Chapter 116: Disfigured?

Chapter 116

"Quiet! This is your original face; is there really any need to make such a fuss? Don’t tell me that in the less than a year you’ve been here, you’ve already forgotten what you used to look like?" Hearing her startled cry, Cyril couldn’t help but frown.

"Of course I remember this face, but how am I supposed to face anyone looking like this?" Mei said, staring at her reflection in the mirror with immense frustration.

"You think your appearance is impossible to show people?" Cyril wondered if her brain had been damaged by the mutated genes.

"Of course not! It’s just that this look is so different from before. Will people even recognize me? Besides, even though my ears are two-thirds shorter than an ordinary elf’s, they are still different from a human’s. There is no such thing as an Elven race in this world; how am I supposed to explain my transformation to others?" Mei said, worried.

She hadn’t yet had the chance to tell Mo Chen and the others about her origins. She had originally planned to let her appearance slowly revert to its original state as her body’s integration deepened, which would make it easier for them to accept and save her the trouble of explaining. But now, this change had completely disrupted her plans.

"By 'others,' you mean the members of the 'Ni' squad you formed here?" Cyril asked, ignoring her conflicted feelings.

"Yes! You must have met them by now, right? I wonder where they are?" Speaking of Mo Chen and the others, Mei truly missed them.

"They are waiting right outside the door! Should I let them in?"

As he spoke, Cyril walked toward the door to open it. He had notified them that Mei would wake up today, so her new companions had been keeping watch outside for quite a while. Considering how long they had already waited, it was time to let them in.

"No!" Mei tried to stop Cyril, but it was too late. She grabbed the bedsheet and pulled it over her head, covering herself completely.

Until she figured out how to explain things, she didn't want to see anyone!

Mo Chen, Ye Jingxuan, and the others had been waiting anxiously outside for a long time. Cyril had sent word through the skeletons the previous night that Mei would wake up today, but they had waited from morning until noon without seeing a shadow, unsure if she had even regained consciousness. As for the conversation inside, they hadn't heard a single word. There was no helping it; every room here was soundproofed to a professional standard.

Just as Mo Chen was about to lose his patience and knock, the door suddenly opened, and Mei’s panicked cry of "No!" rang out from within.

Upon hearing her voice, Mo Chen felt a jolt of alarm and rushed inside immediately, with the others following closely behind. However, once they entered, they found Cyril standing by the door. Although he was wearing glasses, which made him look a bit different than before, his expression was calm and relaxed.

The voice they had heard was indeed Mei’s. If things weren't what they feared, why would she be screaming? Shifting their gaze into the room, they saw nothing but various medical instruments and a large, humped shape on the bed.

Mo Chen walked over and called out to the person on the bed, feeling somewhat uncertain: "Mei’er?"

Mei didn't make a sound, choosing to play the ostrich under the sheet.

There was nowhere else in the room to hide, so Ye Jingxuan walked over, intending to pull the sheet away. However, Mei held onto it with a death grip.

"Let go!"

"No!"

Hearing the voice from under the sheet, the group was finally certain that Mei was right there.

"What’s wrong with her?" An Ziyou turned to ask Cyril.

"I managed to save her, but her face..." Cyril deliberately left the sentence hanging, and combined with his slightly grim tone, the others immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion.

Could she have been disfigured? Remembering how her face had once been a bloody mess, they quickly found a rational explanation for Mei’s behavior.

But so what? As long as she was alive, it was enough. If her face was ruined, couldn't she just get plastic surgery?

Holding onto this thought, Mo Chen coaxed her: "Little Mei’er, be good and come out! You’ve just recovered; aren't you afraid of getting suffocated? Besides, is there anything about you we haven't seen? Could it really be worse now than when you were sick?"

"It’s not the same!" Mei retorted from under the sheet.

"How is it different?" Ye Jingxuan asked from the side. He couldn't grasp a woman's obsession with her appearance; in his view, as long as the person inside remained the same, their outward appearance didn't matter.

"It’s different, it’s just different!" Mei didn't know how to explain it, so she simply acted stubborn.

"Mei’er, to celebrate your recovery, I prepared your favorite iron-plate grilled meat. If you don't come out, you won't get to eat it!" An Ziyou joined in on the coaxing.

As soon as he finished, everyone clearly felt Mei’s hesitation. Just as they thought she would succumb to the temptation of the grilled meat, Mei’s sulky voice came from under the sheet again: "Forget it, you guys go ahead and eat. I have no appetite!"

Well, even the grilled meat couldn't tempt her. It seemed she was determined not to come out this time.

