I Am Not a Vicious Stepsister! - Chapter 8

The alarm blared through the dorm room. Ni Songan, exhausted after spending several consecutive days buried in the lab, felt a sudden, violent urge to hurl her phone against the wall.

But phones are expensive.

Sighing, she forced her eyes open to check the note attached to the alarm. The dim glow of the screen stung her eyes, and she squinted, struggling to focus. Just then, a reminder popped up from her memo app: it was time to meet Modesty at Corridus International School.

With a heavy groan, Songan dragged herself out of bed, committed to the idea that one should never break a promise. Sure enough, once she toggled off “Do Not Disturb” mode, notifications began flooding in from every app. Modesty’s messages were, by far, the most numerous.

Songan had actually replied to a few of her messages after returning from the lab around 10:00 PM the previous night, but she had crashed immediately after showering. She hadn’t expected Modesty to send over forty more messages while she was asleep.

Opening the chat, a literal wall of white text boxes jumped out at her. The dense black text made her feel slightly dizzy, though the sea of words was peppered with various cat emojis.

Helplessly, Songan scrolled to the very top and began reading them one by one, replying to each point. It felt a bit like a grueling shift at work, but fortunately, the recipient was her sister. She didn’t have to overthink it, she just said whatever came to mind and made sure to show some sisterly concern.

After “processing” the queue of messages, Songan thought for a moment and typed:

Ni Songan: I’ll be at your school in about an hour. It’ll be breakfast time, is there anything specific you want to eat? I can pick something up for you before I head to your dorm.

On the other side of things, Modesty had also set an alarm to wake up early for her sister, but she had stayed in bed anyway. When she finally saw the message, nearly an hour had passed since it was sent.

“Dammit!” she cursed under her breath at the System. She had clearly told it to wake her up before she went to sleep, yet it stayed silent at the crucial moment.

“I did call you, you just didn’t wake up,” the System corrected her. “Don’t slander me. While I don’t think meeting a supporting character is beneficial to your mission, I cannot interfere with your decisions.”

“Fine, sorry,” Modesty apologized bluntly. A second later, her thoughts snapped back to her sister. “Check where she is now.”

“Preparing to get off the bus,” the System replied instantly.

Modesty opened the chat and began typing furiously.

Modesty: Sorry, Sis! I totally overslept. I’m getting up right now!

Modesty: Don’t worry about bringing breakfast. I can get ready really fast, let’s just go to the school cafeteria together~

Modesty: [Location: Feng Kee Hong Kong Tea House]

Modesty: If you get there first, just order what you like. I should be there in twenty minutes!

Four messages popped up in quick succession. Songan skimmed them and sent back a quick “Okay.”

After checking the location, Songan stepped off the bus and followed the navigation. It wasn’t a long walk, taking only about ten minutes. Consequently, just as Songan finished placing the order, Modesty pushed through the restaurant doors a few minutes later.

Looking toward the crisp chime of the door bell, Songan saw a slightly breathless Modesty. She looked like she had run all the way, her long golden curls were a bit messy from the wind, and her cheeks were flushed with a healthy glow from the exercise, making her look quite vibrant.

Modesty was looking around frantically. Because of a large potted plant next to Songan’s table, her view was completely blocked. Songan stood up and waved toward the entrance. “Modesty, over here!”

Hearing her name, Modesty’s eyes lit up. She trotted over, pulled out a chair next to Songan, tossed her bag onto another seat, and sat down right beside her.

“Have you ordered yet?” Modesty asked casually. Just as she was about to order for herself, Songan stopped her.

Songan tilted her head and winked. “I already ordered for you.”

When Rosalind was helping Songan prepare a gift, she had also shared some of Modesty’s preferences, including her favorite dishes. Songan had taken the initiative to put that knowledge to use.

“Look at the list. If there’s anything else you want, you can ask the waiter for more,” Songan said, sliding her phone in front of Modesty.

Since she needed to scroll down to show the full order, Songan leaned in close. She was so close that Modesty could feel her warm breath.

Modesty’s mind wasn’t on the food at all. No matter what Songan said, she just nodded along aimlessly, which earned her a playful flick to the forehead.

Songan watched her with a suppressed smile. “You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?”

“I asked you to hand me the bag you just moved. I have a gift for you inside.”

Modesty’s face turned red instantly. Not daring to look at Songan’s expression, she looked away and handed the handbag over. “Sorry, I was in such a rush, I wasn’t paying attention…”

Beyond the embarrassment, she was genuinely curious: what kind of gift would Ni Songan prepare for her?

“Since I was in a bit of a hurry, I didn’t have time to figure out exactly what you like, so I had to ask Rosalind. Luckily, she gave me some suggestions.”

Songan pulled a square box from her bag and placed it in front of Modesty. “Do you want to open it now?”

