Chapter 6: The Aloof Eldest Miss

【Repeat once more the things you absolutely cannot do after entering the dream realm.】

Jiang Li didn’t even blink as the rules she’d recited several times at her lips spilled out effortlessly. “You cannot casually prevent events in the dream from unfolding. You cannot recklessly interfere with the developmental paths of people in the dream. And most importantly, you are not allowed to let Luo Yihuan sense your presence.”

These were essential lessons from Tasker Academy. Although Jiang Li’s grades were far from stellar, she’d absorbed enough through osmosis to know these basic rules inside and out.

【Good. Lie down on the bed in a moment, and I’ll use magnetic waves to guide you into the dream realm temporarily.】

Jiang Li obeyed obediently. She slipped into her lace nightgown and lay on the grand bed, her hands resting on her waist and abdomen. Her skin was clean and delicate, still carrying the misty freshness and subtle fragrance of her bath. Under the room’s bright lights, her smooth, flawless complexion appeared almost translucent.

【Close your eyes.】

As Jiang Li shut her eyes, 123 straightened its tone, shifting back to its emotionless mechanical voice.

【Beep. First-task reward formally activated.】

The teleportation brought no dizzying vertigo. Almost as soon as she closed her eyes, Jiang Li heard 123’s voice in her ear announcing their successful entry into the dream realm.

Her lashes trembled lightly as she opened her eyes—and she nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight before her.

She was standing in the bathroom, still wearing the nightgown from bed.

More precisely, there was another figure in the bathroom: a little girl with a wooden expression as she brushed her teeth.

123’s reminder came right on cue. 【This is Luo Yihuan as a child.】

Once Jiang Li confirmed it was indeed Young Luo Yihuan, her brows furrowed tightly instead.

She stood directly behind the young girl, her adult height towering over her completely. She had a clear view of the bruises mottling the child’s back and the stripe-like marks crisscrossing her wrists—sparse but widespread.

And as the eldest miss of the Luo Group, wasn’t Young Luo Yihuan a bit too thin for a child?

Her chin in the mirror was sharply pointed, lacking any soft curve, let alone the chubby cheeks typical of kids. Following the wrist gripping the toothbrush upward, her arms looked positively skeletal—skin and bones wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Young Luo Yihuan finished brushing her teeth with quick, efficient motions. When she bent to wash her face, her spine protruded sharply against the thin fabric of her clothes, bony and frail.

A child’s body never lied. Whether life was good or bad showed plainly. In just the first ten minutes of this day, Jiang Li already knew Young Luo Yihuan’s environment was anything but suitable for a child’s growth.

Was it school bullying? Or had someone in the Luo Family abused her as a child?

Young Luo Yihuan tidied up in a few swift moves, then turned and left the bathroom. Jiang Li followed close behind.

Exiting the bathroom, she caught sight of Young Luo Yihuan’s room at a glance. It was exquisitely luxurious, exuding European classical elegance everywhere. The elegant marble floors gleamed spotlessly, the wallpaper shimmered under the lights revealing its opulence, and intricate carved embellishments came together to form this lavish, stately space.

This living environment didn’t look like the product of child abuse at all. On the contrary, the Luo Family seemed to dote on the child immensely.

Jiang Li wandered around the room. The decorations were magnificent, but there wasn’t a single potted plant in sight.

She vividly remembered the vibrant riot of flowers filling the rooms when she first met Luo Yihuan—colorful bouquets competing for attention. The grand Luo Mansion had greenery and trees everywhere along the path inside.

Luo Yihuan clearly adored flowers and plants. So why was there no sign of it in Young Luo Yihuan’s room?

Before she could ponder further, Young Luo Yihuan had already changed into her school uniform, slung on a brown little backpack, and was turning to leave the room.

Jiang Li hurried after her. In the brief moment she’d been observing the room, Young Luo Yihuan hadn’t just packed up and dressed—she’d even tied her hair into two cute little braids.

As she walked, the braids swung playfully in the air. Jiang Li quickened her steps to walk beside her and could just make out Young Luo Yihuan humming a cheerful children’s tune.

“I have a little pony, I never ever ride it~~~”

Jiang Li couldn’t suppress a smile tugging at her lips. Watching Young Luo Yihuan swinging her braids while humming happily down the hallway, so innocently joyful, even made Jiang Li giggle along in delight.

That was how children should be—finding endless giggles in the smallest things.

Young Luo Yihuan skipped along the corridor with a child’s lively bounce, but as she descended the stairs, she swiftly schooled her smile. Her lips pressed into a thin line, she gripped her backpack straps tightly, and descended each step with deliberate steadiness.

