“You always act like you know me so well…” Tang Nai regained her composure and suddenly leaned her face close to Su Mu, a strange glint in her eyes.
“Have we met before?”
“Who knows?” Su Mu was startled, but she quickly tossed the question back in a similar tone.
However, to her shock, Tang Nai was far more perceptive than she had imagined.
“Hmph, that annoying sister of mine — her Authority is related to time. If things involve me, she is likely to act recklessly.”
Su Mu blinked and stayed silent, looking quite adorable in her attempt to hide the truth.
Tang Nai grabbed Su Mu’s collar, leaning in closer.
Her interrogating gaze made Su Mu feel incredibly guilty.
“Fine, I admit it. It’s exactly as you guessed. The ‘you’ I know is just like I described — though quite annoying… By the way, the friend I mentioned is currently trapped by that sister of yours.”
“If you had said so earlier, I wouldn’t have wasted time with all that.” Tang Nai sighed, her palm to her forehead.
The helplessness she showed made Su Mu feel deeply sorry for her own lack of honesty.
‘Ugh, you’re so cautious. What if you thought I was lying?’ After thinking it over, Su Mu found a reasonable excuse.
Tang Nai shook her head gently and said, “Forget it, we will talk about that later. We need to hurry and save Little Miti.”
Su Mu was slightly startled to hear Tang Nai use Ye Wanqing’s codename so accurately.
“How do you know that?”
“The moment you mentioned it, I understood. Tang Yin’s Authority can only slightly cloud my memory; it can’t truly overwrite it. After you reminded me, I subconsciously organized my memories and easily found the problem.”
‘She talks so much now.’
Su Mu’s only reaction to Tang Nai’s long, complex explanation was this single thought, though it was still better than someone who spoke in riddles.
“Let’s go. What are you waiting for? Grab my hand.” Tang Nai reached out to Su Mu, her tone as commanding as ever.
Behind her was the deep canopy of the sky.
Her ink-black hair blended into the night until they were indistinguishable.
In Su Mu’s eyes, the only color left was Tang Nai’s calm, pretty face.
After hesitating for a long time, Su Mu finally took Tang Nai’s small hand.
It felt different from when she was being dragged along.
Though it was just as cold, it was exceptionally soft and delicate — like holding a piece of jade or a flake of snow that might slip away if she wasn’t careful.
However, she had no time to dwell on the sensation, because the moment she gripped it, the monotony before her was suddenly torn apart by an intrusion of silver-gray.
Familiar gray silently appeared at the tips of Tang Nai’s hair, flowing like moonlight in an instant.
It turned her beautiful eyes into an exquisite shade of gray.
The ill-fitting gown suddenly became an extension of that gray, as stunning as a blooming silver-frost rose.
Silver garments wrapped in frost filled the night, like snow dancing as it fell from the nine heavens.
Su Mu was momentarily dazed.
Truthfully, she could criticize Tang Nai from every angle — including the age and body issues the latter hated most — but she could not criticize her appearance.
‘Well, she’s still flat.’ Su Mu curled her lip and muttered under her breath, ‘A demon with the face of an angel.’
Before she could think further, Tang Nai grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the edge of the tower, making her panic.
Looking down from the edge, there was no bottom.
Mist blocked her vision, making it look like a vast Black Sea.
However, the tower’s outline stretched downward until it vanished at the center of her field of vision.
This marked the sense of distance so vividly that Su Mu’s legs felt weak.
Although rules in the Dream World could be influenced by one’s consciousness, things she couldn’t truly convince herself of still had an effect.
For instance, Su Mu’s fear of heights was currently proving too difficult to talk herself out of.
“Wait, wa—”
Before Su Mu could finish, Tang Nai leapt down like a light falling flower unfolding in the air.
She dragged Su Mu along, causing her to lose her balance and fall as well.
Strong air currents buffeted Su Mu’s face, forcing her eyes shut.
Although she didn’t scream, her tightly scrunched face betrayed her inner tension and fear.
“Heh, are you afraid of heights?”
Su Mu was annoyed by Tang Nai’s teasing but had no time to argue.
She just tensed her body even more.
Seeing this, Tang Nai chuckled, tightened her grip on Su Mu’s hand, and changed the subject.
“I suspect Tang Yin is jealous of you. That’s why she sent you back — to see what you’ve done so she can interfere before your time. She hopes this will get my attention. How silly and naive.”
Tang Nai talked to herself, trying to distract Su Mu, but Su Mu only half-understood and kept her eyes tightly shut.
“But what surprises me is that she chose you. When I first saw you online, I just thought of you as an ignorant little girl. Though your actions were somewhat unique, they weren’t worth paying attention to.”
“You’re the ignorant one!” Su Mu snapped back with clumsy, childish words.
Given her usual aggressiveness, it was quite surprising to hear her say something like that.
But that was just Su Mu.
She never took her outside frustrations out on the people close to her.
She wasn’t the kind of person who vented at home after a long day of frustration; instead, she was like a little cake — arrogant to the world but soft and sweet to her inner circle.
Tang Nai had been categorized into this group as well.
“I was only interested in you because you’re the Senior’s daughter. I wasn’t supposed to interfere because she wanted you to stay away from all this. But looking at your situation, I realize something obviously went wrong.”
“So what?” Su Mu said, still dissatisfied.
Before she noticed, Tang Nai had caught her other wrist.
“The Senior’s exact words were: ‘I want my Su Mu to live a peaceful and quiet life, even if it means being mediocre.’ But this little mouse I’m holding now — her name is Irina.” Tang Nai’s voice was very soft.
Almost every syllable was carried away by the wind, yet Su Mu heard them clearly.
“Didn’t you say remembering my name was difficult for you?” Su Mu shouted, gathering her courage.
“Well, difficult doesn’t mean impossible, right? Besides, you’re so interesting… In a few days, I’ll come find you.”
“You don’t mean in the real world, do you? Aren’t you unable to leave B City?”
Hearing this, Tang Nai gave a wicked smile.
“It won’t be an issue for a short time. I only need one day to kidnap you.”
“Saying that right to my face… You really don’t show me any respect!”
Su Mu bit Tang Nai’s slender, lily-white arm, leaving a row of light red tooth marks. Tang Nai immediately teased her.
“I’ll remember this. You like to bite. When we meet in the future, I’ll definitely get you a teething stick.”
Hearing Tang Nai’s words, Su Mu was a mix of shame and anger because she remembered the situation when they first met.
“Get lost!”