The older sister who had appeared out of thin air froze for a moment, then quickly broke into a sweet smile.
Jiang Xiaotang, who had just finished tidying up her bedding and moved into her sister’s room, beamed at the sight of her and said happily:
“Sister, welcome home~ Did you have fun with your friends?”
“Mm.”
Jiang Cheng, who had a guilty conscience, replied casually.
Then she saw Jiang Xiaotang trot over, grab the hem of her clothes, and lower her head, fiddling with something.
The girl was a bit confused.
“Little Tang, what are you doing?”
Jiang Xiaotang let go of her sister’s clothes and clasped her two small hands behind her back.
“I just saw wrong. It’s nothing.”
Shaking her head, the girl said nonchalantly:
“I thought there was something dirty on your clothes, so I wanted to pat it off.”
Jiang Cheng found it odd.
‘My main body’s condition should be exactly the same as before the teleportation. At most, I’d just be a bit low on energy. How could there be anything dirty?’
‘Little Tang must have seen wrong. Or maybe it was something else.’
‘Anyway, she’s just a kid. Who can be sure?’
“Keep tidying up, Little Tang. I’m going to check what’s going on outside.”
She patted Jiang Xiaotang’s head, then walked out the door.
After watching her sister leave, Jiang Xiaotang lowered her head again and fiddled with the bedding.
“How could this be…” she murmured to herself.
“How could Sister not have the scent of any other woman on her?”
“No, it’s not that there’s none. Like this afternoon, there’s only Sister Lin’s scent.”
“But Sister Lin… she’s clearly at home…”
***
Walking out, Jiang Cheng ran into Lin Luoying.
“Luoying, good evening,” she greeted simply.
“Sister Jiang Cheng, good evening. Where’s Jiang Xiaotang? Where did she go?”
“She’s in my room. She should be tidying up her bed right now. If you want to go play with her, go ahead.”
Jiang Cheng pointed at the door.
‘Tidying up the bed?’
‘What does that mean?’
‘Has Sister Jiang Cheng gotten so lazy that she needs Jiang Xiaotang to make her bed for her?’
Lin Luoying was full of question marks, but before she could ask, Jiang Cheng had already walked off.
Watching Jiang Cheng’s retreating figure, she couldn’t help feeling a bit embarrassed.
In just over a month, Jiang Cheng had grown so much taller again—almost 170 cm now. As expected of Lin Shuangxue’s niece.
‘Thinking about our Old Jiang family—of the two daughters, one is an adult and still hasn’t reached 160 cm, and the other hasn’t even reached 150 cm and basically stopped growing.’
‘Really… we’re the ones dragging down the average height. I’m so sorry!’
‘Then I might as well go ask Jiang Xiaotang.’
Lin Luoying made her decision in a heartbeat.
She turned around, pushed open the door to Jiang Cheng’s room, and walked inside.
“Sister?”
Jiang Xiaotang, who had been lying on the bed, hastily got up and looked toward the door.
After seeing clearly that it was Lin Luoying, she sighed in relief and complained:
“Why is it you? What are you doing in my sister’s room?”
“Why are you acting like a thief?”
Lin Luoying teased as she walked over.
“I just wanted to ask if you want to be in the same group as me for next week’s group assignment. I saw you don’t have any teammates. Kind of pitiful.”
“That’s because I don’t need any.”
Jiang Xiaotang rolled her eyes.
Sitting on her sister’s bed, she gave a little hop and landed on the floor bed she had set up, saying:
“An assignment this simple, I can do it all by myself. Why would I need teammates?”
“No way!”
Lin Luoying said firmly.
“You have to team up with me. I can’t let you present on stage alone. How awkward would that be?”
“It’s because you don’t know how to do it at all and can’t find anyone else to group with.”
Jiang Xiaotang mercilessly exposed her.
“You just want to team up with me to get the group assignment done.”
“Uh…”
Lin Luoying smacked her lips.
“Besides, when the time comes, I’ll do the assignment, and you’ll go present it.”
“Wuwuwu, Little Tang, please don’t say anymore.”
“Then same as always.”
Jiang Xiaotang raised three fingers and wagged them.
