And What About You? What's Your Secret?

"Xie Yi? Xie Yi? Are you listening?"

Xie Yi snapped back to reality, an unconscious smile spreading across her face as Xie Huiqing's words replayed in her mind—Song Weishi had held her. She couldn't remember any of it. During the fever, her consciousness had been hazy at best, but hearing it said aloud made her smile all the same.

"Mm, I'm listening. What happened next?"

Xie Huiqing gave her a strange look. "What next? I passed out after that. I don't know what the two of you got up to. Why, you don't remember?"

A flicker of disappointment crossed Xie Yi's face before she smoothed her expression back into its usual calm detachment. "Oh, me? I can't quite recall. Aunt, get some rest. I'll be going."

"Hey, you—pour me a glass of water before you leave! Hey, Xie Yi!"

Ignoring Xie Huiqing's calls, Xie Yi floated out the door and came to a stop in front of Song Weishi's room. She stood there for a long time, unmoving.

She felt as if every trace of fatigue had been washed away. Her whole body hummed with unnatural vitality, suffused with a deep, pervasive comfort.

Inside, Song Weishi was already fast asleep, completely unaware of the presence at her door. And who knew just how long Xie Yi remained standing there.

Everyone spent the day resting. Though there were no surveillance devices in the vicinity, the villa was encircled by a perimeter wall and dense trees—anyone unfamiliar with the area wouldn't find their way in. The insect population here was also far sparser than in crowded districts. The cities' vacuum effect drew people toward them like a tide, and few ventured into places like this, especially since there was no food to be had.

Song Weishi woke the next morning. Sunlight streamed through the windows, baking the room until it was sweltering—the heat had roused her. Though it was only morning, the sun outside was already scorching.

She got up and drew the curtains, then headed to the bathroom. Her room had its own wash facilities, so she started a shower and pulled up the small cart with her other hand, sifting through its contents.

The past couple of days, she'd been checking the cart's refreshed items in a hurry and stashing them straight into her storage without a second glance. Today, she finally had a chance to see what she'd gotten. It had been four days since she last looked.

Cart items ×12:

Mixed tea leaves, 48g × 24 packs per bag.

Fleece-lined sleeping bags ×2

Rechargeable hand warmer ×1

Tea set, 68 pieces ×1

Large storage bags ×3

Special antifreeze ×1

Water tank, 5 cubic meters ×5

Rice, 100kg ×10

Pressure cooker set ×1

Lettuce seed packet ×1

Pea seed packet ×1

Mung bean seed packet ×1

What was all this?

Song Weishi was thoroughly confused. None of it seemed immediately useful. The rice, storage bags, and water tank had some value, but the rest? Not exactly ready-to-use items, and she wasn't in need of them anyway. She scratched her head. As far as she knew, the system never gave out useless things. But she'd seen items like this before and hadn't thought much of it—most of them had eventually proved their worth. Still, this time it felt like a lot.

She decided to ask the system directly: "Did the golden finger expire, or what? Why are you sending me this junk?"

The system said nothing, only sorted the items neatly into categories within its interface.

Seeing that she'd get no answers, Song Weishi dropped the matter. She finished washing up and went out to find the aunties already up and making breakfast. They were doting types, always looking after everyone. Ke Shaoyi and Jiang Qingrou had done the most work yesterday, so they were still in bed. Song Weishi didn't bother waking them. A little extra sleep wouldn't hurt—unlike her, whose internal clock wouldn't let her lie in even if she wanted to.

Breakfast was millet porridge made over a primitive wood-fired stove, since there was no electricity. Fortunately, when furnishing the villa, Xie Huiqing had prioritized aesthetics and installed a large fireplace, which now doubled as their cooking setup.

Song Weishi wolfed down three bowls with pickled vegetables before she felt full. Since developing her ability, her energy burned through her fast, and she was always hungry.

Xie Yi was also up early, descending the stairs as the aunties greeted her in chorus.

"Xiao Yi, come eat!"

Xie Yi obediently took her seat with a bowl in hand. That icy aloofness she wore like armor melted away whenever she was around them; she became like any ordinary neighborhood kid, doing exactly what they told her, biddable as could be.

Song Weishi sped up, gulping down her porridge. Xie Yi ate just as quickly. It was like they were in a competition, until Song Weishi choked and had to stop. She wanted to get going, but Sister Chen, seeing her eat so fast, assumed she was starving and ladled another bowl.

