Chapter 51: Restore My Deleted Memories!

Guided by the magic radar’s display, Su Mu’s gaze snapped toward the distant railing, her pupils narrowing slightly.  

There stood a strikingly vibrant girl, dragging a cooler behind her.

Her black hair, cropped just past her ears, framed a face that bore a startling nine-tenths resemblance to Ning Xi’s, yet her skin was a contrasting porcelain white.

Her figure, too, was no less captivating.  

But it wasn’t these details that jolted Su Mu.

No, it was the aura radiating from this so-called “Number 0 Ning Xi”—a chilling indifference that mirrored Luo Linglan’s to an uncanny degree.  

Just as Su Mu prepared to voice this observation, she caught sight of Tang Nai rising from her lounge chair, waving enthusiastically toward Number 0 Ning Xi.  

‘They know each other?’  

After a moment’s hesitation, Su Mu decided against probing further.  

No sense in stirring trouble with a potential ally.  

At Tang Nai’s greeting, Number 0 Ning Xi quickened her pace, hauling the cooler with surprising agility.

In a few strides, she stood before the group.  

“Master, I brought the fish you asked for,” she said.  

‘Master?’  

Su Mu’s mind raced, a spark of realization flickering.  

‘Could this be the elusive proprietress from the hotpot restaurant last time?’  

“Get them on the grill. Go find Miti to start the fire,” Tang Nai ordered without ceremony, giving Number 0 Ning Xi a playful pat and pointing toward the barbecue setup.  

“Hey, Ningning, you made it!”  

That was Gu Xiaobei, her voice brimming with her usual warmth for just about everyone.  

‘Ningning, huh? Sounds more like a nickname she’d give herself.’  

“It’s Ning Ling,” the girl corrected curtly, her voice crisp and cool, perfectly matching her tall, lean frame and boyish short hair.

She was the epitome of a tomboy—yet her unexpectedly generous curves lent her an intriguing air of contrast.  

Lost in thought, Su Mu summoned a burst of strength, breaking free from the “sand coffin” Luo Jialan had playfully buried her in.

In a flash, she lunged forward, grabbing at—  

“What are you doing?”  

Luo Jialan stumbled back, hastily tugging her swim trunks back into place after Su Mu’s reckless grab nearly yanked them down.  

Su Mu froze, realizing her mistake.

Her hand shot back as if burned.  

‘I meant to grab her shirt hem!’  

But swimsuits don’t have hems, do they?

In her haste, Su Mu’s fingers had landed squarely on Luo Jialan’s trunks, which clung precariously to her slender frame.  

“Hey, even if you’re still mad about yesterday, at least wait until we’re alone!” Luo Jialan huffed, turning away, her cheeks faintly flushed from the angle Su Mu could still see.  

The scene before Su Mu began to blur, overlapping with fragments of a dream.

That same expression—Luo Jialan’s face, flushed and fleeting—had appeared in that strange, hazy vision.

Her long hair, tied back, danced in the sea breeze.

Her graceful, delicate silhouette cast dappled shadows under the sunlight.

Even the subtle curves beneath her swimsuit, demure yet alluring, felt eerily familiar.  

It all aligned with that dream, though the sequence was jumbled, the details slippery.

Su Mu sank into the overwhelming sense of déjà vu.  

‘Wait, what did she just say?’  

“Don’t say it out loud! Now they’re all going to be curious!”  

‘Mad about what? Why alone?’  

‘Something’s fishy.’  

Luo Jialan, catching the implication of her own words, coughed lightly, her lavender eyes darting with unease.  

‘Did I just let that slip?’  

Thankfully, the others seemed distracted by the barbecue.

‘Probably.’  

A shadow loomed over Su Mu, freezing her in place.  

An overwhelming presence pressed down, as if something vast and imposing stood behind her.  

She turned, stiff-necked, only to find her vision dominated by a pair of striking peaks.

From this angle, she could glimpse the smooth, graceful curve of their southern hemispheres peeking past the ruffled edge of a swimsuit.  

‘Staring up at the big boss.’  

But Su Mu had no time to linger on the view.

Motes’s pink eyes gleamed with a rising spark of excitement.  

“You two seem awfully close, Su Mu, Little Lando,” she purred.  

How had Motes, so unassuming moments ago, materialized like a specter?  

“Don’t worry, my lips are sealed. I know—it’s a secret.”  

‘Misunderstanding! Total misunderstanding!’  

“No, no, it was just an accident!” Su Mu protested.  

“Oh, really? But I saw you trying to tug off her little bottoms,” Motes teased, her words flowing with unnerving ease now.  

She pressed a hand to her flushed cheeks, her gaze turning sultry as she fixed it on Su Mu.  

“And I overheard some very interesting details. Oh, the things that happen between shy young girls—don’t mind me, I’ll leave you to it.”  

‘No, she didn’t misunderstand—she’s fully convinced!’  

Su Mu and Luo Jialan stood speechless, watching as Motes sauntered away, licking her lips with a mischievous grin.  

“This is your fault,” Luo Jialan muttered, shooting Su Mu a resentful glance.  

Su Mu could only lower her head, cheeks burning with embarrassment.  

‘Who could’ve seen this coming?’  

Things were spiraling, and fast.

From the moment she’d let Lando’s teasing slide, it was clear this wouldn’t end neatly.  

Not that Su Mu regretted it, exactly—but a quiet worry gnawed at her, a fear she might disappoint someone or take a wrong step.  

Irina appeared just in time, her voice soothing.  

“Relax, Su Mu. You’re too hard on yourself. You’re a good person, you know.”  

‘Nonsense. What kind of “good person” attracts haters online left and right?’  

“Look, just blame it all on me if it helps. Stop thinking you’re the villain. Take a page from Tang Nai—be a carefree, chaotic gremlin. It’s not so bad, right?”  

‘No way am I copying that girl. And you better not either!’  

As Su Mu grumbled inwardly, Ye Wanqing approached, holding two skewers of grilled fish.  

“Still sulking, Little Mouse? Here, a consolation prize for the loser,” she teased, offering a skewer.  

“You’re the one who surrendered first!” Su Mu shot back, puffing out her cheeks as she glared at Ye Wanqing.

Still, she snatched the fish and took a fierce bite.  

“Chomp, chomp, chomp.”  

A bit tough, maybe, but the flavor was divine.  

Then, a familiar tingle of magic hit her senses.  

‘Oh, right!’  

It was her—the one who laced food with lethal doses of magic!  

Su Mu’s memory clicked into place, and she suddenly recalled why she’d grabbed at Luo Jialan’s trunks.  

“Hey, doesn’t this Ning Ling girl seem… familiar?” she asked, turning to Luo Jialan.  

The question caught her off guard.

“…How did you know? Wait, what did you do in my dream yesterday?”  

The sensation of that pinch flooded back, and an impossible thought surfaced in Luo Jialan’s mind.  

Su Mu’s awkward behavior after leaving the dream was still vivid.  

Could it be—  

Luo Jialan glanced down at her own hands, a hollow feeling washing over her.  

‘But I don’t remember anything. Nothing at all. Come on, stupid brain—give me back my deleted memories!’