CHAPTER 788: NEMESIS: SETTING A TRAP FOR AUNT? (3)

"Oops... Looks like the cage bars aren’t where they used to be, didn’t stop that one." she teased, her tone light but her gaze sharp.

Everyone turned to stare. Even Qian Ruixin blinked, as if surprised by her own courage, but she squared her shoulders, refusing to back down now.

She fixed Eveline with a look, "Stop trying to pit us against each other with all your forest-and-hunter talk. If there was really a cage, it would’ve stopped me just now. But the truth is, he doesn’t need a cage to keep you down. You just built one for yourself, makes it easier to pretend you’re not trapped, right?"

Eveline’s face tightened, anger flashing in her eyes. Delusion?

Was this woman calling her delusional?

For a moment, it was hard to differentiate between divine and human.

Saying her piece, Qian Ruixin let out a weary sigh, shaking her head. She turned away, heading upstairs, her steps slower than usual. She’d spoken more bluntly than she ever did, maybe the tense nerves gave her courage, or maybe she just needed to say it out loud, if only for herself. If only cages were that simple, she thought wryly. ’Sometimes I wish I had one, too...’

As she disappeared around the corner, Eveline silently followed, her expression unsatisfied. She hadn’t bothered with a comeback. Instead, she watched Ruixin with a strange curiosity, almost a trace of pity. What an irony, born in the house of your Nemesis, saved by fate... or trapped by it? If Wang Xiao had never interfered, what would this girl’s life have been?

Fate, wealth, revenge, three curses spun together in a single house, their threads pulling tighter each day.

Eveline snorted to herself. She almost felt bad for Ruixin, caught in the storm before she even knew what hit her. Not that Eveline’s own future looked any brighter there were always darker clouds coming, even for an ex-goddess with a perfect face.

Upstairs, the mood was nothing like the silence below.

The bedroom heavy with perfume, faint hints of cherry lip gloss and something floral, maybe leftover body spray stuck to the lace curtains. Pink plushies lined the shelves, soft pastel blankets thrown over the bed. A cracked makeup mirror caught stray sunlight, casting little prisms over scattered hair ties and an open diary with a cartoon cat cover.

The room was a shrine to girlhood... neat, delicate, and almost... happy.

But the innocence stopped there.

A man stood in the center of the room, shirt rumpled, pants shoved down to his knees. His expression was cold, eyes unfocused, barely registering the world around him. He looked exhausted, haunted, even, like a man who’d lost something he never expected to miss.

At Wang Xiao’s feet, a woman knelt, her long hair spilling everywhere, cheeks flushed red with equal parts embarrassment and anger. Her head moved in a steady, practiced rhythm, mouth working his cock with messy, wet sounds.

"Haaah... ngh... mmmph..."

Her hands squeezed his hips, nails digging in, breath hot on his skin.

Plop!

She popped off, lips shiny with spit, and shot him a glare that could kill.

"Are you done yet?" she muttered, still holding his dick in her hand, annoyed but not quite letting go. "Can you let me go already?... " She shot a side-eye at the wall, refusing to meet his gaze for more than a second.

"Mpphhh! Let me go-assholes!"

The panicked voice echoed through, not from Xueying, but from across the room. Pinned up against the wall like some cartoon character, Qian Yaoyao squirmed, big eyes brimming with tears.

Coffee dripped down the wall and over her bare feet, her skirt bunched up from where she’d been tossed against it. She kicked and flailed but couldn’t move an inch.

She was practically wailing, "Mom! Save me, seriously, this isn’t funny!"

Standing in the doorway, Xin Meifang in her silk dress just gave her daughter a helpless look. "Yaoyao, sweetheart... I’d help, but, uh..." She glanced down at her own feet, stuck to the floor like someone glued her there. She shot Wang Xiao a look, half-annoyed, half-resigned.

Wang Xueying scoffed, still stroking Wang Xiao instinctively, but her eyes were on her cousin, Qian Yaoyao. "If you didn’t walk in, you wouldn’t be stuck. Learn to knock next time."

Xin Meifang stared up at the ceiling, regretting her entire life’s decisions. All she’d wanted was to check out the scream she heard echoing through the hallway.

Wang Xiao’s own room had been empty, so she’d followed the noises to Xueying’s door. The second she opened it, she’d been hit by whatever the hell Wang Xiao was doing, and now she was stuck in the doorway, body frozen except for her mouth, watching her nephew get his dick sucked by his sister, Wang Xueying.

Meifang didn’t even bother looking away. At this point, what was left to be shocked about?

