about what happened. It was as if she were determined to understand everything about Jane Eyre to avoid any future situations that went against her heart. And to ensure Jane did everything from her own will, the “Ghost Lady” practically wanted to tell her at every moment: “I will take responsibility for any choice you make.”

Thinking of this, moved by a strange impulse, Jane called out to her.

“Lin.”

Lin Zhao turned her head slightly. “Yes?”

“…If it turns out I’m not suited to be a merchant, would you be disappointed?” Jane’s grip on the other’s clothes tightened.

“Jane, how could I ever be disappointed in you? But if you try it and truly find you don’t like it, we can use the emergency funds we’ve saved over the years and hide away in London. There’s more than one way to make a living besides being a merchant.”

“It’s just that Mr. Eyre might be angry enough to send a crowd of people to find us. Do you think I should consider buying a secluded house in London just in case?”

Wearing a mask made eye contact difficult. Lin Zhao didn’t turn around; she simply slowed her pace and very patiently listed a multitude of possibilities.

See? Jane thought. Lin Zhao indulges me far too much.

“You know I was joking, right? Don’t worry, I knew what I wanted to do from the start—especially since you wrote that letter.” Jane let go of the clothes and grabbed Lin Zhao’s wrist hidden beneath the cloak, her voice trailing off playfully.

“Even if it’s a joke, I want you to know I’m prepared… Wait, what letter?” Mid-sentence, Lin Zhao stiffened. Her voice became panicked—a rare occurrence. “Mr. Eyre showed it to you?”

“Yes, he also said you saw my ‘inner light’ and wanted to be some kind of ‘gemstone merchant’…” The shift in the other’s tone was too amusing, and Jane couldn’t help but continue teasing, though she was interrupted by a light cough after only a few words.

“Ahem. We’re here.”

Jane looked up; they had indeed arrived back at the hotel. Seizing the moment Jane was distracted, Lin Zhao led her quickly inside. Stopping in front of the room, she gently withdrew her hand, pulled her hood lower, and said in a muffled voice, “Go back to your room first. I still have to speak with Mr. Eyre to tell him I can’t join you tomorrow morning.”

With that, she turned and left.

This attitude was so familiar. Jane couldn’t help but laugh, calling out to her retreating back: “Don’t think you can change the subject like that! When you get back, let’s have a proper talk about that letter!”

Lin Zhao’s pace quickened, almost breaking into a run.

Fortunately, once the shout ended, Jane said nothing more. Lin Zhao walked to John Eyre’s door, pacing for a good while until the heat in her face cooled down.

Over these years, being personally involved in everything for Jane had practically become her guiding principle. But presenting the results to Jane to encourage her was a completely different feeling from having the process of her hard work witnessed by her own eyes.

When Lin Zhao knocked and went in to discuss business with John Eyre, she couldn’t help but drop some vague, startling news to spook him—payback for her own panicked flight just now.

The meeting didn’t take long, but she didn’t want to go back to the room just yet.

Jane was naturally mature for her age, and after several years of various studies, her mind and way of thinking already exceeded her current years. Lin Zhao could even foresee that when she entered the business world, she would surely distinguish herself in an extremely unexpected way.

However, in their daily interactions, it was also becoming increasingly difficult for Lin Zhao to parry Jane’s sudden, seemingly intentional or unintentional remarks. She had to admit that her “Fairy Godmother” story was no longer as effective as it once was.

Before she could think of a temporary way to handle this, she decided to go for a walk. As for where to go…

“That girl from before…” Lin Zhao remembered the interlude on the way back and decided to go back to the tailor shop to take a look.

She hoped the girl hadn’t left yet.