After the Early-Deceased White Moonlight of a Wealthy Family Returns (GL) - Chapter 25

“Just teasing you.” The woman’s hand rubbed Shen You’an’s slightly dampened hair, lifting a stray lock and letting the water droplets slide from the strands into her palm. Her tone carried an obvious concern rarely seen in her daily life, “Go dry off, blow-dry your hair, and be careful not to catch a cold.”

“Oh…”

Shen You’an walked out with a stiff body.

With every step, her heart was in a state of penance.

What is wrong with you, Shen You’an?

Why that moment of hesitation and lingering doubt in your heart just now?

You called her sister, but you’re eighteen years old; by full count, you’ve even lived for twenty-seven years. Twenty-seven! Not seven! Is that an age where you can soak in a bathtub with your sister! Have you no shame! Do you not feel embarrassed!

But then again, if you treat it like soaking in a hot spring, it seems quite common for people to squeeze in together.

They’re both girls, after all.

Shen You’an stood still outside the bathroom door. With a slap, her hands hit both sides of her face respectively, forcing herself to calm down quickly.

Blow-dry! she had to blow-dry her hair quickly!

Inside the bathroom.

The door closed, and the blurred figure behind the frosted glass vanished.

Su Wu stared at herself in the mirror; at this moment, there wasn’t a trace of drunkenness on her face. She took off her clothes, letting the water droplets fall from her hair and body. She stepped onto the floor barefoot, bent over, and took her phone out of the side pocket of the clothes placed nearby.

The appraisal agency, which had been working overtime through the night, sent many messages.

[CEO Su, the claw marks on this wall look like traces caused by some rare wild animal; exactly what it is remains unknown.]

[Additionally, regarding the blood sample you sent someone to deliver today, it is being compared with the stored samples you selected. What can be certain for now is that it is indeed human blood, very fresh, and the traces were formed within six hours.]

Su Wu replied with a “Understood, thank you for your hard work,” put down her phone, and stepped into the bathtub.

Closing her eyes, her mind was filled entirely with the image of the girl from a moment ago.

The water-soaked cotton pajamas made it easy for her to see the skin beneath the fabric.

There wasn’t a single scar on Shen You’an’s body.

Whether it was the gunshot wound from ten years ago, or anything else.

The girl’s eerie figure on the boxing ring, the non-human traces behind the strange positioning, the extraordinary recorded values on the watch, the bloodstains inexplicably left deep in the alley, the scars that had vanished without a trace…

All the fragments formed a certain intuition in Su Wu’s mind.

She had always trusted her intuition; it had brought her profits in the hundreds of billions.

But this time, Su Wu didn’t want to believe it.

Because this intuition ultimately pointed to one thing—

In those ten years of disappearance, everything Shen You’an experienced was perhaps far more cruel and crazed than she could imagine.

Su Wu closed her eyes and slid her body down, submerging herself completely at the bottom of the cold bathtub water.

Chens City, the Shen Family.

Shen Run stayed in his study, glanced at the clock, and after the bell chimed, his phone rang exactly on time.

He hurried to answer.

“Where is the person I want?” On the other end of the line came a male voice that had clearly been adjusted through a voice changer.

Shen Run: “Ten were selected for this batch; they’ll be sent over tomorrow.”

The other party: “The ones you chose last time were no good, Shen Run. You need to pick some with good physiques to come over.”

Shen Run: “Yes, I know. Actually, I saw a very good prospect at the boxing ring today, but unfortunately, that girl Ji Lan refused to give the contact information no matter what, saying they weren’t a fighter from their ring…”

The other party: “I have no interest in hearing your nonsense, Shen Run. What I want are results.”

“It’s a critical period for the research now; you wouldn’t want any mishaps to occur halfway, would you?”

Shen Run was startled: “I will find new ones as soon as possible, rest assured!”

The other party: “Mhm.”

Shen Run said tentatively: “Then, sir, this week’s meeting…”

“Saturday at ten in the morning, the usual place.”

Having received the desired answer, the call was hung up, and Shen Run slumped into his office chair.

He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, thought it over, and stood up.

Shen Zhirou hadn’t slept yet; the light in her room was on.

Shen Run knocked on the door.

“Uncle.” The girl opened the door.

“Still busy?” Shen Run cast his gaze into the room.

Shen Zhirou said: “Preparing for the physics competition at the end of the month.”

