Transmigrating Behind the Mirror to Become Her Guardian Lady - Chapter 20

“No.”

“I won’t.”

“I will never abandon Lulu.”

Shu Mengli looked at the small face in the water curtain, crumpled from crying, and her heart softened into a puddle. Her voice was gentler than it had ever been. Her gaze was warm; the moment she looked down at you, it was like sinking into the clear waters of a green lake, gradually bringing peace to one’s heart.

Although Jiang Weilu possessed a deep mind at such a young age, in front of the sister who was like a ray of dawn to her, she was nothing more than an insecure, spoiled little crybaby. Hearing her sister’s gentle promise, Jiang Weilu slowly calmed down. She raised a hand to wipe her tears, her misty “peach blossom” eyes looking piteously at her sister.

“Then… Sister will really never want to leave me?”

An adorable little thing as exquisite and beautiful as a porcelain doll—was looking at you with total anticipation. Who could possibly resist that?

Shu Mengli was practically ready to point to the heavens and swear an oath. “Unless an accident happens, I will never stop looking for Lulu. I will work very, very hard to come see you, even if it’s a slow process.”

I’m afraid you won’t wait for me. I’m afraid you can’t wait for me.

The corners of Jiang Weilu’s lips quirked up slightly but were immediately pressed down. The joy in her heart was almost ready to erupt. How wonderful Sister finally promised to stay with her forever.

In truth, her sudden outburst of tears wasn’t entirely an act. Jiang Weilu really did miss her sister too much and feared being abandoned; she had simply snapped. But now, being comforted so gently and tasting the benefits of playing the “pitiful little one,” the little fox couldn’t help but wag her tail and continue the act.

Jiang Weilu blinked her misty eyes at the sister in the mirror and whispered, “Accident?”

Shu Mengli nodded, her eyes clouded with worry. With each transmigration, the bond between her and Lulu grew deeper. She naturally worried: if the mirror suddenly broke one day and she couldn’t cross over, what would happen to the Lulu who was so attached to her?

This was why Shu Mengli never dared to promise “forever.” If the day really came when she couldn’t cross over, would she be leaving the Lulu who believed in her to wait forever? Thus, Shu Mengli nodded, giving the child a bit of a “vaccination” for the future.

“Yes. For example, if the mirror suddenly shatters one day, I might…”

“It won’t.”

Before Shu Mengli could finish, she was abruptly interrupted by Jiang Weilu. She looked over in surprise. The little girl’s face was devoid of smiles; she was so serious and solemn it was startling a side of her Shu Mengli had never seen.

Then, she repeated firmly, “It won’t. I will never let the mirror break.”

Even if I have to stake my life on it.

Shu Mengli was stunned by the child’s sincere gaze and tone, then gave a bitter smile. Even so, I’m afraid the mirror on my side might have problems, making it impossible to travel…

Forget it.

Why think so much? Even a child had the courage to protect their encounter; how could she, the adult, be a coward? Lulu was happy now; there was no need to trouble her with these things. Having cleared her mind, Shu Mengli decided not to linger on the unhappy topic and shifted the conversation with a light laugh.

“Then I’ll leave the little mirror in Lulu’s care. But…” The beautiful sister in the mirror changed her tone, her eyes narrowing as she smiled brightly. “But does Lulu really miss me that much? You cried when I came back last time, and you’re crying again this time. Little crybaby Lulu?”

The sudden teasing made the serious Jiang Weilu turn red in the face. The little girl, who was so calculating toward the outside world, was suddenly overcome with shyness. Her little head drooped, and the tips of her ears burned a bright red.

Is this the aftereffect of acting pitiful? Being teased by Sister afterward?

It took a long while for Jiang Weilu to look up. Her eyes darted around, too embarrassed to look directly at her sister, as she whispered, “Sister, you were gone for 45 days, 22 hours, and 26 minutes.”

The number, precise down to the minute, left Shu Mengli stunned. How had the child lived through the time she was gone? Had she been counting the days, longing for her return? She had never imagined that in a distant place behind a mirror, in a world she couldn’t reach at will, someone would miss and care for her this much.

