Chapter 148: Who Are You
January 26, the second day of the Lunar New Year.
Japan, Gunma Prefecture, Kanra Town.
In an ancient samurai mansion not far from the Okuyama Dam, Harume Kurumi lay on the bare floor of a spacious room, her body trembling weakly beneath the blanket.
Ten days ago, before her menstrual period was completely over, Harume Kurumi had fought fiercely with a certain light golden-haired girl. Although she took medication afterward to suppress the effects of her injuries, the day after returning to Japan, she experienced a delayed reaction of worsening injuries.
This might be the most painful physical suffering that Harume Kurumi has endured since her birth.
The medical team from the Fujiwara family treating Harume Kurumi had witnessed how far a baron in their family would go, risking bodily harm and even death, to torture their own body.
Harume Kurumi herself didn’t know how much blood she had lost over these few days, nor how much she had replenished. Even with an array of the family’s top medicines stacked up, it only resulted in a chance to make a choice.
“Lady Kurumi, at this point, you can only choose between two options: preserve your growth foundation or preserve your reproductive ability… The opinions of the family elders lean towards the former, and we hope you will consider this carefully.”
Several direct medical staff from the Fujiwara family knelt respectfully at the door, their heads touching the ground, their attitudes exceedingly humble, yet their words were cold.
Let me choose, but in fact, I have no choice. If I cannot bear children, I will be summoned back from Jingjun’s side… Harume Kurumi raised her hand to shield her forehead, trembling slightly due to the bone pain and high fever coursing through her body.
After a few seconds, a strong wave of suppressed sobs broke from the lips of the Japanese girl lying down, echoing throughout the ancient samurai mansion. All the kneeling male and female family retainers outside the room buried their heads deeply, afraid to make a sound.
“Thank you, I want to have children in the future…”
After a while, the crying stopped, and Harume Kurumi gently uttered these words.
At the door, the doctors exchanged glances, and some even showed signs of shock. Perhaps in their eyes, a higher plane was the most reasonable pursuit for a bloodline.
After carefully checking the box beside her twice, the doctors left behind a bottle of unlabelled potion and then quietly left.
One attendant, with trembling hands, drew the potion into a syringe, knelt down beside Harume Kurumi, and injected it into her arm’s vein.
The injected potion brought a slight cool tingling in the blood vessels, followed immediately by an uncontrollable bone-chilling cold throughout her body, except for her lower abdomen, which felt gentle and comfortable, causing Harume Kurumi to instinctively cover her face with her other hand…
It was unknown how much time had passed, but silence returned inside and outside the room, with no trace of the family servants.
Enduring the pain, Harume Kurumi slowly sat up, took out her phone, stared blankly for a few seconds, and dialed a number.
“Jingjun, Happy New Year.”
Harume Kurumi’s voice was soft and delicate, as elegant and calm as ever, as if everything that had happened before had never taken place.
“Yeah, thank you… How’s your health? I’m sorry, it’s too crowded at the Spring Festival temple fair in the old town, and I can’t hear clearly.”
On the other end of the line, a bustling crowd was heard, and it seemed that Jingjun was in a very crowded place. There were even sounds of cheers from another girl nearby.
She must be playing some stimulating game.
“I’m recovering well, and I’ll be back in City C soon.” Harume Kurumi wiped the tears from her face, her tone still unchanged, “Jingjun, do you miss me?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t hear you clearly. I’ll hang up first and contact you later.”
The call was abruptly hung up, as if the young man had grown tired of her voice.
Harume Kurumi covered her face with the blanket, not wanting her despair to spill out.
A few minutes later, just as Harume Kurumi had a high fever again due to the reaction from the medication, her phone rang again, ding-dong, with new messages—more than one.
Zhong Jing: Never think of sacrificing to indulge your desires as greatness; that’s just self-movement. If you want true freedom, you must first learn to rebel against yourself and against what ought to be resisted.
Zhong Jing: I won’t blame you because you’re a bloodline, and you don’t understand the persistence of human ants. This isn’t your fault.
Zhong Jing: Rest well and wait for your return.
“Jingjun… I hurt so much… Jingjun… can you not be so gentle to me?”
Harume Kurumi covered her head with the blanket and started crying again.
……
“Um… Zhong Jing, why do you sound so… so rather disgusting today?”
Walking through the crowded streets of an old town, Jiang Yao held a long skewer of food in her hands, her cheeks nearly stuffed full. Her youthful, beautiful figure and particularly her natural light golden hair constantly drew the attention of those around her.
“Is it? That’s called gentleness, okay?”
Zhong Jing casually tucked his phone back into his pocket and smiled as he handed her a wet tissue.
“Uh, so I’m prone to goosebumps…”
Jiang Yao exaggeratedly displayed a disdainful expression, but her eyes sparkled with joy.
“What’s this? When you hear Zhou Ping’s ex-boyfriend’s heartfelt confession, you’ll know what it means to be cheesy.”
