“Hey, I’m back!”
Baicha, carrying her little schoolbag and holding the house key Xi Xia had given her, returned to Xi Xia’s home. She swapped her leather shoes for a pair of cute, girly slippers, then took off her white stockings, bundled them up, and stuffed them into the shoes she’d just changed out of.
“Back? Come on over and eat—Xinyu made braised pork with potatoes today, and it smells amazing!”
Xia Yue called out without turning her head, chopsticks in hand, her eyes fixed on the steaming pot on the table. If Luo Xinyu hadn’t kept insisting they wait for Xi Xia to get back before starting, Xia Yue would’ve already dug in ages ago.
“Okay~”
Baicha wasn’t one to stand on ceremony. She tossed her bag onto the sofa, plopped down next to Xia Yue, and got ready to eat. As a young lady from a good family, she’d normally have to wash her hands properly before meals, but things were different now—she wasn’t that prim-and-proper miss who had to follow all those stuffy rules anymore. She could do whatever she wanted!
“Xinyu, my little sis is back—can we start now?”
Xia Yue hollered toward the kitchen, not waiting for an answer before reaching in with her chopsticks to grab a piece of meat that looked particularly appetizing.
“Go ahead, dig in! I’m just making a soup, and I’ll be right there.”
At some point, Luo Xinyu—the young lady who’d once been confined to her room due to her legs, spending her days playing piano and painting—had taken up the role of cook herself. Back when Xi Xia first swapped into Luo Xinyu’s body, everything from meals to baths had been handled by the little maids, with one even waiting on her during baths.
“Xiaoyu, you go eat too. I can handle the rest here myself.”
The main dishes were all done, and only the soup was left—Luo Xinyu could manage that on her own without An Xiaoyu sticking around to help. So she told him to head out and eat with Xia Yue and the others. An Xiaoyu didn’t protest either—there really wasn’t much for her to do in the kitchen anyway. Rather than stand around idle, it was better to go enjoy the food.
At the dining table.
Baicha savored the delicious meal, her face full of pure enjoyment. Maybe it was because she was in a different body now, but these home-cooked dishes tasted absolutely incredible to her.
And on top of that…
Xi Xia’s place had so many beautiful girls!!! Way prettier than the maids at her own house!!!
Even though the system hadn’t given Baicha a “flower-loving” trait, who wouldn’t enjoy eating with cute girls? As the ancients said, a pretty face makes the meal taste better—having such lovely company at the table definitely lifted the mood.
“Did anyone bully you at school today?”
Luo Xinyu set down the finished silk melon and tender meat soup, then turned to look at Baicha, who was eating with gusto.
“Bully me?”
Baicha had no idea about the bullying Xi Xia had faced at school, so when Luo Xinyu asked, she looked genuinely confused. But she quickly caught herself and spoke up.
“Nope, no one bullied me, hahaha.”
Hearing that slightly awkward laugh, Luo Xinyu gave a thoughtful nod.
“Who do you want to sleep with tonight?”
Luo Xinyu asked casually, tossing out the question.
Baicha was a little taken aback. She hadn’t expected that Xi Xia, who always seemed so mature and proper, would still share a bed with family at night. She glanced around at the others before settling on a decision.
“I’d like to sleep with you, Xinyu-jiejie.”
Baicha had heard Xia Yue call her “Xinyu-jie,” so calling her “Xinyu-jiejie” shouldn’t be a problem.
Hearing this, Xia Yue slowly popped a slice of ham sausage into her mouth.
“Don’t you usually sleep by yourself? Why the sudden change tonight?”
At those words, Baicha’s expression froze for a split second.
So she’d guessed wrong—Xi Xia really did sleep alone at home too. Then… what was this Xinyu-jiejie up to? Setting a trap for her?
Baicha cautiously glanced at Luo Xinyu, and sure enough, a knowing smile tugged at the corner of her lips. That made Baicha’s heart skip a beat. Even though she sensed something was off, she forced herself to stay calm and explain.
“It’s just that I’ve been going to school every day and haven’t spent much time with everyone, so I thought we could sleep together and bond a little~”
Hearing that explanation, Xia Yue grew even more puzzled.
“Weren’t you resting at home because of the bullying? I thought you only went back to school today.”
Xia Yue was starting to feel like something was off with her little sister too. She noticed that ever since her sister came back from school, her tone and pitch had softened, and her mannerisms seemed more girlish—totally different from the boyish habits she used to have.
It made sense that they’d notice something strange about “Xi Xia.” After all, the system had only changed Xi Xia’s body and identity, without altering everyone’s memories too drastically. So Luo Xinyu and the others still knew that Xi Xia had the ability to swap bodies. And the way this “Xi Xia” was acting so out of character made it hard not to be suspicious.
“Ah? Haha, is that so? Maybe I just got my brain all jumbled up from class today—no big deal! Let’s eat, eat~”
Baicha was feeling a little guilty. She’d only been at Xi Xia’s place for what, ten minutes? If she got found out this easily, it’d be a clear sign that her acting skills were terrible. Not that it would matter much if she was exposed—these people seemed pretty nice, after all.
“Alright, enough of that—let’s focus on the food.”
Luo Xinyu smoothly steered the conversation back on track, playing along with Baicha’s words. She didn’t want to put her on the spot; there’d be time to talk quietly when they went to bed tonight.
From the way Baicha was acting, it was likely that Xi Xia’s swap partner this time was also a girl, probably a classmate from school. Kids that age usually didn’t have bad intentions. If it had been a guy-girl swap, there might’ve been some… unspeakable things going on, but with same-gender swaps, there was less to worry about. After all, when it came to the same sex, everyone’s body was more or less the same—nothing worth being too curious about.
…
Meanwhile.
Xi Xia sat in the sleek black car driven by Uncle Liu as it pulled up in front of a standalone villa. It was smaller than Luo Xinyu’s place, but not by much.
“Miss, is there anything special you’d like to eat tonight? I’ll have the staff prepare it right away.”
