Rebirth: Enchantment at the Golden Summit

Chapter 14: She said

You shouldn’t sleep in the garden at night.

　　In fact, she had already gone back to the dining room for dinner.

　　Ge Sihan mustered her courage and convinced herself—or rather, used her usual line of reasoning—that since she’d lived at the Golden Summit for five years without incident, there was no need to be afraid.

　　Although, the fact that there was a corpse hidden in her head and two ghosts in the Golden Pavilion was indeed a bit terrifying...

　　But once you understood the stories of these two ghosts, you couldn’t help but feel sorry for them... Phubpleung, the younger sister who was starved to death by the Old Lady in the attic and whose soul couldn’t leave her body even after death, and the Old Duke, who wandered the Golden Pavilion, unable to find the one he loved... …

Ge Si-han sat in the dining room, gently poking at the succulent shrimp on her plate with her fork and spoon, letting out a soft sigh.

The Old Lady hadn’t come down, so she didn’t have to face the face that had just berated her. Now, only she, Adit, and Usa were dining in the dining room. The maid, Bua, stood behind Adit, ready to take orders at any moment.

　　Adit sat at the head of the table, with Ge Sihan and Usa seated to his left and right, respectively. This allowed Adit to easily observe Ge Sihan’s every move; he raised an eyebrow imperceptibly.

　　When he set down his cutlery, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and announced he was finished and leaving, Ge Si-han immediately put down her cutlery as well and said to Usa, “I’m done eating too… I’m going for a walk.”

　　I’ll come back, but I might as well go out while I can…

　　Usa was a little worried: “Saengkea, you just got over a fever. Are you really going out for a walk now? Isn’t the wind too strong outside?”

　　Ge Si-han gestured for Usa to look at the sweater she was wearing and said, “It’s fine. I’m just going to take a casual stroll by the beach… It’s too stuffy inside. I’ll be back in half an hour, maybe forty minutes.”

Usa hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Alright. If I don’t see you in forty minutes, I’ll go out and look for you… “And if you come back with a fever again, you’re not allowed to go out until you’re completely better, understand?”

Ge Si-han smiled and gave Usa a playful salute: “Aye, sir!”

With that, she scampered up the stairs in her indoor slippers, clatter-clatter, went back to her room to change into a pair of outdoor slippers, and quickly came back downstairs, heading toward the beach.

　　At night, aside from the moon and the shimmering glow of its reflection on the water, the only light came from the lamps inside the house and the streetlights lining the road.

The farther she walked toward the beach, the dimmer the streetlights became. Walking on the soft sand, listening to the sound of the waves, and breathing in the salty, briny scent of the sea, Ge Sihan finally felt truly relaxed.

　　She had drowned, yet she still loved the sea. She felt that the ocean was powerful, embracing, and healing.

　　Over the past five years, whenever she felt distressed after being scolded by the old lady, she would go for a walk on the beach, gaze at the sea, and sometimes even shout a few times—which would quickly restore her energy.

　　An abandoned boat lay beached on the shore. Whenever she grew tired from walking, she would sit there for a while, then walk back to the Golden Summit once her strength returned.

This time, faced with a dilemma, she had come to the beach once again.

“Oh, how am I going to tell Khun Lop…” she muttered to herself, sitting on the gunwale and gazing out at the sea.

　　A deep voice sounded beside Ge Si-han: “What are you saying?”

“Ah!” Ge Si-han let out a startled scream and nearly toppled over. The owner of the voice acted quickly, grabbing her arm and teasing, “I’ve noticed you tend to get into trouble when no one’s watching you. Isn’t that right, Saengkea?”

　　Ge Si-han looked up to see Adit, still in his suit, looking down at her from above.

“Pi Chai Lop?”

Adit looked at her without confirming or denying it: “Weren’t you just calling me ‘Khun Lop’ a moment ago? What’s this—now that I’m here, it’s ‘Pi Chai’?”

　　“Um…” Ge Si-han felt a bit awkward, not knowing what to say.

Adit walked over and sat down beside her. As they watched the waves crashing against the shore together, he asked her with a half-smile, “We should make a rule, Saengkea. Every time I hear you call me ‘Khun Lop,’ I should be able to punish you.”

　　“Penalize me? Penalize me for what?” Ge Si-han hadn’t expected to hear that; she’d even forgotten to ask how Adit had suddenly appeared here, and asked in return, somewhat shocked.

　　Adit thought for a moment and asked her, “Do you usually like reading?”

　　“Um,” Ge Si-han hesitated for a moment before cautiously replying, “I like it?”

　　“What about drawing?”

