When Wang Ning came down, she saw her little sister smiling brightly.

She couldn’t help but glance sideways, feeling that there was a hint of guilt in that smile.

“I think I heard the doorbell just now. Did someone come by?”

“Mmm, no one. I opened the door, but nobody was there. They probably went to the wrong house,” Wang Yi answered obediently, stealing glances at her sister.

Wang Ning was still very unaccustomed to wearing a skirt.

She tugged at the hem awkwardly and stiffly, her deep blue eyes filled with unease.

The uniform at “Alice Girls’ Academy” was a classic European-style short skirt paired with a white shirt and a dark blue jacket, worn with white long socks and small black leather shoes.

She had only ever seen this kind of outfit at anime conventions.

Now that she was wearing it, her perception of gender hadn’t quite shifted, leaving her with the constant feeling that she was sneaking into a little girl’s dress.

Ah.

‘This is killing me.’

‘Saving my daughters is so hard.’

‘Let me go back.’

‘The sacrifice is too great, aaargh.’

Although it did look very good on her, hitting all her aesthetic preferences when she looked in the mirror, beautiful enough to turn her fatherly love into something else.

But going to the bathroom brought her crashing back to cold, hard reality.

The incredibly conflicted Wang Ning was in a daze the entire way to school.

She would occasionally reply with a few “mhmms” to her incredibly energetic sister, and patiently push away her sister’s head every time she tried to snuggle up.

Wang Ning had never had a younger sister, nor did she know how normal sisters interacted, so she had no way to deal with the clingy Wang Yi.

Time passed quickly.

When she stood at the main gate of 【Alice Academy】, she still hadn’t quite processed it.

Alice Academy, in the game’s setting, was a top-tier noble girls’ school with a long history.

Over its hundred years of development, it had cultivated countless talents for the world, including influential figures in military, political, and business circles.

In the original setting, there were several heroines with special identities.

For example, the gentle, golden-haired student council president was the legitimate eldest daughter of the Ulysses Empire.

If it weren’t for the garbage game and its garbage plot, she would have already become the next empress of the empire.

Therefore, Alice Academy was also known as—”The Cradle of the Empire’s Pearl.”

Besides aristocrats and prominent celebrities, the school also accepted commoners with exceptional talents.

Like her and Wang Yi.

This prestigious school showcased its grandeur right at the main gate.

Its Western-style, multi-level garden design was the work of a renowned master designer from a century ago, Griffin Eugene.

Wang Ning was quite shocked standing before the gate.

Seeing it in the game was one thing, but seeing it in reality was another.

It was like a poor person who couldn’t imagine the beauty of a rose manor but could lavishly praise a villa worth 700,000 francs.

‘This damn world, why can’t I be one of the rich ones!’

“Big Sis, you wait here for me first. I’ll go find the way and ask about the procedures.”

Wang Yi put down the luggage.

It was hard to imagine that she alone carried nearly 70 kilograms of luggage, seemingly with ease, while Wang Ning couldn’t lift it no matter how hard she tried.

Wang Ning: !

‘What… what’s going on?’

‘I was a grown man. Even if I’ve turned into a girl, I shouldn’t be this weak, right?’

‘Or is this body’s constitution just poor?’

‘No, it’s definitely not me who’s weak, nope.’

Wang Yi was unaware of her sister’s inner turmoil.

She quickly moved through the crowd, her cute face calm as she passed by the luxurious cars of the rich and famous.

Wang Ning stood idly under the shade of a tree, waiting, and looked toward the distant crowd.

The sky was a deep blue, an endless expanse of a single color, with clouds like cotton candy rolled up within it.

It reflected the lush windmill silver jasmine.

Sunlight, dappled and bright, filtered through the thick canopy of trees, hitting the marble-paved long street, dancing on Wang Ning’s pale white strands of hair, brushing past her soft cheeks, and casting light and shadow in her sky-like eyes.

The church bells rang, and white doves flew through the freshly washed sky.

The bustling crowd seemed to bypass her quiet spot.

She didn’t know that everyone who passed her instinctively lightened their movements, carefully and unconsciously trying to present their most gentlemanly or ladylike side.

“It’s been so long. Is she delayed by something?” Wang Ning muttered, raising her hand to look at the rose-patterned, self-winding mechanical watch.

“Hello, are you waiting for someone too?”

