The Inconceivable Flame: A Fallen Angel's Disguise

*Flashback Continued*

To be honest, Xiao Zhiren had assumed things back then. Ru was only ten at that time and had no clue about her own gender yet. The bandage around her chest at that time was because of the wound she had on her chest. But she didn’t have a single clue that her gender was disclosed so easily because of that.

In the coming weeks, Ru had spent hours teasing Xiao Zhiren. Or calling it bullying would be fair. Because he was always the one ending on the ground with a sore back. But when she wasn’t spending time with him, he would always get moody.

Over time, unknowingly, they grew close within a month and he started calling her ’little bean.’

"Little bean, do you know my mum has chosen Renren’s bride."

They were sitting on the stairs together when Xiao Zhiren announced that.

"Good for you, little weakling," Ru had replied indifferently not paying much heed to his words. "I hope she’s stronger than you. At least, someone will be there to protect you."

"She is very strong." He replied with a mischievous smile.

When she didn’t react, he was upset. He tapped her shoulder and said, "Can’t you stop playing with other kids?"

"Playing? When did I play with other kids?" Ru asked with a frown. She never had any friends to play with. For her, the definition of playing was very different.

"The other day you were hanging out with those four boys from the town," Xiao Zhiren grumbled unhappily.

Ru put some stress on her memory and replied, "I wasn’t hanging out with them. This Young Master was giving them some pointers."

Xiao Zhiren held her sleeve and said, "I don’t care. Even if you want to beat someone, just do that to me. Don’t go to other kids."

Ru looked at him like an idiot and said, "So, if I want to jump from a cliff would you accompany me?"

He thought about it for a second and nodded, "Yes, I will. I will do anything for you."

"Why?" Ru asked on impulse.

She had yet to hear his answer when Steward Shin’s voice was heard, "Young Master Ru, Master is here."

Ru’s eyes brightened up and a smile curled her lips beautifully. Xiao Zhiren was left blinking at that new expression on her face.

"Father is here? You’re not messing with me, are you?" She asked to reconfirm.

"No one dares to mess with you. Master is really here." Steward Shin replied honestly.

Ru jumped up from where she was sitting and tugged at his sleeve, "Tell me, where is he?"

Steward Shin smiled at her impatience and said, "Relax. He’s with Master Wang right now. I’d say you should clean up yourself before seeing him."

Ru looked down at her clothes which had some dirt on it and said, "This Xiuying is really unbearable. Why is he taking up my father’s time? So hateful! I’ll ask father to get justice for me. Hmph!"

Muttering to herself, she turned to walk towards her room when Xiao Zhiren stopped her. "Can you not smile like that at others?"

Ru knocked on his head saying, "Oi, little weakling, are you that confused in life? You’re the one who kept saying that I should smile. Now, you just changed your mind so easily? Get your thoughts straight!"

"I know," Xiao Zhiren stated. "But your smile just made my heart stop for a second. Now, I think if my heart can skip a beat then your smile is really dangerous for others as well. So, don’t even smile at others." He looked worried as he kept mumbling, "What if others fell for you as well? I’ll have so much competition. I don’t want that. No, no."

"You have lost your mind!" Ru bumped into his shoulder on purpose before walking past him.

Meanwhile...

Inside Abbott Wang Xiuying’s room, Xiao Zhi’er was standing in front of him with a man standing beside her.

"Xia Longwei, lady Zhi’er wants to betroth her son to your family’s Ru." Abbott Wang Xiuying’s voice was soft and calm as he stared at the man standing beside Xiao Zhi’er.

"Erm... I don’t think I’m in the position to decide that," Xia Longwei answered plainly.

"Brother Long, are you serious? You have always treated me like a sister and you never refused to give me anything. Why are you suddenly backing out of this?" Xiao Zhi’er spoke with discontent and anger.

"Zhi’er, you really are like my sister. But Ru will always be more important to me. I really can’t decide something like this for her," Xia Longwei’s texture and emotions were just like Ru’s. There was no impatience or anger. He was calm and serene. But his words and tone had the intimidation of the leader that he was. Naturally, Ru had inherited a lot from him.

"I don’t care. Both kids like each other anyway," Xiao Zhi’er announced as she sat down on the chair.

"My Ru and like someone?" Xia Longwei raised his brow amusingly. When Xiao Zhi’er frowned at his response, he added, "Sorry, but I think you’re mistaken. My Ru had yet to learn how to like herself. How can she like anyone else? Her own gender is a mystery to her. Are you telling me that kind of person can actually like your son?"

Xiao Zhi’er gasped, "You still haven’t told her that she is a girl?" Seeing him shaking his head, she added, "Have you gone mad? Brother Long, how can you even do that?"

Xia Longwei pointed towards Abbott Wang Xiuying who was sipping on his tea and said, "Ask him. He’s the one who said she should live like a boy."

"Master Wang, what are you playing at?" Xiao Zhi’er shifted her discontent towards him.

"I’m not playing at anything. I’m just trying to keep her alive in this world where her identity in itself is a curse for her. Apart from that, I was trying to protect her from the sins that have followed her through time and space. I believed that if she lived like a boy, she would not catch the attention of the love that wasn’t written as hers. But... Sigh. It seems I was wrong." He shook his head as he mumbled, "She still ended up right beside him."

He pulled out two birth charts from the drawer of his small desk and said, "Do you both remember what I told you about your children?"

"Master said that Ru is born with a shadow of the lone star looming over her destiny. The outcome of that can only be decided by herself." Xia Longwei stated word for word of what he recalled from his memory.

Abbot Wang Xiuying looked Xiao Zhi’er and she said, "Seeing that birth chart, you said that my Zhiren had a rare trait. There is a name etched on his heart and his destiny. No matter where he goes, his heart will only beat for that one. Either out of love or guilt, it’s yet to be decided by him."

"Do you find any similarity there?" Abbott Wang Xiuying asked and both of them shook their heads. "There is no similarity indeed. Ru is like a lone wolf and Zhiren is the opposite of that. But their connection can’t be denied. They both are each other’s worst pain."

"What is Master implying?" Xia Longwei asked with worry etched on his face.

Abbott Wang Xiuying smiled at him and gave both of them a string of red thread. "Give this to both of them. Their invisible red thread is too tangled up. This one might help them in finding each other."

"Are you actually agreeing to this proposal?" Xia Longwei kept looking at the thread in his hand with confusion.

"You and I both don’t have a say in this. If they really found each other, then that really is the fate meant for them." Xiao Zhi’er was quite oblivious to their meaning but Xia Longwei understood it very well.

It seemed like even if he saved her from the curse of her identity, he might not be able to save her from destiny. There was a lingering fear in Xia Longwei’s heart. What Ru meant to him was something he couldn’t say in words. Ru wasn’t just a son or daughter, she was his pride. All of his strength came from her. He clutched that red thread in his hand and closed his eyes, how was he gonna watch her hurting herself?

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