2#1202: Don’t scare yourself, upstairs neighbor. Maybe someone’s projection accidentally showed up in your apartment.
2#1302: Impossible! I never gave permission – who could possibly project into my home?!
3#202: …I also feel like something’s not right in my apartment. The faucet kept dripping all night long, and I just had it replaced with a new one.
3#601: Alright, stop jumping on the bandwagon. A dripping faucet isn’t that strange – maybe the technician didn’t install it properly.
…
…
The usually quiet homeowners’ group chat had accumulated hundreds of messages overnight. Rumor had it that the old lady from the neighboring building – the one who kept chickens and ducks in the hallway while cursing at everything under the sun – went to collect eggs this morning only to find a bloody head instead. The shock nearly killed her on the spot, and she was taken away by an ambulance first thing in the morning.
The neighboring building almost set off fireworks in celebration. Some homeowners made sarcastic comments in the group chat, only to get beaten up by the old lady’s son who blocked their doors. Then police cars showed up this morning…
From last night until now, the entire residential complex has been in complete chaos.
Shi Qing glanced at a certain ghost curled up on the sofa before turning to enter the back garden of the Space-Time Shop. The apples on the apple tree remained fresh, perfectly ripe without ever falling off.
After picking several apples, Shi Qing went downstairs to buy some baozi and soy milk.
Sitting at the dining table, Shi Qing slowly ate her breakfast.
Suihua moved her head closer to the apples, wanting to eat one, but Shi Qing pressed a hand against her.
“No apples for you today. You should know why.”
Suihua: “…Why?”
She had been quite obedient! She didn’t even enter her bedroom yesterday. This woman was definitely withholding food on purpose!
“See for yourself.”
Shi Qing opened the homeowners’ group chat messages and placed them in front of her.
Suihua: “…”
She just went out for a little stroll! Why was everyone blaming her?!
Slander!
This was outright slander!
She merely tripped in the hallway and her head fell off – how was she supposed to know the old lady would show up right then!
“Fine, I get it. I promise I won’t go out wandering around anymore, okay?”
As she spoke, Suihua tried to move her head closer to the apples again, but Shi Qing firmly pushed her away.
“I said no apples today.”
Suihua: “…!!! You’re deliberately bullying me, aren’t you?”
“Mhm, so what are you going to do about it?”
Shi Qing smiled slightly, tilting her head as she looked at Suihua with a peculiar excitement in her eyes.
Suihua felt chills under that gaze, her body involuntarily floating backward.
“F-fine, I won’t eat then…”
“Good girl, go clean the kitchen. You’re coming to school with me later.”
“I’m not your housemaid…” Suihua grumbled with clear dissatisfaction.
Shi Qing curled her lips in an indifferent expression.
“Suit yourself. No apples tomorrow either then.”
Suihua: “…”
Wahhh, this was so infuriating! She was being threatened by a human!
…
Shi Qing’s class was the worst in the entire elite academy. Though first period started at 8:10, many students still hadn’t arrived, let alone attended the earlier morning reading session.
At exactly 8:00, Shi Qing stepped into the classroom, with Suihua muttering complaints as she followed behind.
“Ugh, why does it feel so ghostly in here?”The moment Suihua entered the classroom with Shi Qing, she immediately sensed something was off.
Shi Qing froze briefly, only to see Suihua swiftly float over to Feng Shuang Shuang’s side.
“Oh, so the biological daughter of the wealthy family has finally decided to show up? Hah, I thought you wouldn’t dare come～”
Before Shi Qing could follow, a sarcastic voice rang out as its owner approached.
With the boy’s appearance, the noisy chatter in the classroom quieted down, and many turned to watch with eager eyes, anticipating drama.
Shi Qing sized up the newcomer.
Oh, it’s He Yan Ting, Shi Yi Yi’s lapdog.
He had often bullied the original host in class—putting stinging caterpillars in her desk, causing her hands to ache and swell for days; sticking bubblegum in her hair; spitting in her water bottle; placing nails in her shoes…
And the reason he bullied her so relentlessly? Simply because Shi Yi Yi wanted revenge.
He believed that if not for her, Shi Yi Yi wouldn’t have had to return to that impoverished home. Especially after hearing that the original host had urged their parents to expel Shi Yi Yi from the elite school, his bullying only intensified.
“So? Has Shi Yi Yi lost her status, leaving you, her dog, starving?”
“Hiss…”
Many in the class gasped sharply. He Yan Ting was the class bully—they never expected Shi Qing, absent for so many days, to dare speak to him like that.
“You’re asking for death!”
He Yan Ting’s face flushed crimson with rage. He swung his hand to grab Shi Qing’s hair, but she caught his wrist firmly, and no matter how he struggled, he couldn’t break free.
“Can’t win an argument, so you resort to violence? What a coward. It was her own mother who swapped my identity with Shi Yi Yi’s. If you’re so capable, why not go beat up her mom? Do you just pick on me because I seem like an easy target?”
Shi Qing sneered, then delivered a sharp, hard slap across half of He Yan Ting’s face.
“Disgusting piece of trash!”
She spat contemptuously and calmly walked toward her own desk.
The classroom fell into dead silence. Feng Shuang Shuang stared at Shi Qing with a Ghost-like expression—shocked yet full of admiration.
It couldn’t be helped—she was another unlucky soul. Just for siding with Shi Qing, she had been tormented by He Yan Ting to the brink of collapse. Yet, she didn’t dare skip school.
Her parents were mere tools in a marriage alliance; no one cared what she went through. If she quit school, life at home would be even more unbearable.
Naturally, He Yan Ting wasn’t about to let the slap slide. Fuming, he moved to settle the score, but just then, the bell rang, and the homeroom teacher walked in.
He Yan Ting fixed Shi Qing with a venomous, snake-like glare and made a throat-slitting gesture at her.
Shi Qing rolled her eyes, completely ignoring him.
As she reached her desk, Feng Shuang Shuang gave a slight nod, signaling that she had already checked the desk and cleared out any unwanted items.
“Shi Qing, how are you so brave today?”
Feng Shuang Shuang leaned over her desk, whispering to Shi Qing. At the podium, the homeroom teacher lectured on, paying no mind to what the students were doing below.
“Be good, class has started. Let’s focus on the lesson.”
Shi Qing patted Feng Shuang Shuang’s hair, urging her to pay attention.
After all, she was determined to get into a good university—how could she afford not to listen carefully in class?Feng Shuang Shuang: “…”
Feng Shuang Shuang pouted helplessly and slumped over the desk to continue her nap, while Shi Qing pulled out usable test papers from her backpack and began solving problems earnestly.
The class period passed quickly. Shi Qing had already completed several test papers without encountering any difficulty.
Solving test papers was a piece of cake for her. Her Weirdness mother really loved her profoundly, didn’t she?
During the break, He Yan Ting didn’t come looking for her, probably plotting some greater revenge.
After organizing her test papers, Shi Qing suddenly pulled the sleeping Feng Shuang Shuang upright.
“…? Shi Qing, what are you doing…”
Feng Shuang Shuang mumbled with her lips pouted, refusing to open her eyes.
“Have you been staying up late recently?”
The dark circles under Feng Shuang Shuang’s eyes were almost comparable to those of a national treasure. How many all-nighters must she have pulled to achieve this state?
“Not really. I go to sleep right after dinner every day when I get home, but it’s like I can never get enough sleep…”