Free Web NovelChapter 252: Chapter 252: Heroine Complex
"Sister..."
Inside the spacious private room, a young man knelt on a soft wool carpet. His wrists were bound by thin silver chains, and a black silk ribbon was tied over his eyes, a stark contrast to his snow-white skin.
He had been in this position for ten minutes, but the other person in the room remained perfectly still.
Gu Nian ventured, but received no response.
The snow-white bunny ears on his head twitched, as if trying to locate her.
"Hm?" Jiang Qingli finally replied.
Slender fingers gripped a bunny ear from behind, the pad of her thumb stroking the soft fuzz at its base.
It was a feather-light touch, yet the young man shuddered. His crimson lips parted, and a soft gasp escaped.
"Why are you trembling?" Jiang Qingli whispered, blowing softly against his ear. Her gaze drifted down to his waist before a mischievous smile touched her lips. "You lost."
Gu Nian fell back uncontrollably, his head landing in her lap.
The young man tilted his face up and complained softly, "You’re too cunning, Sister. You said if I could resist, I’d win. How could I possibly resist that...?"
The room was dark. From Jiang Qingli’s vantage point, she could see the black ribbon resting loosely on his face, his crimson lips pursed slightly. His collar was tugged open, revealing the sharply defined hollows of his exquisite collarbones.
Every angle was meticulously designed, all to entice her.
’But then again, who could say no to being pleased like this?’
Jiang Qingli leaned down, tilting his chin up for a light kiss.
But just as he started to respond, she pulled away, ending the kiss.
Gu Nian couldn’t see her expression or know if she was angry. He could only press his lips together and ask cautiously, "Sister... what did you want to ask me?"
Before their game, Jiang Qingli had laid out the terms: if he won, he could do whatever he wanted. If he lost, he had to answer all her questions and obey her every command.
"Nian," Jiang Qingli said, her voice soft as she caressed his face. "If you can’t guess, I won’t let you be my little bunny anymore."
Hearing those familiar words, Gu Nian froze. It was as if he’d been struck, and he stared blankly.
Realization dawned on him, followed by disbelief. His lips trembled. He took a deep breath, but couldn’t stop himself from asking, "Sister, you remember? When did you remember?"
"It’s your fault for being so dense you couldn’t guess," Jiang Qingli said, giving his ear a punitive tug. She heard him let out a soft, petulant whine.
Gu Nian turned and pressed his face against Jiang Qingli’s waist. He finally understood why she had been running hot and cold with him these past few days, while also being so much more intimate.
’So she really remembered everything...’
’But because I lied to her before, she was deliberately not telling me, making me guess on my own.’
He’d actually had his suspicions, but Jiang Qingli had been so ambiguous, dropping a hint one moment only to obscure it the next, making it difficult to be sure.
Besides, a part of him subconsciously didn’t want Jiang Qingli to remember his pathetic state from back then, so he had pretended not to know.
His face was cupped in her hands. He heard a soft rustle—Jiang Qingli must have sat down beside him.
Supporting himself on his bound hands, Gu Nian leaned in and nuzzled his cheek against her hair, whining affectionately, "I’m just dumb, didn’t you already know that, Sister? Please don’t get rid of me..."
"You weren’t this clingy back then," Jiang Qingli laughed, patting his shoulder. "Don’t lean in so close. I’m not done with my questions."
Gu Nian leaned back slightly, creating a little distance, and said obediently, "Go ahead, Sister."
Jiang Qingli asked, "Why didn’t you return my calls? What about your adoptive family? Were they good to you? And why did you change your name?"
Jiang Qingli had only spent a short time at the orphanage. When she left, they had promised to stay in touch, but he vanished without a trace. The orphanage told her he had been adopted.
The only reason Jiang Qingli recognized Gu Nian as the "bunny" from her childhood was that he had grown up perfectly, retaining the same doll-like, beautiful face.
But when they met, his name wasn’t Gu Nian.
She desperately wanted to know if her little bunny had been okay all these years.
As soon as she asked, it was as if time stood still.
The sound of fireworks bursting and fading filled the air, their brilliant colors washing over their faces.
The young man lowered his head, and the black ribbon slid off, its silky texture brushing against Jiang Qingli’s fingertips like water.
