Chapter 7: You Are Not Xiao He

Chapter Seven: You Are Not Xiao He

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Newly Added: [Drowsy]

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Her head felt swollen… uncomfortable…

Qing He quietly let out a breath.

‘The last method… should I try it?’

Qing He bit down hard on the tip of her tongue. Tears burst out instantly, and at the same time, she felt her mind clear up quite a bit.

She pressed down on the wound in her palm. The pain made her toes cramp.

She reconsidered the feasibility of that method, then suddenly realized something.

It really seemed that… this was the only way.

Put on an act… gain Qiu Li’s trust. Voluntarily expose that she knew Qiu Li would alter the diary, but express that she liked Qiu Li very much and was willing to be controlled by her.

This method sounded insane, but in fact, it could solve many problems.

If Qiu Li believed her, would Qing He be able to openly write in her diary in front of Qiu Li in the future? Maybe she could even gain some say when Qiu Li rewrote her diary.

Even if it was tiny… at least she would have some. Most importantly, after Qiu Li finished writing in the diary, perhaps within the limits Qiu Li allowed, she could add a little new content.

And also…

As a Lovecraftian apocalyptic world setting, there were actually quite a few supernatural powers.

In the game’s storyline, Qiu Li possessed some kind of ability that enhanced physical attributes and could, to a certain extent, resist the decrease of clarity.

What if Qing He could obtain it as well?

In the original plot, it was almost impossible for Qiu Li to tell her. But if she gained Qiu Li’s absolute trust, would it become possible?

“Whew…” Qing He let out a long, tense breath.

This idea was good. It was worth trying. It was just that Qing He now felt a bit unwell.

Staying awake at night would continuously erode clarity.

She could feel that something seemed to be grinding away at her consciousness. From time to time, a sense of weakness would surge up from deep within her mind.

Only pain could barely keep her alert. This body was increasingly overloaded, and the limit was approaching.

Staying up late, injuries, and if she remembered correctly, on the status bar of the diary’s title page, there was also a [Weakened] debuff.

Qing He felt anxious.

The pressure to survive had nearly shattered her mind. Even after coming up with a plan, she still worried whether her current condition could really handle it.

Just lying on the bed without moving, her fingers would tremble slightly. Half of her body even felt inexplicably numb.

In her current state, she might even have trouble speaking.

Qiu Li was still standing by the window. She was wearing only a thin layer of purple gauze, smiling as she flipped through the diary.

Qing He’s plan was perfect, with only one risk.

That was…

What if, while pretending to be an ‘obedient pet,’ she ended up making it real?

No, no, no, how could that be possible? She had the soul of a modern person, and she was one hundred percent clear about what kind of existence Qiu Li was. There was no way she would end up ‘making it real.’

Yes… yes…

There was no other way now, was there? She could not delay any longer. If things were really as Qing He suspected…

Tomorrow might be unimaginably worse.

This might be… the last chance!

After admiring today’s masterpiece, Qiu Li curled her lips.

She had already torn out the first few pages of the diary yesterday. Now… the little one surely would not be on guard against her anymore, right? After all, they had lived together for so long.

She turned around, a hint of pleasure in her heart, and walked toward the bed.

She still had to stuff the diary back. Maybe she could take the chance to touch her a bit more?

Qiu Li could not help thinking.

Soft footsteps echoed through the room.

Suddenly, a girl’s whimper came from the bed, nailing Qiu Li in place.

Her expression changed slightly.

Was Qing He about to wake up? How was that possible? Hadn’t she… always slept very deeply?

And earlier, hadn’t Qing He already woken up once? That time it was from a nightmare. What about this time?

Or… had she not slept at all?

Before Qiu Li could hide the diary behind her back, a hazy gaze drifted toward the diary in her hands.

“Sis…?” The girl on the bed seemed to rub her eyes. An extremely faint, drowsy, hoarse call sounded.

“Sis… you’re not asleep yet…”

“That’s not right… huh? My, my diary, why is it with you, Sis…?”

In the darkness, Qiu Li could only barely make out the surprise on Qing He’s face.

Qiu Li stood there, her expression terrible. In the past few days, she could feel that Qing He seemed very wary of her, but never had she been caught red-handed altering the diary like today.

Should she knock Qing He out?

