[Ding——!]
[Congratulations, Host. In accordance with the game manufacturer’s request, the system has been updated to a new version.]
Jiang Cheng, who was eating, froze for a moment, even forgetting to chew the rice in her mouth.
“Um… what’s wrong, big sister?”
Noticing Jiang Cheng’s strange state, the girl took a hard swallow and looked at her.
“It’s nothing.”
Jiang Cheng swallowed the rice in her mouth and stood up excitedly.
“Xiaotang, you keep eating. Big sister has some things to do in her room…”
Jiang Xiaotang blinked.
“Big sister, take care of yourself. Don’t overdo it~”
Obviously, the girl had misunderstood. After all, getting up in a rush and running back to the room in the middle of a meal was too strange.
Jiang Cheng, however, didn’t notice anything off in the girl’s words at all. She casually responded, closed the door, and even locked it.
Outside the door, Jiang Xiaotang sighed.
‘Sure enough, big sister had no intention of listening…’
‘Is that kind of thing really that fun?’
The girl didn’t understand. Young as she was, she was still innocent and couldn’t fully comprehend her sister’s behavior.
But…
She put down the bowl she was holding, quietly stood up, walked to the door, and pressed her ear against it.
“There’s no sound either…” she muttered.
“Big sister hasn’t started? So slow…”
Inside the bedroom, Jiang Cheng urgently called up the system panel in her mind.
“System, tell me what you’ve updated.”
[Ding——]
[As per the manufacturer’s request, the transformation time for the Loli Form has been extended to 8 hours, the transformation time for the Onee-san Form has been extended to 6 hours, and the consumption for Cat Form transformation has been removed.]
“That good?”
Jiang Cheng was instead a bit suspicious.
“Doesn’t the manufacturer have any requirements? Just giving away extended transformation time for nothing?”
[Not entirely.]
The system patiently explained.
[Mr. Manufacturer felt that the Host’s interaction time with the heroine was too short, which prevented her from enjoying the show, so he manually extended the transformation time.]
Something like that?
‘By the way, doesn’t this sentence imply that this so-called manufacturer has been watching me all along?’
Manufacturer: Surveillance ongoing——
Then, Jiang Cheng cast aside that thought and got excited.
“That means my transformation time has more than doubled, and the Cat Form doesn’t consume energy anymore?”
[Yes.]
“Then doesn’t that mean I can go find Yaoyao and Xiao Xiqiu tonight? I could even stay with them all day to grind my Dexterity level, as long as I come pick up Xiaotang occasionally?”
[Yes, but not entirely.]
[The Host can indeed stay with the heroine all the time, but to prevent this situation, the manufacturer has imposed a daily experience cap for the Host. As long as you practice for four hours, you can fully obtain experience… There is no experience cap for innate talents.]
[Furthermore, sleeping in Cat Form will no longer restore energy. Please ensure the Host has enough rest time… Oh, and the manufacturer doesn’t like truant students. The Host should attend classes on time or find a reasonable excuse for leave.]
“No! This is unfair!”
Jiang Cheng trembled with anger.
“Before reincarnation, I was tortured to death by a ridiculous schedule of six early morning classes a week in university. After reincarnation, I still have to take early morning classes? Did I reincarnate for nothing!”
[…]
“System, say something!”
[…Host, the manufacturer has asked me to tell you: “Don’t think I’m not here. I’m always here!” If you continue like this, your transformation rights will be revoked permanently immediately.]
Jiang Cheng fell silent.
‘Damn manufacturer, you exploiter of transmigrators, bully of beautiful girls, inhuman, heinous, irreconcilable, super ultra mega jerk!’
The girl cursed under her breath.
‘It’s just classes, right? I’ll go! Not only will I go, I’ll attend every 8 AM and every 9 PM class without missing a single one! Nyah nyah nyah, aren’t you mad…’
After lamenting her dark future, Jiang Cheng finally gave up on the thought of skipping classes.
‘Since things have come to this, let’s eat first.’
She sat up, straightened her clothes, and walked out.
At the door, Jiang Xiaotang narrowed her eyes, listening intently.
‘Strange, why is there no sound?’
‘Hmm, but there seems to be footsteps.’
‘Why would there be footsteps?’
‘Footsteps… footsteps…’
‘No!’
Jiang Xiaotang’s little mind realized something was terribly wrong, but before she could adjust her posture, Jiang Cheng’s door suddenly opened.
The girl, who was leaning on the door without any preparation, let out an “Ahya!” and fell forward.
