The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

“What ‘freaks’?” With a powerful move of his arm, Xing Lie took me into his embrace and applied pressure, “As long as they abide by the law and don’t harm others, then they are all good people.”

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I tilted my face up, the back of my head just so happening to rest against his shoulder, “Then are you still going to find a girl to settle down with and get married to?”

I was slightly worried that if Xing Lie had a girl (to settle down with and get married to), he wouldn’t want me anymore.

“What girl?” Xing Lie sighed.
“People in my profession have only a couple days in a month that we can come home.
To say nothing of how dangerous the job is, the pay’s not that good either.
I’d better not be a scourge to girls for now.”

I mulled over his words, focusing on his wording, “Not be a scourge ‘for now’, meaning that you will be a scourge to them in the future?”

“You little tree spirit,” Xing Lie slung his arm around my neck, “What? Are you afraid that I won’t want you anymore after I marry a wife [dialect]?”

I was silent.
He hit the nail on the head.

“A younger brother is a younger brother, a wife [dialect] is a wife [dialect].
They’re different.” Xing Lie continued, “One is familial love, one is romantic love.”

As I was brought forward by Xing Lie’s arm around my neck, I thought that his arm was truly powerful.
“Aren’t you a family once you get married? Why is there romantic love?”

“Are you ‘A Hundred Thousand (Why) Questions’1?” Xing Lie was so pissed off by me that he laughed, “Brat, you don’t know anything.”

I threw off his arm, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
When I asked other people about things, they didn’t seem to be so impatient.
Only Xing Lie was so hateful.
To say nothing of how he himself answered so badly, he wouldn’t let me put forward other opinions.

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“You’ll know when you grow up a little more.”

Before we entered the door, Xing Lie explained to me in a cordial manner, “It’s hard to explain with words, you have to experience it with your heart.
You little tree spirit, you’ve got to be a human for a year to be able to understand the complexities within this.”

I nodded, thinking in my heart that compared to the time when I was a tree, a year was very short.
In a year’s time, I would be able to understand the “romantic love” that Xing Lie spoke of.
At that time, I will most likely be more like a human.

But, no matter how dumb I may be, I knew the “wife [dialect]” that Xing Lie mentioned was different.

She was “family”; she had “familial love”.
But, she also had “romantic love” too.

Once I thought of how this person had two types of love from Xing Lie, my heart hurt.

Why wasn’t I a girl? If I was a girl, I could give birth to little babies for Xing Lie and be his special “family”.

Therefore, I began to contemplate how to become a girl.

However, the result that I got was that I couldn’t (become a girl).

I couldn’t become a girl.
I could never give birth to little babies for Xing Lie.

Because of this, I was dejected for a very long time.

But I had never expected that, before I was able to move on, someone sent a girl into Xing Lie’s house.

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“Little Xing ah, this is the eldest daughter I told you about last time!”

I hid inside the bedroom by the door, poking half of my head out.

With an eye-smile, the auntie on the third floor pushed a girl with very big eyes in front of Xing Lie.

Xing Lie opened the door for them.
That girl’s line of sight swept past Xing Lie’s shoulder and collided into mine.

I was so startled that I hastily ducked backwards.
I stubbed my toe against the doorframe.
It hurt so much that I was going to cry.

“Yowh, there’s someone in your house?” I heard the auntie ask.

Xing Lie grunted, “My younger brother.”

“Has he been living at your place all this time? Why doesn’t he go home? Your parents must miss him so much!”

“He’s more clingy to me, so he stayed here.”

I dashed to the innermost side of the bedroom, hugging my knees as I curled myself up in the narrow space between the bed and the wall.

Xing Lie seemed to have invited them in.
The sounds of talking in the living room had also grown much louder.

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“This house has been swept so clean! You can even see your reflection on the floor! I told you, Little Xing is a good man who takes care of the house.
Look, he’s so suitable to pass the days with!”

“Ah…? Hahaha, you’re overpraising me, Auntie.
Uh, do you guys want any water? I’ll go make some tea for you guys.”

That was clearly my doing (the sweeping)! Xing Lie didn’t explain to them at all.

I rested my chin on my knees, feeling so aggrieved.

“Look at how neat this balcony is! And he’s growing plants.
So meticulous!”

“Look at this curtain as well! It’s been washed spic-and-span.
Truly diligent!”

Those plants were also planted by me! That curtain was washed by me!

The nice state of this house had nothing to do with Xing Lie; that stinky man only knew how to sleep and eat!

“Look at this bedroom.
It may be a bit small, but…”

The bedroom door was pushed open.
I was scared out of my wits and shot under the bed.

“Oh goodness! What was that just now!” The auntie screamed.

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“Auntie, auntie, auntie——” Fortunately, Xing Lie made it in time and stopped them, “I don’t think we need to look at the bedroom.
I-it’s not very appropriate.”

“Right, right, right, then let’s not look at the bedroom,” The auntie was very gently pushed out of the bedroom by Xing Lie, “This place is rented by Xing Lie, there’s nothing to look at! Little Xing, didn’t you buy a big house? It’s much better if we go look at that…”
 
Xing Lie had bought a big house?

I laid on my stomach under the bed, a little baffled. Will he not want this place anymore?　

But I like this place.
I don’t want a big house.

But then I thought about it again.
That big house didn’t need me to like it.

Xing Lie was going to settle down and get married with the girl.
That big house was their house.
It was fine as long as the girl liked it.

I sniffled, burying my face within my arms.

Xing Lie had said that I needed to be human for a year to understand the complex relations between humans, but I surmised that I understood it right now.

I was that one percent and the one who took an alternative route.
I liked Xing Lie.
I didn’t want him to settle down and get married with other girls.

“What are you doing, hiding here?” Xing Lie’s voice resounded above my head.
I lifted my head up to see him peering down at me from the bed2.
“Are you preparing to dig a hole?”