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Wang Sasa hung up the phone and looked up to see her Mother Wang and Father Wang staring at her expectantly. She smiled instinctively and said, “…Have you been waiting long? Sorry about that.”

This was a stark contrast to how she had behaved in the past, and it left her parents even more shocked. Ever since their true relationship was revealed to their daughter, she had rarely, if ever, shown them a kind face. Yet this time, after returning from a business trip, they were met with a smiling, polite daughter.

The only one capable of having such an influence on her was Wei Qi.

Could it be… was it because she hit a wall with Wei Qi and had now come to her senses?

Seeing their strange expressions, Wang Sasa raised her eyebrows and said, “How about we discuss this in the study?”

Her parents snapped out of their daze and nodded with serious expressions. What had their daughter mentioned earlier? She wanted to live at school? The two exchanged glances, and Mother Wang cautiously asked, “Why did you suddenly decide to live at school?”

Wang Sasa was silent for a moment and didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she turned and took a folder from the bookshelf, handing it to her parents. Inside were neatly organized test papers from various subjects, most of which were nearly perfect scores. Skeptically, her parents took the folder and flipped through the papers, only to be shocked again. Their daughter, who they believed to be academically hopeless, had scored near perfect marks on every test?!

In junior high, the original Wang Shasha had performed decently, giving her parents hope that she might one day make them proud. But after her grades plummeted, they had tried scolding her, but they couldn’t bear to hit her. Watching their daughter become increasingly unmotivated, they eventually gave up on the idea of her excelling academically. Yet today, they were staring at her perfect test papers. Had the sun risen in the west?

Seeing them unable to recover from their shock, Wang Sasa cleared her throat and said, “Honestly, I had misunderstood things in the past. I shouldn’t have sabotaged my future to get back at you. I purposely answered incorrectly before, but this semester I’ve realized that since I’m already in my final year of high school, I need to be serious.” She didn’t comment on her parents’ views on marriage because she wasn’t the original Wang Shasha.

Upon hearing their daughter speak like this, both parents felt a pang of guilt. After their daughter had discovered their marriage was one of convenience and that both had kept lovers on the side, they had immediately cut off those relationships. Their external lovers were nothing compared to their precious daughter. Now that the couple was getting older, neither had the energy nor the desire to divorce and remarry. While their marriage lacked love, it still had familial bonds. However, their daughter had refused to communicate with them, leaving the couple helpless.

But today, their daughter was willing to open up and talk to them, which left both of them deeply moved.

Neither of them was superstitious, and although their daughter’s change was a bit odd, they couldn’t imagine it had anything to do with “body-swapping.” Mother Wang looked at the test scores in her hands, her eyes gradually welling with tears. Father Wang, more restrained, asked, “So you want to live at school to focus more on studying?”

Wang Sasa glanced at her mother, who was wiping away tears with a handkerchief, and nodded at her father.

It was a good thing, so her parents had no objections.

However, they were clearly very curious about the person she had just been on the phone with. The name sounded like a girl’s, but could it be a boy with a girl’s name? Tan Yixuan—Tan Yixuan?

After all, this person had even outshone Wei Qi!

Watching their daughter hurriedly pack her backpack and rush out the door, they couldn’t help but feel a little worried. The image of their daughter going crazy over Wei Qi was still fresh in their minds. Could this Tan Yixuan be another Wei Qi?

As the door clicked shut behind her, Mother Wang pondered for a while before suddenly saying sternly, “No, I need to investigate this.”

Father Wang glanced at her but said nothing, only letting out a soft sigh.

••••

Tan Yixuan heard the doorbell ring, and a bad feeling rose in her heart. She peeked through the peephole and, sure enough, saw Wang Sasa standing at her door, smiling and even waving.

Wang Sasa: “Hi!”

Tan Yixuan quickly closed the peephole, unlocked the door, and opened it with a frown. “Didn’t I tell you? There’s no need to bring it over!”

Seeing her expression, Wang Sasa feigned innocence and said, “How could that be? We have to write two lessons’ worth of Chinese homework, plus an essay. How are you going to finish it all by tomorrow morning?” She twirled a strand of her hair and smirked. “More importantly, I’m planning on being late tomorrow, so I had to bring it over tonight.”

Lately, this person had been claiming that she wanted to “turn over a new leaf,” yet here she was, shamelessly saying she planned to be late. It was clearly nonsense. Tan Yixuan took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and said, “Fine, give me the homework notebook, and you can leave!”

Wang Sasa grabbed the strap of her backpack, took a step back, and tapped her finger on her lips. Glancing sideways at Tan Yixuan, she said, “But first, answer one question for me.”

Tan Yixuan: “…”

Wang Sasa continued, “Can you tell me why you were unhappy during the day?”

Tan Yixuan was startled. She hadn’t expected the other person to be so perceptive and pursed her lips, remaining silent.

Wang Sasa guessed, “Did you remember the times when Wang Shasha used to bully you?”

Tan Yixuan wasn’t sure whether to nod or not. In fact, even she wasn’t entirely clear on why she had been upset at noon. Afraid that the other girl might press further, she could only grit her teeth and nod, “Mm.”

