The Diary’s Revelation

The diary’s design appeared somewhat retro, a style from several years past.

Both its key and lock showed signs of age, making it quite difficult to open.

Xi Yao struggled for a considerable time before finally managing to unlock it, a faint sheen of perspiration gracing her brow.

“It’s a good thing I managed to open it,” the young girl remarked.

“Had I applied any more force, the lock might have snapped off completely.”

It was fortunate, she mused, that Xi Ruo had never discovered this item, as for Xi Ruo, a key would have been entirely unnecessary.

Opening the diary, she turned to the flyleaf, where a line of elegant script was inscribed:

[Xi, after the twilight’s dusk.]

‘Whoa…’

‘Ah, this is so ethereal.’

Xi Yao recalled her own demeanor over the past month, which seemed utterly devoid of anything ethereal.

Fortunately, no one appeared to have noticed.

[May 24th, plum rain season. First time arriving at the Xi family home. My own family was once also called Xi, but from this day forward, Ancheng (TL Note: The city where the Xi family resides) would only know one Xi family.]

Xi Yao calculated, realizing that three years prior, the original owner would have been in junior high.

Having missed that year of schooling, she must have been in her second or even first year of junior high.

‘Quite the writer, this young girl,’ she mused.

The subsequent entries detailed her arrival at the Xi family and her awareness of her status as a child bride (TL Note: A girl adopted into a family to be raised as the future wife of one of their sons).

Given her tender age and the recent loss of her parents, the prospect of a new home to rely on meant she harbored no resentment.

“So she was a child bride, after all.”

Xi Yao let out a sigh, realizing she had completely misunderstood her own identity.

No wonder Xi Ruo had spoken those perplexing words to her earlier.

‘Yet, there seems to be some peculiar conflict between these two,’ she thought.

‘I should keep reading.’

[Sister Xi Ruo is a very beautiful girl, but she appears quite aloof, which makes me a little nervous.]

‘Emmmmm, indeed,’ Xi Yao agreed, recalling her own thoughts during lunch.

At that time, Xi Ruo had worn such an icy expression, it was as if ‘Do Not Approach Strangers’ was practically etched onto her face.

Xi Yao accelerated her reading, noting that the early entries primarily expressed a sense of unease with her new life and a deep longing for her parents.

It wasn’t until half a year later that Xi Ruo made her first appearance in the diary.

[October 28th, Sister Xi Ruo came home for the weekend. She spoke a few words to me, then suddenly tried to take my hand. I was so scared that I pulled away from her. Sister Xi Ruo looked very disappointed, and I felt deeply guilty, but I truly wasn’t ready yet.]

Xi Yao’s lips twitched slightly.

‘No way, just holding hands?’

She finally understood what Xi Ruo had meant earlier by “not holding my hand.”

‘Wait,’ she thought, ‘this diary entry is from three years ago, at least two and a half years from the present.’

‘And from that very day, two and a half years ago, the original owner began mentally preparing herself to “hold Sister Xi Ruo’s hand.”‘

‘And she still isn’t ready, even now?!’

Xi Yao fell silent for a moment, then couldn’t help but sigh, “What a truly innocent girl she was.”

‘Pure, too pure.’

Flipping further, the diary entries chronicling daily life and moods became fewer.

Instead, they increasingly focused on the unease of returning to school after a year’s absence, and it seemed she had made few friends there.

Gradually, Xi Ruo began residing at school full-time, rarely coming home, and they seldom encountered each other there.

On the few occasions Xi Ruo did return, her attempts at closeness were always rebuffed by the original owner.

The diary consistently stated that she “wasn’t ready.”

Xi Yao continued reading, marveling at the original owner’s profound innocence.

‘A girl as guileless as the original owner might truly be a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon,’ she pondered.

For a moment, the young girl felt a pang of shame.

The original body’s owner had been such a pure soul, while she herself… ‘Alas, I’m truly sorry,’ she thought.

The diary was quite thick, making it impractical to read every entry.

Moreover, the older entries seemed to hold little relevance, so she simply flipped to the final pages.

[June 29th, end of term. My grades weren’t great, and I’m still not used to school life. Next semester, classes will be re-divided into arts and sciences. I chose the arts stream, hoping things will improve.]

This entry was from three months ago, roughly two months before Xi Yao’s transmigration.

[July 2nd, I’ve been feeling increasingly fatigued lately, my body lacking strength. I’ve had to set my homework aside for now.]

‘Well, isn’t that something,’ she thought.

‘No wonder I had summer homework to do right after arriving; the original owner hadn’t even touched it.’

[July 7th, it took a long time to open the diary’s lock. Perhaps I should get a new one.]

‘You should have changed it ages ago, girl, ages ago.’

Her words proved prophetic, as the very next entry was the final one.

Xi Yao stifled a yawn, idly flipping to the very end.

‘The diary entries from these last few months don’t seem to contain any particularly noteworthy information…’

[July 15th, Sister tried to take my hand again, and I still refused. I know this isn’t right, but my heart keeps thinking of Sister Wan.]

‘Uh… hmm?’

Xi Yao’s heart gave a sudden lurch, sensing that something was amiss.

‘Wait a minute, where did this “Sister Wan” come from?’

She quickly flipped back through the diary, scrutinizing it carefully.

It took her about half an hour to finally locate those crucial entries.

[March 15th, I fainted on the sports field. While resting, I met the very gentle Sister Wan and thought she was a wonderful person.]

[April 17th, Sister Wan sometimes secretly watches me. I know, but I’ve never said anything.]

[May 20th, I saw Sister Wan again today. Although I didn’t mean to, it felt really good.]

[I know this isn’t right. Sister Xi Ruo is also very kind to me, but… my heart always seems to wander to Sister Wan.]

As Xi Yao continued reading, her expression gradually shifted.

It was glaringly obvious: the original owner had encountered a gentle ‘sister’ at school, and a nascent affection had begun to bloom in her heart.

While the diary entries suggested nothing substantial had transpired between them, nor had any feelings been explicitly declared, there was, at most, a delicate hint of ambiguity.

‘But you’re someone else’s fiancée, dear girl!’

Xi Yao finally understood why the original owner could spend three years “preparing” for a simple act of hand-holding and still not be ready.

Everyone had assumed she was simply too innocent, an innocence that defied common understanding.

‘Yet, the truth of the matter was this…’

“In any case,” Xi Yao declared, taking a deep breath, “I’m retracting my apology from earlier.”

Just moments before, she had felt genuinely remorseful, believing her own soul was unworthy of the original owner’s purity.

However, after reading the diary, the full truth had come to light, revealing that the entire family had been deceived by the original owner.

‘No wonder we ended up a match!’

Xi Yao pressed her temples, her head buzzing faintly.

The mess left behind by the original owner was, frankly, a bit much.

‘Calm down, I absolutely must calm down now.’

She reread those specific diary entries carefully, noting the dates.

March 15th—April 17th—May 20th.

This meant they met, on average, only once every month or so, with their first encounter occurring this spring, right after the start of the second half of her first year of high school.

‘She’s at school, but their contact is so infrequent,’ she mused.

‘Who could this person be?’

****