Chapter 21: Jiang Xiaotang

“Ugh…”

Leaning against the tree by the school gate, Jiang Cheng felt… no, she was absolutely, disgustingly nauseous.

She swore, this was definitely the biggest crisis she’d faced since transmigrating.

‘I told you to hurry! I didn’t tell you to drive like a damn race car driver!’

“What’s the matter, little miss? Need help catching a cheater?”

The driver beside her was practically itching to act, even looking a bit smug. He tilted his head at a forty-five-degree angle, staring at the sky with a nostalgic expression.

“Ah, it’s been a while since I drove that fast. Last time was back in the Haicheng Off-Road Rally…”

‘So you really were a race car driver after all!’

“No thanks, uncle… I’ll handle it myself.”

Gritting her teeth, Jiang Cheng refused the driver’s offer and walked to the school gate, passing through the facial recognition barrier.

“Tch, kids these days just can’t handle it.”

Watching the girl’s frail back, the driver couldn’t suppress the smug curl of his lips.

“Back in my day, speeding was just a normal part of life for me.”

“Oh yeah? So you speed a lot, huh?”

“You bet I do. After all…”

Hearing someone chime in, the driver launched into a tale of his glorious past.

“Long story short, driving fast is just fun. I’m not gonna drive some slow-as-molasses car.”

“So, you’ve never been caught by the cops?”

“Of course not!”

The man waved his hand grandly, then turned around to see two cops in uniform.

“Oh. Well, you’re caught now.”

The cop’s face was calm.

“Tch… Can I take back what I said?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

The cop jingled the handcuffs in his hand.

“But we can give you a pair of silver bracelets.”

***

On campus, Jiang Cheng slowly recovered from her motion sickness. She jogged lightly toward Jiang Xiaotang’s classroom.

Along the way, she saw many parents, but they were all mothers. Not a single person like herself—an older sister.

“Mom, I want to eat stir-fried shrimp.”

“Then you’ll have to peel the shrimp when we buy them.”

“Okay~”

A mother-daughter pair walked past Jiang Cheng in the hallway, chatting and laughing, carrying a bag of ingredients.

When she reached the classroom door, Jiang Cheng bent over, gripping the doorframe, her heavy breathing like a broken bellows.

She struggled to straighten up and looked inside.

Empty.

No, there was still one person.

The dim, blood-red sunlight streamed through the window, dyeing the classroom a pale pink like flesh.

Drenched and humid, like the belly of a giant beast.

Long shadows stretched across the room as the sun slanted in. At the far corner, in the thickest shadow, a pale, black-haired girl was curled up.

Hearing the noise at the door, she slowly lifted her head. The motion of her neck was like a rusty hinge, each inch requiring her full strength.

Her legs moved on their own.

Footsteps echoed through the empty classroom. One step, two steps, three steps—then stopped.

Jiang Cheng stood before the girl, her shadow completely covering the curled-up figure.

The pale-faced girl looked up, but instead of erupting in anger or tears as Jiang Cheng had imagined, she gave a bright, almost brilliant smile.

“Big sister, you finally came~”

Her voice was sweet, even cuter than usual.

But Jiang Cheng would have preferred curses.

“Xiaotang…”

The girl paused, then crouched down to meet her sister’s eyes.

“Don’t you hate me?”

“Hate?”

Jiang Xiaotang tilted her head in confusion.

“Why would I hate big sister? Big sister came to be with me—I’m too happy to hate…”

“But… but I was late. All the other classmates have already left with their parents. You were left all alone… weren’t you lonely?”

“Not at all. How could I be lonely?”

Her expression was earnest.

“Being alone is something I’m used to. Isn’t that how the last few months have been?”

“The fact that big sister came today is already enough to make me happy.”

“I’m not like what they say. I’m not a child no one wants~”

The girl’s voice was pure and genuine, even carrying an obvious satisfaction.

—There was no way she was lying.

“…”

A surge erupted from the depths of her heart. Jiang Cheng bent forward, almost crashing into the girl’s embrace.

Her arms tightened, squeezing until she could feel the vibration of Xiaotang’s heartbeat under her ribs.

The girl was thrown off balance by the sudden force, letting out a short “mmph” like a startled animal.

But she didn’t struggle or make a sound. She just quietly fit herself into the embrace.

‘So warm…’

Familiar, yet foreign.

This had once been her long-cherished wish.

A long time ago, they had been this close, without any barriers.

But because of an accident that shouldn’t have been blamed on the girl, a pitiful, thick wall had been raised between the sisters.

Now, it seemed like everything had returned…

Had it really?

No, Jiang Xiaotang thought. It could never return.

Having silently followed behind Jiang Cheng, watching her sister for so many years, how could Jiang Xiaotang not feel the difference between her sister and “her sister”?

This “big sister” was no longer that big sister.

But… so what?

She had her sister’s face, her sister’s voice, and her sister’s tenderness.

That was enough…

The classroom was so quiet that she could hear both their heartbeats.

Thump-thump—thump-thump—

After who knows how long.

“Xiaotang, I… mmph?”

Releasing the embrace, Jiang Cheng’s voice trembled. She slowly opened her mouth, ready to confess to the girl—

But Jiang Xiaotang pressed a finger to her lips.

“Big sister, don’t talk about other things…”

Her tone was still cheerful.

“Can you just keep holding me?”

“…”

“Ah… this is such a reassuring feeling… Will big sister hold me like this every day from now on?”

“…Yes. Big sister will hug you every day.”

“Heehee, then I’m the happiest little sister in the world~”

“…”

“Okay, big sister, don’t cry.”

Only then did Jiang Cheng realize her vision had blurred. Something warm slid down her cheek, dripping onto Xiaotang’s hand and spreading into a dark spot.

A small, cool hand touched her face. The thumb traced from the corner of her eye to her cheekbone—slowly, carefully, as if wiping something fragile.

“I really can’t do anything about you, big sister…”

The tone carried helplessness, along with a hint of attachment.

Jiang Cheng’s vision cleared, sharper than ever. The girl’s smile was right in front of her. Jiang Cheng had never seen her sister so clearly, not even in her memories.

“Okay, big sister, stop crying. Let’s go.”

Her face was joyful, not the hollow emptiness before—perhaps she was no longer the puppet without a self in the original owner’s memories. Years of companionship had reshaped her soul.

And now, what awakened that soul was a tear that didn’t belong to this world.

The girl’s fingers slipped into Jiang Cheng’s palm, one by one, locking into place perfectly.

“The other classmates have already started cooking. Xiaotang can’t be late.”

“Yeah!”

Jiang Cheng nodded firmly, not even realizing how odd it was that a reincarnated person like her was being comforted by a middle school girl.

Perhaps experience doesn’t equal maturity, and adults have no right to be arrogant in front of children.