I Am Not a Vicious Stepsister! - Chapter 12

Ni Songan clutched the note, unable to snap out of her daze for a long time.

She wasn’t a fool, and with so many eerie occurrences staring her in the face, she couldn’t help but realize there was a key to all of this.

Among the clues regarding the original owner of this body, Ni Songan felt that her disappearance wasn’t as simple as it seemed. She pushed her earlier promise to respect the girl’s privacy to the back of her mind, realizing that learning more about her was now the top priority.

The warm sunlight gradually climbed from her ankles to her calves. Steadying her nerves, she opened the other scraps of paper, but they didn’t contain the additional information she was hoping for. They were just the original owner’s mindless scribbles and doodles.

The chaotic, flying lines made Ni Songan’s own thoughts feel just as cluttered. She stopped looking, folded the notes, and tucked them back into the puppy plushie’s pocket. Her drifting gaze finally landed on the original owner’s notebook.

Knock, knock.

Someone was knocking on Ni Songan’s bedroom door.

“Come in,” Ni Songan called out, closing the notebooks and placing them into her suitcase.

It was Modesty again, though this time she wasn’t clutching a pillow, but carrying a tray with two servings of breakfast. A faint smile played on her lips. If Ni Songan had looked closely, she might have noticed a hint of nervousness, but unfortunately, Ni Songan was currently in no state of mind to notice such trivial details.

Modesty quietly observed her expression. “Breakfast has been ready for a while. I saw you hadn’t come down yet and figured you must be busy with something, so I brought it up to save you the walk.”

Ni Songan took the tray from her and smiled. “Thank you. I almost forgot about eating breakfast entirely.”

Modesty’s gaze swept over the dolls and the suitcase on the carpet. She asked nonchalantly, “Are you packing up your old things? I noticed you were organizing them before I went out.”

“Something like that,” Ni Songan replied without denying it. She brushed it off with a few vague words, not wanting anyone else to become curious about these items. She walked over to the coffee table to set down the tray. “Sit down. It just so happens I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?” Modesty was successfully distracted, no longer paying any mind to the clutter on the floor.

“Our mothers sent a text asking if the two of us have any plans for the holidays. If not, they suggested we go out and have some fun together.” Ni Songan handed one of the breakfasts to Modesty. She looked down at the toast in her hand, spreading jam over it.

“That’s great! Will they be coming along too?”

“No, just the two of us. Our mothers just want to send us away so they can enjoy some quality time as a couple.”

Ni Songan flashed Modesty a knowing, conspiratorial smile.

Modesty’s attention was entirely on Ni Songan, so she began spreading jam on her own toast just to mimic her. Only after she finished did she remember she didn’t actually like jam. She held the toast, looking conflicted. Seeing this, Ni Songan handed over several slices of her own plain toast and swapped them for the ones covered in jam.

“So, where do you want to go? I’m free this holiday.” Modesty gave her a grateful look.

Ni Songan hesitated. “I might be quite busy coming up. I want to try and boost my GPA, so I’ve already signed up for several competitions and social practice programs.”

In truth, it was more than just that; there were also some volunteer activities she had to do during the break.

But seeing the slight look of disappointment in Modesty’s eyes, she swallowed the rest of her buzzkill explanation. “However, I can still carve out some time to go out and play with you.”

Sure enough, Modesty perked up again, her words tumbling out in an excited rush. “Then do you want to go to another state or province, or stay here in Nanzhou? What about going abroad? Want to go see where I used to live?”

“Let me arrange my schedule first, then I’ll give you an answer, okay?” Ni Songan patted her head, her gaze gentle. “When the time comes, we can plan the itinerary together.”

**

After the final exam of the semester ended, Ni Songan had to formally begin preparing for the competition she had entered with several classmates. Their advisor recommended they design an integrated energy utilization and waste treatment system to use as their entry.

Meanwhile, the vacation plans with Modesty proceeded smoothly. After careful consideration, they decided to leave Nanzhou but stay within the country. They chose to spend their time on Xiluo Island, a place renowned for its beautiful scenery and being surrounded by the sea.

Right before they left, Modesty still hadn’t given up, trying to sway Ni Songan. “Are you really sure we can’t go to Mannogan?”

Mannogan was where Modesty had lived for a long time before coming to Nanzhou with her mother. Most of the Rodney family remained in Quxi Orange County in Nanzhou, while Modesty had studied abroad in Mannogan. Althea later decided that the resources in Nanzhou were better suited for her upbringing and brought her back.

Because of the language barrier between the two places, Modesty was only just reaching the point where she could communicate normally with Ni Songan, which made Ni Songan feel even more sympathetic toward her.

“Let’s go next time. You were the one complaining a few days ago that the round-trip to Mannogan takes too long and that we should choose Xiluo Island instead.” Ni Songan exposed her without mercy. She had told Modesty to make up her mind before booking the tickets, but the girl kept changing her mind even after the booking was done.

The first time, Ni Songan indulged her and rebooked the tickets for Mannogan.

The second time, Ni Songan chose to spoil her again and switched back to Xiluo Island.

By the third time, Ni Songan had developed a heart of stone. She stopped listening to Modesty’s ever-changing whims and finalized the destination: Xiluo Island.

“Fine, then next break. If you aren’t busy during the summer, let’s stay there until school starts again,” Modesty conceded, knowing she was in the wrong and cleverly changing the subject.

