After waking up, Jiang Han found herself lying in her own bed. A pleasant, faint ache throbbed in her head.
So she closed her eyes again, kicked her legs with a little energy, and instinctively let out a few "wu" and "ah" sounds. Hugging her pillow, she drifted into that hazy state between sleep and wakefulness—
Half asleep, half awake.
It felt unreal and real at once. You seemed capable of anything, able to experience the kind of freedom you imagined.
As if you could set cause aside and obtain effect with ease.
Jiang Han felt as though she'd become a philosopher, a thinker, in that half-dreaming, half-waking state!
Then she stretched and woke up. Only afterward did the question occur to her: How did I get home? She glanced at the wall clock. It was six thirty in the evening. There was still light in the sky, brighter than at dusk.
Her clothes and belongings were all intact. The bag containing her qipao work uniform looked as though someone had opened it.
Jiang Han checked and found a note inside:
"You'll look lovely in this—Jing"
She scratched her head, then stuffed the note and the clothes back into the bag and bit her lip. "This is ridiculous..."
After changing into a comfortable house dress, Jiang Han couldn't help noticing her wardrobe. Suddenly, it seemed like her clothes were a little too limited: a witch's robe for going out, a house dress for staying in, and simple pajamas.
She fell silent for a moment, then closed the wardrobe.
As she went downstairs to the living room, she was about to see whether the magazine rack had any new issues when she noticed something new in the room.
A very large, box-shaped television.
Beside it stood four glass tubes of varying heights, filled with water.
A blue, red, green, and purple gemstone floated in the water, one in each tube.
Just as she was wondering what to make of them, the front door opened. Zhen Ling came in through the entryway and glanced at her sister in the living room before bending down to take off her shoes.
She was carrying a bag of fresh carrots.
"You're awake? You slept like a log." Ignoring her sister's puzzled look, Zhen Ling walked over and settled comfortably onto the sofa, setting the carrots on the coffee table.
"How did I get home?" Jiang Han remembered what she'd wanted to ask and sat beside her sister.
Jiang Zhenling picked up the remote from the coffee table and turned on the television.
A variety show was on, with an unusually rare male contestant among the ordinary people.
"A really pretty witch brought you home. She said you fell asleep in the car."
Zhen Ling paused, then put on a rather serious expression and said,
"Han, if you're short on money, you can borrow some from me..."
Jiang Han stared at her for a moment, grabbed a cushion from the sofa, and tossed it at her sister's face.
"She's my mentor! My former mentor!"
Jiang Zhenling wore a sly, speculative smile.
"Then why did she bring you home? And carry you upstairs from the car?"
She carried me? Jiang Han was just about to ask when her sister cut her off.
With a casual wave of her hand, she added,
"She's pretty, and considerate... Well, maybe I should say she's very gracious? So polite and refined. And you don't have a girlfriend yet. Our family needs your eggs. Maybe that's not the nicest way to put it—our family needs your descendants."
...Please, stop talking... Jiang Han really was blushing now. She covered her burning face and shook her head again and again.
"I don't want that! We're still teacher and student!"
"Wouldn't that make it even better?" Zhen Ling said the things no one else dared to say with perfect ease.
"A tutor is a great choice. She's knowledgeable, has a high salary, and gets allowances. I'd bet she's passed the A3 exam, too. A tutor's salary wouldn't be enough to buy a car otherwise. Most importantly, she's the prettiest witch I've ever seen. Any children you had together would improve our family's looks."
"Don't you want to give it some serious thought?" Zhen Ling asked, listing the points with utter seriousness.
Witches' clan mentality was both old-fashioned and open-minded.
It was old-fashioned because, even in the late nineteenth century, they still considered themselves part of a clan or family, and their ties were widespread and close-knit.
It was open-minded because they weren't shy about discussing children. Leaving behind strong descendants was simply part of life for them.
Jiang Han covered her face, her voice barely a whisper.
"Stop... I-I really don't feel that way about her... Besides, she couldn't possibly fall for me just like that, could she?"
...Jiang Han wanted to die.
"You have a lot of magic power, you're pretty, and you... Hmm, let's just say those two things."
