Chapter 144: A Ray of Morning Light Slips Through the Curtain Gap

A thin beam of dawn light slipped through the gap in the curtains
and fell across the pillow.

This natural alarm clock instantly woke Su Xiaoxiao from her sleep.
She opened her sleepy eyes,
and out of habit reached both hands across the bed, fumbling for her clothes.

Autumn had arrived; the air already carried a slight chill.
In another month or two winter would come.
Even if girls still wanted to wear skirts for the sake of looking cute,
leggings and thicker thermal stockings had become essential —
or rather, they could no longer really be called “silk stockings,”
but warm socks.

Today was Sunday,
but it was also the day Su Xiaoxiao had to go to school.

In the third year of high school, time was measured in seconds.
Because of school maintenance, Friday had been an early release day,
so naturally Sunday had to make up for it.

Su Xiao Zi, being in second year, didn’t have to worry.
Her classes started in the afternoon —
she only needed to arrive before evening self-study.

Ah… have to go to school… so cold…

Su Xiaoxiao let out a lazy puff of breath.
In places touched by sunlight it was still bearable,
but in the shadows the chill seeped straight into her bones, making her shiver.

I don’t want to get up…

Can I sleep just five more minutes…?

Days when you can’t sleep until you naturally wake are the worst.

Suddenly, as Su Xiaoxiao shifted to get up,
Evran — who had been sleeping beside her — also woke.
She stared straight at the ceiling and let out a dramatic cry:

“Ahhh! Xiaoxiao! I’m being sucked in! Save me!”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“It’s this comfy bed!
It’s not that I don’t want to get up —
the bed is literally sucking me in! Hurry and rescue me!”

Su Xiaoxiao had been about to roll over and check on Evran,
but at those words she immediately turned her head away
and ignored the playful antics.

“You’re so full of energy first thing in the morning… must be nice…”

Su Xiaoxiao sighed.

She remembered last night —
Evran had taken her words seriously
and chased after her in a flurry of clothes being torn off,
leaving Su Xiao Zi completely confused and desperately trying to stop them.

Only after Su Xiao Zi personally said she forgave her
did Evran finally calm down.

In the end, last night’s incident had been nothing more than a farce
that wrapped up smoothly.

They were all good-natured girls at heart.
Trying to spark any real romantic tension between them
would actually be quite difficult.

Su Xiaoxiao dressed herself unhurriedly.
From the wardrobe she pulled out a cotton skirt —
much thicker and heavier than her usual light ones.
Right now, staying warm mattered far more than looking cute.

Evran, meanwhile, stayed curled up in the warm blankets,
watching Su Xiaoxiao’s slow, deliberate movements.
She stared so intently that Su Xiaoxiao started to feel embarrassed.

“Evran, are you coming to school with me today?
Or do you want to spend the whole day cozy in bed?”

“Mmm… let me think about it very seriously.”

“This isn’t something that needs serious consideration.
Just do whatever you want.”

“But but… the bed is so warm and comfy…
yet once Xiaoxiao leaves, it’ll feel so lonely…
So I think I’ll go to school with you.
It feels like we haven’t gone together in forever.”

Even though that was what Evran said,
her body showed absolutely no sign of moving.

Come to think of it, it had been several days since the last time she went to school —
the very day the school exploded
and Bloodkin invaded.

It was also the day the Bloodkin deceived Su Xiaoxiao,
making her believe her sister had truly been killed.
In a fit of rage, she chose to accept the Bloodkin power.

Looking back… she really hadn’t been thinking clearly.
Once she became Bloodkin, there was no going back.

By the time Su Xiao Zi finished preparing breakfast
and came to knock on the door to wake her sister,
Su Xiaoxiao had already finished dressing completely.
On top she wore one of Su Xiao Zi’s old junior-high autumn shirts;
below was the thick cotton skirt and thermal stockings.
She had bundled herself up tightly,
determined not to let a single breath of cold air sneak in.

Yet even this couldn’t hide her adorable charm.
She was a little worried that showing up at school like this
might cause a stir —
being gawked at when she least wanted attention would be troublesome.

“Xiao Zi, you didn’t have to wake up so early.
I can just grab breakfast myself.”

“No way!
Big Brother is a girl now —
you’re still growing!
I have to carefully prepare a nutritious breakfast for you,
otherwise you won’t grow properly~~~”

“Hey, where exactly are you looking when you say that?!
I don’t care at all.
Speaking of which… can Bloodkin bodies even grow anymore?
But if not, I’ll just make do with yours.”

“Eh? Ehhh!? M-Make do with what?!”

Su Xiaoxiao brushed her bangs aside.
Her reaction was a beat slow.
Only after a pause did she realize what she’d just said.
She hurriedly explained:

“Ah, no, no — I’m still half-asleep.
Don’t mind what I said.”

“Ah… mm, okay.”

Early in the morning,
this pair of silly siblings blushed at the same time.
Both suddenly remembered last night’s passionate kissing scene.
Now that things had cooled down,
the embarrassment felt especially intense.

Evran watched the eye contact between them with a dazed expression,
then broke into an auntie-like smile.
It looked like the two of them had made up completely.

“Sister~ sister rice bowl~”
Evran began humming dreamily in her mind.

“Instructor, does Tina need to escort you to school?
Tina’s current armament includes—”

“No, no need.
This isn’t a battlefield.
Just normal school.
Hide the eye color and aura —
no one will recognize me as Bloodkin now.”

“But that silver hair is way too eye-catching.
We’ll have to come up with an excuse…
maybe say I’m foreign mixed-blood?”

“Mixed what blood?
Just say I was born to a pair of white-haired grandpa and grandma—”

“What kind of nonsense is that? Of course not!”

“Also… from now on, you don’t have to call me Instructor anymore.
Just call me Xiaoxiao.
That’s my name now.”

“Tina’s set age is slightly younger than Xiaoxiao’s,
so it should be ‘Miss Xiaoxiao,’ correct?”

“Ah, sure, that’s fine…
though it sounds a little weird.”

“Actually, Tina’s real age is older than Su Xiaoxiao’s,
but Tina’s age was frozen at that year,
so in setting it’s still sixteen.”

“I used to call you Tina Instructor and Big Sis Tina for so long…
changing it might actually feel nice.
Though ever since you became a humanoid weapon,
I’ve mostly just called you Little Tina.”

“Su Xiaoxiao’s actual age is seventeen,
but now people would believe she’s thirteen
without even doubting it.”

“Have fun at school.
Be safe on the way, Miss Xiaoxiao.”

Tina — as if testing the new way of addressing her —
walked over to Su Xiaoxiao’s side,
reached out,
and gently patted her on the head.
The gesture looked full of doting affection.

“Um… Little Tina…
I haven’t even left yet.
I haven’t eaten breakfast, haven’t even washed my face…”

Being patted on the head by Tina felt nice, sure,
but…

Something about this felt… really off.

The one being called “sister”
was noticeably shorter than the “little sister,”
and was getting her head patted and spoiled so naturally!