“This statue is of Trede, the first principal of Saint Antiona School and also the Vice Minister of Defense. This park is dedicated to her,” the woman said, also looking at the statue.
“In the words of the old century, she was a legendary demon hunter. As a principal, she was very competent, but as a soldier, she was not. She turned an elite institution specifically designed to train and combat monsters into a campus full of youthful vigor.”
“I think the campus atmosphere is quite good. Why would you want it to be so tense and stressful?” An Xiaoyi relaxed.
“Oh, by the way, have all the principals of Saint Antiona been women? At first, when I heard the name, I thought it was an all-girls school, which was strange, kind of like Lily University.”
“Only two women: Trede and the current principal, Farrow,” the woman said.
“Then she’s quite amazing!” An Xiaoyi exclaimed in admiration.
So, Farrow must have some real strength to be able to serve as principal, even if on the surface she seems like a lunatic.
“She is very amazing. An SS-rank on par with a Duke-level bloodkin. She’s also one of the rare freaks who can face a Duke-level bloodkin alone,” the woman said very, very softly.
“But why is she so good to me? She says she’s friends with my dad and mom, but even friends don’t need to be like this.”
For some unknown reason, An Xiaoyi gradually relaxed, subconsciously becoming a close friend with the woman, even though just a second ago he was very nervous, guarding against this powerful bloodkin at every turn.
He didn’t realize this.
They had only met a week ago.
“Maybe she likes you,” the woman said casually.
“Huh?”
“She’s single, and you look a lot like a girl. If you were dressed appropriately and your hair was a bit longer, you’d look like a very heroic and handsome girl,” the woman said in a calm tone that didn’t sound like a joke.
“Many single women fall for that.”
An Xiaoyi was horrified.
All his wild guesses couldn’t compare to this spontaneous remark.
He thought that his ‘sister’ was also a gifted abstract artist.
A cold wind blew, and An Xiaoyi clutched his chest, seeing the woman’s right hand over her heart, her eyes seeming to be lost in thought.
An Xiaoyi was even more alarmed.
Could it be that she was almost single-handedly killed by Principal Farrow, and they are actually enemies? The strongest principal and a high-level bloodkin hidden within the school…
“What’s wrong?” The woman noticed him staring at her.
“I was thinking that you look cold, but your inner world is quite active,” An Xiaoyi turned his head away.
“You too.”
“During the day, my poker face is an act, put on for the students to make them think I’m unapproachable. Actually, I don’t really like the feeling of being popular and getting attention.”
“But you’re very famous now.”
“Who knew the principal would do that? She acts as if she can’t wait for the whole world to know about me,” An Xiaoyi sighed.
“The forums are flooded with posts about me; it’s annoying.”
“Then she likes you.”
“Get out, get out. She’s good friends with my parents, and combined with what my aunt said, she might be feeling nostalgic… No, it’s more like seeing a child and thinking of their parents, but I don’t look like my parents at all. My aunt used to always tease me that I was adopted.”
For a moment, An Xiaoyi was indeed afraid that Principal Farrow might like him.
She certainly had some charm and was very young, uncharacteristically young for her age, just like a bloodkin with perpetual beauty.
But Principal Farrow wouldn’t go that far; at most, she was taking care of him.
As slow as An Xiaoyi was, he still understood the feeling of being cared for, which made him suspect even more if he was her illegitimate child.
“So, what do you think of her in your heart? For example, is she someone you can rely on?”
The woman suddenly asked a very strange question.
When she asked this question, her voice was softer, with a hint of expectation for the answer she predicted.
An Xiaoyi thought for a moment, “She’s pretty good. With her around, I’m not so afraid of this school anymore.”
“With her around, you’re not afraid anymore?” Whether it was his imagination or not, the woman seemed very disappointed.
“With her covering for me, I have connections, and I’ll have a future,” An Xiaoyi said, frustrated.
“Sister, you haven’t experienced the most important human relationships in human society; those things are very important!”
“Sister…” the woman murmured.
“Actually, I know some people in the school don’t like me. Some professors think I’m too flashy, and some in the executive branch think I’m too grand, but they don’t say anything because of my connection to the principal.”
An Xiaoyi sighed again, not noticing that the woman had imperceptibly moved a little closer to him.
“I don’t want to either. Farrow is doing it on purpose. She’s afraid I’ll mess around and thinks that if I’m constantly in the spotlight, I’ll behave.”
“So, you don’t really like her, do you?” The woman’s mood brightened slightly.
“She’s still pretty good, a nice person. She just talks a lot, like she has endless things to say to me. Other than that, she has no flaws; she’s someone trustworthy,” An Xiaoyi said to himself.
“Is that so?” The woman’s voice was very, very cold.
“I remember now!”
“What?”
“I remembered what I forgot just now. Aren’t we supposed to make a deal? Before that, I have some questions to ask you, and I haven’t asked a single one yet.”
An Xiaoyi paused, taking a list-like piece of paper from his pocket.
“You have a lot of questions, specifically written on paper,” the woman sneered.
“I memorized them on the way here; I was afraid of forgetting.”
“Don’t you have the power of photographic memory?”
An Xiaoyi didn’t answer, slowly asking his first question: “First, I need to clarify one thing: Is your name really An Xiaoxin?”
He wanted to confirm if this ‘sister’ was a foster daughter his parents had adopted outside.
“My name in Huaguo is yes.”
“A name you chose yourself?” An Xiaoyi hesitated.
“Yes, is that important?”
“That’s good,” An Xiaoyi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
“I thought my mom and dad secretly had a daughter outside. Although I really want an older sister, I thought about it, and if there really was an unknown sister, then I’d be the awkward one, because the sister was born first.”
“Second question,” he glanced at the paper.
“Are you very familiar with An Xiaoxue?”
“If she can remember, you should ask her.”
“So domineering,” An Xiaoyi complained.
“That answer isn’t good enough. Since I started having memories at five, my sister and I have lived together for almost 17 years, and I’ve never seen her have friends.”
“If I were An Xiaoxue, I wouldn’t tell my brother everything, even if he were my biological brother.”
“Alright, in your understanding, An Xiaoxue isn’t my biological sister. You mean I just don’t know? I’m just a sister… a brother, who can’t manage all of his sister’s affairs.”
An Xiaoyi scanned the questions on the paper, but when he saw one of them, he paused slightly.
“I’ll consider that acceptable for now. Third question: How much do you love her?”
An Xiaoyi looked up and met the woman’s calm gaze.
The woman who called herself An Xiaoxin finally sighed.
This was the third expression she had shown on her face, after gentleness and a smile.
She said softly: “I have always been by her side, never leaving.”
An Xiaoyi loosened his clenched hand, stood up, and left.
Before leaving, An Xiaoyi said, “Alright, I accept your deal. You help me, and I’ll help you.”
He looked left and right, worried about being discovered, and quickly walked out of the park.
Watching his retreating figure, the woman lowered her eyes and whispered.
“Only you would be able to ask me these questions.”