Chương 7: The So-Called Adult

Xing Shuang lay sprawled on the bed, her amethyst-like eyes staring intently at the ceiling, as if she wanted to burn a hole through it.

The morning light outside the window shone through the gauze curtains, weaving a fine golden net around her, but it couldn't illuminate her lifeless face—it was already seven in the morning, almost time for her usual wake-up time, and she hadn't closed her eyes since she was forced to transform, enduring until now.

Whether the damage this body suffers in battle will be reflected back to the original body is unknown, but it is certain that mental fatigue will be shared.

She now feels like her eyelids are enchanted stage curtains, always automatically opening for a final curtain call when she's losing consciousness.

"But I can't sleep yet. I have to hold on until I turn back." Xing Shuang patted her cheeks hard, and two blushes immediately spread across her snow-white skin.

"What if Dad comes in after I fall asleep and sees a magical girl lying in my bed...?"

She suddenly paused, imagined the scene, and blushed from the tips of her ears to her neck.

"Besides, who knows what strange things that system might do with my body while I'm unconscious." Although there are no signs yet, it's always good to be safe than sorry.

[Note: This system does not have the ability to manipulate the host's body.] A familiar notification tone suddenly sounded.

"Hey, you're online? I didn't hear from you all night, I thought you were asleep."

This system will not go into hibernation and will respond whenever the host needs it.

"I don't believe you! You were just pretending to be dead when you were trying to save the day last night." Xing Shuang rolled her eyes at the air.

【... 】

"See? You're mute again. I can't even be bothered to talk to you." Xing Shuang gave the middle finger to the air in a very inelegant manner.

"Speaking of which, it was a really tough night." She tossed aside her phone, which had been charged three times throughout the night, and stretched dramatically.

"Mental fatigue was secondary; because of that awful punishment, strange thoughts kept popping into my head all night."

What are your thoughts?

"One minute I feel like staying up late is bad for my skin, the next I want to buy pretty clothes, then I think my phone case isn't cute enough, and then I feel so wronged that I want to go to my dad's arms and cry."

Xing Shuang hugged her shoulders and shivered.

"I almost couldn't control those thoughts. It's terrifying. What if I really couldn't resist running into his bedroom..."

Sorry, once a punishment begins, this system has no authority to stop it.

"It's just a complaint. I don't mean to blame you. Aside from having to stay up all night, it's just a bit of a hassle."

What does "trouble" refer to?

"I have to keep telling myself that I am Lin Che, not Xing Shuang, and I have to deliberately do vulgar things to reinforce this belief."

"If I just fall asleep, I might really wake up as a crybaby."

The system remained silent for a while, as if deep in thought like a human. After a while, Xing Shuang finally "heard" the system's voice.

I have a question for the host.

"Granted."

[The host seems to be adapting well] The system's message was inquisitive, [His emotions are much more stable than last night].

"I thought you were going to ask something else, but it turns out it's this." Xing Shuang put her hands behind her head, crossed her legs, and changed to a more comfortable position before continuing to speak.

"Remember what I said last night: don't underestimate a mature adult's ability to regulate their emotions?"

【certainly】

"Rebirth, transformation, monster fighting..." Experiencing so many events in a short period of time would cause huge emotional fluctuations in anyone, and it's not impossible for them to even break down. This is perfectly normal.

"But the ability to quickly recover from emotional fluctuations and breakdowns is an essential skill for mature adults."

[Essential skills?]

"That's right, it's very difficult for an adult to survive on their own without this skill." She deliberately tapped the bed frame with her knuckles to make noise, as if that would dispel the thought of "wanting to paint my nails" that kept popping into her mind.

I don't quite understand.

"The compulsory course for adults is to fix the roof with tears in their eyes—you can squat in the rain and cry, but after you're done crying, you still have to do what you have to do. Even if you cry and say that you can't do anything, no one will help you to lay the tiles one by one."

"No matter how devastated or upset you are, you have to grit your teeth and clean up the mess. Adults aren't like children who have parents to clean up their messes when they do something wrong."

"I admit that what happened to me was very impactful and shameful. If others knew, I would probably want to crawl into a hole and disappear."

"But compared to the fact that I rushed back to the company after handling my father's funeral and was scolded by my boss for not coming for so many days and delaying the project progress, these things seem to be nothing."

But as far as I know, there are actually many people in this world who can't quickly adjust their moods.

"Those kinds of people either have something to rely on to keep them from growing up, like family or partners they can depend on, or they're just childish kids with adult appearances... in short, giant babies."

Xing Shuang suddenly grabbed a strand of pink curly hair and played with it, then let go as if she had been electrocuted when she realized what she was doing.

After another period of silence, the system's voice rang in Xing Shuang's consciousness.

Can these arguments be interpreted as the host having accepted the existence of this system?

"Just take it that way. Anyway, I can't get rid of you. I finally got reborn, do you think I should rely on my luck because of your existence?"

The host's acceptance and open-mindedness have exceeded the system's expectations.

"It's not as exaggerated as you say. After all, I've been thinking about this all night. Even if I had any impulsive thoughts, I've calmed down now."

"Speaking of which, after all that explanation, I also have a question for you." Xing Shuang suddenly opened her eyes, a sneer on her lips that she thought was cool.

[Host, please ask...]

"Are you really a system, and not something else? Like... a special contract fairy who can read my memories and thoughts?"

The system fell silent again, ignoring Xing Shuang's mental calls.

"Honestly, you always play dead at times like this. I'm really fed up with you." Xing Shuang was cursing and was about to sit up in bed when the sudden sound of slippers clattering outside the door made her instantly turn over, grab the blanket, and wrap herself up like a cocoon.

"Xiao Che, are you awake?" Lin Chen's voice rang out along with the knocking, his gentle greeting sounding like a thunderclap to Xing Shuang at that moment.

The human-shaped silkworm pupa inside the blanket trembled visibly. Xing Shuang, who had just been boasting about being a mature adult, now had a pale face and covered her mouth tightly with both hands, afraid of letting out a sweet sob.

She kept her eyes glued to the doorknob, afraid it might suddenly turn—she didn't have the habit of locking the door when she went to sleep at home.

"Is he still not awake... Anyway, let's get to the point. I've been thinking, I'll skip the company today. It's such an important day to meet him, it would be troublesome if I suddenly had to work overtime."

"I'm going to the hair salon right away, then I'll wait at home to leave. I've left breakfast for you on the table, so get up and eat it while it's hot."

As the footsteps faded into the distance, the girl, who had survived the ordeal, peeked out from under the covers. Her hair was a mess. She shakily pulled out her phone, and on the screen was the same message that Lin Chen had just sent.

Staring at the words "not going to the company today," she suddenly felt dizzy—meaning that her carefully planned scheme of "waiting for her father to leave before undoing the transformation" had completely collapsed.

"It's all your fault..." The girl muttered with a sob in her voice as she secretly opened the door, her pink round-toed leather shoes making no sound as they stepped on the floor.

The emotional impact of what had just happened was so great that she forgot to give herself a mental cue, resulting in Xing Shuang swallowing her breakfast while she shed tears of grievance.

It's all that awful system's fault for turning me into this. If Dad doesn't go to work today, we can't stay in this house any longer...

Five minutes later, the window was gently pushed open, and Xing Shuang stepped on the windowsill and leaped into the air.

Compared to the huge commotion she caused during her last flight, this time her movements only stirred up a small breeze.

The next moment, a streak of pinkish-gold light streaked across the sky, moving so fast that it left only a fleeting rainbow on the glass.