To her, this was merely a strange adventure across three short nights; she felt more like a passerby. But to Lulu, it was months of waiting time and again it was her life. Because of her own past, she hated being the one left behind to wait. Yet now, as time shifted, she had become the person who caused someone else to fall into endless waiting.

But in the next moment, Shu Mengli’s eyes flashed as she noticed something more important.

Over a month. She had actually been gone for over a month this time? Last time, it was only a week! The intervals were getting longer. Does that mean… Does that mean the time between her transmigrations will get longer and longer? How long would it be next time? Three months? Or even half a year?

She bit her lip, the soft skin turning a deep crimson from the pressure. Her heart was a mess of emotions. But this was only a guess; its truth remained to be verified. She didn’t want the Jiang Weilu in the water curtain to fall into a bad mood as well. So, she quickly gathered her emotions and looked tenderly at the child.

“I’m sorry. Waiting alone must feel very lonely. I missed Lulu too, I missed”

She stopped mid-sentence. Her gaze paused as she accidentally caught sight of Jiang Weilu’s left hand, hidden in her sleeve. She had been too excited when she first saw the child to notice much. Now that she saw it, she remembered—the child had kept her hand hidden in her sleeve since entering the room.

Shu Mengli looked down. Seeing the white gauze on the palm that Jiang Weilu had inadvertently revealed now that she was relaxed, she knit her brows tightly. “Lulu, what happened to your hand?”

Jiang Weilu, who had been waiting for her sister’s comfort, was startled by the sudden shift in topic. Her hand instinctively hid behind her back. “No… nothing’s wrong.”

The hesitation in her voice was awkward and stiff; Shu Mengli immediately became suspicious. “Your hand is injured? Lulu, what on earth happened during the month and a half I was gone?”

The little fox’s tail wagged quietly and happily. Sometimes, hiding your pain and waiting for the other person to discover it yourself works much better than just acting spoiled. But she didn’t show it.

Under her sister’s gentle coaxing and questioning, Jiang Weilu finally gave a brief overview of recent events. Naturally, she omitted her own role in them. She simply said that Jiang Yuxi had tripped her, causing her to break her grandfather’s wine and cut her hand. But fortunately, the person they saved in the snow turned out to be Elder Li, who arrived just in time to resolve the crisis. Then, even more hilariously, Jiang Yuxi made a fool of herself, got drunk, and blew up her dad’s mouth.

When the magical experiences of the day were finished, Shu Mengli was completely shocked. One event after another, climax after climax it was both funny and absurd. Is this what a wealthy family is like? Too scary!

But once the initial shock faded, her heart was immediately flooded with heartache and anger. Fortunately—fortunately, the person they saved that day was Elder Li. Otherwise, what would have happened to the sabotaged Lulu? Would she have been mocked in front of everyone and then returned home to her father’s cold eyes or even a beating?

Honestly! Every time she came over, the child was injured. Shu Mengli bit her lip and looked at Jiang Weilu. She didn’t share the girl’s smile; instead, her eyes were filled with heartache and softness. “Does your hand still hurt?”

Jiang Weilu, who had been animatedly describing the day’s funny events, froze. Her voice gradually grew weaker, and the smile on her face faded.

It had been a whole day. Her hand had been cut for a day. Whether it was her father or her other relatives, no one had noticed her injury, let alone cared to say a word. Perhaps the elders were kind to her, but they were ultimately just a group of careless seniors.

Only Sister, after hearing so many shocking things, cared only about that one point. She cared whether she was comfortable; she feared she was in pain. It was as if that person didn’t care about the world at all only about her.

Jiang Weilu sniffled and, quite uncharacteristically, turned red-eyed again. “It hurts… it hurts so much, Sister! Jiang Yuxi bullied me!”

If Li Yunmu had heard this, she probably would have rolled her eyes to the back of her head on the spot. Good grief, who would dare bully you? Do they want to be schemed against until their own mother wouldn’t recognize them?

