“So... what exactly are you supposed to be?”
Xia Jiuwei picked the fluffball off her shoulder and held it up in front of her face.
The little creature blinked innocently with its wide, watery eyes.
In response, it was met with two deeply suspicious stares.
An awkward silence settled over the classroom before Xia Jiuwei suddenly reached out.
Her gaze locked onto the fluffball’s soft, squishy cheeks.
She’d wanted to poke them from the start.
Now was the perfect chance.
“Master, stop poking meee—!”
The tiny fluffball flailed all four limbs wildly, struggling for dear life in her grip.
“So cute...”
Unable to hold back anymore, Lu Nian’an let out a laugh from beside her before quietly extending an equally “evil” hand toward the helpless little creature.
Quite a while later, the poor fluffball was finally released and placed back onto the teacher’s desk.
It collapsed flat on the desk, completely defeated.
“So?”
Xia Jiuwei leaned slightly forward, staring at it.
“What are you exactly?”
“Master, I’m basically the Under-Reality’s brain! Or… its cute little manager!”
”You may call me—”
The fluffball climbed to its feet atop the desk and awkwardly straightened its nonexistent outfit before beginning its introduction in an adorably childish voice.
“Stop.”
Xia Jiuwei raised a hand immediately to interrupt it.
“You keep calling me ‘Master,’ right? That means I should have naming rights.”
The fluffball froze.
“Well, since you’re part of the Under-Reality...”
Xia Jiuwei narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
“I’ll call you Lili.”
“My name is Lili!”
The fluffball spoke at the exact same time as her.
The classroom fell silent for a full second.
Xia Jiuwei slowly narrowed her eyes.
“Not bad. I really am a genius.”
Beside her, Lu Nian’an quietly looked away.
“...Your shamelessness is honestly kind of impressive.”
“Hey, don’t look at me like that.”
Xia Jiuwei shrugged without the slightest embarrassment.
“If I wasn’t this mentally resilient, I would’ve gotten depression ages ago at this school.”
“So, Lili,” Lu Nian’an asked curiously from the side, “why did you appear here in the first place?”
“Right, right! Finally, we’re getting to the important part!”
Lili instantly perked up again, puffing out its tiny chest and placing its little hands on its hips proudly.
“Master, you have officially activated the inheritance ritual of the Under-Reality—”
Lili looked at Xia Jiuwei with sparkling anticipation.
“That sounds like a scam.”
Xia Jiuwei interrupted immediately.
“It’s not a scam! Master, please don’t abandon Lili!”
The tiny fluffball panicked instantly.
““You’ll totally benefit from this!”
“Can I refuse?”
“No.”
“Then why are you asking me?”
“...”
Lili froze awkwardly for several seconds before finally mumbling in a tiny voice:
“Pretty please...?”
Looking at the tiny fluffball’s pitiful expression, Xia Jiuwei felt her resolve rapidly melting away.
After staring at it for a moment, she finally sighed.
“Fine, fine.”
“Yayyy!”
The instant the words left her mouth—
Information poured out from the black mark on Xia Jiuwei’s hand.
【MISSIONS】
S-Rank: Purify this “Domain”
A-Rank: Obtain control over this “Domain”
B-Rank: Return the Lost One to reality
【REWARDS】
……
“So... the Lost One is me?”
Lu Nian’an suddenly spoke up.
“That’s right. You are this Under-Reality’s Lost One.”
Lili nodded seriously.
Xia Jiuwei tilted her head slightly to look at her.
“Do you want to go back?”
Lu Nian’an fell silent.
“If you don’t, that’s fine too,” Xia Jiuwei said casually. “I can stay here with you.”
The words came out naturally, without much thought behind them.
But Lu Nian’an froze.
Nobody had ever said something like that to her so casually before.
After a brief moment, she gave Xia Jiuwei a small smile before turning toward Lili, finally voicing the question that had been building in her mind.
“Lili... what exactly is this place?”
Lili didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, it looked out the classroom window.
Far down the hallway, the space itself seemed to twist slowly out of shape.
“Those things out there...”
Lili spoke quietly.
“They aren’t hallucinations.”
Lu Nian’an’s breathing stiffened.
“They’re connected to you.”
“...What do you mean?”
Lili tilted its tiny head.
“Are you sure you really don’t know?”
“This place can grow the things hidden inside people’s hearts.”
It pointed toward the surrounding classroom.
“The place you’re standing in right now...”
It paused briefly.
“...is your Domain.”
“And those shadows...”
Lu Nian’an’s face turned pale instantly.
The atmosphere in the room grew heavy.
Sensing it, Lili quickly changed the subject.