Wang Sasa squinted, sizing her up for a moment, then pursed her lips and said, “Fine. I’ll give you your homework notebook back.” However, since that was the case, she couldn’t leave now. With a sly glint in her eyes, she deliberately raised her voice and shouted into the house, “Grandma Tan, I came to see you!”

Grandma Tan was cooking dinner in the kitchen. Earlier, Tan Yixuan had been discreet enough, and their conversation had been muffled by the noise from the exhaust fan. But now, with Wang Sasa raising her voice, Grandma Tan heard her. Upon recognizing Wang Sasa’s voice, she quickly wiped her apron and came out.

Grandma Tan greeted her with a big smile, “Why are you standing at the door? Come in and sit down!” She then turned to her granddaughter, who was standing there stiffly, and urged, “Yixuan, there are some grapes in the fridge. Go wash them in the kitchen… Oh, and bring out two bottles of milk.”

Tan Yixuan normally wouldn’t disobey her grandmother, so after throwing a discreet glare at Wang Sasa, she turned and headed to the kitchen.

Before Grandma Tan could speak, Wang Sasa smiled sweetly and said, “There’s no need for all that. I was just returning the homework notebook that Yixuan left in my bag when she called me earlier.”

Grandma Tan replied, “How could that be enough? You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Stay and have dinner with us.”

Wang Sasa only made a token refusal before seamlessly accepting the invitation.

Knowing that Grandma Tan was eager to hear about her granddaughter’s life at school, Wang Sasa had come prepared. She intentionally shared various amusing stories about Tan Yixuan, such as how she screamed when a mouse jumped out of a cabinet, but luckily, Wang Sasa arrived just in time to save her… Or how once, when Tan Yixuan forgot her meal card, she had to borrow Wang Sasa’s. Under the table, Tan Yixuan kicked the foot of the person who was making up stories, causing Wang Sasa’s expression to stiffen instantly.

Surprised by the tales, Grandma Tan laughed heartily, “Really? This child is usually so composed; I didn’t expect her to be so absent-minded at school.”

Wang Sasa forced a smile, nearly getting carried away. She crossed her legs under the table, deliberately distancing herself from Tan Yixuan. She acted as if nothing was happening beneath the table, smiling as she placed a piece of bitter melon into Tan Yixuan’s bowl, saying, “I think you’re getting a bit overheated lately. Eat some bitter melon; it’ll clear out the heat and toxins.”

Tan Yixuan: “…”

After a moment of silence, Tan Yixuan took the bitter melon and placed it into Wang Sasa’s bowl without expression, countering, “You should eat some too; it’ll cleanse your intestines.”

Wang Sasa’s smile froze, feeling somewhat relieved. Though this person had been acting strangely earlier in the day, after Wang Sasa’s persistent efforts, she no longer felt as though Tan Yixuan was keeping her at a distance. While she seemed a bit more combative, it was better than being ignored.

As for the bitter melon in her bowl… Wang Sasa covered her mouth, contemplating how she might sneakily dispose of it without anyone noticing.

Tan Yixuan asked, “Why aren’t you eating? Don’t like the taste?”

Wang Sasa smiled sweetly and said, “No, I’m waiting for you to eat first.”

Tan Yixuan replied, “You go first.”

Noticing the back-and-forth, Grandma Tan immediately realized something was up and frowned, scolding, “No picky eating!”

Wang Sasa: “…”

Tan Yixuan: “…”

After dinner, as usual, Tan Yixuan went to wash the dishes, while Wang Sasa lingered in the living room, trying to get closer to Grandma Tan to learn more about what Tan Yixuan did in her free time. However, all Grandma Tan could tell her was that Yixuan liked studying and reading; she didn’t seem to have any other hobbies. Determined to discover more about Tan Yixuan’s hidden interests, Wang Sasa hoped to use them as a way to become close friends. Unfortunately, Tan Yixuan appeared to be quite boring in private, just an ordinary bookworm. After getting nowhere with her questions, Wang Sasa eventually moved to the kitchen to watch Tan Yixuan wash the dishes.

Without beating around the bush, Wang Sasa asked directly, “Tan Yixuan, what do you like to do besides studying and reading?”

Tan Yixuan dried the dishes and placed them on the stainless steel rack. Hearing the question, she paused for a moment but didn’t turn around, replying, “Why do you want to know?”

Wang Sasa didn’t answer, instead pressing further, “Singing? Dancing? Playing games? Part-time jobs?”

The first three were understandable, but where did the last one come from? Tan Yixuan glanced at her, then after thinking for a moment, responded, “I guess writing in my diary.”

Wang Sasa’s mouth twitched. Could writing in a diary really be considered a hobby? Wait… if Tan Yixuan liked writing in a diary, wouldn’t she have recorded every instance of bullying from the original Wang Shasha? Even though she had built some goodwill today, what if Tan Yixuan revisited her diary later and rekindled her resentment?

Preventing Tan Yixuan from writing in her diary was out of the question, so Wang Sasa decided to help her develop a new hobby that could both relieve her resentment and be healthy. After pondering it for a while—fitness? Dancing?—Wang Sasa suddenly thought of Grandma Tan sitting in the living room, and an idea struck her. She pounded her fist into her hand and declared, “Tan Yixuan, let’s go do some square dancing!”

With a loud crash, the plate in Tan Yixuan’s hand slipped, shattering on the floor.

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