Blood Queen

There were two more days until New Year's Day, and W District Children's Welfare Institute was decorated with lanterns and banners, full of festive joy.

Today was also the day eighteen-year-old Gu Yao would leave the institute. Early in the morning, Director Jiang was personally cooking in the cafeteria, making one last meal for Gu Yao.

Standing behind Director Jiang was Xia Yan, spirited in full military uniform. This time Xia Yan had specially requested leave from the training center to come for this important event of Gu Yao leaving the institute.

"Choosing to join the military was the right decision. Now that you've applied to become a volunteer soldier, you can serve for several more years, learn some skills, and the state will even provide job placement after discharge."

Director Jiang looked at the young man before her with a smile, just like when she held him in her arms telling stories over ten years ago. Except for the endless chatter in her mouth, that same loving kindness had ignored the passage of time.

Xia Yan didn't dare tell the old woman that he hadn't become a volunteer soldier, but rather had been recruited by some mysterious unit just before his two-year service discharge.

But for him, this didn't seem important. He had always been a go-with-the-flow type of person with no long-term plans for his future.

"Your brother actually dropped out of school to work last year without telling me. Ever since you enlisted, this child has been like he lost his soul, withdrawn, stubborn, and with very poor independent living skills. Now he's finally entering society, so as his older brother, you need to guide him more."

Director Jiang wiped the corner of her eyes and pulled Xia Yan to sit beside her. "Your brother, from childhood until now, has actually lived in a very small space. So small that when he looks down, he can only see his own shadow, and when he looks up, he can only see you. I can't be his only grandmother, but you are his only brother."

Listening to the old woman's rambling, Xia Yan kept nodding because he fully understood the meaning of her words.

Gu Yao had grown up bathed in mockery, exclusion, and strange looks. His heart was timid, weak, and sensitive. He was afraid to expand his living space, afraid to let in people or things he couldn't control.

In such a narrow living space, there was really only Xia Yan supporting it. Even Director Jiang might not truly belong to Gu Yao's world, his feelings for Director Jiang were more a kind of following or imitation of Xia Yan.

"But, I'm not trying to be discouraging. I'm not afraid of you two having a good relationship, I'm just afraid he won't be able to be independent in the future. You two are adults now, and in the end you'll each have your own lives. Just lead your brother onto a path, but don't keep protecting him forever, understand?"

Director Jiang gripped Xia Yan's arm and suddenly choked up: "Your grandmother isn’t good enough. I didn't take good care of you both. When he was little, he was often bullied and couldn't even protect a toy. He could only meekly hope for you to be there. When you weren't around, he had nothing to hold onto."

Toy? Xia Yan was startled, as if sensing something.

In every child's heart, there is one most beloved person and one most beloved toy. The former represents the child's dependence and trust in the world; the latter represents the world's unconditional acceptance and submission to the child.

Every child's successful growth is a fair trade of mutual needs between the world and the child, but unfortunately, Gu Yao never received this fairness after birth.

Gu Yao had given his dependence and trust to this world, but never received the world's acceptance and submission in return. Just like his lips and fingers, his living space was not only narrow but also incomplete.

This childhood incompleteness might take a lifetime to make up for.

"Grandmother, don't worry, I'm here!"

Xia Yan patted the old woman's hand, smiling easily.

"Brother, Grandmother, I'm packed and ready."

From the direction of the cafeteria entrance came Gu Yao's voice, nervous, excited, and visibly anxious. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novel※fire.net

…

…

Two days later, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao returned to their long-absent home.

In the small courtyard, the ginkgo tree had gradually turned golden yellow. From the stone table to the garden, fallen yellow leaves covered everything. Because the windows weren't completely sealed, a thin layer of dust had appeared throughout the house.

Jiang Yao's body seemed outwardly no different from normal. That amazing tissue recovery ability was still breathtaking.

Perhaps the Jiang sisters' ability list would need to add another passive ability of Ganges Blood Clan Earls, "Regeneration," possessing super-strong healing and recovery power for injuries and disabilities. Many seemingly fatal wounds were nothing more than sleeping a few extra days for "Regeneration."

But judging from Jiang Yao's complexion, Jiang Yan knew the deeper injuries in her body hadn't fully recovered, so she didn't force her to participate in the cleaning work.

In the living room, Jiang Yan was cleaning the table surface and appliances, only assigning Jiang Yao the non-strenuous task of organizing their own wardrobe.

"Sister, are we still going to wear these clothes?"

Jiang Yao walked out of her bedroom carrying a large pile of summer clothes they'd bought a few months ago, her face showing some disgust: "How did we ever buy this junk? The styles are tacky and the quality is poor. No wonder Sister Wan criticized them."

"You're looking down on them now? The club's clothes are nice-looking, but one set probably costs several thousand yuan. Are you planning to buy according to those standards? Complaining about clothes bought just a few months ago, you don't even know the value of rice and salt..."

Jiang Yan snorted through her nose, secretly amazed at Jiang Yao's increasingly evident feminine style and aesthetic sense.