“Wow, no!”
She closed her eyes in despair, ready to greet the impending hard landing.
But unexpectedly, she didn’t hit the cold floor. Instead, she fell into a soft embrace.
“Um… am I in heaven already…”
Jiang Xiaotang murmured to herself.
“So that’s why you’re nuzzling my chest?”
Jiang Cheng couldn’t hold back her urge to tease.
“By the way, do I have a halo over my head or holes in my hands? Why would you think I’d send you to heaven?”
Jiang Xiaotang didn’t understand Jiang Cheng’s hell joke. She hurriedly steadied herself by gripping the girl’s arm, and took the chance to sneak a peek at her sister’s face.
Perhaps it was the adrenaline, or maybe the bedroom lighting, but Jiang Xiaotang felt her sister’s face was so clear—clearer than every other object in the whole world. It was as if…
As if it had leaped out of this world and directly burrowed into Xiaotang’s heart…
Um…
The girl lowered her head, not daring to look again.
“So?”
Jiang Cheng pinched the girl’s cheek and thoroughly kneaded it.
“So why were you eavesdropping at my door?”
“Waa!”
Jiang Xiaotang snapped out of that dreamy atmosphere and realized her situation.
‘No, Jiang Xiaotang, calm down…’
She took a few deep breaths but found—she couldn’t calm down at all!
No matter what, there’s no way to explain getting caught red-handed eavesdropping!
Jiang Xiaotang fidgeted. The girl wasn’t afraid of being hit or scolded by her sister; she was afraid of alienation.
Fortunately, Jiang Cheng just ruffled her hair.
“Don’t do this kind of thing again, okay?”
Then she pinched her cheek again—Big Sister seemed to really like pinching Xiaotang’s cheek. Was it because Xiaotang had gotten chubby recently?
Jiang Xiaotang didn’t know the reason. She only knew one thing—Big Sister wasn’t angry.
“Okay~”
The girl then broke into a smile.
Watching her, Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but sigh.
‘So children’s happiness was really that simple—just not being scolded could make them so happy.’
She patted the girl on the head.
“Go back and eat.”
“Mm!”
After dinner, Jiang Cheng started packing.
After all, they were moving tomorrow. Waiting until morning to pack would be a bit late.
Though they said they needed to organize, there wasn’t much to take. Lin Shuangxue had clothes, toiletries, cosmetics, skincare products—everything—and their quality was far better than Jiang Cheng’s.
Besides, Lin Shuangxue hadn’t said she would take over this house. It was more likely she just wanted Jiang Cheng to stay with her for a while… and it might not even be for long.
So Jiang Cheng didn’t take the things that were important to “Jiang Cheng”—the old photos, the old keepsakes. She let them stay here.
As for Jiang Xiaotang, she only took three photos and some intimate clothing.
Curious, Jiang Cheng leaned in to look.
The first was a couple she didn’t really recognize, with a particularly tiny girl in the middle. The middle-aged man looked somewhat familiar—he must be Jiang Xiaotang’s original parents, “Jiang Cheng”’s uncle and aunt.
The second was a group photo of Jiang Xiaotang, “Jiang Cheng”, and their adoptive parents. “Jiang Cheng” stood in the center position, smiling happily, while Jiang Xiaotang shrank in the corner, looking nervous.
The third was a photo Jiang Cheng and Jiang Xiaotang had taken when they went out to eat a while ago.
‘Why did she bring this one too?’
Jiang Cheng didn’t understand. They had a whole basket full of photos together, so why had she chosen this newest one?
‘To celebrate the recovery of her relationship with her sister?’
Jiang Cheng thought about it and decided that must be it.
‘It can’t be that she discovered I’m not her real sister, right (lol)’
Soon after packing, Jiang Xiaotang washed up and climbed into bed to sleep.
Jiang Cheng also took a shower and lay on the bed, but she didn’t plan to sleep.
Instead…
‘Transformation, activate!’
‘First, let’s go see what Yaoyao is doing while I’m away!’
Jiang Cheng acted on it immediately and started teleportation.
‘This time, I’ll strike in Cat Form!’
After the familiar dizziness, White Snow opened her eyes.
In front of her was a dim room. Su Mengyao sat at the desk, staring intently at the computer screen in front of her.
‘Why didn’t she turn on the light? Doesn’t her eyes hurt?’
Thinking this, White Snow leaped onto the desk without making a sound.
She was pleased with her own grace, then looked at the computer.
The screen was densely packed with…
All photos of White Snow.