Sister

He had only been away from home for half a year, not fifty years.

His Mother in the kitchen had even said she'd kept his bedroom at home for him, but what was going on?

Gao Tian knew his room very well. On the bookshelf opposite were stacks of professional books and a few comics. On the desk sat an old desktop computer. By the bed, there was only an alarm clock, and a few pairs of shoes under the bed. There were absolutely no flashy posters or anything like that.

But now, his own bedroom had completely changed. The books on the bookshelf had been replaced by various My Little Pony and Labubu figurines, all sealed behind a layer of glass. The floor was covered in a pink carpet, and the bedding was also entirely pink. The chandelier on the ceiling had been replaced with a crystal one. The walls were plastered with posters of various celebrities.

This was no longer his bedroom; it had become a girl's bedroom.

Gao Tian slowly backed out of the bedroom, closed the door again, and turned towards the outside, shouting:

"Did we have any guests over recently?

"Why is my bedroom being used by someone else?"

The sound of running water came from the kitchen, and after a moment, his Mother's voice rang out again:

"Which bedroom did you open?"

Gao Tian:

"The one at the end of the corridor, the second to last room."

His Father, in the living room, turned down the TV volume and also shouted in his direction:

"You haven't been back in too long, you went to the wrong room.

"That's not your bedroom at all!"

Gao Tian:

"Dad, are you kidding me?

"Do I not know where my own bedroom is?"

His Father's next sentence made him feel like he had fallen into an ice cave, almost doubting if his brain had malfunctioned:

"This is your Sister's bedroom, don't you remember?

"Hurry up and get out. If she finds out you entered her room without her permission, who knows how crazy this little girl will go."

Gao Tian heard the blood coursing through his veins, every leap and contraction of every organ within his body.

This was his Sister's bedroom.

How could this be possible?

Was his memory faulty, or had this world encountered a bug?

Gao Tian had lost control of his own throat. He heard his voice, as if from an outsider's perspective, ask:

"Dad.

"Mom.

"When did we get a sister in this family? When did you get another daughter?

"I'm an only child. I'm the only child in this family, there shouldn't be a sister here at all."

In the kitchen, his Mother finished washing vegetables, not taking Gao Tian's words to heart at all. Instead, she said calmly:

"Alright, alright, I know you've been under a lot of study pressure lately, but don't make jokes like this.

"You and your sister have been bickering under this roof for over ten years. Now you're telling me seriously that you're an only child. Gao Tian, did your sister ask you for living expenses again recently, and you're trying this trick of disowning her again?

"Don't make jokes like this."

Listening to his Father and Mother outside being so calm, Gao Tian doubted for a moment if he was the one who was mistaken.

Was it his memory that was truly flawed, were his parents joking with him, or was there truly a non-existent person in the family?

But no matter how hard Gao Tian tried to recall, he couldn't find any trace of a so-called "sister" appearing in his growing memories.

Just as Gao Tian was still thinking, the bathroom door slowly opened, accompanied by a rush of steam. The Twin-tailed Girl was tall and slender, casually draped in a brown jacket that originally belonged to Gao Tian. Her wet feet stepped out one by one:

"Early in the morning, I heard Brother's voice making a racket outside.

"Brother, why did you suddenly come back from the apartment you rented? Have you come to your senses and decided not to retake exams? Or are you not bothered by me playing games late at night and disturbing your studies?"

Looking at the face of the girl before him, her address to him, and her familiar tone. She should be his "sister."

But Gao Tian still couldn't remember. No matter what, he couldn't find any trace of this face in his life.

Watching the "sister" walk towards him step by step, Gao Tian, standing still, calmed down instead and slowly said:

"I understand."

The Twin-tailed Girl asked curiously:

"Understand what?"

Gao Tian:

"You're a ghost. This is a hallucination caused by a ghost.

"I just escaped from a chase and fell into a new illusion."

If this mysterious girl who suddenly appeared at home and tampered with his parents' memories was a ghost, then everything could be explained.

Different ghosts have different killing patterns. Perhaps this ghost's ability is to have already hypnotized her parents, and next, she will hypnotize herself.

Gao Tian was not as flustered as when he first encountered the Shattered Face Ghost. He now possessed the Urn, which contained the Shattered Face Ghost, and had also mastered the ghost's abilities.

As long as Gao Tian and "Sister" made eye contact five times, the Urn could replicate her killing pattern and use it against her.

Perhaps directly exposing "her" true identity was not a wise choice. Gao Tian should pretend to know nothing and stall for time in front of this non-existent "Sister" for as long as possible, until the Shattered Face Ghost's ability captured her killing pattern.

