Chapter 21: A Reckless Proposal and a Stunning Revelation

Upon hearing this, Xia Zhiquiu’s delicate frame trembled slightly, and her jade-like hands clenched tightly.

If only she could, she would have turned and walked away, but she simply couldn’t.

Bai Hao, observing the mature auntie’s look of agonizing indecision, did not interrupt her, but waited patiently.

Previously, threatening to expose her true female identity had proven ineffective, but this time, her daughter’s life hung in the balance, so Bai Hao had no doubt this beautiful auntie would agree.

While it certainly smacked of taking advantage of her misfortune, he was no longer even human, so what was the point of adhering to such principles?

Indeed, after a prolonged internal struggle, Xia Zhiquiu finally looked up at the young man, saying coldly.

“If the method you speak of proves useless, I will certainly not let you off easily.”

A smirk played on Bai Hao’s lips as he swiftly assured her.

“I guarantee it with my integrity; my method will absolutely work. But Auntie Xia… what if you go back on your word after I’ve helped you get rid of that Shadow-Devouring Specter?”

Xia Zhiquiu rolled her eyes, thinking, ‘This fellow still has integrity?’ However, hearing the young man’s latter half of the sentence, she retorted, tinged with embarrassment and indignation.

“Do you think I’m as shameless as you?”

Bai Hao, however, insisted relentlessly.

“That won’t do. If Auntie Xia goes back on her word then, I fear I wouldn’t even have a place to cry.”

“How about this: tomorrow is a workday, so Auntie Xia should bring her ID card. I’ll be waiting for you at the Civil Affairs Bureau, and after we get our certificate, I’ll tell you the method to deal with the Shadow-Devouring Specter.”

As he spoke, the young man suddenly leaned in close, pressing his lips against the mature auntie’s vibrant red ones.

“Mmph… What are you doing?!”

Xia Zhiquiu pushed the young man away, her beautiful eyes blazing with indignation and shame.

Bai Hao gazed at the auntie’s shy, yet angry gaze, finding it utterly adorable, then grinned impishly, stating matter-of-factly.

“After tomorrow, Auntie Xia will be my wife. What’s wrong with kissing my own wife?”

“You!”

The young man’s repeated, utterly natural pronouncements of ‘wife’ filled Xia Zhiquiu with immense irritation, yet a strange sensation also bloomed within her heart.

‘What was happening to her?’

Xia Zhiquiu felt a surge of panic, and by the time she regained her senses, the young man had already taken the opportunity to get far away, not forgetting to wave to her as he called out.

“Auntie Xia, good night.”

With that, his figure completely vanished into the stairwell.

Watching him go, Xia Zhiquiu wiped her lips, a complex flicker crossing her eyes, and she couldn’t help but curse under her breath.

“Bastard!”

***

Returning home that night, her daughter was already asleep.

Xia Zhiquiu looked at the sleeping girl, who lay on the bed with a slight furrow in her brow, and a pang of tenderness went through her heart.

After leaving the room, Xia Zhiquiu first took a shower.

By the time she emerged into the living room, her long hair still damp and draped over her shoulders, she realized it was nearly three in the morning.

However, with her daughter now asleep, Xia Zhiquiu cast aside all reservations and sat down at the table, wrapped only in a bathrobe.

The events of the day filled her with utter depression, so she simply retrieved a bottle of red wine from the cabinet and began to drink alone.

Unbeknownst to her, half a bottle of wine was soon down, and even though Xia Zhiquiu was a bartender, her deliberate attempt to drown her sorrows left her feeling a little hazy.

In her drunken stupor, Xia Zhiquiu once again found herself in that familiar dream, an ancient era that didn’t exist, where she was a female general galloping across the battlefield.

She had lost count of how many times she had dreamt this, but each time she awoke, the scenes from the dream would blur.

***

The next day, sunlight streamed into the room, painting it with a soft, golden glow.

Xia Wei walked out of her room, stifling a yawn, her eyes still heavy with sleep, and mumbled.

“Dad, is breakfast ready? I’m hungry.”

However, her query was met with silence.

Xia Wei felt a flicker of confusion. ‘Had Dad already gone out?’

She sighed, assuming her father had gone out to exert himself again for the sake of her shadow, and a wave of emotion stirred in her heart.

She could, in fact, feel it herself: since losing her shadow, her body had been experiencing problems, and sometimes she felt she couldn’t even control her own body at times.

But when the young girl entered the living room, she was stunned, rubbing her eyes and wondering if she was seeing things as she gazed at the woman slumped on the dining table, her hair disheveled.

‘Since when had there been a woman in their house?’

Coupled with the red wine bottle on the table, a scene immediately played out in the teenage girl’s mind.

‘Her dad telling a beautiful woman that their cat could do backflips, then tricking her into coming home, getting her drunk, and then…’

Thinking this, Xia Wei’s small face flushed, but seeing the woman’s clothes still perfectly intact, she couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Could Dad be worse than a beast? Nothing happened even like this?’

‘And most importantly, where was her dad?’

Xia Wei then searched every corner of the house, but found no trace of her father.

‘Strange… Where did Dad go?’

Leaving such a stunning beauty here was simply incredible.

As for why Xia Wei knew the woman before her was a great beauty without even seeing her face? Leaving aside everything else, her proud figure alone was enough to earn that title.

Just as the young girl’s imagination ran wild, the beautiful woman slumped on the table let out a soft moan, suddenly turning her face.

Revealing a face of exquisite, serene beauty in sleep, it made Xia Wei feel utterly inferior.

‘But who could tell her why this beautiful woman looked so familiar?!’

At this, Xia Wei was utterly dumbfounded; she felt her mind reeling from an unprecedented shock!

Just then, Xia Zhiquiu slowly opened her beautiful eyes, and met the stunned girl’s gaze.

Yet, she seemed completely unaware of anything amiss, and greeted her languidly.

“Good morning, Xiao Wei.”

As the charming, seductive voice escaped her lips, Xia Zhiquiu finally realized something was amiss.

She quickly covered her red lips, her beautiful eyes wide as she stared at her hair scattered across her chest, her mind a complete blank.

Xia Wei finally snapped out of her shock, pinching herself, her small face immediately scrunched up in pain as she whispered.

“This isn’t a hallucination? Dad, you, you, you… how did you turn into a woman?!”

Xia Zhiquiu’s heart was filled with trepidation, and she didn’t know how to face her daughter.

If only she could, she would have shrunk away like an ostrich.

Although she had considered telling her daughter the truth before, voluntarily confessing and being discovered were two entirely different matters.

And at this very moment, her heart was in utter disarray, so she could only say helplessly.

“Xiao Wei, listen to Dad explain. Dad didn’t mean to hide it from you…”

In truth, Xia Zhiquiu hadn’t figured out how to explain it to her daughter.

She couldn’t possibly say that she had turned into a woman because of a bracelet, could she?

That would be far too preposterous.

However, as she was agonizing over what to say, the young girl suddenly threw herself into her arms, rubbing her chest, and exclaimed joyfully.

“Mom, you’re amazing! I’ve always wanted a mom, and now it’s great! Dad alone can play two roles, and I have a mom now…”