Speaking of Li Yunmu… the Jiang family’s fireworks display had turned cold immediately after Jiang Ming was “blasted,” and everyone had dispersed early. By this time, the “living treasures” of the Li family had already returned home. Because Elder Li had snuck a drink while injured, he was currently being scolded and chased around by a private doctor.

The head of the Li family, Li Quan Li Yunmu’s father finally had a moment of peace and was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper. Li Yunmu hunched her shoulders and crept up to her father like a spy, pulling a box out of her pocket and handing it over.

“My respected Father! Please accept your daughter’s filial devotion! Please, have one!”

Li Quan looked up slightly, sparing half a glance for Li Yunmu. His emotionless gaze looked through his lenses at the cigarette the silly child was practically shoving into his mouth. Then, he raised a hand and gently tore the twisted, mangled cigarette paper, revealing the bright red firecracker inside.

Li Quan sighed and looked at his daughter with the gaze one uses for the intellectually challenged.

One minute later, above the silent Li residence, Li Yunmu’s booming wails suddenly rang out.

However, there is no harm without comparison. At the same time, Jiang Weilu was feeling incredibly happy. Because as soon as she acted spoiled and cried out in pain, Shu Mengli immediately felt heartache. She looked at the little girl in the curtain with concern, nagging her with instructions.

“Avoid using that injured hand for a while. Remember, you absolutely cannot get it wet when you bathe. Change the dressing promptly…”

After saying so much, Shu Mengli still couldn’t put her heart at ease. Physical wounds would always heal, but what about the wounds in the heart? The shadows of childhood can sometimes be so severe that it takes a lifetime to heal them.

Just then, a flash of inspiration hit her, and Shu Mengli thought of a way. Her eyes brightened, and she smiled at the child in the water curtain. “How about this: Sister will give it a ‘Hoo-Hoo’ for you, okay?”

Jiang Weilu, who was immersed in her sister’s gentle care, was startled. The eldest miss of the Jiang family, living in a cold and detached wealthy household, had never encountered this term. She had no idea what a “Hoo-Hoo” was.

Shu Mengli saw her expression and laughed softly. “It means I’ll help blow on your wound. When I accidentally got hurt as a child, my mother would often ‘Hoo-Hoo’ for me, so it wouldn’t feel as painful. Although I’m inside the mirror and you’re outside, so you might not feel it, it’s at least some comfort for the heart…”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Shu Mengli was horrified to realize she had slipped up! According to her initial persona, she was a spirit inside the mirror—how could a spirit have a mother!

Her heart panicked for a moment. Her pupils contracted as she stared at Jiang Weilu’s expression in the water curtain. But reassuringly, the child didn’t seem to notice anything. She just looked at her with a face full of surprise, impatiently holding out her hand for the “Hoo-Hoo,” seemingly not caring at all about what had just been said.

Shu Mengli breathed a sigh of relief. In the beginning, saying she was a “little spirit” was to better gain trust, to let the innocent child believe in her magical nature so she would protect the mirror. She hadn’t expected it to become such a difficult position now. The more she valued the bond, the more she feared speaking the truth. If Lulu found out she had lied, would she ever trust her again? Would she even stop trusting people altogether?

“Sister? What’s wrong? Didn’t you say you were going to give me a ‘Hoo-Hoo’?”

The voice from the water curtain interrupted Shu Mengli’s thoughts. She regained her composure, adjusted her expression, and smiled at Jiang Weilu. “Yes, yes, of course.”

Then, sitting on the floor of the mirror space, she leaned forward slightly. Her red lips parted, and she exhaled softly, gently blowing across the air toward the small, bandaged hand on the water curtain. Her smooth, wavy long hair accidentally fell forward, and the beautiful sister used a fingertip to gently tuck it back, revealing her curled, fan-like eyelashes and her perfectly exquisite face.

Jiang Weilu lowered her eyes, watching the person in the mirror who was giving her a “Hoo-Hoo” without blinking. There was no physical sensation on her palm, but her heart was burning hot, as if a spring breeze had blown through, causing flowers to bloom everywhere.

