AITAMITB Chapter 58

Ting—

Under the microwave’s alert sound, Zhao Xiaokui’s consciousness became a bit clearer. She looked at Shen Zhifei, who was wearing heat-resistant gloves and taking the hot dishes out of the microwave, and asked, “How long did I sleep?”

Shen Zhifei put the last dish into the microwave and pressed the heating button. She glanced at the clock on the wall, and said, “Two hours.”

Zhao Xiaokui stretched lazily, letting out a comfortable sigh, “I thought I slept for two months.”

Waking up refreshed, with no headache or dizziness, she felt lively.

“Oh, by the way,” she said, “I just had a dream.”

Shen Zhifei’s hand paused for a moment, but Zhao Xiaokui didn’t notice. She climbed up from the sofa, put on slippers, walked to the kitchen to get bowls and chopsticks, and continued, “I dreamed that I broke open a forbidden book in the library. Inside the book was the image of a golden six-winged angel sealed. It scared me to death. Fortunately, it was just a dream; otherwise, I would have vanished into thin air by now.”

Shen Zhifei walked over with the hot dishes, sat down at the table, and asked, “Is a six-winged angel powerful?”

“Of course,” Zhao Xiaokui scooped herself a bowl of soup, took a sip, and then said, “Angels are the divine beings I often tell you about. They have no gender and are born as fourth-order beings with two wings. As their level increases, the number of wings continuously grows, and six wings are the highest. It is said that angels of the ninth order can grow three pairs of wings. If you want your wings to change from white to gold, you need to reach the tenth order.”

“Tenth order, isn’t that a true god?”

“So I was terrified afterward; it was like a nightmare.”

“Are there consequences for spying on true gods?” Shen Zhifei asked casually.

Zhao Xiaokui did not perceive her intentions. She bit on her chopsticks, recalling the books she had read, and said, “It’s hard to say. It depends on which race the spied true god belongs to and your level at the time of spying.”

“If you are a creature of seventh order or higher, spying on a true god may result in injuries. But if the other party doesn’t attack you, there shouldn’t be a significant problem. For those below seventh order, there is a high chance of encountering life-threatening situations. However, it also depends; if it’s a true god from the Abyss race, the spirit and soul are prone to contamination, leading to lower-order spies going insane or not surviving. On the side of the divine beings, if it’s a true god from the God race, it’s easy to brainwash you. If you have no other beliefs and no protection from other deities, you might become a devoted fan of theirs, joining their camp. For neutrals, it’s up to fate.”

Shen Zhifei said, “By your explanation, isn’t it easy for the God race to recruit followers?”

“No, only true gods of the tenth order and above have such a strong brainwashing effect. But this effect can be resisted as long as your level is above the fourth order. As for supernaturals below the fourth order…” Zhao Xiaokui paused, “they probably can’t withstand the pressure of the level and would likely die directly. In comparison, the Abyss race has some advantages. Without revealing their true appearance, they only need to whisper for a couple of days next to a supernatural, easily contaminating the soul of a supernatural being.”

“I see.”

“Why are you suddenly interested in asking about this?”

Zhao Xiaokui cast a puzzled look at her while holding a piece of vegetable.

Shen Zhifei smiled slightly, giving a perfect answer, “Curiosity.”

Tonight, Zhao Xiaokui slept in the bathtub in Shen Zhifei’s bedroom on the second floor.

As soon as she entered, she exclaimed, “Is this a new bathtub for me?”

Shen Zhifei stood outside the door, “Do you like it?”

Zhao Xiaokui bounced over and hugged her girlfriend. She planted a kiss on Shen Zhifei’s face, “Love it. I love it so much.”

Shen Zhifei couldn’t help but find it amusing.

While others receive bags, cars, and houses when in love, she gives her a bathtub.

However, it was evident that Zhao Xiaokui was very satisfied with the new bathtub. After changing her clothes, she lay down in it.

The bathtub downstairs had been replaced with a new one too. But both of them tacitly didn’t mention it.

In the bedroom, Shen Zhifei and Zhao Xiaokui lay down at the same time.

The bathroom door was open, and they were not separated even by a wall.

“Shen Zhifei, can I go to the company with you tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

“I want to have chicken tomorrow. Is that okay?”

“Sure.”

“Can I have three ice creams?”

“Sure.”

“Well… good night?”

Lying on the bed, Shen Zhifei smiled and softly said, “Good night.”

The sound of water splashing came from the bathroom.

It was the sound of Zhao Xiaokui getting into the water.

Shen Zhifei closed her eyes. Her consciousness gradually sank into the depths.

At this moment, a scene flashed through her mind.

“You’re a good kid. Meeting you is Xiaokui’s luck.”

“Destiny is a mysterious thing. It brings together two people who have nothing to do with each other. Someday you’ll understand that many things are already predetermined in the depths of fate. No, by ‘predetermined,’ I don’t mean the kind that predicts whether it will rain or be sunny tomorrow. It’s like when you look around, you can see a web, and all possibilities and impossibilities are already predetermined. When the choice comes, what you need to do is take the path you want.”

“Don’t easily tamper with fate. Have you heard of the butterfly effect? Every change at a node brings about earth-shattering transformations. Of course, sometimes change is already written in fate, but you just don’t realize it. However, when you see the change, it’s when you pay the price. Everyone has to pay the price for what they do, and you are no exception, just like me.”

At that time, she didn’t quite understand Zhao Xiaokui’s grandmother and why she suddenly spoke such profound and mysterious words to her. Now, she understood a bit.