Zhong Jing casually used his arm to block a greasy man who intentionally turned to brush against Jiang Yao, then turned his body to shield her from the side.
Zhong Jing’s timely little gestures did not catch Jiang Yao’s attention but rather piqued her curiosity about the topic.
“What! You were sneaking… No, did you overhear something at Sister Xiao Ping’s house?”
Jiang Yao frowned, quickly tossing away the bamboo stick in her hand, and lowered her voice: “Is that guy going after Sister Xiao Ping again?”
“Yeah, the recording from last night… But that’s secondary. The main thing is, I found out some more secretive content from Su Xiaomeng, and she is still verifying it. Let’s hold steady for now and let the bullets fly for a while longer.”
Zhong Jing shook his head with a smile, not intending to say anything uncomfortable during this Spring Festival holiday.
“Hmph, I told you long ago that the guy must have problems!”
Jiang Yao paused, perhaps guessing something, and her voice immediately rose.
It’s not what you think. Let’s go board a boat; there’s too much garbage here…
Looking at a certain sleazy man walking away, Jiang Yao refocused her attention, gently patted Jiang Yao’s back, and turned towards the ancient town’s river on the east side.
……
Meng Huai came to the dream again.
It was still that dim forest filled with gray-white mist, still lifeless and boundless. But unlike last time, black, twisted, dead tree trunks now sprouted small new buds. Meng Huai walked alone in the misty forest, the people who once entangled him were no longer present, as if they had never appeared.
It was unknown how long he walked, but a strange statue emerged from the mist, slowly approaching. It turned out to be a statue of a woman in a dress. Looking closely, it was surprisingly the woman who claimed to be his mother.
Gently resting his palm against the surface of the statue, the anticipated cold was absent, replaced instead by warmth. Faintly gentle breaths emanated from the statue, enveloping him and bringing calm to his heart, as if immersed in a mother’s tender embrace.
For some reason, Meng Huai found that a tear appeared at the corner of his eye, a twinge of pain rising within.
He hurriedly took a few steps back, afraid to look again. As he turned, he found another statue not far away, silently gazing at him. Unsurprisingly, it was the black-haired girl from the previous dream, the one who had protected him and even driven him away.
However, this time, the girl’s statue was no longer in a rigid combat uniform but instead wore a long, elegant dress.
“Jiang…”
Meng Huai moved his lips several times but couldn’t remember what to say. He could only uncontrollably move toward the statue.
The surface of the statue radiated a familiar aura, intoxicating and comfortable, even filled with an irresistible strange allure and possessiveness, making one yearn to embrace the statue.
Meng Huai’s mouth twitched a few times, cautiously glancing around, feeling no one was watching. So, with a racing heart, he steeled himself and stretched out his hands to hug the statue.
The touch was warm and comfortable, almost making him want to hum. As he held on, Meng Huai gradually closed his eyes, showing an expression of intoxication.
In his half-closed gaze, amidst the swirling mist, other strange things appeared. Meng Huai opened his eyes wide and focused his gaze.
As he concentrated, the mist gradually disappeared, revealing dozens or even hundreds of gray-white statues deep in the forest. The style was clearly military combat uniforms, resembling soldiers frozen in slumber.
Some statues were intact, while others were broken, some wielding weapons, and others bare-handed. Some stood straight, while others silently waved their arms as if shouting something. Others were poised and ready for combat.
“Dark Arrow… Captain… Xiao He… Xiao Zhang… Sister Zhu…”
Holding the statue of the girl, Meng Huai’s gaze and focus, however, drifted past the girl’s shoulder and into the distant group of sculptures that resembled a junkyard.
As he shifted his attention, Meng Huai could not determine from where this memory had been unearthed, but he continuously recognized figures buried deep within his mind.
The cemetery of statues gradually expanded, and Meng Huai shivered, feeling a piercing cold, prompting him to hold the girl statue even tighter, hoping that the gentle warmth could stave off all of this.
St. Mary’s Hospital, on the top floor of the special ward.
After noon, Jiang Yan walked into the nurse’s station and was led to the changing room with just a glance.
Putting on a new light blue nurse’s outfit, she tied up her long hair, put on her nurse’s cap, and finished with a mask. In less than ten minutes, a graceful young nurse appeared in the mirror.
Not only did she have extensive experience in field first aid, but over the past six months, Jiang Yan had also received rich clinical nursing training from Xiao Dong. One could say that Jiang Yan now, as a nurse, though not absolutely qualified, could certainly pass for the real thing.
Pushing a treatment cart, Jiang Yan walked directly into Meng Huai’s ward without any hindrance.
At this time, Meng Huai was still in a daze, sleeping soundly. The pheromone scent emanating from him indicated he was already a standard low-tier knight. But the slight “impurity” of his black blood family characteristics had yet to dissipate.
According to Doctor Lu, the residual unknown drug components in Meng Huai’s body were mixed, and to prevent any accidents, the purifying drugs that were meant to eliminate certain special factors from the black bloodline would not be used for the time being until further clarification.
