An unfamiliar ceiling...
No, that line's way too cliché. I should say an unfamiliar wardrobe and an unfamiliar vanity. No, no, those aren't the point either. Where am I?
In a room decorated almost entirely in pink, a girl lay on a princess bed. Her eyes were wide with panic.
Wasn't I playing a video game? Why am I here? Where is this place? Could it be... that I've been kidnapped?
No, no, don't panic. As a prospective detective who'd watched 988 episodes of *Detective Conan*, I should carefully observe my surroundings.
There was a vanity covered in cosmetics and a pure-white wardrobe. Besides the decorations along its side, several women's handbags were also arranged there.
With the pink wallpaper, this had to be a girl's room. Or the room of some cross-dressing pervert.
The girl gently moved her hands and feet. When she found no restraints, she relaxed a little.
My hands and feet aren't tied, and I can move freely. That means my freedom hasn't been restricted.
The girl got up and prepared to stand. But halfway through the motion, she noticed the light-blue nightgown covering her body.
And those long, straight, smooth legs.
???
The girl froze. Almost instinctively, she reached down and touched her legs.
They were smooth and soft...
No, no! These aren't my legs at all!
Their shape was ten thousand times better than her old legs, but they still weren't hers!
Where had her “hairy pants” gone? They'd been with her for over a decade!
She lowered her head even further. Then she discovered two snow-white “peaks” blocking her view.
“Whew—”
The girl drew a deep breath.
She already had a rough guess in mind. Her heart raced, and even the hands supporting her trembled slightly.
She didn't want to admit it, but it seemed she'd really...
Been reborn and transformed.
Without wasting any more time examining her body, the girl rose and walked to the vanity.
A card resembling the identification card from her previous life lay on top.
The girl picked it up.
Su Wei. Female. Han Chinese. January 11, 2001. Address: No. 1011, Yong'an District, Tianhai City...
Hmm...
After glancing at the ID, the girl picked up the phone beside it and pressed the power button.
The date was August 27, 2018.
In other words, the owner of this body was only seventeen years old.
What a flower-like age.
The girl couldn't help sighing. She put down the phone and turned to an envelope nearby.
Written boldly across it were the words:
“Zhaoge Royal Academy Admission Notice.”
Zhaoge? I’m not even Xiqi!
A royal academy? Wake up. The Qing Dynasty died ages ago.
After a round of complaining, Su Wei opened the envelope anyway.
The letter was concise. It basically said that the royal academy had approved Su Wei's application.
She was to arrive at the academy and register before September 1.
“September 1? It's August 27 now? That means I should be getting ready for school, right?”
With that thought in mind, Su Wei searched all around the room.
At last, she found a large suitcase wedged beside the wardrobe.
She dragged it out and opened it.
Sure enough, it was slowly filled with... ahem, all kinds of clothes.
If nothing unexpected happened, she was supposed to leave in the next two days.
Su Wei then checked the text messages on her phone. As expected, she found a notification from the airline.
Her flight was at three o'clock that afternoon, August 27—the very day.
She would fly from Tianhai International Airport to Zhaoge Royal Airport.
It was eleven in the morning now. In other words, she only needed to get ready before leaving.
Just as Su Wei was thinking this, someone knocked on the door.
An elderly man's voice came from outside.
“Weiwei, are you awake?”
Su Wei jumped.
Her first instinct was to hide under the covers. Unfortunately, she tripped over the suitcase on the floor and crashed heavily onto the bed.
Hearing the noise inside, the old man was even more startled.
“Weiwei! What happened? Are you all right? Grandpa's coming in!”
“I... I'm fine!”
Su Wei knew something would go wrong if she didn't answer soon, so she immediately stopped him.
After hearing her voice, the old man let out a sigh of relief.
“Food's ready. Get yourself together and come eat.”
“Okay, got it.”
The old man clearly paused at Su Wei's reply.
Then, as if he'd thought of something, he smiled in satisfaction and walked toward the living room.
Hearing his footsteps fade into the distance, Su Wei finally relaxed.
That crisis had passed.
But now she faced another major disaster—
Getting dressed!
“Swish—”
Su Wei tossed the nightgown onto the bed.
She opened the wardrobe, only to be met by a large built-in mirror.
The girl in the reflection stood about 167 centimeters tall. She had bright eyes, pearly teeth, and an ethereal beauty.
That face looked like a masterpiece from heaven itself.
When Nuwa created humanity, this girl had definitely been designed as a template.
Her proportions were excellent, too. Those long legs were enough to make countless people jealous.
If Su Wei had possessed this capital in her previous life, why would she have played games?
She could've stared at herself in the mirror all day.
Su Wei took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
She opened the small compartment in the middle of the wardrobe and found the underwear piled inside.
