CHAPTER 151: CHAPTER 138 WEST MOUNTAIN MANOR

It might really be that blood relations are so mysterious. Qiao Yuxian had never met Zhao Shimeng before, not even a photo, and the two didn’t really look alike.

But at the moment she saw her, Qiao Yuxian still recognized her.

Zhao Shimeng saw her in a daze and called out to her, saying, "Yu Xian, step back a bit, I’ll open the car door."

Qiao Yuxian dazedly stepped back a bit.

Zhao Shimeng opened the car door and got out.

She was wearing a long coat, her hair was styled up, and her makeup was exquisite. Her aura was calm and composed.

"Yu Xian," she walked up to her and said, "Are you cold?"

Qiao Yuxian instinctively shook her head.

Zhao Shimeng smiled and helped her straighten the wind-swept strands of hair on her forehead, "I’ve always wanted to meet you, missed you too much, so I went to your school gate. Saw you come out, and couldn’t resist following. Were you scared?"

Her fingertips touched her forehead. Qiao Yuxian blinked and again instinctively shook her head.

"How about we find a place to sit for a while?" Zhao Shimeng suggested again.

Qiao Yuxian seemed to be somewhat unable to gather her thoughts and nodded instinctively.

The smile on Zhao Shimeng’s face deepened. She placed her hand on Yu Xian’s back and gently led her forward, saying, "Get in the car first, it’s too cold outside."

She led Qiao Yuxian to the passenger seat, opened the door to let her in, and then closed it, only then walking back around to the driver’s seat.

Starting the car, Zhao Shimeng said, "Yu Xian, seatbelt."

Qiao Yuxian came back to her senses, checked herself, then reached for and fastened her seatbelt.

The car drove out of the hospital, Zhao Shimeng asked, "Is there anywhere you would like to go?"

"Anywhere is fine." Qiao Yuxian looked ahead, her mind feeling sluggish, and nothing could capture her attention, her voice also carried a note of distraction.

Zhao Shimeng’s voice remained gentle and kind, "Then I’ll find a place at random."

"Hmm."

Zhao Shimeng found a café, and they sat in a quiet corner upstairs, where there weren’t many people.

Taking off her coat to sit down, Zhao Shimeng asked, "Yu Xian, what would you like to drink?"

Qiao Yuxian looked at the waiter beside her and said, "An Americano."

Zhao Shimeng also ordered an Americano, "Anything else?"

Qiao Yuxian shook her head.

Zhao Shimeng looked at the waiter, "That’s all, please serve us two glasses of hot water first."

The hot water was brought swiftly. Zhao Shimeng took a glass and placed it in front of Qiao Yuxian, then pulled her hand over, making her hold the glass, "Warm up your hands."

"Thank you." Qiao Yuxian said, holding the glass with both hands.

Zhao Shimeng smiled, "Isn’t it time for your internship next semester?"

"Yes."

"Your field of study should have a wide range of internship opportunities, like international trade, translation, teaching, right?" Zhao Shimeng asked kindly.

"Yes." Qiao Yuxian lowered her gaze, listening to her understanding of her own situation.

"Which direction are you leaning towards?"

"I don’t know yet." Qiao Yuxian replied, "I haven’t thought about it yet."

"No rush." Zhao Shimeng said, "If you need anything, feel free to reach out to me."

"Hmm."

They spent more than an hour in the café. Zhao Shimeng did not ask about how her life had been over the years; whether it was good or bad. They chatted all about recent happenings.

Her studies, her life.

As if friends, the conversation was well-paced, friendly and concerned, without being overly close, which could make her uncomfortable.

Leaving the café, Qiao Yuxian didn’t get back into her car.

Zhao Shimeng didn’t insist, "Let’s exchange contact details, I’ll be in the Capital City before the New Year, we can stay in touch frequently, okay?"

"Okay." Qiao Yuxian took out her phone and exchanged contact details with her.

Before getting into the car, Zhao Shimeng zipped up her coat a bit more and gently touched her cheek, smiling as she said, "Take care outside, I’ll leave now."

When her face was touched, Qiao Yuxian instinctively wanted to shy away, but she forced herself not to, lowered her gaze, and obediently nodded.

"Alright, I’m going." Zhao Shimeng drove away in her car.

Qiao Yuxian watched her leave, until she couldn’t see her car anymore, then she withdrew her gaze and looked ahead.

Her expression was cold and vacant.

After a while, she slowly lowered her gaze, took out her phone, and called for a ride.

The destination was set for West Mountain Manor.

The car arrived quickly, and after getting in, she sent a message to Shang Chen, telling her not to pick her up tonight.

Then she sent a message to Gu Yanjing, informing him that she wouldn’t be returning tonight.

Gu Yanjing, who was in a meeting at the company, received the message.

His reply was quick, but immediately after, he started reflecting on what he had done recently to scare her away and make her not want to come back.

...

Qiao Yuxian went to West Mountain Manor.

The manor was huge, with half a mountain within its boundaries.

Built from the foot of the mountain all the way up to midway.

From the outside, it looked very simple - large, with many houses, but... it all seemed unrenovated.

It was as if the main layout had been set up, and then construction was halted.

Qiao Yuxian got out of the car and walked for a while before reaching the front gate.

Fingerprint unlock, she entered the manor, not even glancing ahead but instead directly taking the side path to the back.

Wearing a long down coat, her hands in her pockets, she walked with her gaze on the ground.

Like this, for over half an hour, she reached a three-story small villa.

The three-story villa had a small elevator installed.

The elevator buttons, one, two, and three corresponded to the three floors above.

Qiao Yuxian entered the elevator and pressed a sequence of numbers with the three-number keys: "331121"

The elevator door closed, and three seconds later, the elevator descended.

There was only one basement level, but judging by the speed of descent, the basement must have been as tall as two floors.

The elevator opened to a long corridor.

The lights were sound-activated, lighting up one by one with Qiao Yuxian’s steps.

A corridor over twenty meters long led to the end. Qiao Yuxian pushed open the door and pressed the switch inside with her backhand.

Cold light lit up, revealing 500 square meters of space.

The interior was decorated entirely in black.

Besides the ceiling lights, the walls were entirely lined with light tubes.

Most notably, inside seemed like both an armory and a training ground.

A whole wall of various guns.

Another wall was filled with Tang Cross Blades, neatly arranged.

Different daggers, knives...

Like a collection, like an exhibition.

Qiao Yuxian closed the door, walked inside, and casually picked up a Butterfly Knife from the side, spinning it playfully in her hand.

The basement had no heating, chill biting to the bone.

Qiao Yuxian walked to the wooden dummy, then glanced at the sandbag beside it.

She took off her coat, grabbed a bandage from a box on the ground, and wrapped her hands.

She started punching the sandbag.

Her wrists were delicate, yet her power was immense.

The veins on the inside of her wrists stood out, as her fists landed one after another, so fast they left ghostly afterimages.

With a ferocity, coldness. As if venting her emotions, and as if calming her agitation.

The chill of the basement, she gradually began to sweat.

After finishing with the sandbag, she moved to the wooden dummy.

The sweat on her face gradually started dripping down.

Her fair skin turned red from the heat.

The sweat beads looked like crystals, shimmering under the light, dropping one by one.

This was how Qiao Yuxian’s gaze remained hollow and cold, with a shadow of ferocity, as if tireless, not resting for more than four hours...