...Jiang Han wanted to kill her sister right there. What did she mean, "those two things"? Did I not have a third good point? Honestly, she had a real talent for putting her foot in her mouth.
Jiang Han lifted a foot to kick her sister, but Zhen Ling caught it with the reflexes of someone well trained. They tussled for a moment, then lay together on the sofa and watched TV.
Fortunately, her sister didn't bring up that embarrassing subject again.
The show on TV had ended and been replaced with a nature documentary.
"Damn it!" Her sister swore, staring at the screen in shock. "I only looked away for a moment to talk to my stupid... sister, and I missed my favorite show?"
Jiang Han, who had been saddled with the title of "younger sister" despite being the older one, twitched at the corner of her mouth.
"You were the one lecturing me..."
To keep Jiang Zhenling from seizing the chance to bring up another embarrassing topic, Jiang Han hurriedly added,
"Oh, by the way, when did we buy a television?"
"Today, at one thirty in the morning. Ye Keshu and I spent two hours putting it together."
Jiang Han listened politely.
"Then we found out it came with a set of potion ingredients and a simple potion recipe for a Mage Hand variant! Apparently, the assembly sequence had already been programmed... To avoid any accidents, we had to take the television apart, make the potion, then use the variant spell to put the TV back together. Do you know how exhausting that was?"
...It felt like buying furniture from IKEA, spending ages putting it together, and then realizing you'd assembled it backward.
Jiang Han nodded, then looked at the television and asked curiously,
"Why did we suddenly decide to buy a TV?"
"I got paid, and with the money I'd saved up, I had just enough to buy one." As she spoke, Jiang Zhenling picked up the remote and changed the channel to a modeling show.
Jiang Han blushed at the way her sister spent her wages. Other people put their earnings toward the family, while she spent hers right away on ingredients.
...No wonder her sister handled the family finances... Jiang Han thought for a moment, then asked,
"Where do you work?"
"Hmm? I'm a logistics manager at a goods transfer station. I work three days a week." Jiang Zhenling watched the models on the screen and answered nonchalantly.
A logistics manager!?
Jiang Han had to make an effort to stop herself from blurting out her surprise.
A little confused, she asked cautiously, "Aren't you only fifteen?"
"...Can't a fifteen-year-old be a manager? Hmph." Zhen Ling snorted, then said, "I got 148 out of 150 on the management training test. That's higher than you are tall."
...I... You... Jiang Han took a deep breath and reminded herself: Killing your sister brings bad luck. Be patient.
After another deep breath, Jiang Han asked with great restraint,
"Then where do you work?"
Her sister gave her the address. Jiang Han took another two deep breaths when she heard it: one street behind the Witch House, with only a wall between them.
"Han, where do you work?" Zhen Ling asked.
Jiang Han fell silent for a moment and turned her eyes away from the television.
"...The service industry."
"The service industry." Jiang Zhenling repeated the words, then turned to look at her and sized her up before nodding. "Not bad. If you sold tickets at the entrance to an amusement park, you'd get plenty of people to come in."
Jiang Han let out a breath and gave a small snort before turning back to the television, but she wasn't paying attention to the show at all.
Whew, at least she wasn't interested in my job... If Zhen Ling found out I sold drinks at a bar, who knew what she'd say about me... She might even make fun of me... Jiang Han watched the TV, still feeling uneasy, and casually asked Jiang Zhenling about her work schedule.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Only Thursday overlapped with her own workday, and Zhen Ling worked from five in the afternoon until midnight, so they probably wouldn't run into each other.
But working only three days a week was way too good, wasn't it?
Jiang Han silently turned away, trying to keep her mood even...
"This witch is so pretty. I wonder where you can buy her clothes." Zhen Ling watched the TV, curled up on the sofa with her feet on the coffee table in an unladylike but comfortable pose.
Watching her, Jiang Han stretched out her legs too, ready to put them on the coffee table, but her foot landed in empty space.
Jiang Han: ...
Jiang Zhenling: ...
Jiang Han hadn't cried much in either of her two lives, but now she felt as though her eyes were about to redden.
"..." Jiang Zhenling pulled her sister closer and held her in her arms. "It's more comfortable to sit like this."
Jiang Han bit her lip, pursed her mouth, and stayed silent for a few seconds before accepting the kindness.
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