My sister, whom I raised, has turned evil after faking her death for three years.

At the edge of the sandpit, Cheng Xiaoyu was talking about the dragon he kept in his castle when he suddenly realized that Jiang Ran wasn't listening to him at all. Instead, she was tilting her head and smearing something on the sand with a twig.

He leaned closer to take a look and saw a girl with a ponytail drawn in the sand. Although there were only a few strokes, her pretty face was very distinctive.

"You drew pretty girls again!" Cheng Xiaoyu shouted loudly. Jiang Ran quickly smoothed out the drawing with a twig, her ears turning slightly red.

"What's it to you?" The voice was soft and the tone indifferent.

Cheng Xiaoyu scratched his head, then grinned and leaned closer, "Then I'll help you draw it, I'm really good at it..."

"No." A clean and decisive answer.

Cheng Xiaoyu said "Oh," was silent for about three seconds, and then spoke again: "Then draw me, my face is round, it's easy to draw!"

Jiang Ran was silent for two seconds, then drew a rounder circle in the sand, poked two dots on the circle as eyes, and drew an arc below it.

Cheng Xiaoyu examined the pattern composed of a circle, two dots, and an arc, and exclaimed sincerely, "It looks just like me!"

Jiang Ran: "..."

Jiang Ran stuck the branch into the sand, patted the sand off her hands, stood up, and walked away.

She walked towards the bench where Su Qing was.

The streetlights cast her shadow long and thin. Before she even reached the bench, Su Qing saw her and waved to her.

Jiang Ran jogged a few steps and sat down next to Su Qing, her hand naturally gripping the hem of Su Qing's clothes again.

She glanced at Sun Yaqin, remembered her sister's words about being polite, and softly greeted her, "Hello, Auntie."

Upon hearing "Hello, Auntie," Sun Yaqin responded with a smile.

She didn't correct him by saying "call her sister," and her little scheme seemed inappropriate in front of the child.

Looking at Jiang Ran leaning on Su Qing's arm, she thought to herself, "This girl is really amazing."

It takes a child who used to cower in a corner of the balcony and wouldn't dare to look at anyone, and raises them into the little guy who will greet people on their own initiative and quietly stay by your side. This is something that not just anyone can do.

Sun Yaqin stood up, patted the wrinkles on her skirt, picked up the empty milk tea cup, and smiled at Su Qing: "I'll give you news about the enrollment in the next day or two."

Su Qing looked up at her, didn't say thank you again, but just nodded.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Sun Yaqin turned and walked a few steps, then turned back and called out towards the climbing frame, "Xiaoyu! Time to go home!"

Cheng Xiaoyu climbed out of the sandpit, brushed the sand off his knees, and waved to Jiang Ran: "See you tomorrow, little Ran! See you tomorrow, pretty sister!"

Then he happily caught up with Sun Yaqin, and after walking a few steps, he started shouting, "Sister—no, Mom—I want potato chips!"

Sun Yaqin slapped the back of his head, her voice drifting on the evening breeze: "If you call me Mom, don't even think about eating potato chips."

  

"Sis! I want potato chips!"

"Let's talk about it when we get home."

As Su Qing listened to the fading sounds of the mother and son bickering, a slight smile appeared on her lips.

She looked down at Jiang Ran, who was leaning against her arm and already yawning, and gently patted her head: "Let's go home and sleep. We still have to memorize the multiplication tables tomorrow."

Jiang Ran rubbed her eyes and stood up, stuffing her small hand into Su Qing's palm, and walked home, stepping on the dappled light cast by the streetlights.

After walking a few steps, she looked back at the direction of the sandpit. The round face pattern on the sand had been blown away by the wind.

She turned back and gripped Su Qing's fingers even tighter.

Night seeped in through the gaps in the curtains, casting a thin, silvery line across the ceiling.

The sound of water in the bathroom had just stopped when the door was pushed open a crack, and steam carrying the milky scent of shower gel wafted out.

Su Qing used a towel to dry Jiang Ran's hair. Her movements weren't particularly gentle, but she dried it carefully, stroke by stroke.

[Host, we recommend using a hairdryer; air drying can easily lead to catching a cold.]

Su Qing silently nodded to herself and turned to rummage through the cabinet for a hair dryer.

The house was provided by the system, with all the accessories filling every drawer and cabinet. After she moved in, she only tidied up the kitchen and bedroom; the mirror cabinet in the bathroom hadn't been touched much.

When she opened the cabinet door, she saw several rows of bottles and jars neatly stacked inside: toner, serum, face cream, sunscreen, and some other things she couldn't even name. The English words on the bottles were so small that she needed a magnifying glass to see them.

She frowned, picked up a bottle, looked at it, put it down, picked up another bottle, but still couldn't understand it.

Her face was reflected in the mirror. She had just taken a shower, and her skin was slightly flushed from the steam. There was still a little moisture on her eyelashes.

[The system can provide you with a complete set of skincare and makeup tutorials, from basic moisturizing to advanced makeup, totaling forty-seven lessons.]

"No need." Su Qing interrupted decisively, rummaged through the corner for a hairdryer, and squeezed a dollop of face wash onto her face. "Face wash is enough."

She rubbed the face wash in her palms, the foam covering her face, her movements similar to washing dishes: rubbing in circles, massaging, rinsing, and done.

As she wiped her face, her fingers touched the line of her jaw, and she paused for a moment.

When I was a boy, I didn't even need face wash; I'd just splash some water on my face and head out the door.

The face in the mirror now has excessively white skin, a jawline so soft it looks like it was drawn on, and long, thick eyelashes that look like wet feathers from a recent shower.

The system's voice carried a hint of earnestness: [Host, you have already received psychological counseling regarding body adaptation modifications.]

[You are now a biological woman, that's an objective fact. And you're only using facial cleanser; it doesn't involve gender identity issues. Data shows your adaptability to your current physical state has reached 73%, an increase of 12 percentage points from last month.]

"understood."

Su Qing covered her face with a towel to dry the water droplets, then looked at the area below her collarbone in the mirror, her expression turning indifferent.

It's not that I reject it, it's just that sometimes it still feels unfamiliar.

She hung up the towel, picked up the hairdryer, and went to the bedside.

Jiang Ran had already changed into her pajamas and was sitting on the edge of the bed, her legs dangling over the edge and swinging back and forth. She was holding the lop-eared rabbit in her hands, and her wet hair was sticking to her cheeks.

The hairdryer hummed, and the warm air made Jiang Ran's hair fly. Su Qing ran her fingers through the strands of hair, smoothing them out one by one.

The little one obediently lowered her head, occasionally shrinking her neck when the hot air from the hairdryer burned her ears. Su Qing would then move the hairdryer further away and continue blowing air into her ears while covering them with her hand.

After drying her hair, Jiang Ran placed the rabbit next to her pillow, lifted the blanket, and crawled inside, leaving only its pair of bright black eyes showing.

Su Qing turned off the hair dryer and was about to get up and go back to her room when her sleeve was tugged.

"Sister," Jiang Ran's voice came from under the covers, muffled.

"Um?"

"Can I sleep with my sister tonight?" Jiang Ran pulled the blanket down a little, revealing her whole face.

There was expectation in her eyes, but even more so, caution, as if she was prepared to be rejected. "Just today, I promise I won't kick off the covers."