Category: My Girlfriend is a Cold and Aloof Sickly Beauty

Chapter 25: Interaction “Upgrade”

“Your Hypothesis Two should have already been realized, right?”

Seeing Jiang Xue’s continued silence, Xie Xitong changed the subject. “This incident was an accident. The servant Shizhu sent a distress message, and you, thinking ‘it’s worth a shot,’ ended up proving that you can interfere with events on the Third Princess’s side through dreams.”

“…You mean, the interaction has upgraded again?” Jiang Xue looked at her in astonishment.

“Yes, otherwise, no matter how deeply you slept, you wouldn’t have been able to reach the place where she lives, let alone bring her back inside from the courtyard.” Xie Xitong nodded. “The previous dreams weren’t real-time. They were either replays of past events or scenes from your imagination.”

“Compared to those, your dream this time wasn’t just an ‘upgrade,’ it was a major update!”

Jiang Xue fell into deep thought.

“Actually, my sister just speculated about the development of the hypotheses.”

After a long while, she finally spoke. “If we can find the connection between us, and the key factor that determines the connection, the Third Princess might be able to travel through time and space and come to our world.”

“However, for now, we both believe that this key factor depends on the Third Princess, but there are no examples or evidence yet.”

“This incident might be a starting point. But as you just said, if Shizhu hadn’t bravely asked for our help, the Third Princess might have silently frozen to death last night!”

Thinking about this, Jiang Xue felt a wave of fear.

When she was resolving the situation, she hadn’t been afraid, her mind focused entirely on “saving the princess” and “helping the princess get revenge on the Crown Prince.” Afterwards, she had become apprehensive, trying not to think too much, telling herself “at least I saved her.”

Now that her friend had brought it up again, she couldn’t help but feel anxious.

“That’s why the interaction upgrade is a good thing,” Xie Xitong said slowly, bringing the topic back. “This time, you could only receive information through external forces. Maybe next time, she will pull you into the dream?”

Seeing Jiang Xue lower her head and remain silent, Xie Xitong put an arm around her and patted her shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself, you’ve already done a great job. You don’t have magic to remotely install a radar on her. When she didn’t reply to the diary, besides entering a dream to check on her, there was nothing else you could do!”

Jiang Xue finally looked up, giving her friend a pointed look. “You know how to comfort people.”

“In short, just do what you can within your abilities.” Xie Xitong tactfully let go of her. “Or, why don’t you discuss it with the Third Princess and ask her to leave a message every one or two hours to report her safety?”

“That’s a bit much!” Although she said this, Jiang Xue actually wanted the Third Princess to do just that.

If it became a habit, if anything unexpected happened again, she could immediately enter the dream to check on the situation as soon as she noticed the Third Princess hadn’t sent a message, without needing external help to relay information, minimizing the delay.

Even during major exams at school, she could check the diary during breaks. Even if she couldn’t go there herself, Shizhu, with her experience, would be waiting by the diary for supplies and solutions.

Watching Xie Xitong return to her seat and continue studying, Jiang Xue couldn’t help but bring this up with the Third Princess, asking for her opinion.

She also included a record of her dream experience this time.

It contained both the details of the events in the dream and her own analysis.

【This dream was very special, but it should still be a one-sided interaction from me to you.】

【When I entered the dream, you were unconscious and unable to communicate, and the event that caused me to leave the dream was your awakening.】

【In this dream, I could interact with you and also manipulate objects in that world, such as touching bottles and jars. But no one except you could see or hear me, let alone interact with me.】

【If Your Highness can recall anything, I hope you can tell me how you felt at the time. Even if your consciousness was lost during that period and you didn’t feel anything, please tell me!】

To quickly find the “connection” between them and the pattern that triggered the dreams, Jiang Xue specifically mentioned the mysterious red fox.

【Special circumstance this time: a red fox.】

【A beautiful, crimson fox, suspected to be the guide of the dream. With its help, I was able to reach you.】

【But the red fox never spoke. I tried to communicate with it, and it only wagged its tail at me.】

Heeding her older sister’s advice, Jiang Xue didn’t ask any further questions about the red fox, only emphasizing its existence.

When Xiao Luohan was checking the latest message, Shizhu had just brought her medicine and was preparing to feed it to her.

“No rush, let it cool down a bit before drinking.” She gently shook her head and gestured for Shizhu to grind ink for her.

She had no objections to regularly reporting her safety, but the timekeeping devices here weren’t as accurate and convenient as those in that world. She couldn’t have Jiang Xue constantly worrying about her because of such inaccuracies.

She needed a timekeeping device, and also… to respond to Jiang Xue’s “dream.”

Whether it was a dream or not, Xiao Luohan couldn’t judge with common sense anymore. She could only truthfully describe her feelings and leave it to the knowledgeable Jiang Xue to deduce the truth.

【When you saved me, my perception of my body was very vague, but I could “see” some of your actions through the dream.】

【However, the dream was intermittent, and during the “breaks,” only vague impressions remained.】

She paused, her brush hovering over the paper.

In those “vague impressions,” she had hugged the large white cat that had snuggled against her, burying her face in its soft, warm fur.

Now that the white cat had been confirmed to be Jiang Xue, the more she thought about her actions, the more ashamed she felt.

【I inadvertently acted presumptuously. It was my fault. Since you risked your life to save me, from now on, no matter what requests you make, I will do my utmost to fulfill them!】

When Shizhu came over, Xiao Luohan also said softly, “If you hadn’t informed the ghost or spirit, I would probably have frozen to death under the tree yesterday. If you have any requests…”

“I wouldn’t dare! I wouldn’t dare say such things!” Shizhu knew what she was going to say and hurriedly knelt down. “It’s already a great fortune for me to serve you, Your Highness!”

Seeing Xiao Luohan’s confusion, she explained with a wry smile, “I was originally going to be sent out of the palace, and I didn’t know what would happen next, or if my life would be in danger. It was only because you arrived that I was assigned to Wangmei Pavilion.”

She was very grateful for the arrival of this foreign princess, so she had brought the plum blossom branch for her and taken good care of her. Others saw the princess sent for marriage alliance as a harbinger of misfortune and avoided her, but she didn’t care at all.

Xiao Luohan paused, and after careful consideration, voiced the worry that had been on her mind for a long time: “But you have witnessed His Highness the Crown Prince’s dislike for me. Why would you still help and save me? If the marriage falls apart, I will surely meet a bad end, and you will naturally be implicated.”

She hadn’t forgotten the reason her mother had insisted on sending her away.

Beiliao, having lost its great general, her elder sister, was already demoralized. Coupled with the widespread corruption within the country, if Daying provoked another war, Beiliao’s demise wouldn’t be far off.

By then, the so-called “marriage alliance” between the two countries would surely cease to exist, and how long she, the princess sent for marriage, could live would depend on the whims of those in power.

“I’m old. I couldn’t protect my daughter in this life, and I can’t stay in the palace for much longer either. Facing obstacles everywhere, I wonder what sins I committed in my past life, what karmic debts I owe…” Shizhu sighed. “Now, I just want to accumulate more merit, so that in the next life, my daughter and I can be reborn into a wealthy family.”

Seeing Xiao Luohan put down her brush, she held up the medicine bowl, a kind smile on her face. “You should drink it now, Your Highness. It’s cold in winter, and if you wait any longer, it will be completely cold and upset your stomach!”

Xiao Luohan didn’t know how to comfort her, so she obediently finished the medicine.

Just then, she saw a small white object roll off the booklet. Picking it up, she saw square Arabic numerals on it, along with a still-warm printed sheet of paper.

【This is a portable digital watch. I’ve already set the time. I’ll show you the correspondence between the numbers and shichen with a picture!】

【I don’t have any other clocks or watches on hand. I just placed an order. Make do with this for now!】

“Are you going to continue talking to the ghost or spirit, Your Highness?” As Xiao Luohan examined the watch, Shizhu volunteered, “I’ll secure the door for you!”

She seemed to regard this as a great honor.

“No need! You should rest.” Xiao Luohan hurriedly stopped her. “The ghost or spirit has already manifested. No one will dare to cause trouble for me anytime soon. There’s no need to guard the door.”

Last night, Shizhu had given her fever-reducing pills according to Jiang Xue’s instructions and had been wiping her down. Her quick recovery was all thanks to Shizhu’s meticulous care.

Loyal servants were rare, and she didn’t want Shizhu to exhaust herself.

After finally persuading Shizhu to lie down on the edge of her bed for a while, Xiao Luohan calmed down and focused on the words “red fox.”

Not to mention Jiang Xue, even she hadn’t expected that her elder sister not only hadn’t left, but was also helping her in times of need.

But her elder sister was neither human nor ghost now. Even if she knew she would appear in her dreams, she had no way of seeing her again—she had been unconscious the entire time the red fox appeared.

Should she tell Jiang Xue? Ask her to relay a message to her elder sister?

However, she already owed Jiang Xue so much. Moreover, the red fox might not appear in every dream. Knowing Jiang Xue’s nature, if she promised, she would constantly worry about it.

Jiang Xue had important studies, and she couldn’t burden her any further.

So she wrote:

【I also saw the red fox in my dream, but I couldn’t interact with it this time.】

【If I have such a special dream again, I will pay attention to the red fox.】

Jiang Xue was still placing orders online.

She had not only bought a new watch but also a bunch of “self-defense gadgets”—pepper spray, anti-wolf spray, and even a portable stun gun, all for the Third Princess!

This way, when she wasn’t in the dream, the Third Princess could use these things to feign “ghostly powers” and teach that dog of a Crown Prince a lesson!

When Jiang Mei finished her work and came to check on her, she was just about to make the payment.

“…Let me see what you bought.” Jiang Mei frowned, sensing the large amount.

“They’re all practical tools!” Jiang Xue handed over her phone like she was presenting a treasure.

She saw her older sister’s frown deepen, and then watched as she quickly tapped on the screen. “I’ve removed some unnecessary items. To deter that kind of person, you can’t leave behind obvious evidence.”

