Chapter 46 – Miracle Life

The figure’s body went rigid for an instant. The next moment, though, she suddenly let out a puzzled “Huh?” Then she raised both hands with a grin. “I’m Tang Tang. Big brother, are you after my money or my body?” As she spoke, she turned around, only to spot the knife in Su Lifeng’s hand. She jumped in fright and said with an exaggerated expression, “Lifeng, seriously? You didn’t actually think I was a thief or something, did you? That’s hilarious. What part of me looks like one? Fine, fine, let me make this clear. I came here under orders from your family’s Miss Su to help her pick up some stuff.”

As she talked, she set down the canvas tote in her hand, then walked over to the refrigerator nearby as if she owned the place. She took out a bottle of water, twisted off the cap, and began chugging it down.

The moment Su Lifeng heard her voice, he had already withdrawn the knife, and the wariness in his eyes vanished as well. In its place, however, came a wave of stunned disbelief. He knew this girl. She was his younger sister Su Lian’s good friend. But the last time he had seen her, she had clearly been a young girl in a school uniform with long, flowing hair. How had one summer break turned her into this? A baseball cap, an oversized hiking jacket-seen from behind, you couldn’t even tell if she was male or female. And she still had the nerve to say she didn’t look like a thief…

“Ah! I almost forgot. This isn’t some kind of cultivation nutrient solution or anything, is it?” Tang Tang had drunk more than half the bottle in one go before hurriedly putting it down and asking. She quickly stuck out her tongue, then added, “Hey, why do you keep staring at me? Don’t recognize me anymore?”

Su Lifeng slipped the knife into his pants pocket, picked up his T-shirt from the sofa, and asked as he put it on, “Do you come to my place like this often?”

Good thing Tang Tang had never seen his back. Otherwise, she would have spotted those two “scars”…

Tang Tang thought for a moment, then nodded. “Mm-hm! One time I came over and you were still asleep, lying right over there…” She pointed at the experiment table not far away. “You look pretty good when you’re asleep, so I took a picture of you. Oh, you probably don’t know this, but you’re actually pretty popular among my friends. Lots of girls are totally crushing on you. They’re all jealous that Su Lian has a handsome older brother, and one who studies biology, too. Think about it: spending all day researching gene chains and dissecting frogs and stuff. So cool!”

“…” Su Lifeng simply could not understand the thought process of these little girls. He also felt that her words were absolutely packed with all kinds of information. It took him two seconds to get his head straight before he changed the subject and asked, “You just said you’re here to get clothes for Su Lian? She’s back? Why didn’t she come home? Why isn’t she answering my calls?”

“Relax, siscon. She isn’t back yet, but she will be soon. I heard from the Adventure Club that after they come back to rest and resupply, they’re planning to head straight to the border. Apparently that area is super mysterious right now and worth exploring… See? I’m all ready to go with them. How about it? Pretty good outfit, right…”

Before Tang Tang could finish, Su Lifeng cut her off. “When are they coming back? And where is that club?”

“In Ningnan Building… Lifeng, what’s wrong? Are you upset? Don’t worry. This expedition is being organized by a handsome guy named Xie Yu. His family has money, and the equipment he’s providing is really professional. He saw all those posts online about cracks appearing near the border, so he wants to go take a look himself. Exploring nature’s unsolved mysteries and experiencing the miracle of life-that’s humanity’s dream! Lifeng, you study biology, so you should understand, right? Or I can have Xie Yu come persuade you…” Tang Tang rattled off another long string of words like a machine gun.

Su Lifeng snatched up the tote she had set down, then held out his hand to her. “Give me your phone.”

After saving his own number into it, Su Lifeng tossed the phone back to her. “The moment Su Lian comes back, call me.”

“What the heck…”

“Did you understand me?” Su Lifeng asked again, his tone calm.

Tang Tang immediately shut her mouth.

At that moment, Su Lifeng’s face had suddenly gone a little pale, as if his skin had turned translucent, the veins beneath it standing out more clearly. Even worse was the icy look in his eyes. Her heartbeat seemed to skip for an instant, as if some terrifying beast had fixed its gaze on her.

“I-I understand…” Tang Tang nodded.

Even after she left Su Lifeng’s home, she still couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. How was it that someone like her, who was always so rebellious in front of her parents, had suddenly become so obedient in front of Su Lifeng?

After she went downstairs, a figure suddenly stepped out from the corner of the wall below and blocked her path. “How did it go? Did you get Su Lian’s things for her?”

“Huh?” Tang Tang snapped back to herself and looked at the person in front of her.

He was a very handsome young man, also dressed in a windbreaker. Aside from his face, every exposed part of his body was covered up tightly.

The moment she saw him, a faint smile appeared on Tang Tang’s face. This man had originally been an ordinary member of the club, the kind who usually didn’t stand out much. But not long ago, he had suddenly become active, and more and more popular.

The “handsome guy” she had mentioned to Su Lifeng earlier, the one organizing this event, was him…

“Su Lian’s brother was there. He didn’t seem to agree with it,” Tang Tang said.

Xie Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, but his smile did not change. “It’s fine. You didn’t tell him anything in detail, did you?”

“No…”

“Mm, good. There are always people who can’t understand us right now. The most important thing for us now is to convince more members, and have those members invite their friends and family to join as well.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Oh, and you have to remember, you promised me that once Su Lian comes back, you’ll let her become part of Miracle Life too,” Tang Tang said with a nod.

“Don’t worry. But for the next two days, I’ll help you first. By the way, what else did Su Lian’s brother say to you?” Xie Yu suddenly asked.

Tang Tang hesitated for a moment, then took out her phone. “He gave me his number and told me to call him once Su Lian’s group comes back.”

“Is that so? In that case… delete it. He’ll understand one day.” As Xie Yu spoke, he took the phone from her.

Tang Tang watched as he deleted the number. Somewhere deep down, she vaguely felt that something wasn’t right, but looking at Xie Yu’s smile, she found she couldn’t bring herself to object…

“All right, let’s go.” Xie Yu smiled as he returned the phone to her, then spoke.

But just then, he felt as if a gaze had fallen on him from above. When he raised his head to look, however, he saw nothing. The curtains of Su Lian’s home were drawn, and no one was there.

“Was I imagining it?” Xie Yu thought. Then a faint cold smile appeared on his face. “But even if there is something, it won’t stop me.”

Only after Xie Yu and Tang Tang had walked far away did Su Lifeng pull the curtain open again.

His gaze was ice-cold as he stared at the man’s retreating back from afar… As early as the moment Tang Tang said she would have that person come persuade him, he had already suspected that Tang Tang hadn’t come alone.

He didn’t know much about this man named Xie Yu, but from the moment Xie Yu took Tang Tang’s phone, Su Lifeng had felt a strong sense of wariness toward him.

Beep, beep, beep…

“Hello? Gouzi…” After the call connected, Su Lifeng remained silent for a full minute before he finally could no longer endure it and cut off Gouzi’s flattery. “I didn’t ask you to lead the way right now. I want to ask you-do you know the Adventure Club? Mm. Find a way to look into someone for me. As for leading the way, we’ll talk tonight.”

After putting down his phone, Su Lifeng suddenly realized that the impatience in his tone just now really did carry a hint of the “big brother” aura Gouzi kept talking about…