Peerless Heiress - Chapter 57
I looked at him suspiciously. Something very, very special? Really? I don't remember it at all.
As Cheng Jue spoke, she took something out of her bosom and gently placed it in my hand.
I looked down and saw an owl pendant, the same one he had worn on his waist on the day Princess Dawei came for her marriage. It looked familiar to me.
Do you remember this?
"I remember." I nodded.
"You remember? Really?" Cheng Jue became excited. He grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously. "You really remember? That's wonderful, that's wonderful! Heaven knows, I was so afraid you'd forgotten. This is the token of our love you gave me, our marriage certificate..."
Stop, stop, stop—
"What, what did you say?" I was dumbfounded.
"This is our token of love, our marriage certificate..." Cheng Jue looked at my expression, the excitement on her face faded, replaced by unease. Her voice softened, and her face gradually turned ashen. "You...you haven't...forgotten too, have you?"
How is that possible?!
"What nonsense are you talking about?" I was a little nervous because of his expression, and my voice stammered. "This, this owl pendant was my favorite when I was a child. My family had a little owl, and this pendant was specially made based on its appearance. I wore it for several years until a few years ago. Many of my friends have this. I can't even remember how many I've given away. How could it be a token of love or a marriage certificate? Cheng Jue, you're too funny! I don't care which timeline you're from, at least you've been in our timeline. You should know that there's no such thing as a marriage certificate in our timeline!"
After I finished speaking, I noticed that Cheng Jue's face was extremely pale. He stood there swaying, and his eyes were filled with despair and an overwhelming sadness as he looked at me. His lips trembled as he murmured.
"I knew it, I knew it, sure enough, sure enough..."
I was startled and quickly reached out to support him. "Hey, Cheng Jue, are you alright?"
Cheng Jue suddenly hugged me tightly, with such force it felt like he wanted to crush me. His voice trembled, his tone sorrowful, "Qingyan, don't leave me, don't leave me..."
Chapter 122: [Side Story] Part 1
Cheng Jue's Story: The Past is a Wound (Part 1)
Sixteen years ago, that was their first encounter.
All the stories began at that time.
At that time, he was seven years old, a little boy who had just traveled to another time and space. Because he accidentally activated the time-space conversion medium he had picked up, he suddenly went from the powerful and wealthy Cheng family, a famous family with many servants and a magnificent palace, to a strange place with high-rise buildings and armored vehicles everywhere.
He was terrified and had nowhere to go. The little general, who had been determined and precocious since childhood and always knew what he had to do and how to do it, huddled in a corner for the first time, clutching the time-space medium and sobbing.
"Hey, what are you doing?" a clear voice asked from in front of him. The joyful tone in the voice was something he had never experienced before.
He looked up, his eyes blurry with tears, and saw a little girl staring at him with wide, curious eyes. She had short, playful hair, a delicate and beautiful face, but her face was covered in several conspicuous patches of mud, and her nose was red. Her white princess dress was now a dull gray, stained with the juice of some unknown grass, patchy here and there.
He suddenly felt extremely embarrassed; he didn't want her to see him crying.
He stood up awkwardly, raised his sleeve, and wiped his face haphazardly a few times.
The little girl blinked her big eyes, looking him up and down with great excitement. "Hey, where did you buy your clothes? They're so pretty! They would look great on the neighbor's brother."
He frowned and ignored him.
The little girl shrugged, turned around indifferently, and walked away. She walked a while, then turned back and found him following her. She glared at him, "Don't follow me!" She walked a little further, then glanced back again, and he was still following her.
She walked over and noticed he was much taller than her, so she stood on tiptoe and gave him a sharp tap on the head without even blinking. "I told you not to follow me anymore. Try following me again."
He was furious. From childhood to adulthood, everyone had doted on him. His parents considered him a rare genius in the family, destined to bring glory to the family and inherit the prestigious status of the Cheng family. They protected him immensely, and servants and guards were always obsequious and respectful in his presence. He had never received such treatment before.
He grabbed her wrist. "You—"
The little girl's hands were delicate and fair. When she held them up in front of his eyes, they had a transparent luster when the light shone on them. He suddenly blushed and threw them away as if he had been burned.
She smiled smugly, then turned and ran away.
A small owl charm slipped off her and fell to the ground in front of him. He crouched down to pick it up, but a small hand suddenly reached out and snatched it away. She cried, "This is mine!"
He suddenly didn't want to give it to him and snatched it away.
Her face immediately flushed red, her eyes widened, and without thinking, she raised her foot and stomped hard on the instep of his foot. Although she wasn't very strong, the hardness of her heavy leather shoe was no joke. He winced in pain, immediately dropped his things, and jumped up, clutching his foot.
She wrinkled her nose, then triumphantly raised her head, her small, white hand reaching out to touch his nose, which was bent over in pain. "Serves you right for stealing my things!"
The little girl really ran away this time.
For the next few days, he encountered her in the same place. He had also lived alone in the wild before; he could hunt rabbits, catch birds, catch fish, and build a fire by himself. He was the heir of the Cheng family, not a spoiled young master, but a general who would one day lead thousands of troops. Independence was something he had to possess from a young age.
Living on a construction site, he gradually adapted after a few days, and his initial panic subsided. He should have been moving around more, but for some reason, he still spent all his time in the places she frequented. Every time he approached her, she would inexplicably bully him. Strangely, he began to enjoy it.
That little girl was actually very kind-hearted. Ever since she met him again in the same place the next day and learned that he had nowhere to go, she started bringing him food—even though she was always grumpy about it.
Chapter 123: [Side Story] Part Two
Cheng Jue's Story: The Past is Grief, Part Two
"Hey, you really have nowhere to go?" She rested her head on her hand, tilted her head to look at him, her big eyes sparkling with curiosity.
He nodded.
She reached out and took his hand, smiling, "I'll take you somewhere."
His heart leaped with excitement. Was he going to her house?
After walking for a while, they came to a large courtyard. She stopped, pushed him to the gate, and, though smaller than him, instructed him like a little adult, "You stand here and don't run around. An auntie will come out in a little while. Whatever she asks you, you can answer directly. Tell her you have nowhere to go and you're an orphan, understand? Remember, you must tell her you're an orphan."
A sudden sense of foreboding washed over him. He realized the little girl might be planning to just abandon him like that. Panicked, he grabbed her clothes. "Where are you going?"
She smiled and coaxed him, "Good boy, just say it when I tell you to, or I won't talk to you."