Chapter 22: Sister Hualing

"Sister Hualing, is it really you?!"

Ji Yun had felt a strange sense of familiarity with this professional woman in the office skirt ever since they met. She had been so helpful that he had even suspected she might have ulterior motives. She had answered every question he asked with meticulous detail, patiently explaining the resurgence of the supernatural, and had even shared the specifications of her own equipment without hesitation.

It turned out that it wasn't because she had any hidden agenda, but because she had recognized Ji Yun all along. She had known the moment she saw the photo among the "evidence." The reason she didn't reveal herself earlier was that she knew Ji Yun would never have believed a stranger claiming to be his relative under those circumstances. It would only have made him suspicious. It was no wonder she had offered to give him a ride and claimed it was "on the way"—she had been heading home herself.

...

Hualing looked at Ji Yun, who was approaching with a look of pleasant surprise. She reached out and pinched his cheek without ceremony, offering a gentle smile. "You brat, you only just recognized me?"

Ji Yun felt a little embarrassed. "You were wearing sunglasses, I didn't recognize you..."

In truth, he wouldn't have recognized her even without the sunglasses. He did the math; they hadn't seen each other for seven years. When they were children, during school breaks, Third Uncle would always send Hualing from the city to the countryside to stay at Ji Yun’s home. The two cousins had been very close. However, by the time Ji Yun was in sixth grade, Hualing had left for the Hong Kong district for school, and they hadn't met since.

Now, seven years later, Ji Yun had grown from a grade-schooler into a college student, shooting up in height. Hualing, meanwhile, had changed even more drastically. The image of this sophisticated woman in black silk stockings was worlds apart from the sister in his memories. Now that he recognized her, the more he looked, the more he saw the resemblance.

Having not seen each other for so long, they had much to talk about. Ji Yun was curious about what had happened to Hualing in Hong Kong to turn her into a field agent for the International Containment Foundation.

Just as he was thinking this, Third Uncle, whom they were supporting, mumbled incoherently, "First... give my feet a massage..."

Ji Yun couldn't help but chuckle; he was still the same sloppy, unreliable Third Uncle he remembered. He probably thought he was at a foot reflexology parlor.

Hualing sighed, annoyed. "This old man. I told him to drink less, but he just drinks more and more."

They didn't rush to chat, instead helping the dead-drunk Third Uncle up the stairs. It wasn't the "Regent Hostel," but the place next door. Hualing used her key to open the door and flicked on the light.

It was an old-fashioned, dilapidated office. Inside were a peeling leather sofa and a desk. Most of the remaining space was occupied by mountains of beer crates. The air was thick with the musty smell of a place that hadn't been cleaned in ages, mixed with the greasy, unkempt scent of a man living alone.

They dumped Third Uncle onto the sofa, and soon they heard his snoring. Hualing grabbed a blanket to cover him, grumbling, "This old man, really. I told him I was coming back and he should tidy up, but he didn't do a thing."

She seemed accustomed to her drunken father; it had been this way since she was a child. Since there wasn't a clean spot to sit in the main room, she turned to Ji Yun. "Come on, let's go into my room."

Ji Yun followed her, asking, "Sister Hualing, when did you get back?"

Seeing his Third Uncle and his childhood cousin had stirred up a sense of warmth that was hard to put into words, especially after everything he had just been through.

Hualing replied, "I just flew back to Jianghua from Hong Kong this afternoon. I went to the Bureau of Occult Investigation for a few meetings and haven't even had a chance to settle in yet..."

Ji Yun finally understood why she was dressed so formally in the middle of the night. As she spoke, Hualing opened the door to the innermost room. When the light turned on, it was like stepping into another world.

It was a standard girl's bedroom. The walls were covered in certificates, and the bookshelf held trophies and medals for "First Place in Women's Track and Field," "First Prize in Math Olympiad," and the "Tianxing Cup Middle School Go Gold Medal." Under the light, the medals shimmered; it was clear they had been carefully polished. The room was spotless, the desk was dust-free, and she had even put on fresh bed sheets and opened the window to air the room out.

The suitcase she had sent ahead was sitting by the bed. It turned out Third Uncle hadn't failed to clean up—he had just focused entirely on Hualing's room.

Hualing saw this and pursed her lips, but said nothing. She didn't need to be as stoic at home as she was outside. Once inside, she kicked off her high heels and slipped into the slippers neatly placed by the door.

"Ah... tired all day, finally I can rest."

Hualing didn't need to maintain her image in front of Ji Yun. She stretched, her movements causing her blouse to pull out from her skirt. She didn't forget to call out to Ji Yun, "Come in, don't just stand there like a fool."

As she spoke, she placed her shoulder bag on a stool, along with her pistol and sunglasses.

Ji Yun walked in. As Hualing organized her gear, she teased, "My, my. It's been so long. Little Yun has grown so tall." Her gaze didn't hold back as she looked him up and down, adding, "And you've turned into quite a handsome young man."

Despite the long separation, there was no awkwardness between them. Ji Yun felt he hadn't changed much—after all, boys growing taller wasn't the same as plastic surgery, and his features were largely the same.

Hualing, however, was completely different. The last time they met, she was a middle school girl in baggy uniforms, with a scrawny build. She had been pretty back then, and with a bit of light makeup, her beauty was expected. But now, her curvaceous figure, combined with her sexy outfit of black silk and a short skirt, was entirely different from the image in his memory.

Ji Yun lingered on the sight for a moment, still finding it hard to believe. Hualing caught his gaze, a flash of mischief in her bright eyes. As if reading his thoughts, she teased with a laugh, "Little Ji... what are you doubting?"

She stood tall