Twenty-Year-Old Xiaoxiao Had Her Thirteen- or Fourteen-Year-Old Sister Right Where She Wanted Her... Or Did She?

"Have you looked enough?"

"What?"

"At this outfit."

"I could never look enough."

"..." Ning Qing lowered her head and said softly, "I'm going to change back."

"Don't! Let me look a little longer!"

"How long does this... usually last?"

"It varies. Sometimes it's quick, sometimes it takes longer, but judging by how you are now, I'd guess half a day to a day," Chen Shu said. "In my experience, when you start feeling sleepy, or your mind gets sluggish and you begin staring into space, it's nearly over. If you get sleepy, your memories will be back when you wake up. If you start spacing out, they'll come back little by little."

"Then today... what do we do..."

"I'll take you around, introduce you to your grown-up sister and the cat you raised, treat you to good food and drink. It wasn't easy for you to make this trip..."

"You're smiling again." Ning Qing tilted her head slightly.

"I'm not even allowed to smile?"

"What's funny?"

"It's interesting. Fun." Chen Shu smiled. "It feels less like something's wrong with your memory and more like you traveled here from when you were thirteen or fourteen. When other people's memories don't fully wake up, even if they return to an earlier age, they're confused. Their memories are a mess, and so are their minds. Hardly anyone stays as clearheaded as you, let alone this rational."

"What about you?"

"Me? The time it happened to me when I was a teenager, I was about as clearheaded as you. In that case, I'd guess only people with very high IQs can stay lucid..."

"Shameless."

"You're only finding that out now?"

"..." Ning Qing silently looked away. "I just saw pictures of Xiaoxiao and that cat."

"What did you think? Cute?"

"Who?"

"The cat."