Shen Run gave a hum: “Tomorrow, Saturday at ten, take your mom to Tian’ai to see the doctor.”

Shen Zhirou paused for a moment and inquired: “Uncle, is there something wrong with Mom’s health? We haven’t been there for a long time; why suddenly…?”

“Just a routine check-up,” Shen Run said. “I’ll send someone to pick you up tomorrow; remember, arrive on time at ten.”

Shen Zhirou lowered her head: “Understood, Uncle.”

Shen Run: “Mhm, get some rest early.” He glanced at the light on Shen Zhirou’s desk, the thick exercise books on the table looking like bricks, “Zhirou, I know you’re a good child and very hardworking, but you really don’t need to do all this.”

Shen Zhirou: “Goodnight, Uncle.”

Shen Run knew she wouldn’t listen to those words, frowned, remained silent, and turned to leave. Once he had walked away, Shen Zhirou closed the door.

The back of her head rested against the door panel as she looked up at the blue of the ceiling.

Ten years.

She actually didn’t like blue at all.

It’s just that no one cared.

She took out her phone and clicked on the second profile in her pinned chats.

[Sister, Mom has to go to Tian’ai again.]

She typed this line out, then deleted it.

The chat history with the other party still remained at that one sentence:

[Also, don’t call me sister, and that’s not my home.]

Shen Zhirou took a deep breath and returned to her desk. She looked at the optics problem, Fresnel’s formulas rolling over in her mind several times. With the pen in her hand, she wrote one line after another on the scratch paper.

Thud.

Shen Zhirou slammed the pen onto the table, interlaced her fingers into her hair, and hung her head low, not saying a word.

The next day, Su Wu’s house, early morning.

The housekeeper arrived early with groceries. Given Su Wu’s level of work busyness, she had no concept of a two-day weekend.

Before Shen You’an moved in, there were never traces of others entering Su Wu’s house. Since she moved in, Su Wu found two housekeepers to take turns coming over to cook.

After all, the child looked a bit too thin and was at an age for growing; nutrition had to keep up.

“Ms. Su, these are soup dumplings I made myself; I know Xiao An likes them, so I brought some extra today,” the housekeeper said warmly. “Xiao An hasn’t woken up yet?”

Su Wu sat in her place reading the weekly work reports sent by her subordinates: “Probably. Ma’am, don’t worry about her; let her rest.”

The housekeeper said okay: “Then I’ll put the dumplings in the fridge first; if Xiao An wakes up and wants to eat, I’ll heat them up for her. Ms. Su, what would you like for lunch today? I’ve bought some groceries; if there’s anything else you’d like to eat, I’ll go buy more.”

Su Wu: “I’ll be heading out soon and won’t be back until evening. Ma’am, when Xiao An wakes up, ask her.”

“Yes, alright!”

Ten minutes later, Su Wu finished her soy milk and headed out.

The housekeeper was bewildered: “That’s strange; why did Ms. Su head out so quickly today…” It wasn’t normally like this; why the hurry? On a big Saturday, was there something busy to attend to?

Not long after she left, Shen You’an pushed open her door and walked out, stretching.

The housekeeper saw her and beamed: “Xiao An, you’re awake? What a lack of coincidence; your sister just left. I brought soup dumplings for you; they’re cold now, should I go steam them hot for you?”

“Yes, thank you, ma’am~”

Shen You’an sat obediently by the dining table and took the cup handed over by the housekeeper. The hot soy milk was warm and cozy; waking up to a cup like this on a chilly autumn morning was a sufficient happiness for Shen You’an.

“Ms. Su is really busy with work,” the housekeeper said to Shen You’an while cleaning up in the kitchen. “I see you two sisters don’t have much time to spend together, do you?”

Shen You’an glanced out the door.

“Maybe.”

Su Wu was likely truly busy, but she was only feigning sleep.

Shen You’an had woken up very early.

She hadn’t slept peacefully last night and had a very strange dream.

In the dream, she had probably truly gone mad; after Su Wu said the sentence ‘the bathtub is very big,’ she had stepped inside like a brainless person and stayed.

The dream was too real.

She remembered being scalded by the water when she stepped into the bathtub, and Su Wu commented: “Delicate skin and tender flesh.”

Su Wu leaned back in the bathtub with her eyes half-squinted, her limbs stretched out, without the slightest bit of unease. Meanwhile, she curled her body up, stayed in the corner of the bathtub, submerged half her face in the water, and blew a series of bubbles with a gurgle gurgle.