"Look at Sister Xiao Ping and Sister Xiao Ling. They never wear the same work clothes twice. Even ignoring style and everything else, these are out of season. In another week or two, we won't be able to wear them anyway."

Jiang Yao pouted, seemingly unconvinced by what Jiang Yan said: "Last time when we took down that Black Blood Clan nest in J City, Brother Zhao Peng gave me another 300,000 yuan bonus. I have over 500,000 in my account now."

"Oh, so you're a little rich woman now? Then tomorrow let's go buy autumn clothes and let me see your capabilities. You pay for everything, oh and maybe buy winter clothes too!"

Jiang Yan angrily threw down the cloth in her hands and grabbed a broom. "If you really have so much money you can't spend it all, you'd be better off pre-ordering more strength-enhancing medicine from Brother Zhao Peng."

"I've tried that, but now I feel blocked up inside. I don't know why, but eating those medicines makes me uncomfortable."

Jiang Yao sat at the dining table, supporting her chin with her hand, looking melancholy: "It's probably what Brother Zhao Peng called a bottleneck period. Very few Blood Clan can advance to Knight, and even fewer who reach Knight realm can continue advancing.

"Not to mention Sister Xiao Dong with her high aptitude, but Sister Xiao Ling and Sister Xiao Ai have reportedly been stuck at Lower-tier Knight for many years with almost no progress."

Hearing this, Jiang Yan stopped her sweeping motion.

Because a few days ago, she had received a very strange feedback from Zhao Peng: during Jiang Yao's recovery from serious injury, not only had her strength not declined, it had even improved slightly. She might reach Upper-tier Knight in just a matter of days. A monster that doesn’t follow reason.

Sigh, forget it. We're all monsters anyway. I can even use Baron abilities, and Xiao Yao got beaten to serious injury without damaging her foundation, yet can still improve in reverse. What's so strange about that... Jiang Yan sighed deeply and stopped talking.

Ding dong! A social media notification sound came from Jiang Yao's phone.

After casually glancing at it, she stuffed it back into her jeans pocket. Jiang Yao's expression didn't change as she continued helping to clean out expired food that hadn't been cleared from the refrigerator for nearly a month.

"Is it Zhong Jing?" A few seconds later, Jiang Yan couldn't help asking, "He's been contacting you pretty frequently lately."

Seeing her acting nonchalant, Jiang Yan felt even more uneasy. During those twenty-plus days of hibernation, who knows what level of interaction Jiang Yao and Zhong Jing reached. Her motivation to continue sweeping was replaced by waves of chaotic anxiety.

"Isn't Meng Huai the same? He sends you messages every few days."

With her back to Jiang Yan, Jiang Yao didn't turn around, slowly cleaning the refrigerator's cold storage compartment that already had an odor. She just casually tossed out this comment, her facial expression also somewhat uncomfortable.

"You looked through my phone? When were these messages?"

Jiang Yan was startled and quickly took out her phone, only to discover that although it showed no unread messages, there were clearly several additional read messages from unfamiliar contacts. The sender was Meng Huai, and the content was nothing more than concern about her physical recovery after getting drunk.

Continuing to check, she also found that the call log showed an answered call that lasted less than ten seconds, but it was Meng Huai's first time calling her, and it wasn't her who answered!

Jiang Yan silently put away her phone. After more than ten seconds, she suddenly turned around, put down the broom, sat at the dining table edge, and patted the chair beside her: "Xiao Yao, we need to have a good talk... Come here, sit down and talk."

"You were napping yesterday afternoon. I saw the phone ringing so I answered it for you. I just said one sentence that you were fine, and he hung up... Besides, haven't you looked at my phone too? Your unlock password, my unlock password, they're both very simple."

Jiang Yao fearfully shuffled toward the chair, looking nervous but still being stubborn.

"Are you going to help me make calls in the future too? If I don't deal with you today, I won't be surnamed Jiang!"

An unknown anger surged to her head. Jiang Yan's face darkened as she grabbed the broom by the dining table and stood up, even letting out a rare curse slip out.

"Aren't you surnamed Xia?"

Jiang Yao quickly went around to the other side of the dining table, muttering with a strange expression: "I'm a seriously injured patient now. If you get rough again, I might not be able to stand and talk to you anymore."

"You..." Jiang Yan rubbed her forehead, looking exhausted. "Fine, I won't beat you. Sit down and talk..."

Jiang Yao grinned and sat halfway on the stool, ready to run at any moment.

"You should be very adapted now. I don't know whether I should be happy or afraid..." Jiang Yan took a deep breath, her expression serious. "I'm just worried that one day you really... I had bad dreams during hibernation, and I'm really worried."

"It's okay, I guess. Except for periods making me uncomfortable, everything else is fine. This life is what it is... Oh right, my period didn't come this month. Sister Wan said..."

Jiang Yao played with the stray hair by her ear, muttering casually.

Period didn't come!?

Thunder exploded in Jiang Yan's mind. Her body jumped up uncontrollably, pointing at Jiang Yao while trembling for a long time without getting out a word.

"Sister, what's wrong with you?"

