“You just love teasing me. Let’s see if she’ll come in on her own later.”
Muttering under her breath, the girl’s face puffed up with anger.
She didn’t believe for a second that White Snow hadn’t heard her. Her voice had been perfectly clear.
Turning on the faucet and adjusting it to hot, water at just the right temperature gushed from the showerhead, pouring down over her.
The girl couldn’t help but let out a soft hum, beginning to enjoy this hard-won comfort.
But for some reason, the more Xu Mengyao rinsed off, the more uneasy she felt.
Her gaze kept drifting toward the bathroom door, hoping that adorable girl would push it open.
It’s not like she wanted to take a bath with her or anything!
I’m just… just worried she might catch a cold, that’s all…
What if White Snow really does catch a cold?
She’d be miserable, wouldn’t she? She might run a high fever, she might… Would I be able to take care of her properly?
Would her parents come knocking, chasing away the culprit who made their daughter sick, making sure I could never get close to White Snow again?
After all, she’s so cute and lively, completely different from someone like me—cowardly and with a terrible personality…
Just having her for one night was more than enough for me…
More than enough…
For some reason, Xu Mengyao’s heart grew more and more unsettled.
Just moments ago, she could faintly hear the girl talking to herself and walking around in the bedroom, but now there was no sound at all.
It was as if… as if…
As if that little angel had already left…
Could she have fainted from a fever?
Once this thought took root in her mind, it sprouted and grew, impossible to shake off.
Xu Mengyao felt utterly restless, as if her comfortable bath here was somehow hurting White Snow.
She couldn’t stand it any longer.
Turning off the faucet, she hurriedly ended her shower without even properly washing herself. Grabbing a towel to dry off haphazardly, she wrapped herself in a bath towel and rushed out.
Pushing the door open and entering the bedroom, Xu Mengyao quickly scanned the room.
Nothing.
That girl wasn’t there.
Where did White Snow go?
Did she leave?
Or… did something happen…
“White Snow?”
She called out tentatively.
No response.
“Are you hiding?”
Pulling open the wardrobe—it was empty, save for a few spare hotel bathrobes.
“Come out quickly, or you’ll catch a cold if you don’t take a bath!”
Peering under the bed—empty.
“Stop hiding! Come out now!”
She flung back the covers—nothing. Pushed open the balcony door—nothing. The lawn below the balcony was empty too, no one in sight—so no one had jumped, at least.
She rushed out of the room. The hallway had a few scattered figures, but none were that petite, white-haired girl.
Behind the door, under the desk, in the bathroom, even inside the nightstand drawer.
Xu Mengyao searched every possible hiding spot, but found nothing.
She stood in the center of the room, her wet hair clinging to her cheeks, water droplets falling from the ends of her hair onto the carpet, forming small, dark stains.
Suddenly, everything felt very quiet.
Just a moment ago, someone had been talking.
Just a moment ago, someone had been laughing and teasing her.
Now there was nothing.
She even began to wonder—had that little angel named White Snow ever really existed?
Maybe it was all just her imagination?
Maybe she was still in the river, and everything she’d just experienced was just a dream before drowning?
But… it all felt so real.
It couldn’t be a dream.
Absolutely not…
Then, there was only one explanation.
“White Snow must have disliked me and left secretly…”
She slowly sat back down on the bed, her body trembling slightly as she curled up.
The light from overhead cast a long shadow, shrouding her face in darkness, her expression impossible to see.
Only her eyes were visible, growing dimmer and dimmer with each whispered mutter.
“Yeah… she definitely left…”
“After all, I’m just someone hiding in the gutter, afraid of the sunlight… how could I ever be worthy of her…”
“But I really wanted it… even fake teasing, even gentle concern…”
“Why… why do you have to avoid me like everyone else…”
“Is it because I’m a fake heiress… a lowly creature who stole someone else’s life…”
Her voice grew softer, more fragmented, like she was talking to herself, or to someone who wasn’t there.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened on the bedsheet, crumpling the pristine white bedding into pitiful wrinkles—like a mocking grimace.
Suddenly, her movements froze.
On the nightstand, there was a piece of white paper.
It was placed in a very conspicuous spot, yet she hadn’t noticed it until now.
Xu Mengyao practically lunged for it.
“A note—”
Her finger hit the corner of the table, a trace of blood seeping under her fingernail, but she didn’t seem to notice.
She clutched the note in her hand and looked down to read it.
—Hmm~ I bet big sister is frantically looking for White Snow right now, aren’t you?
“Not at all…”
The girl mumbled, but the heart hanging in her chest settled back down.
Seeing the slightly childish handwriting on the note, she could almost picture that adorable girl who was always playing pranks, covering her mouth and giggling.
She continued reading.
—Big sister doesn’t need to worry either. White Snow wasn’t kidnapped by some other bad woman. She just ascended to Cat Star~
Ascended to Cat Star?
Xu Mengyao’s heart, which had just calmed down, began pounding violently again.
—To replenish energy~ After all, someone as cute as White Snow can’t stay in the human world for too long, or Cat Star’s losses would be too great~
“Hmph! Teasing me again!”
Though she complained, the girl’s heart felt warm.
At least White Snow still cared about her. Was still willing to tease her.
—So, little sister can only stay in the human world for a few hours each day. See you tomorrow night~
See you tomorrow night…
Of course, Xu Mengyao didn’t believe any of this “ascending to Cat Star” nonsense—to her, it was just another one of White Snow’s jokes.
But the words “see you tomorrow night” made her heart feel strangely warm.
So, White Snow will come find me again?
Tomorrow? At night? Here?
Won’t she stand me up? Isn’t this just another prank?
Won’t she be like Mom, who said she was just leaving for a moment and never came back?
Xu Mengyao didn’t know.
But… what else could she do?
She could only choose to believe, only choose to wait, only entrust everything to that little devil of an angel.
She hated this feeling.
But she had no other choice.
Just like the past eighteen years of her life, she’d never had any autonomy, could only choose to wait.
Could only pin her hopes on the other person’s charity.
I hope… White Snow will come back.
She prayed silently in her heart.
Xu Mengyao got up, lifted the covers, and crawled inside.
The bed carried a faint scent—she was sure it was White Snow’s smell.
Of course, this was impossible; the girl had only sat on the corner of the bed for a while and hadn’t gotten under the covers at all.
But the young girl didn’t care about that.
Xu Mengyao buried her face in the pillow and took a deep breath.
Until that scent filled her chest, until her mind grew hazy from the slight lack of air.
Only then did she slowly let out that breath.
“Good night, sweet dreams…”
Then, she fell into a deep sleep.
Outside the window, the sound of rain gradually ceased. The dim yellow light from the streetlamp filtered through the gap in the curtains, casting a long, quiet streak of light on the carpet.