Christmas Was Coming

"Thank you for reminding me, Guoguo. I'm so glad I have you here to help me and keep me company." Sitangna felt sorry for complaining earlier.

Fortunately, Candy was a very reasonable system. The two cuties made up and agreed to climb the walkthrough strategy rankings together, so the little system could complete her coming-of-age ceremony soon and hold her head high among the systems from her batch!

Sitangna and Candy chattered away in her head for a long time. Just as she was getting sleepy, her throat went dry, so she got up for a drink. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a figure in the dark and jumped in fright. "!!"

"I remember now. Sherlock's coat is hanging here." After drinking her water, Sitangna was about to go back to bed when she recalled that she hadn't seen the scarf.

Wait, that wasn't right. She remembered wrapping the scarf around the coat hanger. Had he taken it?

Sitangna was the sort who couldn't sleep well with even a little light, so she always had to draw the heavy blackout curtains when she slept. She didn't want to turn on the light and hurt her eyes, either, so she was having trouble seeing her way through the dark.

She felt her way to the coat by the faint light and shadows, wanting to check whether the scarf had fallen. Just as she was considering turning on the light to look for it, her hands brushed against a warm neck.

A warm neck???

"A ghost-" The ghost had been very foresighted and covered her mouth before Sitangna could scream.

Sitangna was scared out of her wits. She didn't even hear Candy remind her that the ghost was Sherlock, and only calmed down in the dark when she recognized his familiar scent.

"What are you doing in my room in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? And wearing that coat, too. Are you crazy?!"

She didn't know Aunt Hudson had put the coat back and thought Sherlock had deliberately come into her room and put it on to scare her. Her fear turned into towering rage. If he didn't have a reasonable explanation, she wasn't about to let this male ghost off.

"Looking for something." Sherlock let her go, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the room.

"What are you looking for in the middle of the night? Look for it tomorrow. I'm going to sleep."

The snowy roads were difficult to travel, so William had booked a bus for their group. They were leaving early the next morning, too, so she could only make plans with poor Emily another time.

She couldn't let the freshly baked Basque cheesecake base go to waste either, so she would have to get up even earlier tomorrow to finish it. She would leave some at home for Sherlock and the others and take the rest on the bus to share with the senior students.

"Go to sleep. I'll be done in a moment." Sherlock was unmoved and stayed where he stood.

Sitangna gave him a puzzled look and went back to curl up in her little bed.

"Then keep looking. I'm going to sleep. Remember to close the door on your way out. Good night." She fell asleep as soon as she finished speaking, though it was hard to tell whether she was pretending or not.

After an unknown amount of time, Sherlock saw her breathing gradually become slow and even. She was probably asleep, so he walked over to her bed, slowly crouched down, and took a deep breath.

Don't get the wrong idea. He wasn't a pervert; he just wanted to sort out the troublesome matter of a Christmas present.

Some time ago, he had happened to pass a custom perfume shop and thought the perfume Sitangna wore didn't quite suit her. The entire wall of fragrance ingredients had gradually given him an idea.

Having settled on the main notes of the perfume, Sherlock left the girl's room on quiet feet, only to run into Watson in the pitch-dark living room. Watson had also gotten up for a drink.

"...? You? Nana??" Watson pointed a trembling index finger at the great detective's nose, then moved it toward the attic, then back to the great detective.

"Think what you like. Go to bed." Sherlock lowered his voice, grabbed Watson by the collar of his dressing gown, and pushed him back into his room, firmly closing the door.

"I haven't put my glass back yet!" Afraid of waking the others, Watson quietly patted the door.

"Put it back tomorrow." "I need the toilet. Let me out."

Sherlock let go of the door and let him out, then turned back toward his own room. But Watson, who had been insisting he needed the toilet, followed right behind him.

"What on earth is going on? Tell me, tell me! I promise I won't say anything, not to anyone!" Watson's passion for gossip was burning fiercely. Dear Mrs. Hudson, their conversation had a sequel.

"Nothing. Go to sleep." Sherlock coldly shut his bedroom door. Having failed to get an answer, Watson was wide awake and tossed and turned all night.

Damn Sherlock!

Sitangna's thought before bed and the sleepless Watson's strangely overlapped. In their dreams, the two became pet-shop bathers and thoroughly worked over a big cat named Sherlock.

