Parting

This trick actually worked. The girl stopped crying after a moment. Her watery eyes, still misty, reached out tentatively to pinch Anya’s ear.

Anya let out a soft sound but allowed the girl’s small hand to knead her ear. For some reason, as she looked at this golden-haired girl with the cute smile, Anya felt her face flush with embarrassment.

"Are you... not angry anymore?"

The girl patted Anya’s head.

"Hehe, I was just faking it earlier. I’m actually very strong; I don’t cry that easily! I’ve wanted to pinch your ears for a long time. They look so fluffy, and they feel so good to squeeze."

Anya’s gaze remained fixed on the other girl’s small canines as she nodded dazedly.

"Alright, it’s my turn to be the 'ghost' now. Hurry up and hide! I’m going to catch you!"

The girl made a funny face at Anya, putting her hands up like claws. She looked very playful.

Seeing the girl start counting down again, the other children laughed and ran off. Once she finished counting, the girl spun around with a skip. When she saw Anya still standing there blankly, she let out a long, confused moan.

"Why are you still here?"

"I wanted you to catch me."

"Wha—what are you talking about!"

The little girl’s face turned red like a ripe apple. "What kind of weird things are you saying?"

"If you catch me, will you be happy?"

"I want you to be happy. I want to see you smile."

Anya scratched her head, trying her best to organize her words.

These words took on a different meaning in the girl’s ears. She suddenly glared at Anya and poked her finger against Anya’s forehead, backing her into a corner step by step.

"Are you saying that if you don't let me win, I won't be able to catch you?"

"No, that’s not what I meant..." Anya waved her hands frantically.

"Then hurry up and hide! Otherwise, it’s no fun at all!" the girl said with her hands on her hips.

"Okay, okay, I understand."

Xu Xiaoyou watched this scene silently. She watched these children play hide-and-seek all day. At dusk, the setting sun stained half the sky red, and fiery clouds drifted past the horizon as the alleyway gradually grew dark.

"See you tomorrow!"

"Let's play together again tomorrow!"

The children hugged each other goodbye. It wasn't until the sun had almost completely vanished that the alley finally became quiet.

Anya had made a friend.

After all, she was still a child. No matter how steady or taciturn she usually acted, she still showed an innocent and lively side when she was with peers of her own age.

The weeds swayed with the breeze, growing slowly.

"You’ve been sitting here all day. That investigator left a long time ago. Your bounty has been revoked, hasn't it?"

Chen Yun walked out of the beauty shop, stretching and letting out a yawn.

"Yeah. I’m planning to leave."

Xu Xiaoyou stood up and patted the dust off her clothes.

"Dinner is ready. You don’t plan on staying to eat?"

"No thanks," Xu Xiaoyou said. "Let Anya eat."

Chen Yun picked up on the implication in Xu Xiaoyou’s words and frowned slightly. "I don't have the spare time to raise another child."

"As a parent, once a child is born, you have to be responsible to the end."

"She’s not my child." Xu Xiaoyou smiled helplessly. "I’m her half-guardian at most."

"You—"

Right then, Anya, who had been hiding nearby, suddenly rushed out. Her face was covered in tears as she hugged Xu Xiaoyou tightly around the waist.

"Don't abandon Anya. Anya will be good."

"Xiaoyou, Anya won't cause you any trouble. Anya promises. In the future, Anya will earn money herself and won't spend Xiaoyou’s money. Don't leave Anya here, okay?"

No matter how young she was, the girl could still hear the deeper meaning in their conversation. Her mind didn't move as fast as other children her age, but her sense of smell was keen; she could smell the scent of parting in the air.

"Anya doesn't want anything, as long as Xiaoyou can stay by her side..."

"Don't worry, Anya. I’m just going to get my things back. I’ll be back after I get them."

Xu Xiaoyou stroked Anya’s head as usual and spoke softly.

Anya sniffed. No matter what, she refused to let go of the girl's hand, just rubbing her face against Xu Xiaoyou’s body and crying uncontrollably.

She didn't know when her emotions had become so fragile and sensitive. Clearly, in the past, even when the barbed whip lashed her back and left bloody welts, or when leather boots kicked her and left bruises, she wouldn't shed a single tear from the pain.

Even when her relatives and kin fell one by one under the hunters' guns, her heart only felt a dim sorrow; she wouldn't stop her pace because of it.