The only thing that remained was a dark red self-defense stun gun shaped like a pen.

Purchasing such items required real-name registration. Jiang Mei had her sister fill in her own information and consulted with customer service for a long time before finalizing the order.

Chapter 24: You Enjoy Being Held by the Third Princess

“What the red fox symbolizes in ancient times isn’t important. What matters is what it symbolizes to the Third Princess.”

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Mei began her analysis. “Dreams reflect the world of inner imagination. You wished to move freely like Xixi, so you became Xixi in the dream. Then, in this special state where imagination shapes reality, would the Third Princess, who is in the same dream as you, also transform some wish into the red fox, thereby following and guiding you?”

Xixi was the name of Xie Xitong’s large white cat.

Jiang Xue suddenly understood: “Since the red fox has guided me twice to help the Third Princess, it means it also wants the Third Princess to be well. For now, it’s our ally, right?”

“Yes, but don’t dwell on its identity for now,” Jiang Mei said. “Perhaps it’s the Third Princess’s hidden desire, or perhaps some unknown entity… We just need to know that there’s such a helper in the ‘dream’.”

If they used their imagination, they could come up with some guesses, but Jiang Mei felt it was unnecessary to dig into the roots of goodwill. Tacit understanding saved time and worry.

Moreover, the red fox might not want them to know its true identity.

“Then I’ll draw the red fox and keep a record.” Jiang Xue moved the dishes to the nightstand, set up the small table on her bed, and got out of bed.

That being said, she still wondered if she could see the red fox again if she entered the dream next time, and perhaps learn something from it.

Back in her room, Jiang Xue held her drawing tablet and tried to recreate the red fox from her dream in the drawing software.

The fox was simply too beautiful and full of spirit. Jiang Xue revised it repeatedly, feeling that with her skills, she couldn’t replicate its charm. She saved the most satisfactory version, printed it out, and carefully stored it with the drawings the Third Princess had sent.

By the time she finished, it was very late. Fortunately, it was the weekend, and neither she nor her sister had to get up early.

During this time, she opened the diary several times and asked about the Third Princess’s condition, but didn’t see any replies. It seemed the Third Princess still needed to rest and wasn’t in a state to write.

However, after witnessing Shizhu’s meticulous care in the dream, Jiang Xue felt much more at ease.

With modern medicine and Shizhu’s care, the Third Princess should be able to get through the night safely.

Xiao Luohan, however, wasn’t resting.

Firstly, she had guessed the connection between the red fox and her elder sister, and the mixture of grief and joy made it difficult for her to fall asleep again.

Secondly, the head eunuch from the Crown Prince’s side had delivered many “gifts” late at night, including precious medicinal herbs, fine tea, incense, porcelain, fabrics, and silver silk charcoal. Due to her illness and the previous “manifestation of the ghost or spirit,” she didn’t have to get out of bed to express her gratitude, but after they left, she still had to carefully check and record everything with Shizhu.

Both she and Shizhu knew very well: This was the Emperor of Daying making offerings to the ghost or spirit!

During this time, Xiao Luohan was exhausted and unconsciously dozed off for about half an hour. When she was woken up, a slightly older female imperial physician, claiming to be sent by the Emperor, was sitting outside the bed curtains, ready to take her pulse and prescribe medicine.

But after the incident with changing prescriptions, Xiao Luohan had become more cautious. As soon as the imperial physician left, she quickly copied the prescription and sent it to Jiang Xue, reporting her safety and asking her to check if the prescription was safe.

“The spirits have blessed us! After this incident, His Highness from the Eastern Palace probably won’t dare to make trouble before your wedding!” Shizhu clasped her hands together in prayer, sighing with relief.

Xiao Luohan, however, frowned.

She had heard of many high-ranking individuals like the Crown Prince of Daying, and had even met similar people. Being so thoroughly humiliated wouldn’t necessarily teach him a lesson.

He would only temporarily retract his claws, lurking in the shadows, patiently waiting for a new opportunity.

Until then, she might be safe.

She would try her best to stay alive.

The next morning, Jiang Xue opened her eyes and checked the diary first. Then she jumped out of bed, took a picture of the prescription, and sent it to the family doctor. While waiting for a reply, worried that she might have missed something, she called the doctor and asked her to come over.

With her older sister present, she might be scolded less.

The family doctor’s surname was Qi. The Qi and Jiang families had been friends for generations, and Dr. Qi always spoke her mind.

As soon as she sat down in the Jiang family’s home, she gave the sisters a scrutinizing look. “What’s going on? What kind of online friend is so mysterious that you have to hide it from Ms. Jiang and Ms. Wei, and even the consultation doesn’t have a video call?”

Ms. Jiang and Ms. Wei happened to be leaving at that moment, and Jiang Xue had contacted Dr. Qi as soon as she woke up, so it wasn’t intentional concealment.

She would have to tell her mothers about the transtemporal pen pal sooner or later, but she hadn’t figured out how to explain it yet. Plus, her mothers usually went out together or were busy with work, so the matter had been put on hold.

And since she had decided to tell them herself, Jiang Mei hadn’t told their parents either.

The new prescription was more important now. The sisters exchanged a look. One opened the diary, and the other took out the plum blossom jade bookmark and placed them in front of Dr. Qi.

“It might sound unbelievable, but this is what we’re experiencing right now.”

Jiang Xue sat up straight, explaining as she carefully pushed the diary towards Dr. Qi.

Jiang Mei occasionally added a sentence, her attention focused on Dr. Qi’s expression, ready to answer any questions she might have.

To their surprise, Dr. Qi calmly accepted this “supernatural event.”

“The world is vast and full of wonders, and there’s no reason for you two to lie to me.” She solemnly closed the diary and returned it to Jiang Xue. “If it exists, then acknowledge it. Let me see the prescription.”

Jiang Xue hurriedly fetched the prescription and heard her ask, “By the way, are you really not going to teach her how to use a phone? At least take a picture or video so I can see her tongue coating and complexion?”

“I plan to teach her, and I even want to give her my spare phone, but she might not have the energy to learn recently…” Jiang Xue explained, feeling angry again. “Last night, that dog of a Crown Prince made trouble for her, making her kneel in the snow. She barely escaped danger. Let her rest for now.”

“Playing with a phone” also required energy. Although she felt that smartphones were easy to learn, the Third Princess was still someone from ancient times. It was best not to burden her unnecessarily.

“Alright.” Dr. Qi didn’t insist, taking the prescription and getting down to business.

“…This prescription is more reliable than the last one. I don’t see any problems. Use it.” She took out another prescription from her medical bag. “This is the new prescription adjusted according to the medical records you sent. It’s time to change the previous one. Send both over. After she’s almost finished with the medicine for the cold, she can start taking this new one.”

The prescription had to be converted into traditional characters. Jiang Xue went back to her room and carefully processed it. When she came out with the newly printed paper, before she even reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard her sister talking to Dr. Qi:

“Okay, if she can really come over, I’ll find someone to help immediately.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. This is more interesting than a medical miracle. Just consider it my own selfish curiosity.”

What were they talking about? Jiang Xue wondered.

But the conversation ended there. She didn’t dare waste any time, hurrying down the stairs to double-check the prescription with Dr. Qi, placing it on the diary in front of her, along with a message.

Three pairs of eyes stared at the prescription until it disappeared before them. Then the three of them breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Considering that the Third Princess, having just escaped danger, needed more rest, Jiang Xue, after sending the prescription and inquiring about her condition, controlled her urge to chat and placed the open diary aside, continuing with her study plan.

As she expected, the Third Princess was indeed resting. However, when her physical strength and energy recovered slightly, she drew a majestic white cat for her.

Jiang Xue was happily admiring the drawing when Xie Xitong arrived to study. Perhaps considering that bringing her cat would affect her concentration, she came alone this afternoon.

“Huh? Why did the Third Princess draw my Xixi?” She leaned in curiously to look at the drawing. “It’s so lifelike! Did you show her a picture?”

Jiang Xue almost choked on her water. Wiping her mouth, she replied, “Something big happened after you left yesterday! I haven’t had time to tell you yet.”

She concisely recounted to her friend how she learned about the Third Princess’s predicament, how she carried the Third Princess back to her room in her dream in the form of the white cat Xixi, and how she caused havoc in the emperor’s palace.

Her study plans were ruined again. With such an incredible adventure, Xie Xitong wouldn’t be satisfied with just a summary and pestered Jiang Xue for details.

“Why did you turn into a cat? If you felt you couldn’t walk in the dream, then don’t walk, just float.”

“Then I’d really become a ghost or spirit!”

“But you can’t keep interacting with her as a cat, can you?”

Jiang Xue blurted out, “It’s not impossible…”

With a cat-loving friend, she understood the joy of “just petting, not owning.” As long as she was affectionate when the cat came to her, that was enough.

“Since hugging the cat can help the Third Princess relax, why can’t I turn into a cat and let her pet me while I’m dreaming?” she countered.

“Do you know what you’re saying, Jiang Xue?” Xie Xitong’s eyes widened. “You seem to have discovered a strange kind of joy in this, and you’re even trying to convince me!”

Jiang Xue: …

“Alright, alright, I’ve said enough! Let me get back to my studies!” Afraid of saying too much and making things worse, she decisively chose to surrender.

In reality, there was another point that was even more difficult to admit—she found that she didn’t mind being held by the Third Princess.

This was so strange! But the Third Princess had a faint fragrance that she liked, which also made her feel comfortable. In a way, it was mutually beneficial.

Seeing her avoidance, Xie Xitong deliberately drawled, “Oh~,” and narrowed her eyes.

Under her friend’s probing gaze, Jiang Xue forced herself to finish a challenging problem.

“I guess…”

Half an hour later, Xie Xitong reached a conclusion.

Jiang Xue’s heart skipped a beat. “Don’t say it!”

