"Uhm. What did you hear?" Xavier asked.
"I heard you saying I belonged to you. Does this mean you've accepted me?"
"Please don't misunderstand. It was an emergency. I had to…"
"Thank you!" Although Shirley was smiling, her eyes filled with tears. "I have no regrets after hearing what you said. Thankfully, I won't become an aimless, wandering spirit after I die."
"What are you saying? What do you mean after you die?"
Xavier felt a tightness in his chest. This woman was weird. It sounded like she was saying her last words.
"Can I ask for a small favor from you?" Shirley grabbed Xavier's arms and asked in a sad voice.
She looked so pitiful that Xavier couldn't help but give in. "Tell me what it is."
"After I die, keep my ash in a small box and bury it in a well in the village. You don't have to organize any rituals. Just send someone to pray for me each year…" She was barely breathing when she said this.
Xavier felt something was off. He asked sternly, "What's the matter? Are you keeping something from me?"
"I'm fine. I… Bleurgh!"
Shirley suddenly threw up a mouthful of blood and fell unconscious.
Xavier panicked. He quickly carried her to the car. "Hang in there. I'm taking you to the hospital right now! Stay strong!"
He drove as fast as he could despite the heavy traffic.
This was perhaps the moment their fates became intertwined.
Just as the old man had explained, according to the bamboo stick, Shirley was fated to be in Xavier's life. That also meant she posed a challenge for him to overcome!
***
Stefan returned from Water Dock to Hunt Villa on his own. By the time he arrived home, it was already late at night.
It also allowed people who had intense feelings to gradually understand themselves better.
Stefan believed that both he and Renee needed time on their own to calm down and sift through their emotions…
After finishing his sentence, Stefan returned to his bedroom upstairs.
He put the silk object he bought from the old man on the table. He then spread a sheet and pieced the two together.
Just as he thought, it was a drawing of a phoenix and a red spider lily. The patterns seemed to suggest it was a map.
He salvaged this sheet from the Everheart family's residence on the day of the fire, but he never told Renee about it.
Back at the antique market, he felt that the drawing on the silk object had something to do with Renee's sheet the moment he laid eyes on it.
Stefan took a closer look. Suddenly, he discovered something. "This map…"
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