A whole day passed, and Bai Li couldn’t focus.
Madam’s words from last night still echoed in her ears, drilling into her brain like a piercing melody, replaying endlessly in her mind.
‘My mission… is about to end.’
She kept her head down, distracted, doodling circles in the margins of her textbook with a ballpoint pen.
A single semester of this life had made her feel like she was back in her previous life.
Everything was so beautiful, so dreamlike, like a dream she didn’t want to wake from.
Although she had cried and thrown a tantrum earlier when she lost her wristband, thinking she’d have to say goodbye to this life.
Luckily, the wristband was found in the end. A close call, but no harm done.
But this time was different. She was truly going to say goodbye to life in human society and return to the gloomy pile of strange people.
The “Paradise Plan” would wrap up next month, right after the school anniversary.
When that time comes, what will this city become?
Madam had said that once the plan succeeded, all humans would be assimilated into strange people, losing consciousness during the transformation and becoming mindless monsters that only destroy.
Not everyone was as lucky as Huang Mao. Most people would become monsters like Xiao Yu, and there would be no Popo to wake them up.
What if… she found a way to warn people?
She had seen the consequences of betrayal. Calling it worse than death wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Once discovered, she’d be branded a traitor.
She knew she was playing with fire.
But she’d lived in this city for almost a year now. She’d eaten baozi for nearly half a year and drunk milk for half a month.
Every tree and every brick on her way to and from school, she’d seen them all.
The baozi at the neighborhood gate were the best—generous filling, thin skin. The security guard’s cat always napped on the windowsill of the guardhouse.
These were things that couldn’t be erased from her heart by just a “mission.”
As long as the message got out, someone would prepare.
If she could save even one more person, her conscience would feel a little better.
But she couldn’t say it. Madam had placed a restriction on her.
Whether speaking or writing notes, any attempt to convey information would be forcibly interrupted and met with painful backlash.
Besides, she still owed Lin Du a lot of money.
The bags of clothes from last week’s shopping date were still piled up in the living room, tags not even removed.
If she didn’t pay that money back, her conscience would never rest.
“Ugh…”
Bai Li let out a heavy sigh, slumped over her desk, face buried in her arms.
The dismissal bell rang, and students around her stood up one after another, chairs scraping loudly against the floor.
A palm landed on her shoulder and gave a light pat.
“You okay? Didn’t sleep well last night?”
Bai Li lifted her head and saw Lin Du standing beside her, looking down at her.
The girl’s gaze landed on his face, and then her mouth fell open in surprise.
Dark shadows hung beneath Lin Du’s eyes. His skin was pale to the point of gray, and his lips had no color at all.
His once handsome face now looked thinner, the contours of his bones more pronounced than yesterday. He looked like he’d shed an entire layer of skin.
“Whoa—you look like you’re about to keel over! And you’re asking if I didn’t sleep well?”
He looked like he’d just crawled out of a grave, then hung on a rack to air-dry all night, wind-blown and withered.
“You… what did you do last night?”
Bai Li tilted her head, her gaze sweeping across Lin Du’s face, a mischievous grin slowly creeping onto her lips.
“Ma…sa…ka… Young man, you need to take care of yourself!”
“Just… playing games, that’s all.” Lin Du wiped his face with the back of his hand. “Got stuck on a level… couldn’t get through it.”
He tried to curl his lips into a smile to look more energetic, but the smile was strained, making him seem even more drained.
Of course, Lin Du wouldn’t tell Bai Li how many times he’d been obliterated by that dragon inside his wristband last night.
Every time, he’d barely get close before being smashed to pieces by a claw, or burned to ash by dragon breath, or caught in the waist by its tail, snapped in two midair.
The giant dragon under Chi Yu’s control wasn’t just powerful—it thought, predicted, used tactics. Just when you thought you’d land a hit, it would strike a fatal blow from an angle you never expected.
He never even got a chance to get close, let alone deal damage.
Lin Du had grown accustomed to the pain of death.
He’d tasted every kind of death. Some of them he’d tasted more than once.
He shook his head, clearing those images from his mind.
Then Lin Du pulled a stack of manuscript paper from behind him and waved it in his hand.