Modesty did as she was told and gasped in surprise at the contents. “This is the plushie from that movie I love so much!”

“Yeah, Rosalind mentioned you liked the movie. She wanted to help me prepare a whole set, but I turned her down. I wanted to pick out this little charm myself.” Songan saw how much she loved it; Modesty held it and fidgeted with it for a long while before excitedly clipping the golden retriever charm onto her bag.

Seeing her gift being appreciated brought Songan a great deal of joy, which even boosted her appetite. The two of them didn’t leave until they were completely full.

Their last aimless tour of Nanzhou University hadn’t been a great experience for either of them. Taking that lesson to heart, Modesty had done plenty of prep work this time, determined to give Songan a day of non-stop fun.

“So, the place you were talking about is… here?” After being led to the “secret” destination, Songan tilted her head slightly, looking at Modesty with a glimmer of amusement in her eyes.

“Yup! I specifically asked Ni A—Mom. She said she was always so busy with other things in the past that she never took you to an amusement park to really have fun. I figured there wasn’t much to see at my school anyway, but there’s this park nearby.” Modesty looked at Songan expectantly, clearly hoping for some praise.

Perhaps she still wasn’t used to this blended family, because Modesty still tripped over her words when referring to Ni Tianjiao. After the slip-up, she peeked cautiously at Songan, but Songan’s expression remained calm.

Songan looked down at the tickets. The mascot on them was grinning in a goofy, exaggerated way. She took the ticket. “It’s true, I’ve never been. So, as for what we’re riding, I’m following your lead.”

“Great! If you aren’t afraid of heights, we can start with the most thrilling one to get the adrenaline pumping!” Once Songan agreed, Modesty became incredibly energetic, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the ticket gate with long, fast strides.

“Don’t rush, we can walk slower.” There were some wet patches on the ground from the musical fountains, and Songan was worried she might slip.

Modesty gave a distracted “Uh-huh,” clearly not caring about the pavement under her feet.

Once inside, they had a clear goal: they ran straight to the line for the tallest roller coaster.

The amusement park was surrounded by Corridus International School and some residential complexes, with a large Nanzhou commercial center a bit further away. Since it was a holiday, there were plenty of tourists, but luckily they had arrived early.

Even so, Songan and Modesty had to wait quite a while before they finally climbed into the seats.

“Do we have to wear this on a roller coaster?” Songan asked as Modesty handed her a headset. She wasn’t sure what it was. She remembered that in her original world, high-altitude attractions required you to put all loose accessories in a locker. Was it different in this novel world?

“It’s a secret for now.” Modesty gave a mysterious smile and, instead of explaining, she reached over to help Songan put the device on.

Songan lowered her head to fasten her seatbelt, making it easier for Modesty to help. The girl’s movements were careful and meticulous as she tucked away the dark hair that might get caught in the straps. When she finished, she realized she was almost leaning entirely over Songan.

Songan, finally winning her battle with the seatbelt, looked up to find that Modesty had already sat back. She didn’t notice just how close they had been.

So, what was this thing on her head for? Filled with questions, Songan felt a mix of nerves and excitement. She stared at the blue sky at the end of the track, waiting for the staff to start the ride.

Noticing her tension, Modesty took Songan’s hand. “If you’re scared, you can hold on to me.”

Songan thought about it and didn’t refuse. As she gripped Modesty’s hand, the contact made her realize her palm was covered in a thin layer of sweat.

“Oh, sorry, my hands are sweaty. I’ll get a wet wipe for you later,” she said apologetically.

Modesty shook her head. “It’s fine, I have some. Watch out, it’s about to start.”

“Right, okay.” Songan immediately sat up straight, though she kept a firm hold on Modesty’s hand.

A powerful force slammed her into the seat as the coaster launched forward without any warning. Songan felt her head snap back against the padded headrest, the wind howling in her ears.

Her heart leaped into her throat, and she shut her eyes in fear.

But just as they were about to reach the peak, Songan braved a glance downward. She didn’t see the park or the metal tracks below. Instead, she saw a flowing, endless sea of stars.

She remembered the device on her head and realized it was a VR headset.

The physical sensation, however, couldn’t be faked. The sudden feeling of weightlessness made Songan scream, though her voice was lost to the wind.

She looked over at Modesty. The girl was smiling at her, her lips moving as if saying something. A few rebellious strands of pale gold hair had escaped her hair tie and were dancing wildly in the wind.

The brilliant starlight of the VR simulation reflected in Modesty’s eyes, twinkling brightly.

Hand in hand, they fell together into the starry sky below.

Songan couldn’t hear her, and she wasn’t good at lip-reading, but never before had she felt such a desperate urge to know exactly what Modesty was saying.

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