“I guess you don’t just enjoy the convenience of being a cat and providing emotional support, but you like the feeling of being held by the Third Princess.” Xie Xitong still said it with certainty. “It’s a rare experience, something you can count on one hand, right?”

“But my older sister used to hold me like that when I was little!” Jiang Xue argued.

“But you can feel the difference between the two kinds of ‘being held,’ right?” Xie Xitong pressed.

Jiang Xue was speechless.

She had wanted to continue explaining, such as the various differences between “older sister” and “same-age girl,” and refuting Xie Xitong’s suggestive words, saying she didn’t mean it that way.

But looking at Xie Xitong’s mischievous eyes, she suddenly felt that she absolutely couldn’t start this conversation, otherwise, her friend’s gossip would never end!

Chapter 23: I Will Always Be By Your Side

Half-asleep and half-awake, Xiao Luohan heard a cat meowing, and then felt something warm, fluffy, and soft snuggling against her.

At first, she suspected it was a hallucination from dreaming about the large white cat. But as she became more conscious, the sensation became more distinct, and she couldn’t help but reach out towards the source of warmth.

Soft.

Warm, soft fur brushed against her palm, and then the back of her hand felt a soft press, like a cat’s paw pad.

Could it be… there really was a cat?

Xiao Luohan sleepily squeezed the cat. The sensation felt real, so she simply pulled the unresisting cat into her arms.

So warm, she didn’t want to let go.

She curled up slightly, resting her chin on the cat’s furry head, a faint smile appearing on her face.

The “illusory” cat—Jiang Xue—was dumbfounded.

Only when she was very young had her still-childish older sister held her like a doll while sleeping. Her two mothers, afraid of crushing her, had never held her in such a close embrace.

Other than that, she had no other experience like this. Even Xie Xitong, who had grown up with her, had never held her like this while sleeping.

The quilt was thick, and Xiao Luohan’s body temperature wasn’t low. Jiang Xue felt stuffy and hot, as if trapped in an oven.

She felt extremely uncomfortable and struggled to poke her head out of the covers. Opening her eyes, she met Xiao Luohan’s peaceful sleeping face. She froze, and the slight annoyance from being pulled into the quilt vanished instantly.

Forget it, His Highness had just been frightened by the dog of a Crown Prince. Wanting to cuddle a cute cat to “recover” was perfectly reasonable!

Jiang Xue sighed, snuggled back into Xiao Luohan’s arms, and dutifully acted as a qualified large-sized body pillow.

The princess’s heartbeat wasn’t loud, even a little weak. Jiang Xue deliberately pressed her cat ears against Xiao Luohan’s chest, hoping to hear it become a little stronger before she left this dream.

A very faint plum blossom fragrance wafted into her nose, seemingly from the incense Xiao Luohan used.

It was the first time Jiang Xue had smelled this scent. She sniffed curiously, closed her eyes comfortably, and unconsciously moved closer to the Third Princess.

However, the faint fragrance was soon overpowered by the approaching aroma of food.

—It was dinner time at her house. Her older sister, probably worried about her, had brought the food to her room.

Smelling her favorite boiled pork slices, Jiang Xue swallowed hard, wanting to leave and have a good meal while it was hot. But worried about the Third Princess, she gritted her teeth and endured her increasingly loud stomach growls.

Even after the aroma of food faded completely, she remained snuggled against Xiao Luohan.

The sound of washing came from outside. Soon, the quilt was carefully lifted—Shizhu was going to wipe Xiao Luohan down again.

Jiang Xue expertly prepared to move away as she had done before, but before she could take two steps, Xiao Luohan held her belly and pulled her back.

For a moment, she didn’t know if the Third Princess simply loved cats or desperately needed a sense of security.

The embrace naturally made it more difficult for Shizhu to wipe her down. She hesitated, holding the damp cloth, and finally settled for only wiping the area around Xiao Luohan’s collarbone.

Just then, Jiang Xue heard Xiao Luohan cough weakly.

She thought it was because the quilt had been lifted, letting in cold air. She instinctively reached out with her paw to pull it back up. But before her outstretched paw could touch the quilt, she heard Shizhu exclaim in delight, “Princess! You’re finally awake!!”

Jiang Xue quickly turned her head, but before she could see Xiao Luohan open her eyes, everything went dark, then bright.

The soft, warm light of the bedside lamp shone through her eyelids.

She was forced out of the dream.

Xiao Luohan didn’t know how long she had been unconscious. Even after waking up, she felt a little disoriented.

It seemed like the warm thing she had been holding in her arms was gone, but the only soft thing she could hug was the “Shiba Inu” Jiang Xue had sent, and it was still lying quietly beside her pillow.

She weakly responded to Shizhu and, while Shizhu was wiping her down, squeezed the “Shiba Inu.”

…It wasn’t the same, the difference was too great.

“Shizhu…” Xiao Luohan murmured, “Did anyone come here just now?”

“Your Highness! The Great Spirit manifested!!” Shizhu, who had been holding it in, quickly reported, “I was afraid you wouldn’t make it, so I dared to tear off a piece of my sleeve and write a message in blood, placing it on the desk where you usually write!”

“The Great Spirit not only took the message, but also brought you back from under the plum tree! Everyone saw it, and they were all terrified! Fortunately, the Great Spirit manifested and protected you! Otherwise… otherwise, I would have been dragged away and skinned alive…”

A ghost or spirit? Jiang Xue?

“Then… was there a white cat beside the Great Spirit?” Xiao Luohan tried to recall the scene from her dream. “Or… a bright red fox?”

Shizhu looked embarrassed. “To be honest, Your Highness, although the Great Spirit manifested, it didn’t reveal its true form. You appeared out of thin air.”

“As for a white cat or a red fox, I was in the room the whole time and didn’t see anything!”

“Is that so… Thank you for taking care of me.” Xiao Luohan said softly, looking at her hands.

Nothing remained, not even… a single cat hair.

She felt like she had been holding the cat for a long, long time. The soft and warm large white cat nestled in her arms had made her feel exceptionally safe.

“If Shizhu really is Sister Cheng in that world, I think the Third Princess’s condition will stabilize tonight.”

Jiang Xue, starving, leaned against the headboard, shoveling food into her mouth while analyzing the new information for her older sister. “She takes good care of the Third Princess. It doesn’t seem fake. It’s just like how Sister Cheng took care of me when I had a fever!”

She swallowed her food. “I’m only curious about one thing now. She’s clearly not the Third Princess’s personal maid, she’s from Daying, so why would she take such a big risk to help?”

“A stranger’s kindness, perhaps.” Jiang Mei didn’t find it strange. “Or maybe it’s transference. I remember the Third Princess mentioned in the diary that Shizhu’s only daughter passed away. She might be seeing the Third Princess as her own daughter.”

She picked up the diary from the pillow. “More importantly, based on your experience, your interaction is still one-sided. As soon as the Third Princess woke up, you left the dream.”

“Yeah, if I had stayed for a few more seconds, she would probably have made eye contact with me.” Jiang Xue took a sip of vegetable soup. “But you said it too, there’s no rush. This time, I was able to enter the reality of that world through the dream. Maybe next time, we’ll be able to interact?”

Having almost finished dinner, she started stacking the dishes. “I’m more curious about the red fox. Both times I entered the dream, I found the place by following it. It’s no exaggeration to say that without it leading the way, I might still be wandering around in the darkness like a headless fly!”

“Sis, you’ve read more books. What do you think a red fox symbolizes in ancient times?”

In Wangmei Pavilion, Xiao Luohan sat up in bed, holding a brush dipped in bright cinnabar ink, and put it to paper.

She quickly sketched the outline of a red fox, then its fluffy fur and bushy tail, and finally, its bold and beautiful eyes.

If the large white cat wasn’t the ghost or spirit’s pet, but the ghost or spirit itself, then the white cat corresponded to Jiang Xue. Only Jiang Xue could enter her dreams and cause such a commotion to vent her anger.

And the red fox…

It had guided the white cat to her, kneeling under the plum tree, and then guided the white cat to the Emperor of Daying’s bedchamber, indirectly seeking a special kind of protection for her.

Xiao Luohan’s hand trembled.

She suddenly covered her face, unable to stop the tears from flowing, letting them drip through her fingers onto the drawing paper, blurring the image of the red fox.

—”I will always be by your side.”

Even if your physical form has turned to dust in a foreign land, you… are still unwilling to abandon me?

Chapter 22: She Pulled Me In!!

While the sleeping pills were still effective, Jiang Xue quickly went back to sleep.

She wanted to check on the Third Princess’s condition, see if Shizhu had given her the medicine they sent, and… compare Shizhu to her family’s driver, Sister Cheng, to find similarities.

Their voices were too alike, the only difference being their tone.

Modern society advocated equality. Sister Cheng simply accepted their salary, found the working conditions favorable, and sincerely wanted to care for her, a child about the same age as her own daughter. That’s why she had continued to work for their family. She wouldn’t speak to them in such a respectful and apprehensive manner.

If this truly was a parallel world, with the same or similar interpersonal relationships, wouldn’t it be highly likely that Shizhu and Sister Cheng were counterparts?

With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Xue drifted back into the dream.

Just as she started to imagine Wangmei Pavilion, the red fox that had guided her before reappeared.

“You’re here too!” Although she still didn’t know what it was, Jiang Xue was happy. “Thank you for leading me to the Third Princess!”

The red fox didn’t respond, only wagged its bushy tail and turned to run ahead.

Jiang Xue quickly imagined herself as the large white cat and followed without hesitation.

But this time, they didn’t arrive at Wangmei Pavilion, but at a magnificent palace, filled with palace maids and eunuchs in ancient costumes.

The red fox disappeared again, and Jiang Xue stood there, bewildered and unsure what to do.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before she saw a eunuch hurrying towards a room.

“Your Majesty! His Highness the Crown Prince, he… he has provoked the ghosts and spirits! The ghosts and spirits have truly manifested!!”

