Cold Dependence - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Time seemed to stand still.

Her hand was firmly bitten by someone strapped in with a seatbelt.

“…”

Qi Wenxi stared in shock at this wild woman. The bite didn’t hurt much, but being bitten like this for the first time left her feeling quite flustered.

What on earth was going on?!

Jing Lian kept biting Qi Wenxi’s hand, pausing stubbornly for several seconds, as if grinding her hungry and thirsty teeth. But it wasn’t enough; she wanted to taste more.

So, without hesitation, she stuck out her tongue and licked Qi Wenxi’s palm to satisfy her craving.

“Ah—!” A sharp scream burst from Qi Wenxi’s mouth.

Qi Wenxi only wanted to push this strange woman away quickly, but she didn’t dare act rashly.

Jing Lian, thinking she had hurt this two-legged creature, immediately let go of her mouth and blinked innocently at her.

Qi Wenxi pressed her lips tightly, looking down at her just-bitten hand. There were only red marks, no broken skin, but this woman had even licked her hand…

“You… do you know what you’re doing?” Qi Wenxi, unable to hold back, scolded in embarrassed anger.

She got the black-haired woman’s usual silence and quiet stare in return.

(Forget it, don’t argue with a crazy person who’s not right in the head, don’t argue with a crazy person who’s not right in the head…)

Qi Wenxi could only silently chant the Great Compassion Mantra in her heart, then decisively started the engine. She needed to get this woman out of here as soon as possible; she couldn’t wait another moment.

On the way, the whistling cold wind blew through the car window, its icy chill stinging Qi Wenxi as she drove, keeping her fully rational and alert.

Jing Lian, tightly restrained by the seatbelt beside her, twisted her neck, looking around as if riding this magical thing for the first time, full of curiosity about everything.

Qi Wenxi could feel the woman next to her moving around. Who was this strange woman who always responded with silence and had a hoarse voice? Why was she with her on the restricted Lanhai Sea beach? Even stranger, why couldn’t she remember anything after going up the mountain to visit graves?

No matter how hard she tried to recall, not a single trace remained.

She only felt like she had swallowed a lot of seawater, which was uncomfortable.

Yet now, she was completely fine, with no signs of anything on her body.

So strange.

What concerned her more was the woman beside her.

Whether this woman was human or ghost, Qi Wenxi knew sending her away was the right choice to get her peaceful life back on track.

While waiting at a traffic light, rain started falling outside, and the car radio mentioned a storm today.

After staring at the gray, dark sky for a few seconds, Qi Wenxi lowered her head to search the glove compartment, wanting to smoke a cigarette to ease her restless mood.

She remembered there was a pack of cigarettes in there, but she found only a lone lighter.

Qi Wenxi rubbed her aching forehead. Where had she put her cigarettes?

As she searched for the cigarette pack, she felt a sharp, burning gaze on her. No need to guess—it was the woman beside her.

She could only pretend to stay calm, gripping the steering wheel tightly, adjusting her heart rate with seven seconds left on the red light.

She had never been stared at so directly, not even by her students in the classroom.

Such an unmasked gaze made her heart uneasy.

“Can you stop looking at me like that?” Qi Wenxi, usually quiet, finally broke the car’s silence while driving.

Jing Lian’s golden eyes stayed fixed on Qi Wenxi’s profile. Hearing her question, she turned her neck to look at the road ahead, the wiper’s water reflecting in her eyes.

Seeing the woman cooperate, Qi Wenxi noted her inconsistency—normal one moment, not the next. While still on the way to the police station, she asked about what happened before.

“You don’t seem old. Why were you on that beach? Do you remember? Or do you know how I ended up there?” Qi Wenxi hoped to get some clues from this woman, even just a little.

Jing Lian listened to this two-legged creature who brought her out to see the scenery and find shark liver. The other didn’t remember the incident of falling into the sea.

If she knew it was her morning temper that dragged her into the sea, would this human woman stop taking her to find food? But it wasn’t her fault—this two-legged creature showed up on the beach.

Focused on food, she decided to stay silent, especially since her throat wasn’t used to talking much yet.

So she shook her head, rested it against the car window, and lowered her eyelids.

Her long lashes instantly made her look melancholic, like a fragile, breakable object.

Qi Wenxi glanced at her, sighed helplessly, and realized this woman didn’t remember anything either.

Maybe she really escaped from some asylum that locked her up.

