I Am Not a Vicious Stepsister! - Chapter 16

“Think it over, maybe your mind will change down the road,” System 313 said, stopping short of officially unbinding from her. “I’m heading back to the Management Center to consult with my superiors. If you need me, just call my system ID in your head.”

Its voice gradually faded into nothingness. Modesty stared coldly at her empty bedroom, offering no response to its parting words.

After the Lunar New Year, Ni Songan returned to school early. Zhou Yejia had been keeping a close eye on her previous grades, and upon hearing that she planned to attend graduate school, the professor dropped hints for her to look into the recruitment requirements for the campus Mons Lab.

Professor Zhou: If you pass the assessment, you can start learning in the lab ahead of schedule.

Currently only a sophomore, Ni Songan had plenty of time to apply. Since the recruitment exam focused solely on programming and mathematical ability, she spent her time back on campus buried in self-study rooms and the library, grinding through coding languages and math problems.

Modesty tried to ask her to hang out several times, but Ni Songan could only gently decline. “Can we raincheck for Wednesday after my exam? I’ll definitely spend time with you then, I’ve just been swamped lately.”

Over the past six months, Ni Songan felt their relationship growing closer, which was a good sign. The plot points from the original book had never materialized, allowing her to focus on improving herself and quietly searching for traces of the original owner of her body.

Still, her surroundings left her feeling slightly uneasy. While she acknowledged she might just be prone to insecurity, she believed it was better to be safe than sorry.

A new notification chime pulled her attention away from her laptop. It was an @all message from Professor Zhou Yejia in their group chat.

Ni Songan deleted a few accidental keystrokes and clicked into the competition team’s chat. Glancing over the text, she saw that their project had passed the preliminary round, and the professor wanted to meet with the team to discuss the next steps.

She quickly replied with a “Received” and went back to her code. By the time she checked the group again, they had settled on Friday for the meeting.

The timing was perfect. Ni Songan calculated that with her exam ending Wednesday and the meeting on Friday, she could spend the entire weekend with Modesty, who had been nagging her ever since she moved back to the dorms.

Sure enough, when she shared the news with Modesty, the younger girl’s excitement was impossible to hide. Even just listening over the phone, Ni Songan couldn’t help but let her lips curl into a smile.

“I’ll take you to this shop I heard is really fun…”

The youth on the other end of the line chattered away about the arrangements for the coming days. Once they reached an agreement, Ni Songan checked the wall clock, realized her study time was slipping away, said her goodbyes, and dove back into her books.

Friday, at the teaching building.

After pointing out the flaws in their modeling and offering a few pointers, Zhou Yejia dismissed everyone except Ni Songan.

“Go grab a drink of water first, your lips are so dry they’re peeling,” Zhou Yejia said, nodding toward the water dispenser while she looked through some files.

Ni Songan did as she was told, soothing her slightly raspy throat. She heard Zhou Yejia ask casually, “So, how is it? Think you can get into the Mons Lab?”

“I think I did alright?” Ni Songan felt her performance hadn’t been half bad, but she kept her answer conservative.

“Alright, then,” Zhou Yejia chuckled softly, offering no further critique. “Next week, bring your whole team to a lecture. It might help with your competition.”

Once it was clear there was nothing else to discuss beyond casual small talk, Ni Songan politely said her goodbyes and stepped quietly out of the office.

It was still early. After messaging Modesty, Ni Songan caught a ride straight back to Quxi Orange County.

Having finished her lab assessment and project report, she suddenly found herself with free time. She decided to organize the original owner’s belongings, remembering her previous plan to mend those tattered plush dolls.

Ni Songan had already asked Rosaline to prepare fresh cotton stuffing. She carefully unpicked the seams of the dolls, pulled out the old stuffing, and soaked the fabric skins in water mixed with fabric softener.

Once enough time had passed, she finished cleaning them and hung the skins on the terrace to dry. All that was left was to wait for them to dry, restuff them, and sew them back up.

After tidying up the old cotton, Ni Songan turned back to the novel she hadn’t finished. As she neared the end of the book, she heard soft footsteps at the door.

A moment later, there was a knock. Upon receiving Ni Songan’s permission, the visitor slowly opened the door.

When Ni Songan saw who it was, her expression shifted to one of surprise. She hurriedly put down her book and stood up from the sofa to greet her. “Mom? It’s so late, why are you…”

She had assumed it was Modesty, since she had messaged her earlier saying she’d be back at the estate, but it was Ni Tianjiao.

“It’s nothing, I just wanted to come see you.” Ni Tianjiao looked like she had just returned from an outing, her overcoat still on. She scanned the room before sitting on the sofa, where the book on the coffee table caught her eye.

Ni Tianjiao’s right hand, adorned with a ruby ring, brushed the gold-stamped cover. The reflection from the gems was a bit dazzling. “So, you’ve fallen in love with novels now?”

