Chapter 2: Pleated Skirt

“Phew.”

Jiang Ling was past the point of turning red-faced whenever she saw her own naked body.

She was already a mature woman.

A small task like taking a shower was practically nothing.

After she stepped out, Lu Yuyao had left a light on for her.

Once the living room light was turned off, Jiang Ling headed up to the second floor and opened the door to the room next to Lu Yuyao’s.

This was her room.

Though it wasn’t as spacious as Lu Yuyao’s master bedroom, it had enough space.

Jiang Ling had decorated it to be very cozy.

There was a desk, a vanity, and a standing wardrobe—it was very simple.

In Lu Yuyao’s words, it didn’t have even a hint of a girl’s flavor!

Even that vanity was something Lu Yuyao had bought and forced into the room.

Jiang Ling hadn’t used it many times; after all, she didn’t have much makeup, and being a natural beauty, she was plenty pretty enough without it.

Returning to the bedroom, she found a message on her phone from “Sister Xi.”

[Get online.]

She was always so decisive.

[Roger that.]

Jiang Ling didn’t dawdle.

She hopped onto the bed and turned on her phone, which was laggy as hell.

This crappy phone—she was going to replace it sooner or later.

The boss was already waiting in the room, and she still couldn’t get into the game for the life of her.

If it weren’t for the fact that she played Yuumi, which wasn’t affected by the phone’s performance, she would have replaced it long ago.

Looking at her current economic situation, although she had saved up a little bit of money, she preferred to save as much as possible to escape her life as a Maid sooner.

The boss was still on Kai’Sa, and Jiang Ling was attached to her. Her praises never stopped until her throat started feeling a bit dry.

“Sister Xi” was actually quite good; her own account was also at the Master rank.

Although Jiang Ling played like trash, she could tell that if Sister Xi took the game seriously, reaching Challenger probably wouldn’t be a problem.

“Ling’er, you’re in Lotus City, right?”

Jiang Ling’s screen name was Jiang Ling’er.

The boss always called her Ling’er.

A cool, crisp voice suddenly came through the microphone. Jiang Ling blinked, then answered hesitantly, “That’s right. What is it, Sister Xi?”

During their previous small talk, Jiang Ling had accidentally let slip that she lived in Lotus City.

“I’m going to Lotus City next week as well. Can we meet then?”

????

Wait, so it turns out you also crave my body!

Jiang Ling chuckled to herself, but her words carried a faint hint of rejection.

“Sister Xi is coming to Lotus City? Welcome, welcome. But, I’m usually a bit busy, and I have other things to do next week…”

“Is that so? That’s a pity then.”

Sister Xi didn’t seem to think much of it, only sounding regretful.

“Then we’ll talk about it when there’s another chance. Regardless, I’ll be living in Lotus City long-term after this, so there’s no rush.”

“Sister Xi, why are you coming to Lotus City?”

“For school. I’m reporting to a new high school next Monday.”

Sister Xi is a student?

A high schooler?

This was clearly something Jiang Ling hadn’t expected.

She had been calling her ‘Sister Xi’ one after another, and it turned out the person on the other side was a high school student?

Jiang Ling felt inexplicably embarrassed.

For the rest of the gaming session, those two words, “Sister Xi,” which she had grown so accustomed to saying, became difficult to utter.

She could only find a random excuse to slip away.

Jiang Ling lay on the bed and sighed.

No one told her that doing playmate services required face-to-face meetings.

Although she had the right to refuse directly, thinking about Sister Xi—no, Boss Xi—and how decisive she was every time she transferred money, Jiang Ling couldn’t bear to refuse.

This was her first big boss, after all.

She would just delay the meeting as long as possible.

***

On the other side.

Exiting the game.

The girl sitting at the desk had a dazed look in her eyes as she let out a melancholy sigh.

The latest model phone, its screen still glowing, was placed casually on the table.

The thin silk pajamas covered the girl’s youthful but seductive body.

Then, the confusion in Fang Chenxi’s eyes vanished, replaced by a playful smile.

“Jiang Ling, Jiang Ling’er… let me guess, what kind of connection do you two have?”

The familiar voice made Fang Chenxi certain she hadn’t recognized the wrong person.

The corners of Fang Chenxi’s mouth curled up.

She was becoming increasingly interested in Jiang Ling’s changes in this life.

She remembered that in her previous life, Jiang Ling hadn’t done any playmate services; she had spent all day trying to trip her up.

It couldn’t be that this person also…

That would be very interesting.

Fang Chenxi smiled brightly.

Fang Chenxi had experienced Rebirth.

A Rebirth without reason.

Fang Chenxi had accepted it all very quickly, feeling no real inner turmoil.

Over the past dozen days, she had slowly come to terms with this fact, and she teased her enemy from her previous life—Jiang Ling—appropriately every day.

Jiang Ling was very different from the image in her memory.

Not only that.

She had also awakened some rather incredible memories.

Things like being a novel protagonist…

Fang Chenxi’s eyes narrowed.

