Xia Yao rubbed her eyes, nose, and mouth and stared at the familiar ceiling. She turned sideways and saw her suitcase beside the desk, her mind finally flashing with some clarity.

She was back.

She abruptly sat up and the sun shone on her lazily through the curtains. According to the original plot, she should have gone to the police station but she was now safely in the Xia family house. She believed someone had sent her back but after racking her brains for a while, she couldn't remember how she had made it home yesterday.

She asked the system: [How did I come back?]

[When the host's consciousness is too confused, the system automatically shuts down. Any query will be fruitless.]

[...]

Her last memory was the phone showing 9 pm.

[Then did I complete the task?]

[It's only natural, the host still has her self-awareness and her intelligence was not lowered.]

Could it be that Xu Yinuan had sent her home? She sent her a message and got up.

After her shower, she learned from Xu Yinuan that Ji Huai had been the one to send her back. Xia Yao was a bit shocked but Ji Huai was a good person; she should really thank him.

Since the restrooms' incident, she had been staying at Xu Yinuan's and it was the first time she was back here. She took a deep breath, silently hoping Xia Xi and Xia Yuan were not at home. But on weekends, the both of them would usually go out to play.

Unfortunately, they were both here and they were sitting close to each other in the living room. They were watching a video together and the girl covered her mouth as she giggled.

Xiao Yao glanced at them and slowly made her way downstairs in her slippers. The two of them heard some sound and as if she was afraid of something, Xia Xi instantly stopped smiling and the hand placed on Xia Yuan's back retracted.

Then she remembered Xia Yao had gone home last night.

Xia Yao only wanted to get a bottle of milk from the fridge and was annoyed to be stopped by Xia Yuan as soon as she got off the stairs.

"Xia Yao, I have something to tell you."

Since the scene in the restrooms, they had not met or talked to each other. His voice was calm and he had obviously thought for a long time about this conversation, and Xia Yao felt a little curious about what he wanted to say to her. She stopped and looked back at the two people standing in the living room.

They were both wearing similar lounge wear, one blue and one pink; they did not look like siblings but like a handsome and well-matched couple.

Xia Yao suddenly smiled, amused by her thoughts, and said: "Let's talk."

Her eyes were completely alienated.

"I know about the school forum." Xia Yuan slowly started, "Xiao Xi did that because she was too surprised by your grades. This is only a trivial matter and this is over."

"Oh." Xia Yao lightly replied, "Then can I express my shock there too?"

"What do you want to post?" Xia Xi glared at Xia Yao. She was very nervous and afraid Xia Yao would do something to harm her.

"No one really thinks that Xia Yuan and Xia Xi are ordinary brother and sister, right?" Xia Yao looked at the two of them calmly, "How about this sister, do you like it?"

Hey, why should she be the only one allowed to make these crappy posts?

Xia Xi's face paled but the man next to her frowned: "Xia Yao, what do you want?"

"Of course, only my dear sister is allowed to post unfounded speculations to express her shock, why would I be allowed to?" Xia Yao smiled, "Brother, your double standards are incredible.

Xia Yuan looked at the somewhat strange sister in front of him. The speech he had long rehearsed in his head instantly turned into a mess but he didn't feel better watching her calm face. He had to change the direction of the conversation.

"Let's talk about the midterm first. Xia Yao, did you really get the first place by your own strength? Be honest."

"It's already been a few days, brother, but you are still skeptical. Should I take a test in front of you so you will stop doubting me?"

Xia Yuan choked and stayed silent for a while: "It's just that you have changed too much."

"Oh." She glanced at Xia Xi, "Then ask your baby Xiao Xi. I tutored her in the restrooms that day, she should know if I have the strength." After her words fell, she waved her hand, "I am going to get my milk now."

—She had drunk too much alcohol last night and had just woken up. She didn't want to fight, she was tired.

The girl slowly walked away towards the kitchen and the blue and pink pair in the living room stood up in place, lost in their thoughts.

***

After waiting for a while, Xia Yao came out of the kitchen with a bowl of cereal. Xia Yuan and Xia Xi were no longer in the living room but a teenager was reading a newspaper on the couch. This activity looked rather old-school but it curiously fitted Ji Huai's image perfectly.

