Secret base
Xie Yunting pushed open the door in the corner. The room was filled with the smell of old furniture. The curtains were not completely drawn, revealing half of the bronze mirror outside the window. The setting sun shone into the room, illuminating the dust floating in the air.
Little Xie Yunting ran to a big wooden box, fiddled with the lock and opened it, then waved at Tang Ning, motioning him to come over.
The height of the box was almost as high as little Xie Yunting, as if it would eat the child.
Tang Ning walked up hesitantly.
"Come on." Little Xie Yunting urged in a whisper. The bronze mirror hanging outside the window was sometimes bright and sometimes dark, and the light falling on the mirror was a little dazzling.
Tang Ning took a few steps before his eyes were attracted by the dazzling light. He looked at the half-mirror outside the window and saw the blurry outlines of his facial features in the bronze mirror.
It opened and closed, like a talking mouth, as if saying...
"Come here quickly." Little Xie Yunting waved his hand.
But shouldn't the mouth be at the bottom? Why is the moving mouth at the top of this face in the mirror
The little hand reached into the tall wooden box, and the arm was swallowed by the box from the fingertips. Xie Yunting grabbed the things in the box, and his hands began to shake violently -
"Ding-ling-ling~" The clear and melodious sound of wind chimes rang out cheerfully. The sound was like a flying bird chirping through the eaves of the ancient house, breaking the strange illusion in front of Tang Ning's eyes.
Tang Ning shuddered all over. He blinked. The bronze mirror reflected bright sunlight, and nothing else.
"What's wrong?" Little Xie Yunting picked up the wind chime from the box. He turned around and looked up, following Tangning's gaze. "This bronze mirror is hung outside the window to ward off evil spirits. With it here, things that are not allowed can't come in."
Tang Ning then looked at Xie Yunting. He suspected that it was the thing from school that followed him out, but that thing didn't seem to be mentioned casually.
"Look, this is my treasure chest." Little Xie Yunting bent down and took out a gourd from it. He shook his gourd at Tang Ning and took out an ancient coin tied with a red string from it.
Tang Ning walked over to the box and looked down. There were all kinds of small things there, like items from a small antique wholesale market.
"What's in this?" Tang Ning asked.
"This is a gift from my grandfather." Little Xie Yunting took the ancient coin off the red string and carefully placed it in Tangning's hand. "This is what my grandfather gave me during my 100th day celebration. Now I'm giving it to you."
Tangning had seen a similar ancient coin in Xie's father's car. He had a hunch that this must be something very important. Xie Yunting was just a kid now. Tangning whispered, "Isn't it a bit inappropriate to just give it to me like this?"
"This is a gift for a good friend." Little Xie Yunting said as a matter of course.
"Why are you so nice to me?" Tangning asked.
Little Xie Yunting looked at Tangning a little embarrassedly. After thinking for a moment, he said confidently, "You are very beautiful. As soon as I saw you, I wanted to be friends with you."
This... This is really an extremely simple and crude reason!
"And you are also very good to your good friends." Little Xie Yunting added: "The longevity lock you gave to classmate Zhou Kang is no worse than the one I gave you."
Tang Ning entrusted Xiao Xie Yunting to put the longevity lock on Zhou Kang. Xiao Xie Yunting was an expert in this area and could tell at a glance what was precious and valuable.
"But you gave it to Zhou Kang because you thought he needed it. Now I think you need it too." Little Xie Yunting smiled innocently at Tangning, with the golden light illuminating every tiny hair on the child's face. "Isn't that what good friends should do?"
Tang Ning stared at little Xie Yunting in a daze. Perhaps children's eyes were always particularly clear and bright. Tang Ning's face was reflected in those phoenix eyes, and Tang Ning's heart seemed to be suddenly touched.
"I..." Tangning didn't know what to say.
Even though little Xie Yunting gave such a valuable gift, he could still close the box easily. That small ancient coin might be of inestimable value, but there were many other treasures in his treasure chest.
He is like a child who grew up in a honey pot. Whenever he scoops a spoonful of sugar, it tastes very sweet to others.
"Let's go! Let's go see Xiaobai~!" Little Xie Yunting held Tang Ning's hand. The Xiaobai he was referring to was the ferret, a white weasel, that is, a white weasel. Tang Ning was being pulled by Little Xie Yunting, and when he was leaving the room, he subconsciously looked back.
There is everything on the half-broken bronze mirror.
The door is closed.
Little Xie Yunting dragged Tang Ning and ran wildly in the corridor. Xie was very big, so no matter how loud the noise made by the two children was just minor.
