Have you ever been betrayed by the people whom you trust the most? If you have, you are not alone, because I am one of you. I trusted that Lisa would stay true to me, but in the end she deceived me because of her ego. Xiao Lan believed that Zhian would keep his promise until the end, but it turns out that Zhian betrayed Xiao Lan because of his ego.
"Between Xiao Lan and Zhian, who looks better?" I asked the two women.
"Of course, Xiao Lan," Woman A and B said at the same time.
"I bet Zhian is an ugly person," I murmured.
"If you want to see for yourself, then look over there." Woman A pointed to the other side of the sidewalk.
I saw a handsome man with white hair walking with two beautiful women following him.
"Is that Zhian?" I opened my mouth wide.
"Yes," Woman B said. "That is Zhian."
What the heck happened? The Zhian I saw walking towards me was completely different from the Zhian I imagined. Zhian looked like another Calvin Klein perfume model in fashion magazines. I noticed that Woman A and Woman B stopped talking when they saw Zhian walking towards us. Zhian stopped in front of us, staring at us with his dark, monstrous eyes. I know sometimes I exaggerate the description of others from time to time, but this time I'm not exaggerating; handsome Zhian had dark eyes.
Zhian stared at me from head to toe twice.
"Are you the one Xiao Lan brought back from his hunting trip?"
"What if I am?" I put both of my hands on my waist.
Yes, sir, if you want to be arrogant, I can play along. You may think that you are a big shot, perhaps, maybe you are in the eyes of people around you, but to me, you are no better than a leech.
"Has he asked you to be his partner?" Zhian asked.
"No?"
Zhian approached me, and I could smell the fresh rose fragrance of this handsome demon prince.
"If I were you, I would be his partner. Follow him and help him as little as possible. Once you have accumulated enough merit with him, you should ask to regain your eyesight."
"You mean, I can see again?" I asked, toning down my arrogant voice.
"Yes," Zhian said. "Anyone who has accumulated enough merits can solicit a wish from the elder. If you and Xiao Lan take this step together, he will provocatively ask for his parents' freedom. You don't have to do this for his parents; you can ask for your eyesight to be restored."
I knew what Mr. Big Shot intended to do. People like you will never be good at getting others to work for you, but at the same time, I did like your ideas. Even though I didn't want to lie to others for my personal gain, this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance that I could see this colorful world again.
I assured myself that I would do exactly what Sun Tzu wrote. I would strike Xiao Lan like a thunderbolt. I wanted to be the one who kicked him down that three hundred steps stairwell. Mwah...ha...ha...ha...ha...
"You like that idea, do you?" Zhian asked.
"What?"
"You laughed out loud," he said.
"I like that idea."
"After you are at the top, if you want to join my team, you are welcome to join." He put his beautiful, muscular arm around my neck. "I have many followers, and you can be one."
No, thank you, leech; I would never be your follower. I had so many followers myself, and I was tired of hearing their poisoned praise.
"If you can help me achieve my dream, I will firmly become your follower." I smiled at him. "Let me go back and be ready to accept Xiao Lan as my partner."
I retraced my steps back toward the way I came from. Since Zhian had a conversation with me, Woman A and Woman B had different views of me. The two women quickly followed me and pushed me down to the ground.
"You are such a scum," Woman A said.
"Just because Xiao Lan is the nicest person," Woman B said madly.
Did I hear her wrong? Xiao Lan, the nicest person? Was I missing something?
"You pathetic scums are trying to take advantage of him!" Woman B said madly. She pointed her finger at me. "You are a selfish coward!"
Woman A and Woman B yelled at me for a few minutes, and then they threw their buns at me. I picked up two soft buns and started to eat them. I hated wasting food.
"Eating off the ground doesn't seem like you," Xiao Lan said.
I looked up and saw Xiao Lan standing in the winter sun. When the sun shone on him, there seemed to be a halo on his head.
"I don't like to waste food." I slowly got up. "Hey, Xiao Lan, where are we?"
"Holy Mountain," Xiao Lan said.
"Whaaat?"
"I come back here once a year."
"Looking for a partner?" I asked.
"Yes and no."
"What do you mean, 'yes and no'?" I asked him in confusion. "Tell me, I hate guessing."
"The first week of January is our mating season. The mating season will last seven days."
"Xiao Lan... what are the dates again?"
"January first to January seventh. Why?"
"Xiao Lan, is there any special reason that made you decide to bring me back here during mating season?" I said, clenching my teeth together and only moving my lips to show that I was not happy to be here. I decided to stop walking and stare into his sapphire eyes. "If so, I would like to know now."
"Yes, there is a reason."
"May I ask," I smiled angrily at him.
"I want to ask you to be my partner."
Just as I expected, this meant Woman A and Woman B's story about Xiao Lan's parents was true, and Zhian's words were also true. Here was my opportunity to see again. Yes! Sorry, Xiao Lan, you help me see, and I promised I would help you rescue your parents. I wanted to personally kick you off the three hundred steps down the stairwell.
"Xiao Lan, I decided that I would be your partner." I said, smiling at him. "From now on, you can count on me."
"Come with me," he said.
I followed him on a path. It led to wooded areas. To my surprise, this place looked totally like summer. There was no snow; there were flowers on the ground.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"Here, we let everyone know that you are my partner."
"We don't have to make it big," I said.
"This is the rule," he said.
We entered a small room, and an old man sat cross-legged on a small cushion in the room. The old man seemed to be dead.
"How old is he?" I asked.
"He is at least two thousand years old," Xiao Lan said.
"Oh, two thousand years old... what? Two thousand years old?" I was shocked.
Xiao Lan knelt in front of the old man. I had no choice, but if I wanted to restore my eyesight, I had to follow him.
"Respected senior, I am here with my new partner."
"It's you again... how many times do you want to keep doing this?" The old man asked.
"Until someone is willing to help me."
"Xiao Lan, that person can only have one wish. Why do you think someone will sacrifice their only wish for you?" He looked at Xiao Lan, then at me. He shook his head. "Are you sure you want to become Xiao Lan's partner?"
"Yes, I do."
"Did someone force you?" the old man asked.
"No, I am willing."
The old man pulled out a long-term partnership agreement. When I looked at the partnership contract, it looked like a marriage certificate. I imprinted my right thumbprint at the bottom of the last word, and the old man took back the partnership contract. The old man looked at me worriedly.
"Training starts after the mating season," the old man said.
Training? What training? I didn't know what he meant.