Room or living room?
Of course, she’d follow Su Kui’s arrangement.
But Lin Yi probably already knew the answer: the bedroom.
Because there was no way she’d let a guest sleep in the living room.
The bedroom was where she belonged.
As a guest, she had that self-awareness.
It wasn’t self-praise, but she believed that polite Su Kui would arrange it that way.
At 10:30 PM, it was time for Su Kui’s family to sleep.
Su Kui’s place was quite far from Zhuming High School—even the subway took over half an hour.
Plus, she had to get up early for morning reading, so her family’s schedule was very healthy and regular.
Even on weekends when there were no classes, they kept to the same bedtime to maintain their biological clock.
Lin Yi and Yan Jianxing were different.
Since they lived right at school, it only took ten minutes from the dormitory to the teaching building, so they usually stayed up a little later.
Su Xun pouted, guarding the bedroom door.
“Kui Jie, maybe I should sleep in the living room?”
“Play by the rules, okay?”
Yes, little Xun.
That’s how cruel the world is.
The weak have no say in front of the strong, even between sisters.
Wait… where was she supposed to sleep?
“Fine… then… good night.”
The lights went out.
Lin Yi watched Su Xun enter the bedroom and close the door.
The living room was silent.
Su Kui walked to the sliding glass door leading to the balcony and took one last look at the starry sky outside.
The ink-black sky had no moon, only a few dim yellow streetlights in the distance, casting vague light through the gaps between buildings.
After 10 PM was clearly not the time when the urban village fell silent.
Quite a few delivery drivers and food stalls were still operating.
Magically, once Su Kui pulled the curtain shut, everything outside seemed to be muted.
In Lin Yi’s eyes, there was only Su Kui’s graceful figure and stunning face.
Only a small night light remained on in the living room.
Its soft glow spread across the floor, not harsh, but enough to see her clearly.
Her delicate feet looked tiny and adorable in the warm yellow light.
Above them were the hem of her nightgown and her slender waist.
Finally, there was the fragrant long hair and her all-encompassing gaze.
The familiar sofa and coffee table from the daytime had become blurry outlines.
Su Kui dimmed the night light, and the room sank into a gentle darkness.
“Where… do I sleep?”
The answer was obvious, but Lin Yi still asked.
Su Kui placed her right hand on her chest, took a deep breath, and smiled.
“Tonight… counts as me being a little willful.”
“Huh?”
“Little Ji and Little Xun are younger than us. As older sisters, we have to take responsibility. Let’s sleep in the living room.”
Right.
Because we’re high school girls.
The bedding from the cabinet was already laid out on the floor.
It smelled like it had been aired in the sun.
Lin Yi could hear the soft tick-tock of the clock on the wall, her own gentle breathing, and the faint creak of the floorboards as Su Kui walked across them.
Both of them slipped into their bedding, facing each other.
What was she thinking about?
The warmth inside the quilt?
Or the face of the girl in front of her?
Or perhaps, that restless heart that couldn’t fall asleep.
She had shared a room with sunny beautiful girl Yan Jianxing for so long.
She had even shared a bed once with the cutest girl in class, Feng Chuyue.
So why couldn’t Lin Yi get used to this or let it go?
Was it just because she hadn’t slept next to Yan Jianxing?
Or because she had been feverish and unconscious when she slept next to Feng Chuyue?
And now, she and Su Kui were staring at each other, seeing themselves reflected in each other’s eyes.
“Can’t sleep?”
Su Kui chuckled.
“Ah, did I forget to say good night?”
“Then… good night.”
Lin Yi closed her eyes.
Rustle rustle.
Lin Yi’s ears twitched.
She heard a sound from the opposite bedding.
The floor wasn’t cold—summer in Suzhou hadn’t passed yet—but she wanted to calm her heart as quickly as possible.
But why could Lin Yi feel that breathing getting closer and closer?
“Lin Yi…”
“Hmm?”
“Are you asleep?”
“Not yet.”
She opened her eyes and saw Su Kui tidying her hair.
“In the dorm, what time do you usually sleep?”
“Mm… usually around 11. Yan Jianxing falls asleep faster because her head hits the pillow and she’s out in five minutes.”
Su Kui covered her mouth and laughed.
“So you’ve peeked at Yan Jianxing sleeping too?”