Yes, this bathtub was quite big, more than enough for two people, and squeezing in another wouldn’t be impossible.

But the problem was, no matter how big the bathtub was, as long as she looked up, she could see the woman’s body across from her. The water flowing over her was also flowing past the woman. It was as if the two of them were two tiny beans kneaded into a piece of dough, inseparable.

Clearly it was a bath, but Su Wu was still wearing clothes. It was the set Shen You’an had seen earlier when she pushed open the bathroom door—the top was loose, buttons undone, neckline wide open.

She just lay in the water like that.

The clothes were soaked through, clinging to her body and also drifting in the water like grey seaweed.

The heater in the bathroom was on, shining on Su Wu’s skin, making every inch of her appear as clear and moist as warm-toned white porcelain.

Shen You’an felt that everything before her eyes was like a painting, a painting she didn’t dare to start.

She closed her eyes, lowered her head, and blew a few more bubbles in the water.

Under the water, the woman’s stretched-out long legs would always touch hers, together with the warm and rolling water waves, softly and densely weaving an unspeakable sentiment.

In such a space and distance that could sufficiently be called private, she could clearly smell the woman’s scent. Setting aside all incense, body wash, and bath bombs, it was just the pure scent belonging to the woman.

Like some kind of attractant.

With one lift of her eyes, she could see her fair neck.

Shen You’an swallowed.

She could almost feel the rate of the blood vessels pulsing beneath the skin, imagine how the blood flowed past, and smell that alluring fragrance.

The salivary glands in her mouth were secreting; the canine teeth she only possessed after the mutation were growing.

She saw the woman suddenly open her eyes, maintaining her posture leaning back against the bathtub, hooked her fingertip toward her, and then traced above her own collarbone with a fingernail.

“You’an.” She spoke in an inviting tone, her voice carrying a soul-hooking little knife, “Hungry? Come, let sister feed you.”

A chain suddenly grew in the air, the kind for leading a dog. The end with the handle was held by Su Wu; with just one pull, Shen You’an followed and crawled over in the water. Inside this chain was the smell of blood—a call for food that awakened all the dormant predatory instincts within Shen You’an’s body.

She prepared to start the meal almost worshipfully.

First using the tip of her tongue to circle around, licking that area until it was moist and slippery. Although the food had already been cleaned very thoroughly, this was her instinctive sense of dining ritual when facing such precious food.

Not in a hurry to bite down immediately, the canine teeth nipped at the soft flesh, gauging the texture several times.

She heard the woman’s reaction, knowing that everything about the other party was heating up, trembling slightly when touched—unable to distinguish whether it was a shiver of fear or a thrill of excitement.

Finally…

Just at the moment she was about to bite down, Shen You’an saw the woman beneath her change her expression again.

She was screaming, shouting in terror: “Monster!”

She found it noisy and used her claws and teeth to seal her lips. The chain originally locked between the two of them snapped clean; she had no more misgivings, completely lost her humanity, was panicky with hunger, and lowered her head to gnaw on her.

And then, the woman lost her breath.

She still lay in the bathtub, her eyes open, all the blood in her body sucked clean, lifeless, the wound on her collarbone cruel and bloody.

Shen You’an snapped back to her senses, lowered her head, and found bright red blood dripping from the corner of her lips into her palm.

That blood was very hot.

She instantly woke up from the dream.

Sitting up straight, lying in the dry and warm bed, she panted heavily.

And then, she couldn’t fall asleep no matter what.

Influenced by the full moon, and because she had proactively released her sharp blades, the mutation factors in her body were somewhat restless. Coupled with the influence of the dream, now, once Shen You’an’s eyes closed, before her were images of Su Wu with eyes closed, her body submerged in the water, and everything from her chest up exposed to the air.

She wanted to take a bite everywhere.

The carotid artery, the pectoral artery, even the weakness at the ankle.

The madness that hadn’t been satisfied on the boxing ring turned into a greedy and endless hunger.

The monster in her stomach climbed up her chest along her body, its sharp claws clamoring to tear through all pretenses and devour and crush the woman separated by a wall.

A sharpened blade that doesn’t see blood will thirst.

She was such a blade now.

A blade that had drunk blood for ten years and suddenly stopped.

