Chapter 94: Sister?

"Xing?" she muttered vaguely, instinctively thinking it was her gray‑haired companion.

"Wasn't she detained by the Black Tower Lady in the simulated universe to 'make amends'? Could it be... she slipped back in secretly?"

The thought snapped her to a few moments of clarity, and with a hint of "caught in the act" excitement, she tiptoed forward a few steps, about to speak.

But in the next second, both her steps and thoughts froze.

On the bar stool beside Xing, another person was still seated!

Because of the lighting and angle, she hadn't noticed it at first.

Now seeing the person's profile and part of the front, San Yue Qi blinked, wondering if she was still half‑asleep and seeing a double image.

She strained her eyes and finally saw that it was a girl in a black‑red dress, lounging lazily against the bar, idly twirling an empty wine glass.

San Yue Qi was stunned, eyes wide open.

(Wait... this person... feels...)

(... a bit like me?)

The girl—Chang Ye Yue—seemed to have sensed it early and slowly turned her head.

Her crimson eyes seemed to emit a faint glow in the dimness, her gaze drifting lightly onto San Yue Qi, and the corner of her mouth curled into a slightly playful arc.

She said nothing, just smiled and gave San Yue Qi a gentle wave.

As if pulled by an invisible thread, San Yue Qi inexplicably walked toward her.

She first went to Xing's side, as if it didn't concern her, carefully tugged the sleeve of the gray coat, lowered her voice and asked, "Xing... who is she?"

A Xing's reaction was unusually calm.

She simply turned, glanced at San Yue Qi with her dull‑glint gold eyes, then, without a word, lifted the cup of liquid—unknown whether water or something else—in front of her, turned briskly, ran to the nearby sofa area and sat down, isolating herself from the delicate atmosphere.

San Yue Qi was bewildered, watching A Xing move aside.

(Hey! Xing! Don't go! What's going on?!!)

San Yue Qi let out a silent scream in her mind, feeling even more isolated and helpless.

Now she had to face this stranger who nonetheless felt oddly familiar, all alone.

At that moment Chang Ye Yue gave a mysterious smile and said, "Guess?"

Her voice carried a low, husky rasp, starkly different from San Yue Qi's crisp tone, yet like a stone dropped into a still lake, it sent ripples through San Yue's heart.

San Yue Qi was drawn back to attention by that voice; she forced herself to stay calm and carefully examined the girl before her.

The more she looked, the stranger's uncanny familiarity and dissonance grew stronger.

Aside from differences in hair and eye color and temperament, the person before her was essentially... like seeing herself in a warped mirror!

An absurd yet utterly natural thought surfaced.

San Yue Qi hesitated, then carefully answered, "You... you couldn't possibly be my... relative?"

After all, in the vast universe, a lost sister seemed more plausible than some of the sixty‑seven back‑story scenarios she had prepared for herself.

Hearing that answer, Chang Ye Yue let out a mute laugh, a sound like night wind brushing a wind chime, carrying an indefinable nuance.

She shook her head, the crimson eyes shimmering, and in her distinctive voice said, "Nope~ try again? A hint: my name is—Chang Ye Yue. Logically, I should be your... sister."

Then, she gracefully extended her hand.

(Chang Ye Yue? Sister?)

The information overload caused San Yue Qi's brain to crash again.

She looked at the outstretched hand, then at the face bearing a confident smile, and instinctively reached out her own hand.

Then, Chang Ye Yue's fingers, gentle yet undeniable, interlocked with hers.

The warm contact of their palms gave San Yue Qi a sudden shiver.

Before she could react, Chang Ye Yue gently pressed, pulling them closer until San Yue Qi could clearly see her own dazed reflection in the crimson eyes, and sense a faint fragrance on her, unlike her own—a scent like midnight orchids.

Chang Ye Yue watched San Yue Qi still playing the clueless "who am I, where am I" act, couldn't help finding it amusing, her crimson eyes curving into a crescent.

"You... you really are my sister?"

San Yue Qi muttered in disbelief, her voice as soft as if talking to herself.

Chang Ye Yue toyed with San Yue Qi's finger and said, "Hmm, dear."

Her fingertips gently stroked the back of San Yue Qi's hand, eliciting a subtle tickle.

"Dear"—those two words struck like a tiny thunderclap, finally jolting San Yue Qi awake.

She snapped back to herself, realizing the distance between them had crossed a safe boundary, her cheek flushing with a "swish" of redness.

She, like a startled rabbit, leapt back several steps, breaking free of the interlocked fingers, her heart pounding "thump thump".

Chang Ye Yue tilted her head, still wearing a mysterious smile.

"W-wait... this... I..." San Yue Qi stammered, at a loss for words.

She felt she urgently needed outside help, her gaze darting left and right, hoping Xing would come to assist.

(Xing! Xing! Say something quickly! What on earth is happening?!!)

However, A Xing in the distance paid no attention to this dramatic kin‑recognition scene.

She didn't realize when she had already cooked a bucket of Bubble Noodles, now cradling the bucket, eating the Bubble Noodles, earnestly "slurp slurp" sucking the noodles.

The rich food aroma spread out, standing out starkly amid the tense atmosphere.

It made San Yue Qi smell the scent, and she couldn't help swallowing.

(It's over... now there's not even anyone to discuss with!)

San Yue Qi refocused her gaze on Chang Ye Yue.

The girl before her bore a strikingly similar contour, yet cloaked in a completely different night‑shade and mystery, as if a reflection stepping out from a forgotten dream.

"You... who exactly are you?"

San Yue Qi's voice trembled in a way she hadn't even noticed; the question was not only directed at the other, but seemed to probe the frozen, blank part of her own past.

Chang Ye Yue tilted her head, her crimson eyes glimmering lazily and profoundly in the dim light, as if she had already anticipated the question.

Her tone carried a matter‑of‑fact calmness, even a barely perceptible playfulness: "Didn't I tell you? Chang Ye Yue, your sister."

"How could that be?!"

San Yue Qi blurted it out, the answer being so shocking that her brain instinctively resisted.

"How could this not be possible?"

Chang Ye Yue retorted, her tone gentle yet bearing a strange Persuasion.

She lifted her hand, her fingertips tracing an elegant line in the air, its edge shimmering with flowing light, as if a mirror forged from shadows and Memory, silently hovering between the two.

The mirror surface clearly reflected their appearances—identical pastel hair tones, equally delicate faces, one like an ice crystal sparkling under a clear sky, the other like the tranquil moonlight of midnight.

"Look, we two, how alike."

The image in the mirror struck San Yue's sight and stirred the dormant ice lake deep within her heart.

"But… but…"

San Yue Qi's bewildered expression was almost a tangible question mark; within her limited Cognition, she saw herself as a solitary traveler awakened from eternal ice, bound to the family of the Starry Train, her past a void.

Sister?

This kind of term, laden with blood ties and shared memories, was to her more unbelievable than Pam suddenly growing taller.

"I… how could I possibly have a sister? It's not… this…"