You Xue opened her eyes, woken by the pain.
It seemed the painkillers had worn off, probably because too much time had passed.
After getting up, she took another pill.
She had taken yesterday off, but today she had to go to work.
After a quick wash, You Xue headed to [Scar Workshop].
Pushing open the door, she saw Sanjian Ying organizing something at the front desk.
“Good morning, Sister Ying.”
You Xue greeted her.
Sanjian Ying nodded.
“Good morning, You Xue…”
She hesitated for a moment, then said helplessly.
“I wonder if you actually listened to me at all. You changed your clothes, but the style is still as outdated as before.”
You Xue blinked, confused.
“I think it’s fine.”
“It’s only because you’re naturally cute. If I wore such old-fashioned clothes, people would have been sick of me long ago.”
Sanjian Ying sighed.
“I wouldn’t get sick of you, Sister Ying.”
You Xue’s tone was firm.
Sanjian Ying let out a dry laugh.
“You’re clever in the strangest ways.”
She came out from behind the counter, walked up to You Xue, and tugged at her collar.
She also wanted to poke You Xue’s cheek, but You Xue dodged.
“What I mean is, you could buy some decent clothes,” Sanjian Ying said, spinning around, her purple-black skirt flaring like blooming petals.
“Like me—buy a pretty dress.”
You Xue instinctively shook her head.
“What’s wrong?”
Sanjian Ying looked puzzled.
“I don’t really like wearing skirts…”
You Xue said awkwardly.
Since crossing into this world, she had grown used to many things.
She had gotten used to being the childhood friend in a novel, used to life in the slums, used to the twists of fate that always seemed to follow her.
But there were still many things she hadn’t truly gotten used to—like not thinking of herself as a real girl, so it never occurred to her to wear pretty skirts.
After all, in her previous life, she was a boy.
She just couldn’t adjust.
“Even if you’re naturally pretty, having terrible taste in clothes won’t do. Maybe that’s why no one likes you.”
Sanjian Ying winked, her tone completely teasing.
You Xue turned her head away.
“I don’t want anyone to like me anyway.”
Sanjian Ying looked at the somewhat aloof girl and asked tentatively.
“You really don’t have someone you like, You Xue?”
You Xue was about to shake her head.
But then the image involuntarily came back to her mind—a boy with gentle eyes, smiling, saying to her.
‘Like the locomotive and the cars, no matter where we go, we’ll be together.’
Promises were always so beautiful, but they didn’t belong to her.
Seeing the girl lost in thought, Sanjian Ying’s eyes lit up.
She had only asked tentatively, but she didn’t expect this emotionally thin girl to actually have someone she couldn’t forget.
“Really not?”
Sanjian Ying drew out her words.
You Xue snapped back to reality and met Sanjian Ying’s expectant eyes.
Flustered, she looked away.
“…No.”
“Then what were you just thinking about?”
“Work.”
You Xue’s voice returned to its usual calm.
“Alright.”
Since You Xue didn’t want to answer, Sanjian Ying didn’t press further.
She just smiled and shook her head.
After all, this girl was just her employee.
She didn’t need to concern herself with so many things.
But those clear eyes always reminded Sanjian Ying of the younger sister she had been forced to part with.
So innocent yet strong, like a little beast surviving alone in the wild.
So withdrawn, always stirring waves in Sanjian Ying’s heart.
It made her think she couldn’t just leave this child alone.
But she wouldn’t bother her during work.
After work, she could take her to buy some clothes that a girl her age should wear.
Mm, decided.
Of course, You Xue had no idea what Sanjian Ying was thinking.
She just assumed she had finally given up teasing her, so she went to her workstation.
For the past few days, she had been making her own throwing knives.
But her actual work hadn’t even started yet.
At that thought, no matter how good her attitude was, she couldn’t hold it together.
Letting out a deep sigh, she pulled out the unfinished orders from the drawer.
So-called engraving wasn’t much different from carving—it just required using specific materials to etch the correct patterns onto an item.
This would guide the magic power stored in the item to form a specific shape, releasing an effect similar to a supernatural ability.
It sounded simple, but there were very few engravers on the market.
That was because, aside from the special materials one could buy, engraving required a certain power from the engraver themselves.
Spiritual power.
Every engraving was inseparable from the infusion of spiritual power.
The engraving’s ability to guide magic power was an extension of the engraver’s spirit.
But in the original story, You Xue didn’t actually have the aptitude to become an engraver.
Now, it might be that she originally had this ability, or perhaps it was a blessing from the gods.
Becoming an engraver at least allowed her to use a little power, so she wouldn’t die meaninglessly like in the original story.
She focused and looked at the order details—she needed to engrave a [Guardian] engraving onto a batch of prototype talismans.
You Xue was familiar with it.
The buyer of this order was the Academy, and these talismans would become protective equipment for students during field training.
That meant Su Li would also receive the talisman she made?
No, better not think that way.
After all, she wasn’t the only employee here.
She should think about what to do next.
She had only taken out the first wave of magic bomb deployers by surprise.
This would definitely alert the Academy, but Dark Crow wouldn’t let things go easily.
However, if everything was out in the open, Dark Crow couldn’t compare to the Academy in strength.
But even though the Academy had powerful supernatural ability teachers, they also had students to protect.
So the Academy could only defend passively.
And the talented students in the Academy were the most likely targets.
Su Li was one of them.
So she should find time to go check on the Academy again.
You Xue made her decision.
After engraving a pattern onto the talisman, You Xue felt dizzy.
She held her forehead and leaned on the table to rest.
This was a sign of spiritual power depletion.
Before, she could endure it, but now the dull pain in her head intertwined with the ache in her chest, mixed with dizziness, assaulted her mind.
Cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
Painkillers… where?
Her other hand fumbled in her pocket.
The moment her fingertips touched the bottle, You Xue breathed a sigh of relief.
Good thing she hadn’t forgotten.
She quickly shook out two pills and swallowed them dry.
Now she just had to wait for the medicine to take effect.
You Xue lay down on the table, burying her face in her arms, closing her eyes.
She suddenly wanted some candy.
Preferably apple-flavored.
That taste could remind her of the hospital bed in her previous life, filled with the smell of disinfectant.
Whenever her body hurt, her mother would comfort her.
She would say the pain would pass, that everything would be okay.
Her mother liked to peel apples by the bedside, cutting off one perfect spiral of peel after another, then slicing them into small pieces and feeding them to her one by one.
The sweet-and-sour juice danced on her taste buds, and she felt the pain ease a little.
Actually, no one would like a life like this.
It was just that there were people who cared about her, so it seemed she could feel a bit of attachment.