“Just something to kill the time,” Ni Songan said vaguely. She still didn’t dare to be too casual around Ni Tianjiao, aiming for a polite, passable middle ground.

Ni Tianjiao gave a few light laughs. “So, you still have no intention of joining the company to help out?”

“No, unless I’m truly needed, but I don’t think that’ll be the case.” Ni Songan’s major didn’t even align with the Rodney family’s industries, she’d have to be out of her mind to force her way in.

However, to keep the rejection soft, she didn’t speak in absolutes.

“Alright, it’s fine. I just missed you a little, so I came to see you. Modesty said you were home tonight.” Ni Tianjiao stepped closer, her cool hand stroking Ni Songan’s face.

She studied her for a moment. “You still don’t seem to be eating well, you’ve lost weight.”

“I’ve been busy lately, I’ll be more careful from now on,” Ni Songan defended.

Ni Tianjiao sighed, took off her brown overcoat, and draped it over the back of the sofa. She motioned for Ni Songan to sit beside her. “I don’t understand. You can live a perfectly good life without working this hard, you don’t have to push yourself.”

“With these resources, it’s actually a great time to try and chase a dream,” Ni Songan countered. She had flipped through the original owner’s notebooks before, and while their personalities were different, some of their core values aligned. She wasn’t worried that this sentiment would raise Ni Tianjiao’s suspicions.

“Oh, you…” Ni Tianjiao finally smiled, tapping Ni Songan’s forehead with her finger.

After a few minutes of idle chat, Ni Tianjiao ran out of things to say. Surveying the room again, she became curious about a bag by the door. “That looks quite full, what’s inside?”

Ni Songan wasn’t sure if she should say, but given how old the dolls were, Ni Tianjiao likely knew about them. “Just some old dolls. I wanted to take them out and clean them up.”

Ni Tianjiao seemed to recall something, a look of nostalgia crossing her face. “You still kept them…”

She didn’t say anything else, simply patted Ni Songan on the shoulder and left the room. “Goodnight, daughter.”

Ni Songan saw her to the door, staring at her retreating figure.

Everything seemed fine, Ni Tianjiao had acted perfectly normal, so she had successfully navigated another encounter. Ni Songan let out a long breath and prepared to close the door, only to be startled by Modesty suddenly appearing from the side. “Good heavens!”

“Modesty? When did you get here? You scared the life out of me!” She clutched her chest, her heart hammering against her ribs.

Modesty was also startled by her reaction and quickly patted Ni Songan’s back to soothe her. “Just now… I saw you behind your mother, so I didn’t say anything.”

“Never mind, come in.” Ni Songan knew she was here to sleep over. By now, she had a completely indulgent attitude toward it.

Modesty squeezed inside joyfully. Since she hated carrying her pillow back and forth, she had long ago secured Ni Songan’s permission to keep her pillow directly in her stepsister’s room.

No matter what Ni Songan did, Modesty followed right behind her. “I’ve already made a plan for tomorrow. We can go see the tulips at the park, I think they’re in bloom.”

“There’s a very cute dessert shop where I want to take photos of you.”

“And this cat cafe where the cats are super friendly.”

Ni Songan let the words go in one ear and out the other. Once Modesty finally finished, she handed her a glass of water. “Drink some water, you’ve been talking forever.”

“Do you think the schedule is okay?” Modesty took a small sip, looking at her expectantly.

In truth, Ni Songan had only caught a few names, but she was only doing this to keep Modesty happy, the details didn’t matter. “Anything is fine with me, I’ll just follow your lead.”

She thought for a moment and added, “But you mentioned quite a few places. If the schedule is too tight, we can pick a few and save the rest for later.”

Modesty supported everything Ni Songan said. She immediately pulled out her phone to note down the request. “I’ll revise it right now.”

Ni Songan crossed her arms and watched her tap away at the screen, her eyes catching the date displayed. “Wait, your seventeenth birthday is coming up soon, isn’t it? Is there anything you want?”

Modesty’s mouth hung open slightly. “Huh?”

She looked at the date, then back at Ni Songan. “That’s still over three months away…”

Ni Songan said matter-of-factly, “Three months goes by fast. It’s better that I start preparing early.”

“I suppose that’s true…” Modesty was dazed by her logic, unconsciously following her train of thought. “What I want?”

Seeing Modesty knitting her brows in deep thought, Ni Songan ruffled her hair. “Alright, no rush. I was just asking. If you think of something before your birthday, let me know. If not, I’ll just pick something out myself.”

“Then I won’t tell you. I want to receive whatever gift you naturally wanted to give me.” Modesty pointedly nuzzled her palm against Ni Songan’s hand, her eyes curving into bright smiles.

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