"I'll miss you, Auntie. Remember to take care of yourself. I'll come back as soon as I'm done." Sitangna reluctantly said goodbye to Aunt Hudson, who had gotten up early to make her honey muffins.

The two hugged for a long, long time outside on Baker Street. Mrs. Hudson tucked a packed thermal container into her niece's shoulder bag and urged her to eat while it was hot.

While they waited for the bus, she continued reminding Sitangna to stay safe while she was away, wear plenty of clothes so she wouldn't catch cold, and so on. With tears in her eyes, Sitangna reluctantly boarded only after the driver called her a second time.

"Hey, don't be sad, Nana. Our supervisor is very easy to talk to. Once we've each finished our project tasks, we can submit a report and go home early."

Lilian gave Sitangna a big hug too and led her to a seat beside her. Sitangna took out a large packet of disposable spoons and half a tray of fresh lemon Basque cheesecake, drawing cheers from everyone on the bus.

Everyone took a spoon and shared the delicious cake. Two bites weren't enough, and the students who still wanted more asked Sitangna if she could share the recipe. She readily posted it on her blog for everyone to use.

"Smart, beautiful, gentle, kind, and good with your hands. Sitangna, you're as charming as your name," Lilian said, leaning on Sitangna's shoulder and breathing in the sweet scent left over from her cake-making.

"You're exaggerating." Sitangna rarely received such high praise. Embarrassed, she buried her face in Lilian's curly, fluffy hair, enveloped by the lovely scent of conditioner.

"No need to be modest, Nana. That's my impression of you too." William hadn't taken a private car today, choosing to travel with the group instead, supposedly to take responsibility for their safety all the way.

"Thank you for the compliments. I'll work hard to do even better." Thinking of the task that was nearly halfway complete, Sitangna felt full of motivation.

"Look, that's the admirable character of students from China. If my younger siblings had that kind of awareness, I wouldn't get a headache tutoring them at home," a group member sitting beside William remarked.

The journey was rather long. For safety's sake, the bus drove steadily and took more than two hours to reach the University of Cambridge. By the time William had gotten their large group settled into temporary dorms and arranged temporary meal cards, it was already dark.

Sitangna returned to the dorm and showered, then had a long phone call with Aunt Hudson. Hearing that Sherlock and the others hadn't come home that night, she guessed they had gone to Baskerville, which had been mentioned in the show, and were investigating the case.

Aunt and niece hadn't kept in touch often before and hadn't had much of a bond to speak of, but since meeting, the affection between the older woman and the younger one had visibly grown.

Mrs. Hudson was her only family in this other world, the focus of all her longing and attachment. Perhaps the old lady felt the same way.

Over the next few days, everyone worked nonstop so they could be free before Christmas, continually revising the project and refining the paper. After each busy day, Sitangna went straight back to the dorm and fell into bed.

She shared a dorm room with Lilian and two other girls from their group. The other three returned with her.

Without even discussing it, they all took off their shoes and fell asleep. They didn't bathe, wash their faces, or even brush their teeth. Their supervisor now didn't dare go near his students. Every one of them was so absorbed in work that they forgot to eat and sleep, and they all smelled terrible. It was torture for the old man.

There was no helping it. Even if they bathed every day, staying up late would still give them a strong body odor.

Three days later, they finally finished all their work on Christmas Eve. Thanks to the filthy rich and very generous William, everyone got another free ride on a bus that took them back to their respective homes.

Before coming back, Sitangna had already asked Watson to buy her fresh cake ingredients. She was determined to let Emily taste her lemon Basque cheesecake at Christmas.

As soon as she got off the bus, she took her suitcase and headed straight for 221B. She reached the door just as Aunt Hudson opened it. Aunt and niece were of one mind and gave each other a big hug, just as they had when she left.

"Welcome home, my little darling! Auntie missed you so much!" Mrs. Hudson had honey and ginger juice on her hands. She was making the roast turkey feast for Christmas Eve, so she could only wrap her elbows around Sitangna.

Sitangna hugged her and swayed back and forth, breathing in the scent of soapberries and the comforting smell on her aunt, which put her at ease.

