After turning around to say goodbye to her mom, Chu Lian closed the front door and let out a sigh. She wasn't sure why, but last night, the fatigue that had been nagging her all day suddenly overwhelmed her again, leaving her powerless to resist. In the end, she could only drag herself to bed in a daze and collapse like a corpse, even forgetting to shut down her computer.
When her mom came to wake her this morning and saw the computer still running, she assumed Chu Lian had stayed up too late gaming and forgot to shut it off out of exhaustion. She spent the entire morning lecturing her about how, during a period of physical growth, one mustn't stay up late, use the computer too much, or neglect rest.
She even listed several negative consequences of poor sleep habits during adolescence—like stunted growth, premature aging, or bad skin.
Finally, pointing at her own impressively developed chest that could unite the admiration of all humanity, she dropped a bombshell of a statement: "If you don't take care of your body, you'll stay flat-chested forever. You'll never have a bust like your mom's. Do you really want people to say you're 'a woman who spent her whole life flattening the world'?"
That utterly shameless line defeated Chu Lian completely.
There was no helping it—not just because of how genuine her mom's concern was (something the current her, who had come to accept this world, couldn't ignore), but also because she couldn't explain why she'd fallen asleep so suddenly last night and forgotten to shut off the computer.
Even if it didn't seem like a big deal, Chu Lian knew the truth. After Ayase told her that she would be silenced for ten days, this exact sense of fatigue had started to plague her—coming in waves at fixed times, crashing over her and forcing her to sleep.
But even knowing the reason behind it, she absolutely couldn't tell her mom. Otherwise, new questions would arise, and unless she wanted to lie even more, she'd eventually be forced to tell the truth—something she could never allow.
Chu Lian knew very well: if her mom ever learned about the system, she would quickly figure out that the current Chu Lian was no longer her daughter. She might not realize it was a soul from another world who had taken over this body at Chu Lian's own request…
But she would definitely understand why her daughter had changed so much, why she had felt so out of place over the past year, and why she had previously rejected all her emotional warmth. From there, the doubt would deepen—what were this new soul's true intentions? Why had she stolen Chu Lian's body?
A spiral of misunderstanding would spin into a knot of karma involving countless people. By then, things would spiral far beyond what the system could control—and far beyond anything Chu Lian wanted to face.
So none of this could be allowed to happen.
If the truth ever got out, the pain her mother would feel, her father's sorrow, the distress of her whole family—not knowing how to face her anymore—would be inevitable.
On a broader scale, this would severely hinder her development in this world. System tasks might be delayed indefinitely. At that point, it wouldn't be her choosing how to complete them—the system would decide everything, and she would become nothing more than a puppet.
On a personal level, she feared the rejection of the people she had come to see as family. She feared becoming a wanderer once again, without a home. She feared living alone in this world. And most of all, she feared that no one would ever again treat her kindly, without expecting anything in return.
In this regard, she was selfish—but she had no choice. This was the best solution for now: keep everything hidden and let time decide what came next.
It was a classic ostrich mindset, but in this situation, it was the most suitable approach.
Fortunately, her mom eventually just gave her some concerned reminders and didn't press the issue further. The lie stuck in Chu Lian's throat never had to be spoken, and the crisis passed without consequence.
If her mom had been in her tsundere mode, this really could have happened!
Alright, no—her mom would never go that far. Gifting her a car was purely out of that indulgent mindset of: "I have one, so my daughter should too."
Thinking about all this was really just her way of avoiding having to walk to school… walking is just so exhausting, QAQ…
—The above thoughts are entirely from Chu Lian's internal monologue. They have nothing to do with me!
The scenery along the way had already become familiar, but without Ayase's sarcastic commentary, something still felt missing. Maybe that crimson-clad woman had already become the most eternal sight in her heart.
In the distance, a hulking figure was hiding behind a tree, clutching a DSLR camera and quietly capturing Chu Lian's cloudlike silhouette in his frame. He had been tailing her all this time, never appearing in front of her.
