But one household was different.
At 1 a.m., Lin Zihan’s home had switched off all the main lights.
In her room, she kept a desk lamp on. Under its warm glow, Lin Zihan pored line by line over the math problems in Eight Years Gaokao, One Year Simulation, thinking them through carefully.
Every time she jotted down a correct answer, a sunny, delighted smile lit up her elegant, lovely face.
Truth be told, she wasn’t the type to pull all-nighters studying this late under a lamp.
But wasn’t the Gaokao just two days away?
Lin Zihan had no choice but to pull all-nighters, determined to eke out a few extra points on what was already shaping up to be a stellar exam performance. As the minutes ticked by, the desk lamp’s clock glowed with the time: 1:47 a.m.
She finished the last major math problem, then carefully closed her workbook. Its pages were plastered with sticky notes and records of her corrections.
Rubbing her slightly sore right eye, she shook out her golden bangs and pouted in mild annoyance.
“Hey, trying to read with just one eye is still exhausting, huh?”
She raised both arms, gripping her left wrist with her right hand as she stretched luxuriously, loosening every muscle.
“Mmm… Ahh, that feels good. Today’s study plan is done—yep! Just two more days. You got this, you got this!”
Talking to herself and cheering herself on like this had once struck Lin Zihan as utterly foolish.
But now, she could kind of understand the appeal.
Even so, Lin Zihan didn’t crawl straight into bed despite the early morning wake-up waiting for her at school.
Instead, she slowly leaned over the desk and poked at the Baby’s Breath potted plant sitting there.
The plant was beautiful and low-maintenance—just a splash of water each day.
It was one of her rare hobbies, something she tended to amid all her studying.
Lin Zihan tapped one of the tiny blooms with her fingertip and tilted her head with a smile.
What she said next wasn’t very polite to the Baby’s Breath!
“You little potted plant… If we could keep a puppy at home, I wouldn’t bother with you. Sigh… A Samoyed would’ve been perfect. You know, Baby’s Breath, I had one when I was little. It was so obedient. Too bad… it got beaten to death by someone when we were kicked out of the mansion. What was its name again…? Ah, I’ve totally forgotten! Well, I must’ve loved it back then!”
One moment, she was gently caressing the little flower.
The next, Lin Zihan snapped it off with care and tucked it tenderly into the pot’s soil.
She leaned back, resting against the chair’s backrest.
Staring at the ceiling, she still wasn’t sleepy.
Maybe her mind was just racing with too many thoughts?
In the dead silence of the night, Lin Zihan kept mumbling to herself.
“The Gaokao’s almost here… Ye Zhiyun’s probably gonna drop a jaw-dropping score. I wonder if cute little Bai’er will take it too? Ha… What am I even saying? Little Bai’er never went to school—what would she do in the Gaokao? Still… if I could see her at the exam hall, that’d definitely brighten my mood. I’d probably score ten or twenty points extra!”
The room remained utterly still. No one was around to hear Lin Zihan’s ramblings.
And that was just how she liked it—these words were for her ears only.
A little mental pep talk to remind herself: The Gaokao? Piece of cake!
—Mama had made it crystal clear: Bomb the Gaokao, and your future’s toast.
Lin Zihan gave a faint smile and slipped her thick, dog-eared math workbook into her schoolbag.
No trace of anxiety showed in her crimson eyes.
No other emotions flickered there, either.
She always handled things with effortless poise.
“Ah, time for bed, bed! Seriously… I’ve lost all track of time. What hour is it? And I’ve gotta get up early tomorrow!”
Lin Zihan opened the window and drew the curtains. Even with a summer breeze, it wasn’t exactly chilly.
But she figured natural wind beat air conditioning any day.
—Not that she couldn’t afford the AC or anything!
Her gaze lingered wistfully on the AC remote atop the desk.
After some hesitation, she sealed it away in a drawer.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Lin Zihan ran her fingers through her silky golden hair.
She was just about to slip into bed for some blissful sleep when…
Her movements froze.
Ahh…
Not again.
The wall separating her room from her mother Elsa’s was paper-thin.
It muffled quiet mutterings just fine, but anything louder? Might as well not be there.
And right now, what Lin Zihan heard was a sound she knew all too well: choked sobs.