Hearing “Your Majesty” and “His Highness the Crown Prince,” Jiang Xue’s spirits lifted.

Aha! So this was the dog emperor’s territory!

She suddenly understood the red fox’s intention in bringing her here—the Third Princess was a princess sent for marriage alliance. Although the Crown Prince disliked and even loathed her, the fact that the marriage had been arranged meant that the Emperor of Daying approved.

So she would cause havoc here! Preferably enough to scare everyone and make the dog emperor punish his son!

She fully utilized the Maine Coon’s talent for “demolition,” destroying everything she could see while cursing loudly:

“Dog Emperor! Control your dog of a son!!”

She wanted the dog emperor to punish his own son on the spot, not take it out on the servants.

After smashing countless priceless porcelain vases and toppling several ornate lampstands, Jiang Xue finally saw the old emperor hurry out.

Just then, a flash of fluffy red caught her eye.

By the time Jiang Xue reacted, the scenery around her was rapidly receding—the red fox had wrapped her in its tail and was fleeing the scene!

“Hey! At least let me hear the end!” Jiang Xue protested. “I’m not leaving! I’ll take responsibility for my actions!”

The next second, the world fell silent, and a silly, cute dog’s face appeared before her eyes, almost making her jump out of her skin.

Recognizing the “Shiba Inu” plush toy she had given the Third Princess, Jiang Xue paused, forgetting to complain about the red fox, and quickly looked around.

She saw the Third Princess!

Xiao Luohan, pale and with her eyes closed, was lying quietly inside the bed curtains, her brow furrowed, covered with a thick quilt.

She saw Shizhu carefully applying a cooling patch to Xiao Luohan’s forehead. Glancing at the bedside table, she saw the cooling patches, anti-inflammatory medicine, and fever reducers that her older sister had found were all there, along with an empty wooden bowl with water droplets and a mortar and pestle.

It seemed the Third Princess had already taken her medicine.

Jiang Xue approached Xiao Luohan and placed her paw on her forehead.

Burning hot!

Anxious, she paced back and forth on the quilt, but she was just a small cat. If she returned to her human form, her movements would be restricted, let alone being able to do anything for the Third Princess!

…Wait! The fox! Would it know what to do?!

While Shizhu was applying the cooling patch, Jiang Xue jumped off the bed and searched the room for the red fox.

Under the bed, in the gaps between the cabinets, behind the door, in the corners of the screen, under the bed curtains… she checked every place a fox could hide, but it was nowhere to be found!

Jiang Xue could only return to the Third Princess’s pillow and stare at Shizhu.

Even though she had chosen such a conspicuous, large, pure white Maine Coon cat, Shizhu still couldn’t see her.

—To be precise, no one in this world except the red fox seemed to be able to see her. Otherwise, when she was carrying the Third Princess and causing havoc in the dog emperor’s palace, the onlookers wouldn’t have been shouting “Ghost.”

And besides the Third Princess, she couldn’t seem to touch anyone, only interact with objects. When other people’s body parts passed through her, it was like passing through air.

She was like a ghost that could possess objects!

She saw Shizhu wipe the Third Princess’s face, neck, and shoulders with a serious expression, muttering, “Great Spirit, please protect us! Don’t let the King of Hell take any more girls from me…”

The “ghost or spirit” Jiang Xue indicated that she couldn’t do anything more. She had done all she could. In modern times, this would at most require an IV drip, or in more serious cases, a trip to the emergency room for oxygen and resuscitation.

Let alone whether they had the resuscitation equipment or could get it in time, even if they could send it through the small diary, the only trustworthy person, Shizhu, might not know how to operate it.

All they could do now was wait, keep her company, administer medicine on time, and occasionally help the Third Princess with physical cooling.

“…Cat.”

Jiang Xue suddenly heard the Third Princess murmur, very softly and weakly.

“Meow.” Imitating a cat’s meow, she snuggled up to her, imagining the “bold” things the large white cat did while Xie Xitong was napping, curling up around the Third Princess’s head.

She stayed nestled against the sleeping Third Princess, only moving slightly when Shizhu came to apply a cold compress.

Now that she was closer, she could finally see Shizhu’s face clearly—it was indeed different from the Sister Cheng she knew, but there were similarities in some details.

Besides that, the Shizhu here had a deceased daughter, while the Sister Cheng she knew not only had a daughter but also one who had been admitted to a prestigious university and worked part-time during summer and winter breaks.

Another subtle clue… Sister Cheng loved tending to the dianthus flowers in their yard. When Jiang Xue was little and pestered her to explain the different plants, she had heard her say with a smile, “Dianthus flowers are not only beautiful, they’re also medicinal!”

The name “Shizhu” (dianthus) now belonged to Sister Cheng’s beloved only daughter. The literal meaning of the characters was also significant: like stone, like bamboo, resilient and upright.

Jiang Xue was piecing together the clues when she suddenly felt a coolness on her belly, making her shiver.

She turned her head and saw that Xiao Luohan had turned over at some point, her hand, extending from under the quilt, resting on her cat form.

She couldn’t help but rub her paw against the Third Princess’s hand. The next second, the hand that had been resting there tightened, pinching her belly until it made a gurgling sound.

Jiang Xue hadn’t had dinner yet! Shortly after seeing Xie Xitong off, she had learned about Xiao Luohan’s predicament. After finally resolving the issue, she was still worried and had been watching over the sleeping Third Princess.

With her stomach growling, she felt she should leave, at least to have dinner, and then…

Before she could finish the thought, she was pulled by an unknown force, her entire cat form sinking into the Third Princess’s warm quilt!

Chapter 21: I Want to Adopt a Cute Cat

Jiang Xue sighed and left the room with the diary.

But within minutes, she burst back in, panic-stricken.

“Sis! A message written in blood!!” She shrieked, handing the open diary to Jiang Mei. “Something’s happened!!”

On the diary page, a piece of torn gray cloth lay silently. Three large, glaring characters were written on it:

【Save Princess】

“I was wondering why the Third Princess hadn’t replied for so long, if something had happened, and then…” Jiang Xue’s voice was choked with sobs. “This must have been written by her servant, Shizhu. But how can I save her?!”

Unlike her panic, Jiang Mei only paused for a moment before calming down.

“It’s impossible through the diary alone,” she quickly judged. “There must be another connection between you two, right?”

Jiang Xue paused, then nodded uncertainly. “Only when we’re dreaming… but you’ve seen my hypotheses, right?”

According to her hypotheses, they needed to reach a certain level of connection for the interaction to upgrade. Otherwise, it would only be one-sided, or the dream might even end abruptly!

“There’s no other way!” Jiang Mei threw off the covers, opened her drawer, and took out her sleeping pills. “Let’s try this.”

The person who had just said “You being impatient is useless” now spoke calmly, but her hand holding the pill bottle trembled slightly.

Seeing her sister’s anxiety, Jiang Xue calmed down.

“If our speculations and hypotheses are correct, the probability of saving the Third Princess might be quite high?” she said, taking the sleeping pills and pouring herself a glass of warm water from the water dispenser in the room. “I’ll go to sleep right away and find her in the dream!”

After taking the pills, she hugged the diary, lay down in the cold bed, and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to come.

Jiang Mei tucked her in, turned up the heat, and made sure she was warm.

“Sister…”

Ten minutes later, she heard her younger sister murmur, “Don’t worry, I’ll… try my best.”

Jiang Xue felt her consciousness sink into darkness.

She tried to see something in the darkness, but no matter where she looked or how far she walked, there was nothing but blackness.

“Don’t panic, think!” she told herself. “I can remember what Wangmei Pavilion looks like!”

With constant self-suggestion, she tried hard to recall the Wangmei Pavilion she had seen in her dream—Xiao Luohan’s residence after being sent for marriage.

The surrounding darkness didn’t dissipate, but Jiang Xue saw a flash of bright red.

…A fox.

A completely crimson fox appeared out of thin air, running towards her from afar.

Wherever it passed, light appeared bit by bit, like pieces of a puzzle, forming an incomplete courtyard.

A white light flashed before her eyes. Jiang Xue instinctively closed her eyes. When she opened them again, large snowflakes obscured her vision.

She waved them away and, scanning her surroundings, continued to chase the red fox, her gaze quickly focusing on a particular spot.

A gray, fur-trimmed cloak was huddled under a plum tree, surrounded by a thick blanket of snow.

The red fox disappeared there.

Jiang Xue suddenly realized something, her pupils constricting, and she ran towards the figure.

But she quickly found that she was running very, very slowly, as if her feet were weighted down with sandbags.

What should she do?!

She bit her lip in frustration. After thinking hard, inspiration struck. She started imagining herself as Xie Xitong’s large white cat.

The white cat could nimbly jump and climb on the sofa, tables, wardrobe, refrigerator, and doors in the living room. So could she now!

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, her perspective lowered, as if she really had become a cat.

But to her delight, she could move freely!

A large, white Maine Coon cat, like the wind, rushed towards the gray bundle, circling around to the front, and finally saw Xiao Luohan’s face!

Her hair was covered with snow, and she was kneeling on the ground, her lips and cheeks pale and bloodless.

On such a cold, snowy day, how could the sickly Third Princess be kneeling outside?!

Anxious, Jiang Xue meowed repeatedly, burrowed under her body, and heaved—fortunately, the Third Princess was light, and she lifted her up in one go!

“Quick, quick, look! She moved!”

“No! That’s—!”

Distorted shrieks, like those of a screaming chicken toy, filled the air.

The cloak and robes hung down in front of Jiang Xue’s eyes, obstructing her view. Fortunately, she caught sight of a bright red in her peripheral vision. Thinking “it’s worth a shot,” she ran towards the red as fast as she could.

“A ghost! I’ve seen a ghost!!”

“There really are ghosts and spirits!!”

“Quick, go—”

“Spare me, Great Spirit! Spare me, Great Spirit!”

Jiang Xue burst into a room with its doors wide open, leaving the piercing noise behind.

