Chapter 195: The Two's Aftermath

Saint Freya Academy, classroom.

Morning light streams through the clean glass windows, casting bright spots on the desks.

At the podium, a Ni Zhang Meng Zhu's lecture on the "Second Collapse" is low and magnetic, but to Qiana it sounds as if filtered through frosted glass—blurred and distant.

She props her cheek with one hand, the other absent‑mindedly draws meaningless circles in the blank of the textbook; her azure eyes stare out at the drifting clouds, focus scattered.

(Last night… I think I had a very long dream?)

What was in the dream?

Fighting? Ice? Fire?

Fragments of Memory flutter like dust in sunlight—present yet impossible to grasp.

All that remains is a light, almost airy feeling as if the body had been completely loosened and then reassembled, and a strange… exhilaration in the mind?

Yes, exhilaration—like having experienced something huge, yet this unreliable brain has formatted away the specifics of that "big thing".

She naturally woke up at six this morning, more punctual than an alarm clock.

By all rights, with Qiana's constitution that could sleep forever, she'd normally laze until noon on weekends; this abnormal early rise could itself be listed among the Ten Unsolved Mysteries of Destiny.

Moreover, after waking she isn't sleepy at all; instead she feels so energetic she could run ten laps around the academy.

(Strange… too strange…)

Qiana can't help but scratch the soft white hair on her head; her delicate eyebrows knit together.

As she drifts aimlessly, a thought strikes her mind like lightning—

Gold Finger!

Right! Gold Finger!

I think I have a "Gold Finger"!

This Cognition nearly made her jump out of her seat; she managed to hold back at the last moment, but her body stiffened, and her face flashed through several colors—first shock ("I actually have a cheat?!"), then ecstasy ("I truly am the Daughter of Destiny!"), then deep confusion ("…but what exactly is this cheat?").

She furrows her brows and begins to dig for the blank Memory.

She only recalls the concept of "Gold Finger", a voice, and that she seemed to have gained some "power"… but what ability? How to use it? Who was that voice? Nothing else.

It's like someone set off a grand but silent fireworks display inside her mind; after the blast only paper scraps and a faint smell of gunpowder remain, proving there was indeed a commotion.

(What kind of Gold Finger is this! No manual included?!)

Qiana wails silently in her heart, her expression so rich it could star in a pantomime.

"Hey, dummy Qiana."

A cool, calm voice comes from beside her.

Bronya puts down the tablet in her hand, her gray eyes glance over, and a rare hint of doubt flickers on her otherwise blank face.

"What were you just doing?"

Bronya's voice is flat, but the inquisitive tone is clear: "Is… you again scheming some 'Genius Plan' that Yimei‑senpai would scold?"

"Uh… huh? N-no!"

Qiana quickly waves her hand, forcing a slightly stiff smile onto her face, "I… I just didn't sleep well, yeah, didn't sleep well! Just spaced out! Bronya, stop overthinking!"

She can't admit she might have a "Gold Finger" whose password she's forgotten, which sounds less reliable than the "Collembola Plan".

Bronya watches her silently for two seconds, asks no more, then before withdrawing her gaze she adds softly, "Take care of yourself."

"I‑I know…"

Feeling guilty, Qiana shrinks her neck, redirects her gaze to the window, but her mind grows even messier.

Star Rail, San Yue Qi's Room.

Star woke up amid a sharp, burning sting.

She groggily opens her eyes, feeling her left cheek swollen and numb, as if packed with un‑risen dough.

"Sss…"

She inhales a cold breath, consciousness slowly returning.

Oh right, she remembers—last night… she was solidly slapped by San Yue Qi? Then… she passed out?

She props herself up, instinctively touches her poor cheek; the texture is indeed unpleasant.

Looking around the room, she's the only one on the bed; San Yue Qi is nowhere to be seen.

"San Yue?"

She calls out vaguely, her voice distorted by the swollen cheek.

No one answers.

Star pulls the blanket aside, steps onto the floor, and immediately feels something soft underfoot.

She looks down—

She sees "Jizi big sister" sprawled on the floor in a four‑limb spread, deep‑red hair tangled, still wearing that cute pajama set, eyes tightly shut, apparently still sleeping.

More striking, on her left cheek is a faint, slightly reddened handprint!

Its position mirrors exactly the one on Star's own face, like a reflected image.

Star: "???"

What's going on? How did San Yue Qi also get slapped? Who did it?

Star, full of question marks, crouches, gently nudges the "Jizi" on the floor: "San Yue? San Yue Qi? Wake up, why are you sleeping on the floor?"

"Um… uh…"

San Yue Qi lets out a vague moan, long lashes flutter a few times, slowly opens her eyes.

At this moment she is full of bewilderment.

When her gaze lands on the clear handprint on Star's face, she visibly freezes, then lowers her sight and sees Star pointing at her own face.

"Ah!"

San Yue Qi subconsciously covered her left cheek, and felt the burning pain; Memory surged back instantly.

She sat up abruptly, unable to mind the rumpled pajamas and messy hair, pointed at Xing and blurted:

"Xing! You Sleepwalking!"

Xing: "... ah?"

She became even more bewildered.

Sleepwalking? Me?

San Yue Qi looked at Xing's completely out‑of‑it expression and realized she had been too agitated.

She inhaled deeply, rubbed her sore cheek, and tried to phrase: "Last night... do you remember what you were doing at the end?"

Xing tried to recall: "I... I remember you slapped me, then everything went black before my eyes... after that I don't know."

"Right, you fainted."

San Yue Qi nodded, a helpless grin on her face, "When I saw you faint, I tried to pull you back onto the bed... but as soon as I got close, you suddenly sat up straight! Your eyes were still closed!"

"Ah?" Xing opened his mouth wide.

"Then you started... doing all sorts of strange motions!"

San Yue Qi gestured, trying to recreate the bizarre scene, "It was like swinging a stick, the movements were absurdly fast! You were muttering something, I couldn't understand a word!"

Xing was taken aback.

"I was terrified then, tried calling out to you, asking if you were having a nightmare..."

San Yue Qi continued, her expression a bit hurt, "Then you, you suddenly made a particularly... particularly swift turn; I couldn't even see the motion, and you raised your hand and slapped me!"

She pointed at the red mark on her face, "You used that hand! The force was terrifying! I was flung away, hit a cabinet, and then... I remembered nothing."

Xing: "..."

She lowered her head to glance at her right hand, then looked up at the heavy slap mark on San Yue Qi's face, a strong sense of guilt surging in her heart.

Although she had no memory at all, seeing San Yue Qi's miserable state and hearing the description, it seemed... could it really have been me?

"Did I... did I really Sleepwalk? And slap you?"

Xing's voice sounded a bit hoarse.

"Then what!"

San Yue Qi pointed at the two symmetrical swollen red faces, "The evidence is conclusive! Both witness (me) and physical evidence (the face) are present!"

The two stared at each other, the air thick with awkwardness.