Iris invites you to connect to Bluetooth.

Half an hour later.

【Pleasure +999】x7

Su Qi returned to his room.

Naturally, nothing had happened during that half hour.

It was just that his cooking skills had been rather disappointing at dinner, so neither of them had eaten much.

As a result, his younger sister took matters into her own hands and whipped up a late-night snack.

Of course, her culinary skills weren’t much better either—she just boiled some dumplings for him.

Lying on his bed, he pulled out his phone.

【Iris invites you to connect via Bluetooth.】

Huh?

Was his sister planning to come clean because of that late-night snack?

She even changed her Bluetooth name to 【Iris】.

Su Qi was curious to see how this little brat intended to reveal the truth.

Accept.

【Iris has shared a photo with you.】

【View now: A picture of exclusive equipment with spoils of war.jpg】

【Iris: Pathetic big brother, no match for me.】

【Iris: Pathetic big brother, goodnight~】

Su Qi: ……

He had never imagined their identities would be exposed in such an absurd way…

Why did it feel like some bizarre plotline had been triggered?

And wasn’t there a hint of… role reversal here?

Could "The Sky of Fate" really be a documentary?

……

The next morning.

Sunlight seeped through the gaps in the curtains.

Su Qi, unusually, had trouble sleeping.

Last night, his sister had held his hand for a while.

In return, he had held onto her "equipment" for a bit—call it even.

And then there was that "pathetic big brother" remark, followed immediately by the rapid-fire notifications of points flooding his screen for seven straight seconds.

All of it had played on loop in his mind the entire night.

It gave him the absurd feeling that… the cabbage he’d been guarding might actually be the one doing the uprooting.

On the other hand… he couldn’t say he minded?

In fact… he might even be looking forward to it?

Ugh!

A true man stands tall between heaven and earth—how could he resign himself to being… beneath?

But if he didn’t resign himself, what else could he do?

Su Qi shook his head, trying to fling out those chaotic thoughts.

He got out of bed, washed up, and headed to the living room.

Liu Yuan’s door was still tightly shut.

Su Qi hesitated but decided not to knock.

Let her sleep a little longer.

He walked to the kitchen, planning to throw together a quick breakfast.

Opening the fridge, he found nothing but a few bottles of drinks, some frozen food, and… the pre-made meals he’d bought days ago.

Su Qi sighed.

When it came to life skills, he and Liu Yuan were truly a match made in mediocrity.

Back when they ate separately, it hadn’t mattered much. But now that they were sharing meals, maybe… they should improve their diet a little?

At the very least, they couldn’t keep relying on pre-made meals for every meal.

He took out two packs of frozen dumplings and tossed them into the microwave.

Just then, his phone buzzed.

Pulling it out, he saw the caller ID: "Old Jiang."

He answered.

"Hey, Old Jiang, calling this early? Ruining my beauty sleep."

Guardian Jiang’s voice came through, unusually serious: "Cut the jokes. Get over here now. I’ve approved what Su Muxue discussed with you yesterday, but there’s a new development."

Su Qi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I thought we were waiting for higher approval?"

"Things have changed. I have discretionary authority. Stop wasting time and get here." Guardian Jiang sounded exhausted. "I’ll send you the address."

Without waiting for a response, he hung up.

"Beep—beep—beep—"

Su Qi stared at his phone, thoughtful.

Guardian Jiang’s tone had been unusually grave.

Seemed like the situation with the Descenders was even more complicated than Su Muxue had described.

"Ding." A new message arrived—an address, not too far from his place, about a 20-minute cab ride.

Su Qi returned to the living room just as the microwave beeped. The dumplings were ready.

He grabbed two plates, divided the dumplings, and set them on the table.

After a moment’s thought, he also took out two cartons of milk from the fridge.

Once everything was set, he glanced again at Liu Yuan’s closed door but still didn’t disturb her.

He wolfed down his share of breakfast, changed clothes, grabbed his keys, and headed out.

Before leaving, he sent a quick text to his sister: "Guardian Jiang needs me for something. Heading out."

No response came.

Su Qi didn’t dwell on it and stepped out.

……

Not long after Su Qi left.

Liu Yuan’s door creaked open slightly.

A small head peeked out, scanning the room to confirm he was really gone before exhaling in relief and tiptoeing out.

Honestly, last night’s behavior had been… strange.

She was still herself.

No external influence had taken hold.

But there’d been a sense of… recklessness.

Like when someone acts impulsively in the heat of the moment.

That’s why she didn’t dare face Su Qi directly today.

Hiding behind the door, she could only catch fragmented thoughts drifting into her mind.

"Improve… meals."

"No more… pre-made food."

"Little sister’s dumpling skills need work."

She realized her ability wasn’t all that powerful.

It wasn’t mind-reading or eavesdropping on thoughts.

It was just…

She could pick up on things Su Qi wanted her to know but couldn’t bring himself to say.

The stronger his desire for her to know, the clearer the message.

For example, yesterday, when he was hiding behind the door, she could only sense faint emotions.

Today, she caught half a sentence…

As for why there was also a full sentence…

Ahem…

Just a coincidence.