“No, no, no,” Liang Sheng waved her hands hurriedly. “What I mean is, did the original Liang Sheng’s soul get damaged, allowing a stray soul like me to take advantage and occupy her body?”
“Well…” Akino Kazuko furrowed her brows, seemingly deep in thought. “Probably? I’m not entirely sure either. The clues I pieced together earlier cut off right there. I can’t keep thinking about it—my head might explode if I do.”
“Then we’ll think more about it next time.” Liang Sheng was quite carefree about it.
The truth was on the verge of surfacing.
That night, perhaps because of Akino Kazuko’s advice from the Heartthrob System during the day, Liang Sheng had that long-lost dream once again.
It was a sea of blood red. She lay collapsed in a pool of blood.
The girl cradled in Su Ze’s arms—Liang Sheng still couldn’t make out her face. She couldn’t even discern the color of her hair or the details of her body. All she saw was a silhouette, shrouded in thick white mist.
Who was it? Who?
“Ding-a-ling~”
“Ding-a-ling-ling~”
The sound of wind chimes jolted Liang Sheng awake again. She rolled over, still groggy and half-asleep.
Wind chimes? Liang Sheng’s eyes snapped open. She glanced back at the window—it was tightly shut. But that wasn’t the point! The real issue was that the wind chimes hanging on her window had been taken down by her ages ago and placed on the table. So where had those crisp “ding-a-ling” sounds come from just now?!
It must have been from the dream.
For some reason, the image of that blue-haired woman drifted into Liang Sheng’s mind again.
Wind chimes, the tinkling sound… Ling Dang?
Was this hinting at something? Liang Sheng thought once more of Scarface, the man she’d seen at the beach that day. There seemed to be some strangely intimate connection between him and Ling Dang.
Ling Dang definitely had ties to Su Ze as well.
Suddenly, Liang Sheng’s eyes widened. She remembered stumbling upon something at Lu Ziqing’s house that day—Su Ze’s body was covered in scars.
Scars, scars… Scarface? Liang Sheng’s hairs stood on end. She rubbed her arms, covered in goosebumps. In an instant, everything around her felt eerie, especially since it was the dead of night. It chilled our little Liang Sheng to the bone. She stealthily pulled the blanket over her head, cocooning herself completely.
Was it possible that Scarface was Su Ze? That Su Ze was Scarface?
It was possible. Liang Sheng reaffirmed her suspicion.
Because she recalled what Akino Kazuko had told her a few days ago—the additional ability of the Heartthrob System Akino Wakako was to bestow beauty upon her host.
If that was true, everything suddenly made sense. Scarface, or rather Su Ze, must have an unusual relationship with Ling Dang. Then Ling Dang would be the perfect entry point to uncovering the truth.
But where could she find Ling Dang? She was in another city—did she have to go to the beach there? Liang Sheng was suffocating under the blanket and could only poke her head out, gulping down fresh air.
Even if it was a fool’s errand, there was a week-long holiday coming up. She could head to Ling Dang’s city and search for the truth behind it all!
—
The Liang family had a precious treasure: their daughter, Liang Sheng. Whatever this little darling said carried double weight, and her doting father, Liang Wengao, would happily agree without hesitation.
Sure enough.
“Dad, I want to go to City C for some fun. Can I?” Liang Sheng tugged at her father’s arm, not even needing to pull out her puppy-dog eyes.
“Sure thing~” Liang Wengao agreed immediately.
“But…” He hesitated right after. “I might not be able to get away those days. What do we do?”
Liang Sheng nearly burst out laughing upon hearing that. Her mom had commitments too and couldn’t go. Since the whole family couldn’t travel together, why not go with a bunch of sweet, soft girls instead?
“Um…” Still, in front of her dad, she had to put on a pouty, aggrieved act~
Liang Sheng puffed out her cheeks and whined, “It’s okay, Dad. I can go with my good friends.”
How could Liang Wengao bear to see his precious daughter upset? He quickly said, “How about I send my secretary in my place…”
Liang Sheng cut him off in a rush. “No way! Work is important, Dad! Think about it—if you don’t make money, how am I supposed to eat, drink, and have fun?~”
The words sounded a bit off at the end, but they still moved Liang Wengao to misty-eyed emotion. Look at his big girl—she was so understanding, willing to sacrifice her own fun so her father could work hard (yeah, right).
“Okay, then who are these good friends of yours? Just… just don’t… don’t pick any boys…” Liang Wengao trailed off awkwardly.
Liang Sheng smiled and answered the question he hadn’t quite voiced. “Don’t worry, Dad. I’m not interested in guys… er, I mean, I won’t invite any guy friends. And besides, I don’t even have any guy friends!~ Relax, they’re all the girls you know. They’re all super well-behaved.”
Only then did Liang Wengao relax.
Back in her room, Liang Sheng started pondering which girls to invite along.
With a holiday, plenty of people would probably head home to their hometowns.
So, the ever-cautious Miss Liang Sheng opted for a group message.
“Hehe~ Are you free next week’s holiday? Let’s grab some friends and head to City C for fun!~”
The result was beyond anything she could’ve imagined.
She’d completely forgotten about yandere Hana. All these girls were in her special “individual friends” list. And wouldn’t you know it—City C was exactly where Hana was receiving treatment.
Damn… Five minutes later, Liang Sheng realized she couldn’t recall the message anymore.
Please, heavens, keep that little ancestor locked away. Please, let her doctor deny her any outings…
Heh.
“Sheng-chan~ Good news! Hana’s doctor gave her half a day off~ Hana can spend the first morning of your holiday with Sheng-chan~”
What “good” news—it had Liang Sheng on the verge of tears.
“I’m so happy… happy enough to cry.” Liang Sheng typed out the insincere words.
And without exception, every other girl happened to have at least a few days free.
Gu Yuqi, Song An’an, and Liang Jin were all available the entire holiday.
Lu Ziqing could only join for the last two days, as she had to go home for studies.
Dong Yue had been tasked by Zhen Zhu’s parents to take the girl out for a couple of days, which lined up perfectly with Liang Sheng’s plans for City C.
Ou Lu had a business trip to City C for the first two days and offered to travel with Liang Sheng, so she could unwind after work.
An Hua was allowed out for the first day, but had to return for remedial classes the rest of the week.
Bai Zhen and Cha Susu had wrapped up filming and gotten three days off from their agent.
As for Mo Qingrou, she only had five days free, since a patient had booked a house call.
And so, this time…
Liang Sheng’s mind buzzed.
That meant all twelve maidens would be assembled for the first time.
