Late at night, the moon hung high in the sky, selflessly casting its silvery light across the world.
Meng Wange stifled a yawn and rubbed the bridge of her nose before placing the pen in her hand back on the desk.
The pen rolled slightly as it touched the wooden surface, making a few crisp, clear sounds.
‘Anyway, I should mark the questions that show up repeatedly in the entrance exam. At least help Su Wanli memorize the answers. Then I’ll highlight the easier knowledge points—those should be enough to grab a few marks.’
‘If Su Wanli can manage to remember four or five key points within the next three days, she should be able to land in the middle of the rankings. After all, her class isn’t particularly competitive.’
At that elite school, not many students actually took the time to review or prepare for the entrance test.
Meng Wange pushed back the chair behind her, took a deep breath, and stood up.
She stretched her body in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window.
The moonlight filtered through the mottled shadows of the trees and brushed across her hair.
Even though a warm yellow desk lamp was on, the spacious room still felt a bit cold.
‘No surprise—this is the Su family, after all. Luxurious furnishings and a massive room. It’s the complete opposite of the cramped little place I used to live in. When I first stepped in here, it almost felt surreal.’
Back in that tiny room, Meng Wange hadn’t been able to keep many things.
Thankfully, other than a few study materials and some clothes, she didn’t have much that needed unpacking.
But now, everything she owned barely filled a small corner of this enormous room, which only made the space feel even emptier.
What’s more, the Su residence was far from the city and took up a large swath of land.
There were no roaring car engines outside, no constant shouting from the streets—only the faint chirping of insects and the occasional call of a bird.
‘So quiet…’
Meng Wange silently sat back down at the desk.
Her fingers subconsciously moved toward her forehead, as if she were about to touch something—only to pause halfway.
‘Heh. Almost forgot. Even that last familiar item… is already lying in the room next door.’
She shook her head and glanced at the desk, at the flip clock that looked exactly like the one in Su Wanli’s room.
—’10:20 PM. It’s already this late?’
Meng Wange pressed her lips together and pulled a small key from her pocket, unlocking the drawer beneath the desk.
‘Alright. Time to move on to today’s…’
***
Outside Meng Wange’s window, in the vast garden—
Even in a newly built house, there are always a few hidden corners where unnoticed dangers lurk.
And the Su residence, a massive estate that had stood for over half a century with only a few renovations, was bound to have its fair share of minor flaws.
For example, right now—beneath the low-hanging branches of a tree in the garden—there was a length of exposed electrical cable.
No one knew for sure whether it had been accidentally dug up during renovations, whether it had shifted due to growing roots, or whether it had simply never been buried deep enough during the original construction.
Whatever the case, a section of the cable had broken through the soil and lay openly on the ground.
And right beside it—just by coincidence—was a slender garden hose, likely left behind by a maintenance worker after watering the plants.
Of course, the hose had been tightly shut off.
Even if a few drops of water remained in the pipe, they probably wouldn’t do more than cause a brief short-circuit if they happened to reach the cable.
Still, probability is a funny thing—utterly unpredictable.
A slipper that had flown out of the bathroom half an hour ago was now hanging from a tree branch above an electric cable.
Every so often, a light breeze would blow past, making it sway precariously.
After what felt like an endless half-hour standoff, a curious bird finally approached, drawn by the strange sight.
It looked around cautiously, then quickly pecked at the thin branch connecting the slipper to the tree.
At last, the stalemate came to an end.
The slipper naturally fell from the treetop and landed squarely on a water pipe left behind by a sanitation worker.
As expected, the impact caused a splash, and a few drops of water landed on the exposed electric cable.
Maybe it was just an ordinary cable, one not connected to anything important.
Even if it got wet, it shouldn’t have caused much of a problem.
But probability works in strange ways.
The lights in the entire Su family mansion, once brightly illuminated, were suddenly plunged into darkness—all because of a slipper that flew out the window.
***
Meanwhile, Su Wanli was still soaking in her private bath, enjoying a luxurious bubble bath in the comfort of her home.
Wrapped in nothing but a towel, she hummed softly to herself as she cupped a handful of water and let it gently trickle down her body.
‘So strange,’ she thought.
‘The water looks milky white in the tub, but becomes completely clear once you scoop it up.’
That was the magic of a bubble bath—an expensive little pleasure.
The warm light cascading down from the sparkling crystal chandelier, the fragrant bathwater with its mysterious scent, and the soft bubbling jets massaging her back—this must be the true meaning of life.
After a long day of work, letting the flowing water wash away all the stress, then curling up in bed and falling into a peaceful sleep…
Bliss.
Without even realizing it, Su Wanli began to feel a little drowsy.
Maybe she’d soaked too long.
Her head was starting to feel fuzzy and heavy.
Fortunately, the system had recently added two points to her health stat.
Even after soaking for over thirty minutes, her body still had plenty of energy.
She slowly pulled herself out of the tub.
As her warm, damp skin met the cold air, Su Wanli shivered instinctively.
She had an early task tomorrow—disturbing Meng Wange’s sleep—and would probably have to wake up by four.
Might as well get better quality sleep in the first half of the night.
Su Wanli grabbed the hair dryer by the full-length mirror, planning to dry her hair before going to bed as scheduled.
“…Yawn.”
The warm air blew through her soft, damp hair, making her even more relaxed.
Her mind drifted.
‘Ah, this shampoo smells so good… like a hint of gardenia.’
She grew sleepier by the second.
She stood there in front of the mirror, holding the hair dryer for what felt like an eternity.
Even though her hair was still damp at the ends, her eyelids were getting too heavy to keep open.
‘No good, I have to get to bed now. Even if I catch a cold from not drying my hair, the maids can take care of me later…’
But just as she put the hair dryer back in place, the chandelier overhead began to flicker, and with a loud pop, it went completely dark.
The entire bathroom was suddenly pitch black.
Startled, Su Wanli shivered and instantly sobered up.
‘No way… Did the power go out?’
She hadn’t expected a blackout—not in a luxurious mansion like this.
‘But maybe it was just a tripped breaker?’ That kind of thing wasn’t her responsibility anyway.
The servants could take care of it in the morning.
‘Too sleepy… I should just go to bed.’
She reached out in the darkness, fumbling for the bathroom door handle.
Once she found it, she opened the door and felt along the wall as she walked toward her bedroom.
‘Hmm? How far was my room from the bathroom again? Two doors? Or three?’
One doorknob… two doorknobs… ‘A squared minus B squared equals (A + B)(A – B)…?’
Su Wanli shook her head to get rid of the random math formula that had popped into her brain.
Finally, her hand touched the familiar doorplate.
‘Found it. At last. Time to collapse into bed.’
In the thick, dreamlike darkness, Su Wanli yawned again and pushed open the door in front of her—
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