Chapter 3: Jade Pendant Space
In less than a day, Su Ning’s world had been turned upside down.
The father she once thought was tall and great turned out to be a wolf that repays kindness with enmity, disguising himself for decades just to scheme for the Su Family property, willing to cruelly force his own daughter for his goals.
The close friend she thought was inseparable turned out to be a thorough egoist, for whom her life and trust were worth nothing at the bottom of her heart.
How ridiculous, simply laughable to the extreme!
The smile that didn’t reach her eyes clearly seemed mocking yet inexplicably full of endless sadness.
Su Ning, hugging a pile of things as she returned home, suddenly felt a bit lost: the father and daughter chatting happily in harmony, the stepmother busy and virtuous at the dining table, the whole room filled with tender warmth.
She seemed out of place, the superfluous one.
“Ning Ning is back? Why are you standing at the door? Come in, quick, we’re just waiting for you to start eating!”
“Sister Ning Ning!”
“Ning Ning, come in quick, Aunt Qian made a full table of dishes, all your favorites.”
Silently taking a deep breath, Su Ning tightened her arm, replying as calmly and gently as possible, “Okay.”
……
After eating a tasteless meal, Su Ning, using the excuse of wanting to rest, took the things back to her room.
“Click~”
Locking the room door, she put down the things in her hands.
Looking around the bedroom less than ten square meters, the 1.5-meter bed and the double-door large wardrobe tight against the wall took up most of the space.
Under the three-layer wooden shelf was an integrated desk, next to it was the vanity specially custom-made for her by her maternal grandfather back then, with two small and exquisite cosmetic boxes on the surface full of jewelry made for her when Mom was still alive.
In the hidden compartment drawer under the vanity, besides the diary and coin box, there were also a few cherished mementos belonging to Mom.
Among them was the jade pendant that He Yue had always coveted, as well as the thing her good dad Xu Zixin had always wanted to get.
She remembered this magnolia flower jade pendant, along with a hairpin of the same pattern and material, were heirlooms left by her maternal grandmother whom she had never met.
Because of this connection, even knowing He Yue had always wanted it, she hadn’t given in.
It wasn’t until high school was about to end and both were turning adult that she promised to give her this jade pendant as an adult rite gift.
At that time, she still thought that after so many years of being inseparable, their relationship was like real sisters, and having matching items as keepsakes would be nice too.
Hah, in the end, it was misplaced trust!
Su Ning, picking up the jade pendant to fiddle with it, suddenly remembered that line from He Yue in the future scene she had glimpsed…
“Treasure?”
“What kind of treasure exactly?”
Taking the penknife from the desk, she inexplicably pulled out that magnolia flower hairpin as well.
Without hesitation, she cut her finger, and bright red blood instantly dripped down.
Just as she had seen back then, the blood was completely absorbed—not only the jade pendant, but the hairpin too.
The difference was that the jade pendant and hairpin that absorbed her blood emitted bursts of soft white light, and in the blink of an eye, they fused together and flew straight toward her brow center.
Startled, Su Ning immediately looked at the vanity; the her in the mirror had an intact brow center. She waited and waited, but her body felt no discomfort anywhere.
“What’s going on? Where did the jade pendant and hairpin go…”
As she thought of the magnolia flower shape of the jade pendant and hairpin, the scene before her eyes suddenly changed.
The previous moment she was still in her bedroom, the next she was in a completely unfamiliar place—
Two hilltops, one tall and one short, with a green brick grey tile small courtyard at the foot of the mountain.
A small stream flowing out from the mountain went from south to north, gurgling around the entire black soil land.
The space wasn’t particularly large, but it was absolutely not small either.
Even with bright sunshine, gentle breeze, and serene surroundings, the emptiness with no other creatures besides herself made her heart chill involuntarily.
“Where is this? I want to get out!”
No sooner had she spoken than she whooshed back to the bedroom. Su Ning couldn’t help widening her eyes and holding her breath, pinching her thigh root desperately to keep from screaming.
It wasn’t until her little face was flushed red and her chest began to ache that she gasped for air in big mouthfuls.
Glancing at the mud remaining on the bottom of her slippers, she knew everything just now wasn’t an illusion!
No time to think or study exhaustively why the treasure she and He Yue got—what they saw—seemed so different; now calm, with her brain racing, Su Ning knew only one thing—
This time, with this treasure, she could definitely outfight the old fox!
Let his decades of scheming end up with nothing but empty baskets, no way he’d get even a single hair from the Su Family again!
“Thank you, Maternal Grandmother, for the heirloom, thank you, Maternal Grandfather, for the painstaking arrangements! Once this matter is done, Ning’er will definitely bring good food and drinks to visit you two elders.”
Clasping her hands in thanks, the emotions tense all day finally eased a bit.
……
After experimenting back and forth to figure out the trick to entering and exiting, she initially explored the space she named Peach Blossom Spring.
Going up the mountain and down the fields, strolling inside and outside the courtyard, Su Ning felt not the least bit tired and was still full of energy as she began “moving house”.
First, she had to collect the wooden whistle left by her maternal grandfather, Mom’s mementos, jewelry, and cosmetic boxes into the rooms of Peach Blossom Spring Courtyard.
She picked the room with the best ventilation and lighting as the master bedroom, not minding that there was no furniture inside, and temporarily piled the things in the corner.
Flashing out of the space, in a great mood, she hummed a little tune, leisurely continuing to pack and organize.
The coin box held all her New Year’s money, birthday red envelopes, and pocket money over the years, barely touched except for minimal daily expenses.
Counting it, there was over four thousand six hundred yuan, with the bulk from her maternal grandfather and mom.
Leaving over six hundred as change, she stored the rest in the space.
Watch, pen, books…
Seasonal clothes, shoes, bags—except one or two summer sets as backup—thin quilts, bedding, carpets, blankets, all collected.
In no time, inside the room only surface furniture and ornaments remained, along with small sundries.
Strolling around contentedly, Su Ning changed into easy-to-move-in clothes and pants, took her graduation certificate and change, grabbed a durable canvas bag, and walked out the room door.
At three in the afternoon, Xu Zixin who had only taken half a day off and Qian Huiru had already gone to work.
And Xu Shanshan, who was on break and couldn’t stay home, had predictably run out as expected.
After stuffing the things in hand into the canvas bag, while quickly tying her disheveled long hair into a high ponytail, she walked to the low cabinet by Xu Zixin and the two’s bedroom.
Opening the iron box in the drawer, without looking how much change or what tickets were there, she dumped it all into the open bag.
Thinking carefully, nothing forgotten; Su Ning walked out the gate, pushed her women’s bicycle, and left the family courtyard.
Next was racing against time to transfer the things her maternal grandfather left in hiding before her eighteenth birthday.
And properly handling the will inheritance about to take effect, taking back Mom’s dowry.
As well as Gaokao volunteer filling, planning and construction in the space… she was busy, no time to be sentimental or waste mind on unworthy people!
Su Ning, having thoroughly figured it out, was full of fighting spirit because of hope, pedaling her bike fast, vanishing at the gate in the blink of an eye.
