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“Wang Sasa, what are you doing here?!”

Seeing Wang Sasa, this uninvited guest, Tan Yixuan was shocked and slightly irritated, and the words just slipped out.

Wang Sasa pretended to play dumb, feigning confusion. “Why shouldn’t I be here?” she asked, then deliberately picked up an apple from the table and held it out to Tan Yixuan with a playful smile. “Want some?”

Tan Yixuan shot her a fierce glare. This girl had intruded right into her personal space—how could she even think about eating an apple? She wanted to chase her out immediately, but Tan’s grandmother gave her a disapproving look and instead pulled Wang Sasa closer by the hand, smiling warmly. “So your name is Wang Sasa? Which characters are in your name?”

Wang Sasa seized the moment, leaning closer to Grandma Tan. Her voice and smile both became even sweeter as she deliberately put on a more charming demeanor. “The ‘Wang’ with three horizontal strokes and one vertical, and the ‘Sasa’ with a grass radical and the character for sand.” After a pause, she continued, “I don’t know why, but even though today is the first time I’ve met you, Grandma Tan, it feels like I’ve known you for ages. Otherwise, why would you seem so familiar to me?”

Tan Yixuan couldn’t help but feel a chill run down her spine at these words.

It was hard to believe that this Wang Sasa, who was now speaking so softly and acting so eager to please, was the same person who not long ago had been menacing and leading a group to bully her. As Tan Yixuan thought about it, her gaze fell on Wang Sasa’s pale profile. Her long hair had been dyed back to black, and her once curly locks were now straight, matching her current persona—obedient, meek, and well-behaved. The hem of her white shirt was neatly tucked into a green plaid skirt that fell just below her knees, unlike before when she deliberately exposed her thighs. Tan Yixuan wondered, when had this change occurred?

Her thoughts began to drift as she recalled the past, and suddenly, something clicked in her mind.

Last month, when Wang Sasa and her gang had dragged her into the boys’ bathroom, something had seemed very off. Ever since that day, Wang Sasa had become increasingly strange. Could it be true, as she claimed, that she wasn’t really Wang Sasa?

Grandma Tan and Wang Sasa were chatting happily, unaware that Tan Yixuan was deep in thought.

As dinner time approached, Grandma Tan suggested that Wang Sasa stay for dinner before leaving.

While Grandma Tan went to the kitchen to cook, Tan Yixuan used the excuse of doing homework to pull Wang Sasa into her bedroom.

Tan Yixuan’s home wasn’t big—two bedrooms, one living room, one kitchen, one bathroom, and a balcony. It was small but complete. Wang Sasa sat on the bed, looking around thoughtfully at the room and deliberately brought up the sore point, “Your place is kind of small, huh?” This space wasn’t even as big as her bathroom, either in her past life or this one.

Tan Yixuan took a deep breath, warning herself to stay calm, pursed her lips, and frowned at her. “Why did you come to my house today? What do you want?”

Wang Sasa dodged the question, shifting her attention from the small desk to the bed’s pillow and blanket. When she finally ran out of things to look at, she turned to Tan Yixuan and said, “Can’t I just visit your house for no reason?”

“Visit?” Tan Yixuan said coldly, “From the First Road all the way to Fifth Road? Wang Sasa, I’m warning you, don’t mess with my Grandma…”

Wang Sasa sighed and cut her off, speaking sincerely, “I think you’re overthinking things. I just came by to visit my deskmate’s house. Is that so wrong? After all, I did help you before!”

Seeing Wang Sasa’s matter-of-fact attitude, Tan Yixuan was suddenly furious. She couldn’t believe how Wang Sasa had the audacity to think she’d welcome her visit!

“I don’t care why you’re here, and I’m not interested in knowing,” Tan Yixuan said coldly. “Just leave. This is the first and last time!”

As Wang Sasa followed Tan Yixuan out, she lowered her voice and said softly, “Do you remember what I told you last month? If you’ve forgotten, let me remind you: I’m Wang Sasa, not that Wang Shasha who hurt you.”

Tan Yixuan glanced sideways at her. After Wang Sasa said that, she walked right past her without making eye contact. Tan Yixuan stood there, lips pressed together, saying nothing.

After their conversation, dinner was ready. To celebrate Tan Yixuan bringing a classmate home for the first time, Grandma Tan had prepared five or six dishes. Her cooking skills were excellent, and the meal was colorful, fragrant, and delicious. During dinner, Wang Sasa kept flattering Grandma Tan, making her so happy that she kept giving Wang Sasa more food. “Look how skinny you are, eat more,” Grandma Tan said.

Wang Sasa ate everything that was put in her bowl. She paused for a moment, then glanced at Tan Yixuan, who was quietly eating on the side, and with a smirk, picked up a shrimp and placed it in Tan Yixuan’s bowl. Ignoring Tan Yixuan’s glare, she leisurely propped her chin up with one hand and said with a smile, “You’re quite thin too, eat more.”

Although Tan Yixuan wasn’t a germaphobe, she definitely didn’t want to eat the food Wang Sasa had picked up. With Grandma Tan watching, she couldn’t even throw down her chopsticks in anger. She could only hold her frustration in, glaring at Wang Sasa and whispering angrily, “Are you done yet?”

Sitting across from her, Wang Sasa lightly kicked Tan Yixuan’s shoe with her toe, then mouthed two words silently: “Not done.” And she did it all with a bright smile on her face.

Tan Yixuan was furious.

Grandma Tan noticed the strange atmosphere and looked over at Tan Yixuan. “Why aren’t you eating?”