“For the next three days, you’re not allowed to smack your lips eating snacks next to me. I hate your lip-smacking the most.”
“Fine, this Miss promises!”
Lin Luoying patted her chest, signaling there was no problem.
“By the way, Little Tang, what are you doing in Sister Jiang Cheng’s room?”
She changed the subject.
“I see you’ve made a floor bed here. You’re not scared to sleep alone at night and need your sister to coax you to sleep, are you?”
“No way, no way. Is there really someone who’s already a middle schooler and still can’t sleep alone~”
‘It’s not that Little Tang needs Sister to coax her to sleep—it’s that Sister needs Little Tang to coax her to sleep~’
‘But of course, there’s no way Little Tang would say that to this lip-smacking idiot.’
‘After all, Little Tang has to maintain Sister’s perfect image on the outside.’
“Lin Luoying, say one more word and I won’t team up with you,” she warned seriously.
“I’m sorry, I admit I was wrong!”
Lin Luoying caved at lightspeed.
Jiang Xiaotang didn’t mind her.
“If there’s nothing else, then get out. It’s already late. We’re about to go to sleep.”
“Why are you sleeping so early? It’s only… 9:30?”
Glancing at her watch, Lin Luoying was a bit surprised.
“What, can’t I sleep earlier? I’m still growing, you know. If I don’t sleep, how can I grow taller?”
Jiang Xiaotang pouted.
‘Honestly, I think you’ve already stopped growing taller…’
But since Lin Luoying was the one asking for a favor, she didn’t say anything more.
With a light snort, she turned and walked out of the room.
‘At least I can’t lose face.’
After making sure Lin Luoying was out the door, Jiang Xiaotang glanced left and right.
Having confirmed her sister hadn’t come back yet, she couldn’t be bothered with her anymore.
Turning around, she flopped into Jiang Cheng’s quilt, burying her entire little face in it, squeezing a satisfied sigh out from the gap between her throat and the bedding.
“It’s all… Sister’s scent…”
***
On the other side, Ye Xiqiu was still sitting in front of the computer, staring blankly at the video’s comment section.
“Can I really… be this popular…”
Ring ring ring—
The ringtone suddenly rang out.
‘Whose phone is that?’
Ye Xiqiu took out her phone and glanced at it—it was a call from the counselor.
‘The counselor?’
‘What does she want with me?’
‘Is it about school?’
‘Or… is she not going to allow my leave?’
Biting her lip lightly, Ye Xiqiu’s face was full of conflict.
If she could, she actually wanted to finish her studies, but she just wasn’t ready to face others’ gazes yet.
‘Forget it. Let me hear what she has to say first.’
“Hello, is this the counselor?”
Answering the call, Ye Xiqiu spoke first.
“Yes, is this Student Ye Xiqiu?”
“Yes, I am…”
She nodded and replied softly.
For some reason, the girl felt the counselor’s voice sounded a bit excited.
“You’re Shengxia, right! Wow, I really love your live broadcasts with Dongxue! I’m your die-hard fan!”
“…”
‘Huh?’
“I’m your die-hard fan!”
The unexpected answer made the girl freeze, and only then did she snap back to reality.
‘Right.’
‘Dongxue and I are no longer those little streamers with only 1,000 fans—we’re well-known UP creators with 600,000 fans.’
‘It’s just that… people in real life recognizing me, even being my fans…’
It still felt somewhat unreal to the girl.
“Um, Student Shengxia… is it okay if I call you that?”
Just as the girl was still immersed in a daze, unable to distinguish virtual from reality, the voice came through the phone once again.
“Here’s the thing: next Friday is the freshman welcome party, and our class needs a performance. So I wanted to ask, Student Shengxia, would you be willing to represent our class at the party? There will be credits~”
“…I’d better not.”
The girl paused and refused in the end.
Her whole body slumped, collapsing into the chair.
“Don’t!”
The counselor’s voice sounded a bit anxious.
“This is the freshman welcome party! All the freshmen, except those who asked for leave, will be there. It’s a rare opportunity!”
“…”
“Student Ye Xiqiu, why don’t you think it over? You can give me an answer before Monday.”