From the end of final exams to the conclusion of the high school entrance exams, the temperature kept climbing each day.

For two weeks straight, Jiang Xi had been hoping for rain. The small attic with no air conditioning felt like an oven—once it absorbed heat, it wouldn’t let it go. She was drenched in sweat, dizzy, and lightheaded.

Meng Xuemei had bought a big watermelon for the two sisters to help cool down, but Jiang Xi had her own reasons and didn’t touch it at all.

Her paintbrush, Lin Jia, her money-making plans—Jiang Xi had set them all aside for now.

She poured all her energy into the exams, handing in a perfect answer sheet for Jiang Daxi’s middle school chapter.

During this time, Jiang Xiaochan was still spending a lot of time with Lin Jia.

From the attic window, whenever Jiang Xi saw Lin Jia return home, her sister would run out to talk to him. They would chat about this and that, nothing important. In the end, Jiang Xiaochan always managed to get a candy from him.

It was midday, and the sun was at its harshest.

Seeing Jiang Xiaochan run off again under the blazing sun, Jiang Xi didn’t even have the energy to stop her.

Worrying about her sister getting heatstroke didn’t seem as urgent as worrying about herself.

After finishing her exam, Jiang Xi collapsed onto her bed as soon as she got home.

Her body felt terrible. She hoped that if she could fall asleep, she might feel a bit better. Her limbs were weak, her heart pounded rapidly, and no matter how much water she drank, she was still thirsty. She gritted her teeth and did her best to endure the assault of the heat.

Jiang Xiaochan wasn’t out for long before she ran back up again. Her footsteps on the stairs woke Jiang Xi from her light sleep.

“Jiang Daxi, Jiang Daxi…”

She called out energetically, only realizing once she got upstairs that Jiang Xi was already lying down.

So, she leaned close to speak in her sister’s ear.

“Sister? Sister, what’s wrong? Your face is so red! Should we go to the clinic?”

Jiang Xiaochan’s body radiated heat. Jiang Xi turned her head away and weakly muttered, “No need.”

“I just ran into Lin Jia. He said he’s waiting for you—to go watch the fireworks show tonight.”

Oh right, the fireworks show. She and Lin Jia had planned to go. Jiang Xi’s head throbbed, and she wasn’t in the mood.

“I’m not feeling well. I probably won’t go.”

“Okay, if you’re not going, then I won’t go either,” Jiang Xiaochan sensibly backed away from her resting sister. “I’ll head out and catch cicadas with some new friends. You rest up.”

She turned on the small fan by the bed for Jiang Xi.

Before leaving, she placed something on the nightstand.

“Sister, this is for you.”

The fan brought a welcome breeze, dispelling some of the stifling heat and also chasing away Jiang Xi’s drowsiness.

She couldn’t help but think about what her sister said.

She had just returned from the city, and she already made new friends? That was surprising.

What did she just give her? Might as well take a look.

Jiang Xi propped herself up halfway and sat up on the bed.

Neatly placed on the nightstand was a piece of candy.

It was one of the fruity hard candies Jiang Xiaochan liked—honeydew melon flavor.

“So childish. Only kids like this kind of candy,” Jiang Xi muttered, but still unwrapped it.

She pulled too hard. The wrapper tore open suddenly, and the candy slipped out, rolling onto the floor and under the bed.

No candy now. Jiang Xi sighed.

Dragging her aching body, she reluctantly got out of bed and bent down to look for it.

The hard candy had rolled deep under the bed, stopping behind a wooden box.

Jiang Xi could see it, but the mess under the bed was in the way. She’d have to pull everything out to reach it.

With a sigh, she plopped down on the floor, full of frustration.

Under the bed were blankets, old school books, and thick cardboard she hadn’t had the heart to throw away. Jiang Xi struggled to drag them all out.

Finally, she pulled out the wooden box and retrieved that cursed piece of candy—only to toss it into the trash.

While shoving everything back under the bed, her eyes settled on the small wooden box.

It looked unfamiliar. The lid was hand-painted with a large blue butterfly.

Without a doubt, this was Jiang Daxi’s box. She had always loved butterflies. When they were kids, she used to tease her sister that Xiaochan was an annoying cicada, while she was a graceful butterfly—anyone who saw them would obviously think she was the prettier one.

As this thought crossed her mind, a wave of anxiety suddenly surged through Jiang Xi—probably another sign of heatstroke.

What was inside?

Feeling uneasy, she opened the wooden box.

Inside, there was only one thing.

—Portraits of Lin Jia.

Him smiling. Him daydreaming. Him frowning. Him writing something. Him with hands in pockets. Him resting his chin and gazing out the window…

The box was crammed with drawings. All of Lin Jia.

Jiang Daxi looked toward the desk. On the wall hung a drawing she had done—Lin Jia holding a pagoda.

Her throat tightened. Her hands trembled. It felt like she had seen a ghost. She hurriedly shut the box and shoved it back under the dark bed.

They had drawn the same person. But the angles they used, the moods the drawings conveyed, the tiny drawing habits—none of it was the same.

This difference couldn’t be explained by different drawing periods or different styles.

It was clear. These were done by two different people.

“Why? Why?”

Large drops of sweat rolled down her forehead as Jiang Xi muttered to herself, wiping her face again and again.

The sweat just kept coming—no matter how much she wiped, it wouldn’t stop.

She touched her face.

And realized it wasn’t sweat that was dripping.

It was her face.

Her face was melting.

“What do I do…”

Like glass melting in fire, her face was shifting and flowing.

Jiang Xi had to hold her chin with both hands. Stumbling, she rushed into the bathroom, wanting to cool herself down with cold water.

She nearly fell the whole way as she tumbled downstairs.

The faucet was yanked open roughly.

“Whoosh—”

The water, baked hot under the sun, gushed out like lava.

She didn’t care anymore. Jiang Xi shoved her face under the tap to rinse it. Water splashed everywhere, soaking her from head to toe.

Some water shot up her nose, making her cough violently.

Jiang Xi was struggling.

She didn’t understand: What did I do wrong?

She had worked so hard in this life after transmigrating, trying to do everything right. So why was she still suffering like this—being punished like this?

She didn’t know. At this point, she couldn’t remember anything clearly.

The cold water eventually brought down her body temperature, but her mind remained a mess. As the water cooled, her face slowly returned to its original shape.

She didn’t know how much time had passed.

Jiang Xi finally let go of her chin.

Swallowing nervously, she looked toward the mirror in the bathroom.

“Thank goodness, it’s still my face. My face is fine.”

Jiang Xi gently touched her own face.

The girl in the mirror—Jiang Daxi—had fair skin and striking features. Her face was beautiful, without a single mark.

She let out a breath of relief.

Just as her heart was beginning to settle, she caught something strange in the mirror.

There was a hideous scar on her arm.

That scar looked exactly like the one Jiang Xiaochan had.

Jiang Xi looked down and rubbed at it, but no matter how hard she scrubbed, it didn’t go away. It was embedded deep in her skin, dark and settled, like it had been there for years.

“No… that’s impossible. It was Jiang Xiaochan who took that knife for Lin Jia!”

Digging at the scar, nearly breaking the skin, her head throbbed with pain.

She wanted to believe her own words, but her voice grew increasingly uncertain.

“It was Jiang Xiaochan! It was her!”

“She… was the one who took that knife for Lin Jia… right?”