Chapter 9 A different woman
TanTan doesn’t know how long she had been sleep. The second time she awakes, she hears XiaoRue’s voice.
"XiaoCie, you awake....Thanks God..."
XiaoRue helps TanTan sits up immediately,
"XiaoRue...what time is this?"
"Its already morning, XiaoCie. Last time when I came back here, you got a high fever and slept a whole day until now. XiaoRue is so worry..."
"..." TanTan feels so weak, XiaoRue gives her the cup of tea as usual, but this time TanTan doesn’t have energy to rinse her mouth out, so she just drinks it all.
"...Where am I?" TanTan looks around, the room is filled with sweet fragrance and luxury with many decorative furniture but the room is so big, so it gives TanTan a cold atmosphere.
"XiaoCie, we are at Li Mansion now. This is your bedroom. Since you married into this family, you always stay here." Since TanTan asks any information in the chariot before, XiaoRue feels she need to explain anything to her XiaoCie, to regain her memories back.
"Oh,...I see..." TanTan tries to go down from her bed,...she still so weak that XiaoRue must assist her down.
"Its okay, XiaoRue...I just want to have a fresh air..." TanTan lets go XiaoRue’s helping hand and she tries to walk by herself out of the room. At the door, she almost losing her balance but she grips the door side to help helself stand.
"XiaoCie..." XiaoRue rushes to help XiaoCie. But TanTan is giving sign that she doesn’t wanted to be helped. At that moment TanTan sees something under the door, a little green round jade pendant with double red strings.
’Someone must be leaving it here by accident.’
In the same time, TanTan recognizes a little figure hiding at behind the tree, at the room yard. The figure tries to keep her body from unseen and she looks so nervous. TanTan feels her act is so cute.
"XiaoRue..." TanTan gives gesture asking her to come.
"Yes, XiaoCie...what is it?"
TanTan shows the pendant to XiaoRue,
"I just found it ,do you know whose this?"
XiaoRue exams the pendant,
"I don’t know XiaoCie...It can belong to anyone in this Li Mansion.."
"Hm...well, this pendant looks pretty. If no one admits it, I will make it mine..."
Hearing TanTan’s words, the figure comes out from the tree and shouts,
"Its MINE!!! GIVE IT BACK TO ME!!!"
A little girl who run away from TanTan’s room last time, standing in anger, but a fear can be seen clearly from her gesture.
XiaoRue surprises to see this little girl,
"FangFang XiaoCie..."This is the first time since that accident, Li FangFang dares to talk again with HuaMuTan. XiaoRue terrifies to think what will happen next.
TanTan is also recognizing this little girl from HuaMuTan’s memory. She observes LiFangFang. She looks cute in her blue long sleeve clothes and pants, with two rolled ball-shape hair in each side of her hair. LiFangFang is indeed a cute little girl, what on earth can makes HuaMuTan have a heart to hurt her.
TanTan always loves children although she never having one. But she closes with the children around her home neighbourhood. This FangFang reminds her with the little girl who lives next to her house. Having an angel face but does mischievous things ...
’This little girl seems trying to suppress her fear, this pendant must be very important to her...’ TanTan smiles, she talks in strict tone like a teacher investigates her student.
"How do I know that this pendant is really yours?"
"MY YIFU GAVE IT TO ME...GIVE ME BACK OR...I’LL TELL YIFU..."
FangFang thought this HuaMuTan will afraid with her threat. But she aghast when TanTan comes forward to her.
"Xiao Cieee...No..." XiaoRue is also surprise, she is thinking bad about it, she tries to hold TanTan but TanTan shakes her head and smiles to her, calms XiaoRue by whispering, "Its okay...I won’t do any bad to her."
FangFang still feels scared to HuaMuTan after that incident so she becomes shivering although she still maintains her threatens , "Do...Don’t come...I waa..waarn you...YiFu...said yoou...can’t...comeee..."
TanTan lifts up her right hand, and as the reflex, FangFang closes her eyes and cover herself with her small hands to defense. But what happens next is really surprising her. She can feel TanTan’s hand pats her head gently. She opens her eyes and seeing that TanTan lowers herself, squitting to talk to her and smiling regretfully to her...TanTan opens her hand and then put the pendant on it.
