Awakening in Familiar Chaos

“Wait… wait!” The encroaching darkness had all but consumed Bai Muxue. After an indeterminate stretch of time, she jolted awake, her eyes snapping open, and struggled to push herself into an upright position.

“Hey, hey! Watch out!”

A familiar cry of alarm echoed near her ear, and Bai Muxue felt an indescribable wave of soreness and enervation wash over her entire body. Before she could even manage to prop herself up with her small hands, she collapsed straight back down.

Yet, the anticipated pain never materialized. Instead, she was met with a soft touch, both familiar and foreign, as if she had been cradled in someone’s arms.

A subtle fragrance drifted to her, a blend of shower gel and the distinct, youthful scent of a girl. Though seemingly disparate, these aromas merged together with surprising harmony.

“You’re finally awake, Miss Bai… It seems you’re out of danger now?”

“Oh, well, Miss Bai, you were unconscious, and you wouldn’t let me call an ambulance, so I had no choice but to bring you back to my place!”

Tang Xingwan’s slightly joyful explanation pierced Bai Muxue’s ears, stirring her previously sluggish thoughts into a clearer state and allowing her to regain her faculty of reason.

‘So I was… brought home by Xingwan?’

‘Hmm… it’s a relief I didn’t end up in a hospital; otherwise, those people might well have set their sights on me… Wait a minute?’

‘Xingwan’s house… isn’t that my house???’

“Huh—”

Only then did Bai Muxue react, her gaze sweeping sharply around the room. The walls were plastered with a motley assortment of anime posters and decorative hangings, while the desk groaned under the weight of countless figurines and acrylic stands. Transformation props from tokusatsu (TL Note: A Japanese term for live-action films or television dramas that make heavy use of special effects.) shows lay scattered haphazardly across the bookshelf, where she could just make out discarded snack wrappers… and a game console abandoned on the floor.

‘Tsk, I’ve only been gone for just over a week, and this little brat has already become so lawless? Not even a hint of tidiness… wait, wait, wait, this isn’t the time to be thinking about that!’

‘How did I end up back in my own house? And on my daughter’s bed, no less??’

Bai Muxue swiftly disentangled herself from Tang Xingwan’s embrace, yet the moment she attempted to sit up, the thin pink blanket covering her slid down.

“Oh!”

Tang Xingwan, however, seemed utterly startled by the scene unfolding before her, her pretty face visibly flushing crimson. She guiltily averted her gaze, her fingers brushing her burning earlobe as she stammered out:

“Well, um, one of my classmates mentioned that for a fever, it’s best to wipe the body with alcohol, and you have to take off clothes to do that… I didn’t do it on purpose!”

“I-I-I-I didn’t look at anything I shouldn’t have, I swear! Definitely not!”

‘What… what in the world is this girl babbling about? Wiping the body, taking off clothes…’

Bai Muxue’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. Following Tang Xingwan’s evasive gaze downwards, she finally grasped the true gravity of the situation.

In that moment, she was draped in nothing more than a flimsy nightgown, utterly failing to conceal her fair skin. Through the translucent fabric, a faint glimpse of white gauze was discernible underneath… And her slender legs were entirely exposed to the open air.

“…Huh?”

‘What—what—what? No? What is happening? What transpired?’

‘My clothes were removed? By whom? Tang Xingwan???’

‘Am I still caught in a dream…’

The sheer volume of information contained within the girl’s few words felt overwhelming, and Bai Muxue sensed her capacity for thought being stripped away once more, a silent blush creeping across her delicate features.

The moment her words faded, a powerful wave of dizziness assailed her. Her vision swam, her body went slack, and she collapsed directly backward once more.

Seeing this, Tang Xingwan panicked, rushing forward to steady Bai Muxue. The girl’s head nestled into her neck, and the hot breaths exhaled against her skin made Tang Xingwan instinctively draw back her shoulders.

“Huh? I-I-I, I truly didn’t do anything weird! Miss Bai, please don’t overthink things!”

Tang Xingwan, having rushed through her explanation, wrapped her arms around the girl’s waist, carefully tucked the blanket around her, and settled her into a seated position against the headboard.

“Oh, Miss Bai, you’ve only just woken up; there’s no need to push yourself,” she murmured with a soft sigh, rising to retrieve the water glass from the bedside table and offering it to Bai Muxue. “Here, whether you’re sick or not, it never hurts to drink more hot water.”

“…”

Silently accepting the water glass from Tang Xingwan, a flicker of a complex emotion crossed Bai Muxue’s delicate features.

‘I had thought being pulled into that bizarre dream by Sevyar was already preposterous, but now I’m truly back in my original home?’

‘And not just home, but in my own daughter’s bed… Heh, come to think of it, the last time I slept in this room, this girl must have been only seven or eight, right?’

Tang Xingwan, naturally oblivious to the thoughts swirling within Bai Muxue’s mind, assumed she was still mortified by the recent incident and promptly steered the conversation in a new direction:

“I just took Miss Bai’s temperature, and your fever has almost completely subsided… As long as you keep drinking hot water and take your medicine on schedule, you’ll surely make a swift recovery!”

Yet, Bai Muxue offered no reply, merely tracing the warm water glass with her slender fingers, allowing her somewhat tense and unsettled thoughts to calm as she began to reflect on the dream she had just experienced.

The earlier sensations of dizziness and discomfort had receded, though her body still felt a lingering soreness and fatigue. Bai Muxue, however, had grown accustomed to the frailty of this small frame… A few more days of rest and she should be back to her usual self.

‘But what, precisely, was the meaning of that dream?’

Bai Muxue instinctively lifted her head, gazing out the window. It appeared to be approaching dusk; the once-blinding sunlight was now gradually fading, and the evening shadows were beginning to softly enshroud the horizon.

‘Even if it was merely a dream… aside from Sevyar’s clumsy acting, the grease stains on the stove, the warmth emanating from the iron pot, and the taste of the noodles in her mouth—all had felt incredibly real. And then there was the place she had seen at the very end, which Sevyar had called a courtyard… Could that truly have been nothing more than a dream?’

Bai Muxue shook her head, her mind utterly devoid of any answers. And Sevyar’s pronouncement… what exactly did she mean by “excessive kindness”?

‘Had I extended an unwarranted kindness to someone?’

As this thought crossed her mind, Bai Muxue couldn’t help but furrow her brow. She had a strong intuition that Sevyar’s words were laden with a deeper meaning, yet the answer remained stubbornly out of her reach.

Observing Bai Muxue seemingly lost in contemplation, Tang Xingwan, who stood nearby, dared not utter a word to disturb her. Instead, her gaze would occasionally drift to the girl, lingering for a moment before swiftly looking away.

Despite Bai Muxue now being fully conscious, Tang Xingwan noticed that the pervasive sense of fear that had clung to her heart had quietly dissipated. She found herself able to observe the girl before her with a newfound tranquility.

Whether it was due to her lingering illness or not, a subtle weariness was etched upon Bai Muxue’s exquisite features, her hair slightly disheveled, and her entire demeanor exuded a heartbreaking vulnerability.

‘Perhaps this is precisely why Miss Bai didn’t want my help? Why she didn’t want anyone to witness this… vulnerable side of her?’

Tang Xingwan pondered these thoughts in silence.

Upon reflection, compared to the aloof young lady she had seen at her father’s memorial service, surrounded by various dignitaries, the Miss Bai of this moment seemed far more like a typical young girl.

She could grow weary, fall ill, and even reveal a fragile aspect of herself.