"Look, Xiaobai is here!" Tang Ning saw a particularly smart weasel flash past them and disappear in a flash.
Little Xie Yunting chased after the ferret and shouted, "How stingy! Can't you even let my friend touch you?"
The stoat ran too fast.
So little Xie Yunting took Tang Ning to see the big turtle raised by his grandfather. That turtle was really the largest and most spiritual turtle Tang Ning had ever seen. It was not afraid of people at all and would walk slowly around the house.
"This is our turtle grandpa. It is older than my grandfather." Little Xie Yunting introduced.
Tang Ning couldn't help but open his mouth slightly and looked at the big turtle in amazement.
"Do you know why my dad likes fishing so much?" Little Xie Yunting whispered, "Because my great grandfather caught the turtle, and my dad also wanted to catch a turtle, but he couldn't even catch a slightly larger fish."
Under the guidance of Little Xie Yunting, Tang Ning carefully touched Grandpa Turtle. Little Xie Yunting squatted beside him and smiled at Tang Ning with his head tilted.
Soon it was dinner time, and Tang Ning, who was having a lot of fun, was led by little Xie Yunting to the restaurant.
Grandma Xie was arranging the flowers in the vase. Tangning didn't know what kind of flowers they were, but he thought they looked beautiful and familiar. He turned around and saw that these flowers had appeared in the painting on the wall before.
Xie Yunting noticed Tangning looking at the painting, "Do you like it? I'll ask Grandpa to give it to you later."
"No, I'm just taking a look." Tang Ning hurriedly explained. He had already received the ancient coins from Xie Yunting. Xie Yunting said that he needed the ancient coins now. Tang Ning also wanted some props to resist the ghosts, and this painting was not a necessity.
"Hey, these are all painted by my grandfather. He painted a lot of them. We have the most paintings by my grandfather." Xie Yunting seemed to want to give Tang Ning all the good things, just like the silly son of a landlord, digging treasures in his own gold mountain with a small hoe, and then giving them to the village beauty next door.
"Really?" Tangning said, fearing that Xie Yunting would ask for it. "That's your grandfather's painting. Even if I want it, I want your painting."
This was Tang Ning's sincere opinion. He felt that if he collected the works that little Xie Yunting was not familiar with now, he could take them out and show them to each other when they grew up. It would be a very memorable thing.
Xiao Xie Yunting thought about it and said, "Okay!"
Tang Ning didn't know what he was thinking.
"Come and have dinner soon. What are you two guys whispering about?" Xie's mother said with a smile.
The table was filled with food and the aroma was everywhere.
Tang Ning sat down next to his mother. He helped her pick up some food and asked her from time to time what she wanted to eat.
Children of this age are usually taken care of by their mothers. When seeing Tangning interacting with her mother, little Xie Yunting volunteered to serve food to Xie's father, mother, grandparents, and grandparents. For a while, the two young men were busy at the table.
"Alright, alright, you two kids just eat your food obediently." Grandma Xie stood up to pick up some food for Tang's mother. She took good care of her.
Tang Ning waited until her mother started eating before she began to pick up food for herself. The food Xie's mother cooked was indeed delicious, and Tang Ning ate until her stomach was full.
"It's getting late, why don't you just stay here with us?" said Xie's mother.
"Yes! We have to go to school together tomorrow anyway, so this will be easier." Xie Yunting said happily. He wished he could agree on Tang Ning's behalf.
Tangning looked up at her mother, who nodded, "Thank you so much for troubling you."
Xie's guest rooms were many, and the environment was much better than Tang Ning's own. What Tang Ning valued most was Xie's high safety. The ghost with an upside-down head could not get in at all. If it was him, Tang Ning felt that he would not be able to sleep well at night.
In the evening, Tang Ning and Xie Yunting sat at the desk and did their homework together. Primary school homework was very simple. The Chinese homework was to copy new characters and words, the math homework was a few simple calculation problems, and the English homework was to copy words. Tang Ning finished the homework fluently.
Xie's mother walked beside Tang Ning, picked up Tang Ning's homework and took a look. She also praised Tang Ning's beautiful handwriting and asked Tang Ning's mother whether she had asked a teacher to privately tutor Tang Ning in calligraphy.
After hearing that Tangning was purely self-taught, Xie's mother envied, "Ningning is really smart. Just like my Yunting, his grandfather taught him calligraphy since he was young, which is why he can write like this now."
Tangning felt extremely guilty after being praised.