It turns out that these days, she wasn’t dreaming but truly involved in Zhao Xiaokui’s past.

The image of Zhao Xiaokui struggling alone in the deep-sea world wasn’t just a memory but a real existence.

Suddenly, she felt very fortunate.

Fortunate to have been involved in Zhao Xiaokui’s past. Fortunately, when she opened the seal of that book, she happened to be there.

The scene disappeared, and she stood quietly in the middle of her consciousness. She tilted her head slightly to gaze at the proportionate mermaid statue.

Yes, the Zhao Xiaokui in mermaid form was much taller than her, overall. The tail alone was nearly two meters.

Even with the statue’s tail curled upward and the base included, Shen Zhifei still needed to tilt her head slightly to see her face.

Below the statue, there was a white flame licking the statue’s skin.

However, Zhao Xiaokui’s all-powerful flame within her consciousness seemed to suddenly lose its power, becoming fragile and powerless. It couldn’t even melt the tiny scales on the statue.

Seeing this scene, Shen Zhifei’s lips curled slightly.

The so-called brainwashing was nothing more than rebuilding a new order in the ruins.

As long as Zhao Xiaokui remained in her heart for a day, her soul could never be consumed by the flames.

The next day.

After a night of good sleep, Zhao Xiaokui emerged from the water. After drying off the moisture, she smiled at the clothes hanging on the rack and picked them up to put on.

The fabric was still soft and loose, like a second layer of skin, light and thin. Having gotten used to wearing combat gear these days, Zhao Xiaokui felt a bit surreal for a moment while looking at herself in the mirror.

Her fingers skillfully tied a butterfly knot around her waist, and the long ribbon hung loosely, perfectly outlining her slender waist.

Downstairs, Shen Zhifei, who was reading the newspaper, heard the movement. She raised her head to look up and her gaze immediately froze.

Zhao Xiaokui’s skin was already fair, but the red dress made her even more radiant and charming.

The well-covered design of the upper body concealed her naturally less full figure, and the knee-length skirt, just ten centimeters above the knees, perfectly highlighted her straight and long legs – all this without even wearing high heels.

When Shen Zhifei chose this dress, she had thought that Zhao Xiaokui would look beautiful in it, but she hadn’t expected her to be so alluring… So captivating.

She had always known that Zhao Xiaokui was good-looking, especially with the added charm of being a mermaid. Her beauty could even be enchanting, but to avoid trouble, Zhao Xiaokui deliberately restrained her aura. Coupled with her usually childish personality, Shen Zhifei sometimes treated her like a lover and sometimes indulged her like a child.

But this time, she was purely… unable to look away.

She folded the newspaper, “Change into another one.”

Zhao Xiaokui tugged at her dress. She lowered her head to take a look and asked, “Is it not good-looking?”

She thought it looked okay when she looked in the mirror.

“…It’s too good-looking.”

Zhao Xiaokui raised her head and looked at Shen Zhifei who turned her gaze away. She lifted the corners of her lips and trotted downstairs in slippers.

She unfolded the newspaper on Shen Zhifei’s hands and took a step with her long legs. She sat on Shen Zhifei’s lap, holding her face and forcing her to look into her eyes, “Are you jealous?”

Her eyes sparkled as if stars were twinkling inside.

Meeting her gaze, Shen Zhifei felt a bit helpless. She reached out, pinched Zhao Xiaokui’s ear, and honestly admitted, “Hmm.”

But after uttering a single word, her ears turned crimson.

Zhao Xiaokui, delighted, with eyes curved like crescent moons, kissed the corner of Shen Zhifei’s lips, “Oh, our Zhifei looks so cute when jealous.”

Shen Zhifei was helpless. She hugged Zhao Xiaokui’s slender waist to prevent her from moving around on her like a little dog that might fall off. She awkwardly changed the topic, “Didn’t you say you wanted to come to the company with me? Hurry up and have breakfast.”

Her method of changing the topic was quite clumsy, but Zhao Xiaokui didn’t expose it. She kissed Shen Zhifei twice before jumping down from her, “I’ll go change. I’ll be down in a moment.”

As soon as she left, Shen Zhifei covered her face.

In her thoughts, if the two were in a romantic relationship, they should respect and understand each other…

She shouldn’t interfere with what Zhao Xiaokui chose to wear.

But if love could be controlled by reason, then it wouldn’t be called love.

Fortunately, when it comes to dressing up, Zhao Xiaokui isn’t a very determined person. In high school, she lived a rough life. She was completely devoid of any sense of dressing up, wearing a hoodie and jeans throughout the year.

Her current clothes are also prepared by Shen Zhifei. She doesn’t have the idea that “making me change clothes is disrespectful”. On the contrary, she enjoys seeing Shen Zhifei jealous.

After happily picking a relatively ordinary outfit and putting it on, she also added a matching hat, pressing down the brim to cover half of her face.

She left the room, took a turn on the stairs, and asked, “How about this one?”

Shen Zhifei: “…”

The second dress Zhao Xiaokui changed into was a white one. It was longer than the previous red one, with the hem reaching down to her knees.

The style was also quite simple, with minimal lace details and almost no additional decorations except for a few small lace trims. The sleeves were long, extending all the way to her wrists.

Zhao Xiaokui gave Shen Zhifei a sweet smile.

Shen Zhifei’s hand trembled.

She felt like she had kidnapped a high school girl.

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Translator’s corner:

The italicized parts are from past moments.