“Princess Zhuìyù!”

A familiar female voice rang out. Jiang Xue looked up in surprise, but saw nothing—the robes and cloak were still blocking her view!

However, the woman who had called out “Princess” quickly carried Xiao Luohan away, muttering “May the spirits protect you and keep you safe” and “Shizhu is willing to be your ox or horse in the next life,” while hurrying towards what seemed to be a bed.

Jiang Xue took a few steps forward on her four fluffy paws, but was startled by a shoe that suddenly appeared in front of her, freezing in place.

The sound of the door closing and being bolted came from behind.

Still shaken, Jiang Xue padded over to the bed and, continuing to imagine herself as a cat, effortlessly jumped onto it.

Shizhu had wrapped Xiao Luohan in the blankets, clothes and all, but her breathing was rapid, and her eyes were tightly closed. She was clearly suffering from the cold!

“Great Spirit, Great Spirit!” Shizhu’s voice came from behind, approaching quickly, trembling with a sob. “Are you still here? Did you come after seeing my message written in blood?”

Jiang Xue, lying beside the pillow, meowed loudly.

But Shizhu seemed not to hear, continuing to talk to herself: “Just now… just now, His Highness from the Eastern Palace came. It was he who ordered…”

Jiang Xue couldn’t hear the rest, but other voices gradually became clearer:

“You’re so fond of spreading rumors, so I’ll punish you to kneel here and see if the ghosts and spirits you speak of will come to save you!”

“If there really are ghosts and spirits… ha! Your restless elder sister would have already taken my head, and it wouldn’t be your turn to be sent here!”

“Watch her closely! If anyone dares to brush the snow off her, I’ll skin them alive!”

The surroundings fell into darkness again, the distorted, arrogant, and vicious male voice booming like thunder.

Jiang Xue followed the sound and saw a large hyena standing in the darkness, its face ferocious, foul-smelling saliva dripping onto the ground, bits of rotting flesh clinging to its sharp yellow teeth.

She woke up retching, and before she could even open her eyes, someone gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?!”

Her older sister’s anxious voice brought her back to her senses. “Just throw up here, I’ll get a basin!”

“I-I’m fine!” Jiang Xue hurriedly grabbed her hand and shook her head, quickly pulling the diary from her arms. “Quickly find medicine for the Third Princess! She’s been exposed to the cold, she might die!”

Then, remembering the scene from her dream, she gritted her teeth and added, “That dog of a Crown Prince made her kneel in the snow!!”

Her older sister’s worries had finally materialized. The “ghost and spirit” rumors had probably reached the Crown Prince of Daying. However, those truly in power didn’t believe in such things.

To be precise, they were heartless, taking pleasure in toying with other people’s lives.

—Since you claim to be protected by ghosts and spirits, then let them protect you. Otherwise, prepare to die!

After fainting from the cold, Xiao Luohan had many strange dreams.

She first dreamed of an unusually large white cat carrying her from under the plum tree back to her room, then of the white cat chasing a red fox, one after the other, into the palace where the Emperor of Daying rested.

“Dog Emperor! Control your dog of a son!!”

She heard a furious roar. At the same time, the white cat, like a tiger descending a mountain, or like a gust of wind, wreaked havoc wherever it went, cups and lamps crashing to the ground.

The eunuchs and palace maids were terrified, but no one knew where the “wind” came from, with such force and destructive power!

In the end, they could only kneel before the Emperor, who had rushed over after hearing the commotion, kowtowing and crying “Ghosts and spirits!” Bloodstains quickly appeared on the floor.

…What a lovely cat.

Xiao Luohan thought hazily.

If she had met it earlier, she would definitely have adopted one.

Chapter 20: The Intersection of Parallel Lines

Ever since she could remember, Xiao Luohan had only heard similar words from her elder sister.

She took after her mother, instinctively hiding her vulnerable side when facing difficulties. But she wasn’t as skilled at concealing her emotions as her mother. Nine out of ten times her elder sister visited, she could see through Xiao Luohan’s worries.

“You have to tell me! I won’t tell anyone, even if your mother asks, no matter how much she tries to persuade or threaten me, I won’t say a word!”

“Come on, pinky swear! Even if Xiao Luo gets married in the future, you can still come to Elder Sister if you have any grievances! Elder Sister will find a solution for you!”

“I will always be by your side. I’ll listen to whatever you say! I’ll never laugh at you!”

Her elder sister was like a cunning red fox, wagging her bushy tail as she circled around her, using “sweet words” to coax her out of the shadows and into the sunlight.

Precisely because she still remembered those words she had heard since childhood, when she saw Jiang Xue’s promise, Xiao Luohan wrote the character “Okay,” and it took her a long time to come back to her senses.

But she knew very clearly that Jiang Xue was Jiang Xue, and her elder sister was her elder sister. It would be disrespectful to both Jiang Xue and her elder sister if she transferred her feelings just because she saw her elder sister’s shadow in Jiang Xue.

“You were like this for a while too.”

Jiang Mei suddenly spoke. “When you were transitioning to middle school, you started keeping secrets when you had something on your mind.”

Children in adolescence often had “secrets.”

Some didn’t talk about them to fit in, while others, due to their developing but not yet mature mindset, viewed their formerly open selves as shameful.

A small number of others chose to erect thorns to protect themselves, closing themselves off after experiencing something unpleasant.

Jiang Xue had forgotten which category she had fallen into back then. Her older sister’s words made her face flush, but she quickly admitted frankly, “That’s true, but I still confided in A-Xi. I just didn’t want you and Mom and Mom to know.”

She hugged the large white cat in her lap and deliberately tilted her chin towards Xie Xitong. “But that bad guy told on me!”

“I just felt that it was useless for only me to know, and it didn’t solve the problem.” Xie Xitong shrugged. “After all, I’m not your family, so I can’t make many decisions.”

She snatched the white cat from Jiang Xue’s arms, tapped her fingers on the table, and said half-jokingly, half-seriously, “Anyway, it’s good that the Third Princess took your advice and is willing to communicate. She’s like you in that aspect.”

Jiang Mei, who hadn’t yet been told about the speculation, nodded. Seeing that there was nothing she could help with here, she went back upstairs to continue working.

“…Am I back in that phase again?” Jiang Xue couldn’t help but whisper to her friend after hearing the door close.

The conjecture that “Xiao Luohan might be another me in a parallel world” was still a secret between her and Xie Xitong.

“I don’t think so this time,” Xie Xitong whispered back. “It’s just an exploratory phase, without any substantial conclusions, so you don’t want to bother Mei-jiejie with it.”

The white cat seemed to agree, letting out a timely “Meow.”

Jiang Xue nodded in agreement.

When she first discovered that her diary could transcend time and space, she hadn’t immediately told her older sister either. She had waited until she had confirmed the situation and her older sister was free before explaining everything.

The two reached a consensus and continued studying while waiting for the Third Princess’s new drawing.

Jiang Xue carefully and solemnly placed the drawing of the fallen female general in a plastic document sleeve and stored it in her portfolio.

But she waited until nightfall, until Xie Xitong took the cat and went home, and still didn’t receive a second drawing.

Jiang Xue wasn’t worried. The death of a loved one was a great trauma, and the Third Princess, willing to open her wounds and show her the raw flesh and decay, was already brave enough.

Thinking this, she wrote these very words to the Third Princess.

The Third Princess still didn’t reply.

“A-Xue.”

Jiang Mei’s voice suddenly came from the stairs, startling Jiang Xue. “Come here.”

Her voice wasn’t cold, even gentler than usual, but Jiang Xue shivered, feeling inexplicably guilty.

Whether to bolster her courage or just in case, as she replied “Coming!” she instinctively tucked the diary into her arms.

“I’m not working right now.”

As soon as Jiang Xue sat down on the edge of her older sister’s bed, Jiang Mei slammed her laptop shut.

“Phone, airplane mode.”

The wallpaper of the two sisters in ancient costumes appeared on Jiang Xue’s phone screen. A calloused finger swiped down from the top, activating airplane mode as she watched.

“Alright, you can talk now.” Jiang Mei casually tossed the phone onto the pillow, crossed her arms, and sat down next to her sister.

“Talk… talk about what?” Jiang Xue clutched the diary tightly, subconsciously shrinking her neck, feigning ignorance.

“The secret you only told A-Xi, the one you kept from me.”

Jiang Xue: …

Her mind rebooted, and she quickly realized: There was no need for A-Xi to tell on her. Her older sister, several years wiser than before, could see through her with just a little attention.

Facing her older sister’s calm and scrutinizing gaze, Jiang Xue quickly confessed: “I didn’t mean to hide it this time! It’s just that we both thought the speculation was too outrageous, and there wasn’t enough evidence to support it, so we decided to observe for a while!”

“It’s okay, no matter how outrageous what you say is, I’ll listen carefully.” Jiang Mei said calmly.

Jiang Xue took a deep breath, handed her phone to her older sister, and waited for her to finish reading the two hypotheses she had recorded before mentioning the “secret.”

“I suspect that the Third Princess is another me in a parallel world,” she said. “Although our appearances and personalities are different, even vastly different, our age, preferences, tastes, and small habits are the same, and we both have a close older sister… uh, to be more specific, our illnesses are also quite similar?”

Jiang Mei waited for a few seconds. “That’s it?”

“That’s it!” Jiang Xue nodded vigorously. “That’s why I didn’t tell you. There’s really no need…”

“I’ve seen the parallel world setting in many works,” Jiang Mei said. “In some parallel worlds, the same things happen, with the same course of events, only branching off in details.”

“In other parallel worlds, the same person has completely different experiences—because the overall environment of the two worlds is different, like ancient times and modern times, or modern times and the future.”

She paused. “If it’s the latter, assuming your guess is correct, then what caused the intersection of the two parallel worlds, allowing the same person from two worlds to connect?”

Jiang Xue hadn’t thought about this at all and was stunned.

“If you can’t find the connection, or the pattern, then no one can predict when your intersection will end.”

