“Sister Jiuer?!”
“Relax. Just a joke. Your principal can tell.”
Chu Jiuer reached out and ruffled Ying An’s small head.
“The one you were just talking to on the phone was our principal?”
“That’s right, your principal. And Sister here is one of your school directors.”
The place where Chu Jiuer parked was in front of an elegant roadside clothing shop.
The storefront looked quite aged.
The shopkeeper was a foreigner with graying hair.
Pushing open the door would trigger the mechanical wind chime on the doorframe, producing a pleasant, crisp sound.
This kind of design had already become very rare in this era.
“Good morning, Mr. Hans.”
Chu Jiuer led Ying An into the shop and greeted the elderly man inside, who was dressed in a suit and tie with a full gentlemanly appearance.
“Good morning, Miss Chu.”
“Is the item I ordered ready?”
“Of course.”
Hans took out a small black formal suit.
The formal wear Ying An had worn when retrieving Zhuyan from the Li family villa had also been made here.
Inside the paper bag Chu Jiuer had taken from the car there were also a white shirt and a black necktie.
She stuffed the clothes into Ying An’s hands and pushed him into the changing room.
Actually Ying An did not particularly like this kind of clothing.
It was not very comfortable to wear, and Li Jue rarely made him put it on.
Yet every time he finished changing and came out of the changing room, that air of a young aristocratic young master would always arise spontaneously.
There was a transcendent, otherworldly temperament that was very suitable for attending various high-society grand occasions.
He changed clothes with a bitter expression and stood in front of Chu Jiuer. “How is it, Sister Jiuer? Can I change back now?”
“Looking this handsome, why change back? Be a good boy and wear this outfit for the whole day. Tonight Sister will take you to eat something delicious.”
“Really? Then… all right.”
Chu Jiuer next took Ying An to KFC and found a seat by the window.
It was lunchtime now, but today was not Thursday, so the shop was not particularly crowded.
“Don’t be polite. Just order like a buffet.” Chu Jiuer scanned the QR code on the table and then handed the phone to Ying An.
“Really? Thank you, Sister Jiuer.”
Ying An was still very thrifty and did not recklessly order a huge table of food.
Most of it was fried food and carbonated drinks.
Normally Li Jue would never allow him to eat and drink so recklessly.
Her worry was also correct—once she let Chu Jiuer take Ying An out, things would turn into the terrible situation she had anticipated.
“Can Xiao An accompany Sister to a banquet this afternoon? There will be a lot of delicious food there too.”
“Okay, okay.” Before long the corners of Ying An’s mouth were covered in salad dressing and ketchup.
Chu Jiuer crossed her legs and watched Ying An eat with great interest.
In a daze she felt this child was very much like herself—playful, greedy for food, and loving the human world just as she did.
Yet she had long since lost the innocence and purity that Ying An still possessed and could no longer always smile with pure, untainted joy the way he did.
Outside the rain was growing heavier and heavier.
The sky was gloomy, and the overcast rain continued without end.
This kind of excessively sudden heavy rain would certainly attract the attention of the Secret Society.
Demons in this world who could create overcast rainy weather were absolutely unique.
She estimated it would not be long before a phone call came.
This was still the first time she had acted so recklessly.
In truth this matter could have been solved by simply helping Ying An request a few days of leave, yet she had still done it this way.
It was that resentment buried deep in her heart that had influenced her—a knot that had entangled her for nearly a hundred years.
The great flood of the Jianghuai region in 1931.
A catastrophic disaster of overwhelming proportions, countless casualties.
The prohibition of the demon world had forced her to watch it all happen with open eyes.
After the disaster she had used human methods to rescue countless victims, yet she had always regretted not using her demon power to prevent the calamity from occurring.
She knew today’s rain could not change the suffering of the past, nor could it rescue anyone now.
Its only possible meaning was to spare a group of new students from the suffering of military training.
It was precisely because it could not create much impact that she could indulge herself without scruples this once.
At the very least it let her know that even if she borrowed Qianlan and exhausted all her strength, she could only bring a torrential rain upon a single city and could not change that enormous flood at all.
Rainwater flowed down the restaurant’s glass windows in mottled streaks.
After the mealtime passed, the number of customers in the shop gradually decreased until only two or three scattered tables remained.
After finishing his meal Ying An lay on the table and fell asleep.
He had the habit of taking midday naps and easily grew drowsy in the afternoon.
Chu Jiuer moved to sit beside him, supporting the boy so he could lie down and rest his head on her lap.
The half-day leave Li Jue had requested for Ying An had already expired.
Just as Chu Jiuer was still congratulating herself that the matter had not been discovered by her, the door of the KFC was pushed open.
Li Jue walked straight over.
The color of her pupils rapidly turned a vivid scarlet red.
Chu Jiuer had no intention of making excuses.
She first made a silencing gesture to indicate not to disturb Ying An’s sleep, then yielded the seat to Li Jue.
Looking at the boy’s peaceful and obedient sleeping appearance as he rested his head on her thigh, Li Jue’s anger subsided a little.
On the surface she still glared fiercely at Chu Jiuer.
“Not going to make any excuses?” she asked playfully.
“Sister Li knows what the situation is with the old man of my family, right? There’s an evening party today. I wanted to take Xiao An to deal with it for a bit.”
Li Jue had met Chu Jiuer’s father only a few times, but the impression was extremely deep.
Whether or not it was to hide his true face, at least on the surface Chu Tianyou was an out-and-out… old rogue.
He had married a very beautiful female model.
After the two married she resigned from her job and stayed at home as an idle wealthy lady.
Including Chu Jiuer, they only had two children on the surface, but no one knew how many illegitimate children Chu Tianyou had outside.
The woman was after money, the man was dissolute—they were truly a match made in heaven.
Chu Tianyou’s lovers outside could form an entire football team.
His wife also knew about this, yet the only things she cared about were whether her own son could inherit the company in the future and whether she could receive that high living allowance on time every month.
Chu Tianyou paid very little attention to his romantic life and family relationships.
Most of his time was spent handling business and wandering around.
After all, his son could not inherit the demon blood, and the current members of his family were all ordinary humans—except for Chu Jiuer.
Only Chu Jiuer was the one he truly cared about and valued most.
She was the daughter of Chu Tianyou and his previous wife.
Although the man was dissolute, he had only two wives whom he had formally married with proper matchmaking.
In the human world his lifespan had already reached the twilight years of a human.
In a few more years he would have to fake his death and retire.
Chu Jiuer had no interest in his career.
He planned to leave her a large sum of money and some shares in the company.
Since Chu Jiuer was unwilling to inherit the conglomerate, the next choice would naturally be his son.
In the demon world, too long a life of unrestrained dissipation had already made it impossible for him to maintain that powerful demon force.
His true lifespan was no longer so long either.
Even the Secret Society’s danger rating of him had already dropped to Level 5.
It seemed that whether human or demon, when one grew old and feeble one would begin to care about the marriage and romantic affairs of one’s children.