Chapter 36
Shen Che was also confused, as his investigation had not uncovered this matter.
"Don't overthink it. You'll find out what you need to know." He sensed that Ning Wensong's current state was off, and his eyes were vacant.
"..."
Ning Wensong didn't reply. She thought about the past days, lowered her eyes bitterly, and pulled Chen Che's clothes to sit on the sofa.
She had never told Shen Che about her background.
“Hmm… In that world, I was an orphan.” Ning Wensong rested her head on Shen Che’s shoulder, which made her feel very safe. She paused for a moment and continued, “Actually, I don’t remember very clearly anymore. I stayed in the orphanage until I was about six years old, when my teacher’s wife took me home and raised me.”
“My master and mistress are very good to me, but they already had a child of their own. They adopted me to comfort themselves. They tried very hard not to show that I came to replace their child, but I could feel it.”
Ning Wensong did not complain; she gently looked up at the scenery outside the window.
“I don’t resent them. Compared to these superficial emotions, I have a warm home and people who seem to love me, and that’s enough. I love them very much and I’m grateful to them for taking me in.”
"After I became an adult, I went to look for my biological parents, but to no avail."
Countless stones were thrown down without splashing a single drop of water, as if she had appeared out of thin air.
Shen Che didn't want to listen anymore; his eyes were filled with suppressed heartache.
"Alright, now we have each other, right?" He held Ning Wensong on his lap, embracing her face to face.
The power of an embrace is immense.
Ning Wensong stopped; she could hear the powerful beating of her heart beneath her chest.
The gradually increasing speed revealed his turbulent emotions.
"If anything comes up in the future that relates to your past, I hope you can accept it peacefully, without being sad or confused." Chen Che recalled what that person had said and hinted, "All good fortune is on your side, remember that?"
"Hmph, fine, I'll remember that. Actually, I'm really not sad."
She paused for a moment, then said, "You're the one who's unhappy."
Ning Wensong gently touched his chest, her eyes slightly sore, but it felt so good to have someone worry about her.
Shen Che held her tightly, his eyelashes trembling.
—
Time is like an hourglass.
It is now 8:30 a.m. on the day of the competition.
"Did Liu Xing do anything underhanded? I practiced in my room all day yesterday and didn't feel anything different?" Ning Wensong was changing clothes; she wanted to wear something easy to move in today.
She took out several sets to compare and even asked Chen Che to help her choose.
Shen Che pointed out a set to her, and then recalled, "Nothing happened yesterday. I even deliberately went out for a few walks to hint that I was in the room."
"Ew~" Ning Wensong made a disgusted expression.
"He didn't seize the opportunity he was given; he's useless."
Shen Che was amused; that person was indeed quite useless.
He went to the living room to wait for Ning Wensong, and woke up Yun Que at the same time.
He has to maintain a cat-like form for the next two or three days.
The lark didn't seem to feel anything, since being a cat meant being able to be held in her sister's arms.
"Click".
The faint sound was picked up by the lark's excellent hearing, and he looked keenly toward the source of the sound.
It's the door.
"Meow~" He looked at Chen Che and pointed at the door with his tail.
"What's wrong with the door?" Shen Che understood what he meant and strode over to try opening it.
There was no movement.
"Huh?" He laughed in exasperation. How old is he to be playing this door-locking game?
Ning Wensong had just changed her clothes when she came out and saw Shen Che with a dark face.
"What's wrong?" She walked over to Chen Che, looked at the doorknob he was still holding, and immediately guessed the reason.
"Seriously? Did they lock the door for us?"
That's so childish.
"Let me call the organizer." As she spoke, she took out her phone and immediately noticed the indicator in the upper right corner: no signal.
"..."
"Do you think he's stupid? If we really wanted to go out and call 110, wouldn't that have been enough?" Ning Wensong found it hard to believe that a normal person could do such a thing.
Shen Che was initially a little angry, but he was angry that he hadn't heard Suo Wen's voice. However, after hearing Ning Wensong's voice, he gradually calmed down.
I glanced at my watch; I had to go out now, or I wouldn't have time for breakfast.
For official competitions, you need to arrive at the venue an hour in advance, which means 10:00 AM. Going to have breakfast now will be just in time to go.
"It's alright, I don't want to expose our abilities here. I'll climb from the windowsill to the hallway to open the door." This is the only simple and direct way.
He just tried it briefly, and there was probably something blocking the doorway; he couldn't get out just by unlocking it.
Ning Wensong wasn't worried about that, but was just curious, "Are you using human form or cat form?"
“Human form, I’m afraid someone might be waiting in the hallway.” Shen Che had already climbed over the windowsill, and he moved step by step to the other side.
He was not fast but very steady. In no time, he reached the window sill in the corridor, grabbed the edge, and with a clever twist, he disappeared over the wall.
As soon as Chen Che climbed into the corridor, he saw a furtive figure peeking out from behind a display case.
"Hey!" Accompanying the sound was a fist, which punched the man in the face, knocking him unconscious.
"So easily defeated?" Chen Che picked up his phone from the ground. The screen was still lit, showing the chat interface between Liu Xing and this person.
After thinking for a moment, Chen Che replied that it was completed.
