"Then we’ll call your father…" Her voice fell like a pebble into still water.

"I don’t have a father." I shot back, quick as a sparrow out of brush.

"…" Xuewei’s patience cracked like dry clay; little brat, your lips are sealed like winter buds.

Looks like someone coached you, she thought, teeth grinding like grit; you’d even curse yourself dead to keep a secret.

"Then your guardian? You’ve got to have some contact." Her brows pulled tight like bowstrings.

"Sorry, teacher… I really don’t…" My heart shrank like a shadow at dusk before the words stumbled out.

"Then how did you get here? Don’t tell me someone random handed you a Heavenly Melody Academy pass." Her words snapped like cold reeds.

"It’s actually true…" I murmured, guilt fluttering like moths.

"…" Xuewei exhaled; she sank into the chair like falling snow, left hand to her brow like a cloud’s veil. "Give me the contact for whoever gave you that certificate."

"Oh…" I meekly offered Aunt Yu Qiu’s number, voice thin as mist, and tried to slip away like a cat at a door.

My collar caught again, pinched like a hook in the river.

"Ah… teacher, why do you love grabbing my collar? It chokes like a tight scarf, mm." My complaint puffed out like steam.

"I like it. Not your business." Xuewei’s eyebrow arced like a blade. "I’m calling that person now."

"Okay…" I answered, small as a leaf in rain.

Xuewei stepped out, heels crisp as hail, and locked the office door behind her like iron teeth. "Don’t even think about leaving. Stay. Wait for me."

"…" Too much! My indignation fizzed like hot oil.

"Fine, go find Aunt Yu Qiu then. I’ll nap first; sleep’s rolling in like fog…"

Drowsiness tugged me like a tide.

I turned and climbed onto Xuewei’s leather chair, lounging for a soft spot like a cat seeking sun.

Sure enough, it felt better… until comfort shattered like glass. With this oversized chest, no position was peace, every turn a hill against my ribs.

But what can you do—life’s rough as wind on grit. Shengsheng sighed, thin as a reed flute.

Ling Xuewei moved swift when it touched certain things, like a hawk to prey—especially news about her brother. Within minutes, she had the shop owner on the line about Qingsheng Tangxue.

At the shop, she discovered the other party was Blood Clan royalty, a smile cool as moonlight. Heh…

Face to face, her first impression was good—someone you could speak to under clear skies. The other seemed to think well of her too, words flowing like tea.

But when Qingsheng Tangxue’s name surfaced, the woman slid aside like a fish under reeds. The diversion was clean as silk, yet Ling Xuewei saw it: she was hiding something about Qingsheng Tangxue. As expected…

"Actually, I’m Qingsheng Tangxue’s homeroom teacher. I need to reach her guardian. She said you wrote the recommendation, so I came to you."

"Ah…?" Yu Qiu blinked, surprise bursting like a popped seed. She’d assumed the visitor came to mess with little Tangxue; she’d even prepared to knock out this pretty girl and spirit her away like a thief in night.

Turns out it was the teacher—summons at the door like thunder.

Luckily, Yu Qiu had weathered storms like this before.

After a round of talk, Xuewei gathered a few threads. First, Yu Qiu and Qingsheng Tangxue weren’t deeply tied, but she doted on her like spring on saplings. Probably a soft spot for cute little girls.

Second, that necklace on Qingsheng Tangxue likely linked to her mother; if you want clues to her brother, start from that river.

Yu Qiu gained her own harvest. She learned how much chaos that little brat had brewed at the Academy—pure firecrackers. Always slipping out without a word, stirring trouble like a stray breeze.

She also dug up sweeter news: Qianya had made friends there—this child finally had companions like stars around a moon.

"Yu Qiu… your desserts are really delicious, with a taste that feels familiar, like home smoke."

"Thanks for the praise, Miss Xuewei. I’ve tweaked that recipe many times, like kneading dough through seasons."

"Is that so… then I should go. Someone’s still locked in my office; I hope she doesn’t chew my sofa like a puppy."

"Ahahaha, I think she just might. My office sofa got ruined exactly like that—bitten like rind."

"…"

Ling Xuewei ended the brief farewell like a curtain falling and hurried back to her office, steps fast as rain.

She opened the door and couldn’t help a wry smile.

The little milk cow had passed out on her chair, cheek tilted, a glint of drool bright as dew at her lip.

Toward this girl—possibly her brother’s child—she held a complicated storm. Part of her liked the kid’s nature, so much like his, sunlight on a familiar wall, yet not her own…

Another part felt a strange itch to compare, as if measuring shadows at noon.

Without noticing, Ling Xuewei drifted to her seat and prepared to scoop the girl up and drop her on the sofa like a bundle of quilts.

She couldn’t lift from the side; that would press against the thing she hated, a thorn under skin. So she took her from the front, where sight and touch were blind as night.

That bastard… I’ll catch him and give him a beating, fist like thunder! You don’t dare face me? You send a teen to test the winds? Ha!

And I… I never once planned to hit you… those words tasted bitter as old tea.

Right then, eyes still closed, Shengsheng’s pink tongue flicked out like a petal and gave a lazy lick.

"Mm… so salty. In the dream… I must’ve added too much salt…"

"…" Silence pooled like ink.