Moonlight fell through the window onto the girl’s petite face.

Her dark long hair seemed to glow, becoming brilliant.

Fang Chenxi finally let out a sigh.

Fang Chenxi’s heart was conflicted.

She had thought a lot these past few days.

She was happy to see Lu Yuyao again.

She was her dearest friend and childhood friend.

But if it weren’t for their bond as protagonists, would they have ended up together?

Their story had been preordained.

In her mind, Fang Chenxi saw a flash of her previous life.

When her confession succeeded and she kicked Jiang Ling out of Lu Yuyao’s house, she remembered the struggle and pain in Lu Yuyao’s eyes.

Even after they were together, they hadn’t had a single bit of contact beyond friendship.

Fang Chenxi’s gaze gradually became impatient.

She shook her head, tossing the messy thoughts aside.

She hated agonizing over these troublesome matters.

Even so.

On this sultry night, the girl lay in bed for a long time without falling asleep.

Jiang Ling had a nightmare.

She dreamed that after school started, she was caught by Fang Chenxi in front of the whole school and locked in a dark room to be severely disciplined… no, no.

Jiang Ling got up and washed her face.

Looking at her clean, oval-faced reflection in the mirror, Jiang Ling comforted herself.

How could Fang Chenxi possibly recognize her?

As long as she made changes from the book, she could successfully escape the disputes between the original protagonists.

She should think more about the future.

Once she got rid of her life as a Maid, Jiang Ling would go to university, stay far away from the two female leads, stay far away from Lotus City, and continue to live a wonderful life in this familiar yet strange world.

Jiang Ling broke into a smile.

She had always been a very optimistic person.

Time quickly moved to the weekend.

Tomorrow was the day to enroll.

Becoming a high school student again, Jiang Ling felt more anticipation than anything.

What would the life of a high school girl be like?

What kind of female friends would she make?

Cough cough.

After all, the previous Jiang Ling was a lifelong single dog.

The idea of holding hands with a girl suddenly became within reach.

Jiang Ling was still a little excited.

“Jiang Ling?”

There was a knock on the bedroom door, followed immediately by it opening.

The silly grin on Jiang Ling’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a helpless sigh.

“Eldest Young Lady, didn’t I say to remember to give me a heads-up before coming to find me?”

Lu Yuyao’s eyes were mischievous.

She laughed and said, “But I already knocked!”

The gap between the knock and the door opening was less than a second!

“Eldest Young Lady, school starts tomorrow. Remember to be prepared,” Jiang Ling smiled helplessly.

Lu Yuyao had always been this eccentric; there was no point in saying more, so she changed the subject.

Lu Yuyao always liked to stage sneak attacks at night.

There was no real reason; if asked, she’d say she was checking on her little Maid.

She had almost caught Jiang Ling doing playmate work several times, so Jiang Ling would sometimes lock the door. Today was an exception.

Lu Yuyao nodded.

“Don’t worry, everything is packed.”

There actually wasn’t much to prepare for enrollment.

Backpack, stationery, the summer homework assigned early by the school…

“Have you looked at your uniform? I feel like the uniforms for our tenth grade are so ordinary. Are ours the same?”

Lu Yuyao asked curiously.

Uniform?

Hearing Lu Yuyao mention it, Jiang Ling remembered.

It seemed the uniform had already been placed in her wardrobe when she first arrived.

“I haven’t looked yet either. Let me find it.”

Jiang Ling stood up and went to the wardrobe, rummaging through it. In the bottom of a layer, she found the uniform wrapped in a plastic bag.

“After all that, our styles are the same, just with different colors.”

Jiang Ling tore open the plastic bag.

Lu Yuyao’s gaze turned from curious to ordinary.

Lu Yuyao’s uniform was a black and white color scheme.

The color difference was likely used to distinguish grade levels.

There were two sets of uniforms: one for summer and one for winter.

The upper half of the summer uniform was a white short-sleeved shirt, paired with a brown knee-length pleated skirt, carrying the youthful vibe of a high schooler.

The winter uniform changed the top to a long-sleeved jacket and added a pair of black over-the-knee socks.

Jiang Ling felt the black over-the-knee socks in her hand.

The texture was actually quite good.

Jiang Ling unconsciously began to imagine what she would look like in the uniform, her face flushing slightly.

A grown man turning into a youthful and beautiful high school girl… it really was a bit too much.

“Want to try it on now?”

Lu Yuyao suggested.

“No way.”

“Tsk.”

“Then from now on, we’re classmates? Senior Ling?”

Lu Yuyao’s sweet smile made Jiang Ling hold her breath for a second.

What was with this ‘Senior Ling’ stuff?

Don’t start that Japanese anime routine with me!

Don’t you know how much damage a youthful, energetic girl can do to a shut-in?

Seeing Jiang Ling standing there dazed, Lu Yuyao burst into laughter.

Jiang Ling was like this sometimes—suddenly acting all silly and blank.

It was very interesting.

“Then, see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Maid Ling!”

“Goodnight… Eldest Young Lady.”