Stepping over the fake corpse in front of him, Chen Che walked to their door, moved the box blocking it, and with a little skill, pulled the doorknob off.
"Holy crap!" Ning Wensong stood inside the door, watching helplessly as the lock disappeared.
"Alright, grab your tools and let's go!" Chen Che flung the lock off his hand, picked up Yun Que, and walked ahead.
Ning Wensong glanced back, a little hesitant, "Should we just leave it like this?"
Shen Che said nonchalantly, "It's alright, they probably won't even have a chance to come here today."
After all, who will have the mind to care about this place later?
"Okay." Ning Wensong didn't want to interfere; they only had clothes in their room anyway.
For the rest of the time, she obediently followed Chen Che to eat, and after eating, she rushed to the venue without stopping.
Today is very different from before; the tables are spaced further apart, and there is an individual seat in front of each person.
Outside the competition area, the number of spectator seats has been greatly reduced, basically only for cameras and the contestants' families.
Two people walked past them, and Ning Wensong, with his sharp ears, overheard their conversation.
"Why are there so few people today? I got nervous as soon as I came in."
"I quietly asked the organizing committee, and they said the preliminary rounds were actually for the media, while the actual competition was for the judges and contestants, so there was a higher level of privacy and security..."
Ning Wensong then understood. Looking at the strange seating arrangement in the venue, she leaned close to Chen Che's ear and whispered, "Those extra seats aren't for the judges, are they?"
1v1 supervision?
Shen Che guessed that was probably the case, but this shouldn't put any pressure on Ning Wensong.
"Don't worry, we'll go out to stay after the competition today. I've booked a new hotel where we can have hot pot!"
"Great!" Her motivation was restored!
Taking the lark from Shen Che, Ning Wensong strode over to her seat and arranged the tools one by one.
The lark stood on the table and looked around, then noticed something. "Sister, look around, the white cat appears so often."
They all seem to be very ugly cats; there isn't a single calico, tabby, or other breed like that.
Ning Wensong noticed it, probably because her previous white cat design had gone viral. However, if so many people were to make white cat designs, the contrast would be too obvious.
"Huh? You're bringing a stray cat to the competition? That's ridiculous. I don't believe you can make any good designs out of this stray cat."
A young man walked past her, making a mocking remark, while also holding a white cat in his arms.
"..."
Ning Wensong didn't speak, nor did he even glance at him; the more you reason with this kind of person, the more irritated they become.
Seeing that Ning Wensong didn't react, the man turned and left.
Yun Que stared in disbelief. "Do you think he's mentally challenged?"
"Hahaha, little sparrow, you're so funny." Ning Wensong pinched his ear. There was still half an hour before the competition started, so she simply sat down and chatted with Yun Que.
To others, this scene would seem bizarre: a person talking to a cat, and the cat just keeps meowing. It's really creepy.
But Xu Lin didn't think so. Instead, his eyes lit up. He was still trying to figure out whether Ning Wensong was a cat or a human. After seeing this, he no longer needed to confirm.
His sister returned from another world, still a cat.
As Ning Wensong was speaking, she felt a very strong gaze. Looking back, she saw it was Xu Lin, who seemed very excited.
She felt a little uncomfortable when she remembered the word "sister," so she simply looked away from him.
Just then, a sound rang out from inside the venue.
"All contestants, please take your positions and prepare for the competition. Judges, please enter the venue one by one. During the competition, you must not make any noise or movements that may disturb the contestants. Violators will be punished!"
Just as she expected, Ning Wensong looked seriously at the judges who were walking in one after another, her gaze sweeping over each person's face before finally settling on the face of the man in front of her.
"Please give me your guidance." She bowed to the judge.
She had seen this person online; he was Master Huang's apprentice, so he probably wasn't a bad person.
Deng Ci nodded, sat down in the chair, and stared at her with a half-smile. "Don't worry about me when the competition starts. Just focus on yourself."
"OK."
The match then began.
Ning Wensong stood up and whispered to Yun Que, telling him to straighten up.
She first did a simple positioning of the lark. She had already memorized the shape of the devilish kitten. The positioning was just to be on the safe side.
Time passed second by second. Ning Wensong started with the body, and then worked on the legs and face in order, adding small details.
Ning Wensong's design is uniquely creative.
If the previous lace tail was a high-difficulty one, this little devil's tail is a magical application.
The lark's tail tapers towards the back, making it perfect for adding things to it, such as small hearts made from the cat's body.
She worked on it carefully and meticulously. The little heart wasn't difficult to make, but because the competition didn't allow the use of glue or similar items, she could only make a wearable one.
This is a new field, and it's Ning Wensong's first time doing it.
Surprisingly, she did her best on the day of the competition, perfectly matching the lark's tail.
She commanded the lark, making it swing back and forth, and combined with the elements on her body, she looked exactly like a demon from hell!
—
Deng Ci didn't have much hope for Ning Wensong at first, after all, she had only appeared out of nowhere for a month or so. It was just that his master had praised her to the skies, so he volunteered to be her personal judge.
Throughout the entire process, he changed from sitting at the beginning to tilting closer to Ning Wensong's table.
When the lark deliberately flicked its tail in front of him, he finally shared the same feeling as his master.
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