Chapter 1: The Strange Place

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: The Strange Place

The night was cold.

Yet the courtyard of the Mo residence was warmer than it had been in years.

Lanterns hung beneath the eaves, their soft golden light illuminating the courtyard. The scent of roasted meat drifted through the air, mixed with the fragrance of wine and freshly prepared dishes.

For once, Mo Yunxui wasn’t the one running around the kitchen.

She wasn’t chopping vegetables.

She wasn’t checking whether the fire had gone out.

She wasn’t counting the remaining rice in the storeroom.

She wasn’t worrying about whether her younger siblings had eaten enough.

She was sitting.

And that alone felt strange.

"Big Sister, don’t touch that!"

A young man hurriedly snatched a bowl away from her.

Mo Yunxui stared at him.

"Why?"

"Because that’s mine."

"Since when?"

"Since I bought it."

"You bought the ingredients with whose money?"

The young man immediately fell silent.

The other two people at the table burst into laughter.

Mo Yichen’s expression darkened.

"Big Sister, must you expose me?"

Mo Yunxui smiled.

"Of course."

Across the table, Mo Yuze shook his head helplessly.

"You two haven’t changed at all."

"You’re one to talk," Mo Yulan said while arranging the dishes. "You nearly burned the chicken earlier."

"I was busy."

"You were reading."

"I was reading while cooking."

"You were reading medical records."

Mo Yuze coughed.

"That was important."

Mo Yunxui looked at the three of them.

Then she smiled.

A genuine, peaceful smile.

Her three younger siblings were all grown up.

The thought still felt strange.

When she had first taken responsibility for them, Mo Yichen had been barely old enough to reach the table. Mo Yuze had been a thin little boy who cried whenever he was hungry, while Mo Yulan had been a stubborn little girl who refused to sleep unless Mo Yunxui stayed beside her.

Back then, Mo Yunxui had been their sister.

But she had also been their mother, father, cook, teacher, doctor and tailor.

She had worked from dawn until night.

She had mended their clothes.

She had stretched every handful of grain.

She had gone hungry so they could eat.

She had even postponed her own marriage because she didn’t trust anyone else to care for them.

And now...

They were successful.

Mo Yichen had become a businessman.

Mo Yuze had become a physician.

Mo Yulan had established herself as a talented designer.

They had all left the small town where they had grown up.

They had all built lives of their own.

And tonight, they had returned home.

For her.

Mo Yunxui looked at the table.

There were dishes she hadn’t cooked herself.

That alone was suspicious.

"Who prepared all this?"

"We did," Mo Yulan said proudly.

Mo Yunxui immediately became suspicious.

"You?"

"Why do you sound so doubtful?"

"Because the last time you cooked, you nearly poisoned Yichen."

"I did not!"

"You put salt into the soup twice."

"That was an accident."

Mo Yichen pointed at her.

"You also put sugar in the vegetables."

"It was supposed to be sweet."

"Vegetables aren’t supposed to taste like medicine."

"You’re exaggerating."

Mo Yunxui laughed.

For the first time in a long time, the courtyard was filled with nothing but their voices.

Then Mo Yulan suddenly stood.

"Wait!"

She disappeared into the house.

Mo Yunxui raised an eyebrow.

"What is she doing?"

"No idea," Mo Yichen replied.

A moment later, Mo Yulan returned carrying a beautifully wrapped wooden box.

She placed it in front of Mo Yunxui.

"Big Sister."

Mo Yunxui looked at the box.

"What is this?"

"Your birthday present."

Her expression changed slightly.

"My birthday?"

"Yes."

Mo Yunxui looked at the sky.

It was New Year’s Eve.

She had almost forgotten.

Her birthday had never been something she celebrated.

When they were younger, there had never been enough money for such things.

Her siblings had birthdays.

She always made sure they did.

But hers?

She rarely remembered it herself.

"You remembered?"

Mo Yulan smiled.

"How could we forget?"

Mo Yichen leaned back.

"We’ve been planning this for months."

Mo Yunxui looked at them.

Something warm spread through her chest.

"You’ve all grown up."

Her voice was unusually soft.

Mo Yuze smiled.

"Because of you."

Mo Yunxui immediately looked away.

"Don’t say things like that."

"It’s true."

"You’ll make me embarrassed."

"You? Embarrassed?"

Mo Yichen laughed.

"Impossible."

Mo Yunxui picked up a piece of food and threw it at him.

"Eat."

"Violence! On your birthday!"

"You deserve it."

Everyone laughed again.

Mo Yunxui lowered her head.

She didn’t realize that her fingers had begun trembling.

At first, she thought it was because she was emotional.

Then came the pain.

A sharp pressure suddenly tightened around her chest.

Her smile disappeared.

She instinctively pressed a hand against her chest.

What’s happening?

The pain intensified.

She tried to breathe.

Nothing.

"Big Sister?"

Mo Yulan’s voice sounded distant.

Mo Yunxui tried to answer.

"I’m fine."

But the words barely came out.

The bowl slipped from her hand.

It shattered against the ground.

Everyone froze.

"Big Sister!"

Mo Yichen rushed toward her.

Mo Yunxui tried to stand.

Her legs gave out.

Mo Yichen caught her before she fell completely.

"Big Sister!"

Mo Yuze immediately dropped beside her.