Ni Songan nodded in agreement. She snapped the combination lock on her suitcase shut and asked Rosalyn and the others to help carry them to the car. The two of them prepared to head to the airport.

***

By the time they landed, it was already 11:00 PM. Both Ni Songan and Modesty were exhausted. Fortunately, Rosalyn had arranged for a pickup service in advance. Someone was waiting at the exit to help with the luggage, and Modesty collapsed onto the car seat the moment she got in.

Ni Songan forced herself to stay awake, turning her gaze toward Xiluo Island at night.

The wind blowing against her face carried a slight briny scent and felt very humid. Most of the houses on the island had their lights out. Under the brownish-yellow glow of the streetlights, many insects swirled around the light sources, desperate to get closer to the brightness.

One look at the sight gave Ni Songan goosebumps. She looked away and locked eyes with the driver in the rearview mirror, an older woman who was looking back curiously. Both shared a small smile.

“Little girl, are you two here on the island for the New Year?” The hospitable woman finally couldn’t help but speak up. She noticed the sleeping Modesty, so she kept her voice low.

Ni Songan replied, “Not for the New Year, just here for a few days of fun.”

“I’m not asleep, you don’t have to be so quiet…” Hearing their voices, Modesty opened her eyes in a daze, yet with determination. She insisted on listening in, even if she was so tired she could barely speak clearly.

Ni Songan smiled and patted her shoulder. Knowing what she wanted, she let her voice return to a normal volume. “I was just chatting with the driver. I wanted to ask what interesting places there are on Xiluo Island.”

“You’ve asked the right person! I dare say no one on this island knows it better than me!” The woman immediately picked up the thread. “Just now your sister mentioned your itinerary to me. It’s actually quite well done, but some of those shops are real tourist traps for outsiders. I wouldn’t recommend going there…”

The woman was like a faucet that had been turned on. All the way to the guesthouse, she shared Xiluo Island’s specialty foods and travel tips. She was quite humorous, and by the end of it, Modesty was no longer sleepy. She wanted to keep asking Ni Songan about the scenery and food.

Regrettably, the journey was short. Twenty minutes later, the woman dropped Ni Songan and Modesty off at their reserved guesthouse. She wished them a pleasant stay and then drove off in a flurry.

Ni Songan and Modesty pulled their suitcases, entered the code for the electronic lock, and stepped into the house that would be their home for the next ten days.

When the lights flickered on, the interior was revealed. The panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room faced the Xiluo Island coast. Ni Songan had known from the photos online that the view would be beautiful during a sunny day, but she hadn’t expected it to be this good even at midnight.

She approached the window. A few stars twinkled in the ink-blue sky. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw even more stars. The night sky was serene and beautiful.

Turning back to call Modesty over, Ni Songan caught sight of the stairs leading to the roof. Without saying a word, she grabbed Modesty and pulled her up to investigate.

The rooftop had been converted into a viewing area, filled with flowers and greenery.

“Look! There are so many stars here. It looks just like the ones we saw on the roller coaster at the amusement park that day!” Her heart pounded, and her cheeks were flushed pink from the exertion of running up the stairs.

Modesty understood. She followed Ni Songan’s lead and looked up at the sky, where countless tiny lights adorned the heavens.

She looked at Ni Songan. The moonlight fell softly on the other girl’s face, as if covering her in a gentle veil. Her black hair fluttered endlessly in the wind. Modesty’s gaze lingered on Ni Songan for a long time as she whispered, “It really is… so beautiful…”

Thinking about staying in a place like this for nearly half a month, Ni Songan felt a rare surge of excitement. “If only we could sleep on the roof, but the wind at night is so strong.”

Modesty didn’t disagree. “That’s how it is on an island. But in the future, we can go camping on the prairies or something. The starry sky there is incredibly beautiful too.”

“Let’s go. It’s late, we should get some rest. We have to see the island scenery tomorrow.” She gave Ni Songan’s hand a tug.

Ni Songan stole one last lingering look at the sky. The two of them hurried downstairs to wash up and soon fell into a weary sleep.

When Ni Songan opened her eyes again, she felt a bit disoriented. Modesty was lying beside her, sleeping soundly. As her thoughts returned, she remembered they were on vacation on Xiluo Island.

Originally, they were going to book a hotel suite, but Modesty said she preferred the layout of this guesthouse, so they came here instead. Since there was only one bedroom, the two of them slept together.

Ni Songan checked the time. Only a faint, orange light peeked through the window. A reminder popped up on her phone’s to-do list—she needed to get up and coordinate with her classmates to prepare the project modeling.

She didn’t wake the sleeping Modesty. Instead, she grabbed her laptop and slipped out to the living room.

After discussing for over half an hour, they settled on a preliminary framework. As the person with the most knowledge of simulation software among the group, Ni Songan took on the modeling task without question. Her teammates flooded the chat with praise, making her too embarrassed to keep reading.

The bedroom door creaked open slightly. Ni Songan followed the sound and saw Modesty coming out, rubbing her eyes. Just as she was about to ask what she wanted for breakfast, a call suddenly flashed on her phone.

She told Modesty to “wait a moment” and walked to the quieter rooftop to answer.

“Is this student Ni Songan? I am the instructor in charge of your major’s course design from last semester. The report you submitted has significant similarities with another student’s work. I will send the files to you via the school email shortly. I need you and the other students on the list to provide an explanation immediately, otherwise, you will all have to retake this course.”

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