novelsite Chapter 139 Chen Hongying
Chapter 139 Chen Hongying
"Where did you get this coat?" the system asked, shocked. "And it's an ill-fitting cape."
If it were just a cloak that fit perfectly, that would be fine.
But the system couldn't figure out why Jiang Xingni would find him an ill-fitting, large, and ugly black cloak!
Jiang Xingni ignored the system's question and continued adjusting the shadow of the hood to ensure that his face was completely covered.
"It's all because of you," Jiang Xingni casually shifted the blame. "Why couldn't you just create a body for me like in novels, so I wouldn't have to bother disguising myself?"
system:?
"...Is it my fault again?" the system asked, puzzled. "Okay."
If I can earn more popularity points this time, I'll create a clone for you!
Jiang Xingni's eyes lit up.
"Is it like the feeling of controlling different bodies in novels?" Jiang Xingni had long wanted to experience what that felt like.
The system calmly refuted her conjecture.
"What are you thinking?" the system replied. "Of course not." "That kind of thing would place a very heavy burden on your sanity; it definitely won't be used unless in special circumstances."
[It's just giving you a shell-like body, but when you use the clone, you control one body, and I control the other.]
The system has been patched.
Jiang Xing narrowed his eyes.
Jiang Xingni wasn't particularly annoyed that his initial plan had been thwarted.
The system said it "will definitely not be used unless under special circumstances." Considering that this is a comic book world, Jiang Xingni felt that sooner or later, there would definitely be a day when it could be used.
Although she felt that using the system to play for her might deviate from her original persona, it was indeed a useful ability.
—If readers begin to suspect that this newly introduced mysterious character is related to them, she can use the system to have both of them present at the same time, thus clearing herself of suspicion.
Besides that, Jiang Xingni thought for a moment and silently sent a message to Xu Niannian.
I asked her to make time to meet up with me.
Not only to clear himself of suspicion, but also because Jiang Xingni wanted to test Xu Niannian's reaction to the matter.
She cannot, based solely on her understanding of the other person and her own likes and dislikes, prescribe the path of her life from this point forward.
Jiang Xingni did not have that right, nor did she know whether she could bear the weight of Xu Niannian's future life.
Therefore, she needed to talk to Xu Niannian.
There's no need for direct probing; indirect inquiries are sufficient.
Before meeting Xu Niannian, Jiang Xingni had not forgotten his current actions.
A college-aged woman lured a 70-year-old woman into a mysterious organization.
Jiang Xingni casually gave his plan a code name in his mind, and then heard the system repeat the question over and over again.
【Star, isn't this considered elder abuse?】
[Won't this kind of scene be cut by the author? What if the author feels it has a negative impact?]
Jiang Xingni felt that no matter how despicable she was, she still had a conscience and a bottom line.
"This time, we're just using Grandma Ji to bring this organization into the public eye," Jiang Xing thought to himself. "Grandma Ji doesn't need to do anything more. She just needs to keep an eye on her granddaughter and prevent Ji Shanqing from pulling any more tricks like resurrection or causing destruction. That's enough."
As for the name of this organization, Jiang Xingni had already thought of it.
"The Hidden Order," she said quietly.
[Is there any underlying meaning?] the system asked curiously.
Jiang Xingni laughed heartily: "It's just to fulfill a dream of my younger self when I was still in my chuunibyou phase."
After all, this name was something that ten-year-old Jiang Xingni had painstakingly thought of for several nights before finally coming up with. Now, many years later, Jiang Xingni has turned his childhood idea into reality.
*
Grandma Ji walked home, one step at a time.
Even though it was a mountain path she had walked countless times, it always felt strangely unfamiliar to her at this moment.
She remembered there was a cemetery nearby, with no caretaker and no boundaries, simply a place for the homeless to go after they died.
She remembered how she used to talk to her granddaughter.
After listening to Grandma Ji's story, young Ji Shanqing shrank back into her arms and asked, "Then, were all the people buried there homeless?"
"How pitiful, everyone should have a home."
Grandma Ji stroked her granddaughter's hair: "It's alright. After Grandma dies, she will definitely be buried on her own mountain. When Qingqing misses Grandma, she can come and visit her."
"Lean against Grandma's tombstone and talk to her. She'll definitely be able to hear what you're saying, even though you can't hear what she said back then."
At that time, Grandma Ji's words were just to fool the children. She knew that after a person dies, nothing exists anymore, but Grandma Ji still wanted this lie to lessen Ji Shanqing's sadness.
Just like now, she had never so longed for the existence of ghosts in this world—no, Ji Shanqing seemed to have become a ghost—she had never so longed for the person beneath the grave to hear clearly what she wanted to say while leaning against the tombstone.
Just as all words can be heard by the dead, only the dead will not respond.
Grandma Ji knew that her current thoughts were nothing but wishful thinking, and did not conform to the materialistic values she had learned since childhood. But at this moment, she was willing to be a half-idealist.
She can still clearly recall the tone of her granddaughter's voice.
The foxtail grass by the roadside swayed gently in the wind, falling in autumn and growing back in spring.
Grandma Ji suddenly realized that the heavy snow that had blanketed the entire winter had melted away sometime during that winter.
Spring is coming.
The black hem of her dress swayed gently in her field of vision.
Grandma Ji rubbed her eyes silently.
I thought to myself that I don't believe in any Western Grim Reaper, so how could I see something like this in the middle of nowhere that doesn't look like a normal person?
Jiang Xingni, of course, had no idea what Grandma Ji was thinking, so she deliberately lowered her voice.
"I know you have doubts about me," she said. "I can tell you the truth about your granddaughter Ji Shanqing's death."
Caught off guard, Jiang Xing saw Grandma Ji, who had been standing perfectly fine, suddenly kneel down in front of him, rubbing her eyes in disbelief.
Jiang Xingni quickly stepped back.
"What do I need to do?" Grandma Ji's voice was hoarse.
Jiang Xingni met Grandma Ji's gaze through the shadow of her hood.
She said, "Give me your name, and then join us."
So Grandma Ji said, "My name is Chen Hongying."
It wasn't Grandma Ji, but Chen Hongying.