A seed named “greed” quietly took root in her heart, growing slowly. Jiang Weilu’s gaze was both happy and forlorn. If only Sister could really give her a ‘Hoo-Hoo.’ How I want to… give Sister a hug.

Bang! Crackle! Pop!

Suddenly, the sound of firecrackers erupted outside the window. At first, it was just a few scattered pops, but then other sounds joined in competitively, merging into a continuous, earth-shaking roar. The smell of gunpowder filled the air.

Startled by the noise, Shu Mengli’s eyes widened like a frightened rabbit, and she stopped her “Hoo-Hoo” motion, freezing in the mirror. Jiang Weilu saw her sister’s startled expression and burst out laughing. She hopped off the bed barefoot and ran to close the window.

The outside noise was mostly blocked out. Jiang Weilu sat back on the bed and thoughtfully comforted the “little spirit.” “Don’t be afraid, Sister. Today is New Year’s Eve. It should be twelve o’clock now. It’s a custom in the human world to set off firecrackers at this time to welcome the New Year.”

The human world. Well, that term was quite “chuunibyou.” Shu Mengli’s mouth twitched slightly, but then she couldn’t help but laugh. She lived many years ahead of Jiang Weilu’s timeline; it had been a long time since she had heard such festive firecrackers. She was just a bit surprised, yet she hadn’t expected to be comforted by the child as if she were a timid spirit.

The sister, who had been an adult for many years, covered her mouth and laughed, playing along. “So that’s how it is. Then it must be the New Year now. I’m really happy to have been with you from last year into this one. Happy New Year, Lulu.”

Jiang Weilu was momentarily stunned. This was the first time she had ever received a New Year’s blessing from someone. The Jiang family was cold; they never cared about such things. In the next instant, her eyes lit up with joy, as if they held the stars of the entire sky, and she nodded vigorously.

“Mhm! Happy New Year, Sister! I hope next year I can also be with…” “Sister…” “Together forever…”

Her voice grew weaker and weaker. She went from being the most excited person in the world to the saddest. Jiang Weilu’s lips pressed into a straight line as she stared blankly at the person in the mirror. The beautiful sister inside was smiling quietly, but no matter how she looked at it, that smile seemed sad and regretful. So sad that her figure was becoming fainter and fainter.

Shu Mengli spoke softly, “I’m sorry, Lulu. It seems I have to leave again.”

Jiang Weilu couldn’t speak; she could only bite her lip and nod. In truth, Shu Mengli hadn’t expected this transmigration to be so short less than two hours. But fortunately, for some reason, the pulling force this time was much gentler than before; she didn’t lose consciousness instantly.

Looking at the sadness in Jiang Weilu’s eyes, Shu Mengli felt she couldn’t just leave like that. She fought against the dizzying pull and rushed to speak. “Lulu! Take good care of yourself!”

In the water curtain, Jiang Weilu’s eyes were red as she nodded vigorously. “Mhm!”

“Eat well.” “Mhm!”

“Watch your wound.” “Mhm!”

Shu Mengli looked at the child who was holding back her tears and obediently agreeing to everything, and gazed at her with the most tender eyes in the world. “Don’t miss me too much. Wait for me to come back.”

As the words fell, she finally could no longer resist the pull of the mirror space. Her consciousness plummeted instantly into boundless darkness.

And Jiang Weilu, left alone to guard the mirror, looked at the surface that now only reflected her own face without her sister. Her eyes were red as she nodded firmly. “Mhm!”

However, Shu Mengli seemed to have forgotten one thing. Before she left, all her attention was on Jiang Weilu. She hadn’t seen and forgot to look at the crystal ball that had abruptly appeared when she first entered.

At this moment, the sphere stood to the right of the water curtain, silent and still. But it had changed. The dreamy substance that had only filled a tiny bit of the bottom when Shu Mengli arrived had now surged to two-thirds of the ball’s volume.