"Xiao Wang, you know, it’s been a while since I last saw you. You’ve really grown up, huh? Tell me, when did you pick up this freezing trick? Did you learn it in army or is this just some... new power you unlocked?" Her tone was so casual, you’d think she was chatting over afternoon tea and not watching family-level porn.

She gave Wang Xiao a flat look, lips curling into a half-smirk, half-sigh. "Honestly, you’re making me question everything I know about this family..."

Wang Xiao just blinked at her, head tilted, eyes half-lidded with that mix of casual threat and curiosity. "Drop the act. I know you’re in there. You already knew Eveline, your memories have come back, and you’re the one who tried to rush Rui into marriage, though for the life of me I can’t figure out why."

"What!?" Xin Meifang’s eyes went wide, genuinely startled, like someone had just splashed ice water down her spine.

For a moment, the whole room felt colder.

He never meant to trap Yaoyao, she was just collateral. But Meifang... she was the real target all along.

Someone, predictably clueless, tried to jump in. Qian Yaoyao blurted, "What are you even talking about? Leave my sister out of your twisted business! You’ll have to get through me first before—"

Wang Xiao just turned and smiled at her, eyes cold. "If I called your sister here, she’d be happy to join us. You want a full family reunion, Little Yao?"

"YOU!" Yaoyao’s eyes blazed, never more insulted in her life. Handsome? Hah. Bastard’s more like it.

"Quiet down, will you?" Wang Xiao made a lazy gesture, and her mouth slammed shut mid-scream. Qian Yaoyao, nearly exploded with curses, only for her lips to seal up.

Suddenly, a low chuckle echoed from the doorway.

"Alright, enough," Xin Meifang said, her whole vibe shifting in an instant.

A chill, almost vengeful confidence settled over her. Her eyes turned sharp, dangerous. "You can mess with those girls, but remember, Ruixin and Yaoyao are my daughters. And I’m not someone you can just freeze and forget." She stepped forward, chin lifted. "This life, I’m Xin Meifang. But don’t get cocky, I’ve been Nemesis before, and I won’t stop now. Your little strength is nothing to me...AH!"

BANG!

Before she could finish, her legs gave out, and she hit the floor with a thud, clutching her knees in pain.

"Pfttt...." Wang Xueying couldn’t help it. She looked over her shoulder at Xin Meifang, who was clutching her knees and cursing in disbelief. "Little strength? Auntie, have you seen yourself lately? Maybe try a mirror next time..." She stuck out her tongue, making it clear she had zero patience for her aunt’s attitude.

"You two..." Xin Meifang’s eyes flashed red with rage, a hint of real bloodlust. But when she looked up at Wang Xiao, calm, utterly unmoved, her bravado died quick. She pressed her lips together, shoulders slumping, pain and frustration written all over her face.

After a long, bitter pause, she looked up at him, voice cracking. "You know who I am? Why... is this life so damn miserable?"

Wang Xiao just grinned, rubbing his chin, almost enjoying her confusion. "You’re Nemesis... Your daughter, Qian Ruixin, she carries a shard of Tyche, but her memories haven’t awakened yet. Your son? He’s got a piece of the ancient god of wealth in him. Not a bad lineup for one family, honestly."

He spoke nonchalant, but his gaze was sharp. He knew exactly what he was saying, and he knew it would rattle her.

He rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful, like he was explaining a puzzle to kids. "A soul isn’t just one thing. For most mortals, it’s a smooth blend, old fragments mix and match, make someone new. But when a shard comes from an ancient god who never quite reached full immortality... that remnant floats, half-asleep, until it finds a host. If there’s enough power, like when Aether returned, those old gods wake up inside whoever’s body they end up in."

The room went quiet, everyone processing.

Xin Meifang just stared, shaken to her core. He didn’t just know about her, he knew about her whole family.

Her kids, too...?

That hit hard... She’d nearly awakened her son’s god-remnant by accident, and yeah, his luck with money lately had been freaky. As for Qian Ruixin... she’d always tried to keep that part buried.

Her fingers dug into her skirt, voice trembling."You know too much. Who the hell are you?" she asked, lips pressed tight with bitterness.

She wasn’t the only one thinking it. Across the room, another woman, Ning Xue, blinked, eyes fixed on Wang Xiao’s face. ’Who is he...?’

She hadn’t vanished after all. When Wang Xiao reset time, and Xue Hanqin played her tricks, Ning Xue had almost slipped out of the timeline completely.

But he’d spotted her, yanked her back, and told her to keep quiet and be invisible.

Now, like it or not, she was stuck watching this whole show, forced into silence while Wang Xiao shattered the secrets of this lady.