Damaged vocal cords, speaking in broken words, not liking to wear clothes, and seemingly tattooed with patterns she hadn’t seen clearly… all these signs made Qi Wenxi think of dark movie plots. Handing this woman to the police was probably a good deed.

She shook her aching head and focused on driving.

After about half an hour of driving, they finally reached the police station in Mihe District, Liantan City.

Qi Wenxi parked in the lot next to the station. It was already pouring outside.

“We’re here. Get out.” Qi Wenxi turned off the engine and told the woman beside her.

Jing Lian looked outside through the rain curtain. This place didn’t seem to have any so-called delicious food.

So she turned her head slightly toward Qi Wenxi, as if confused.

Seeing no movement, Qi Wenxi leaned over, got closer, and unbuckled the seatbelt restraining her.

Jing Lian sat still, letting this human woman come close. Her hair brushed against her nose, tickling.

Her gaze quietly fell on this human woman’s lips. She remembered they had a scent like blue stone flowers.

In the car, with a click, the seatbelt finally came off.

Qi Wenxi let out a soft breath. As she turned, she met the intense golden eyes of the woman staring down at her, shining beautifully in the dark.

They were very close, so close she could feel the other’s breath.

In the darkness, being watched like this made Qi Wenxi uncomfortable, even though they’d been alone together for hours.

“It’s undone,” Qi Wenxi said stiffly, quickly sitting back upright to tell her.

This woman couldn’t even undo a seatbelt.

Jing Lian just stared, silent, but a slight smile curved her lips. Even though this human woman left her hungry, it felt kind of interesting.

Watching Qi Wenxi open the car door, Jing Lian copied her, opening her own door and stepping barefoot onto the wet road without hesitation.

Qi Wenxi, just putting up her umbrella, saw this clueless woman standing by the car, letting the rain soak her.

How did she suddenly get smart enough to open the car door?

Qi Wenxi grumbled inwardly, quickly holding the umbrella over her. She looked down at the woman’s bare feet, realizing she had no extra shoes in the car.

Qi Wenxi felt a pang of unexplained guilt.

But the woman didn’t seem to care about wearing shoes. She looked at Qi Wenxi, as if asking where they were going.

Qi Wenxi pointed to the destination nearby. She needed to take this woman inside to find her mother.

Jing Lian looked up at the carved words on the door. She didn’t want to come here—there was no smell of food at all.

But this human woman was already holding the umbrella and tugging her clothes to go inside, so she followed.

“There are pebbles underfoot. Be careful.” Qi Wenxi’s usual blank expression hid a hint of concern in her tone.

The next second, a cold hand grabbed hers.

Qi Wenxi looked up, confused, at the woman.

“Com…fort…”

The woman wrapped in a coat slowly said two words, then tightly held Qi Wenxi’s hand.

Qi Wenxi wanted to remind her not to hold her hand like that, especially in such a serious place, but the woman didn’t listen and gripped even tighter.

Fine.

Whatever. She just thought, as long as she got her inside, everything would be okay.

So, hand in hand, they reached the police station’s entrance, though Qi Wenxi felt extremely awkward.

“Dad, we need to thank them properly later. Luckily, we reported it in time, or that ten thousand yuan would’ve been gone…”

“I know, I know…”

Entering the station with Qi Wenxi and Jing Lian was a father and daughter. The old man was clearly elderly, supported slowly by his daughter.

Walking beside them, Qi Wenxi happened to meet the hunched old man’s gaze.

“Young ladies, are you here to get married?” the old man suddenly asked with a light laugh.

Qi Wenxi froze, embarrassed.

“Dad! I said, Dad, don’t talk nonsense. This is a police station. We’re here to thank the police!” The middle-aged woman quickly stopped her father, apologizing to Qi Wenxi and Jing Lian.

“I’m so sorry. My dad has dementia and talks nonsense. Please don’t mind,” the woman said, apologizing repeatedly to the flushed Qi Wenxi.

“Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine…” Qi Wenxi could only force herself to say she didn’t mind.

“When it comes to marriage, Mingying and I held hands like that to renew our license back then—”

“Dad, please stop. I know you and Mom were very much in love, but this isn’t the marriage office, and they’re not here to get married!” The woman, because of her father’s severe deafness, shouted loudly to explain.

This drew frequent glances from passersby, while Qi Wenxi, whose hand Jing Lian held tightly and couldn’t pull free, wished she could sink into the ground.

For the first time, she felt what it meant to want to cry but have no tears.