Redeeming The Sins Of Xu Rouguang [BL]

The clock ticked five, and Liu Qiu hummed as she stared at Xu Rouguang's desk. He was supposed to go to work today, but he never showed up. Lai Mingjie wasn't responding to her texts as well. No matter how bad she worried about them, she still had to deal with work. It wasn't like she couldn't handle matters without those two around.

She left JT in low spirits and hoped to see if they were home. The auntie started taking the path towards the c.o.n.d.o.minium until she saw a girl seated on the bench eating ice cream. Even from just her profile, it was easy to see how much of an adorable child she was. However, her very image made Liu Qiu freeze.

As if feeling the weight of Liu Qiu's gaze, the child turned to her direction. Her round eyes flickered a little before she smiled like an a.d.u.l.t. The child got off of the bench and walked towards the auntie, the ice cream burned to dust by the light that flashed in her hand. "Don't look at me like you've seen a ghost, Little Cutie."

"You... you can't be... real..." Liu Qiu kept on retreating as she looked around. No one was around, and so no one could help her. The moment she faced forward again, the child was already hovering in front of her. She screamed in fright and fell back, but the child grabbed onto her arm like a strong man. It didn't even feel like the child was pulled by her weight.

"Stop, Cutie. I'm real. Is that really how you treat me?" The child pulled on Liu Qiu to make her stand. She then descended to make her feet touch the ground. "Hm, so it's true that you chose not to have children..."

"No, my son was... he was killed." Liu Qiu looked away as she fell to the ground. She was now being plagued by a nightmare she had outlived for decades. Her hands flew to her head and shook it. "He was killed... because... because of me... my blood..." She then looked at her... "Your blood..."

"Hmph, you should have said so. I would avenge my descendant; no need to worry about that." The child shook her head and put her hands akimbo, looking down at the a.d.u.l.t seated on the ground. "How long are you going to sit there? There's a bench over there if you really wanted to sit."

"...So I wasn't hallucinating all those times." Liu Qiu's eyes teared as she got up and walked to the bench.

She had seen this child before... when they were around the same age. However, her parents told her that the so-called apparition was a spirit of their glorious ancestor. Then again, those rumors of her family being lunatics had spread. More when those who ridiculed them would die. Liu Qiu went to college and escaped the binds of her family, met a man she married, and had a child.

However, her family caught up with them and tried to take her husband in. He found it ridiculous and left his wife to fend for herself. The rumors had caused their lives to plummet, and finally, her son was killed by unknown men while he was protecting her. They all claimed to be cleaning the village by getting rid of the lunatics. Her family disappeared, and she escaped to Crimson City. She found a job in JT and had been watching over Lai Mingjie since then.

For the supposed apparition to show up again? Would she lose her peaceful life now?

"How dare you call me your hallucination?" The child tutted. "The only reason Emodao grew close to you was because of my demon blood. He couldn't tell as it was not pure any longer."

"Demon blood?" Liu Qiu frowned at the child. The child then stared at her and sighed. "You're the only one left. Everyone else is dead... not that you'd care." She then smiled as if trying not to scare her. "Listen, you're probably confused, but let me start somewhere. My name is Liu Xia, and I'm not a spirit. The correct term... is immortal.

"The stories about me sharing my blood to your great-grandfather were true." Liu Xia looked away as she seemed to have pain hidden in her eyes. "He changed his last name to Liu because I ordered him to... not that it wasn't Liu when he was still..." She then shook her head. "Okay, you're not completely human... and that makes you a target. Everyone with demon blood is a target. I need to protect you."

"I don't understand..." Liu Qiu only stared at the child. How crazy was it to insist that demons were real? Then again, she's an immortal with demon blood?

"Hm, what's so hard to understand?" Liu Xia tapped on her chin. She then shook her head. "Listen, I'm not as free as I was. I have a lot more duties now... I can't protect you. Some people might try to make you take a pill or inject you with something nasty. Run away from them... it's not safe."

Liu Qiu only stared at her and reached out to touch her cheek. She then smiled. "Thank you for thinking about me, then, Lady Xia."

Liu Xia's eyes widened as she blushed. She then turned away, but she didn't shy away from the hand on her face. "Stop it, Mother... I'm not a child..."

The auntie twitched and stared at her some more. She called her 'Mother'? Liu Qiu was about to speak when she spied on a figure at the distance. Her eyes flashed a glint of frustration and joy, but she couldn't find the right explanation for this man. To be honest, she didn't remember that this man was the first one to be explaining.

Liu Xia didn't know how he got so close, but she just detected him when he was already too close. Her eyes shot to the man walking towards them and feared the kind of conversation they would have.

"Auntie Qiu, is that your niece? She's really so cute." Xu Rouguang chuckled as he saw Liu Qiu with an unlikely company. He walked in front of them and reached out to pet the girl.

"...no! I will not yield today!" Liu Xia swatted Xu Rouguang's hand and climbed the bench to compensate for her height. "You will not touch me, General Xu!"

"Ah, I see." Xu Rouguang's eyes dimmed a little. He then turned to Liu Qiu with apologetic eyes. "Auntie Qiu... I..." He looked away for a moment before smiling at her again. "Sorry."

Liu Qiu stared at him longer than she stared at Liu Xia. She couldn't start talking, and so her words got stuck in her throat. However, she still managed to smile and shake her head. "You don't need to explain, Rouguang. Come here, you look awful." She reached out two hands and caught the hand Xu Rouguang extended towards her. "My, my, you've slimmed down. Why weren't you at work earlier? You rascal, you can't just pass whenever you like."

An embarrassed chuckle was Xu Rouguang's answer. He was being scolded in front of Liu Xia, but he somewhat cared so little at the moment. He only hummed as he squeezed her hands. "I had an accident. I'll be there tomorrow."

The auntie pulled his hands to her face as her hands finally trembled. Xu Rouguang looked at Liu Xia once before smiling down at Liu Qiu. "Auntie Qiu, don't be scared. We won't hurt you."

"Are you..."—Liu Qiu's voice trembled as she let out a cry—"are you a demon, too?"

Xu Rouguang's eyes widened before squatting before Liu Qiu. He waited for her to look at his eyes before he answered, "Not the kind you should be scared of, Auntie. Please don't run away."