Not wanting her grandmother to worry, Tan Yixuan shook her head and buried herself in her food.

Wang Sasa, watching her eat, smiled at Grandma Tan and said, “I’ve noticed that Yixuan is a bit of a picky eater. If she keeps eating just vegetables, she won’t grow tall.” After saying this, Wang Sasa paused and reconsidered, thinking that maybe Tan Yixuan wasn’t just eating vegetables out of preference but to save money. Her words could have embarrassed her. After a moment’s thought, she added, “How about this—at lunch and dinner in the cafeteria, I’ll buy the meat dishes, and Yixuan will buy the vegetables.”

Grandma Tan’s attention shifted from “Why aren’t you eating together?” to “Who buys the meat?” She shook her head repeatedly and disagreed, “You can’t let her take the loss! I think it should be one person’s turn each time. Or perhaps one person covers the meals for the month, and you settle up at the end.”

“Since Grandma Tan says so, I agree.” Wang Sasa smiled sweetly, raising her hand in agreement.

Who’s your grandma?!

Who wants to eat with you?!

These two questions flashed through Tan Yixuan’s mind, but seeing how happy Grandma Tan was, she couldn’t say them aloud.

Wang Sasa didn’t have the habit of staying quiet while eating, so she took the opportunity during the meal to talk about Tan Yixuan’s situation at school. Of course, she painted a prettier picture of it. In Wang Sasa’s version, although Tan Yixuan’s school life wasn’t very lively, she had a warm-hearted, helpful deskmate—herself—and with her assistance, the cold and gloomy Tan Yixuan had successfully integrated into the group. Wang Sasa managed to subtly praise herself, and Tan Yixuan couldn’t help but glance at her from the side several times.

When the meal was finally over, Tan Yixuan had already prepared herself for Wang Sasa to stick around longer. But surprisingly, as soon as they finished eating, Wang Sasa announced that she would be leaving. Grandma Tan hurriedly asked Tan Yixuan to see her off.

Wang Sasa glanced at Tan Yixuan with a smile. “Then I’ll trouble Yixuan to walk me to the bus stop. Bus No. 2 goes straight to the street in front of my neighborhood.”

Grandma Tan was a bit reluctant to let her go. It wasn’t often that one of Tan Yixuan’s classmates came over, and she still hadn’t had the chance to get a deeper understanding of her granddaughter’s school life. Glancing outside at the dark clouds, she frowned slightly and said to Tan Yixuan, “Yixuan, get Sasa an umbrella. It looks like there’s going to be a rain shower soon.”

They said it would be a brief shower, so it might stop by the time Wang Sasa got on the bus. Tan Yixuan hesitated for a moment, not wanting to give Wang Sasa an umbrella—not because she was attached to her umbrella, but because she didn’t want to have any further connection with her. In the end, she gave in to her grandmother’s persistence.

With a blank expression, Tan Yixuan dug through the shoe cabinet by the door, pulled out two umbrellas, and handed one to Wang Sasa. “Here, take it.”

Wang Sasa casually took it and thanked her.

Tan Yixuan paused in her movement, glanced at her, then coldly opened the door and stepped out.

Wang Sasa shrugged indifferently. In fact, Tan Yixuan’s reaction was well within her expectations. She had thought that Tan Yixuan might angrily kick her out, but instead, she was surprisingly composed.

The two walked out of the apartment building one after the other. Wang Sasa immediately said, “You can stop here. I’ll just hail a taxi home.”

Tan Yixuan glanced at her emotionlessly, saying nothing, her gaze fixed on the umbrella in Wang Sasa’s hand.

Wang Sasa raised an eyebrow and teased, “If you give me your umbrella, then it’s mine now!”

Tan Yixuan hesitated, then coldly replied, “I never said I was giving it to you.”

Wang Sasa smiled, twirling a strand of her hair, and playfully asked, “If I don’t return it, what are you going to do about it?”

Tan Yixuan: “…”

Wang Sasa found Tan Yixuan’s expression hilarious. She considered taking out her phone to capture the moment but decided against it. After all, she was trying to win her favor, not annoy her on purpose.

“Alright, alright. It’s just an umbrella. Look at you getting all worked up! I’ll return it to you at school on Monday, okay?”

Just as Wang Sasa finished speaking, her car arrived.

The car’s engine roared to life, and it sped away. Only after it disappeared from sight did Tan Yixuan put away the umbrella and return to the building.

Upstairs, Grandma Tan was eagerly waiting. When she saw Tan Yixuan come back, she asked kindly, “Has Sasa gone home?”

Not wanting to mention the annoying person, Tan Yixuan simply nodded in silence.

Grandma Tan, recalling their earlier conversation, smiled and said, “She’s a proud little one, but she’s not a bad person. You shouldn’t always be so distant with her. If she ever gets tired of it, you’ll regret it.”

Tired of it?

Tan Yixuan thought of Wang Sasa’s inconsistent behavior and her lips curled slightly. Even now, she couldn’t be sure if Wang Sasa was just messing with her on a whim or if she was actually telling the truth. Either way, as long as she stayed true to herself and remained unshaken, it would be fine, right?

“Grandma, I understand.” After saying that, Tan Yixuan returned to her bedroom to do her homework.

Grandma Tan watched her back with a worried sigh. That didn’t seem like someone who had figured things out.

Meanwhile, as Wang Sasa returned to her apartment and rounded a corner, she saw four figures standing rigidly by her door. Frowning, she wondered what these four lackeys could possibly want with her at this hour.

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