Suìsuì Shines

Xie Tingsi shot back, "Little Pear Blossom sounds nice."

Xie Chengyue said, "...How old are you two?"

Xie Tingsi shut his mouth, then mouthed, "Little. Pear. Blossom. Sounds. Nice."

Xie Zhiyu ignored him. "I'm done eating. Dad, I'm off to work."

Xie Tingsi stuffed a piece of toast into his mouth. "Bro, I need to go to your company to sign a contract. Give me a ride on your way."

Xie Zhiyu didn't break stride. Xie Tingsi hurried after him.

Xie Chengyue watched their retreating backs, his eyes full of affection.

Those little boys had grown taller than him.

As the car drove down a tree-lined avenue, Shen Wan and Shen Baili took in the scenery.

"We're almost there, aren't we, Suìsuì?" Shen Wan sounded a little nervous.

Shen Baili spotted the buildings up ahead. "Yes."

The car pulled up beside the road. She said goodbye to Shen Wan. "Mom, I'm going now. Remember to catch up on sleep when you get home."

Shen Wan was even more nervous than the person actually going to school. "Suìsuì, have you got everything?"

Shen Baili said, "Don't worry. I've got it all."

"We're just getting our books and choosing class officers today. I'll be back this afternoon."

Still uneasy, Shen Wan fussed over her. "Study hard at school. If anyone bullies you, come home and tell Mom..."

Shen Baili hugged Shen Wan. "I know. If anyone bullies me, I'll tell Mom and let you beat her up."

"Be good and wait for me at home, Mom," Shen Baili coaxed softly.

"Okay." Shen Wan hugged her back. "Go on. You'll be late for school."

"I'll pick you up when school lets out."

"Okay!"

Shen Baili got out of the car and headed toward the

campus

on foot.

Sitting in the car, Shen Wan watched her walk away. For a moment, she seemed to see the tiny child who had cried for her mommy and no one else. Her eyes grew damp.

Shen Baili knew her mother was watching. She held herself back from looking around, but when she reached the school gate, she turned anyway. Her smile was brilliant, as bright as a sunflower.

"Mom, wait for me to come home!" she called out.

"Okay," Shen Wan answered.

The moment Shen Baili turned away, Shen Wan nearly burst into tears.

She waited until Shen Baili disappeared from sight before saying, "Let's go back."

"Wait. Drive around the campus once before we go."

Xiao Lin said, "Madam and Miss are so close."

Shen Wan smiled.

As Shen Baili stepped onto campus, she heard a familiar electronic voice.

"So this is a school in the human world?"

"It's so beautiful."

Shen Baili kept walking. "It is. It's beautiful."

The system was back online.

Her lingering wish really was connected to studying.

The next second, a piercing shriek exploded in Shen Baili's mind, making her vision go black.

"Aaaaaah, host!"

"My energy's up to ten percent! And you've fulfilled two lingering wishes!"

"How did you do it? Aaaaaaaaaah!"

Suìsuì Shines

Stars swam before Shen Baili's eyes. She braced herself against a pillar and ground out, "A-Deng, shut up."

She was going deaf. It was so loud her head hurt.

A-Deng muted itself at once. A few seconds later, it asked cautiously, "Host, are you okay?"

"Not dead," Shen Baili snapped.

She rubbed her temples, then immediately asked, "What did you mean when you said my mom and I would die?"

She waited tensely for the system's answer, unaware that her nails had dug into her palms.

The system said, "In the original story, you both die. If I don't have enough power to resist the original plot, death is how your story ends."

"Why do we die? When? What causes it?" Shen Baili desperately needed more details.

Why should they have to die? Because of that damned plot?

Shen Baili refused to accept it.

"This system doesn't know! Not enough energy to unlock the chap—beep, beep, beep? Energy above ten percent detected. Automatic repair sequence activated."

After several beeps, the system went offline. Shen Baili's face darkened.

It was unreliable to the bitter end. It went offline whenever it pleased.

At the same time, Shen Baili gained a clearer sense of just how badly damaged the system was.

"Are you okay? Do you need help getting to the infirmary?" a husky female voice asked beside her.

Shen Baili looked up and saw a striking face. "My blood sugar's a little low."

She took a chocolate from her bag and ate it. Once she felt a little better, she asked, "Thanks for checking on me. Would you like some chocolate?"

Qiao Yi shook her head. "Thanks, but I don't like sweets."

Rather than leave right away, she supported Shen Baili over to a chair and helped her sit down.

After chatting for a while, they discovered they were both in Class One and headed to the classroom together.

Halfway there, Shen Baili remembered that she had forgotten to introduce herself.

"I'm Shen Baili. The Bai and Li from 'white pear blossoms.' What's your name?"

"Qiao Yi," she said. "Qiao as in 'tall tree,' and Yi as in 'There she stands, across the water.' Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Qiao Yi. Your name sounds lovely."

Qiao Yi's ears turned red. "Thanks. Your name sounds lovely too. It's as pretty as you are."

"Hahaha, your ears are red."

"I'm embarrassed," Qiao Yi admitted.

"Hahahaha! You're so honest. Cute and honest."

"Let's be good friends." Shen Baili chose friends by instinct.

She had no particular reason. She just wanted to be friends with the girl in front of her.

"Really?" Qiao Yi asked.

"Sure."

They arrived at the door to Class One together. When Shen Baili stepped inside, the room fell quiet for a moment. Some students stole glances at her, and she could faintly hear whispers of "so pretty" and "beautiful."