Tomb Raider: Nine Gates Let Me Be the Group’s Pet

Zhang Zixi was awakened by the pain that gradually spread after the anesthetic wore off.

She subconsciously grabbed the corner of the quilt because of the pain, not wanting to wake up Zhang Rishan who was still sleeping.

'How long has it been since I looked at him closely? ' Zhang Zixi suddenly thought as she looked up at his sleeping face.

The Zhang family's physique made it impossible to see any signs of aging in the person in front of her. She stared at him blankly, as if she had returned to the time in Changsha, when they were all still young.

"Nothing has changed since before, but I can't quite put my finger on what has changed..."

Zhang Zixi secretly made a conclusion in her heart.

What remains unchanged is their appearance, what has changed is their state of mind, they are all the same.

Thinking back to the time when the little adjutant who always followed closely behind Master Zhang, now also put on his Erxiang Ring and took on the responsibility of carrying the entire Nine Gates, he gradually looked more like his superior.

Zhang Zixi suddenly remembered that there was a locked wooden box in the drawer of Zhang Rishan’s study.

Inside were the pair of glasses that the Eighth Master used to wear, the opera book given to him by the Second Master, the short knife given by Chen Pi, the glass chessboard given by the Ninth Master... I guess those things were also his memories of the past.

But the people from the past are no longer here, and there are not many people left who can call him adjutant.

The young man in the past had been taken care of by the leaders of the Nine Gates, but now he is over a hundred years old and he couldn't bear to be cruel to their younger generations.

'I wonder how he felt when he heard someone call him Adjutant Zhang...' Zhang Zixi thought.

To outsiders, immortality is a blessing, but to the Zhang family, it is probably a kind of bondage.

They all hope that their old friends will return, but they cannot see an end to it, nor can they expect to return to their youthful days.

'He seems to smile less than before...'

Zhang Zixi was lost in her memories and saw the little fox-like boy smiling in front of Mr. Ba. That was his truly carefree smile.

"When was the last time I saw you... I think... it was when my brother came back..."

Before that, he repeatedly called Buddha, which was a so-called responsibility, a respect, and a yearning that he could not let go of no matter what...

They have all grown up...the people in the past have been gone for a long time...

Thinking of this, Zhang Zixi closed her eyes and tried to recall the past through her memory.

She was also missing the past.

Changsha back then also holds her childhood memories, the elders who took care of her, and her good friends. Until now... she can't even recall the people when she sees the things around her.

When Zhang Zixi opened her eyes and came out of her memories, tears couldn't help but flow from the corners of her eyes.

"Forget it... I can't go back to the past... So let's cherish the present..."

Zhang Zixi wanted to raise her hand to wipe away the tears on her face, but this slight movement woke up Zhang Rishan, who was concerned about her situation even when he was asleep.

"Xi'er? What's wrong?"

"Why did you wake up?" Zhang Zixi asked in surprise.

"It's not early now, the sky is already bright," said Zhang Rishan.

Zhang Zixi tilted her head and looked at the faint light coming through the gap in the curtains, only to realize that she had been in her memories for so long.

Zhang Rishan looked down and saw Zhang Zixi's eyes full of tears and mistakenly thought that she was in great pain.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Zhang Rishan asked with concern.

“Well… it hurts… it hurts so much…” Zhang Zixi closed her eyes and cried in his arms.

Zhang Rishan hugged the man distressedly and said, "Bear with it for a while. When the interval is over, let someone give you another shot to ease the pain."

"Zhang Rishan...I miss them so much..."

Zhang Rishan was stunned and didn't react for a moment to who she was talking about, then he heard Zhang Zixi speak.

"I want to drink the Tremella soup that my sister-in-law made herself... I want to listen to Second Master singing... I want to play in Eighth Master's incense hall... I want to pick strawberries in Chenpi's yard... I want to eat the crabs he caught for me... I want..."

Although Zhang Rishan didn't understand why Zhang Zixi suddenly thought of these things, he became emotional after hearing what she said.

"I want, too."

There were also people he couldn't let go of and wanted to see again, but he still held Zhang Zixi with one hand and gently rubbed her head with the other hand to comfort her.

"I also want to...Xi'er...but we...can't expect them to come back."