Jiang Li trailed alongside Young Luo Yihuan. Since no one could see her, she bounded down three steps at a time, full of cheer.

“Miss, this is the lunchbox you asked me to prepare yesterday.”

Young Luo Yihuan took the lunchbox and thanked her crisply. She sat at the table and ate quietly.

The breakfast spread on the table was abundant, but Young Luo Yihuan only picked at the two dishes in front of her. She barely ate a few bites before setting down her chopsticks.

“Nanny Li, I’m done eating. Off to school!”

That familiar name eased the furrowed brows Jiang Li had fixed on Young Luo Yihuan during breakfast. She turned her gaze to Nanny Li standing by the kitchen. Compared to the Nanny Li she’d seen at the Luo Mansion, this version was indeed younger.

The wrinkles on her face weren’t as deep yet, but the affection in her eyes toward Young Luo Yihuan was as warm as ever.

Along the way to school, Young Luo Yihuan hummed tunes nonstop. Jiang Li, sitting beside her, bobbed her head along to the rhythm.

In the car—visible only to Jiang Li—their shadows swayed together, merging in an intimate dance.

It seemed Young Luo Yihuan quite liked going to school.

But what puzzled Jiang Li was this: luxurious home, no aversion to school… so where had those bruises and marks come from?

Outside the car window, the morning sun rose slowly. Young Luo Yihuan happily rolled down the window, her smooth little face basking in the sunlight, greedily soaking up its faint warmth.

Her childish eyes were pitch-black and crystalline, brimming with a child’s pure joy—like the freshly risen sun on the horizon, clean and bright. They lacked the captivating whirlpool depths they’d hold in adulthood.

No matter how much she mulled it over, Jiang Li got nowhere. With the day trip just beginning, she focused her attention on Young Luo Yihuan, her eyes full of curiosity.

She was deeply intrigued by whatever environment could shape someone into the Luo Yihuan she knew.

The driver pulled smoothly to a stop at the academy gates. Young Luo Yihuan got out, but not in the way Jiang Li had imagined.

Young Luo Yihuan was very pretty. The standard white-and-red plaid blouse and black uniform skirt made her look like a little court princess, with cute strawberry clips in her hair.

She’d been a sun-soaking angel in the car moments ago, but striding into the school grounds, her little face tensed up. Every movement was stiff, like a programmed robot.

Jiang Li stared at that expressionless little face, itching to pinch those cheeks herself. What was with the premature maturity?

Accompanying Young Luo Yihuan through a morning of classes, Jiang Li went from eager interest to blank-faced boredom.

She’d never even attended her own classes properly, and now here she was, shadowing Luo Yihuan’s lessons—as a reward, no less.

All morning, not a single classmate approached Young Luo Yihuan first.

Everyone acted as if she’d been forgotten. The classroom buzzed with children’s chatter everywhere—except at Young Luo Yihuan’s little desk, which remained eerily quiet.

She sat alone, engrossed in a book on plant cultivation. No one came to her, and she didn’t leave her seat to seek anyone out.

Only when morning classes ended did Jiang Li see Young Luo Yihuan pick up the lunchbox from Nanny Li and head out of the classroom.

She wound through two long corridors, several corners, and climbed eight flights of stairs. Even Jiang Li, floating along, felt her eyes spinning. Beside her, Young Luo Yihuan just panted a little and pressed on unfazed.

Kids had stamina, Jiang Li thought with a sigh as she followed.

When Young Luo Yihuan pushed open the rooftop door, another little girl was already there. For the first time that morning, Young Luo Yihuan’s board-stiff face broke into a smile.

“Bai Xu, you’re already here.”

She approached, about to hand over the lunchbox, but Bai Xu first puffed her cheeks and yanked up Young Luo Yihuan’s sleeve. Seeing the wound—worse than last time—fear flickered in her eyes.

Young Luo Yihuan didn’t resist. She stood obediently, letting her friend inspect it. Only she knew where the marks came from. Bai Xu was the one who quietly fussed over her and gave her the ointment for the scrapes.

“It’s fine. He didn’t come home yesterday, so I went to bed early. No problem.”

Young Luo Yihuan patted Bai Xu’s head gently, trying her best to reassure her and show she wasn’t scared of the wound.

Bai Xu’s fingers brushed the marks with heartache. Unobtrusively, Young Luo Yihuan withdrew her arm and offered the lunchbox. “Alright, this is the lunchbox I brought from home. Let’s eat together.”

The two little girls shared it happily, passing bites back and forth.

