Night had deepened.
Only a crescent moon hung in the sky—
Cold and bright, dreamlike and ethereal.
“Still not going back down?”
“Careful you don’t catch a chill.”
Even in summer, the nighttime breeze still clung with a muggy persistence.
With the temperature hovering above thirty degrees, it wouldn’t cool down even slightly until maybe four or five in the morning.
The thin fabric of my nightdress clung to my arms, and I couldn’t help but yawn.
“Go on now.”
The ghost infant had been chatting with me for a long time tonight.
I could sense the fatigue in her voice.
“Go get some rest.”
“Wouldn’t want to stunt your growth.”
Ghost infant: “…”
Good. At least you can be snarky.
*****
The next day.
Just as Li Mei was about to head to military training, I blocked her at the door.
“You didn’t forget what I asked you to do, did you?”
Li Mei kept her head down as far as possible, her eyes fixed on a pair of pale, slender legs.
She didn’t dare look any higher—her eyes instinctively darted away.
“N-No, I didn’t forget.”
“I’ll definitely get her to come out.”
I took her cracked phone and pressed it against her face.
My voice was soft and gentle—but to her, it no longer sounded sweet or delicate.
It was the voice of a little devil in sheep’s clothing.
“Take care of yourself.”
She had misjudged me.
Completely.
Someone like Si Xinyan—how could she be the kind of heiress who gets bullied and doesn’t fight back?
Arrogant.
Unruly.
Exactly like the characters from the novels she’d read.
Only this time, she wasn’t the one being bullied—
She was the one who had brought it upon herself.
I blinked my pretty eyes and smiled softly, returning to my harmless and obedient appearance as I stepped aside, leaving just enough room for her to pass.
“You’ve got military training later, don’t be late.”
*****
From a distance
Around the corner of the stairs, Su Liumeng quietly watched it all.
Si Xinyan.
No matter how much she looked like a delicate little flower, there was no way she actually was one.
As Li Mei passed the stairwell corner, her face was drenched in cold sweat.
She didn’t even dare glance at the other infamously terrifying heiress nearby—afraid that even the sound of her breathing might be offensive enough to provoke her.
In that moment—
She finally understood.
Birds of a feather flock together. People group with their kind, and so do things.
Anyone who could get along with Miss Su wasn’t someone she could afford to offend.
Li Mei clutched her phone tightly.
Regret surged in her chest like a tide, threatening to drown her with its weight.
*****
“Why are you here so early?”
I glanced at the time—7:23 a.m.
A time when I wouldn’t normally even be awake.
A time Su Liumeng would never show up.
“I’m here to help you move.”
Su Liumeng replied with a smile.
“…”
“Who said I’m moving?” I pursed my lips in denial.
“No, you definitely are.”
Su Liumeng started packing my things without waiting for my permission.
I stood to the side, arms down, not intending to stop her.
“Sometimes, being too clever isn’t a good thing.”
It was kind of annoying, how easily she saw right through me.
I pouted a little and didn’t say anything more.
“Alright, alright.” Su Liumeng already knew how to calm me down.
“It’s my fault. Next time I’ll wait for you to bring it up. Otherwise, I’d just be acting like Yang Xiu again.”
“Who would ever like Yang Xiu?”
“Mm.”
I responded softly, and my earlier little tantrum quietly vanished.
I reached out to grab my computer, intending to put it into my storage bin.
Su Liumeng jumped.
“Let go, let go!”
“You’re pregnant, remember? Don’t strain yourself.”
I was full of embarrassment and had no choice but to set the computer down.
“It’s not that serious, okay? I’m not that fragile. Don’t forget how I even got to this school.”
“Still, better safe than sorry.” Su Liumeng was very serious.
“What if something did happen? Like, what if you tripped while carrying things? You’d regret it forever.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to eliminate every risk from the start?”
I turned toward the sink, gathering my cup and toothbrush in my arms.
“I can at least pack these small things myself, right?”