Jiang Mei’s voice lowered, her expression becoming serious. “Glimpsing the warmth of another world, but forever unable to reach that light, only to be trapped in a cage forever… for the Third Princess, this might not be a gift, but the cruelest punishment!”

—”It would be great if your diary could bring her here too.”

For no reason, Jiang Xue suddenly recalled what her older sister had said when she first learned about the transtemporal diary.

Had her older sister already thought of this back then?

“Then… how should we bring the Third Princess here?” she couldn’t help but ask, following this train of thought. “I’d be very happy to live with her! Even if the Third Princess can’t get an ID card, I’ll take care of her when I have a job!”

This was a transtemporal bond, and the other person might even be another version of herself!

Young people with pure hearts always had innocent and romantic ideas, full of hope for a fairytale-like future.

Jiang Mei didn’t intend to dampen her sister’s enthusiasm. She simply followed her train of thought. “Then you need to find the ‘connection.’ But I suggest you don’t rush it. Let things take their natural course.”

“…Why?”

“If the key to the connection is on the Third Princess’s side, such as the factor that influences the opening of the spacetime channel being the Third Princess’s willingness to leave her homeland and go to a new world, then you being impatient is useless.”

Chapter 19: I Won’t Leave

Tonight, Jiang Xue deliberately found a deserted corner to sit in. Xie Xitong kept watch while she sent over the beef noodles, along with the bowl and dishes.

“She gave me a list of allergies, and beef wasn’t on it, but she hasn’t eaten anything with beef recently either.”

After sending the noodles, Jiang Xue ate her own while sighing to her friend. “It’s getting colder and colder. I still think she should have some hot soup with beef or mutton.”

Xie Xitong picked out the garlic chives and cilantro from the noodles, then said without looking up, “You just want to ‘increase her affection level,’ right?”

According to Jiang Xue’s “Hypothesis 1,” there was an invisible “affection level” between the two girls. Every transtemporal interaction they had through the diary was likely an opportunity to “increase affection.”

Xie Xitong felt this didn’t make sense. Whether it was friendship or other emotions, how could they be measured in real life by “how many gifts you give” or “how many times you take care of someone”?

“Why would I want to increase her affection level?” Jiang Xue asked, puzzled. “Using numerical values as an analogy is just a way to clearly define our bond and quickly find patterns!”

“I send her things because I think of her and want to send them to her!”

She sincerely hoped that her gifts could improve the Third Princess’s life. If it weren’t for the limitations of their means of interaction, she would have wanted to provide the best possible help for the Third Princess’s food, clothing, shelter, and even social interactions.

“Even if the affection level between us could really be quantified, I wouldn’t just shower her with gifts non-stop,” she said firmly. “Reciprocity is important so that neither of us feels indebted to the other. If I sent too much at once, without any reason, it would be a burden for her.”

That’s why she saved up the things she wanted to send and tried to find suitable opportunities to send them over.

Xie Xitong paused, a look of apology appearing on her face. “I misunderstood. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay! After all, I did write about affection levels!”

After they had almost finished their noodles, the empty bowl and dishes were returned.

They were spotlessly clean, with water droplets on the bottom of the bowl and the edges of the dish, but the outside, which had been in contact with the diary, was wiped dry.

However, it was precisely because the dishes were so clean that the two fell silent.

In the end, Jiang Xue played the “bad guy.” She poured some of their leftover soup into the clean bowl, swished it around, and dipped the chopsticks in the oily soup, making it look like they had just finished eating and hadn’t washed the dishes yet.

But on the way back, she was quite happy: “Someone being able to wash the dishes so clean for the Third Princess means her life isn’t as bad as I imagined!”

With Jiang Xue’s help, Xiao Luohan did feel that her life was gradually becoming brighter.

The books she could read were no longer the Lessons for Women and Women’s Precepts that she loathed. Everything in that world was open to her. As long as she could name it, Jiang Xue would find the corresponding books for her.

The soft “Shiba Inu” plush toy was by her pillow. She hugged it every night and slept soundly without dreams.

The Red Scream bottle and the plum blossom branch Shizhu had brought her were placed on the windowsill together. She would occasionally use the Scream bottle to water the plum blossom.

Even when she had no requests, she would be given food, drinks, and candies. She had only eaten a few of the candies from last time, and Jiang Xue had already sent more, emphasizing that they could be stored for half a year, so she could take her time enjoying them.

Most importantly, she also felt that she could live a little longer.

After taking the previous prescription for seven days, Jiang Xue asked the doctor in her world to adjust it. The new medicine didn’t cause any discomfort, and she even started practicing Tai Chi Sword—her physical strength had improved, and she could move around a little more each day.

Because of this, she started drawing more frequently.

This was the only gift she felt was meaningful, imbued with her unspoken joys, sorrows, and emotions.

Usually, she only sent Jiang Xue lively and cute drawings, capturing Jiang Xue’s daily life on paper, like photographs.

As she felt her connection with Jiang Xue deepen, she began to consider sharing some of the scenes that, whenever she recalled them, made her feel like she was falling into an icy abyss.

For example, about her elder sister’s death.

When Jiang Xue received the drawing, it was another weekend.

She was still studying and doing homework with Xie Xitong at home, but this time, Xie Xitong had brought her pure white Maine Coon cat. As they worked, Xie Xitong’s hand would stray from her pen to the cat, petting it until it purred softly.

Jiang Xue resisted for a while, but finally succumbed to the temptation, moving the cat from Xie Xitong’s lap to her own.

Just then, a drawing suddenly appeared on the open diary beside her.

Jiang Xue was about to pet the cat when her gaze was drawn to the striking red on the drawing, and she instinctively turned her head.

Then she was startled by the scene, gasping and unconsciously tightening her grip.

“Meow!!” The innocent cat, whose fur she had just pinched, protested loudly and jumped off her lap.

“What did she send?” Xie Xitong asked in surprise, picking up the cat.

“…A drawing.” Jiang Xue carefully held the drawing, frowning as she examined it closely.

She hadn’t expected the Third Princess, who rarely mentioned her elder sister, to send her such a drawing.

The drawing was undoubtedly of a female general, clad in armor, holding a silver spear with a red tassel.

However, she was kneeling in the pouring rain, her body riddled with arrows… no, there was also a spear, piercing straight through her back!

Blood stained her armor, flowing onto the ground with the rain, pooling into a vibrant red—the very color that had caught Jiang Xue’s attention just now.

“The Third Princess drew her… deceased elder sister.” Jiang Xue carefully chose her words, then added, “To be precise, it’s the scene of her elder sister’s death, as she imagines it.”

She had also studied drawing and knew that drawings could be realistic or embellished.

The Third Princess, confined to her chambers due to illness, must have heard about her elder sister’s death from others, such as the “pierced by arrows” part, so she had drawn this tragic and heroic scene.

Jiang Xue hurriedly looked at the diary, but the Third Princess, as always, hadn’t written anything, only sending this drawing.

…Did she know the drawing had been sent? Could it have been accidentally placed on the diary by the wind or a servant who couldn’t see the diary while it was drying?

“If you’re worried, just ask,” Xie Xitong’s voice interrupted Jiang Xue’s thoughts. “Ask her what she’s thinking and why she showed you this. Even if she doesn’t want to explain the details, she can answer with ‘yes’ or ‘no’.”

She put down the cat and stood up. “I’ll go get Mei-jiejie!”

The cat, no longer being petted, came over and rubbed against Jiang Xue’s leg, meowing.

Jiang Xue bit her lip, not asking immediately, but picked up the cat and gently stroked its fur, calming herself down and thinking about how to ask.

The Third Princess had silently sent this drawing. What kind of response was she expecting?

What kind of response could she give? What if she disappointed or upset the Third Princess?

After thinking for a while, she suddenly realized she was guessing again and quickly shook her head, picking up her pen.

Stop guessing! There’s no point!

Jiang Xue decided to listen to Xie Xitong. She would just ask. Whether the Third Princess answered with “yes” or “no” or remained silent, it didn’t matter!

She would still talk to the Third Princess and send her things next time!

Footsteps came from the stairs. Xie Xitong and Jiang Mei were coming down.

Jiang Xue buried her face in the cat’s fur and took a deep breath, using the courage given by the large white cat to write:

【I saw your drawing and finally understand why you didn’t answer that day.】

【I’ve wanted to apologize to you for a long time about what happened last time, but I haven’t found the right opportunity. I’m doing it now.】

【I’m sorry, I was just trying to find topics to talk about, asking all sorts of questions without knowing anything. But I still want to be pen pals with you who can talk about anything, so I want to ask clearly.】

【I’ll tell you my guess. If you don’t want to say more, just answer with yes or no.】

【This drawing, is it the scene of your elder sister’s death in battle?】

【Yes.】

To Jiang Xue’s surprise, the Third Princess answered without hesitation.

【Do you want to tell me that you no longer have an elder sister, but you don’t know how to say it? I mean, you don’t know how to express your sadness about this through words.】

【Yes.】

Jiang Xue breathed a small sigh of relief.

Two faint shadows fell behind her. She knew it was her friend and older sister—the only two people who knew her secret, silently watching the conversation unfold.

She picked up her pen again.

【Then would you be willing to tell me with drawings?】

【I might not be able to understand every drawing, but I’ll ask you as soon as I receive them. You just need to answer with yes or no, like this. If you don’t want to answer, you can remain silent. If you feel offended, you can even scold me for being rude.】

【I will always listen, as long as the diary can still connect us across time and space, I won’t leave.】

Chapter 18: She Wasn’t Afraid At All

As the end of class approached, students began packing up their sports equipment and leaving the gymnasium in groups.

Jiang Xue and Xie Xitong, however, remained in the stands, discussing in hushed tones.

“Only two dreams, the sample size is too small!”

“I can’t help it! I don’t dream every day, and dreaming about the same person is even less likely!”

“It would be great if we could identify a pattern.” Xie Xitong tapped on her phone. “But from your description, it seems completely random?”