Song Weishi waved her hands, too full to speak: "I heard from Sister Xie that the hills behind us are hers. Are there vegetables there? I'll go take a look."

Xie Huiying raised her bowl: "Little Song, no rush. The hills close by are pretty barren anyway—nothing worth seeing. Let's check the neighbors' places instead. The villagers all left years ago; no one's been back in a long time."

Song Weishi nodded: "Alright, I'll see if there's anything we can forage."

No one worried when she headed out. They all had plans to gather food today; the supplies they'd brought back were thin, and if they just kept consuming without replenishing, they'd burn through everything and starve before ever making it back to the city.

Song Weishi slung a bamboo basket over her shoulder for appearances. Xie Huiying's place had practically everything—all sorts of practical tools that hadn't been thrown away when the new house was built, just stacked in the backyard. This made it easy for Song Weishi to use as cover.

"I'll go with you."

Xie Yi followed her into the backyard and shouldered her own basket. Song Weishi almost refused, but the sight of the handprint on Xie Yi's face made her feel guilty, so she swallowed the words.

Xie Huiying handed them two small hoes: "That's good. Xiao Yi, take Little Song around. You still know the way, right?"

Xie Yi nodded and tucked the tools into her backpack.

The aunties left a message for the two still asleep, made sure Xie Huiqing was settled, and told Xiaoli to watch the house. Over the past couple of days, they'd grown accustomed to this black-and-white ape—they knew she understood human speech and was clever, so they felt confident leaving things in her hands.

Xiaoli was especially handy as a guard dog, particularly in such a wooded area. It was like returning to her happy hometown.

Once everything was arranged, they all headed out together. Xie Huiying walked them to another hillside and pointed to the walkie-talkie: "Radio me if anything happens. Back by noon for lunch."

They nodded and struck off toward the neighboring family's hill.

The terrain here was relatively gentle, without the towering trees of the farther hills. Song Weishi followed Xie Yi, a straw hat shading her face, surrounded by a lush expanse of green. It had rained a couple of days ago, and the ground was sprouting with wild greens.

Some she recognized, but the majority she couldn't quite place.

After a while, Xie Yi stopped before a stretch of verdant "lawn" and handed her scissors from the basket, then set to work clipping furiously.

Song Weishi was stunned. The ground looked like a patch of weeds. For a moment, she was at a loss, till Xie Yi said: "Watercress. This whole patch is watercress. Snip it and put it in your space."

Song Weishi crouched down and started cutting. The dense white stems packed the ground; one snip and a whole bunch was done, barely two or three seconds per handful. She worked quickly and finished off the patch just as Xie Yi stood up and moved ahead, waiting for her.

She hurried to her feet and went to Xie Yi's side—a wide stretch of shepherd's purse lay flat against the ground. This she recognized; as a kid, she'd watched vendors make shepherd's purse dumplings from scratch.

The two exchanged a glance and crouched down to work. As she dug, Song Weishi felt herself relax; the gnawing anxiety from before melted away, replaced by the tangible satisfaction of real gains.

After clearing that patch, she couldn't see anything else she recognized. Curled stems resembling fiddleheads poked from the earth; Song Weishi wasn't sure if they were edible, so she plucked one and looked to Xie Yi.

She was swift and nimble, nodding as she dug: "Edible. Gather plenty."

With the confirmation, Song Weishi went into overdrive. This kind of harvest joy was primal, raw—nothing like the missions she'd done before.

She found the basket cumbersome and stashed the whole thing in her space, plus all the tools she'd need, pulling them out at will. It was pure bliss, like playing a game.

Watching the growing pile of wild greens in her space, she was overjoyed.

Every patch here was indeed cultivated land. There were also stretches of fresh pea shoots. Song Weishi was fast, snapping off tender lengths one after another. Aside from the lack of meat, it all felt pretty great.

Actually, no one had eaten real meat in quite a while. The instant canned meats they'd bought at the convenience store were pricey and scarce; buying them just gave a faint taste of animal fat.

After gathering the greens, that thought resurfaced. Her space was filled with meat. How could she share it with the others without raising questions?

She'd thought eating alone was fine before, but now that they were friends who'd weathered hardship together, could she keep up the same behavior? She wasn't a saint, but eating well while others went without made her deeply uncomfortable—especially when the aunties had been so good to her.

Song Weishi's smile faded, replaced by a worried crease.

She was so lost in thought she ignored her hands, until Xie Yi suddenly grabbed her wrist. Song Weishi snapped back to see a pitch-black snake coiled in the green pea shoots, staring at her with predatory intent.