Because he knew Chu Lian didn't want anyone to know her identity right now. As a die-hard fan, he would never do anything to make his idol uncomfortable. But recording her beauty in secret? That, at least, was allowed.
The photos he took last week were already carefully saved in his private album. These past few days, he had been looking for the right time to post them.
Today, he was just doing his routine check—stepping outside during school hours to see if he might catch a glimpse. He hadn't expected to actually see Chu Lian again, wearing her flowing white dress and hurrying across the street.
The moment he spotted her, he immediately ducked behind the tree and secretly raised his camera to capture her lily-like elegance. At this moment, he was like a paparazzo snapping shots of a celebrity—or a young boy sneaking photos of the goddess in his heart. The image might be unflattering, but he didn't care. Just seeing Chu Lian was enough.
"So beautiful… Looks like this is the route she takes to school. I'll have to keep watch here from now on…" After she vanished around the corner, he finally lowered his camera and sat down on a bench, murmuring to himself.
Far away, Chu Lian turned around with a slight frown, sensing something strange. But there was nothing there. She tilted her head in confusion. "Why do I feel like someone's following me? Hm… maybe I'm just being paranoid."
With no one in sight, she couldn't confirm whether it was real or just her imagination.
A few minutes later, Chu Lian arrived at her desk. She gave Cai Ya—who was still ignoring her—a smile, then waved to Li Xiu'er.
Watching Xiu'er approach with dainty steps, she murmured softly, "A new day has begun. But starting today, I can't be so casual anymore…"
"The sky is so clear—it's perfect for photography…"
Chu Lian shifted to the side so Xiu'er could sit beside her. Then she opened her bag and gently pulled out the sleeping Tina, placing her on the desk. Watching its peaceful slumber, she said, "Xiu'er, look at Tina. I don't know what's gotten into it. Ever since it came to school that one time, it refuses to stay home alone. Whenever I head to school, it insists on tagging along. It's so clingy…"
"I think it's just a little lonely. It's still young and very attached to you, that's all," Xiu'er said, reaching out to scratch Tina's chin. "But Chu Lian, you really are something. A cat falling for you in just two days? That's rare."
"Attached to me? Pfft. It saw too many big-chested girls at school and decided to stick around. Who knows what kind of education it received to make it so naturally drawn to busty women. If it weren't for system-related reasons, it wouldn't even look at me—this pervy little furball…" Of course, she could only think that to herself. On the surface, she simply gave a forced laugh. "Hehe… yeah, maybe."
"Oh right, Xiu'er. I want to shoot a Cosplay photo series today. Can you help me talk to the teacher and get me a day off to use the school as a set?" After a pause, she finally asked. This was her true purpose, but she was too embarrassed to bring it up right away, so she'd chatted about other things to find the right timing.
Xiu'er seemed to have expected this and covered her mouth, giggling quietly. Then, as Chu Lian continued speaking, she leaned in to listen:
"It'd be great if we could get a few people involved. I'm planning to Cosplay Misaka Mikoto from A Certain Scientific Railgun, so I'll need some other characters too. Can you help me with that?"
"Mhm! As long as it's something meaningful, the teachers usually approve. And Cosplay is already really popular at our school, so your request will probably be accepted. As for the other characters—I'll go find some people." Xiu'er lowered her hand, straightened up, and nodded earnestly.
She had already seen Chu Lian's Weibo post that morning and knew that if Chu Lian wanted to pull this off in time, she had to carve out space during school hours. And among all their classmates, she was undoubtedly the best at coordinating with the teachers.
She had already been mentally prepared for this before coming to school. What surprised her was that even Chu Lian had been too shy to ask directly, beating around the bush instead. It made her want to laugh… and also feel a little heartache.
She's worried I'll misunderstand her if she's too blunt, isn't she? Honestly… as long as it's something you ask for, I'll definitely help you. Just say the word…
Chu Lian wasn't the only one with secrets—Xiu'er had hers too. She had never told Chu Lian that she was one of the thirty founding members of "The Heart of First Love." Her plan was to quietly grow that fan alliance and use it to support Chu Lian from behind the scenes.