The Su Wei from her previous life had seen these “devices” before, but had never worn them.
She tried to put one on by copying what she'd seen, only to get stuck at the clasp.
After struggling for about five minutes, Su Wei finally managed to fasten one.
By then, she was sweating all over.
She casually pulled on a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt.
Then she entered the bathroom in the adjoining room and washed up.
Finally, she gathered her courage and stepped outside.
Running away forever wasn't a solution. Sooner or later, she had to face reality.
Besides, she was leaving this home today. As long as she spoke and acted carefully, she shouldn't make any mistakes.
The moment she stepped out, the smell of food led Su Wei to the dining room.
An elderly man with white hair and piercing eyes sat at the table.
A handsome boy around Su Wei's age sat beside him.
The moment he saw Su Wei, the boy picked up his chopsticks and grumbled unhappily.
“You're such a slowpoke. It takes you half an hour just to get dressed. The food's almost cold.”
The corner of Su Wei's mouth twitched.
For some reason, an inexplicable fire rose in her chest. She suddenly wanted to pick a fight with this guy.
She forcibly suppressed the urge, smiled slightly, and took a seat.
Those consecutive actions left both the old man and the boy stunned.
“W-What is it?”
Su Wei looked at their expressions and felt inexplicably nervous.
For a moment, she even forgot how to hold her chopsticks.
“Nothing...”
The two shook their heads in unison, leaving Su Wei even more confused.
The old man, however, seemed to be in a much better mood. He didn't eat himself and kept piling food into Su Wei's bowl.
“Weiwei, eat this. These are your favorite Four-Joy Meatballs. I specifically asked Little Chen to make them today.”
“Th-Thank you, Grandpa. You eat too. Don't worry about me.”
“Hahaha... Grandpa's fine. I'm not hungry.”
Watching the interaction between grandfather and granddaughter, the boy kept raising his head.
He stared at Su Wei with a baffled expression, as if he were meeting her for the first time.
The old man barely ate at all. He just kept serving Su Wei food.
By the end of the meal, Su Wei was stuffed.
Only after she refused him again and again did the old man finally let her go, still looking reluctant.
“Weiwei, you'll be in an unfamiliar place once you get to Zhaoge. You have to take good care of yourself. If anyone mistreats you, tell Grandpa! So what if it's the Royal Academy? You don't have to go!”
“Ah... okay.”
Su Wei didn't know how to respond.
She only felt that, although the old man was rather long-winded, he was a good man who truly cared about her.
“Have you packed everything? Should I call Little Chen to help you?”
“Everything's packed.”
Although she had no idea what she was supposed to bring, a completely full suitcase probably meant she was ready.
“Good, good.”
The old man nodded and sighed.
“Take another look and see if there's anything else you need. I've found you a car. It should arrive in about half an hour.”
“Then I'll go back to my room first...”
“Your ID, admission notice, passport... Don't forget those.”
“Oh!”
A passport?
Su Wei paused.
Could this “Zhaoge” be in another country?
Confused, she was about to return to her room and look for the passport when the boy called out to her.
“Su Wei.”
“Hm? What?”
For some reason, Su Wei got annoyed the moment she saw this boy.
She felt an urge to punch him.
Maybe it was because he was too handsome.
“Here.”
The boy held out a card.
Su Wei accepted it with a blank look.
“What is this?”
“These are the pocket money and New Year’s cash I've saved. There’s 173,652 in total. Don't make things hard for yourself in Zhaoge.”
For some reason, even though she didn't know the boy in front of her, tears began to flow from Su Wei's eyes when she heard those words.
The boy's name slipped from her lips.
“Thank you, Su Xiu.”
“Oh, come on!”
Su Xiu didn't seem completely flustered by her tears, but he was still somewhat panicked.
“Either way, you're my little sister. If anyone dares bully you, tell me. I'll fly over and beat him up myself!”
As he spoke, he even waved his skinny little arms, putting on a fierce expression.
“Shut up. I'm your big sister!”
Su Wei casually stuffed the bank card into her pocket and retorted before turning back to her room.
But Su Xiu looked at her with a sly expression.
“You're my big sister? Heh heh. Don't you want to know my card's password?”
“Big bro! What's your card password?”
“Hahahahaha—”
Seeing Su Wei surrender in an instant, Su Xiu threw his head back and laughed arrogantly.
“The password is 559642. Go ahead and spend it, sis.”
“I'll spend every last cent!”
With that, Su Wei entered her room and slammed the door shut.
Outside, Su Xiu clutched his chest and leaned against the wall, looking utterly heartbroken.
“Ah! My 170,000! The 170,000 I saved for seventeen whole years!”
Hearing Su Xiu's anguished wails outside the door, a smile appeared on Su Wei's face.
So this was what family felt like.
—
