Chapter 201: Tang Family Mansion

Tang Ruyi couldn't even remember when was the last time that she cried.

She didn't cry when she broke her leg, nor when a bullet hit her arm. She remembered not shedding a tear when she lost her best friend a year ago or when her lover betrayed her when she was still in college. But seeing Lyca again after three years was different.

It was like seeing her long lost sister, it was like finding a piece of her heart that she didn't even know existed. She hugged Lyca, who now looked like a young man as tears streamed down her face. She sobbed, her shoulders trembled as she tightened her arms around the small woman. She didn't even realize how much she missed this woman until she saw her again.

"You left without even saying goodbye to me," Tang Ruyi started. "When I heard about what happened, I wanted to go to your house and kill that Huang Ying but mother and father as well as grandfather said that you wouldn't like that."

"How could you even do that to me?" Tang Ruyi continued. Seeing Lyca again seemed to awaken all the anger that she felt inside for her Aunt and Lyca. "The Huang Family are really cruel. How could they even do that to you? Wolves don't betray their own pack mates. That Huang Ying is worse than a wolf. I swear… I will make son suffer!"

Tang Ruyi cried even harder when she felt Lyca hugged her back. "You know… hugging a small man like me outside of your property could give people ideas," Lyca said in a low voice. Though her voice had been altered, Tang Ruyi could still hear the amusement in her cousin's voice. "If your suitors knew that the great Tang Ruyi is ugly crying like this… I doubt they will still like you." She laughed. "Cousin… you are already old and you don't even have a lover. Are you sure you will keep on hugging me— a cute and handsome man— like this?"

"Who cares about that?" Tang Ruyi hissed. "You have become talkative!" She exclaimed before she let go of Lyca and stared at her. Then she pulled her for a hug again. "I didn't even know that you now speak long sentences! Waah!" Again, Tang Ruyi started bawling her hearts out. She, Lyca's playmate, best friend, and self-proclaimed sister, doesn't even know that the lazy ass cousin of hers can now speak long sentences!

This is breaking her heart!

Tang Ruyi felt that she had missed a lot of years with this woman.

"I think we should go inside," Lyca said as she eyed Lai Su who was standing next to them, pretending that he didn't notice anything. The man was comically staring at the gate in front of them. "Let's go."

After a few minutes of sobbing, Tang Ruyi finally agreed. Of course, this didn't mean that she let go of Lyca. In fact, she held Lyca's hands, intertwining their hands together as she pulled her inside. Lyca could only shake her head inwardly.

First and foremost, Tang Xi was a man. And she really looked like a man. To make this disguised believable, Tang Xi became a couple of inches taller than Lyca using a special shoes that would enhance her height. With this height, Lyca now looked like she was taller than Tang Ruyi. 

Lyca could only hope that Tang Ruyi's enemies or rivals would not use this to put her in trouble. After all, it really looked like Tang Ruyi was hugging a lover than a male cousin outside of their gates. "Ruyi… you should not act like this in public. Don't forget that my current identity is different. I don't want to get you in trouble." She uttered as they entered the Tang Family mansion.

"I don't want to marry someone."

"…" Lyca lifted an eyebrow. She didn't miss the certainty in the woman's voice. It was as if Tang Ruyi had really decided to avoid marriage.

"What did grandfather say?" she asked. Lyca wasn't really considered close with her grandfather from both sides, but she knew that Tang Patriarch— who was a previous general was a little traditional. Strict and traditional could sometimes be a problem when it comes to tackling issues like marriages. "Aren't you engaged with another officer?"

"It was canceled." Tang Ruyi said, almost smugly. "I already told you a long time ago. I won't marry someone I don't like. And I don't think I will like another person aside from myself or you. Obviously, I can't marry myself or you. So I will stay single forever."

"…" Lyca pursed her lips as they walked towards her grandfather's study. Lai Su had to wait for them in the living room as she needed to have a private conversation with her grandfather. Lyca roamed her eyes around and smiled at the familiar interior of the second floor. 

The Tang Family's mansion hasn't really changed in the last three years. The same wooden interior, the same paintings, even the image of her grandmother and grandfather during their wedding more than sixty years ago was still hanging near the stairs. 

Just like the Huang Family house, this house felt warm and cozy. This was not only because of its soft-colored theme interior but also because of how many personal things Lyca could see around the house. Images of the whole Tang Family in frames can be seen in every part of the house. There were wedding photos, spring festivals, and even birthday celebrations. 

She could even see an image of herself on her first birth. However, these frames were not enough to make the fifteen bedroom mansion looked crowded.

"You're here?" the croaky voice of her grandfather welcomed her the moment she walked into his study. He looked at her face before his gaze trailed down her body. "When Ruyi told me that you would look different. I didn't even think that you would look like... this."

Lyca's lips thinned. She didn't know if that was a compliment or something else. But she could sense something in her grandfather's eyes- something different. 

Was it anger? Or relief?