Chapter 272 Chapter 266 Birthday
After the embrace.
Ji Ma sniffed and said, “I smell ice cream cake.”
“I originally wanted to give you a surprise,” Wan Yaping said. “Happy Birthday.”
Every year on her birthday, her personal maids would go to great lengths to celebrate, considering it a privilege to celebrate for her.
Ji Ma replied blandly, “Thanks.”
But George knew she was lying.
Ji Ma was wearing knee-high socks that perfectly highlighted the curve of her thighs, with no wrinkles to disrupt the smoothness. She lifted her feet directly, crossing the threshold and stepping onto Wan Yaping’s smooth, as-new wooden floor. Looking around, she said:
“What a big house! It looks like a villa, very nice.”
As she spoke, Ji Ma lightly stomped her feet, making a sound on the wooden floor, saying, “Mom, you still love wooden floors.”
Wan Yaping wiped her eye corner and said, “Fortunately, I have a good daughter, so I can afford such a nice house.”
At this time, George bent down, preparing to take off his shoes.
“No need, no need! What are you being so polite for, Xiao Qiao?” Wan Yaping said warmly. “Just walk right in.”
“Okay.” George was a bit at a loss in front of Wan Yaping’s enthusiasm. He walked in, casually closed the door, and carefully left a footprint on the smooth wooden floor.
Ji Ma spoke in a common language: “It’s okay, my mom is used to being very polite and warm towards outsiders…”
“What are you talking about?”
“A language from another world, Mom.” Ji Ma smiled and said, “Mom, I’m really hungry. I haven’t eaten your cooking for a long time.”
“I made your favorite stir-fried green beans,” Wan Yaping said. “And rapeseed flowers, as well as microwave fish.”
“After three hundred years in another world, I still remember the taste of them.”
“If you want to come back to eat, just call me, and you can come anytime.”
Ji Ma smiled and nodded. “Okay.”
Wan Yaping went to the kitchen; her dishes were not yet ready.
Ji Ma followed her into the kitchen and took the initiative to help.
Invited by Wan Yaping, George directly sat down next to the dining table, watching the two women, one tall and one short, one old and one young, in the open kitchen.
Ji Ma placed the fresh rapeseed flowers into a plastic basket.
The rapeseed flowers had tiny golden blossoms, the stalks were upright, and the leaves had a few holes nibbled by insects.
With a hint of pride in her tone, Wan Yaping said, “These are all organic foods that I personally picked from the market; the shop owner has a good relationship with me and sets aside the freshest and best vegetables for me.”
Ji Ma pinched the stem of the rapeseed with her fingertips; the skin was very tough, and the rapeseed was too old. Only the new sprouts had the right to enter her stomach, while the rest had to be thrown in the trash.
In her palace, there was a field of rapeseed flowers, and every day, the maids would pick the tenderest sprouts.
Ji Ma nodded and said, “Very nice.”
“I’ll wash them.”
“No need to trouble yourself, Mom.”
Ji Ma said, pointing at the rapeseed flowers, “As a mature rapeseed flower, you should be able to wash the vegetables yourself.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the rapeseed flowers floated up, guided by an invisible force, lining up under the faucet, and began to wash themselves, cleaning the dirt in their crevices and stripping off old leaves, before obediently landing in the nearby vegetable basin.
Wan Yaping, with her murky eyes watching this scene, said, “My daughter is really amazing.”
After cooking.
It was time to stir-fry the green beans, and Ji Ma initially wanted to add half a bottle of old dry mother chili sauce but noticed Wan Yaping’s gaze; she always believed that strong flavors were ferocious beasts, so she only scooped half a spoon.
Wan Yaping personally took the spatula and quietly asked, “Daughter, what is your relationship with Xiao Qiao?”
“Very deep.”
“How deep?”
“I gave him my first time.”
Ji Ma maintained her expression, adhering to the mindset that as long as you aren’t embarrassed, the one who’s embarrassed is the other person.
Unfortunately, Wan Yaping just slightly stunned, then said, “Are you two going to get married?”
“In name, I am already his fiancée.”
“When?”
“Fifteen years ago, before I returned to Earth.”
“Since you both plan to get married,” Wan Yaping said, “then why did he still want to cut you down?”
“Simple, I did many evil deeds, killing many people, and he wanted to uphold justice,” Ji Ma said淡淡地. “Fortunately, I’m strong enough that he couldn’t afford the cost of seeking justice against me; after that, we compromised with each other.”
Wan Yaping said, “I’ve heard you really like women?”
“That’s right.”
“What about men?”
“For now, there’s only him.”
“Then why don’t you not marry him? Just a suggestion for your consideration,” Wan Yaping lowered her voice and said. “Although Xiao Qiao is great and compatible with you, if he can casually cut you, I heard he cut off your foot and hand, right?”
“It’s fine, I can reattach them,” Ji Ma said. “I even ambushed him previously and hit him in the back.”