“No, I haven’t!”
Lin Yi grabbed the quilt and pressed it against her face.
“I was just curious, I took one look, just one look.”
“One look is still a peek.”
“Ugh… I was wrong.”
Su Kui imitated Lin Yi’s gesture, covering her face.
“You’re not wrong.”
“Huh?”
“Because… I also want to peek at you while you’re asleep.”
Su Kui extended her index finger.
“Just one look.”
What was this?
Wasn’t that against the rules?
“Then, then I’ll try hard to fall asleep!”
“Really?”
Su Kui blinked.
“Chat a little longer, or fall asleep?”
Whoa, what kind of trolley-problem-esque choice was this?
If she fell asleep now, wouldn’t that be a waste?
When had she ever had such treatment—being able to chat with such a beautiful girl in the night like this?
This was a perfectly wholesome activity for a healthy high school girl staying over at a classmate’s house!
“Then… let’s chat a little longer…”
Su Kui nodded and asked,
“About what?”
Find a topic, find a topic.
After thinking, Lin Yi said,
“Let’s continue what we were talking about this afternoon. The part we didn’t finish.”
“Which part?”
“The university thing.”
Su Kui closed her eyes.
“That matter…”
Lin Yi immediately pulled her hand out from under the quilt and waved it.
“Hey, if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. Really!”
“No, I don’t mind.”
Su Kui smiled.
“But the person who raises the question should answer first, right.”
True.
Lin Yi made a thinking sound, then finally said,
“Qingbei.”
“Pfft.”
Su Kui couldn’t help it.
She covered her mouth and laughed.
“What are you laughing at?”
She genuinely wanted to know.
Because Lin Yi felt that with the System around, getting into those two universities didn’t seem like a distant dream.
Provided that Brother System could give her normal tasks over the next two years, and that she could complete them.
Of course, she was also confident in her own self-discipline.
“Sorry.”
Su Kui coughed.
“It just feels like… when a teacher asks a kid what they want to be when they grow up, and they say ‘scientist’ or ‘astronaut’—that kind of answer.”
“Too far-fetched?”
“Not far-fetched at all.”
Su Kui’s hand also came out from under the quilt, resting by her pillow.
“I think you can do it, Lin Yi.”
“Why?”
“No reason… If I had to say, it’s my faith in you?”
“Faith doesn’t just appear out of nowhere, you know?”
Lin Yi shook her head.
“I think you could get into those universities too, Su Kui.”
“Then, Lin Yi… do you want to go to the same school as me?”
“Yes.”
Lin Yi didn’t hesitate.
She answered almost instantly.
That made Su Kui pause for a moment.
Then Su Kui traced circles on the pillow with her finger.
“The reason I have faith in you is because of your persistence, Lin Yi.”
“Persistence?”
“I know everything. You’re a very hardworking girl.”
Su Kui’s eyes shimmered as she looked straight at Lin Yi.
“Even when things are tough, you follow Yan Jianxing on morning runs. During breaks and evening self-study, you’re always studying. You never zone out in class.”
“…”
“And… you’re very different from when school first started.”
Su Kui smiled.
“More cheerful, more lively. With that kind of effort and that kind of mindset, you can succeed at anything. I believe in you.”
Lin Yi’s heart skipped a beat.
She thought no one had noticed.
In this half-month since her reincarnation, many people had seen her appearance, her fragility, and pitied her family situation.
But Su Kui had noticed this change.
She was happy for it, and she believed that such a change was good and right.
She had affirmed that thirty-something, accomplished-nothing soul.
That warmth, in the not-so-cool night, spilled over Lin Yi’s heart.
Turning into a warm stream.
“Then… Su Kui, will you take the same university entrance exam as me?”
“Me?”
Su Kui looked at Lin Yi’s face and shook her head.
“I told you this afternoon—I don’t even have a concept of university…”
“But in two years, it’ll be the college entrance exam. You must have some future in mind, like what kind of career you want to pursue.”
“If I had a wish, I have one. Just one.”
Lin Yi quickly asked,
“What is it?”
Su Kui looked at the bedroom door.
“I… I just hope Little Xun and Little Ji can grow up easily and happily. That’s enough.”
“And then?”
“Then… that’s it.”
Su Kui closed her eyes with a smile.
“That’s my only wish. As for my future… it’s their future.”