"Your period didn't come? What do you think is wrong? When I was in advancement hibernation, you and Zhong Jing spent several days together at the Longquan Mountain resort villa. What exactly did you two do!? Our timing should be the same!"

Jiang Yan felt like she was about to collapse, directly grabbing Jiang Yao's arm, her face terrifyingly pale.

"Ouch, my brother, ack, dear sister! What are you thinking!?"

Jiang Yao struggled free from her grip, covering the painful spot on her arm and jumping back a distance, her face also flushed red from embarrassment: "I wasn't finished talking. Sister Wan said that because I was seriously injured this time, I had to use a lot of heavy medication, which might cause some endocrine disorders and such. That's why it didn't come a few days ago, and it won't be the same timing as yours in the future."

The scene fell into dead silence. Both stopped talking.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes...

"You've fallen for him... Tell me the truth." After a few minutes, Jiang Yan slowly said, "I think these past few months, haven't you changed too much..."

"How is that possible!"

Jiang Yao suddenly raised her head, but a few seconds later, she awkwardly looked toward the window: "I don't think I've changed. I still like watching Sister Xiao Ling and the others change clothes."

"You're something else. Peeping at girls changing clothes in the employee locker room. Are you a pervert?"

Jiang Yan clicked her tongue twice, her expression slightly better, and her tone much gentler: "Xiao Yao, I don't know how to say this. I really hope you can become independent... but if you really like..."

"Stop talking!"

Jiang Yao jumped up, dodging back a distance, her face red: "You're about the same! I just treat Zhong Jing as a buddy I can hang out with! But you're different!"

"I'm about the same?" Jiang Yan laughed instead of getting angry. "Just because Meng Huai sends me messages and calls me? Because we drink together?"

"Heh, someone with that kind of perpetually dead-mother cold, rigid face? Why would he suddenly wait around the welfare institute every week? Sit outside the club like a lapdog for over ten hours? Send messages and make calls to a woman he's only met a few times? Even if you turned back into Xia Yan, your buddy relationship with him wouldn't be this good!

"I can confirm now, Sister, you have a mother-hen personality. Maybe men like Meng Huai who lacked maternal care in childhood just go for your type... and you say I'm the one acting strange."

Jiang Yao bit her lip, feeling very annoyed, though she couldn't say why.

"I... Fine, since we both insist there's nothing, let's not talk about this topic anymore." Jiang Yan rubbed her forehead, her heart in complete chaos. "I won't worry about you anymore. Just be careful and don't get exposed."

With that, Jiang Yan struggled to stand up and picked up the broom again.

"Sister, I'm sorry... I... I didn't mean to say those things on purpose."

Jiang Yao knew her quick tongue had said some hurtful things.

Another ring-a-ling-dong, a phone ringing again, still Jiang Yao's.

Jiang Yao barely glanced at who it was before holding the phone to her ear.

"Who?"

"Hey, it's me. I got a batch of Hokkaido sea cucumbers. I hear they’re great for recovering health. I'll bring it over. I sent you so many messages just now, why didn't you reply?"

"Go to hell, get lost!"

Jiang Yao directly shot back and angrily hung up.

In this world, anyone could point fingers at her, except Zhong Jing.

On the other end of the phone, Zhong Jing was bewildered.

After dinner, Jiang Yao retreated to her bedroom again, put on a nightgown, crouched in the computer chair, and played games without caring about anything.

The door was slightly ajar, leaving a one-inch gap. Jiang Yan stood outside the door, quietly watching with helpless expression mixed with unease.

Helpless about Jiang Yao's blind obedience and inner dependence on her. Uneasy about Jiang Yao's omnipresent rebellious facade.

That scene from the dream appeared before Jiang Yan's eyes again, false yet utterly real. In Jiang Yan's view, whether Jiang Yao was male or female, one day she would leave her, and should leave her.

As for whether she would leave first or Jiang Yao would actively leave, Jiang Yan herself didn't dare think too deeply.

Through the door crack, the light golden-haired girl crouched in the computer chair gradually became that young little boy tagalong Gu Yao.

A few minutes later, Jiang Yan quietly withdrew, went to the kitchen, and cut a plate of fruit. It was filled with Jiang Yao's favorites, fragrant pears and mangoes.

"Eat more vegetables and fruits, less junk food, so your body can recover quickly..."

Pushing open the door, Jiang Yan walked toward Jiang Yao carrying the fruit plate. Turning her head, she discovered a lace bra and a pair of panties thrown on the floor at the head and foot of the bed.

"You're playing games in just a nightgown with nothing underneath?"

Jiang Yan's brain started congesting with blood again. The fruit plate in her hands slammed heavily onto the computer desk, her face iron-blue.

"Huh?"

Jiang Yao turned her head in confusion, looking at Jiang Yan's furious expression, then at the underwear scattered on the floor, and finally at herself.

"I... I can't go completely naked without even the nightgown, can I?"

Jiang Yao's response was quite unique. Jiang Yan was stunned for a few seconds, then directly rushed out of the room to find the feather duster.

This life was truly impossible to live.