"Look here, sister Mei’er, you can't hide like this forever! You have to come out and face people sooner or later! Come out now, and we can get used to it... Ouch, Yuanyuan, why are you pinching me?" Before Lin Shaojie could finish his sentence, Qu Wenyuan pinched him back. He immediately turned to rub the sore spot, complaining to her.

Qu Wenyuan glared at him and said: "You, do you even know how to talk? If you can't, then shut your mouth! Is that how you comfort someone?"

"I was just saying!" Lin Shaojie muttered after being scolded, but after another glare from Qu Wenyuan, he finally fell silent.

How terrifying disfigurement is for a girl—how could these men possibly understand? Unless the person comes to terms with it themselves, no amount of persuasion from others will work. That was why Qu Wenyuan hadn't stepped up to persuade her.

The group tried everything they could think of, yet Mei insisted on staying hidden. However, the more she refused to come out, the more worried the others became, fearing she was too fixated on her appearance and might lose hope.

Thinking this, Ye Jingxuan said: "If you are so concerned about your appearance, then I’ll ruin my own face to keep you company!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Mei felt a surge of energy fluctuation. She was startled, fearing he might actually disfigure himself, and threw off the sheet in a flash.

"Ah Ye, don't!"

She saw that Ye Jingxuan had condensed sharp claws from his ability at his fingertips, the tips less than an inch from his face.

"Are you insane?" Mei jumped up to push his hand away, glaring at him.

But Ye Jingxuan didn't react at all, letting her push his hand away while his eyes remained fixed on her face, unblinking.

Mei then remembered her own issue and, seeing the stunned expressions of the others, instinctively wanted to hide again.

But the moment she moved, Ye Jingxuan grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms.

"Why are you hiding?" Ye Jingxuan asked, looking at Mei with confusion. Since she wasn't disfigured, why was she hiding and refusing to see people? Was it just because she didn't look like her old self anymore?

"I..." Before Mei could figure out how to explain, a gasp came from Lin Shaojie nearby.

"Sister Mei’er, did you get plastic surgery?"

"You're the one who got plastic surgery! I've always looked like this!"

Provoked by him, Mei retorted without thinking. It was only after the words were out that she realized she had let it slip. Mei immediately looked chagrined, but since the words were out, there was no taking them back.

"So, this is your true face," Ye Jingxuan whispered as he looked at her.

That time, even though she had asked a casual question, he had taken her words to heart. He had once wondered what she would look like if she weren't human. Now, he finally knew; her true appearance was so exquisite!

Her previous face hadn't been particularly beautiful, giving off more of a cute, doll-like impression. While her true face still looked young, her features were indescribably delicate, as if carved from a piece of fine mutton-fat jade—flawless in every way. Coupled with those clear, large eyes and her slender frame, she looked even more fragile than before, instantly evoking a strong desire to protect her.

Just looking at her, Ye Jingxuan’s heartbeat accelerated, the unfamiliar sensation leaving him at a loss.

However, at that moment, a pair of hands reached out and pulled Mei from his embrace.

"You silly girl, were you trying to scare us on purpose? Usually, people hide because they've become ugly and are afraid of frightening others. You, on the other hand, hide even after becoming more beautiful! Have you gone soft in the head from your illness?" Mo Chen ruffled her long hair without ceremony to vent his frustration.

"I was just afraid you wouldn't recognize me!" Mei let him ruffle her hair, but she couldn't help but mumble.

"Truth be told, if you didn't speak, nobody would have recognized you!" Mo Chen stopped his hand upon hearing her words.

Mei immediately gave him a "See, I knew it would be like this" expression.

Seeing her expression, Mo Chen clutched his chest, looked into her eyes, and said seriously: "That’s exactly why you shouldn't hide! Because if you hide, I won't be able to find you. If I can't find you, I'll be lonely, sad, and empty! So no matter what you look like, don't ever hide again, understand? It doesn't matter what you look like; I just want you by my side."

"Ah Chen! You don't mind? I’m actually not human!" Mei looked into his deep eyes, which seemed capable of pulling a person in, and couldn't help but ask.

"Silly girl, I’ve known that for a long time! If I had minded, I would have minded long ago; why would I wait until now?" Mo Chen gently patted her head, saying with a hint of exasperation.

But Mei widened her eyes in shock at his words: "You knew? How did you know?"

"Dummy! Have you forgotten we grew up together? Although it was top-secret, when you first entered the laboratory and your identity was discovered, some people were talking about it behind closed doors. They thought I was unconscious, but in reality, I was fully aware, so I heard every word they said! It’s just that later, seeing you were no different from an ordinary human, I never asked you about it."

"So that's how it is!"

Seeing only surprise and no signs of estrangement or distance in the others' eyes, Mei realized they didn't reject her non-human identity, and her heart finally settled.