Gu Nian asked, "Have you forgotten, Sister?"
He looked into her eyes, his voice so light it reminded her of soap bubbles floating on a summer breeze—
"’Nian’ was the first word you ever taught me to read."
Outside, the fireworks finale concluded, and the crowd erupted in celebratory cheers.
Lights flickered on across the cruise ship, illuminating the unshed tears glistening in the young man’s eyes.
In that instant, a flood of memories came back to Jiang Qingli—
「Twelve years ago.」
An eight-year-old Jiang Qingli went with her mom, dad, and older brother to an orphanage in the Lower District to volunteer.
Calling it "volunteering" was just a cover. Their main purpose was to find clues about the person who had murdered Jiang Youchen’s biological father.
Jiang Qingli was unaware of this at the time. All she knew was that every morning, her mom and dad would take her older brother out to "volunteer," leaving her at the orphanage with a few bodyguards and their butler, Old Qin.
Back then, Jiang Qingli loved watching superheroine cartoons. She was going through a serious phase, dreaming of upholding justice and saving the world.
So when she stumbled upon a poor "little bunny" being bullied, Jiang "Superheroine-in-Training" Qingli decisively intervened, rescuing the small, skinny boy.
After chasing the bullies away, Jiang Qingli expected the boy to act like a character in her cartoons—to hug her, crying with gratitude, before they became best friends and went off to save the world together.
But to her surprise, the boy only gave her a single glance before scrambling away.
He looked at her as if she were just another one of the bullies.
This frustrated Jiang Qingli, who was used to being popular wherever she went. That night, she told her mom about it before bed.
Xie Qizhen, who was eavesdropping nearby, frowned. "He dared to reject you? Tomorrow, I’ll just—"
"Xie Qizhen," Jiang Yi said, shooting him a cool look.
Xie Qizhen immediately snapped his mouth shut, his eyes darting away. "Hahaha, just kidding! As for making friends... Precious, your mom has lots of friends. Let her teach you!"
Jiang Yi hugged her and stroked her hair. "Xiao Li, a real orphanage isn’t like what you see on TV. A lot of kids here get into fights. It’s not a nice place like your school, so they don’t make friends easily."
Jiang Qingli nodded, only half understanding. "So if I tell him tomorrow that I won’t hit him, that I’ll protect him, will he play with me then?"
Jiang Yi asked, "Why do you want to be his friend?"
Jiang Qingli’s eyes sparkled. "He’s so pretty! It would be so cool to save the world together! All the superheroines in the cartoons have a handsome boy with them!"
Jiang Yi: "..."
Xie Qizhen: "..."
Jiang Yi, ever the encourager, said, "If you really want to be his friend, you can give it a try."
Her mission approved, Jiang Qingli burrowed under the covers. Jiang Yi kissed her on the forehead and wished her goodnight.
The doors at the orphanage were thin, so even after it was closed, Jiang Qingli could still hear her parents talking.
Xie Qizhen sounded worried. "...Are we really letting them be friends? He won’t be a bad influence on Xiao Li, will he? He won’t bully her? I still think Baili is a better choice."
"The world is a big place. She’s going to meet all sorts of people. Are you going to screen every single one of them?" Jiang Yi’s voice was calm. "Sometimes, letting her interact with people from outside our world isn’t a bad thing."
Xie Qizhen could only concede. "Alright, you know best. I’ll listen to you."
Jiang Yi chuckled. "I’ve already run a background check on the boy. No special circumstances, no communicable diseases. Besides, Old Qin will be watching them the whole time. Nothing will happen."
Xie Qizhen breathed a sigh of relief. "That’s my wife! Always so thorough!"
...
The next day, after finishing the luxurious lunch the orphanage had prepared just for her, Jiang Qingli set aside her favorite dessert to share with her "little bunny."
A teacher at the orphanage told her that all the children would be in the cafeteria during lunch.
Jiang Qingli rushed to the cafeteria, only to see a few other children shove the pretty boy to the floor amidst a mess of spilled food.
At this sight, Jiang Qingli’s superheroine instincts kicked in again.
She marched over, pushed the other kids aside, and extended a hand to the boy, delivering an opening line that she thought was incredibly cool:
"Do you know how to call me ’Sister’?"
