Chapter 174 "So heartbroken, Wanwan has feelings for me..."
The days that followed were no different from before, if one could barely ignore the increasingly strange looks from those around them...
"Ning Wanwan." Xiao Zhou looked at the girl's slightly tense and trembling hand holding his, then glanced at the expressions of the people around him, paused for a moment, and called out.
His voice remained flat and monotone. Ning Wanwan turned to look at Xiaozhou, meeting the subtle expression in his silver-gray eyes.
Is this child concerned about her?
"It's okay." Ning Wanwan smiled at him, deliberately putting on a relaxed expression. "Just ignore it."
Ning Wanwan knew that the current situation was related to the disappearance of Zhou Yanyao and Qi Lin. With them gone and without a certain protection, their malice would become all the more obvious.
Ning Wanwan disliked this environment, but it seemed like the whole world was like this.
It's still her fault for not having talent... If only talent could be measured...
No, if Anseille hadn't gone to find the treasure, and instead she had gone in first... after all, she was the one who discovered it first...
Ansel is now revered, while he himself is looked down upon.
No...no, no, how could you think like that!
Ning Wanwan suddenly came to her senses and shook her head.
Since Zhou Yanyao and Qi Lin arrived, it was as if a pause button had been pressed, giving her a chance to breathe, and her dark thoughts began to arise less and less. But now, with their departure, that suppressed feeling is surging back more fiercely.
Xiao Zhou seemed to sense Ning Wanwan's thoughts and pulled her little hand back.
Ning Wanwan snapped out of her daze and smiled at him.
Thankfully, Xiaozhou is still here with me. And now the snow has stopped, and the day for the talent test is getting closer, things should get better... right?
As Ning Wanwan thought this, a feeling of unease suddenly arose in her heart.
And this feeling was quickly confirmed.
On the day of the talent test, Ning Wanwan went for the test. She took it with the utmost seriousness and effort, but the result was not affected by her efforts.
She doesn't have any special abilities.
This meant that nowhere would accept her. She simply couldn't survive without Ansel.
Even if you leave this uncomfortable village, it will all be the same.
This was a huge blow to Ning Wanwan. She stayed in her room alone and didn't come out all day.
"Wanwan, no matter what, let's eat something first." There was a knock on the door, and Ansel's concerned and somewhat anxious voice came from outside.
Ning Wanwan covered her head with the blanket, not really wanting to answer.
Her test failed... she was destined to live under the disdainful and contemptuous gaze of everyone... or perhaps not even survive.
In contrast, Ansel was highly respected. He had passed the strength test and was destined for the imperial city, a person with a bright future.
All of this was because he possessed the treasure box containing the "weapons".
Why didn't I find the treasure first? I was the one who discovered it first... Just thinking about this made Ning Wanwan feel extremely sad.
She knew it wasn't right to think this way, but she couldn't help but think it.
It was as if a voice was faintly echoing in my mind: "Late night, late night."
The person outside seemed to realize that Ning Wanwan didn't want to talk to him, so the knocking gradually stopped, and silence returned to the outside.
Ning Wanwan let out a soft breath and slowly pulled the blanket down over her head.
She doesn't really want to see Ansel right now. She knows that her mindset is not right and she doesn't know how to face Ansel.
Perhaps she couldn't accept that from now on she would only live in constant anxiety and worry about not being able to survive, nor could she accept the solidified gap between herself and Ansel.
It wasn't just simple jealousy, but a feeling that was absurd, annoying, and disliked.
But thinking like that doesn't seem to make much sense either. After all, Ansel was her benefactor.
She felt something was off, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.
She's probably just a narrow-minded, ungrateful wretch.
"Bang bang."
What sound?
Ning Wanwan sat up and noticed that the sound was coming from outside the window. She was startled and a lot of bad thoughts came to mind.
Could it be that some thief or robber is trying to force their way in?
With no weapons nearby, she touched a rather thick and sturdy box and cautiously walked to the window to look out.
There was another sound at the window, three rhythmic knocks; anyone who didn't know better would think it was a knock on the door.
But what normal person would knock on a second-floor window?
Ning Wanwan took a deep breath, suddenly opened the window, and smashed the box hard!
"Wait... Ouch! Wanwan, is this considered domestic violence?" The blond-haired, purple-eyed boy touched his forehead, asking with a mixture of confusion and grievance.
"...Anseil, why are you knocking on my window from the outside?"
Ning Wanwan opened her eyes wide, quite astonished.
They even somewhat rudely suspected that Ansel had lost his mind.
Otherwise, who in their right mind would run out of their house and climb out of a second-floor window?
"...Wanwan, is that all you wanted to say?" Ansel sighed helplessly.
"Otherwise what..."
Ning Wanwan was confused, but she was actually quite agitated. She was both agitated because she had just burned the letter, felt guilty and worried about being discovered, and also didn't really want to face Ansil right now.
As it turned out, Ansel chose to confront her face-to-face in this manner.
Ning Wanwan didn't want to continue arguing with him: "Ansil, stop playing around. If you have nothing else to do, I'll close the window... Ugh! What are you doing!"
Ning Wanwan suddenly felt her body suspended in mid-air. She cried out in surprise, but before she could fully react, her vision blurred and she was pulled out of the window and onto the roof!
"Ansil! What are you doing! Are you trying to scare me?!"