This girl had brought her warmth and a home. She no longer had to run all day for food and shelter from the snow.

Xu Xiaoyou crouched down, stroking the girl’s head and wiping the tears from her face. She held out her pinky finger.

"I promise you, Anya. Once I get my things, I will come back."

"Stop crying. Someone is watching."

Anya turned her head and saw the golden-haired girl from earlier hiding in the corner, peeking at them. Seeing Anya’s tear-streaked face, the girl covered her mouth and let out a snicker.

Anya rubbed her messy face and nodded, her voice choking with sobs.

"Xiaoyou, you have to promise."

She hooked her finger with the girl's, and their hands shook in the air.

"I promise."

"Pinky swear, cross my heart, a hundred years, no changing..."

"Whoever changes is a puppy," Xu Xiaoyou said with half-closed eyes.

"Whoever changes is a puppy!"

Whether it was Xu Xiaoyou’s imagination or not, she felt like Anya’s gaze suddenly became fierce and sharp at that moment, overlapping with the gaze on Angelina’s character art...

"I promise... if you dare to lie to me, Xiaoyou, I’ll make you regret it," Anya threatened with red eyes.

"When I grow up, I will find you and I absolutely won't let you go!"

This was the first time Xu Xiaoyou had heard a threat from Anya’s mouth, especially directed at her. It didn't sound like something a child would say at all. That serious, determined look was like a predator staring down its prey.

At this moment, the girl seemed to have turned back into that lone wolf with beautiful, bright fur running across the snowy plains.

Xiaoyou didn't say anything, she just stroked Anya’s head once more and said goodbye.

...................

A cold night.

People with power and wealth often liked to stand before floor-to-ceiling windows in high-rise buildings, looking down on the city they trampled beneath their feet.

This was a forest full of hunters and prey. Even the trees in the forest were no exception; the strong should absorb the nutrients of the weak and incompetent to make themselves grow sturdy, growing until they covered the sky and claimed all the sunlight for themselves.

The werewolf’s fangs twitched slightly at the corners of his mouth. He loved this feeling of looking down on the city, enjoying the sense of achievement that came from trampling on other people's dignity and the fruits of their labor.

The weak were not qualified to breathe the same air as him; the incompetent were not qualified to stand at the same height as him.

The melody of this era should be oppression and exploitation!

Only an ambitious man like him could climb to the top of the world step by step. Even if he had to suck up to those in power, even if he used every dirty trick and was as vulgar and shameless as possible, it was still better than those idiots who always thought about getting something for nothing and blamed everyone but themselves.

Only the winner was qualified to taste the final wine.

The weak and incompetent should die by the hunter’s gun.

This was the truth he had understood deeply since the moment he was born on the snowy plains.

"Hehe, Xu Xiaoyou, I probably won't forget you for the rest of my life."

Wilson let out a cold laugh. He waved away the fawning women beside him. He was getting bored with their sweet whispers in his ear.

"All of you, get out," he said. "Women only block my path forward."

"Ah~ Brother Wilson, you were just saying such nice things to me. How can you turn your back on me now?"

Inside the pool, one of the women spoke coquettishly.

Wilson’s face twisted with cruelty. He reached his large hand toward the woman’s neck. Amidst her seductive gaze, his sharp claws suddenly plunged into it.

The clear water of the pool was instantly stained crimson. Screams echoed as the women ran out like they were mad.

After a short while, only two people remained in the vast room.

"I actually quite admire an ambitious person like you. Unfortunately, there can only be one winner in this city."

The werewolf let go of the dead woman and downed the wine in his glass.

He placed the empty glass on the tray of a nearby maid and stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the city night.

It wasn't until a moment later that he finally realized something was wrong.

Wilson turned to look at the maid, his brow furrowed.

"Why haven't you left yet?"

"Wait, I’ve never seen you before!"

"Who exactly are you!?"

The walls of the exquisite goblet still held traces of dark red wine, reflecting the maid’s upright figure. A black vest and a white shirt tightly cinched her waist, and her low ponytail, which reached her waist, swayed slightly.

Under Wilson’s terrified and uncertain gaze, she took off the mask on her face. A blood-like light illuminated her features and passed through the tips of her hair.

"I haven't gotten my things back yet."

Xu Xiaoyou smiled, her golden eyes seeming to brand the werewolf’s image within them.

"Long time no see, Manager Wilson."