Scare me to death? Humph! Die!

At night, Amy curled up in Lily’s arms, enjoying her mother’s nourishment to the fullest.

Lily looked at Amy in her arms, her expression becoming very gentle.

Ledea sat beside Lily, not staring directly at the shy spot, but watching her daughter’s back. At this moment, it felt like the happiest time of all.

After eating her fill, Lily wanted to put her back in the crib, but the little one was brimming with energy, as if she had endless strength.

Speaking of which, it was about time to start teaching the child some basic knowledge.

The aunt had kindly left behind early education cards. If they weren’t used, it would feel ungrateful.

So Lily placed Amy on the soft bed. As soon as she was laid down, Amy got on all fours, crawling across the bed like a kitten.

Ledea stayed close, afraid Amy might bump into something and fall. But Amy crawled swiftly and freely across the bed, instantly making Ledea burst out laughing.

“Our daughter is amazing, she can already crawl so quickly!”

“She should be ready to walk soon. Ledea, do you have a mat or something like that?”

“There should be one. Do you want to spread it on the floor now?”

“Tomorrow. For now, I need to start teaching her basic knowledge first!”

Lily took out the early education cards. Ledea glanced at them — they seemed familiar, but she just couldn’t remember where she’d seen them before.

Ledea casually picked one up. It had a picture of a banana. She turned it every which way but couldn’t make any sense of it, and could only look at Lily in puzzlement.

“Alright, stop fiddling with them,” Lily said with a mocking tone. “Clumsy hands, just sit aside and watch. Leave this to the education expert.”

“Education expert? You?”

“What, you don’t believe me?”

“You’re just good at petty tricks. Fine, I’ll see what you’ve got.”

“My methods would scare you to death if I told you.”

“Scare me to death? Hmph! — bring it on!”

“You—!”

Just as the two were about to argue, Amy let out a cheerful laugh.

Lily’s anger instantly disappeared, and Ledea’s face also softened.

Lily picked out cards with easily recognizable objects, sat in front of Amy, and clapped her hands. Amy turned toward the sound, reaching out her chubby hands for a hug.

“Amy, let’s cuddle later, okay? How about we play a game first?”

“Game! Game!”

“Good. I’ll point to what’s on the card, and you try to remember what it is.”

“What?…” Amy tilted her head in confusion.

Her look was so adorable that Lily almost couldn’t resist scooping her up, but she calmed herself — teaching her daughter came first, and she couldn’t be careless now.

So Lily drew a card and pointed at the picture.

“This is an apple. Apple—”

“Apple—”

“That’s right. Say it again with mommy. Apple—”

“Apple!” Amy clapped her hands happily.

Lily was very proud. She gave Ledea a smug glance, her eyes saying: See? I’m better than you.

Ledea pouted and turned her head away in displeasure.

Lily, like a victor, proudly puffed out her chest. Her ample bosom bounced, and Amy stared hungrily at her food, reaching out with little hands.

Awkwardly, Lily settled herself down and drew the second card.

“Cup—”

“Cup—!”

And so on, until Lily had gone through all five cards. Amy pronounced each word perfectly. Then came the moment of truth: Lily shuffled them and pulled out one with a star.

“Amy, what’s this?”

“What?”

“Mommy just taught you this. Do you remember?”

“Mm! Apple!”

Lily froze. She stared at the card in disbelief, thinking she had picked up the wrong one — but no, it really was a star, not an apple.

Ledea shot her a questioning look, and Lily began to sweat.

“Even the wisest make mistakes… maybe Amy just doesn’t know this one?”

“Oh? Then please, go ahead with your performance.”

“Uh, well, you’ll see…”

Feeling unsure, Lily picked out the apple card again. Since Amy knew that one, it would build her confidence.

“Amy, what’s this?”

“Cup!” Amy declared confidently.

“Pfft—! Hahahahaha!” Ledea doubled over, laughing. “‘Education expert’… hahahahaha!”

“W-what are you laughing at!” Lily protested furiously.

“No, no, I’m not laughing,” Ledea said, trying to compose herself. “We’re trained never to laugh, no matter how funny… unless we really can’t help it! Hahaha!”

“You—you—you—! Ugh!”

Lily was both angry and embarrassed, but she couldn’t refute it. She had gone through all that trouble, yet Amy hadn’t recognized a single card.

She wanted to scold a little, but Amy stretched her arms out toward her.

“Mommy, hug!”

“My good girl, come here, mommy will hug you.”

There was no helping it — faced with her adorable daughter, she could only surrender.

But still, where had she gone wrong? Lily thought hard but couldn’t figure it out. Then, by chance, she noticed the five cards scattered on the bed. She picked one up.

The front had a picture of the moon. The back was blank.

She turned the blank side toward Amy and asked gently:

“Amy, what’s this?”

“Apple!”

“Uh…” Lily grabbed another. “And this?”

“Cup!”

Amy answered with confidence, as if sure she would be praised.

Apple—Cup—Star—Moon—Key?

Could it be that Amy wasn’t looking at the pictures at all, but memorizing the order?

If that were the case, Amy was definitely smarter than children her age. She had remembered the sequence of five unrelated things and stored them in her mind one after another.

——

Night fell. The moon was bright, the stars scattered across the sky in brilliance.

A girl in a white alchemist’s robe slowly walked to the window. She leaned against the railing, her face showing a faint look of reminiscence.

Her silver twin ponytails glowed under the moonlight, and her crimson eyes reflected the dazzling starry sky, as if gazing upon the whole world.

“Stars… the moon…” the white-robed alchemist girl murmured.

Suddenly, she opened a black vortex.

She reached into it and pulled out an apple, a cup, and a key.

She placed the apple, cup, and key on her desk, which faced the starry sky and the shining moonlight outside.

Apple—Cup—Star—Moon—Key.

For some reason, the alchemist girl in white revealed a blissful smile.

Just then, the presence of a human passed by in the corridor. She stiffened, quickly pulling her hood over her silver hair.

There was a knock on the door. A maid’s voice came from outside.

“Miss Alchemist! His Majesty’s life hangs by a thread. Please hurry and prepare the elixir of immortality!”

“I’ve already said, without the proper ingredient, I cannot refine such an elixir.”

“Please, at least come and see! The Emperor will not last much longer!”

“Very well. If that’s the case, I’ll do what I can.”

The white-robed alchemist girl lowered her hood carefully to conceal her face, hiding her hair. Even under the lights, her appearance could not be discerned.

Yet at the corner of her lips, a sly smile appeared…