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On the comfortably arranged bay window, Yu Qing's dark hair was spread out as she leaned her head slightly against the soft pillow behind her, a book still held in her hand, pages not yet closed.

She was very obedient, really going to sleep at ten o'clock.

Unfortunately, the place she chose to sleep was not quite right.

Xiang Changge took the book from her hand, inserted a bookmark, and just as she was about to place it with the stack of books in the corner, she saw the sketchbook sitting on top of the pile.

It was open.

Yu Qing had a good eye for drawing, and after just a glance at the pattern revealed on the top page, Xiang Changge recognized what was depicted.

Black and white lines outlined the scenery one could see when looking out toward City A from the Xiushan observation deck.

It was just that the buildings of City A were drawn very generally, with only a few strokes used to sketch the shapes of the high-rises.

Compared to the expanse of forest in Xiushan, those buildings appeared quite perfunctory.

Was she unable to draw them?

Xiang Changge didn't think that was the case.

Perhaps, she just didn't want to.

Xiang Changge didn't stack the book on top, but instead set it aside and gently carried the sleeping beauty to the bed.

There was a tablet resting by the pillow, which Xiang Changge picked up.

Perhaps she touched the screen or a button, but the tablet lit up. On the screensaver was a picture of a group of puppies of various breeds jumping happily on a green lawn, each one visibly joyful.

Xiang Changge placed the tablet on the nightstand and tucked the thin quilt around Yu Qing.

Perhaps her movements were too light, or perhaps Yu Qing was simply too exhausted; throughout the entire process, other than nuzzling against Xiang Changge's arm when she was lifted in a bridal carry, she made no other movements.

After the bedroom door opened and closed, there was no further sound in the room.

The room, lit by only a single reading lamp, was two shades dimmer than usual, yet it was also more suitable for falling asleep.

Past one in the morning, Yu Qing woke from her slumber.

She kept her eyes half-open, her unfocused gaze appearing quite listless.

Something felt wrong.

After a long while, the first thought surfaced in Yu Qing's mind.

Why is only one light on; is the other one broken?

After a moment of sluggishness, she remembered that she had just been on the bay window, so how did she end up in bed now?

Yu Qing subconsciously glanced toward the bedside; the empty space was vacant, with no chair and no figure holding a book.

Yu Qing withdrew her gaze and blinked again.

Did she run back to bed herself in a daze and just not remember it?

She didn't know what she was thinking at this moment, but she felt a sense of emptiness in her heart.

It was another quiet night.

The air was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood, mixed with the cool air from the central air conditioning—it was the perfect time for sleep.

Wait, sandalwood?

Yu Qing sat up, clutching the quilt. Not far away, on the low table where she had eaten dinner with others that evening, a delicate little incense burner had suddenly appeared.

A faint fragrance drifted out, floating into her nose, as if whispering that she should have a good night's sleep.

Yu Qing stared at the little incense burner for a long time.

She finally arrived at an absolutely certain answer.

Xiang Changge had been to her room.

She had carried her from the bay window back to bed, tucked her in, left a reading lamp on, and lit the sandalwood incense to help her sleep.

It couldn't have been the incense they made together that afternoon, because those hadn't been finished yet.

Therefore, it must have been incense she had requested from the incense maker, something ready to use immediately.

And the scent she chose was the very same one she had picked while making incense that afternoon: sandalwood.

Yao Ningran had made jasmine, Ge Bufan had made rose, and Chu Keke had made lavender; only she had made the sandalwood she liked.

It was exactly the same as the scent currently drifting through her room.

Yu Qing lay back down under the quilt.

As she closed her eyes, there was a hint of comfort, one that could only be captured if one looked very closely.

Sleep was truly the happiest thing in the world; once asleep, there was no need to think about anything or face anything.

If she could have a sweet dream, that would be even better.

Tonight, she didn't seem to have been abandoned by the whole world.

How strange.

In the morning, the moment Xiang Changge opened her eyes, she heard a system sound ringing in her mind, sounding much like her own personal startup music:

"Ding--"

"Side quest: Help the supporting character develop a habit of long nighttime sleep has been completed once, current progress 1/10."

"The supporting character achieved over five hours of long sleep last night, host has received a reward of +10 points."