　　“I like that too…”

　　“What about tennis?”

“I do… How did you know I’ve been playing tennis lately?”

Adit stifled a laugh and replied as calmly as possible, “Because I signed the receipt for your tennis racket. The staff at that store told you directly that the bill was charged to the Sirodom account, didn’t they? Didn’t it ever occur to you why you could just run a tab?”

　　“……” Ge Sihan looked dumbfounded. “Why? Is it your store?”

Adit was momentarily at a loss for words. “Because I also like using that brand of tennis rackets.”

“Oh, oh, right. He said it was on account, not that he was giving me a free one.”

Adit shook his head, amused. “Then I’ll deduct it from your allowance. I usually take half for each offense, but I’ll let this one slide. ”

Ge Sihan hesitated for a moment, then spoke the truth: “But… even this allowance is from you, isn’t it?”

“Then you’d better be careful. If you make me unhappy, I’ll take it back.” A faint smile appeared on Adit’s face.

Ge Sihan felt conflicted: “Oh… thank you.”

　　Adit raised an eyebrow. “Why are you suddenly thanking me? I was just warning you.”

Ge Sihan smiled. “I’m not an ungrateful person… I call you ‘big brother’ because, in reality, I’m the one being cared for and protected… So I want to thank you—for wanting to be close to me, for trusting my character, and for wanting to protect me.” She paused for a moment, then added in a soft voice, “Painting, playing tennis, buying books… oh, and piano and horseback riding, which seem like they don’t cost much—but really, without you, I never would have learned any of these things. I don’t think I’ve ever actually thanked you in person… and that time years ago when you took me to Bangkok to see a doctor—I really do remember it all. I’m so grateful to you.”

　　Adit didn’t speak; he simply turned his head and looked at her quietly.

Ge Sihan smiled a little sheepishly. “Actually, I was a bit hesitant to tell you all this at first. I always felt like I might be bothering you, but… but you’re not that scary, are you?”

Adit took a deep breath and mused, “Hmm… who knows?”

　　Ge Sihan laughed at Adit’s reply.

“Oh, right!” She suddenly remembered something. “My classmate, Layne Mahapromyao, asked me yesterday if I wanted to go play tennis at the Chiang Mai Royal Club with her and her brother on Saturday, but I was sick and didn’t get a chance to ask you. “Can I go have fun with my classmate? Pi Chai Lop?”

In truth, she wasn’t sick; she’d fainted and developed a fever after being emotionally shaken by a sudden flashback of death. Though to others, it likely looked like she’d been scolded into illness by the Old Lady… but that wasn’t entirely wrong, so Ge Sihan didn’t plan to set the record straight with the Old Lady.

“The Chiang Mai Royal Club?” Adit raised an eyebrow. “This Saturday?”

　　“Yes.” Ge Sihan watched him cautiously, unsure of his stance on the matter.

Adit chuckled and said, “I’ll take you there.”

Before Ge Sihan could even feel happy, she was taken aback.

Adit didn’t usually seem this free.

Adit noticed her surprise and said casually, “I have to go to the club on Saturday for work, so I might as well take you along.”

　　Speaking of Adit’s work, when she watched the TV series, the male lead was a lawyer who discussed several cases. Plus, since lawyers hold such high status in Thailand, Ge Sihan had always assumed the male lead was a wealthy, well-connected “old money” estate owner.

But when she actually arrived in this world, she realized she was wrong—the TV series had been far too modest in its portrayal. Adit Sirodom was far more than just wealthy and well-connected.

　　She used to read wuxia novels, and there was a character in Wen Rui’an’s works who once uttered a classic line: “Rather than seeking fame and power, one should seek wealth and life.”

　　But for Adit, money, fame, power, and people willing to risk their lives for him were things he was born with; being a lawyer was merely icing on the cake.

Ge Si-han sighed briefly but let it go. Since she couldn’t possibly envy him anyway, she decided not to dwell on it and just focus on her own affairs.

She bowed her head in a wai, delighted that her request to have some fun had been granted: “Thank you, Pi Lop.”

　　Adit looked at her with a half-smile: “Usually it’s ‘Khun Lop,’ when I’m being formal it’s ‘Pi Chai Lop,’ and only when I’m in a good mood do I let you call me ‘Pi Lop’… It’s really not easy to get you to call me ‘big brother,’ Saengkea.”

　　The accusatory tone and emotionless delivery were unsettling, but Ge Si-han knew Adit was just cracking one of his hellish jokes again.

She wasn’t afraid in the least; instead, she tilted her head and smiled at Adit: “Because I know you’re very kind to me and care deeply about me… Thank you, Pi Lop!”