—Mama was crying again.
They were the kind of sobs muffled under the covers—desperate not to be loud, pressed down to near-inaudibility, yet impossible to ignore. Awkward. Painful.
Lin Zihan tried covering her ears.
The sound vanished.
But… it echoed louder in her mind, clearer than ever.
Her brow twitched.
Propping her mouth with both hands, she easily curved it into a smile.
She drifted slowly toward the cluster of Baby’s Breath, her right crimson eye reflecting its starry specks as she softly hummed the lullaby her mother had taught her as a child.
“Twinkle, twinkle, little star… How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high…”
Humming softly, Lin Zihan smiled as she made her way to her firm mattress. She lay down on the pillow—no need for a blanket—closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep in moments.
Even with the sobbing continuing on the other side of the wall.
But if Lin Zihan wanted to sleep, why worry about any of that?
Tomorrow, she still had school.
School comes first—school comes first!
~~~
The next day at noon.
Ye Zhibai jolted awake from a nightmare!
“Mmph…!”
She flipped over and sat bolt upright in bed!
Nearly pulled off a perfect carp flip!
Sweat beaded her forehead in sheer terror.
Care to guess what she’d dreamed?
A wasabi-smeared Anse Waist Drum… chasing her relentlessly.
From the beach to mountaintops, from peaks to the clouds.
It haunted her entire dream!
One word—terrifying!
Guang Yu had long since woken up. In her fox girl form, she clutched her treasured wasabi bottle, swishing her big tail as she perched on the desk, holding forth animatedly!
“Oh ho! Ye Zhibai, you’re up? Slept well last night? You chugged too much chili oil—we saved you, you know?”
Ye Zhibai pressed a hand to her forehead… head foggy.
Last night’s events were a blur.
But one thing she knew for sure!
That lingering wasabi tang in her mouth.
No need to think twice.
Her eyes locked on the wasabi jar in Guang Yu’s arms.
Putting on a friendly face, Ye Zhibai beckoned her over.
Even if her expression stayed icy.
“Guang Yu, come here—with your wasabi.”
“Ooh! We knew it—you’re such a warm soul. Here to thank us and our wasabi? Heh! No biggie. You saved us too; it’s only fair!”
“Yeah, I’d like to thank you and your wasabi properly. Come on, let me take a look.”
“Oh…”
Guang Yu hesitated, but handed over the wasabi.
Ye Zhibai was so polite and humble.
Surely she just wanted to inspect the wasabi that saved her life yesterday?
Sure enough, Ye Zhibai took it and examined it.
Then, the next second—
She hurled it out the floor-to-ceiling window into the yard!!
“Meow?!”
Guang Yu yelped in shock!
And bolted after the bottle!
Are you sisters both out of your minds?!
Can’t you do anything normal?!
Guang Yu dove headfirst into the flowerbed, and Ye Zhibai finally felt some peace.
It wasn’t long before Ye Zhiyun came tripping lightly to the door, knocking daintily.
Knock knock.
“Yun’er…? Come in.”
“Yes, big sis!!”
Hm? Why did Yun’er’s tone sound extra deferential today?
After entering, Ye Zhiyun first clutched at her backside.
But when she saw the restored sanity shining in Ye Zhibai’s pale purple eyes!
Yun’er whipped her hand away!
Ye Zhibai: ?
Without waiting, Ye Zhiyun hurried over and plopped down beside her, snuggling close to her shoulder with a beaming smile.
“Whew… Sis, you’re finally sober! Remember—no more drinking next time. It doesn’t suit you!”
“Got it… I understand.”
Sometimes, you just had to bow to reality.
Ye Zhibai had to admit: alcohol might be her lifelong nemesis.
But then, brimming with anticipation, Ye Zhiyun said something utterly baffling.
“Sis, I already talked to Dad. He’ll sort out your enrollment at Qihai No.1 Middle School soon. Day after tomorrow, we’ll head to the Gaokao together with our admit cards. Excited?!”
“……”
Ye Zhibai’s first reaction: utter confusion.
Second reaction.
—Oh. Maybe I’m still drunk.
Still wasted.
The Gaokao?
Why?!
That fateful crossroads she’d buried, that vile Gaokao—it was attacking her again!