“Master! To help you complete your missions, you can now access the Management Manual trial version!”
“Close your eyes and sink your consciousness inward. Touch the black hardcover book inside your mind.”
Following Lili’s instructions, Xia Jiuwei slowly closed her eyes.
A black hardcover book suddenly materialized in her right hand.
She opened the manual and quickly skimmed through the information inside.
《Under-Reality Management Manual》
【ABILITIES】
Imprint — Temporarily Unlocked
Reality Traversal — Temporarily Unlocked
Exchange — Temporarily Unlocked
Under-Reality Synchronization (0/1) — Locked
...
【POSSESSIONS】
Under-Reality Management Manual
The Cutest Lili
【MANAGEMENT INTERFACE — INDIVIDUAL】
Lu Nian’an
Profile: Lost One / High School Student
Lost for: 15 Years
Cause of Loss: Boundary collapse caused by extreme despair.
Ability: Shadow Replication
Possession: B-Rank Domain
After finishing the manual, Xia Jiuwei casually tossed the book upward.
The black hardcover vanished soundlessly in midair.
The realization that Lu Nian’an had been trapped here for fifteen years made her let out a quiet sigh.
“I want to hear your story.”
Her gaze settled gently on Lu Nian’an.
“How did you end up here?”
Lu Nian’an lowered her head slightly, clearly reluctant to speak about the past.
Xia Jiuwei studied her for a moment before softening her tone.
“Then... how about this?”
A faint smile appeared on her face.
“I’ll tell you a story first. Would you listen?”
After a brief hesitation, Lu Nian’an gave a small nod.
Xia Jiuwei began speaking quietly.
“Once upon a time, there was a girl who didn’t have any family. When she was still very, very young, an old man found her and took her in.”
“At the time, the girl was completely alone. But when the strange old man picked her up, she didn’t cry.”
“She smiled at him instead.”
“As the girl grew older, she gradually realized that her grandfather was different from other people. He was always teaching her how to use strange tools, and he often ‘played games’ with her too—games about how to defeat herself.”
“He filled her head with all kinds of bizarre knowledge, but at the same time, he was also the person in the world who cared about her most.”
“The two of them lived deep in the mountains, isolated from everyone else. Even so, her grandfather would travel long distances outside the mountains just to bring back gifts for her.”
“And every year on her birthday, he would carefully prepare a special puzzle game.”
“The girl had to clear each challenge one by one before she could obtain the final reward.”
“That was always the happiest day of her year.”
“But eventually, the girl reached middle school age and had no choice but to leave the mountains to study.”
“Her grandfather had taught her well. Even though she grew up isolated from society, her grades were still excellent.”
“But the fact that she didn’t have parents eventually spread through the class.”
“The other students began mocking her. Excluding her.”
“It hurt.”
“But her grandfather always comforted her.”
“‘One day, you’ll understand why these things happened to you. But before that day comes, you need to learn how to face them. These are all trials.’”
“Little by little, the girl stopped caring about what others said. Her personality became more carefree, and gradually, she learned how to ignore the insults and ridicule directed at her.”
“Eventually, she got accepted into a pretty good high school and started a brand-new life.”
“She had excellent grades, a pretty face, and even made a lot of ‘friends.’”
“For a while, everything genuinely seemed to be getting better.”
“Until one day, a boy confessed to her.”
“The girl didn’t like him, so she rejected him as gently as she could.”
“But the boy couldn’t accept it.”
“So he started turning the class against her.”
“At first, it was just insults and nasty comments.”
“But eventually, it became physical.”
“One day, the girl was cornered inside a bathroom by several classmates.”
“And that was the moment she finally snapped.”
“She fought back.”
“After the fight, the students who originally intended to gang up on her were all left sprawled across the floor.”
“The incident became a huge deal, and the school arranged a meeting between teachers, parents, and students.”
“But because the other side’s family had influence, the entire matter was quickly brushed aside.”
“After that, they stopped bullying her openly.”
“Instead, they switched to subtler methods.”
“Every single thing they did could always be disguised as an ‘accident.’”
“But whenever the girl fought back, she became the one accused of being the bully.”
“So, day after day, she kept getting hurt.”
“Until one day, during another sudden shove...”
“She lost her balance.”
“And in that instant—”
“The world flipped upside down.”
Xia Jiuwei paused slightly, her gaze drifting toward Lu Nian’an.
“And when the girl opened her eyes again...”
“She had already arrived in a place known as the Under-Reality.”
Silence filled the classroom.
Only the sound of breathing remained.
A very long time passed before Lu Nian’an finally spoke in a quiet voice.
“Um...”
She slowly tightened her fingers together.
“Would you... like to hear my story too?”