"Current point balance: 10 points."

While broadcasting this, the system added sound effects of falling confetti to her mind, as if celebrating a major festival.

Xiang Changge sighed, raising her hand to cover her eyes with the back of her hand, as if that could block out the noise-like sound effects.

System: "8802, are you not happy? Although you've only earned 10 points, this is 10 points! It's a historic breakthrough in passing your zero-point milestone. Shouldn't you be cheering, jumping out of bed full of confidence, and vowing that you will definitely keep up the good work?"

Xiang Changge: "..."

Confirmed, it's a chatterbox system.

System: "..."

Heartbroken, it felt so heartbroken. Why was it on standby 24/7? Was it because it didn't need to sleep? Of course not; it was waiting for this very moment, to share the joy of her success the second she woke up to a new day!

Why wasn't she grateful for its thoughtfulness, grateful that she had encountered such a perfect system?

Chatterbox? Where was it a chatterbox? It didn't even have that plugin! This was slander!

Seeming to sense the system stomping its feet in secret, Xiang Changge waited a moment before speaking softly: "A comfortable environment, the sleep-aid incense I specifically asked a master craftsman to buy, and the effort I spent making sure she didn't sleep during the day yesterday..."

"If she hadn't slept for a long time last night, I would have had to suspect that the era had secretly progressed and she had evolved into a robot that didn't need rest."

Therefore, it was only natural that Yu Qing managed a long sleep last night.

But a single day's change in routine didn't mean much. If she really wanted to get Yu Qing's schedule back to normal, she would have to put in more effort.

The system didn't care what Xiang Changge was chattering about; it was quite happy as it was.

Now that Xiang Changge had some points, it could logically open up a loan for her—no, it should be called a "special case handling function."

This meant Xiang Changge could redeem physical items from the system in advance, provided she slowly earned the points later to make up for the overdraft.

When Xiang Changge arrived at the main house, Yu Qing had already been playing the piano in the music room for over an hour.

Stepping out of the elevator on the fourth floor, the melodious piano music grew clearer the closer she got to the music room.

Xiang Changge didn't know what she was playing, but it felt less oppressive than the piece she had been playing the first day she arrived here.

Unlike yesterday, the sky was overcast this morning, as if brewing a heavy rain.

It had only been clear for two days, and it was starting again.

Xiang Changge actually preferred sunny days.

The weather in the apocalypse was volatile; even on sunny days, the sun was the kind of scorching heat that could truly dry a person out, like a fierce tiger pouncing on its prey.

It wasn't like the weather here, where the wind was gentle and even the sunlight felt like a kitten scratching at one's skin.

Standing at the ajar door of the music room and looking in, the lights were off. The black, luxurious piano and the thin woman in white bell-sleeved pajamas looked as if her slender, fair fingertips were dancing on the intertwined black and white keys, and she was dancing along with the piano.

The gray sky outside the window made even the tips of the green trees look dusty and gray.

And that flash of white, sitting quietly by the piano, lost in the music and her own thoughts, was the only bright color in this moment.

Xiang Changge didn't understand music and had never learned the piano, but she felt that Yu Qing played very well.

At least it didn't sound like noise.

Though, it wouldn't have mattered if it were noise; the young miss had no neighbors, and no one would come to complain about her.

Perhaps she sensed something, for after finishing a short passage, Yu Qing suddenly turned her head and looked toward the door.

The thin, tall figure was leaning diagonally against the doorframe, though no one knew how long she had been there.

With her long, curled eyelashes fluttering in the air, Yu Qing withdrew her gaze and rested her hands quietly on the keys, no longer looking at Xiang Changge.

Her voice echoed in the room, two short words, slightly cold: "...Something up?"

After waking up from a long sleep in the morning, Yu Qing had discovered too many things that felt wrong in her room.

The book she hadn't finished reading last night had been thoughtfully closed and placed to the side, right next to her sketchbook that she hadn't closed.

Although the sketch on the very top of the book was just a quick drawing of the scenery seen from the Xiushan viewing platform, Yu Qing still quickly closed it, as if trying to hide some secret.

She had wanted to put it in a drawer, but she couldn't help but wonder in her heart: did she see it?