After they exchanged greetings, Sitangna carried her suitcase upstairs. It was much like when she had first arrived, except for her relationship with the people who lived here.

"Welcome home, Nana. You've worked hard at school these past few days, haven't you?" Watson heard the noise downstairs and guessed Nana was back. He hurriedly put down his work and came out to greet her.

Feeling energy flow into her again after a long time apart (though it hadn't really been that long), Sitangna excitedly gave Watson a hug too, a warm hug between friends.

"Long time no see, dear Little Peanut!"

No wonder a hug in so many films and shows could make the big villain lay down his weapon and turn over a new leaf. She couldn't describe the feeling, but it really did make a person calm and happy.

"Long time no see." Sherlock was there too, lounging on the sofa with his right leg crossed over his left, one hand resting on the sofa and the other propping up his chin.

They had just solved the Baskerville hound case, and this was their first day off, so neither of them had gone out.

"Long time no see. Want a hug, great detective?" Sitangna set down her luggage and slowly walked over to him. She hadn't hugged him before, so she would see if she could gain more energy.

"You're such a poser. If you want a hug, get up and give her one," Watson teased when he saw Sherlock hadn't moved after so long.

"Nana, you wouldn't know this, but we went to Baskerville to investigate a case a couple of days ago, and this guy stood on a pile of rocks pretending to be brooding."

"Greg even asked me what was wrong with him and whether he was all right. All I could say was, 'Congratulations, you've noticed him.'" After that complaint, he went on to list every outrageous thing Sherlock had done while solving the case over the past two days.

"He actually said he had no friends. No-friends! Good heavens, then what are we, the people who run around doing everything for him? Simps who forced ourselves on him?"

The word "simp," automatically translated in her head, made Sitangna laugh. Although Sherlock had managed to pacify Watson afterward, Watson still got furious whenever he thought of it.

"When are we going to Irene's again? I can't wait to give you another couple of punches." Watson assumed a boxer's defensive stance, itching for a chance to strike.

"She's gone far away and won't be coming back. Also, you really are noisy." Sherlock tossed the cushion behind him into Watson's arms, then lazily got up and walked toward Sitangna. His broad, warm presence enveloped her in an instant.

"Did you change your perfume too?" As they hugged, Sitangna detected a medley of scents on him, though she couldn't immediately make out what they all were.

"No. I just went to mix something." Sherlock kept it short, clearly unwilling to say more.

Feeling that was about enough, Sitangna was the first to let go.

"Okay, I'll go upstairs and put my things away. Does anyone want to go to the mall with me later? I need to buy some little things to wrap presents."

She had already prepared the presents, but she didn't seem to have enough wrapping paper and ribbon. With the holiday almost here, having them delivered was clearly out of the question.

"If nothing comes up, we can both go." Watson stretched. They had been running around on the hound case for days, and it was time they went out for a change.

"I have something to do. You two go." Sherlock thought of something and immediately returned to his bedroom to change before going out.

"What are you going to do? That's so strange. You aren't dragging us along this time." Watson tried hard to recall what else there was to do.

"Nothing important. Just going to see my dear brother." Sherlock had, unusually, changed into new clothes, but he still wore the blue plaid cashmere scarf around his neck.

"Be careful on the way." Although she knew there were quite a few plainclothes guards hidden around Sherlock, she still gave him the customary reminder.

Sherlock snapped his fingers in reply as he went downstairs. Watson and Sitangna shook off their goosebumps. The guy really was a poser.

"Never mind him. Nana, you've had a long journey. Why don't you get some rest first? We can go out this afternoon." Watson said he had plenty of time and told her to go back to her room for a nap.

When she woke up, the lights were already twinkling outside the window. For a moment, it felt as though she were back home in China at New Year. She decided that for New Year, she would go to Chinatown to buy lanterns and red couplets, fill the house with Chinese decorations, and make dumplings together.

Up she got! Then she and Watson headed straight for a nearby mall, where she bought lots of wrapping paper and little decorations at a gift shop. The shop was small but had a complete selection, and she had almost lost track of time browsing there.

If she hadn't had to decorate the house with Aunt Hudson that evening, she would certainly have stayed longer. She had no resistance at all to those exquisitely made little things.

"Come and have candy apples! Sitangna's exclusive maple candy red apples!"