A clear, gentle voice sounded by her ear.

Wang Ning instinctively turned her head toward the source of the sound and met a pair of smiling eyes.

It was a girl with long, straight black hair and black-framed glasses.

Her face was gentle, the corners of her light pink lips slightly upturned.

Standing there, she exuded a sense of quiet, reserved tranquility.

“Yes,” Wang Ning paused for a moment before answering.

“May I stand next to you and wait with you?” she asked with a blink.

“Ah? Oh. Of course, you can. Anyway…” Wang Ning quickly scanned the surroundings, puzzled.

‘Why is no one in this shady spot?’

“…there aren’t many people here.”

“Thank you,” the black-haired girl said.

“My name is Xie Qingzhe. And you?”

“My name is Wang Ning. Are you a student here too?”

After saying that, Wang Ning wanted to smack herself.

‘Isn’t it obvious that she’s a student?’

‘It’s all because I have so little experience being approached by girls.’

“Mmm, I guess… you could say that?” Xie Qingzhe said uncertainly.

Wang Ning looked up at her in surprise.

“To be precise, I should be an exchange student,” she seemed puzzled herself, then said with more certainty, “I’m from the East.”

Wang Ning knew that the East in this world was different from the East of her hometown, but she couldn’t help feeling a sense of familiarity upon seeing her black hair and black eyes.

“Are you waiting for family too?”

“No,” she denied gently.

“I’m waiting for… an old friend.”

“Hey! Qing, I’m here!”

A sudden voice popped up.

Wang Ning turned around and saw a head of dazzling golden hair.

Xie Qingzhe, however, was very calm.

She took a small step back, leaving the clueless Wang Ning in place.

The next second, Wang Ning knew why she had done that.

A pair of arms suddenly reached out from behind her and tightened.

Along with the embrace came an enthusiastic voice, “Oh my god, darling! Where did you come from, you little cutie! Why are you with that hazardous material over there! Let Big Sis give you a hug!”

Wang Ning felt herself being buried in a warm and soft body.

Her face turned beet red.

She struggled desperately, but to no avail.

‘Help! Other than my sister when I first transmigrated, I’ve never been hugged by a girl like this!’

‘I… I… I… help me!’

“Karin, she’s going to suffocate.”

After a moment, the black-haired girl kindly reminded her, as if she had just noticed Wang Ning’s struggle.

The next second, Wang Ning was released from the embrace.

Before she could take a breath, a face suddenly loomed large before her.

Golden eyes, like the radiant sun, shone brilliantly.

A magnificent smile bloomed on her extremely beautiful face, overflowing with vigorous vitality.

“Don’t be afraid, little one,” Karin said to her.

She bent down, drew closer, and smiled again.

“Besides, this is just proper etiquette.”

Her cheek brushed against Wang Ning’s other cheek.

The touch was light, there and gone in an instant.

Caught completely off guard by this series of events, Wang Ning had no extra brainpower to wonder whether this was etiquette or someone taking advantage of her.

Having suffered a huge shock, the name “Karin” flashed through her mind.

In an instant, she connected it to the last Bad Ending she had achieved—[The Fading of Gentle Sunshine].

Karin Schugleis II, the student council president in the game.

She was the legitimate eldest daughter of the monarch of the most powerful nation of the time, the Ulysses Empire, and also the empire’s next empress.

In the future, a coup d’état would occur in the empire, leading to internal strife within the royal family.

The third prince would collude with the enemy, betraying the country and framing the eldest princess.

Public opinion would be in an uproar.

The eldest princess, Karin, would argue vehemently but to no avail, and her right of succession would be revoked.

In the moment before her death, Karin looked at all the companions who had turned against her and understood.

The gallows had been prepared for her all along.

On the day of the execution, the people found that the eldest princess had already committed suicide in her cell.

[“My country has betrayed me. I am now its disgrace.”]

[“The glory of the Ulysses Empire should not be tarnished, but I do not wish to see the looks of hatred on the faces of my beloved subjects. Therefore, Chaos above, forgive your believer Karin for her disrespect.”]

In the moment before her death, her expression was relaxed.

Her blurry vision saw a nightingale flying beside her, seemingly sad.

She used all her strength to extend a hand.

The nightingale landed on her fingertip.

She smiled faintly as her blood and life force drained away.

—[“…Don’t be sad, I’m free now.”]