“Miss Jiang, Mr. Li’s promotion dormancy has clearly ended, but he still hasn’t awakened. However, Doctor Lu has conducted a thorough examination, and aside from brain nervous system issues, everything else seems fine.”
The nurse accompanying the bedside felt the familiar aura and quickly stood up, handing over the prepared clinical care documentation for the patient.
“Will this violate your hospital’s work regulations?” Jiang Yan was adjusting minor flaws in her attire and felt a little shy.
“Hehe, what kind of nature are we? Do we still need to consider these formalities?” The maid from the Wang family smiled while covering her mouth, pointing down the corridor, “Don’t say it’s clinical care; as long as the vice dean says the word, you could even go on the operating table.”
Jiang Yan nodded with a smile, no longer dragging her feet, directly taking the prepared syringe from the treatment cart and injecting it into Meng Huai’s IV bag. The whole process was fairly standard.
It was unclear how long it had been, but the room was left with only Jiang Yan.
Sitting at the bedside, resting her chin on her wrist, Jiang Yan quietly watched the young man on the bed. Apart from his beautiful big eyes, his expression beneath the mask was a mystery.
Meng Huai had a strange state, seeming to be asleep, yet somewhere in between, a serious look played on his face. His lips kept twitching as if narrating an endless tale.
Jiang Yan looked at the door to the room, confirmed no one was around, and stood up, leaning over with her hands on the bed, carefully bringing her ear closer to Meng Huai’s mouth, wanting to hear what he was murmuring.
Suddenly, Meng Huai’s half-open eyes snapped wide open, and with powerful arms, he wrapped around Jiang Yan’s upper body, securing her tightly with both arms.
Caught off guard, Jiang Yan lost her balance and was pressed directly onto Meng Huai, unable to move.
An enchanting fragrance and slightly panicked breaths filled the air, and the tempting statue of the girl from the dream seemed to be nestled against Meng Huai.
In that moment, Jiang Yan nearly activated her boiling blood, but just half a second later, she calmed down. She saw the look in Meng Huai’s eyes.
Though appearing to be awake, they were filled with deep confusion and bewilderment, as if he had lost his mind, lacking any vitality.
“Who are you…”
Meng Huai’s foggy and misty gaze fixed on the girl’s face close by, his mouth opening several times before finally whispering three words.
“It’s alright…”
Jiang Yan suddenly felt like crying, also staring into Meng Huai’s eyes as she softly responded with three words.
Though his arms and upper body tightly embraced her, she relaxed her whole body, allowing herself to be held against his chest, a smile forming on her face as warmth spread beneath the mask.
“…Xiao Lu, in a couple of days, take his blood sample to the experimental center and conduct two more comparative experiments on the white mice and monkeys.”
“Grandpa, I think we can add some active enzyme preparations to enhance the drug metabolism in his body.”
The ward door suddenly opened, and Lao Jin, Su Xiaomeng, and Doctor Lu entered, whispering among themselves.
“…”
Jiang Yan froze, slowly turning her head, anxiously glancing at the two men and one woman gradually petrified in the middle of the ward. Her own upper body was still firmly pressed against Meng Huai, unable to pull away.
Lao Jin was the first to react, coughing dryly, a sly smile creeping across his face as he turned and exited the ward.
“Um… Miss Jiang, please come to the Vice Dean’s office later; there’s something we need to explain to you…”
Doctor Lu reacted a moment too late and couldn’t bear to observe the provocative scene of the beautiful nurse pressed against the muscular patient. He turned his head and began to back out towards the door.
However, Su Xiaomeng’s eyes lit up with almost bursting gossip flames, fixating on the enticingly suggestive tableau on the sickbed.
“Not… I… Miss Su…”
Jiang Yan tried to struggle out of Meng Huai’s embrace, but she had lost her balance, her hands captured by him. She couldn’t find any support to rise and was even more afraid that a large movement would hurt him.
Caught between a dilemma, Jiang Yan’s upper body lightly rubbed against Meng Huai, the scene becoming increasingly intimate and ambiguous. No one could tell what color the girl’s face was beneath the mask, but her ears were visibly flushed, as if they could melt away.
“Tsk, tsk, night duty ward… Sister Yan, you can’t hold back anymore, huh?”
Su Xiaomeng slowly approached the bedside, adopting an idle bystander pose while staring at Jiang Yan’s struggling body, pointing her fingers and clicking her tongue incessantly, her eyes squinting with laughter.
“Ha ha, Nurse Jiang, I’ve already got it on camera; I’ll be able to demand whatever I want from you in the future!”
Seeing Jiang Yan’s predicament, Su Xiaomeng nearly burst into laughter as she covered her mouth.
“Miss Su, could you… help me a bit…”
Jiang Yan turned her head away, already giving up on resisting, her voice barely escaping her lips, as light as a mosquito.
