Chapter 278 - Getting Overwhelmed

Jiang Yanyu almost lost her footing and crashed into the floor. She felt like her heart had stopped, but it was all for the happiness in it. She was so worried about her daughter, and even if she was not that affectionate, she would change her whole outlook if she lost her child to a gas leak at some faraway place.

The mother just laughed out before glancing at the clock that said ten o'clock. "Alright, I'll swing by around eleven so we can have lunch together." Her eyes then quivered. "Is Xiaodan joining us?"

"I don't know." Chuan Nayi sighed as she massaged her temples. "He's been curling up like some animal trying to sleep all day. What do I do if my husband becomes a koala?"

"Shove your foot between his legs."

Chuan Nayi huffed as she blushed. Didn't she lightly kick Liu Xiaodan there earlier? Hm, her reflex should have hit harder. She just chatted with her mother some more before ending the call. She brought the phone down and walked back to her room. 

On her way up, she actually saw Qiao Shan carefully descending the stairs. Their eyes then met, and Qiao Shan couldn't help but feel weird around them. Chuan Nayi didn't know how to interact with her as well, but she could always give a polite smile. "Hello, are you going back to the Qiao family?"

The eyes of the maiden grew dim. "They haven't listed Father as a confirmed death yet, but I will have to go for his funeral rights. Even if they didn't want me to have anything to do with the Qiao family in the future, I still want to send off my father. Maybe by then… I will be really free to stay here instead."

"...I don't have good things to say about your father, but..."—Chuan Nayi stood next to her at the stairs—"but if his daughter had seen his awful side and still wished to send him off properly, then he must have been a good father. You deserve all the condolences for losing such a figure in your life."

"Thank you. That's very kind." Qiao Shan only nodded before proceeding downstairs. She had also received things from Li Feng and Li Yunru. At the back of her mind, she seemed to know that losing her father to the demon was a possible scenario. Still, she could only move forward… and away from the terror Qiao family.

…

Chuan Nayi had also made her way back to her room with Liu Xiaodan. By now, both males were up even if Liu Xiaodan's eyes were still closed. She then grabbed a comb on the vanity table and sat next to him as she combed his hair. "Are you going to visit Ruan Jin in the hospital later? Mom's going to pick me up at eleven. Let's get lunch with her; a lot of things should be talked about."

"The light is blinding me. Ah, I should find Dr, Jiu. He's watching over Jin, right?" Liu Xiaodan couldn't even open his eyes. Right now, it was not even sleepiness. "Sure… let's find a good place to eat with Auntie—ah, wait." Liu Xiaodan used his hands to prevent the sunlight from taking away his vision. "Nayi, I was supposed to have lunch with my parents, too. Do you think we can just eat out altogether?"

"That should be fine." Chuan Nayi didn't find anything wrong with it. Besides, she was only shy about making body contact with Liu Xiaodan; as for their engagement, she could fight anyone who would try to take him away. That's why… the earlier they get engaged, the better! Parents meeting each other? Psh, she had no problems presenting her mother to the Liu family.

As for her father… ah, no, she had no father anymore. Let him live his life with his new family.

"Great! Uhm… can you help me… close the curtains?" Liu Xiaodan only chuckled. He thought that perhaps it was the sun itself that made him feel uncomfortable because he could look around a fully lit room last night.

…

No one could deny that Wu Qianqian was very happy. She had taken back the son that she had lost while receiving the formal news about him and Chuan Nayi. It was a battle, but it would only be crazier from there. Perhaps, these stories had been in their blood as well: Mian Lengleng fled to a rival shaman house for Wu Zhong while Liu Li left everything he knew just to live in the province where Wu Qianqian disappeared into.

She happily held onto her husband's arm, patting it lightly as they were being walked to their private room in the first-class dining restaurant where they got a reservation. Since it was Liu Li's treat, the couple was the one leading them after the waitress. Jiang Yanyu was secretly gauging the two parents and was very satisfied with them. At the back were Liu Xiaodan and Chuan Nayi.

The father was feeling a little out of place. Staying in the mental facility had closed him off to the public, and walking into a rather popular place was assaulting his senses. However, he was pretty good at hiding his difficulties from the people around him. He could be walking around like a block of ice, but he needed to make a good impression at least. This was Chuan Nayi and her mother after all.

It was pretty strange. Just a change of place was making Liu Xiaodan act differently. He didn't know if it was his subconscious fear of being judged and implicating his family and friends that was forcing him to react in strange ways. However, the paradise that he thought would be holding him for long failed to hold up his expectations.

He could only blame them for getting greedy.

"Xiaodan, are you okay?" Chuan Nayi stopped walking and decided to reach out towards him. "You look really out of it. Are you sure you're not getting overwhelmed?"

"...I am… getting overwhelmed." A strange smile that looked so apologetic drew on his lips. "The kind of energy given off by the people here is very different from what I have become used to. I might have to need more time to adjust. I'm sorry, Nayi."

Chuan Nayi wanted to smile and say things like it's okay, but Wu Zhong's words actually echoed at the back of her mind. That man's interference in the facility was to get Liu Xiaodan to adjust with the changes brought over by Project Hades… rather, the accidental activation of it because of Dr. Fan's Project Red Justice. He was supposed to stay there as long as he had no sure control over things.

Now that he had merged with his ghost body, he was having trouble with the public.

The eyes of the woman hooded as she felt washed over by a mix of sadness, pity, and resentment. Even if Liu Xiaodan decided to accept Guangru from back then, the people of Cherry Med had no right to destroy him like this. Her hand then held onto his hand stronger.

"Don't worry, Xiaodan. As soon as I get what he promised me, I will create a world where we can be free."