Qiu Li’s face turned livid. The last trace of pleasure from modifying the diary vanished completely.

Her red eyes now radiated a scorching heat. But… before she could speak, the girl had already spoken first.

“Sis… are you helping me check my diary?” Her tone was weak and cautious, sounding obedient and sweet. Qiu Li looked over, and in the darkness, a bit of sparkle glimmered beneath the girl’s eyes.

“…So Sis discovered my secret a long time ago…” The girl’s voice trembled. Her aggrieved tone was pitiful and endearing.

The thought of directly knocking the girl out inexplicably disappeared from Qiu Li’s mind.

“Xiao He, why are you awake? I just… suddenly noticed a notebook on the bed and picked it up to take a look.” She stared at Qing He with a stern gaze as she spoke, yet her steps moved closer and closer to Qing He…

As Qiu Li drew nearer, Qing He unconsciously held her breath. A sense of oppression rushed toward her.

What, what did she want to do?

Qing He had already laid everything bare. Did she still want to hide it?

She lightly shook her head to make herself a bit more awake, suppressed her fear, and puffed out her lips.

“Sis… I was almost asleep just now. I was just feeling a bit dazed the whole time. I only woke up when I heard your footsteps.”

Qing He looked at Qiu Li with a cautious, probing gaze. “Sis… were you just now changing my diary?”

“!”

Hearing this question, Qiu Li’s eyelid twitched. She reflexively stepped forward and grabbed the girl’s arm.

“I… I just now…”

She stared fixedly at the little cutie in front of her, lips pressed into a thin line. Panic left her at a loss for words.

“Sis… it hurts…”

Qing He looked flustered. After reacting, she lowered her head and buried her face, tears dripping down as she murmured softly:

“I know I’m very stupid. Without you, Sis, I might have died a long time ago… Are you checking whether I wrote something wrong in my diary? Even if Sis wants to change something, I’ll agree, okay? Sis would never harm me, right?”

“I… like you, Sis…”

The girl actually looked at her so eagerly, then gave a silly little smile.

Qiu Li opened her mouth and froze.

“Like?” Qiu Li repeated the word, her cheeks flushing red.

Things had gone completely beyond her expectations.

Why would Qing He say something like this?

In fact, a year ago, she had tested whether a relationship more intimate than friendship was possible.

But at that time, Qing He had very seriously rejected her.

Qiu Li frowned. Logically speaking, how could Qing He possibly agree to let her rewrite memories? Yet… Qing He had said all this right in front of her…

Thinking of Qing He’s unusual wariness lately, could it be that Qing He was actually deceiving her just now, that this was some other kind of plan?

But if Qing He was really wary of her, then why would she agree to let her alter the diary?

This, this was impossible!

Maybe Qing He had unknowingly changed in some way? It was possible, possible. Could it be that she was the same as me?

As if thinking of something, Qiu Li grew excited.

Yes, at the beginning, she had only treated Qing He as an ordinary younger sister, but…

The apocalypse was too dangerous. Everywhere were terrifying, twisted monsters. Even leaving the village to gather food meant facing the pursuit of man-eating ogres.

The villagers were all bad people. Only Qing He would cling to her every day and obediently call her Sis.

A world full of danger, where death could come at any moment, and in the entire world, only Qing He… in her eyes, was pure white.

It was during that time that Qiu Li realized that she herself… seemed to have…

Along with this world, become twisted as well.

Maybe Xiao He was the same as her? After all…

No matter how you put it, she was Xiao He’s only person in this world whom she could be close to.

Wasn’t that so? Wasn’t it?

With this guess in her heart, Qiu Li could not wait to prove it.

She gripped Qing He’s arm tighter and tighter until Qing He cried out in pain and tears fell. Qiu Li suppressed the ecstasy in her heart and kept her face expressionless.

“You are not Xiao He. Who are you? Xiao He… would never agree to these things.” Xiao He… Xiao He! Admit it already. You were twisted by the outside world, just like me. Admit it already… Xiao He…

It had to be so. Xiao He must already be the same kind as her.

“Me!?” Qing He’s breathing stalled. Qiu Li’s words made her thoughts come to a complete halt. All the blood in her body seemed to turn icy. Every psychological defense she had painstakingly built collapsed in an instant.

Had Qiu Li seen through that she was a transmigrator?