Lying alone on the bed, staring at the ceiling in her room.

Chi Xiaoxiao had been thinking for a long time. She kept feeling she'd seen Liu Xiazhi's face somewhere before, but couldn't recall it from memory.

After who knows how long, when the room had fallen into silence, Chi Xiaoxiao who was lying flat on the bed suddenly thought of something. She let out an "Ah!" and abruptly sat up.

Her face filled with shock as she stared straight ahead.

She remembered.

Remembered... where she'd seen that person before!

During the weekend when she went upstairs to chat with that woman, she'd seen a photo placed on the bedside table. The girl in that photo... looked remarkably similar to Liu Xiazhi.

Moreover...

Now that she thought about it, that woman living alone upstairs also resembled Liu Xiazhi in appearance.

Comparing the two, the difference was that Liu Xiazhi was younger, more lively and full of vitality, unlike Li Wanran who always looked... listless.

The moment this realization struck, deep confusion followed.

Chi Xiaoxiao knew a bit about Liu Xiazhi.

Though not extensively, she knew her family was quite wealthy - this was evident from how she dressed. Though different from how she imagined rich people would be... but why would Li Wanran upstairs have a childhood photo of Liu Xiazhi?

Having watched plenty of TV dramas, Chi Xiaoxiao couldn't help but let her imagination run wild.

Perhaps like most TV drama plots - Liu Xiazhi's parents divorced, then her father found a new partner, while her birth mother ended up in such circumstances due to various coincidences...

Thinking carefully, although Li Wanran's living conditions were somewhat simple, during their conversations, it wasn't hard to discern from her speech that...

Something extremely dramatic must have happened to her!

Affair? Bankruptcy? Rekindled old flames???

One word after another surfaced in Chi Xiaoxiao's mind. In this short time, her brain had already started automatically playing out a TV drama series. One touching scene after another nearly brought her to tears.

After a long while...

Chi Xiaoxiao's emotions suddenly stabilized.

Lowering her head, she let out a long sigh, then raised her hand and lightly smacked her own head several times as if punishing herself.

Then... she fell backward.

Lying back on the bed again.

She pulled the sheet up to cover her shoulders.

Chi Xiaoxiao muttered to herself self-deprecatingly.

"Getting carried away with wild imaginations again... How could such dramatic things happen in real life..."

Thinking about all the scenarios she'd conjured up, Chi Xiaoxiao suddenly felt somewhat helpless.

She pulled the sheet over her head.

Mumbling.

"Should watch less TV dramas from now on... It's rotting my brain."

——————————————————

Nighttime.

22:42

Chi Xiaoxiao cautiously pushed open her bedroom door. After tossing and turning in bed for nearly an hour, she still couldn't calm her mind.

Her parents had returned from work, taken quick showers and gone to sleep.

The living room lights were off too.

As a somewhat obsessive-compulsive ordinary girl, Chi Xiaoxiao felt that if she didn't figure out the relationship between her upstairs neighbor and her desk mate tonight... she probably wouldn't be able to sleep.

Thus, wearing thin pajamas, she quietly grabbed her phone for light and went to her front door.

Carefully opening the door, she stealthily stepped out.

After completing these actions, standing outside the door, she let out a long exhale.

Taking the keys from her pajama pocket, with her phone in the other hand serving as a flashlight, she headed up the stairs.

The night was chilly, especially in the stairwell.

Fortunately it wasn't far. After climbing the stairs, Chi Xiaoxiao soon reached Li Wanran's door.

The keys in her hand were the ones Li Wanran had given her last week.

Saying she could come chat when her parents weren't home.

But...

At this hour, wouldn't she be asleep already?

Though she considered this, her burning curiosity ultimately drove Chi Xiaoxiao to raise her hand and knock.

"Knock knock knock."

While calling out.

"Auntie... are you home?"

After one call got no response, she tried again after a short while, still receiving no answer.

Seeing this, Chi Xiaoxiao thought to herself.

She must really be asleep...

Making to leave, she had just turned toward the stairs when she abruptly stopped.

For some reason, Chi Xiaoxiao turned back to look at the door.

She had this feeling... that something bad might have happened.

This sensation was strange. Perhaps influenced by the dark hallway, but after hesitating for a long time, Chi Xiaoxiao ultimately inserted the key into the lock.

And turned it.

"Click, click."

Two sounds later, the door opened.

As Chi Xiaoxiao pushed the door open, light from inside spilled out.

Illuminating the previously pitch-black surroundings.

The lights inside were still on.

Standing at the doorway, looking at the empty but lit living room, Chi Xiaoxiao hesitated before finally stepping inside.

Closing the door behind her.

"Auntie..."

She called out softly, lowering her footsteps as she slowly moved toward the bedroom.

Reaching the bedroom door, she pushed it open.

Only to see a dark room and... Li Wanran seemingly asleep on the bed.

Chi Xiaoxiao used her phone's light to illuminate the scene.

"Auntie... are you asleep?"

"......"

Getting no response, Chi Xiaoxiao prepared to close the door and leave, not wanting to disturb her rest.

But just as she was about to shut the door, her eyes subconsciously fell on the bedside table.

She remembered that photo she'd seen should be there.

If she could just take a picture of it and show Liu Xiazhi tomorrow, her questions would probably be answered.

Thinking this, Chi Xiaoxiao abandoned her plan to leave. Instead, she carefully pushed the door open and crept inside.

Approaching the bed, fearful of waking the sleeping woman, Chi Xiaoxiao turned on her phone's camera and aimed it at the photo frame.

Just as she was about to take the picture, she noticed a small bottle placed nearby.

She froze.

Reaching out, she picked up the bottle.

Using her phone's light, she read the label clearly.

[Triazolam Tablets]

Commonly known as sleeping pills.

Chi Xiaoxiao seemed to turn to stone. Slowly, she turned her gaze aside.

Looking at Li Wanran with her eyes tightly shut, completely motionless.

Her face... instantly drained of color.