Her arm was still throbbing in pain. She was trying her best not to cry; she had never been hurt so seriously in her life. The worst she has ever had was a scratch, just a little scratch.
However, what one of the Seven Beauties said just now seemed to stop the pain for an instant… only a moment, because a split second later the feeling hit her again. Like big waves crashing against rocks, then blown by the wind that comes so fast from the middle of the sea.
Vina realized that people who dream wouldn't realize that they are dreaming… and cannot feel the pain from a wound. The girl froze as she grimaced, glancing at the seven women in front of her as well as Xingsheng who looked just as surprised as she was. The Chinese actor pinched himself and his expression twisted slightly and then froze, just like her.
"What the hell are we going through right now?" Vina hissed at Xingsheng, between bewilderment and anger. She gritted her teeth as she bent slightly against the pain in her arm. Her eyes glanced sharply at the woman who had injured her.
Xingsheng half-supported Vina, his face looked worried. He looked at the Seven Beauties with a piercing gaze. "Whether this is dream or not, it doesn't matter for now! This girl needs urgent treatment for her wound!"
The woman who injured Vina retreated in an arrogant but elegant manner, returning to her original place. She snorted, but said nothing. It was again the woman in the middle who came forward and now nodded Xingsheng. Her eyes watched the blood that kept pouring down Vina's arms.
"Let's go to the Goddess Residence," the woman said apologetically. "We have to treat your wound immediately before it gets infected."
The Seven Beauties then turned around and stepped into the Goddess Residence in unison. Vina and Xingsheng finally followed them after previously looking at each other for a while.
"Thank you for saying that earlier," Vina said quietly, without looking at Xingsheng and instead bowing her head.
Xingsheng rubbed Vina's shoulder lightly. The girl could feel the actor besides her smiling, as he replied, "No need to thank me. After all, your hand does need to be treated immediately."
Vina finally looked up, smiling thin but gratefully. "Vina. Vina Hansen."
Xingsheng frowned, astonished and clueless. Vina was about to smile again, but then grimaced because her injured arm accidentally touched the leaves. She pulled her arm reflexively while hissing.
"Are you okay?" Xingsheng expressed his concern.
Vina shook her head slowly, her lips twisted. "I'm alright."
She then continued their previous conversation, "Vina Hansen, that's my name. I know your name, but you don't know mine. It would sound not even if I didn't tell you who I was right away—" Vina suddenly stopped talking, remembering that Xingsheng doesn't necessarily care what her name anyways. She cleared her throat to overcome the awkwardness she felt herself.
However, without Vina's expectation, Xingsheng chuckled. "What's with your attitude? You're so cute."
Vina didn't say anything. If this really wasn't a dream, she didn't want to explain everything about what she had experienced or felt all this time to other people so easily, no matter if it was Liu Xingsheng she admired even once.
Vina secretly sighed, holding back a tight feeling in her chest that had absolutely nothing to do with the wound on her arm. The girl still refused to believe that this was reality. She thought she must have watched too many transmigration dramas and such. She shook her head slowly, trying to clear her head and wishing she could really wake up… if this was really a dream.
"Sialan!" she cursed softly in Indonesian.
Xingsheng lowered his head and asked in English, "What did you just say?"
Vina looked up again and shook her head, then refocused her eyes on the path leading to the Goddess Residence. Grinning in pain, Vina wondered if that residence is the big wooden house up ahead.
The path they passed was made of a large collection of pebbles. Several elbow-high trees with bluish blossoms grew along the path. The closer Vina got to the house, the more she felt a sense of coolness which then turned very cold. The hair on her body stood up from the cold.
"Is that an ice house or what?" Vina muttered nonchalantly to Xingsheng, who then just shrugged, not understanding why the temperature had turned this low.
They climbed a few steps before reaching the terrace of the house. Vina had to admit that she couldn't fully enjoy the beauty of the large dwelling due to the injuries she had suffered. She kept on grimacing, hissing softly and groaning to herself by gritting her teeth, looking down and tightening the grip on her arm.
The woman who was always in the middle, whom Vina secretly considered the leader of the Seven Beauties, opened the large door with both hands. The moment they entered, a thick fragrance immediately hit Vina's sense of smell. Her head was suddenly dizzy because she didn't like the smell that was too sharp to pierce her nose..
Injured and nearly vomited from drunkenness of fragrance, Vina had almost believed that she wasn't dreaming only to be tortured later. She wondered if she was actually dead and was now in hell, in a bad version of heaven.
The girl from Siji groaned as she kept her head down. Now she's half bent over, closing her eyes because she could barely endure the pain from her wide gaping wound.
"Hey, can't you guys be faster?" Xingsheng exclaimed frantically at the Seven Beauties.
One of the seven women waved to the center of the large room in the residence. A bed quite wide—definitely not a bed you would normally sleep in—came out of thin air. Vina didn't get to see it all because she was now completely bent over, almost slumped down. Her face and lips were pale. Whether because of the wound on her arm or because of the cold air, Vina herself didn't know for sure.
"Come, get into that bed right away!" a Beauty said quickly.
Vina tried to get up, but her body seemed to be numb. She was limp.
Suddenly the girl flinched slightly because her body was lifted up. She almost thought her soul had floated away because she finally died, but then realized it's Xingsheng who carried her.
Just like a scene in a drama, Vina muttered in her heart.
"Sorry to trouble you, Gē*," Vina whispered weakly.
Xingsheng lowered his head without bothering to reply with a word or even a smile. He walked with wide steps towards the bed in the middle of the room and then laid her slowly and carefully. The young man then stepped aside, making room for the Seven Beauties to treat Vina immediately.
The woman who was always in the middle turned to her left. "Astha."
Vina snorted silently… or at least she thought that was what she was doing. The girl was quite impressed by the name just mentioned. Astha means number eight in Kawi language or Old Javanese. She knows a little about this because she looks for reference material for the stories she writes before, sometimes accidentally finding it in a book she reads.
More than that, Vina couldn't understand one thing. The Seven Beauties understood both Indonesian and English, so she decided that at least they knew what their names meant. If so, why is one of them called the number eight, when they are only seven?
Vina groaned again silently, although the wrinkles on her forehead were clearly visible to everyone. She gave up on her own brain. She had suffered enough without needing to think about theories on the names that the Seven Beauties had.
To hell with it all—!
Venus's eyes opened all of sudden, almost bulging. Her breath hitched sharply and body stiffened. Her screams echoed through the large room as a knife plunged into her bloodied arm.