Chapter 5: Is My Secret Identity About to Be Exposed?

Lost in thought, Ding Xuewei couldn't help but feel a bit dazed. When the cry of "Big Sister?" reached her ears, she couldn't help but jump in fright.

Appearing out of thin air in front of the villainous younger sister, and doing so while bringing an electric scooter along with her, left Ding Xuewei feeling utterly exhausted.

Barely managing to stop the small electric scooter and stand herself steady in her disheveled state, she hurriedly asked, "If I said your eyes were playing tricks on you, would you believe me?"

Pandie snapped awake and nodded blankly.

Ding Xuewei, who had only said it in passing: "..."

She actually believed that?

Subconsciously unwilling to face the fact that her secret identity had been exposed less than a day after crossing over, Ding Xuewei felt a slight chill on the tip of her nose and immediately understood why the child had come looking for her.

It was raining, and it wasn't light!

Subconsciously stowing away the scooter keys, she grabbed her bundle.

"I just picked up some things."

Opening the bundle, Ding Xuewei took out the thermal clothing and raincoat she had prepared for the child.

"Come, Big Sister will help you change."

Even though she felt strange, Pandie felt no need for defense when facing her "Big Sister." She stood there dazed, allowing Ding Xuewei to help her change her clothes.

The thermal clothing went on first, with the raincoat on the outside.

With the double protection of the electric scooter's raincoat and the regular raincoat, the thermal clothing would definitely not get soaked.

"It's a bit big!"

Ding Xuewei muttered while folding the cuffs.

Suddenly, Pandie, now enveloped in warmth, grabbed her wrist.

As Ding Xuewei lifted her gaze, she happened to meet Pandie's terrified, fearful eyes.

Ding Xuewei: "..."

Didn't you say you believed me?

"Don't leave me~" Pandie said tremblingly.

Feeling a bit uneasy, Ding Xuewei blinked: This feeling is a bit off!

The next second, her suspicion was confirmed.

Pandie threw herself at her: "Big Sister, I'll be good, please don't leave me, don't disappear and leave me behind~"

Ding Xuewei's face darkened: "..."

This meant that in the child's mind, the fact that she appeared and disappeared wasn't the problem; the problem was whether she would abandon her.

One couldn't tell if it was because the child was too young and didn't understand the gravity of the situation, or if "Big Sister" was simply too important to her—so important that even the irrational could be ignored.

Ding Xuewei, however, saw it clearly.

It was a good thing the child wasn't thinking of her as a ghost or a demon!

"Big Sister won't leave you, absolutely not!"

Truly not knowing how to explain the matter of the spatial dimension to Pandie, Ding Xuewei simply chose the ostrich method of ignoring it. After hugging and comforting the child, she changed herself into dry clothes.

Once her emotions stabilized, Pandie's curiosity rose. While Ding Xuewei was changing, she approached the tilted electric scooter and looked around curiously a few times. Afterward, she reached out to poke at the bag of peach crisps when Ding Xuewei picked it up.

It was unclear whether the little electric scooter was too sensitive or if Pandie was just incredibly lucky.

The next second: "Beep! Beep! Beep!..."

The alarm suddenly blared. Pandie leaped backward in fright and climbed directly onto Ding Xuewei. The peach crisps she had just unwrapped fell to the ground.

At this moment, Ding Xuewei couldn't care about the fallen peach crisps. She hurriedly found the scooter keys to turn off the alarm, then led Pandie in a circle around the small hill. Only after confirming there were no figures on the surrounding water did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Children were easy to fool, but adults were harder to predict. Furthermore, the appearance and material of that little electric scooter were too unique; who knew if someone seeing it would develop murderous intent to steal it?

In years of famine, human hearts are unpredictable!

She hadn't experienced a transmigration before, but she had read many books about it. Ding Xuewei felt an instinctive fear regarding the exposure of her space or herself.

While she was pondering how to explain things to the child, the child's mind seemed to be wandering far away. For a moment, feeling heavy-hearted, Ding Xuewei decided to meet change with constancy.

She first returned to the original spot, picked up the items, and went back to the edge of the hill.

After settling the child first and stuffing her with four unbroken peach crisps and two pieces of peanut candy, and teaching her how to drink water and yogurt, Ding Xuewei braved the rain to quickly gather branches and move long grass to build a simple tent.

The rain showed a tendency to get heavier; if they didn't take cover, even her double protection might not be enough.

Ding Xuewei spoke to the child to initiate conversation, intending to coax her, but she didn't expect that Pandie, who had been terrified by the scooter's alarm, would remain silent. Not only did she not ask questions, but unexpectedly, she ate all the food Ding Xuewei had given her.

A sudden thought rose in Ding Xuewei's mind that perhaps being scared senseless was for the best. She flicked the water droplets off her body and crawled into the space within the electric scooter's raincoat.

After dividing medicine between herself and the child and settling the child to sleep, she slowly picked out the broken peach crisps to eat.

Whether it was because she had slept too much earlier or because she had things on her mind, Ding Xuewei felt no sleepiness even after taking medicine. She sat there listening to the sound of the rain for most of the night. Because they had taken the fever-reducing medicine in time, neither sister showed much of a fever or cold symptom throughout the night.

After a night of reflection, the explanation Ding Xuewei had prepared in her mind had become nearly perfect. Not fearing the child's questions, her mood relaxed significantly. As dawn approached, she retrieved the small electric scooter and then woke Pandie.

After a good night's sleep, Pandie acted as if she had forgotten everything from yesterday. When Ding Xuewei offered her a biscuit, she took one piece but put the other three back.

"Eat them. This dry food is enough for us for three days." Ding Xuewei handed the biscuits over again.

The child refused to take them no matter what.

To ensure she ate her fill, Ding Xuewei had to use the excuse of needing to take medicine.

In her current state, the child was very afraid of getting sick, so she reluctantly began to eat large bites.

After washing the empty yogurt bottles and portioning out some water, Ding Xuewei split the bedsheet in two and divided the food in half, giving the smaller portion to Pandie.

Afterward, they put on their wet outer clothes to cover the raincoats, packed everything up, and set off using a door plank as a makeshift raft.

Due to Ding Xuewei's intervention, Pandie did not reach White Pottery Village this time.

Since neither of them were adults and they were carrying biscuits and peach crisps, Ding Xuewei did not dare to get too close to people. Whenever she heard or saw movement, she would either pull Pandie to run quickly or grab someone and hide in the woods.

Finally, late in the afternoon as darkness approached, the two who had stopped to rest saw an elderly woman and a young child.

The grandmother looked to be in her sixties or seventies, very thin and haggard. The child looked about five or six years old; though not quite "sallow and emaciated," they were not far from it.

Judging by the luggage the grandmother carried and her hurried pace, these two were clearly people who had been left behind by the village they had passed earlier.

Believing that people with familiar faces were less likely to be ill-intentioned, Ding Xuewei decided to follow them.

"Let's follow them for a bit."

Knowing they needed to ask for information, Pandie stuffed the broken peach crisps into her mouth without a word and packed her bundle. For safety, Ding Xuewei tucked a few pieces of candy between the raincoat and the thermal clothing and moved her fruit knife to a more convenient position for quick access.

*

The sudden appearance of two children greatly surprised the grandmother. Regarding Ding Xuewei's fabricated lie about being slow and falling behind the main group, the old woman felt no suspicion.

"Once you catch up, don't fall behind the group again," the grandmother reminded her kindly.

Ding Xuewei feigned ignorance: "Why?"

(End of Chapter)