Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 43

“Since I can remember, your mother had already become human and was also my teacher. Everything before that, I learned from bits and pieces your mother told me, which I later pieced together.”

“In short, at that time, your mother sought refuge with our royal family and became a member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, researching how to reverse demons back into humans. According to her, her own method couldn’t be generalized, so she aimed to find a solution that would work for all demons. As payment, the Sima family was responsible for her safety among humans.”

“After my grandfather passed away, it was my father’s turn to take the throne and continue the collaboration between the Sima family and her.”

“Then your father appeared.”

At this point, Princess Nankang sat down on a bench by the corridor, and Cheng Jinyang could deduce the answer from her words.

His mother had once been contaminated and turned into a demon, but then successfully reverted to human form. This experience was undoubtedly unprecedented. Thus, the Sima family ignored her former demon identity (and the potential risks it might bring) and let her research a permanent solution for the demon problem.

However, after his father appeared, she lost the Sima family’s protection and was later killed in a demon attack, which implied…

“In other words, she gave up her position at the Imperial Academy of Sciences for my father, right?” Cheng Jinyang sat down beside her and voiced his guess.

“Very few nobles knew your mother’s true identity.” Princess Nankang sighed. “They only followed the lead of the Five Great Families and subconsciously assumed that the clans were wary of her royal background.”

“Your father faced great pressure within the family to be with her, so the two of them were forced to leave the royal/noble circle, got married in Wujiang Town, and lived in seclusion.”

“But who could have expected what happened afterward…”

“Sister Xinnan.” Cheng Jinyang finally spoke after a long silence, “Was the disaster in Wujiang Town three years ago really just an accident?”

Princess Nankang was momentarily stunned.

“I don’t know,” she shook her head. “Three years ago, I wasn’t in Jiankang City. By the time I rushed back, everyone was saying it was an accident. I tried to investigate, but…”

She trailed off, lowering her gaze to the ground, unable to continue.

Cheng Jinyang tried to read the information from her silence:

It was obvious that Sister Xinnan’s investigation yielded no useful information and faced significant obstacles.

As a princess, if she encountered insurmountable resistance, the opposing force was either the Five Great Families or the Royal family. However, if it were the Five Great Families, she could have told him in private, so why the silence?

So, the opposing force was…

“Was it His Majesty’s will?” Cheng Jinyang asked cautiously.

“Father passed away tonight,” Princess Nankang said softly.

The Emperor passed away?!!

Cheng Jinyang was shocked and speechless.

“When he died, he destroyed all the data in the server,” the princess sister sighed. “I don’t know why he wouldn’t leave the truth for me until the end…”

Her voice revealed a hint of uncontrollable sadness, making Cheng Jinyang feel uncomfortable as well.

So, he instinctively reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder:

“Sister Xinnan.”

Princess Nankang held his hand, turned around, and hugged him, pressing her forehead against his chest.

“Sorry, Jinyang,” she murmured in a pitiful, childlike plea, “Let me lean on you for a moment.”

Cheng Jinyang couldn’t refuse.

The princess sister’s golden curls fell messily on his chest, with a faint scent of alcohol lingering. Had she had a drink before coming here?

Cheng Jinyang lowered his gaze and saw a faint red wine stain on her collar, and further down, the mysterious curves of her chest.

He forcefully suppressed his wandering thoughts, raised his gaze, and locked eyes with Cui Xiaoniang at the bedroom window.

Cheng Jinyang: ?!!

In an instant, he even felt an impulse to push the princess sister away immediately, but after all, he considered himself not a scumbag. Out of a sense of male responsibility, he forcibly abandoned the thought of escaping. When he looked up again, the pretty face behind the window was already gone.

So he blinked in confusion.

Was that just… an illusion?

Inside the room, Cui Jinqi lay quietly on her bed, eyes open, looking at Xing Yuanzhi who was lying on the bed next to her.

She suddenly had the urge to cry, but reason told her there was no need to shed tears, because that would be too ridiculous.

There was no betrayal, because she and he had no relationship whatsoever.

There was no heartbreak either, because she hadn’t even determined if she liked him.

So, why was her chest feeling so heavy now?

She curled up her body and slowly crawled under the covers.

After a while, she couldn’t hold back the emotions surging in her chest, grabbed the quilt with her right hand, pressed her left hand against her mouth, and sobbed sadly.

…

Morning.

Cheng Jinyang woke up slowly and realized that he was lying on the bed, well covered with a quilt.

Recalling last night, the princess sister said, “Let me lean on you for a bit,” but she ended up letting him hold her for almost the entire night. Women’s words are really unreliable, especially pretty women.

Looking around again, he found that the girls’ beds were already empty. Checking the time, he realized he had only slept for half an hour since he got back.

To be precise, it was in a hazy state between half-asleep and half-awake for half an hour. He neither dreamed nor noticed the girls getting up…

Wait, Cui Jinqi!

Remembering the silhouette he saw behind the window last night, he sat up in shock.

However, there was no one in the room.

Cheng Jinyang changed his clothes and carefully went to the bathroom, hearing the crisp sound of water inside.

“Ah Zhi?” he called tentatively.

“It’s Yuanzhi.” Xing Yuanzhi corrected his address first, then sighed, “Wait a moment, I’m almost done.”

“Oh, no need, no need, I’ll go to the public bathroom outside to wash up!” Cheng Jinyang quickly indicated she didn’t need to come out, and then hurriedly left the bedroom.

The dignified Shendu Cheng family, not even able to provide a toilet for Ah Zhi to use at ease, as the patriarch, how can I save face?

After another half an hour, Xing Yuanzhi, who had finished bathing, left the bathroom and saw Cui Jinqi standing at the bedroom door with a lost look.

Raising her eyebrows, she was about to speak when she heard Cui Jinqi suddenly ask:

“Yuanzhi, do you like Jinyang?”

“I am his fiancée.” Xing Yuanzhi replied in a cold tone.

“No, that’s not what I’m asking.” Cui Jinqi took a deep breath, her voice trembling, “I’m asking… do you like him?”

Xing Yuanzhi instinctively wanted to say “It’s none of your business,” but seeing her pitiful expression that seemed on the verge of tears, she hesitated and replied:

“Probably… yes.”

“What about him?” Cui Jinqi asked softly, holding onto the doorframe with her right hand, “Does he like you too?”

This time, Xing Yuanzhi was silent for a while:

“I don’t know.”

“Is that so?” Cui Jinqi forced a smile that was uglier than crying, murmuring as she turned away, “So, you don’t know either…”

“And you?” Xing Yuanzhi’s voice came from behind, unusually tinged with a bit of irritation in her typically cool tone.

“Do you like him too?”