Ning Wanwan shook off Ansel's tightly gripping hand, her face showing anger.
She sat on the roof and felt a wave of dizziness. A gust of wind blew by, making her shiver.
Why did Ansel inexplicably drag her to the roof? Was he planning to throw her off...?
The thought suddenly popped into her mind, and Ning Wanwan couldn't help but try to distance herself from Ansel.
However, the rooftop is only so big, so trying to create distance between them is a pipe dream, unless she can fly.
Ansel's eyes darkened for a moment, then the corners of his mouth turned up again: "Wanwan, why are you standing so far away? Do you think I'd really eat you?"
Ning Wanwan: "I'm afraid you'll push me down..."
Ansel was taken aback, then suddenly burst into laughter, tears welling up in his eyes: "You're so cute! How could I possibly do something so tasteless!"
"Is it really that funny...?"
Ning Wanwan couldn't help but mutter something awkwardly, and then fell silent.
Ning Wanwan was also somewhat surprised. She hadn't expected to say it aloud, because she genuinely had such concerns, and it wasn't just overthinking.
So as soon as she said it, she was stunned for a moment, not expecting that she would directly express this defensive thought that "the other party would push her down".
But... the fact that she could say it out loud means that deep down she doesn't believe he would hurt her...
Even though she's already starting to doubt him because of some things, she still subconsciously retains a degree of trust in him...
Realizing this, Ning Wanwan suddenly didn't want to say or do anything anymore.
Was her wariness and vigilance really meaningful?
She clearly wanted to believe him.
Ning Wanwan lowered her arms and silently moved slowly closer to Ansel.
The blond-haired, purple-eyed boy was also sitting on the rooftop, but compared to Ning Wanwan's restrained and tense demeanor, his posture was much more relaxed.
He rested his chin on his hand, smiling as he looked at her.
"So what exactly did you want to do by suddenly dragging me to the roof?"
Ning Wanwan's feelings were complicated at this moment. She pursed her lips and avoided looking at him, but she could feel his gaze fixed on her.
What does Wanwan think?
Ansel seemed to find Ning Wanwan's behavior at this moment very interesting, his gaze almost never leaving her, full of interest.
"How should I know? I can't guess... Hurry up and tell me, it's so cold here." As a gust of cold wind that almost slipped through her collar swept in, Ning Wanwan shivered and urged her on.
"Alright, alright, it seems Wanwan is really in a bad mood tonight, she has no patience at all." Ansel sighed with feigned regret, taking off his coat and wrapping it around Ning Wanwan.
The thick coat provided warmth, almost enveloping her entirely. Ning Wanwan felt as if she were inside a giant heater, instantly warming up.
"Wait a minute, Ansel, you're not wearing a coat like this..."
Just as Ning Wanwan was about to say something, a long, slender, white finger was raised and placed against her lips. Ansel looked at her with a smile and gently shushed her.
The boy's cool fingertips lightly touched her lips, a fleeting touch, like a snowflake falling and melting away.
Ning Wanwan fell silent.
"Shh, don't speak, look up," Ansel whispered.
Infected by this tranquil atmosphere, Ning Wanwan suddenly felt her heartbeat calm down.
She looked up, following the direction Ansel was pointing, and gazed at the night sky above.
The unobstructed, boundless expanse of ink-black with a slight bluish tinge is adorned with shimmering starlight, like diamonds evenly scattered across it—brilliant, clear, and breathtakingly beautiful.
Ning Wanwan was so engrossed in the beautiful starry sky that she could hardly look away. Even when her neck ached from looking up, she still couldn't come to her senses.
"So beautiful..." she murmured involuntarily.
She had never noticed that the village where she dared not go out after nightfall actually had such a beautiful and romantic starry sky.
Ansel smiled and didn't disturb her, letting her immerse herself in the surprise.
The girl gazed at the night sky, while he gazed at her.
Then another gust of wind carrying a chill swept in, and Ning Wanwan sneezed, instinctively pulling her coat tighter around herself.
Ansel's gaze lingered briefly on Ning Wanwan's slightly reddened nose before he snapped his fingers in front of her.
"Snap out of it, if you keep spacing out, we'll be spending the night on the roof."
Anseil's cramped tunnel.
Ning Wanwan snapped out of her reverie, scratched her nose slightly embarrassed, and whispered, "The starry sky at night is really beautiful... I never even noticed it before."
“It doesn’t look this good every day,” Ansel said with a smile, glancing casually down below.
In a corner below the house, out of Ning Wanwan's sight, the snow-haired, silver-eyed child silently looked up at the girl's hem for a moment.
Then, he slightly turned his silver-gray inorganic eyes and stared at Ansel for a few seconds, like two incompatible beasts forcibly suppressing their ferocity, ready to strangle each other at any moment.
They were only in a standoff for the sake of a vulnerable human girl, and briefly joined forces to present her with a beautiful starry sky.
"Wow! There's a shooting star!"
Ning Wanwan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, staring intently at the graceful tail of the falling starlight, and quickly made a wish in her mind with her hands clasped together.
The small boat departed silently.
Ansel chuckled: "What did you wish for?"
Ning Wanwan blinked, a rare hint of playfulness in her eyes: "It's a secret."
The girl's smile was bright and sweet. Ansel paused for a few seconds, then feigned grievance and dragged out the last syllable: "I'm so sad. Wanwan actually has secrets about me."
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