Chapter 35: Insomnia
“Ah, in fifty years~ we will meet again~”
“Sent to the crematorium~ all turned to ashes~”
The noisy “last minute before sleep” alarm rang, breaking the silence.
“Uh… that’s my alarm.” Jiang Xue awkwardly grabbed her phone and swiped the screen. “Sometimes I want to study or play on my phone when I get home. This is to prevent me from staying up too late… Staying up late after a tiring day can lead to sudden death, so I chose this song.”
She was annoyed that the alarm had ruined the atmosphere, but Xiao Luohan was actually grateful for it.
Jiang Xue was going to sleep, and the true purpose of her visit should be achieved.
Before Jiang Xue could say anything else, she turned and burrowed into the warm bed.
Looking at the Ragdoll cat for a few seconds, Jiang Xue still couldn’t help but warn, “If you ever want to repay someone’s kindness in the future, absolutely don’t do it this way!”
“Yes, I know my limits,” Xiao Luohan nodded.
Jiang Xue: …
She really wanted to remind Xiao Luohan that feelings could also develop between women, but looking at the Ragdoll cat’s pure blue eyes, she once again felt that it was her thoughts that were problematic, and very problematic at that.
From the Third Princess’s perspective, this was just one girl repaying another girl’s kindness. Moreover, she had been the one to initiate the “turning into a cat and cuddling” thing. The Third Princess was merely imitating her.
As long as she didn’t have any inappropriate thoughts or intentions towards the Third Princess, this worry was unnecessary.
She carefully put away the diary, adjusted her sleeping position, and reached out to turn off the bedside lamp.
“Goodnight, Your Highness,” she said first.
“Goodnight.”
The room fell silent.
Jiang Xue had originally planned to keep a little distance from Xiao Luohan, but as soon as she moved away, the soft kitten snuggled closer.
Compared to words, the Third Princess seemed to prefer direct action.
She didn’t dare keep her distance anymore. Although the Third Princess in this form didn’t seem to mind physical contact, they were just sleeping in the same bed. If she acted too deliberately, it would only make the sensitive Third Princess overthink and add to her worries.
“I’m hugging a kitten, I’m hugging a kitten, I’m hugging a kitten…” Jiang Xue repeated in her mind, reinforcing the suggestion.
However, this kitten had a faint plum blossom scent, noticeable with every breath.
“This is a kitten that’s been sprayed with perfume…” Jiang Xue continued to deceive herself.
The Ragdoll cat cooperated, quietly nestled beside her, barely moving.
With these suggestions and self-deception, Jiang Xue drifted off to sleep.
She had thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep after learning the Ragdoll cat’s true identity, but unexpectedly, hugging the warm cat actually made her fall asleep faster.
She didn’t know how long she slept, but she vaguely heard a soft, whimpering female voice. Thinking she had rolled over and crushed the cat, she hurriedly woke up.
Then, losing her balance, she tumbled out of bed with a thud.
Jiang Xue winced, rubbing her body as she stood up and fumbled for the bedside lamp.
She was such a restless sleeper! Not only had she rolled over onto the Third Princess, but she had also rolled off the bed!
But when the light came on, she stared at the bed, dumbfounded.
The cat was gone.
The Third Princess, dressed in a plain white undergarment, was curled up there!
Jiang Xue, still half-asleep, her mind a jumbled mess, instinctively picked up her phone and checked the time.
—3:00 AM. Still early, plenty of time to sleep.
She quickly climbed back into bed, ready to go back to sleep as if nothing had happened. But then she saw tear streaks on the Third Princess’s face, and her foot, which had just reached the bed, retreated back into her slipper.
Gently wiping away the tears with a touch that shouldn’t disturb Xiao Luohan, Jiang Xue couldn’t help but put an arm around her, gently patting her back.
When she was very young, her two mothers and older sister would always soothe her to sleep this way, and she would sleep soundly. She didn’t know if it would be effective for “another version of herself from a parallel world.”
She quickly turned off the bedside lamp again, but placed her small orange nightlight near Xiao Luohan.
This way, even if trapped in a nightmare, the Third Princess might sense the light and realize she was dreaming.
After doing all this, Jiang Xue closed her eyes, holding Xiao Luohan, hoping to give her a greater sense of security.
…But this time, it seemed like the god of sleep had shut her out. She thought she had already slept for a while, but checking her phone, only ten minutes had passed.
She endured like this until 3:45 AM, when she finally had to admit that she seemed to have insomnia.
She couldn’t explain why she couldn’t sleep. Was it because of the whimpering she had heard in her half-asleep state? Or because of the tears on the Third Princess’s face?
Or was it because she had heard those stories before going to bed and was anxious to enter a dream and find clues, to uncover the truth?
But she didn’t feel like she was resisting sleeping with the Third Princess. After much thought, it was probably because she cared too much about the Third Princess and was constantly worried about her.
It was perfectly normal to have insomnia when you were worried. Every time she had a major exam, she would toss and turn for at least half an hour the night before.
Forget it, closing her eyes and resting was also good. Stop overthinking it!
Jiang Xue sighed softly, closed her eyes, and tried to fall asleep again. But a few moments later, her arm around Xiao Luohan slipped.
