Mu Nanqiu narrowed her eyes as she stared at the swordsman character named “Beizhi” on the screen, then looked over at Su Yao, who was happily chatting away with her new game friend.
She clicked her tongue and picked up her phone, dialing Mu Beizhi’s number.
“You’re enjoying chatting with her, huh?”
“…?”
“Don’t say you’re my sister.”
“???”
Click.
The call ended just like that. Mu Beizhi stared at her phone, utterly confused.
“What the hell…?”
Originally, she and Mantou-sensei (Su Yao) had agreed to run their weekly dungeon together tonight. But last minute, Mantou-sensei said she’d be bringing someone else along.
Fine.
Whatever.
Two or three, no big difference.
But ever since that new player with the ID “Oyster-chan” had joined, the in-game atmosphere had turned… weird.
Mu Beizhi had initially assumed Mantou-sensei was bringing her girlfriend to play—and now she was the third wheel.
But then came that phone call from her sister.
What did she mean, “Don’t say you’re my sister?” …No way.
Suddenly realizing something, Mu Beizhi’s eyes widened as she stared at Oyster-chan’s avatar.
Swallowing hard, she quickly redialed her sister.
Once it connected, she asked very softly, like handling a bomb:
“Sis… are you… Oyster-chan?”
The call was cut again, immediately.
Mu Beizhi sat frozen in place, stunned.
She quickly DM’d “Oyster-chan” in-game—only to get a dry, cold response pretending they didn’t know each other.
O-okay… fine… if you say you’re not her, you’re not.
So now in this trio, only Su Yao was innocently focused on playing the game.
Both Mu Nanqiu and Mu Beizhi were preoccupied with very different thoughts.
Once their playtime was up and the server auto-kicked them for the day, everyone logged off.
Su Yao, with an early class tomorrow, just crawled straight into bed and fell asleep.
***
Meanwhile, Mu Beizhi had just shut her PC when the door to her room creaked open.
Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest.
She could feel the deathly aura behind her.
Back straightening like a soldier at roll call, she stiffened.
A hand came down on her shoulder.
She flinched—then forced a painful smile and slowly turned around to see her sister, smiling way too sweetly.
Now, after living with this person for so many years, Mu Beizhi knew:
Her sister, who rarely smiled like this, wasn’t here for a friendly chat.
She wasn’t here to borrow money, either.
And if she was hiding her hands behind her back while smiling…?
God help you.
If you even twitched, she’d pull out a kitchen knife and “open your eyes” to the truth of life.
Sure, she wasn’t that heartless—but given the situation, Mu Beizhi had no hope of sleeping peacefully tonight.
Mu Nanqiu gently pinched her sister’s cheek, smiling ever so softly, and leaned in close to whisper in her ear:
“My dearest sister~ Let’s talk.”
“I’LL CONFESS! I’LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING!!”
Knowing she couldn’t escape, Mu Beizhi instantly dropped to her knees like a prisoner begging for mercy.
Submission was the smartest move.
Back when she was younger and still full of sass, she’d gotten beaten into shape.
After all, back then, there was no little brother in the house—her sister only had her to bully.
Now, in full confession mode, Mu Beizhi told her everything.
How she met Mantou-sensei, how they became friends, even her thoughts during their first conversation—every last detail.
She also swore she had zero disrespectful thoughts toward Mantou-sensei.
Their conversations were always respectful and restrained—purely online friendship.
Satisfied with the cooperation, Mu Nanqiu went easy on her.
But just before leaving, she threw out one last dagger:
“Always cooped up at home… looks like I need to sign you up for some extra classes.”
That sentence alone nearly made Mu Beizhi spit up blood on the spot.
Nooo! Not enrichment classes! Anything but that!
***
The next morning
Su Yao woke slowly, only after the alarm on her phone buzzed several times.
She lazed around for another minute before stretching her body.
“Mmmn~”
She couldn’t help but let out a small hum as she moved.
Looking around her quiet room, she noted that the only new addition was the full-length mirror—everything else was the same.
Out of habit, she glanced down at her chest.
Soft, plump, white… springy-looking…
Then she remembered—
Wait… isn’t this nightgown technically lingerie?
Yeah. Maybe sleepwear was a better idea after all…
She got changed and then stood before the mirror again.
All wrapped up tightly like a winter dumpling, she playfully stuck out her tongue at her reflection.
The thick black coat she wore looked kind of outdated—
She’d bought it years ago and worn it every winter since.
She never thought it looked bad before, but now? It felt embarrassingly ugly.
Same for her faded old jeans…
Su Yao wanted new clothes. Pretty ones.
But with her tiny monthly stipend, she had to be frugal.
She avoided unnecessary expenses wherever possible.
Cute outfits cost hundreds of yuan—she couldn’t even bring herself to look at them.
She’d never really thought about wanting to look “pretty” before.
Warmth is enough. Comfort is enough.
***
Sitting in the back corner of the classroom, Su Yao stared out the window, lost in thought.
When will it snow this year? It’s already December…
Winter break was just around the corner.
She thought about cooking something nice for New Year’s—maybe buy some chicken, duck, and fish.
But if she cooked too much, she couldn’t finish it all, and leftovers in the fridge always tasted weird…
She saw on the news that some places were allowing fireworks again.
She hadn’t seen those in years.
Maybe she’d go watch this year.
***
Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday.
The days passed one after another.
Su Yao realized something strange: Wang Jing hadn’t been to class in a while.
Was it… because of me?
No, that can’t be. Why would it be because of me?
But if Wang Jing did come back—
How was she supposed to face her…?
She remembered the story Oyster-chan told her.
And realized—she needed to clearly say “no.”
Yes, she needed to reject Wang Jing properly.
If she didn’t clear the air, she’d be the bad guy.
But… Su Yao just couldn’t bring herself to say it.
Not with her voice getting higher and sharper these days.
It made her even more afraid to speak.
What do I do…?
She talked about it with Mu Beizhi.
She said a senior had kind of—maybe—confessed to her.
Yes, she used “maybe,” even though Wang Jing had clearly said “let’s date.”
Still, Su Yao expressed that she wanted to refuse, though gently.
But what she didn’t expect was for Mu Beizhi to tell her:
“You should accept her.”
“You should cherish this kind of opportunity. A pretty senior likes you—that’s not something to take for granted. If you miss your chance now, you’ll regret it later. Even if it doesn’t work out, at least give it a try.”
Su Yao could only sweat nervously.
This isn’t a game.
There’s no save and reload feature.
She had already made one decision—there wouldn’t be a second chance.
Feeling that Mu Beizhi’s advice might be unreliable, Su Yao decided to ask Mu Nanqiu online.
She typed out her message and asked:
“Should I reject Wang Jing?”
And Mu Nanqiu’s answer was…
FINALLY. I’m glad she finally realized that she should’ve at least rejected Wang Jing clearly instead of running off. Geez.