Grandma Xie smiled kindly, and said to Tang's mother, "You can tell at a glance that mom taught you well."
After finishing his primary school homework, Xie Yunting was taken to the study by his grandfather to practice calligraphy, while Tang Ning stayed in the guest room with her mother.
It was eight o'clock in the evening, which was the beginning of nightlife for young people. However, Tang Ning's mother would ask him to go to bed at this time.
Tangning climbed onto the bed and covered herself with the quilt. Her mother sat beside the bed and suddenly asked, "Ningning, what do you think of Xie?"
"It's pretty good." Tangning said, "Xie's grandparents, uncles and aunts are very kind. Xie Yunting treats me very well."
Mom whispered, "Yes, this is a really good person."
"Would Ningning feel uncomfortable being with someone like this?" she asked.
Tang Ning understood a little bit what her mother meant. She was worried that the gap between them was too big. Under unequal conditions, he would feel uncomfortable due to psychological imbalance, low self-esteem, excessive pressure, etc.
If it was the Tang Ning of the past, she might not dare to approach him because he was too dazzling, but now Tang Ning has such concerns. After all, saving her life is the most important thing, so she will hug his thigh. Nothing is more important than her life.
"No." Tangning asked, "Mom, what's wrong with you? Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"
"Mom wants to see you again."
The lights in the guest room were already turned off. To the mother, it didn't matter whether there was light or not. She stretched out her hands and fumbled in the air. Her rough hands landed on Tangning's cheeks. Her fingertips gently stroked Tangning's face, from her furry eyebrows, warm eye sockets, to her tall and delicate nose...
She carefully touched Tangning's face, as if she wanted to imprint her image in her mind.
Tangning realized something and held his breath, allowing his mother to caress his face over and over again.
"Ningning." Mom's voice was very gentle, "You always worried whether I would regret giving birth to you."
Once upon a time.
To this deputy, Tangning had never said such words before on this day.
So the past that mom was referring to was Tangning's thoughts before she experienced this vice.
But didn’t the system say that mothers would have an afterlife? What about this deputy’s mother
"In fact, Mommy sometimes worries whether Ningning will regret giving birth to such a child."
Tang Ning shook his head subconsciously and grabbed the corner of his mother's clothes.
Her mother patted Tangning's back lovingly, "You had a dad since you were born, and you have a grandparent, a grandmother, and a grandmother. Other children have so many elders to love them, but Ningning only has her mother to love her."
"I just want my mom!" Tangning said without hesitation.
"We don't live in a big house, and we don't buy clothes often. When mom first started looking for a job, she only ate one egg a week, and we each had to share half of the egg. If Ningning had eaten well and had enough nutrition since she was a child, she would definitely be taller, prettier, and smarter than she is now."
Tang Ning could no longer remember the details of those days long ago.
"Other children go to tutoring classes, but Mommy gave you money to learn those talents. If Mommy had these conditions, Ningning could be as good as Yunting. His parents taught him so well." Her tone was full of gratitude towards Tangning.
"That's not true," Tangning said seriously, "I don't want Xie Yunting's mother, nor do I want Xie Yunting's father, grandfather, or grandmother. They are all good, but in my heart, my mother is the best. She is the best mother in the world!"
The mother hugged Tangning, who was a little excited and wanted to prove her feelings, "It's the same for me. Even if God said that he could let someone else's most perfect child be my child, I would not want to replace Ningning."
"Ningning, do you understand your mother now?" she asked softly.
Tang Ning has always felt that she has not done well enough and is not a good child, so she feels guilty towards her mother.
But now, when her mother compared herself to the perfect mother Xie, Tangning finally understood that feeling.
"Mother… "
"Okay, go to sleep." Mom patted Tangning's back again and again, trying to coax her to sleep, but Tangning's breathing was a little disordered, "Mom, why are you... "appearing here
"Okay, go to sleep," said the mother calmly, "If you don't sleep now, you will be too tired for class tomorrow."
"Mom..." Tangning bit his lower lip hard. A guess popped up in his mind, but he was reluctant to believe it.
But the fact seems to be true, and only this can explain why the current mother seems to be exactly the same as his real mother.
"I... Mom, this time, is it you... is it your life that you are starting over?" Tangning was unable to finish her words. Her mother remained calm, but this time her tone revealed a hint of helplessness: "You."
After the ghost incident ended, Tangning once asked the system if there was a supernatural invasion, would her mother be able to live a happy life.
At that time, the system's answer to him was yes.
So Tang Ning always thought that her mother must have been reincarnated as a happy little girl.