Su Liumeng was currently stuffing a bunch of brightly colored little dresses into the storage box—meticulously folding them one by one.
She glanced over at me, “Oh, those are fine. Bring them over here.”
The storage box?
Incredibly, incredibly expensive.
Just those few storage boxes had already cost me nearly a thousand yuan.
Su Liumeng crouched on the floor, earnestly organizing my things.
I stared at her twin ponytails bouncing mischievously behind her, and my eyes lowered slightly.
An hour later.
Most of my belongings were packed.
“Are we moving now?”
I asked instinctively, without thinking.
The moment the words left my mouth, I saw the look Su Liumeng gave me—like she was staring at an idiot.
That look clearly said: Is your intelligence on a rollercoaster ride?
Feeling awkward, I turned my head away, suddenly not in the mood to talk anymore.
“If you start moving stuff out now, wouldn’t that be alerting the enemy?”
“This was your plan last night. What, did you forget everything by this morning?”
Then Su Liumeng’s tone shifted, becoming playful.
“But you know, this is exactly what I’m here for.”
I instinctively turned my head back toward her.
She was smiling, and in her eyes, there wasn’t a trace of disdain—none of the scorn that would come from thinking I was dumb.
“Mm.”
I pinched the pleats of my dress.
The soft, smooth fabric had none of that cheap feeling.
“Alright, all done!” Su Liumeng clapped her hands with satisfaction, standing up from the floor.
Only then did I notice the dress she was wearing today—it was a beautifully ethereal hanfu-style outfit, a soft peach-pink that looked especially lovely on her.
She had a light blue hairpin in her hair.
She really seemed to like light blue—it was like she was a butterfly that had landed by chance, stirring gentle ripples in the heart.
“Did Li Mei say when she’s making her move?”
I took out my phone and checked her message.
“Noon.”
“It’s fine if it fails. It’s just a side play anyway.”
Su Liumeng, sensing I might feel discouraged, had already prepared for every possibility.
“Even if this move doesn’t work, I have others. No matter how many people are scheming in the dark, I’ll drag them all into the light, one by one.”
“You still think it’s Su Yi?” I asked softly, watching her expression.
“Absolutely.”
Su Liumeng’s answer was so firm that the words I was about to say just died in my throat.
When two people disagree, sometimes the best choice is simply to shut up.
Without solid proof, any argument would just be hollow.
I wasn’t someone who liked to argue.
“I know you still don’t want to believe it right now.”
Su Liumeng let out a sudden cold chuckle.
“Just wait. I’ll make sure you see her true colors.”
“Thank you.”
My voice was soft, barely a whisper near her ear.
“Thank me for what?” Su Liumeng perked up with interest.
“For helping me pack up the dorm… and for standing by me against the Su family.”
The ghost baby couldn’t act too many times—Su Liumeng really had helped me a lot.
Su Liumeng suddenly smiled and stepped closer, teasing on purpose.
“Didn’t anyone in the Su family ever teach you how to properly express gratitude?”
“Huh?”
I blurted out instinctively, my mind going blank.
By the time I realized I was being flirted with again, it was too late.
“Alright, you can owe me for now.” Su Liumeng finally couldn’t resist.
Seeing how cute I looked, she reached out and pinched my cheek.
“Let’s go. Time to meet this mysterious person.”
Getting my face pinched didn’t really stir much reaction in me.
Or maybe it happened so fast that I didn’t even have time to react.
Subconsciously, I reached out with my small hand and gently rubbed the spot she had just pinched with my fingertip.
“You naughty girl, you’re blushing.”
The ghost baby’s voice exploded in my head.
It felt exactly like—
Getting caught red-handed after doing something sneaky.
“No, I’m not.”
I denied it flatly. Not everyone has your kind of tsundere personality, okay?
This is called overlapping attributes.
Don’t you get it?
The ghost baby carefully mulled over my current mood, and a string of black lines silently appeared in her mind.
Was it possible… that us having slightly similar personalities was, in fact, the most normal thing in the world?