Shen You’an bit her own wrist again and again, using pain to stimulate her brain to stay clear, constantly warning herself: You have already returned to the normal world now; you cannot indulge yourself in being a monster anymore.

It took a huge effort to hold out until dawn. She felt her body gradually restore its calm, but the dream last night was simply too absurd; Shen You’an had no face to meet Su Wu and simply pretended to sleep in late, while in reality, she pricked up her ears in the bedroom to listen for movements.

Only after the person left did she come out.

The housekeeper’s soup dumplings were indeed very delicious; Shen You’an ate fifteen in one morning.

Housekeeper surprised, housekeeper accustomed, but housekeeper still surprised.jpg

“Xiao An, your appetite today… is even more impressive than before,” the housekeeper said tactfully.

Shen You’an shyly peeled a boiled egg for herself and said: “Ma’am, I didn’t get full yesterday; I was too hungry. And your dumplings are made so well; I couldn’t hold back for a moment.”

Who could resist such a soft and sweet girl speaking to them like this? The housekeeper couldn’t resist and said grandly: “Xiao An, I’ll make some more and bring them over tomorrow, just eat! Eat as many as you want!”

Shen You’an touched her belly.

Actually, no matter how much she ate, she was never full enough.

Once certain monsters wake up, if they can’t eat what they truly want, they will only be insatiable forever.

She curved her eyes and replied to the housekeeper: “Alright!”

Meng Dongdong’s call came at ten o’clock.

“An-an-an-an-an—” Just as the call connected, Meng Dongdong was screaming on the other end, “You’re alive!!!!”

Shen You’an: “I’m alive, I didn’t lie to you, did I? I said it would be fine.”

Meng Dongdong: “You’re so amazing; how did you do it?”

Fourth floor.

That’s the fourth floor.

Shen You’an felt she was getting better and better at lying now.

She said without changing her expression: “I told you, free solo climbing. Actually, this kind of building is very easy to climb; the gaps between the bricks on the outside and the windowsills between each floor can be stepped on.”

Of course it was a lie.

Shen You’an never knew anything about free solo climbing, nor did she have time to observe what the outer layer of the Lingang Boxing Ring building was made of. A normal person would certainly die jumping down, but a cat has nine lives, and so does a monster. As long as the claw tips were sharp enough, hanging onto that wall once to act as a buffer was all that was needed, nothing else.

Meng Dongdong didn’t know these things either, didn’t think too deeply, and believed Shen You’an’s explanation.

“Xiao An, Aunt Lan transferred the money to me; should I send it to your WeChat or your card? The appearance fee is twenty thousand eight hundred; Aunt Lan said to round it up and gave twenty-one thousand. The bet you had me place—the first match was two hundred, earning forty thousand, and the second match earned sixty thousand, a total of one hundred twenty-one thousand.”

Shen You’an was a bit slow to react: “Why so much?”

Meng Dongdong said: “That’s how it is with boxing bets, and you were a major dark horse.”

“Xiao An, Xiao An, you’re really so amazing!”

Meng Dongdong had now clearly become Shen You’an’s exclusive “fangirl.”

“I saw that monkey and tiger both looked so fierce; how did you do it?” Shen You’an normally didn’t look like someone who could fight. That frame, that body, thinner than her! Of course, it’s not that she, Meng Dongdong, was fat; her mom said she’s what you call “curvaceous and full.”

“Just… talent, I guess,” Shen You’an was talking nonsense again. “I was abroad before, was quite bored, and would practice this whenever I had nothing to do.”

“Oh oh,” Meng Dongdong remarked, “then you truly have talent.”

It’s a good thing the person listening to this was Meng Dongdong, who was naturally missing a gear. Shen You’an knew she was easy to coax and secretly repented in her heart while lying to her.

“By the way, should I send the money to your card or WeChat?”

“WeChat, probably.” Besides giving her the supplementary card last time, Su Wu had later given her a savings card. But they were all under Su Wu’s name; there was also money in the card, but Shen You’an hadn’t touched any of it.

“Sure, I’ll transfer it to you later,” Meng Dongdong was curious, “now that you’ve earned so much money, have you thought about what to give Sister Su?”

Shen You’an told Meng Dongdong about her plan.

Meng Dongdong gave an ‘oh’: “You want to buy pearls? You should’ve said so earlier! My family is in that line of business! How about this: at two in the afternoon, I’ll pick you up and we’ll go straight to my family’s shop to pick them out.”