“If we could dream at the same time and wake up at the same time, that would be a pattern, right?” Jiang Xue said. “But I woke up while the Third Princess was still sleeping, so that pattern doesn’t hold.”

She had specifically asked the Third Princess about this after the second dream, and the answer she received was a decisive “No.” The Third Princess wouldn’t lie to her, would she?

Xie Xitong didn’t answer, flipping through the diary and quickly finding the point in time Jiang Xue was referring to. She stared at the marks left by the correction fluid and the content before and after for a long time.

“…No!” She suddenly raised her voice in certainty, startling Jiang Xue. “Your conclusion might not be accurate!”

But she didn’t elaborate, instead asking, “Assuming the Third Princess woke up from the dream at the same time as you, what do you think she would do first?”

Jiang Xue answered without hesitation: “Tell me!”

“Right, so, assuming she eagerly opened the diary and saw your message, but you finished writing… or only wrote half of it, and then erased it, what do you think the Third Princess would think?”

At first, Jiang Xue didn’t quite understand, but then her eyes lit up in realization.

“She would think that I didn’t want to talk about it, so she didn’t ask!” she immediately said. “To avoid embarrassing me, if I asked later, she would lie and say she hadn’t seen what I wrote. In reality, she probably watched me write it, and then watched me erase it!”

Xie Xitong nodded vigorously.

“Then there is a pattern!” Jiang Xue became excited. “Although it needs to be verified, we can make hypotheses based on the existing clues!”

She opened the notepad app on her phone and, while explaining to Xie Xitong, recorded her hypotheses:

【Hypothesis 1: The conditions for entering the dream are related to the degree of our interaction.】

【Like intimacy or affection levels in games, there’s an invisible value between us. When it reaches a certain level, we can enter the corresponding stage and trigger the corresponding interactive plot.】

【Hypothesis 2: Synchronized dreams, entering and exiting together, affect the degree of interaction in the dream.】

【More samples are needed to verify this hypothesis. I boldly speculate: When the synchronization reaches a certain level, our interaction will upgrade again—the current interaction has already upgraded from being observers of each other to one-sided interaction.】

“The sample size is too small. These are the only hypotheses for now.” Jiang Xue pressed the save button, put away her phone, picked up the diary, and stood up, holding the remaining half-bottle of Red Scream. She smiled at Xie Xitong. “Thank you for helping me organize my thoughts! You’ve been a great help!”

“Don’t mention it!”

After sending Jiang Xue the drawings related to her elder sister, Xiao Luohan realized that she could use this method to tell Jiang Xue about things that were difficult to describe.

Anything related to her elder sister, whether good or bad, was difficult for her to talk about, or she didn’t know how to describe it to convey her emotions to the listener. But drawings could.

Drawings could store emotions.

She had to record everything about her elder sister while she could still remember, and when she and Jiang Xue were closer, she would slowly send these drawings over.

Since her casual chat with Jiang Xue had paused for now, she spread out the drawing paper, called for Shizhu to help grind ink, and prepared the paints she needed.

The first drawing was…

Xiao Luohan gazed at the blank paper and glanced at the red bottle of drink beside her.

Red, that was her elder sister’s favorite color when she was alive, and now it was her favorite color.

She had liked the red-clad woman fishing on the MP3 player Jiang Xue sent, as if she had seen her carefree elder sister.

Thinking this, when Xiao Luohan put her brush to the paper, it was also a dazzling red.

She continued sketching calmly.

After her elder sister’s death, she had appeared in her dream, dressed in blood-stained clothes.

Her elder sister had stroked her face, telling her not to cry. Looking at her elder sister like that, she had opened her mouth.

She had really wanted to talk to her elder sister one last time.

She had wanted to hug her elder sister tightly and tell her that she wasn’t afraid of the blood on her, nor was she afraid of her elder sister staying by her side as a ghost, even if she was a ghost riddled with arrows and mangled beyond recognition, she wasn’t afraid at all.

—As long as her elder sister could come back, it didn’t matter what she looked like.

But she wasn’t a child anymore, and she knew that no matter how tightly she hugged her, her elder sister wouldn’t come back to life.

In the end, she hadn’t seemed to say anything.

She didn’t know what to say. Knowing that her sister was gone, it seemed like nothing mattered anymore.

Her fingers trembled as she sketched the lines. Xiao Luohan had to put down her brush, clasped her hands tightly, and closed her eyes.

She… couldn’t remember.

She couldn’t remember what she had done to her elder sister in the dream. If she hadn’t hugged her, how had she finally sent her elder sister away?

Besides comforting her, had her elder sister said anything else?

“Princess Zhuìyù? Princess Zhuìyù!”

Shizhu’s voice rang in her ears, sounding a little urgent.

But Xiao Luohan seemed not to hear, her consciousness falling into a bottomless abyss.

Until…

The aroma of beef suddenly filled her nose.

Xiao Luohan snapped back to reality and heard Shizhu exclaim, “Princess Zhuìyù! A ghost, a ghost has sent a bowl of noodles!”

A large bowl of steaming beef noodle soup sat on the open booklet nearby, along with a small empty bowl and a small dish filled with fresh green herbs.

Ink characters appeared:

【I didn’t know Your Highness’s preferences, so I didn’t add the garlic chives or cilantro. I sent them separately.】

【The owner was very generous and made too much. Your Highness, just eat what you can, don’t force yourself!】

【By the way, you have to return this bowl! It belongs to the shop. I think I mentioned it to Your Highness before, the noodle shop on the third floor of the school cafeteria, the one with the dairy cow cat.】

Xiao Luohan paused, quickly picked up another brush, dipped it in ink, and replied:

【Thank you for the noodles. I’ll eat them right away!】

As she wrote, she said to Shizhu, “Let’s eat together. This portion is too big. It would be a waste if we can’t finish it.”

Shizhu hurriedly waved her hands. “Not to mention the difference in our status…”

“This was sent by a ghost or spirit who lives in a very, very good world. If you eat it, you’ll also be accumulating merit for your daughter.” Xiao Luohan gently interrupted.

Knowing that she was truly being kind, Shizhu sighed repeatedly, and finally took some noodles into the empty bowl.

Xiao Luohan smiled faintly as she watched her, thinking of the ghost or spirit, her thoughts drifting again.

Her elder sister had died on Daying soil, and now she was in Daying. If her elder sister hadn’t reincarnated, would she come to visit her?

Chapter 17: Red Scream

Inside the gymnasium, Jiang Xue sat down in a random seat in the stands, holding Xie Xitong’s jacket and opening her diary.

Xie Xitong was right, she couldn’t be impatient.

She and the Third Princess were just transtemporal pen pals, and they hadn’t known each other for long. It wasn’t appropriate to discuss overly private topics.

The Third Princess had only provided specific images but didn’t want to tell the related story, so when she responded, she shouldn’t digress and mention the elder sister.

Her gaze followed Xie Xitong’s figure as she ran around the court playing badminton, and Jiang Xue started mentally drafting her reply.

First, she would definitely praise the Third Princess’s drawing skills, which were clearly honed over many years, otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to imitate a style she had never encountered before in such a short time.

Second, she would express her liking for the chibi drawings related to herself and express some anticipation, such as “I want to see more.”

Jiang Xue also loved drawing and knew that recognition from others was one of the motivations to continue drawing.

Finally, she would engage in a deeper discussion about the specific content of the images.

This required careful consideration. The safest option was to only discuss the drawings related to herself. However, this would likely make the Third Princess feel that she was ignoring and avoiding the other drawings.

So she couldn’t completely avoid mentioning them.

Jiang Xue frowned slightly, as if hearing the whirring of her brain.

【Are your exams over?】

Just then, the Third Princess suddenly asked.

This short sentence shattered Jiang Xue’s mental draft. She quickly took out her phone, typed her reply, converted it to traditional characters, and copied it into the diary.

【They’re over! I just arrived at the PE class venue!】

She was still typing on her phone, having only gotten as far as “I saw all your drawings,” when she saw the Third Princess ask: 【What’s your favorite sport?】

Jiang Xue blurted out, “Good heavens,” and after racking her brain, finally remembered that this sentence was in the English newspaper she had sent over.

The Third Princess was already putting her learning into practice!

So Jiang Xue also told her in English that her favorite sports were ice skating and skateboarding, but unfortunately, both required special venues and couldn’t be done anytime, anywhere.

This English sentence was quite long, and Xiao Luohan didn’t reply immediately, probably looking up the words.

Jiang Xue thought for a moment and drew Xie Xitong, who was playing badminton, taking the opportunity to introduce a new sport to the Third Princess.

As she drew, Xie Xitong finished her game and sat down next to her, taking back her jacket.

“I’m going to buy drinks. What do you and the Third Princess want?” she asked, seeing Jiang Xue still busy.

Jiang Xue paused, hurriedly replied, “I’ll ask her,” abandoned her half-finished drawing, and wrote to the Third Princess: 【A-Xi wants to treat you to a drink. What do you want?】

She then attached a list of tasty drinks from the convenience store near the gymnasium.

This time, the Third Princess replied quickly: 【Scream.】

【Scream comes in several colors: blue, green, orange, red, and purple. Each color has a different flavor.】

Before Jiang Xue could list the differences between the flavors, she saw the Third Princess write without hesitation: 【Red.】

Jiang Xue fell silent, and Xie Xitong, who was watching, also fell silent.

“Do you really want to buy Red Scream?” Xie Xitong confirmed.

Jiang Xue struggled internally for a few seconds. “Buy it. The Third Princess chose it herself. And I feel like… the taste of Red Scream isn’t actually that strange?”

“That’s you!” Xie Xitong threw her jacket back at Jiang Xue, stood up, and launched into a rapid-fire rant. “I’d rather die of thirst than touch that stuff!!”

Then she left, without asking what Jiang Xue wanted. When she returned, she was carrying three bottles of Scream, two red and one purple. She took the purple one for herself.

