Chapter 11: Fire

After the fireworks ended, Luo Yun temporarily abandoned He Rou because of some things she had to do.

“Annoying socializing…”

Before she left, He Rou heard her casual complaint loud and clear.

It seemed she had to go deal with some old guys and little brats.

But halfway there, she suddenly paused.

“Xiao Rou, go wait for me in the lounge. I’ll come find you later.”

After she left, He Rou sat alone on a chair in the courtyard.

In front of her were many snacks.

Her parents’ task for her today was to accompany Luo Yun.

Although Luo Yun had given her a new task, that didn’t stop her from eating good food.

Then He Rou picked up a piece of cake and took a bite.

Sweet.

Very sweet.

She took another bite, her cheeks puffing up like a hamster’s.

If Luo Yun were here, she’d definitely say she had bad table manners, but Luo Yun and her parents weren’t around, so she could eat however she wanted.

The courtyard lights were very bright, stretching her shadow long.

Although the fireworks were over, other performances had started, and the noise was loud, but He Rou didn’t look up.

She wasn’t interested in those things—only the plate of pastries in front of her.

While she was still enjoying herself, her mother hurried over.

“Why are you sitting here alone?”

He Rou looked up.

Her mother frowned, her face showing undisguised dissatisfaction.

“Where’s Luo Yun?”

“She went somewhere else.”

“Why didn’t you follow?”

“She told me to wait in the lounge first, but I was hungry.”

“Come with me.”

Her mother grabbed her wrist and pulled her up from the chair.

The force was considerable; He Rou stumbled, nearly hitting the corner of the table.

Her mother dragged her across the courtyard, through the corridor, toward the interior of the estate.

The estate was huge, and the deeper they went, the fewer people there were.

The sounds of the bustling outside gradually faded, leaving only the footsteps of the two of them.

Her mother walked fast, her high heels clicking loudly on the floor.

He Rou was pulled along; her wrist hurt a little, but she didn’t say a word.

They stopped at the door of a room.

Her mother opened it.

He Rou glanced inside.

It was the lounge—not big, with a sofa and a coffee table, a few paintings hanging on the wall, and the curtains half-drawn.

“Listen to Mom. Don’t act like a child just chasing pleasure. When Luo Yun’s done, you go be with her right away. Your task today is to make sure your position by her side doesn’t get replaced by anyone else.”

He Rou nodded.

Her mother gave her a look, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

The door was left open.

He Rou stood at the doorway, watching her mother’s back disappear at the end of the corridor.

The sound of high heels grew farther and farther away, until nothing could be heard.

She walked into the room and sat down on the sofa.

The room was very quiet.

The curtains swayed slightly from the wind outside, letting in light that cast patchy shadows on the floor.

She looked down at her hand.

There was a red mark around her wrist.

It didn’t hurt.

Or rather, she was used to the pain.

She put her hand down and began to wait.

She didn’t know how long she’d been waiting when footsteps came from the corridor again—high heels, very loud on the floor.

He Rou looked up.

Luo Yun’s mother stood at the door.

She seemed tired—no surprise, since she’d had to deal with so many people.

It wasn’t strange to meet her in the lounge.

“Xiao Rou, are you here alone? I saw your mother leave.”

“I’m a little tired from all the fun, and it’s too noisy outside, so I’m resting here.”

“Oh… I’m sorry, Xiao Rou. Did you not get to spend time with Xiao Yun? I’m really sorry. There are always things we have to do, and it’s so easy to hurt the people around us.”

“It’s okay. I can wait.”

Luo Yun’s mother smiled gently.

She looked at He Rou’s face, and the smile at the corner of her mouth rose uncontrollably.

“So cute.”

She reached out and pinched He Rou’s cheek.

“Huh? Uh… thanks?”

He Rou, suddenly having her cheek pinched, felt embarrassed.

“Actually, I’ve wanted to have a private chat with you for a long time. So when I saw you here alone, I excused myself from those people and came looking for you specially.”

Luo Yun’s mother stroked her cheek for a moment, then slowly moved her hand down to straighten He Rou’s clothes.

“Is Xiao Rou hungry? I’ll have someone bring some food.”

“No need, Aunt. I’m full.”

Luo Yun’s mother smiled and didn’t insist.

She sat there, tilting her head to look at He Rou for a while.

“Thank you for being with our Xiao Yun all these years.”

He Rou was startled.

“Xiao Yun has never been good at getting along with people since she was little,” Luo Yun’s mother said softly.

“Her father and I are busy with work, so we don’t spend much time with her. She’s alone too often. I’ve always worried she’d become more and more isolated, less able to make friends.”

She paused.

“Then you came.”

He Rou didn’t know what to say.

“After you came, Xiao Yun changed a lot. She started smiling—she rarely smiled before. She’d tell me about things at school, things in the art studio, about the paintings the two of you did together. Everything she talked about had you in it.”

He Rou looked down.

“So I want to thank you.”

Luo Yun’s mother placed her hand on He Rou’s—very light, very warm.

“Thank you for being willing to stay with her. I hope you two will always be together, be friends for a very, very long time.”

After she finished speaking, He Rou felt a little dizzy.

Just as the atmosphere continued like this, a faint smell of burning smoke wafted into He Rou’s nostrils.

The smell was intermittent, coming and going, making her think her nose was playing tricks on her.

She didn’t pay it much attention.

“Xiao Rou… do you smell that?”

“Smell what?”

“A pungent smell…”

“Hmm, a little.”

“Come on, let’s go check it out.”

Luo Yun’s mother stood up, reached out, took He Rou’s hand, and hurried outside.

When they opened the lounge door, the faint smell of smoke became more obvious.

Not far away, a flickering bright light was visible.

“A fire?”

‘I told them the fireworks should be set off farther away…’ she muttered, the small complaint sounding just like her daughter Luo Yun.

“Run! Run outside, toward the road, to an open area!”

Luo Yun’s mother shouted as she lifted her foot behind her, took off her high heels, and tossed them aside.

The lounge was located at the innermost part of the estate, and the route out, for aesthetic reasons, was built in a Chinese style using almost entirely wood materials.

Just as they were sprinting out, the wind picked up.

The fire and smoke, which still had some time before reaching them, were blown right into their surroundings.

Instantly, visibility around them dropped sharply.

The thick smoke choked them, making it hard to breathe.

They were now in a corridor.

The flames, carried by the wind, had also reached this spot.

Some structures on the corridor ceiling were swaying dangerously.

“Mom! Xiao Rou!”

A very loud voice rang out.

It was Luo Yun.

When the fire broke out, she was still dealing with some distant relatives.

The reason they’d noticed the fire was also because of the smoke.

The polite, refined people in the hall, upon sensing danger, shed their elegant clothing like gorillas.