Xia Yao carried her bowl and remembered she wanted to thank him. She walked slowly and sat next to him: "Thank you for last night."

"It was nothing." The teenager smiled at her.

She tentatively asked: "Last night... Did... I didn't do anything weird, did I?"

Ji Huai gently put the newspaper on the coffee table and raised his eyes to look at her.

"You did a lot of things, what do you want to know specifically?"

"A... lot of things?" The tremor in her hands almost made her spill her milk, "No, did I act silly and sweet by chance?"

"You have a clear understanding of yourself." Ji Huai complimented, "You also sang to me all the way and fell asleep before we got home."

Okay, it didn't seem that it had been too excessive. Xia Yao breathed a sigh of relief and started eating, only to find that Ji Huai was still looking at her. She raised her head and met the young boy's gaze.

She smiled, her cheeks a little bulging, and asked: "Would you like to eat? I can make you a bowl too."

She didn't notice the red ears of the teenager. Ji Huai looked away and silently picked up the newspaper he had left on the table: "My house has been renovated and I will move out in two days. Here is the address."

***

As soon as the forum's scandal had passed, it was already November and Xia Xi finally came back to school. She wasn't as popular as in the past and Xia Yao, who had a good temper and good academic performance, had greatly improved her reputation in Class A.

These days, at every lunch break and after school, Xia Yao would give tutoring lessons to Xu Shizhou and other students, for a little fee. Gradually, Xia Yao saved money and estimated she would be able to leave the Xia family soon.

After PE this afternoon, Xia Yao carried the volleyball basket with one hand to the equipment room as usual. She walked briskly and took a little shortcut. As she was about to turn a corner, she heard a door open next to her but didn't pay attention to it.

As a result, before she could react, her arm was grabbed by someone and she was dragged into a dark space. Because she was startled, she instinctively let go of the basket in her hand and the volleyballs rolled out one by one, echoing in the silence.

She was in the storage room and the door was slammed shut, isolating the noise from the outside. The room was quiet and dark, and Xia Yao had to squint her eyes to adapt to the dim environment, before saying a little impatiently: "Who is it, aren't you afraid of death?"

She didn't have to panic, after all, she had impressive strength.

The boy who had grabbed her was baffled; the girl seldom talked to him in such a tone. He walked out of the darkness and said in a lazy voice: "I am not afraid."

Xia Yao was stunned and while she couldn't see clearly, by the sound of his voice, she knew it was Xu Shizhou. She just couldn't figure out why he was looking for her.

When she remembered he was not easy to provoke, Xia Yao put away her impatience and her voice softened: "Do you need anything?"

"..." Xu Shizhou pursed his mouth, still thinking about what to say.

The storage room was originally small, cluttered by random things, and with the two of them inside, it was even tighter and Xia Yao was against the wall. The boy leaned forward and his eyes narrowed, and pressed the girl between himself and the door.

"The table in the back is covered in dust."

Xia Yao blinked her eyes. A minty fragrance was on the tip of her nose and it didn't match the image she had of Xu Shizhou. But she also felt that something was wrong with his head; since he sounded like he was a bit of a clean freak, why was he hiding there?

"Open the door, let's go talk outside." Xia Yao suggested.

Xu Shizhou frowned and he looked at the girl who was shorter than him. He leaned even closer and faintly answered: "No."

Xia Yao was stunned. Then she realized that they were really close and she wanted to get away from him. She put her hand on her side, but afraid of hurting him, she could only lean backward a bit.

She suddenly remembered that the white lotus language seemed very efficient against him.

"Brother Xu." She raised her head, "Is there anything you want to tell me? It's small and dirty here, I can't breathe."

It was Xu Shizhou's turn to be shocked. He hadn't heard the girl speak to him in this tone for a long time. He stared at her and said in a very low voice: "Call me brother again and—"

What a prick! But white lotus was easy to use, as long as she called him brother, he would let her go. Xia Yao suppressed the shame in her heart and quickly shouted: "Brother Xu!"

"—I won't let you go." The young man's voice was hoarse.

Fuck her life.

Little theater:

Xu Shizhou: I tricked her.

Xia Yao: The plot is very wrong.