“But he was aiming for your life,” Wan Yaping said. “To put it bluntly, will he want your life again next time?”
“I understand him,” Ji Ma said. “Just as I absolutely do not want to do good deeds, he is just as determined in this regard. And he keeps his word, never defaults; you can rest assured about my safety.”
“Now that you say that, I’m relieved.”
“By the way, at the volume we’re whispering, he can hear us from fifty meters away.”
“Is that ridiculous?”
“Just ask him; he can’t lie.” Ji Ma then said loudly, “George, did you hear everything we just said? You can’t not respond.”
A deep male voice came from behind: “I heard everything.”
Wan Yaping showed an embarrassed but polite smile on her face, turned around, and said to George, “I’m sorry, I’m just concerned about my daughter.”
George said, “It’s okay.”
“You sit with him for a bit; I’ll serve the dishes.”
“Okay.”
Ji Ma sat next to George, and George placed his hand on Ji Ma’s thigh.
Ji Ma laughed, “What’s up? Want to show off?”
“You told a lot of lies just now.”
“As long as everyone is happy, the truth or falsehood doesn’t matter.”
Soon, Wan Yaping returned with the dishes, her attitude very warm, chatting and joking, even playfully suggesting that they all sing Happy Birthday together.
“The last time I sang you a birthday song, you were still ten years old.”
“That’s right.” Ji Ma said, snapping her fingers to light the thirty candles on the cake—Wan Ziqi died at twenty-nine.
In the darkness of the room, the flames illuminated Ji Ma’s beautiful face as she lied, “Sometimes I really want to go back to childhood, carefree.”
“Do you remember what you need to do before blowing out the candles?”
“Of course, Mom. You have to make a wish.” Ji Ma clasped her hands, closed her eyes, and sincerely made a wish in her heart.
George stays on Earth, George stays on Earth…
She gently blew, and all the candles were extinguished. In the dark, the burnt wicks glowed red, as did her golden eyes.
“You look so beautiful,” Wan Yaping said with a smile, looking at Ji Ma. “Thinking that my son has become so beautiful, I have nothing to be sad about.”
“Mainly, I’ve become stronger.”
Wan Yaping said, “Xiao Qiao, don’t you want to congratulate her?”
George held Ji Ma’s hand and said, “I hope your wishes come true.”
Ji Ma looked at him, a smile on her lips, and said, “That’s what I’m hoping for too.”
Properly cutting the cake and sharing it, in front of Wan Yaping, Ji Ma slyly attempted to sneak cake onto her face.
During this period, Wan Yaping was very warm, talking about George, and the awkwardness among the three gradually diminished.
As they chatted, they arrived at Wan Yaping’s most concerned topic.
“Traveling to another world…” Ji Ma used her long tongue to roll up the ice cream on the cake, seemingly revealing her non-human identity. “Mom, can you swear not to tell anyone outside who’s present? This is guaranteed by magic.”
Wan Yaping nodded and said, “How do I swear?”
After making the oath.
Ji Ma said:
“The moment I opened my eyes, I became a gladiator in the magic realm. I traveled into the body of a unlucky guy; he was originally from the north, captured after defeat and thrown into the gladiatorial arena to fight for the Blood God’s pleasure and, of course, more to entertain the surrounding demons.
“I originally knew nothing about how to use an axe; my head was meant to be chopped off and offered to the Blood God. Fortunately, a very strong gladiator had just died, and his magical blood and flesh dripped to the ground. I knew if I ate it, I would gain extraordinary power, so I ate it and almost died.
“In the following month, I cut off twenty-seven heads and killed four demonized war hounds. Blessed by the Blood God, I survived, becoming one of the demons, and my body no longer felt bare. One day I woke up and found that a full set of armor had grown all over me.
“A demon lord, whose name is something like ‘human disaster,’ asked me if I wanted to join his army to cut off others’ heads. I agreed, as I just wanted to get out of that damned gladiatorial arena.
“His army was powerful, with a bunch of bloodsuckers, demonized giants, and pairs of demon warriors, all taller and stronger than me. I was drafted into the demon warrior team and not the cannon fodder team, so I felt it would be safe.
“But on the third day of joining the army, the demon lord issued an order, commanding us to kill each other to hone our skills, leaving only the victor and eliminating the loser. I got hit on the neck with an axe, blood splattered three feet away; my knee was smashed, and I lost one hand. Fortunately, I survived and killed the opponent.
“Was it a month or two? I nearly drowned in my own blood a few times, but in the end, I gasped for breath until it was over. My hundred-man team was left with only thirty, and I became the centurion.”
Wan Yaping listened, her face showing sadness as she said, “You must have suffered so much then; that evil god is really harmful.”
“It was苦, but it was my luck,” Ji Ma said. “After one elimination after another and bloodshed, I grew stronger and also had to thank the Blood God for giving me a chance to become strong, even though he often can’t take it.”
“Fortunate?”
“Yes,” Ji Ma said. “Blood and fire and blades have honed me.”
A silence fell.