His face changed the moment he felt her pulse.

Mo Yulan was already crying.

"What’s wrong with her?"

"Bring my medicine box!"

Mo Yunxui could hear them.

Their voices.

Their panic.

The sound of footsteps.

Someone crying.

Someone shouting.

Yet everything seemed to be getting farther away.

She looked at her siblings.

Her three children.

No.

Her three younger siblings.

They weren’t children anymore.

They were adults.

Successful adults.

They could take care of themselves.

That thought strangely comforted her.

She reached toward Mo Yulan.

Her fingers barely touched her sister’s face.

"Don’t cry."

Mo Yulan sobbed.

"Big Sister..."

"You’re a grown woman now."

"Don’t say that!"

Mo Yunxui smiled weakly.

Then she looked at Mo Yichen.

"You..."

Her breathing became increasingly difficult.

"You still spend too much money."

Mo Yichen’s eyes turned red.

"I’ll change! I’ll change, Big Sister!"

She looked at Mo Yuze.

"And you..."

He leaned closer.

"I’ll listen. I’ll listen to everything you say."

"You always..."

Mo Yunxui struggled to breathe.

"...forget to eat."

Mo Yuze began crying.

"I won’t anymore."

Mo Yunxui smiled.

Then she looked at Mo Yulan.

"You..."

Her eyes softened.

"You don’t need to look after everyone anymore."

Mo Yulan shook her head desperately.

"No."

"You’ve grown up."

"No!"

"Your sister..."

Mo Yunxui’s vision blurred.

"...can finally rest."

Her hand slipped from Mo Yulan’s face.

"Big Sister?"

Silence.

"Big Sister?"

Mo Yuze checked her pulse.

His expression went pale.

"No..."

Mo Yichen stared at him.

"What?"

Mo Yuze couldn’t answer.

Mo Yulan understood first.

Her scream tore through the courtyard.

"BIG SISTER!"

Mo Yunxui couldn’t hear her anymore.

The world had become quiet.

Her final thought wasn’t fear.

It wasn’t regret.

It was simply relief.

They’re all grown up.

I don’t have to worry anymore.

I can finally rest.

Then everything disappeared.

---

Somewhere Else

Cold.

That was the first thing Mo Yunxui felt.

Cold.

Her body felt heavy.

Her head hurt.

There was an unfamiliar smell in the air.

She slowly opened her eyes.

A white ceiling greeted her.

Mo Yunxui stared.

She blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Then she sat upright.

"What..."

Her voice sounded strange.

She looked around.

A small room.

White walls.

A bed.

A strange glowing object beside her.

A table.

A chair.

Something that looked like a mirror.

Mo Yunxui slowly climbed off the bed.

Her bare feet touched the cold floor.

She walked toward the window.

The curtains were strange.

She pulled them open.

Her eyes widened.

Outside was a city.

A massive city.

Tall buildings pierced the sky.

Bright lights covered the streets.

Metal carriages moved along enormous roads.

There were no horses.

No oxen.

No carriages.

Yet somehow, those metal objects moved faster than anything she had ever seen.

Mo Yunxui’s mouth slowly opened.

"What kind of place is this?"

A loud horn suddenly sounded.

She jumped.

"AH!"

She stumbled backward.

Her eyes remained fixed on the road.

Another metal carriage passed.

Then another.

And another.

Mo Yunxui pressed herself against the wall.

Her heart pounded.

Demons?

No.

Demons didn’t make sense.

Mechanical beasts?

That sounded more reasonable.

She cautiously peeked outside again.

A large red object stopped at an intersection.

Other metal carriages stopped behind it.

Then, after a short while, they all moved again.

Mo Yunxui frowned.

"They’re obeying a command."

She looked around.

Where was the person controlling them?

She couldn’t see anyone.

Her expression became serious.

"This place is troublesome."

Then she noticed something on the bedside table.

A small rectangular object.

She picked it up.

The moment her finger touched it, the screen lit up.

Mo Yunxui froze.

The object suddenly displayed a woman’s face.

Her own face.

She screamed.

"WHO IS THAT?!"

She threw the object onto the bed.

The screen went dark.

Mo Yunxui stared at it.

Slowly, she approached.

She picked it up again.

The screen lit.

Her face appeared.

She stared.

The woman stared back.

Mo Yunxui touched her cheek.

The woman did the same.

She touched her nose.

The woman copied her.

Mo Yunxui narrowed her eyes.

"...She’s copying me."

She suddenly remembered the strange mirror in the room.

She turned toward it.

Her reflection stared back.

Same face.

Same expression.

Mo Yunxui looked from the mirror to the rectangular object.

Then back to the mirror.

Her expression became complicated.

"So..."

She lifted the strange object.

"This little mirror..."

She pointed at the large mirror.

"...is inside another mirror?"

There was a long silence.

Mo Yunxui sighed.

"This place is truly unreasonable."

She had no idea that she had just awakened in the twenty-first century.

She had no idea what a smartphone was.

She didn’t know what a car was.

She didn’t know what electricity was.

She didn’t know what Wi-Fi meant.

And she certainly didn’t know that she had just become Xi Yunxiu, a twenty-four-year-old maid working for the wealthy Huo family.

But she would soon find out.

And the Huo family would soon discover something else.

Their quietest maid...

Had changed completely.