WangXian Forever 3

Chapter 18 Trust

Now what? Hui Gai sighed with frustration. This girl was stubborn to a fault, and he could not go back and face Master Wei like this.

"Why would you want to stay here?" He asked her, finally.

"It's safe. No one can hurt me here." Her wide eyes refused to believe otherwise.

"Except yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"If you stay here forever, what do you think will happen to your body in the real world?"

"Will I die?" She asked, hesitantly.

"Perhaps not straight away, but eventually."

"That's fine by me." She decided.

"If it was just you, that would be fine. But your actions will affect other people. People who love you very much."

"If they loved me, why did they let me go?" Tears shone in her eyes.

Hui Gai seriously wondered if he could go drinking with Master Wei after this.

"We're going off topic. The way I see it," he evaded, "you can either stay here, all alone, by yourself, or you could go out there and make yourself stronger, so nothing like this will ever happen to you again. Hiding away like this is the coward's way out."

"I'm not a coward!" She shouted, jumping up. "You take that back!"

"Prove it, and I will."

She wavered. "But what if I go out there..." She couldn't finish the sentence.

"How about I make you a promise?"

"What promise?" She scuffed her toes, not looking at him.

"I promise to protect you with my life. I promise to do my best to stop people from hurting you. And if you help me by letting me be your friend, we can both make Master Wei happy. He cried, you know."

She hid her face in her hands. "I don't want him to cry. I love Wei ge-ge. He's my friend."

"Do you trust me?" He held his breath, waiting for her answer.

"I'm not sure." She stared at him, hard. "I may trust you if you show me your real self."

Hui Gai let out a ton of expletives in his mind. Why was she so smart?

"I don't know what you mean." He stared back. Challenging her.

"If you want me to trust you, you should stop lying to me. There's no way you're a farmer!"

"How do you know? How many farmers have you met?" He couldn't believe he was having this conversation with an eight year old.

"I don't know, but there's something fishy about you." She narrowed her gaze.

Hui Gai discreetly sniffed himself.

"For research purposes, I'd like to know how you can tell."

"See?" She pounced on that. "I know you're lying."

"My real face will scare you." He admitted sadly.

"How do you know that?" Her voice was curious.

"Most of the time, people try not to look at me. They have a way of looking past me, to avoid it. I..I am not pretty to look at."

"You're not pretty to look at right now," she told him. "Anything is better than that." She waved a hand at his body.

"That's mean!"

She just smiled confidently.

"I put a lot of effort into looking like this."

Her foot started tapping aggressively.

"Alright. Do you want it in parts or all in one go?"

"All in one go. Better to get it out of the way."

"If I show you, I want you to promise me something." His eyes gleamed, as an idea hatched.

"What?" She asked, suspiciously.

"Come back with me."

"What's in it for you?"

"I will save my friend. Please?"

She took a deep breath. "Okay."

Hui Gai removed the glamour and closed his eyes.

Waiting...for a reaction. When there was none, he opened his eyes to find her way too close.

"May I?" She asked, her voice full of wonder. Her finger hovered over his arm.

He nodded, half afraid, half desperately wanting her to feel safe.

She hesitantly touched the scales on his arm, suddenly smiling in delight. "They're cold. And smooth. Like a snake." She walked around him, inspecting his body.

"Can I touch your tail?"

"Go on."

She picked it up, her face with undeniable curiosity. Her fingers traced the sharp edges of the arrow shape. "This is so cool! You're so cool! I can't believe you thought that smelly farmer was better!"

"Really?" He couldn't believe her.

"Yes, really. I want you to promise me that you'll never try to hide yourself again. Not to me, anyway. Promise?" She held out her little hand.

He took it in his. "I promise."

*****

Wei Ying stared with longing at Li XiWang. What were they talking about? He had felt the necklace become lighter and knew Hui Gai was elsewhere.

Lan Zhan put a bowl of rice in his hands. He had no appetite, but shoved a few mouthfuls in, just to please his husband.

"Do you...do you think he can..."

"Mn." Lan Zhan knew what he wanted to ask.

"I want to adopt her." He suddenly blurted out.

"Mn."

"You're not going to argue with me?"

"No. I want Wei Ying to be happy." Lan Zhan said, honestly.

Wei Ying put the bowl down and wrapped his arms around him. "Thank you. I knew you would understand. I love you."

"You're not going to ask me?" His grandmother walked in.

"No. I'm going to ask her." Wei Ying sat back down and held the little girl's hand. "If she says yes, I'm never letting her go."

"Never letting me go where?" Her eyes fluttered open.

Wei Ying gasped and pulled her into his arms. "Li XiWang! Little rabbit! You came back!"

She burst into tears.