Chapter 13: Pearl Milk Tea
After many days, Xiao Luohan finally returned to that strange and wondrous world in her dreams.
This time, she was in a brightly lit room. Two sisters, both dressed in clothes that revealed their arms and legs, were busy with something.
Ice clinked in a clear glass, and a faint, sweet, fruity fragrance filled the air.
She heard the younger girl, about eleven or twelve years old, address her with a cheerful “Your Highness.” She responded instinctively, and as their eyes met, a sudden understanding dawned on her.
—That must have been a younger Jiang Xue, and the woman beside her, her older sister.
Xiao Luohan stood in the dream, watching silently, etching the scene into her memory.
Until the young girl spoke again: “Aren’t you warm, Your Highness?”
Then, the dream dissolved.
But she couldn’t fall back asleep. She climbed out of bed, grabbed the book from her pillow, threw on her robe and fluffy pink slippers, and hurried to her desk.
She had to tell Jiang Xue!
But the moment she opened the book, she saw a line of text appearing, describing the very scene she had just dreamt of!
But halfway through, Jiang Xue stopped writing. A moment later, a streak of white passed over the words, erasing them completely.
No new words appeared.
…Why?
Xiao Luohan waited for a full two quarter-hours (30 minutes) before sighing softly and closing the book.
There must be a reason.
She didn’t ask, nor did she mention her own dream. She quickly returned to her cold bed and lay down.
She also clutched the hot water bottle Jiang Xue had sent, fully charged, not wanting to get cold.
Regardless, since she was being so well cared for by the sisters, all she needed to do was take care of her health and strive to live each day to the fullest. There was no need to dwell on such minor matters.
At nine o’clock in the morning, Jiang Xue was jolted awake by her sister’s cold hands, scrambling out of bed with a yelp.
Her sister had finalized the sword dance choreography last night and wanted to practice it in the morning, making further adjustments if needed.
As Jiang Xue danced, Jiang Mei sat behind her phone, which was mounted on a tripod, filming and observing.
After Jiang Xue finished, breathless, they reviewed the recording together.
“I was thinking…”
After watching it several times, Jiang Xue pressed pause. “Should I put some things on my old phone and send it to the Third Princess?”
Dancing had reminded her that she had only agreed to Xie Xitong’s request because the Third Princess had said she enjoyed sword dances. She was performing for the Third Princess, catering to her interests.
So, she wondered if she should download some sword dance performance videos for the Third Princess to watch during her free time.
“Don’t overwhelm her with gifts. She’s already feeling indebted,” Jiang Mei objected.
“Then I’ll wait until we pass the audition and send her a video of our performance.” Jiang Xue wasn’t in a hurry. This was the first time she’d been so invested in caring for someone. She didn’t want to be overbearing and have the opposite effect.
The video resumed playing, but Jiang Xue’s mind was elsewhere.
“I dreamt of the Third Princess again last night,” she murmured. “Remember how you said you’d make me a mojito in the spring? I dreamt of when we were younger… maybe eleven or twelve? When you first tried making cocktails, and I was playing with the ice cubes.”
Jiang Mei was used to multitasking. Her eyes followed her sister’s movements in the video, her mind working on how to improve the choreography, her ears still listening attentively. “Go on.”
“Then, I saw the Third Princess, wrapped in her robe, standing there watching us.”
“Did you talk to her? In the dream,” Jiang Mei asked.
Jiang Xue thought for a moment, recounting every detail she could remember.
“After our eyes met, I only called out to her once, and then the dream ended.”
“I actually wrote about it in my diary right after I woke up, wanting to ask if she’d had a similar dream, but then I erased it… It was very early, before dawn. She probably didn’t see it.”
“Even if she did, she probably wouldn’t mention it,” Jiang Mei said. “Erasing it clearly means you didn’t want to talk about it.”
Jiang Xue paused, then her eyes widened as she understood her sister’s meaning.
“Next time, just write what you want to write. Don’t overthink it. Or wait until you’re fully awake before writing.” Jiang Mei smoothed her messy hair, her tone slightly stern.
Her younger sister sometimes got anxious and hesitant over trivial matters. She always made sure to point it out whenever she noticed it. She was still young and could learn to be more decisive.
Jiang Xue took her sister’s words to heart.
That afternoon, during a break from studying biology with Xie Xitong, she couldn’t help but say, “I still want to tell the Third Princess about that dream. What if…?”
What if the Third Princess had also dreamt of her? Would they then have a second way to connect, beyond the diary?
“If you think it’s okay to talk about it, then tell her!” Xie Xitong said, still working on a genetics problem, without looking up. “She hasn’t mentioned anything about her own sister. There’s no point in guessing. Just tell her and see how she reacts.”
So, Jiang Xue gathered her courage and wrote about her dream, downplaying the sister aspect and focusing on the “what if.”
And she received confirmation.
She quickly followed up: 【Did you respond because you heard my voice? After I asked if you were warm, did your dream continue?】
【Yes, but after you asked, the dream ended, and I woke up.】
Woke up… did she?
A sudden thought struck Jiang Xue, and she felt a pang of guilt.
But she had to ask:
【So… after you woke up, did you see what I’d written?】
She remembered that their previous shared dream had occurred at different times. If they dreamt at the same time, woke up at the same time, and could even interact in their dreams… maybe there was a second way to connect.
【No.】
The Third Princess’s immediate reply dashed her hopes.
Disappointed, yet also relieved, Jiang Xue let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
She hadn’t been fully awake when she’d written about the dream, so the description wasn’t as detailed as usual. She’d probably focused more on the characters and their actions, and likely mentioned her “older sister” multiple times.
It was better this way, that she hadn’t accidentally upset the Third Princess.
Half an hour later, the housekeeper brought her some milk tea.
Since both her mothers were home, it was Ms. Wei’s favorite: traditional brown sugar pearl milk tea.
Just as Jiang Xue was about to take a sip, she glanced at the diary and put down her straw.
【Your Highness, would you like to try some milk tea? It’s milk tea with brown sugar, but it’s not overly sweet. It also has tapioca pearls, cooked fresh at home.】
【Oh, and this is the first time I’m sending a hot drink in a cup. Be careful when you receive it!】
Making sure the housekeeper was out of sight and unlikely to disturb her, Jiang Xue watched the diary. As soon as Xiao Luohan replied with an “Okay,” she waited a full ten seconds to give her time to put down her brush before carefully placing the milk tea on the diary.
Xie Xitong had just finished a set of problems, so they both watched as the steaming mug vanished into the diary.
Xiao Luohan received the milk tea while Shizhu was cleaning her room.
She had only looked down for a moment, and when she looked up again, a cup she’d never seen before, steaming slightly, sat on her desk.
Shizhu’s usually unflappable expression faltered. She rubbed her eyes, thinking she must be dreaming.
But Princess Zhuìyù, as if this were a common occurrence, calmly picked up the cup and took a sip.
“Please don’t mention this to anyone,” Xiao Luohan said softly, noticing Shizhu’s gaze. “A spirit has taken pity on me and sent me many things to keep warm.”
Since Shizhu had shown her such kindness last night, she wanted Shizhu to be the first to know her secret.
Shizhu recalled the strange cotton shoes the princess had been wearing that morning.
She nodded solemnly. “Rest assured, Your Highness. My lips are sealed.”
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