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

When the phone rang, Su Qing was just putting the last piece of fried egg into her mouth.

She glanced at the name Yaqin flashing on the screen, then looked up at Jiang Ran across from her, who was taking small bites of her sandwich.

The little one was eating very seriously, his cheeks puffed out, with a little bit of salad dressing on the corner of his mouth, unaware that she was watching him.

Su Qing answered the phone.

"Su Qing? That's me."

"About the elementary school thing I told you about last night, I spoke with the principal, and she said we can take Xiaoran there to have a look this afternoon."

"There's no need for an entrance exam. The principal said to let the children come to the school first to familiarize themselves with the environment and get used to it before making any decisions."

Su Qing paused slightly in the hand holding the phone.

After listening to the system's dialogue, she knew that Sun Yaqin was efficient, but she didn't expect her to be this efficient.

It's been less than 24 hours since we first talked about it in the park last night.

"This afternoon?" she repeated, her voice still tinged with surprise.

"Yes, I happen to be free this afternoon. I'll drive you there. You and Xiaoran just need to get ready; you don't need to prepare anything. I'll pick you up at 1:30."

Su Qing was silent for two seconds. The sound of Sun Yaqin rummaging through things came from the other end of the phone; she seemed to be looking for her car keys.

She tightened her grip on the phone, wanting to say something to express her gratitude, but when the words reached her lips, she felt that none of the words she could think of were quite enough.

In the end, she simply lowered her voice and said, "Thank you, Sister Yaqin."

Sun Yaqin chuckled and said there was no need to thank her. She hung up and said she'd see her in the afternoon.

Su Qing put down her phone and noticed that Jiang Ran was looking at her.

The little guy held the sandwich in both hands, his eyes wide open, the bread still in his mouth, and a cute little puff on his cheek.

"Going to school this afternoon?" Jiang Ran swallowed the food in her mouth and asked softly, her tone carrying a hint of surprise that she hadn't quite digested yet.

Su Qing nodded: "Change your clothes after dinner and tie your hair up nicely."

Jiang Ran lowered her head, took another small bite of the sandwich, chewed it, and then curved the corners of her mouth upwards into a sweet smile.

She said she was so happy that she could go to school so soon.

His voice was soft and his tone was obedient, sounding like that of a child looking forward to going to school.

But Su Qing noticed that her fingers tightened slightly as she held the sandwich, her fingertips digging into the bread.

She noticed it.

This seven-year-old girl has learned to hide her reluctance and only show the side her older sister wants to see.

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Su Qing picked up the half-cold cup of coffee on the table, took a sip, and didn't say anything.

As she watched Jiang Ran lower her head to eat, revealing the delicate whorl of hair, she felt a strange, indescribable feeling welling up inside her.

It wasn't hesitation, nor wavering, but rather something stuck in my throat, something hard to swallow.

She knew the little one didn't really not want to go to school, nor was he afraid of school; he was just afraid of being separated from her.

Su Qing was all too familiar with this fear; she herself had experienced it many years ago when she stood at the door of another unfamiliar place.

But some paths must be taken.

She couldn't stay with Jiang Ran forever, and Jiang Ran couldn't rely on her alone forever.

The outside world is vast, and school, teachers, peers, and knowledge are all very important.

While she can still be with her now, she can lead the little one step by step into that bigger world, teaching her to live well even without her sister, even if the little one doesn't understand yet, and even if she herself feels a little reluctant to let her go.

She had to do it too.

"Sister," Jiang Ran suddenly spoke.

Su Qing raised her eyes.

Jiang Ran pursed her lips, as if hesitating about something, but in the end she didn't say anything. She just held the sandwich in front of her, with a small smile on her lips: "Sister's sandwich is so delicious."

Su Qing looked at her, reached out and gently tapped the tip of her nose, saying that if it was delicious, she should eat more so that she would have the energy to stroll around the school in the afternoon.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Su Qing tied Jiang Ran's hair into a neat little ponytail and put her newly bought schoolbag on her back.

The backpack is pink and has a long-eared rabbit printed on it, which looks exactly like that lop-eared rabbit.

Jiang Ran stood in front of the full-length mirror in the entryway, looked down and touched the shoulder strap of her schoolbag, then looked up at herself in the mirror, seemingly unsure who this little girl with the schoolbag was.

A black sedan pulled up downstairs.

Su Qing couldn't recognize the brand, but she noticed that the car's lines were sleek and understated. Parked in front of the building, it gleamed with a subtle sheen in the sunlight, making it look very expensive.

The car window rolled down, revealing Sun Yaqin's face. She smiled and waved to them, then called out to Cheng Xiaoyu, "Don't eat potato chips in the car!"

Cheng Xiaoyu sat in the back seat, holding a bag of potato chips in his hand. When he saw Jiang Ran, he immediately shoved the chips aside and waved vigorously at them.

The car smoothly drove out of the residential area and turned onto the main road.

Su Qing sat in the passenger seat and couldn't help but take a few more glances at the car's interior. The stitching on the leather seats was neat and exquisite, the wood grain trim on the center console had a warm luster, and the air conditioning vents emitted a faint fragrance.

Sun Yaqin drove casually, one hand on the steering wheel, occasionally exchanging a few words with Cheng Xiaoyu, looking no different from the person who shared milk tea on the park bench last night.

But Su Qing thought that someone who could get the principal of Sunshine Elementary School to cooperate with just one phone call probably wasn't just warm-hearted.

About twenty minutes later, the car turned into a tree-lined avenue with plane trees on both sides.

The tree canopy closes overhead, filtering the afternoon sunlight into dappled patterns that fall onto the asphalt road.

Through the shadows of the trees, you can see the spires and clock tower of a cluster of red brick buildings in the distance, a scene that looks like it was cut from a postcard.

The security guard at the school gate saw the license plate and immediately raised the barrier to let her through. As Sun Yaqin entered the gate, she lowered the car window and nodded to the security guard.

Next to the parking lot stands a sign with a campus map indicating the locations of the main building, gymnasium, library, arts center, and standard sports field.

Cheng Xiaoyu leaned out from between the front seats, pointed out the window and shouted, "Look, that's our playground! The track can accommodate six people running at the same time. I always win our running races during PE class."

Su Qing looked out the window. The sunlight was just right, and the campus was quiet and beautiful. Everything was so good it seemed unreal.

Sun Yaqin parked the car and led them toward the administration building.

As soon as I reached the building entrance, a woman in a dark blue suit came out to greet me.

He was in his forties, with short, neat hair, and wore a school principal's badge on his chest. He had a friendly smile and was very approachable.

She greeted Sun Yaqin first, then bent down, looked at Jiang Ran, and said in an unusually gentle voice, "You must be Jiang Ran? Welcome to our school."

Jiang Ran instinctively shrank half a step away from Su Qing's legs, then seemed to remember something, paused for a moment, took a small step forward, looked up at the principal, and softly greeted him, "Hello, Principal."

The principal smiled, straightened up, turned his gaze to Su Qing, and extended his hand: "Miss Su, I've heard so much about you. Yaqin mentioned your story to me; it hasn't been easy, it really hasn't been easy."

When she said "it's not easy," she wasn't just being polite.

The way she looked at Su Qing had a gentle and earnest quality that only an experienced person would show to a younger generation.

She knew that the girl standing in front of her, who had just come of age, was still a child herself, yet she had already carried another child covered in wounds for so long.

She grasped Su Qing's hand, a little firmer than a standard social handshake, shook it slightly, then released it, stepping aside to lead them inside: "Come on, let me show you around. Let's see the classrooms first, then the playground and the library. No rush, take your time."