Change

Zhao Cheng's face darkened at these words, as they stirred up memories from the past.

To be fair, everything Zhao Xiaoxiang said was true, provided one ignored the age difference.

When they watched the stars in the park, Zhao Cheng was ten and Zhao Xiaoxiang was eight. Her nickname was Xiang'er, and back then, during those summer evenings when they sat out to cool off with the adults, he had certainly called her Xiang'er every other breath.

As for the promise to marry her, Zhao Cheng was ten and Zhao Xiaoxiang was eight. They had just watched a family film about siblings who grew up and drifted apart as their lives took different paths.

There was a short scene in the movie where a brother and sister went their separate ways after growing up.

After watching it, Zhao Xiaoxiang became withdrawn and pestered Zhao Cheng to find a solution.

At that age, Zhao Cheng was just a little kid—what kind of solution could he possibly have?

So, Zhao Xiaoxiang came up with an idea. She claimed that in the movie, the brother only left because he married another girl, so if Zhao Cheng just promised to marry her later, they would never have to separate.

Zhao Cheng felt something was off at the time, but being too young to pinpoint what, he gave in to her pestering and agreed in a muddled state, even writing out a formal note.

Not feeling secure enough, Zhao Xiaoxiang later made Zhao Cheng swear before Mother Zhao and Father Zhao, saying that if he ever changed his mind, their parents would beat him.

As it turned out, Zhao Cheng hadn't even had the chance to change his mind before the beatings began.

The whole ordeal was simply beyond words.

In their childhood, although Zhao Cheng was the older brother, he was somewhat dull and lacked the sharp, precocious wit of Zhao Xiaoxiang.

In the last two years, Zhao Xiaoxiang had been reading some "cult" material, and she would bring up Zhao Cheng's dark history whenever she had the chance.

In certain moments, like now, Zhao Cheng felt that his parents were far too lenient with their children. Why give such young kids mobile phones? Why give them the freedom to watch TV every night after finishing their evening self-study?

Was solving problems no longer satisfying? Were textbooks no longer interesting?

"Happy education" was completely unnecessary.

Of course, Zhao Cheng wasn't actually angry; he cherished his family deeply.

In this life, he wasn't a soul-snatcher; he was a reincarnated soul who had awakened his memories, not a replacement.

The experiences of the past dozen years in this life were not like watching an immersive movie to him, but a concrete, lived reality.

Thus, he could only sigh that as a girl grows, she changes, and a sister eventually leaves the nest.

A few years ago, his sister had been so adorable, following behind him and calling him "brother" with every word.

As Zhao Xiaoxiang grew older, "brother" shortened to "bro," and by the time she entered Qingyuan Junior High School, "bro" had degraded into "Zhao Cheng." It was all very realistic.

"What do you want to eat?" Zhao Cheng asked.

"Preserved egg and lean meat porridge," Zhao Xiaoxiang said without a hint of hesitation.

Zhao Cheng shook his head: "Too far, pick something else."

"Zhao Cheng, your ideological awareness is lacking, comrade. Look at those other infatuated boys; if a girl says the word, they'll run across half the city just to buy her what she wants. How did it become 'too far, pick something else' with you?" Zhao Xiaoxiang gritted her teeth.

Zhao Cheng was speechless: "I only have half a pancake left. Do you want it or not? If not, I'm eating it!"

"Half is better than nothing!"

"Someone, feed the young master his pancake."

Zhao Xiaoxiang stretched, though she didn't move an inch from her spot.

Zhao Cheng sighed, shook his head, tore off the part of the pancake he had bitten, and handed the rest to her.

Qingyuan Junior High School let out at eight o'clock, earlier than the high school division.

As Zhao Xiaoxiang ate the pancake, Zhao Cheng picked up the remote and switched to the science and education channel.

In his past life, he had preferred anime at this age, but by his twenties, he had grown fond of the educational programs he once ignored.