Jiang Xue was both amused and exasperated. Before sending the red Scream over, she reminded the Third Princess to look at the bottle before drinking, to squeeze it instead of twisting off the cap.

After the Red Scream disappeared, she still felt a little guilty and added a warning: 【Many people find the taste of Red Scream strange, saying it’s like rotten apple water.】

【If you don’t like it, just use it to water your plants. The cap is perfect for a watering can.】

【To me, it tastes like ginseng water mixed with a very light fruit juice, with a slightly bitter aftertaste… it’s within my acceptable range.】

After writing this, she picked up her Red Scream and, under Xie Xitong’s watchful eye, took a sip, smacking her lips.

…It really wasn’t that strange! Could anything be worse than traditional Chinese medicine with seaweed?

—

After reading Jiang Xue’s warning, Xiao Luohan hesitated, holding the bottle.

But thinking that this was a kind gesture from Jiang Xue’s best friend, and that she had chosen the drink and color herself, she finally opened the cap.

She didn’t dare squeeze it, but instead gently sipped from the bottle. When she tasted the slightly bitter sweetness, her eyes lit up.

It seemed… not bad?

Xiao Luohan took medicine year-round, and compared to the strange-tasting medicinal soups, the unpleasantness of Red Scream was nothing to her.

With one successful attempt, she became bolder. She raised her arm, pointed the bottle at herself, and slightly opened her mouth.

Squeezing the bottle, a cool, sweet stream of liquid landed on her tongue.

—

【Delicious! Thank you, Xie Xitong!】

At first glance, Jiang Xue thought the Third Princess had written “thank you” too many times. After realizing what it actually said, she burst into laughter.

Xie Xitong also laughed non-stop, then reminded her, “Tell her to call me A-Xi! There’s no need to be so formal!”

Jiang Xue wrote it down, her body still shaking with laughter.

“Your tastes are strangely similar!” Xie Xitong muttered. “How does that song go? ‘Another me in the world, one moment I’m troubled by something, the next you’re laughing in the crowd’…”

She started humming the tune.

Jiang Xue’s pen paused.

She had never considered this possibility, but thinking back, she and the Third Princess did have many similarities in their preferences and tastes.

Besides that, they could also enter each other’s dreams, either as observers or with simple interactions.

“…Xie Xitong!” she couldn’t help but interrupt her friend. “Do you think… is it possible?”

“Huh?”

“Like, what you just sang.” Jiang Xue struggled to articulate her thoughts. “Is it possible for me and the Third Princess?”

Xie Xitong didn’t confirm or deny, but blinked curiously. “Why do you think that?”

“Uh, I just suddenly thought of it…”

“No, if it were just a random thought, you wouldn’t have called my full name in such a serious tone.” Xie Xitong sat up straight and gestured towards the diary. “Did you find some clue? Or did something else supernatural happen between you two that made you suspicious?”

This reminded Jiang Xue of showing Xie Xitong her diary last week.

At the time, Xie Xitong had been sleepy and had only briefly glanced at the diary, seemingly only seeing the Third Princess’s question about why she had changed the subject, without noticing the previous content.

That was the dream she had described and Xiao Luohan’s confirmation.

—【The scene you describe is exactly what I saw and heard when I was sent to Daying for marriage.】

“Something else supernatural… does exchanging dreams count?”

Jiang Xue flipped back through the diary, opened it to the relevant page, and handed it to her friend.

Chapter 16: Sisters

Xiao Luohan stared at the sentence for a long time, unable to lift her brush.

She was actually waiting, waiting for another line to appear below it: 【If it’s inconvenient for Your Highness to talk about it, just pretend I didn’t ask.】

But for some reason, this line didn’t appear today.

She knew that what Jiang Xue really wanted to hear was the story of a female general, not the “story of her elder sister.”

She knew very well that Jiang Xue’s care and companionship were sincere and without expectation of anything in return. She should gradually open up to her.

But she couldn’t write, not a single word.

—Beiliao had been defeated, and her elder sister’s body hadn’t been returned for burial; its whereabouts were unknown.

The last time she saw her elder sister was in a dream.

After an unknown amount of time, new words finally began to appear in the corner of her eye:

【Then, would Your Highness be willing to listen to the story of my older sister?】

Before Xiao Luohan could react, she found a still-wet character underneath: 【Okay.】

Her brush was in her hand without her realizing it.

She thought for a moment and added apologetically: 【I’m sorry, I haven’t figured out how to tell the story yet.】

But she wasn’t opposed to listening to Jiang Xue’s story.

When she was very young, she had loved to snuggle in her mother’s arms and fall asleep to stories.

【I have two consecutive exam periods this afternoon. I can only talk until the end of newspaper reading class, about a quarter of an hour?】

【It’s alright. If you have something to do, please attend to it.】

【Okay! Then I’ll begin!】

【My sister and I are nine years apart. Originally, there was only my older sister in our family. It’s said that when she was six, she casually mentioned wanting a younger sister. My parents were busy with work and thought it would be good for her to have a little companion, so then there was me.】

【By the way, my family situation is a little different from the blood relations Your Highness is familiar with. I wonder if Your Highness guessed anything from reading my previous diary entries.】

【Where I live, women can marry and have children with each other, and they can bear children of their own flesh and blood, without needing a man’s “help.”】

【When I was born, my sister was already in school. As soon as she came home, she would lean over my cradle and play with me, telling me all about her experiences at school, whether I could understand or not.】

【Ever since I can remember, the thing I looked forward to most every day was “my sister coming home from school,” followed by my two mothers coming home. When I was old enough to leave the cradle, my sister would sometimes give me food from street vendors and all sorts of toys she liked.】

【My mothers always joked that I was actually raised by my sister.】

【I agree with that. My sister gave me everything she thought was good. She also encouraged me to speak my mind, not to hide whether I liked something or not, so we have almost no secrets between us. Even if we encounter any worries, we talk to each other, and they naturally get resolved.】

Seeing this, Xiao Luohan saw Jiang Xue hurriedly write “Talk to you later”—newspaper reading class was over, and she had to prepare for her exam.

The stack of small xuan paper on the table dwindled further. While Jiang Xue was taking her exam, Xiao Luohan started drawing “little people.”

As her brush danced across the paper, sketching the outlines of the two sisters, she unconsciously thought of her own childhood.

Her elder sister had indeed often visited her mother’s palace.

The little girl would vigorously shake her cradle, humming tunes she had heard somewhere.

Perhaps because her mother’s name included the character “wei,” or perhaps because her elder sister came from a military family, she often heard her elder sister hum Cai Wei (Gathering Vetch):

“Gathering vetch, gathering vetch, the vetch is also growing. Saying ‘return,’ saying ‘return,’ the year is also ending.”

“Grow up quickly, Xiao Luo. Elder Sister still has many, many poems and stories to tell you.”

Xiao Luohan paused, her brush hovering over the paper, then took another piece of cut xuan paper and drew the scene that had just appeared in her mind.

---

Jiang Xue finally finished her English exam and eagerly took out her diary. She found it bulging and, opening it, discovered a stack of chibi drawings!

It was still break time, and many people were crowding behind her to fill their water bottles. She quickly closed the diary and waited until the crowd dispersed before opening it again and looking at the drawings one by one.

As she looked, she became excited—they were the childhood stories she had just told the Third Princess!

Jiang Xue had actually been quite nervous. Given her previous guess, the Third Princess’s silence was also an answer.

Since she had asked, she had to take responsibility for the topic, but she couldn’t just drop it. Instead, she had to use it as another opportunity to test the waters.

This was what her older sister had taught her. Her older sister felt that while it was important to be considerate of the Third Princess’s feelings, if she wanted to have a long-term relationship with her, she couldn’t rely on guesswork to solve problems.

Moreover, her elder sister’s situation was likely a psychological trauma for the Third Princess, requiring timely counseling and healing. She had already noticed the signs and couldn’t just ignore it.

So she had brought up a similar topic, and fortunately, the Third Princess had agreed to listen.

Flipping through the drawings, Jiang Xue suddenly froze.

“…Is that the Third Princess and her elder sister?” she thought, looking at the little girls in ancient costumes.

Did this mean the Third Princess was willing to talk about it?

But she looked at the diary. The Third Princess hadn’t told a story like she had. Besides the stack of drawings, she had only mentioned practicing Baduanjin in the afternoon.

Jiang Xue pondered for a minute, then reexamined her previous question.

This review startled her.

There was a problem, a big problem!

She should have asked for “her elder sister’s story,” not “a female general’s story.” She shouldn’t have, just because the topic of “female general” had come up, eagerly asked someone who had probably lost her sister in war.

No wonder the Third Princess had been silent for so long!

Jiang Xue was filled with regret, but now, whether apologizing or rephrasing the question, it was too late.

The third period was PE, with no fixed curriculum, just free time for relaxation. She put away the drawings and took the diary to Xie Xitong to discuss it.

The two deliberately took a detour behind the teaching building to avoid the crowd.

“Then wait for the next suitable opportunity to apologize!” Xie Xitong fiddled with her low ponytail and said slowly, “I’ve noticed you’re really anxious, anxious to be good to her, anxious to know everything about her, anxious to comfort her…”

She paused. “As if she really doesn’t have much time left.”

Jiang Xue almost tripped over her own feet.

Xie Xitong had heard about the Third Princess’s illness, and because of that, she continued, “Have some faith in her! Even if she was originally destined to die, now that you’re here, adjusting her prescriptions, feeding her spiritual food, and constantly caring for her physical and mental health, if she puts in some effort herself, there’s still a good chance she’ll recover.”

“That’s true…” Jiang Xue murmured.

“Although I like to study metaphysics, I don’t actually believe in predetermined fate.” Xie Xitong’s tone became serious. “Everything depends on our own efforts. If someone said you or I wouldn’t live to see the college entrance exam, would we just give up and wait to die?”

“Of course we’d fight for it and give it our all!”