Everything was just a fleeting dream—like a meal dreamed of while napping.  

Hua Xin clutched the blanket tightly in her hands, tears silently streaming down her cheeks.  All those earlier dreams were illusions.  
But that last one… it felt so real.  

Niu Niu’s spectral message had forced the girl to confront a truth she desperately didn’t want to face.  
Even the faintest hope of turning back had now vanished like smoke.  

She suppressed the heartache from the dream—a dream within a dream—where she’d endured a painful, tearful farewell.  
But remembering the bond that had accompanied her for eighteen long years, now suddenly gone forever, the freshly wiped tears welled up again uncontrollably. A sob escaped her lips as she whispered through choked breaths:  

"W-wahhh… 😭 (hic)… then… (sniffle)… I… I also wish you… all the best… (tears)."  

Turning over, Hua Xin reached out her slender fingers toward the water glass on the nightstand—but her eyes caught sight of the wad of tissues scattered on the floor, used for wiping her runny nose 🤧.  

She froze.  

Memories flooded back like a tidal wave—  
their shared moments,  
their private jokes,  
the tiny everyday things…  

  (Shall we do it again today?)
【The dim streetlight 💡 fails to brighten this road 🛣️】  
  (This one’s burning hot—I can’t take it anymore.)
【No matter how hard I try, I can’t reach your heart 😭🦶】  
  (Hey, the domestic section just updated again.)
【The rain poured all night long 🌧️🌧️🌧️】  
  (Just hold on a little longer—it’ll be over soon.)
【We’re so close 😚 yet you don’t see my tears 😰】  
  (Don’t worry—I’ve got wet wipes.)
【I know I can be replaced anytime 🌓】  
  (Sorry you had to suffer this morning.)
【But I still can’t accept this sudden change 💧☔】  
  (So… four times today…?)
【Our love was like a falling meteor ☄️☄️…】  

“Plop… plop…”  
Tears fell onto the back of her hand.  

How cruel.  
You’re so cruel.  

Even if Hu Hu was, in some ways, better than Niu Niu…  
…Niu Niu had still been with her for a full eighteen years.  

Do you even know what those eighteen years were like for her?  
How would she face all the coming days alone?  

And if anyone found out about the supernatural change that happened to her—  
would they drag her off for dissection? 😨  

She pictured herself strapped to an operating table, blindfolded, bound in black restraints, utterly helpless—while a group of mad scientists loomed over her, scalpel in hand, debating exactly where to make the first incision…  

“No!! 😭😭😭”  

Hua Xin could no longer pretend to be strong. With a pitiful, trembling whimper 🥺, she buried her face deep into her pillow and wailed aloud:  

“😭 Come back, my Niu Niu! 😭🌟 You were my greatest pride! My faith! 🌟”  
“⚡️ Vivid memories of our battles… ⚡️ 😭 Tears just won’t stop… 😭”  
“💥 I still remember the snap and the sizzle… 💥👍 And those epic four-times days! 👍”  
“⚡️ All the toilet paper went to Yong Mei… ⚡️✨ Fighting side by side through Korea, Han content, and European girls! ✨”  

A few minutes later, the girl finally calmed down from her storm of grief.  

“What’s there to fear?” she muttered to herself, suddenly grinning. “As long as I never leave this room… I’ll never be exposed. 😋”  

“Hic.”  

Still sniffling, Hua Xin grabbed her big enamel mug and gulped down water to rehydrate.  
The feverish sweat and intense sobbing had left her body dangerously dehydrated.  

“What time is it?”  

The room was pitch black; she could only check the time via her phone or computer.  
She touched her forehead—her fever had broken, and her stuffy nose had improved.  

Guess I really needed to take medicine after all.

She fumbled around the bedside, searching for her phone—but in the darkness, her eyes could barely make anything out. She squinted hard.  

Maybe I need glasses… But can you even get properly fitted ones online?

Wait—still no sign of that familiar rectangular shape.  

Where’s my phone?! 😨  

(Crawl… crawl…)  

Silently, Hua Xin reached over to her desk and picked up her phone. The screen was dark. 📲 She double-tapped to wake it. 💡  

1:11 AM.  

She almost typed “1” to summon Hellfire—but stopped herself.  

Because beneath the time glared 24 missed calls 📞… and a flood of friend requests.  

Her already-damp white T-shirt turned soaked again. The shock hit her harder than any fever reducer ever could.  

Tod—today… what’s the date again?

Her eyes slowly drifted to the calendar display on the screen.  

August 25. 😨  

When does school start?

August 27.

The answer popped into her head instantly—no need to think.  

“No no no no no no no no no no no no!!??!?”  “School’s starting?! 😨”  

Which means those calls were from…  

Hands trembling, she unlocked her phone and opened the missed call log.  

159811xxxxx — an unknown number she’d never seen before.  

Location: Shanghai.  

Hua Xin’s brain: 🧠🧨💥  

Her mind exploded. Suddenly, everything rushed back! 😭  

“It’s…it’s…it’s…it’s… (voice quivering) it’s…”  

She tapped open WeChat. A profile picture of pink lotus flowers and green lily pads appeared before her eyes.  

Kai Hua Fu Gui: “I’m the advisor for the Class of 2024, School of Management, Shanghai University. Student Hua Xin, please reply as soon as possible.”  

“IT’S THE ADVISOR AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!! 😨😰😱🤯”  

She hurled the phone onto the bed as if it were a venomous snake, eyes wide with terror. Her cheeks, which had just started regaining color, turned deathly pale.  

Her small hand instinctively pressed against her chest—through the thin fabric of her dress and a layer of… something squishy…  

She gasped, suddenly unable to breathe, bracing herself on the desk. A half-eaten bag of “Bad Deed” chips tumbled to the floor, scattering crumbs like a silent accusation: *If you don’t love me, don’t hurt me.*  

“S-school…”  

Those two syllables cast a shadow over 99.1% of her soul.  

Just attending the college entrance exam two days ago—going outside by herself—had nearly killed her 2.5 times over. How could she possibly face the outside world again?!  

“Ugh—!! 💗🥵”  

She suddenly yanked her hand away from her chest as if electrocuted. Her pale face instantly flushed crimson.  

She’d reflexively grabbed there—just like when she still had Niu Niu and was a guy.  

The bra she’d ordered online via delivery couldn’t handle her new size. After fruitless customer service chats, she’d tearfully repurposed the white bra as a cleaning rag.  

Which meant right now…  
she was truly… empty. (Ahem.)  

But clever Hua Xin wouldn’t make the same mistake twice! To avoid any awkward friction, she’d devised a brilliant solution! ☝️🤓  

What if I just use two band-aids?

Genius!  

Her medicine box was full of unused bandages—each application would last until the next morning.  

She climbed back into bed, picked up her phone without hesitation, and accepted “Kai Hua Fu Gui”’s friend request.  

With practiced ease, she opened a photo album filled with medical diagnosis reports—collected during her high school senior year, when she’d snuck out during Lunar New Year to update her records while hospitals were less crowded, all so she could keep living as a homebody.  

She deleted a particularly painful memory, then sent the entire batch of diagnosis images to the advisor.  

“Autism spectrum disorder, moderate corn syndrome, anxiety disorder, cognitive impairment, psychiatric evaluation…”  

She copied and pasted a pre-written message, edited it carefully, and hit send:  

Dear Advisor,  
The above are my medical conditions. I cannot live in the dorm—I own an apartment in Shanghai. If you force me to attend in-person classes or stay on campus, I think the wind on the rooftop will feel very refreshing.  

Hua Xin flopped back onto the bed with a satisfied grin.  

Problem solved!! 😉