At this hour, the channel was airing Approaching Sword Dao, and this episode was titled The Mystery of Ancient Sword Casting.

In his previous life, the craft of sword forging undoubtedly improved with modernity; advancements in technology and materials meant that ancient legendary blades might not even outperform a high-quality kitchen knife today.

But this world was different. Some ancient swords were infused with the blood of powerful sword cultivators. Furthermore, while forging, these masters would constantly communicate with the sword embryo in the furnace using their spirit. Only in this way could a forged blade possess a "spirit."

Beyond that, even the materials underwent subtle changes during this process, becoming tougher, sharper, and even "immortal."

Take the giant sword used by Confucius, now housed in the Qufu Museum. Even after a millennium, the divine weapon was merely covered in dust, not rusted.

While proper maintenance played a part, it had a great deal to do with the composition of the weapon itself.

One had to realize that with the metallurgy of the Spring and Autumn period, logically speaking, even with the best care, it should have been rusted to pieces by now.

Zhao Xiaoxiang had outgrown the age of fighting over the remote, so she simply ate her pancake in small bites, watching quietly alongside Zhao Cheng.

When she wasn't speaking, Zhao Xiaoxiang was undoubtedly a quiet, beautiful girl.

Because of this, she had a great reputation among her classmates and relatives, known as a gentle, sunny, and well-mannered young lady.

Mother Zhao and Father Zhao were often praised by friends and family for having such a wonderful daughter.

Only at home would Zhao Xiaoxiang "drop the mask."

"Zhao Cheng, let me tell you a little secret: Senior Huang'er is remaking Shang Tragedy, and she's coming to our school for open auditions."

"Are you interested? That's a chance to get up close and personal with a great beauty, and if you get selected, you'll even get to act alongside her."

Zhao Xiaoxiang said mysteriously, her eyes flickering slightly.

"Not interested."

"Too much trouble."

Zhao Cheng replied.

"So you don't like older girls, then."

Zhao Xiaoxiang muttered to herself.

"It seems you prefer the younger type, Zhao Cheng. You're really asking for a prison sentence."

"???"

Zhao Cheng's face darkened another shade.

"Zhao Xiaoxiang, watch less of that weird stuff when you have nothing to do."

"Zhao Cheng, do you want a junior? I have Qingmeng's contact information!"

"Just say the word, and I'll get it for you."

Ignoring Zhao Cheng's comment, Zhao Xiaoxiang continued.

"Just say it, what do you need my help with?!"

Zhao Cheng asked.

"It's nothing major. My friends and I planned to go camping at Xiang Mountain this weekend. Mom and Dad aren't comfortable with me going alone, so I want to drag you along."

Zhao Xiaoxiang finally revealed her true purpose.

Zhao Cheng pondered for a moment before finally agreeing.

"Wait, you really don't want Qingmeng's contact info?!"

Zhao Xiaoxiang veered back to the previous topic.

"I don't."

Zhao Cheng said.

This so-called contact information was likely fake anyway. Come to think of it, in his past life, he had even added Meiyangyang on QQ.

Besides, even if it were real, it was meaningless to him.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiaoxiang's expression suddenly turned serious: "Zhao Cheng, you don't like seniors, and you don't like juniors. Could it be..."

"Could it be that the self-detonation half a year ago was such a shock that it made you like boys instead!"

Zhao Cheng's face turned even darker at these words.

Someone tell him, where did his once obedient and cute little sister go?

After chatting for a while, Zhao Cheng returned to his room and began practicing his breathing technique, focusing only on the rhythm of his breath without any visualization.

Twenty minutes later, Zhao Cheng fell asleep the moment he lay down.

In the past, using this method, Zhao Cheng could sleep until dawn without dreaming, waking up the next day feeling refreshed.

But this time, while in his sleep, Zhao Cheng suddenly felt a change within himself.

He woke up instantly, only to discover that his Panel was changing!