“Chi Yu revised the script. I took a look—it’s actually pretty well written.”
He placed the papers in front of Bai Li, pressing his fingertips lightly on the pages.
“That fast? Let me see.”
Bai Li sat up straight, pulled the stack toward her, and opened the first page.
Her gaze moved slowly across the lines of text, her lips moving slightly as if she were reading silently.
Pages turned one by one between her fingers, and she read through it again.
After flipping through two pages, she nodded.
“It really is much more interesting than the original version.”
Then she frowned, flipped the script back, brought it close to her eyes, and flipped through a few more pages.
“Hmm, not bad.”
Her finger traced across the page.
“But wait, why is there an extra character in the script?”
Bai Li held the script up to Lin Du, pointing at one of the character names, and looked up at him.
“Well… there’s no way around that one.” Lin Du shook his head, a hint of helplessness in his tone. “This character is only a supporting role, but he’s important. He drives the plot forward. Can’t cut him.”
Bai Li stared at the character name for a moment, then set the script down and tapped her fingers lightly on the desk.
Her eyes darted around as if a sudden idea struck her, and she snapped her fingers.
“I know just the person.”
She stood up and pushed her chair under the desk.
“I’m going to find her right now!”
With that, she bolted out of the classroom.
“Me? Play a role meow?”
Xiao Yu pointed at herself, waved her hands, her ears on top of her head swaying back and forth.
“No no, I can’t do it meow.”
Before she even finished speaking, the wind chime at the door rang.
Xiao Yu’s ears immediately perked up, and she bowed toward the entrance.
“Welcome meow!”
The cat cafe was surprisingly busy that afternoon. Every seat was taken, and the air was thick with the aroma of coffee beans mixed with the smell of cat fur.
By the window, a boy wearing glasses faced his laptop, fingers dancing across the keyboard like he was playing piano. An orange cat was nestled in his arms, and he took turns burying his face into the cat’s belly, inhaling with total abandon. The cat squinted its eyes and flicked its tail lazily, looking like a jazz master.
In a corner sofa, two girls cuddled a fluffy cat between them.
“Besides, I already took time off before. I really can’t step away lately meow.”
Xiao Yu straightened up and spoke softly to Bai Li.
Her gaze darted between the customers in the shop, ready to attend to the next wave at any moment.
“Ah…” Bai Li looked dejected. “But in the script, it’s best to have a strange person play this role.”
She took two steps forward, leaned in close to Xiao Yu, and gestured with her hands.
“Think about it—the Demon King’s subordinate. It has to look a bit bizarre, right? So it definitely has to be a strange person!”
Xiao Yu frowned and tilted her head at her.
“Am I bizarre meow?”
“Not you—” Bai Li quickly waved her hands. “I mean, this character’s design is non-human. A normal person just wouldn’t have that vibe. You know? Like… that thing strange people have… how do I put it…”
She was at a loss for words, drawing circles in the air with her hand.
“Can’t you just ask a classmate you’re close with to put on some makeup meow?”
“But…”
Bai Li scratched her head. In class, besides Lin Du, her deskmate was the only one she was close to.
But Xiao Yu had been feeling unwell lately—colds, fevers, missing classes several times, no energy during lessons.
If she waited for her to rehearse, who knew how long that would take.
“I’m just thinking… the Boss Lady won’t agree anyway meow.”
Xiao Yu let out a sigh and cast a pleading look toward the back room.
The Boss Lady stood behind the counter, pouring latte art into a cup. She felt Xiao Yu’s gaze, paused her pouring motion, looked up, and gave a slight nod.
“Miss customer.”
The Boss Lady set the cup on the counter, wiped her hands, walked out from behind the counter, and stood before Bai Li.
“I’m really sorry, but our sales haven’t reached expectations this month. You know, Xiao Yu is our signboard girl here. Without her, I can’t handle everything alone.”
Bai Li stood in place, head down, thinking for a moment.
“Then how about this, boss?”
She looked up and took half a step forward.
“I’ll lend a hand. And I don’t need pay.”
She paused, then added:
“Just to free up a little time for Xiao Yu, okay?”