Song Qingge paced in her room, desperately trying to formulate a plan to make Luo Jie  fall in love with Wei Yaozu, when there was a knock on the door of her bamboo hut. She hesitated for a moment before opening the door.

Has Wei Yaozu changed his mind?! Has he decided to kill me after all!?

She debated on if she should open the door or pretend she wasn’t home. But if it really was Wei Yaozu knocking, Song Qingge didn’t dare to keep him waiting for too long. In the end, she decided to face him head-on and slowly opened the door.

But to her surprise, it wasn’t Wei Yaozu who greeted her, but rather Feng Wenling. She was holding a wooden tray with a bowl of congee placed neatly in the middle.

“Shimei, I’m sorry to disturb you when it’s so late, but you never came to dinner so… so I thought you must still not be feeling very well, so I've brought you something light to eat.”

After saying this, Feng Wenling felt her face growing a bit warm. In truth, while none of the Disciples on Zhuzi Peak had a high enough cultivation level where they no longer needed to eat, even a Middle-Stage Qi Gathering disciple like Song Qingge didn’t really need to eat everyday. 

There wasn’t a reason for Feng Wenling to be concerned about her skipping a single meal, but ever since her Shimei had woken up, Feng Wenling couldn’t shake the feeling that something was different about her. So when Song Qingge skipped the usual communal dinner, she couldn’t resist the urge to go and see what was going on.

“Shijie…” Song Qingge’s eyes began to shine at Feng Wenling's words.

Feng Wenling is really the best!!! I can't believe how thoughtful she is!! She must be an Angel!

Seeing that Song Qingge had not accepted the food, Feng Wenling bowed her head and began to retreat out of shame.

“I’m sorry, I've done something unnecessary, haven’t I? Haha… I’ll just take this back-”

“Ah- no!” Song Qingge verbally cut off Feng Wenling’s attempt to escape.  “Actually, I was feeling very hungry just now, Shijie! Why don’t you come inside so we can eat together…?”

Feng Wenling looked down at the tray she had brought, then turned her eyes back to Song Qingge.

“But I only brought food for you…” She said after a moment of awkward silence.

“Right…” Song Qingge said, as her face slowly turned a bright shade of red.

___

Somehow, the two young women still ended up eating together in Song Qingge’s room. Rather it should be said that Song Qingge ate while Feng Wenling watched quietly from across the small wooden table in her room. 

Song Qingge didn’t dare to waste a single spoonful of the congee made by Feng Wenling, and by the time she was done eating the bowl had been scraped so clean it was practically sparkling.

“...Was the food to your liking?” Feng Wenling hardly needed to ask such an obvious question, but for some reason, she wanted to hear Song Qingge express her thoughts out loud. 

“It was delicious! Thank you, Shijie!” Song Qingge said with a wide grin that could take someone’s breath away.

Feng Wenling took a moment to closely examine Song Qingge’s expression. Had her Shimei ever looked at her with such a cute and obedient expression in the past?

Definitely not… Feng Wenling thought.

Song Qingge noticed that Feng Wenling was staring at her intensely and felt her heart start beating a little faster than usual.

“Is something wrong, Shije?”

Feng Wenling tilted her head slightly and took another long look at Song Qingge before answering.

“Hm… no, not really. I just feel like you’ve been acting a bit different ever since you woke up, Shimei.”

Her words hit Song Qingge like a bucket of icy water and instantly dispelled her previously good mood.

Did Feng Wenling realize that I’m not the original Song Qingge? But how??

…Well, I guess I didn’t really make an attempt to act like the original, hahaha…

Sh*t, what should I do? If I’m exposed, Wei Yaozu will kill me for sure…! 

Don’t panic, Qingge! You just need to come up with the right excuse…

“Actually Shijie… after I almost died, I …. had a small breakthrough.” Song Qingge said slowly.

“Oh?” Feng Wenling quickly grabbed Song Qingge by the wrist and checked her pulse. Her movements were so quick that Song Qingge didn’t have a chance to dodge.

“Hmm… it seems like you’ve risen from the middle rank of Qi Gathering to being on the cusp of Foundation Establishment. Congratulations Shimei! Did you comprehend something when you were on the verge of life and death?” 

Feng Wenling’s eyes shone with interest in the candlelit room. She had grown up in the world of Cultivation, and she naturally took great interest in the ways of the Dao. Luo Jie, by virtue of being the protagonist of a cultivation novel, had always been one step ahead of her in terms of combat power, but he couldn’t hold a candle to Feng Wenling when it came to knowledge of the Cultivation world.

“Um, something like that…” Song Qingge said sheepishly “I just…finally realized how much you all have done for me, and how much trouble I had been causing for all of you…and I decided that I didn’t want to be like that anymore.”

“Shijie, I’m really sorry for the way I acted before…do you think you could ever forgive me?” 

Song Qingge looked at Feng Wenling like a puppy who had been scolded. Even though she wasn’t the same Song Qingge who mistreated Feng Wenling in the past, she truly admired her new Senior Sister and wanted to have a good relationship with her going forward. If that meant she had to apologize for some else’s mistakes, so be it!

Seeing Song Qingge’s sincere expression, Feng Wenling couldn’t help but smile and give the girl a gentle pat on the head.

“Silly girl, it’s all in the past now. Going forward, if you need help with anything, just ask your Senior Sister.”

“Shijie…!” Song Qingge almost fell to her knees to begin worshipping Feng Wenling on the spot!

She really is an angel! No, she must be a Goddess!!

Feng Wenling felt her face growing warmer from the look of adoration on Song Qingge’s face and decided to quickly change the subject.

“Ahem-! We should let Shizun know that your cultivation level has risen right away. He will be able to help you refine your inner Qi, and you might be able to break through to early Foundation Establishment within a month! Come with me, Shimei-”

Feng Wenling began making her way to the door, still holding on to Song Qingge’s wrist. Not daring to pull away from Feng Wenling’s grasp, Song Qingge could only be helplessly pulled along like a dog on a leash.

“Wait, Shijie-!” 

I still need to come up with a plan for Wei Yaozu by tomorrow!!