The Twin-tailed Sister sighed deeply.

Being called a "ghost" seemed to displease her greatly, but she appeared accustomed to it. This was not the first time her Older Brother had insulted her like this.

The girl called out towards the living room:

"Dad! Mom! Did you hear that? Older Brother is bullying me again.

"Why is it always me who is forgotten first? Do you think Older Brother is doing it on purpose."

In the living room, her Father was watching the Football Match. In his eyes, this was just a sibling squabble, and nothing was as important as the Goal happening before him:

"No matter what, no matter what illness he has, he is still your brother.

"Could you, as his Sister, please take him back to his Bedroom to have a look around and help him remember."

After failing to communicate with her Father and Mother in the living room, the Twin-tailed Sister slowly turned her head, twitched her Pointy Nose, and said impatiently:

"Alright, alright, I get it.

"Come with me, Older Brother."

Without waiting for Gao Tian's agreement, she walked straight past him (he flinched, thinking the ghost was about to attack) and headed towards the end of the Corridor.

Gao Tian watched her White-Puffing Back:

"Where are you going?"

The Sister stopped at the second-to-last room and turned her head, giving Gao Tian, who was standing still, a helpless look:

"I'm taking you to your own Bedroom. There are many things you're familiar with there, as well as the Log you personally wrote during your Amnesia. Perhaps it can help you recover your memories."

Gao Tian insisted:

"My Bedroom is in the second-to-last room.

"For some reason, it has become your Bedroom. Although your presence is felt throughout the entire house, I am certain that there has never been a so-called 'Sister' in our family.

"You've altered Father's and Mother's memories, but you haven't had time to alter mine yet."

The Sister sighed deeply, tilted her head back 45 degrees to look at the sky, her expression full of melancholy.

She pointed to her skull:

"Brother, the problem with your head is getting worse."

Gao Tian:

"You are not our family.

"Who exactly are you?"

The Twin-tailed Girl said:

"My name is Gao Xi. I am the Sister of you, an idiot with Intermittent Memory Disorder.

"From childhood to adulthood, your grades have always been excellent, consistently ranking in the Top Ten in School. But about three years ago, possibly due to too much Study Pressure, you started forgetting many important things.

"One moment you ask who Mother is, the next you say Father isn't part of our family, and now, it's finally my turn. In short, you often forget the existence of one of our family members.

"Moreover, I feel your problem is getting worse. Similar situations have occurred before, but with some simple prompts, your memory would quickly recover. But this time is different; you've never spoken such nonsense before, calling me a ghost directly."

Gao Tian looked at the girl who called herself "Gao Xi," silently chanting in his heart. This was the second time their eyes had met.

Whether the person opposite was a ghost or not would be known soon. As long as they completed five eye contacts, no matter what this girl was, he would directly seize her abilities, memories, and everything else.

The Shattered Face Ghost's ability was either not given a chance to activate, or it was this domineering.

Seeing her brother standing at the end of the corridor, still looking disbelieving. Gao Xi, to prove her innocence, had no choice but to push open the bedroom at the end of the corridor, which hadn't been lived in for half a year. While showing it to her brother, she continued to ask:

"Look, Brother, look at the Three-Good Student awards and bonuses all over your walls. This is your real bedroom.

"Have you never considered a question? Someone with your excellent grades, who has attended Key Schools since childhood, why did you suffer a Gaokao Failure and have to rent a place to Retake Exams?

"If you're retaking exams, why couldn't you stay at home?

"None of this makes any sense. Haven't you ever felt something was wrong?

"The real reason is simple: you suffer from a rare disease called Intermittent Memory Disorder. When you entered the Exam Hall, the Mental Pressure was too great, and in an instant, you forgot you were a High School Student, thinking you were still in the Junior High Stage, which led to your first Gaokao Failure.

"The Doctor advised you to rest for a period and not put too much pressure on yourself, saying it might help alleviate the condition. But you were unwilling to give up the Prestigious University Letter that was within reach. So you insisted on moving out and renting a place alone to retake exams.

"Mom and I often visit you at your rented place. But now you've forgotten everything. These things happen several times a month, I'm already used to it."

She gestured for Gao Tian to walk into the last room and look inside herself.

"If you still don't believe me, come and see this bedroom you actually lived in. Seeing some familiar things might help you recover your memory.

"There's also a Log here. Every time you lose your memory and are awakened, you record what happened in detail to warn your future self.

"Come and see, your own handwriting, you should recognize it, right?"