She jumped, yanking Xie Yi back a few steps. The snake, seeing no further aggression, slithered away without delay.

"What were you thinking?" Xie Yi frowned. She looked down at Song Weishi's hand gripping hers and made no move to let go—another smile crept onto her lips.

With the danger gone, Song Weishi returned to her earlier problem: "My space is full of meat. I want to share it with everyone, but you know that's not easy. How am I supposed to explain where it came from?" Her pale eyes looked to Xie Yi in confusion: "Hunting won't work either. Can't exactly say we killed a pig or a cow, that'd be too weird."

Xie Yi: "You don't have to explain."

"What?"

Xie Yi: "You don't have to give a reason. We all trust each other. No one would pry. Everyone has their own secrets."

Song Weishi's mouth fell slightly open, as if about to speak, then a realization dawned. Right, she didn't need to explain. They'd been through so much together; except for Ke Shaoyi, everyone trusted her almost completely.

And Ke Shaoyi was simple like that. As long as her cat was well, she didn't care about anything else. She was pure, oblivious in a carefree way. If they'd known each other longer, Song Weishi would trust her completely too.

Song Weishi thought it through. She really didn't need to hide so much. She'd slipped plenty of times before, and no one had said a word, not even a flicker of suspicion.

With trust like that, with companions like these, this was a world she was willing to stay in.

"Fine, you say that. But being on the outside looking in is different from being inside. Would you bare all your secrets to anyone?"

She let go of Xie Yi's hand, rubbing her own fingers awkwardly.

She'd never really considered the question of trusting Xie Yi; the girl's unconditional acceptance had made her overlook it entirely. Xie Yi stared at her, a little dazed, as if mulling over her words.

"I have no secrets. You can ask me anything, and I'll tell you all of it."

Her words came fast, her eyes bright and clear, a smile spreading across her face. She looked genuinely eager to reveal something.

A sense of dread crept up Song Weishi's spine, and she turned away: "I'm not interested in other people's private business. I think I heard Sister Xie calling me for lunch. Let's go, niece."

Xie Yi: ...

---

Author's note: Here's a rec of my friend's story—her emotional writing is superb. If you like it, feel free to add it to your collection.

"How Did the Female Lead and the Female Supporting Character End Up Together?"

Ye Nianzhen suddenly awakened to the truth of her world, shocked to realize she was a vicious villainess destined for a miserable death in a book. And the female lead was Jiang Zhiyu, who'd transmigrated into the novel.

According to the plot, she was the switched-at-birth fake daughter, childhood sweethearts with the male lead; Jiang Zhiyu was the true heiress. The two of them fought tooth and nail over the man, and she, for his sake, had been crushed beneath Jiang Zhiyu's heel, ending up disgraced and ruined.

Ye Nianzhen snapped back to reality and looked up to see Jiang Zhiyu coming to find the male lead after class—she hadn't been reclaimed yet, looking timid and pitiful. Her heart squeezed. Remembering her own later actions, both vicious and foolish, she found the whole thing absurd beyond words.

...

After Jiang Zhiyu transmigrated, Ye Nianzhen's speculative gaze kept landing on her. She glanced away in boredom, thinking the other girl was probably scheming how to set her up again. She pushed open the door, and the prank came as expected—but the next second, her body was abruptly enveloped in a tight embrace. Jiang Zhiyu blinked in shock. Ye Nianzhen's handsome face filled her vision—eyes squeezed shut, drenched through, clinging to her like a lifeline.

Jiang Zhiyu thought it was a fluke, but the plot kept veering off course. The love letter the male lead gave her mysteriously disappeared; on her birthday, the female supporting character blocked her way with a frosty expression and tossed a stiff "Happy birthday" at her. More terrifying still, Jiang Zhiyu one day caught a glimpse of Ye Nianzhen's phone wallpaper—it was her photo.

Jiang Zhiyu's mind went blank: What kind of protagonist treatment is this?! Where did the plot even go wrong?!

...

The male lead grew more and more displeased. His childhood sweetheart treated him like a stranger now. But so what if she was just a fake daughter—who gave her the right to cold-shoulder him? Then one day, he stumbled upon—

Jiang Zhiyu cornering Ye Nianzhen, demanding, "Ye Nianzhen, do you... like me?"

He froze on the spot, pupils shaking: What earth-shattering secret have I just stumbled on?