Startled, she quickly opened her eyes, and the person beside her was gone!
Even though she knew that the disappearance was likely because Xiao Luohan’s dream had ended—the Third Princess had appeared when she returned from evening self-study, earlier than her bedtime, so waking up earlier was normal—she was still worried. She turned on the light and picked up the diary.
【3:53 AM, has Your Highness already returned?】
Now, the last vestiges of her sleepiness were completely gone.
In the dream, Xiao Luohan had a deeper dream.
She was a very young child, being held and gently patted on the back by her mother.
She remembered her mother repeatedly begging her to forget her, to forget everything, before she left for the marriage alliance. She had tearfully agreed, not wanting to disappoint her mother. But after truly being separated from her mother, her mother’s face had become even clearer in her mind.
—”It’s Mother who has dragged you down, caused you so much suffering.”
She hadn’t forgotten her mother’s words that day, but she didn’t agree with her.
Her mother had done everything for her since she was young, ensuring she still had the qualities of a princess, minimizing any flaws that society could find fault with.
She tried to reach out to her mother, her small, chubby hands stretching towards her mother’s face. But before she could touch her, her mother, so close, and the arm holding her, suddenly disappeared.
She fell, not knowing where she was falling.
But she saw a ray of light shining down from above and couldn’t help but reach out again.
Her falling body was caught, and in her vision, under the warm light, she saw a large, fluffy red tail wagging, like a guiding flag.
“…Elder Sister,” she murmured.
No one answered.
“Broken Plum Blossom Princess, Xiao Linghan!” she called out again.
The red fox beneath her suddenly swooped down, the wind whipping past her body—she saw a fluffy cat tail rise up, the Ragdoll cat she had transformed into.
The red fox carried her to a dark place where nothing could be seen except for that ray of light.
The red fox tilted its body, placed her on the ground, and then leaped into the air.
Xiao Luohan stared blankly as the red fox left. She wanted to follow, but was afraid of getting lost, or that the red fox would be worried when it returned and found her missing. After pacing back and forth in the darkness, she simply squatted down and waited.
As she expected, the red fox soon returned.
It was carrying a large white cat in its mouth.
The cat looked majestic, its fluffy white fur rippling like waves in the wind, but now it was being held by the scruff of its neck, its paws dangling helplessly.
The next second, the red fox placed the white cat in front of her.
The white cat turned its head and meowed in confusion. Finding that the red fox had disappeared, it turned back to look at her.
It circled around her a few times, then swept its large tail behind her, easily wrapping it around her small cat form, snuggling close and purring contentedly.
During this time, neither the red fox nor the white cat spoke a word, but Xiao Luohan’s eyes widened.
She suddenly woke up from the deep dream, gasping for air as she sat up, her gaze immediately falling on the booklet beside her pillow.
No matter how much time passed, she would never forget—Jiang Xue’s diary had appeared the day after she arrived in Daying and was settled in Wangmei Pavilion.
So… that’s how it was.
However, was the dream just now a manifestation of her obsession, a beautiful image woven by her subconscious under the influence of her period hormones, or was it a glimpse of the truth she had finally caught after frequently entering dreams?
Unable to confirm, Xiao Luohan decided to keep this dream to herself, not even telling Jiang Xue.
【Yes, I went to bed early and woke up naturally.】
After receiving Xiao Luohan’s reply, Jiang Xue breathed a long sigh of relief, tucked the candy-shaped pillow under her covers, and continued trying to fall back asleep.
She didn’t know when she fell asleep, only that she slept very soundly, so soundly that she didn’t even hear her alarm. It was Sister Cheng who woke her up.
But even at her fastest eating speed, there wasn’t enough time to have breakfast at home.
Jiang Xue regretfully accepted the blueberry lava cheese toast and freshly brewed jasmine milk tea from Sister Cheng. Just as she was about to open the door, Sister Cheng stopped her.
“Second Miss, Eldest Miss already explained the ‘cat’ situation to me last night.” Sister Cheng rarely looked so serious. “What kind of patterns and colors does Third Miss like? I’ll prepare them in advance.”
She had even started calling the Third Princess, whom she had never met, “Third Miss”! What had her older sister told her?!
Jiang Xue was stunned for a few seconds before replying, “I asked her, but she hasn’t told me yet…”
“No rush, no rush!” Sister Cheng said hurriedly. “Even if Third Miss suddenly comes over, we have plenty of supplies prepared, both here and at the villa!”
Jiang Xue, who had a rough idea of their inventory, hummed in agreement, then paused, thinking about what to say. Sister Cheng opened the door. “You have to hurry! You might be late if there’s traffic.”
She was “pulled” out by Sister Cheng, “rushed” down the stairs, and pushed into the car.
Even as she sat down in her seat just as the bell rang for morning self-study, Jiang Xue still felt it was unbelievable.
However, if Sister Cheng truly was the Shizhu of the parallel world, then Shizhu helping a stranger from a foreign country, and Sister Cheng, who already worked for their family, preparing for the arrival of “Third Miss” from another world after hearing her older sister’s description, seemed perfectly reasonable.
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