But now, he suddenly realized something. Perhaps he should have realized it before, but he had always been unwilling to think about it. It seemed that as long as he didn't think about it, his mother would change into a different person and have an extremely happy life.
But... are card games really that powerful? Powerful enough to interfere with the wheel of life and death
Even if it is really that powerful, with this style of card games that never suffer any loss, will it give a soul a happy afterlife for free
How could that be? Card games are not charity.
So if there really is an afterlife, then this afterlife will most likely be in a certain card world.
"Why are you crying again?" Tangning's mother wiped away her tears and said softly, "Mom is an adult who is responsible for herself. This is my own choice."
She had a unique opportunity.
She can come to a strange world, where the people and things in this world are consistent with the real world, but with some more supernatural elements.
She can choose anyone from these worlds to be born into, no matter if it's a billionaire, a scholarly family or even a feng shui master. She can also choose her parents, their occupations, personalities, marital status, physical fitness, etc. She can even choose her own gender and appearance.
Everything, you can choose by yourself.
She asked the secret voice, "What is the price?"
The voice said to her: "Your child has passed the level, this is your reward. Haven't you always wanted to start your life over again? Have parents who are not biased towards boys and are not violent, study hard, become a college student, and you also want to start your own business..."
Yes, those are the lives she really wants to have.
Now, such an opportunity is in front of her and within her reach.
Countless parents came to her to make choices. There was a couple with particularly good conditions, but they would pay more attention to boys. However, the voice said that if she was willing to change her gender, she could be born here and be loved and cultivated by the entire tribe.
She had also thought about being a man. When she was ignored by her parents who favored boys over girls, she thought, how nice it would be if I were a boy.
"Of course, you can now be reborn as your original self, but this time, you can choose to be a boy, and they will definitely love you very much." The voice continued.
She was a little stunned, "Do my parents still exist in this world?"
"Yes," it replied.
She was stunned for a while, "Will my Ningning still exist in this world?"
"If you follow your original life path, you will meet him again." It replied: "But if you do this, your parents will still favor sons over daughters, your husband will still die, and you will still live a miserable life, even more miserable than before, because there are many supernatural events in this world, I think you know that."
…
"Why did you choose this?" Tangning touched her mother's empty eyes in the dark, "You should be living a good life. You should have a happy life..."
Mom laughed instead.
She rubbed Tangning's little head, "I'm sorry, Ningning. What mom is thinking is that although my fate before giving birth to you didn't change, it did change after that. I thought I would be very powerful and protect Ningning very well, so that Ningning would have a happy childhood."
But she did not become a very strong mother.
Although this wasn't her first time being a mother, she still managed to do it perfectly.
"But now, mom has found a very good one for Ningning."
“This person is really nice and very good.”
This was the family that the secret voice had emphasized at the beginning. The parents of that family were the grandparents of this family. They really wanted a son because their craft was passed down to sons and not daughters.
But it does matter if a girl is born in this situation. They will also be very good to having a daughter. The beautiful mother in cheongsam likes her daughter very much. The father who is good at calligraphy and painting actually also wants a daughter. Although they will not teach their daughter those things, other than that, they will share all the good things equally with their son and daughter.
When she came to visit Xie tonight, the old lady's warm hands gently held her, and that grandmother Xie said lovingly: "It's strange to say, when I saw you, I felt kind. I wish I had a daughter like you."
…
"Now, I feel relieved." The mother held Tangning's little head in her hands and kissed her between the eyebrows. "Good night, Ningning, go to sleep."
Little Tang Ning curled up in her arms, crying with a trembling sound like a kitten.
“Go to sleep, go to sleep, my dear baby…” Mom hummed softly.
Tang Ning didn't want to fall asleep. He had so many things to say to his mother. Even though his voice was nasal and his eyelids were drooping, he still wanted to talk to his mother more, almost begging her.
My mother could only listen to his mumbling helplessly and tenderly. He talked about many things, including the movie he starred in, the villa he bought, the person he liked, and the time he was having sex with my deputy...
"That's great." Mom said with a smile.
At the end of the speech, Tang Ning fell into a deep sleep.
When she woke up, the bright sunlight outside shone through the gaps in the curtains. Tang Ning opened her eyes dazedly and looked at the decoration of the guest room, but when she turned around, there was no one beside her.
"Mom?" Tangning murmured. After hearing the tone of her voice, Tangning was stunned for a moment because it was no longer a childish voice.
Tangning stretched out his hand and looked at a slender palm.
He has grown up.