Baby, I Am You

The door was pulled open from the inside.

Lin Mo stood at the doorway. "You're back?"

Zheng Yuan loosened her grip on the grocery bags. "It really is Xiao Mo. When did you get back?"

"Just now." Lin Mo stepped aside to make way, already walking back toward the computer desk. "Seeing you weren't home, I started a game."

Lin Mo played the game while turning his head to look at Zheng Yuan, his hands still continuously clicking the keyboard and mouse.

Zheng Yuan didn't understand, but Xie Yuling and Ning Qingcheng both knew how insane this level of multitasking was.

He wasn't even trying to hide it anymore.

However, Xie Yuling couldn't help but complain, "With you not at home, my mom said there's no one to finish all the food."

Hearing this, Zheng Yuan immediately swatted Xie Yuling's hand.

"Can you stop talking nonsense? Since Xiao Mo is back, I'll go downstairs and buy some more groceries."

"Auntie Zheng, you really don't have to. I brought back some local specialties from Tianjing. We can just bring them up and eat them later, no need to buy extra food."

"How could that do?"

Zheng Yuan waved her hand, already stepping into the stairwell. "There's nothing good to eat at home, just wait for me a bit."

She closed the door behind her.

After the sound of the building's iron gate opening and closing echoed from below.

Ning Qingcheng finally lifted the bags in her hands and smoothly took the bag of shrimp from Xie Yuling. "Alright, then I'll head up first to do my homework. Middle school holiday homework is seriously a lot, it's killing me."

After saying that, she left, conveniently closing the door behind her with practiced familiarity.

The room suddenly fell quiet.

Lin Mo had just finished his game. He took off his headphones, hung them on the edge of the desk, and spun his chair half a circle to face Xie Yuling.

Resting his chin on his hand, his tone carried a hint of relaxation. "Well, did you miss me?"

Xie Yuling didn't speak.

She walked over and buried her face directly into his shoulder.

This action was more direct than any verbal answer.

The young girl rarely expressed herself so straightforwardly.

With a soft and fragrant body in his arms, Lin Mo gently stroked her hair.

"What's wrong? Still scared?"

After a moment of silence, Xie Yuling finally spoke, her voice muffled against his shoulder. "A little scared, but I'm more worried about Miaomiao."

"Hmm?"

"It's like she became a completely different person. Domineering, calm... I swept my divine sense over her, and it's still the same soul, but something just isn't right."

Lin Mo patted Xie Yuling's back gently, not rushing to reply.

"It's fine. At most, it's just a self-defense mechanism. Plus, don't forget she also stepped in to help you guys, so it's just a more dominant version of Miaomiao."

Xie Yuling didn't make a sound, nor did she argue.

Even so.

"I understand. I'm just wondering if she will appear more and more, and then the original Miaomiao will appear less and less. Like in the movies, where one personality slowly replaces another."

Xie Yuling had read some psychiatric books over the past few days, but without professional guidance, just reading was merely theoretical.

"It's okay. I'll look into it. You don't need to worry too much about what might happen; I'll protect her."

Xie Yuling nodded slightly, her mood relaxing a bit.

Lin Mo looked down, reached out to lift the jade pendant hanging from her neck, and infused a stream of spiritual energy into it.

The jade pendant grew slightly warm, which Xie Yuling could feel.

"How much was consumed?"

"Not too much, but it still needed to be replenished." Lin Mo let the pendant drop back into place.

"You were very brave, using your own body to shield Yunlu from bullets. Weren't you afraid this jade pendant wouldn't be able to block that many? Why did you even think of taking a bullet for her?"

"If I didn't block it, she would have died. If she died, you would probably be very unhappy, right?"

"Yeah, but if she died... then you..."

Before Lin Mo could finish, Xie Yuling reached up and pinched his lips together.

"Don't say things that undermine our unity. If I hadn't done it, you would have hated me, and I would have hated myself."

Xie Yuling grumbled softly, then lightly punched Lin Mo's chest.

"Meanie!"

System: Lin Mo! You're so bad!

Chu Miaomiao was indeed experiencing some issues.

She had been dreaming constantly lately.

The version of herself in her dreams seemed different.

No longer timid, no longer fearful. Even when facing Xie Yuling and Jiang Yunlu, she stood tall and confident.

"You go slice the braised beef, and you go check on the soup."

Jiang Yunlu picked up the kitchen knife to slice the meat, while Xie Yuling turned to check on the soup.

Chu Miaomiao directed the two of them, her own hands not idle either. In the wok, she was stir-frying tofu with pork belly, a very homely dish.

Walking out with a plate, she raised her voice toward the sofa: "Everyone, go wash your hands! It's time to eat!"

"Alright."

Lin Mo's lazy response drifted over from behind the sofa as he stood up. With a child tucked under each arm, he sauntered toward the dining table and casually asked, "Honey, what's for dinner tonight?"

With just that one sentence, the dream came to an abrupt halt.

The dream stopped right there.

Chu Miaomiao sat up abruptly in bed.

Outside the window, the moonlight was pale. A woman was sitting on the bay window in an extremely casual posture, legs crossed, looking down at her.

Chu Miaomiao stared for two seconds, yet not a trace of panic rose in her heart.

Strange.

Logically speaking, with a person appearing out of thin air in her bedroom in the middle of the night, she should have at least screamed.

But she was incredibly calm, even feeling a sense of familiarity.

The moonlight illuminated that face clearly.

Chu Miaomiao froze for a moment.

That face was exactly the same as hers, yet not entirely identical. The features were hers, but the aura felt as though it had been completely remolded. Gone was that cowering, timid vibe. Just sitting there, the woman exuded an indescribable sense of composure.

It was what she looked like in her dreams.

And the version of herself she had always dreamed of becoming.

"How was it? Was the dream pleasant?"

The woman's voice was lazy, carrying a hint of teasing.

"Who are you?" Chu Miaomiao asked, her voice a bit hoarse.

"It's a very cliché novel trope, isn't it?"

The woman hopped down from the bay window, sat on the edge of the bed, and reached out to touch Chu Miaomiao's face. "Baby, I am you."

Chu Miaomiao didn't dodge.

"You are me?"

"Yes, I am the Chu Miaomiao you want to be the most."

The woman pulled her into an embrace, her tone gentle. "You hate your current self. You hate always having to be saved. You hate always being the most timid one out of the three of you. Since that's the case, why not become me?"

Chu Miaomiao didn't speak; she just shook her head.

She couldn't articulate why she was shaking her head—whether she was denying those words, or simply didn't know how to respond.

"If I become you... what will happen?"

The woman paused by her ear before speaking.

"You will get Lin Mo."

"That scene in your dream will become reality."

Chu Miaomiao's breath hitched.

She wanted to say it was impossible, that it sounded too absurd, but the images from that dream just happened to surface in her mind at this exact moment.

Lin Mo carrying two kids, lazily calling her "honey"—that kind of warm, everyday domestic life was something she had never even dared to dream deeply about.

"How do I become you?"

The words blurted out before she even realized it.

The woman smiled, released her, and stood up to walk toward the bay window. With her back to her, she said, "It's very simple. As long as you are willing, I am always here."

Moonlight streamed in through the window. The woman's silhouette grew increasingly faint, like ink bleeding across waterlogged paper, until absolutely nothing remained.

Chu Miaomiao sat in the darkness. As she snapped back to reality, she found her palms coated in a thin layer of sweat.

She sat there for a long while before finally lying back down.

Even with her eyes closed, those words kept echoing in her mind.

She told herself to stop thinking about it, yet her fingers unconsciously tightened around the edge of the blanket.

Sleep eluded her.