Jiang Li leaned against the rooftop railing, her lace nightgown fluttering in the wind. Her brows knitted into a serious frown as she pieced together the origins of those wounds based on what she’d learned so far.

Who in the Luo Family dared beat Luo Yihuan behind her parents’ backs?

She racked her brains but couldn’t figure it out.

Children’s appetites were small. Jiang Li hadn’t stood there long when Bai Xu said she had to go see the teacher soon and left first.

On instinct, Jiang Li glanced at Young Luo Yihuan, still nibbling a sticky rice ball, then decided to tail Bai Xu instead.

Once off the rooftop, the smile faded from Bai Xu’s face. Unlike Young Luo Yihuan, who came alone, two little girls approached her just two flights down—as if waiting specifically.

Bai Xu patted her pleated skirt and opened with, “That poor thing got beaten by her dad again.”

The sudden reveal of the wound’s source left Jiang Li reeling, barely able to react. The next instant, seeing Young Luo Yihuan trailing silently behind, her own face darkened horribly.

The group didn’t seem worried about eavesdroppers. One girl fawned, “No kidding. Luo Family’s eldest miss? Once people see the bruises her dad left, what is she?”

“Yeah, yeah. If not for Xu Xu-jie taking pity and eating lunch with her, she’d have been bullied ages ago.”

The words clearly stroked Bai Xu’s ego. She shot a sidelong glance at the girl who’d mentioned the lunches and nodded approvingly. “You have no idea. Those wounds—they’re so gross, they kill your appetite. If she weren’t pretty and pitiful, I would’ve ditched her long ago.”

Jiang Li stood nearby, hearing every word crystal clear. The more she listened, the more inscrutable her gaze on Bai Xu became. Those usually bright, sparkling eyes now flickered with sparks of anger.

Luo Yihuan trusted her, so she’d shown her the wounds hidden under her clothes. Luo Yihuan thought she enjoyed their lunchtimes, so she’d asked Nanny Li to prepare today’s box ahead. Luo Yihuan believed she was her friend…

But in Bai Xu’s eyes, it was all something entirely different.

Young Luo Yihuan listened quietly from afar as Bai Xu blabbed on, turning her suffering and pain into gossip fodder. Her grip tightened on the strawberry cream pastry Bai Xu had specifically raved about yesterday. Crumbs drifted to the ground as it drooped.

She didn’t make a sound.

But Jiang Li couldn’t stay silent.

The rules she’d recited to 123 a dozen times before departure echoed in her ears. Her fingers dug into her palm until it whitened. Lowering her gaze to the silent Young Luo Yihuan, her eyes brimmed with inner conflict.

The back bruises, wrist marks, her father’s beatings, her friend’s betrayal…

A montage of the day’s images flashed through her mind, but it settled on her first meeting with Luo Yihuan—when talk turned to her childhood, that aloof woman’s face had dimmed, shrouded in gloom.

If someone shielded Luo Yihuan now, even just a little—even the smallest detail—might things turn out better?

Suddenly.

The clear voices of discussion nearby faded. The trio’s chatter was blocked by a pair of delicate, warm hands, severing the link between Young Luo Yihuan’s ears and the world.

She could no longer hear what they were saying.

“Don’t listen.”

The two soft words struck her heart like a heavy hammer. The emotions she’d calmed in her eyes surged into massive waves anew. Her cheeks trembled uncontrollably.

She’d thought she didn’t care. She’d thought she already knew. She’d seen the fear in Bai Xu’s eyes at her wounds, so she’d hidden them carefully, diligently applying the ointment she’d given.

But this was how Bai Xu really felt about her?

Then what about the person behind her? Why had she appeared here?

Unbidden, Young Luo Yihuan’s hand rose. She reached tremblingly, slowly, determinedly toward the warm palm covering her ear.

【Beep. Host violation of reward protocol detected. Terminating reward process immediately.】

Before she could say more, Jiang Li gave Young Luo Yihuan’s earlobe one last soothing touch and vanished from the spot.

Young Luo Yihuan stood alone, feeling the warmth on her ear gradually cool. Stubbornly, she lifted her hand.

But she touched nothing.

The appearance had been abrupt, the disappearance inexplicable. Everything just now might have been Young Luo Yihuan’s imagination—not real at all.

Yet the sensation lingering on her earlobe felt utterly real.

Head bowed, Young Luo Yihuan’s crystalline black eyes misted over. Her hunched back looked fragile and forlorn.

Heaven always pitied her. If that person had appeared once, there would surely be a second time.

No one in the world vanished without a trace.

Young Luo Yihuan stared at the ground. A glint of sickly obsession flashed in her pitch-black eyes.