Retake *Discontinued*

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Going Home

As Shen Xiu walked out, Nie Tai grinned viciously; Nie Li met her gaze and mirrored the expression. Looking at the twins worriedly, Lu Piao hesitantly asked, "Do I even wanna know what you two are scheming?"

"What? When have I ever schemed?" Replied Nie Tai, feigning hurt at the insinuation. Unable to speak from her acting, Lu Piao merely shook his head and smiled at the two.

"Are you guys going home for the holiday?" Asked Du Ze, changing the subject.

"Yes," answered the twins in unison.

"Do you two plan that?" Questioned Lu Piao. He was a little unnerved by their synchronization.

"No, it just kinda happens sometimes," replied the twins in unison once again.

"Anyway, I'm heading home too. Are you Du Ze?" Queried Lu Piao, quickly turning away from the smirking redheads.

"Yeah, I must thank you two again for lending me some money. I hope to buy my mom a shawl and some food for my cousins. I promise that I will repay you someday. Iー" said Du Ze.

He was rambling before Nie Tai interrupted him, "Nonsense! Xiao Li and I have no problem lending you money. You are one of my friends and, should you need it, I will never hesitate to aid you in anyway possible. Please, Du Ze, the only way I want you to repay me is with your support. That's all."

Nie Tai's aquamarine eyes, that quickly filled with sadness, shocked the brunette into silence as Wei Nan, Zhang Ming, and Zhu Xiangjun bid goodbye and left to return home.

Coughing lightly, Nie Li said, "Well, we had better get going if we want to return before sunset. I wouldn't want our parents waiting on us."

"Right, goodbye," bid Nie Tai, smiling sadly. She quickly hugged the two before following her brother to a small carriage sent from their family. As they sat down, the realization hit Nie Tai.

I'm going to see my family...

How many hundreds of years has it been since she's seen any of her kin besides Nie Li? With wide eyes, she looked at her brother and said, "We're going home..."

Her voice was infinitely small and fragile; totally opposite of who she had become, who she projected herself to be. Instantly understanding, Nie Li was by her side and he hugged her tightly. Whispering he said, "I know, we are going home."

After a minute, he moved back to the other seat and the two enjoyed a comfortable, reminiscing-filled silence. Glancing over at her brother, Nie Tai's eyes narrowed and she asked, "Who gave you a ruby? Doesn't that represent a girl's love?"

"Xiao Ning'er," replied Nie Li simply, obviously not wishing to continue speaking about the subject. Seeing his sister's suggestive look, he shook his head and returned his gaze to the scenery outside the window.

❦❦❦

As the carriage came to a halt, Nie Tai studied the scene in from of her: barefoot children running around, men and women coming in from working in the fields, and the family's castle一every aristocratic family had one一was old, worn, and on the edge of collapsing, which suited the Heavenly Marks Family scarily well. If none were successful in proclaiming a title, wouldn't be able to stand. Although there were twenty-seven Heavenly Marks descendents in the Holy Orchid Institute, only Nie Tai and Nie Li returned today because all of the others were older and their release date was later.

"Big Brother Li! Big Sister Tai! You've returned!" Shouted a young, cheery voice. A little girl with chipmunk cheeks, two little red pigtails, and dirty feet ran up to the twins. The owner of the voice was Nie Yu, the daughter of the twins' uncle.