Personality

Tsk, how did I fall asleep?

The thought flashed through Xu Feng’s mind the moment her consciousness cleared. She opened her eyes to find the balcony sunlight already blindingly bright, baking half of her body until it glowed with heat.

“This is…?”

Xu Feng moved to shift away from the scorching sun, only to find her sister’s head resting on her shoulder. A small “whoo-ha, whoo-ha” sound drifted from Xiaoyu’s mouth as she breathed in her sleep.

Oh, right. She had meant to talk to her about something important.

Xu Feng moved to pat her sister awake, but the rare sight of her sister leaning on her shoulder made her slowly lower her hand again.

Let her sleep a bit longer. She worked so hard last night reporting to the Dream Protection Bureau just so she could stay home today.

Thinking this, an involuntary smile tugged at Xu Feng’s lips, but the thought of her sister’s hidden identity quickly turned that smile back into a frown.

Both siblings were now entangled with the Dream World. Or, to be more precise, it was now “both sisters.”

Bringing up children… is this how that’s supposed to be understood?

Xu Feng closed her eyes and mocked herself inwardly, but then she heard a strange sound.

Vroom… hummm!

Did she leave the gas on?!

Xu Feng hurriedly nudged her sister’s shoulder, but Xu Xiaoyu made a face of utter reluctance. Her head jerked toward the inside of the sofa, rubbing against Xu Feng’s shoulder as she began to mumble in her sleep.

“Bro… smells… so good…”

“What kind of dreams are you having?!”

Xu Feng stood up to leave, catching Xiaoyu with her hand to ensure her head landed softly on the sofa cushions.

Feeling her body shift, Xiaoyu forced one eye open a crack, catching a glimpse of Xu Feng dashing toward the kitchen.

Bro, where are you going?

Forcing herself awake, Xiaoyu dragged her sleep-heavy body toward the kitchen.

“Weijiu! What are you doing?!”

“Ugh! Big Brother, I’m sorry!”

“Aiya! You don’t dry-steam buns like this! You have to at least add some water! Move aside, let me fix this!”

Hearing the ruckus in the kitchen, Xiaoyu snapped out of her daze. She peered inside to see black smoke billowing out. The wall behind the stove was heavily stained, and the pot on the burner was charred black.

Weijiu’s face was smeared with soot from who-knows-where. Her eyes were rimmed with red as if she were about to burst into tears. She had clearly tried to cook, only to fail spectacularly.

Click.

Xu Feng shut off the gas, lifted the blackened pot, and dumped the unidentifiable black crusts into the sink. The kitchen was finally saved.

“I’m sorry… I just saw Big Brother cooking for me all the time, and I thought heating up food would be simple, so I tried it on my own…” Weijiu kept her head low, unable to look Xu Feng in the eye.

“Sigh… at the very least, you need to know how to turn off the fire.” Xu Feng’s tone gradually softened. Since Weijiu meant well, she couldn’t bring herself to scold her too harshly.

“Xiaoyu, take Weijiu out for a moment. I’ll clean up the kitchen.”

As Xu Feng dealt with the mess, Xu Xiaoyu led Weijiu to the living room sofa. The moment Weijiu sat down, she rubbed her eyes and began to cry silently.

Xiaoyu furrowed her brows, feeling that something was off about Weijiu.

Is her personality an act? Why does she seem so different from how she was this morning?

Xiaoyu was puzzled, but Weijiu’s distress was genuine. She quickly offered a few words of comfort.

“It’s okay, it’s not like anything major happened. Bro is very gentle; he won’t actually hold a grudge.”

“But… I messed up,” Weijiu sobbed, unable to suppress the crack in her voice.

Seeing the fragile girl, Xiaoyu’s internal “pity valve” gave way. She reached out and gave Weijiu a gentle hug.

“There, there. You’ll feel better after a good cry.”

“Waaaa… I just… wanted to help you guys cook.”

Weijiu bared her heart. She had been staying at Xu Feng’s house, eating and drinking their food for a while now. She had wanted to do something to repay them, but instead, she had messed up and nearly caused a disaster.

As Xiaoyu comforted the crying girl, the confusion in her heart grew. She suddenly noticed that Weijiu’s clothes had changed.

Could it be that Weijiu is like an anime character? Like, if she changes her hair ribbon or her clothes, her personality changes too?

Given Weijiu’s mysterious background, Xiaoyu felt this theory was highly probable.

After a bout of cleaning, Xu Feng finally emerged from the kitchen. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and walked over to the two girls.

“Weijiu, I’ll teach you how to cook when I have time.”

“Mhm… okay.” Weijiu’s head remained bowed, her mood still somber.

Suddenly, Xu Feng sensed the grievance in Weijiu’s heart. She realized then that the mental magic Mang Qiu had cast was still in effect.

Back then, she had been truly angry with Weijiu—and anger that isn’t expressed in words is often scarier. No wonder Mang Qiu told her to stop thinking about other things.

Xu Feng looked at Weijiu, sending out a mental signal of forgiveness and a hint of apology.

Weijiu blanked for a moment, then slowly lifted her head to look at Xu Feng. Finally, a knowing smile broke across her face.

Watching their reaction, Xiaoyu felt that although neither said a word, they seemed to understand everything.

How is their intimacy level so high?! Are they telepathic?! Their relationship is a little too good!

“Bro! Go downstairs and buy lunch! I want beef noodles!” Xiaoyu glared at Xu Feng, jerking her head toward the door to signal him to get out.

Faced with his sister’s sudden demand, Xu Feng nodded blankly.

“Uh, do you want it spicy?”

“Yes, now go!” Xiaoyu waved her hand as if shooing him away.

Tsk… who’s the head of the house here anyway? Xu Feng sighed inwardly. She gave Weijiu one last look and headed out.

The moment her brother left, Xiaoyu turned her gaze toward Weijiu with predatory intensity. Being stared at like that, Weijiu shifted uncomfortably, rubbing her arm.

“Sister Xu Xiaoyu, looking at me like that is… embarrassing.”

“Oh? Then answer two questions for me. Don’t worry, they aren’t hard.” Xiaoyu smiled—a smile that seemed to be brewing a tiny conspiracy.

“Uh, I’ll try my best.” Weijiu sat up straight, her legs pressed tightly together.

“First: Can you read minds, or do you have some kind of telepathic link with Bro?”

Weijiu’s eyes went wide. Xiaoyu understood instantly—she had hit the mark!

“Good. Now, the second one.”

“Wait! I haven’t answered the first one yet!” Weijiu tried to argue, but Xiaoyu waved her off.

“I already get it. Now listen to the second one: Do you have a split personality? Do you know what triggers the switch?”

“Eh? A second personality?” Weijiu tilted her head in confusion. Seeing this, Xiaoyu didn’t react immediately, but she began to make a mental tally.

Maybe she doesn’t know about it herself. I’ll test it out tonight and see if that “lively” version of her shows up. We’ve got plenty of time living together, after all.

……

Xu Feng was walking back home with three orders of beef noodles. Just as she reached the entrance of the residential complex, Mang Qiu suddenly spoke up.

“Xu Feng, do you plan on doing something… big?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“If you don’t, you’d better hand him over to someone capable of sealing him away forever, or just throw him away! It’s truly terrifying!”

“Which one? Weijiu?” Xu Feng didn’t follow Mang Qiu’s meaning.

“No! I mean the sprout blooming in the deepest part of your heart—the one that feels like the bottom of an abyss furthest from the stars! That is absolutely not a good thing!”

“You mean… there’s something wrong with my head?”