"Don’t be afraid...see, this is yours, I return it to you...Next time keep it carefully, don’t drop it again, okay..."
’Odd....very odd...Evil CieCie is different somehow...’ LiFangFang widens her eyes and feels confuse, she becomes speechless.
TanTan can understand her confusion, so she continue talking in friendly tone to LiFangFang.
"I know I did very...very...very...bad things to you before... Its my bad, I don’t blame you if you can’t forgive me... but I want you to know... From now, I promise I won’t hurt you anymore..."
’Evil Cie Cie was never talk kindly to me likr this...its odd....its odd...its scarier more than usual....I am scare, YiFuuuu...’ LiFangFang suddenly crying loudly for she feels confuse what had happened.
"Huaaaaah...huaaahhhh"
TanTan is also confusing for the respond of this FangFang. She and XiaoRue become panic.
"HUAMUTAN!!"
’Hm..why I am feeling this situation is so familiar...??’ TanTan turns around and sees the furious Prince Li... without giving any chance to explain, he comes to TanTan and slaps her face hardly...
’Plakkk’
Coz of her weak body, TanTan fells down right away on the ground, XiaoRue rushed to assist TanTan,
"XiaoCieee...."
"I WARN YOU BEFORE, STAY AWAY FROM LIFANGFANG!!! If only you are not just recover, I will had killed you right now!!"
Prince Li takes the crying LiFangFang go leaving TanTan who is speechless for what just happened, she is being slapped for nothing!
"That crazy man !!!!" TanTan feels upset for she is being false accused.
"Auuuchh" She can feel the pain not only from her cheek but also her wound at back.
"XiaoCie, we better back to inside..." TanTan agrees, XiaoRue helps her back to inside room.
While not far from the room, in the hallway, Prince Li puts down LiFangFang to sit on a side of hallway. Prince Li wipes LiFangFang’s tears...she doesn’t cry anymore, but she still sobbing a little. Prince Li checks her body, searching any wounds or bruises, but he finds nothing.
"Are you okay, FangEr? Did she hurt you again? You can tell YiFu..."
LiFangFang shakes her head slowly, she shows the pendant that in her hand, it confuses Prince Li, he recognizes the pendant,
"Isn’t this pendant the one that I gave you in your last birthday? What’s going on with this pendant, FangEr? Did she try to take it from you?" FangFang shakes her head again.
"She...hik hik...she returned....it..."
"..She returned it?" Prince Li still can’t understand.
"I...lost...it...hik...at ...her....place...yesterday... and ...today...she...returned hik...it to me...."
" You lost it and she returned it?....Did she threaten you when she returned it? What did she want from you this time?" It makes sense, Prince Li knows HuaMuTan is the type of woman who will harness anything to fulfill what she desires including threaten a little child.
LiFangFang has calmed herself, so she can fluently explains...
"No...YiFu....no.... She didn’t ask anything....she just returned it to me... and... she says that she regretted, she promises not to hurt me anymore..."
"....Did she really say that?" LiFangFang nods her head.
Prince Li feels unbelievable, ’Its so fishy....’ he thinks, ’Maybe she plans on something by pretending nice?’
"Then why do you cry?"
FangFang feels shy,
"I am scare because she became to kind to me....YiFu, she is so different...she is not like an Evil CieCie that I know..."
"Why do you say so?" Prince Li pats FangFang’s head to calm her.
"She patted my head gently like you did...Evil CieCie wouldn’t never do that before..."
"Well... even so she change, maybe because she is sick right now."
"She is sick?" FangFang is a kind little girl. She concerns to anyone who sick even though the bad people like Evil CieCie...
"Yes, FangEr....she maybe forgets a lot of things...but still I don’t want you to close to her...Don’t play around her place anymore, okay?"
"Yes, YiFu...Now, FangEr feels hungry. Can we eat something sweet?"
"Okay, lets eat together...I’ll ask Aunt Tong to cook your favourite food"
"Horray....I love YiFu..." FangFang kisses Prince Li’s cheek softly and then she stands up.
Prince Li then holding her little hand and takes FangFang toward the dining room.
While in his mind, he keeps figuring out what exactly this evil HuaMuTan is planning about? pretending forgetting the past? pretending to be kind to FangFang? Well, he really need to keep his watch on her.