novelraw Chapter 10
Chapter 10
After lounging in bed a little while longer, Lu Li finally struggled her way out—and then froze.
Her fingernails...seemed to have grown a bit?
No, it wasn't just that they were longer.
Along the edges of the nails, a faint dark-red sheen glimmered, as though they'd been soaked in blood.
Lu Li blinked hard, then looked again—
Nothing. The nails were their normal, pale pink.
"...Did I not wake up properly."
A hollow pang spread through her stomach.
"So hungry...get up first..."
Out of habit, she tried to spring upright the way she used to—a carp leap out of water—but her body returned completely the wrong feedback. The move had always called for her core and her whole body working in sync, yet the moment she applied any force, Lu Li knew something was horribly wrong. Her waist gave nothing back but a soft, boneless sensation, and then, entirely unsurprisingly, she slid back under the blanket like a mollusk that had lost its skeleton.
"...Cough—cough cough!"
Lu Li flailed her way out of the covers and finally spotted the culprit.
Her hair—silver-white strands everywhere.
They were spread all over the bed: some wound around her neck, some pinned under her armpits, and a few had somehow found their way into her mouth, sticking damply to the corners of her lips.
"What kind of inhuman length is this..."
Lu Li grumbled as she spat the mouthful of hair out in disgust.
In the end, it took her a full 2 minutes to free herself from this "hair cocoon."
Once she was finally upright, the cool morning air hit her exposed skin all at once, sending a shiver through her. Even with just her arms bare, she could feel the chill seeping through her pores and burrowing into her bones.
"Why is it so cold..."
Lu Li took a deep breath, carefully lifted the blanket, and swung her legs off the bed.
Folded neatly on the chair beside the bed was a set of clothes Lu Qi had prepared—a white short-sleeved T-shirt and light-blue cotton shorts.
Lu Li picked them up and had a look. The T-shirt was a size too big; it hung loose and baggy on her. The shorts were passable, but the waistband was clearly off—she had to cinch the drawstring as tight as it would go just to keep them up.
Then she hesitated. As for underwear—still none.
"...Going commando again, huh."
Lu Li let out a sigh. Not much she could do about it. She'd have to make do. It wasn't like she was going outside today anyway.
Steeling herself, she got dressed and walked to the bathroom sink. In the mirror, a girl stared back at her—hair a tangled mess, eyes still hazy with sleep. Her silver-white hair stuck out in every direction like a bird's nest, which made her delicate face look endearingly disheveled.
Then she saw her eyes.
Her crimson pupils shimmered in the mirror with an eerie, unsettling glow—otherworldly and ominous. Last night, in the dim light, she hadn't paid much attention. But now, in the clear brightness of morning, those eyes looked unnervingly vivid.
“...If I went outside looking like this, I'd get hauled in for sure...oh wait, maybe not, at least not these days—I could probably pass it off as cosplay or something...still, it's definitely going to be a pain.”
Lu Li stared at her reflection, brows knitting together. Crimson pupils, silver-white hair. Walking down the street, she'd draw a crowd without a doubt. Even if people assumed it was cosplay, this level of detail was more than enough to attract attention.
Going outside was going to be a serious problem. But she wasn't going to think about that right now.
"Good morning, Monster Girl."
****
She pushed open the bedroom door, and the fragrance of rice porridge drifted over to greet her.
Soft sounds came from the kitchen. Lu Qi was standing at the stove with her back turned, morning light falling across her shoulders, gilding the edges of her apron-clad silhouette with a warm, fuzzy gold.
"You're up? Come eat."
On the dining table sat 2 bowls of plain congee, a small dish of pickled vegetables, and 2 fried eggs. The eggs were cooked just right—edges faintly crisped, yolks still intact and runny.
Lu Qi heard her and turned around. Her gaze paused for a beat on Lu Li's shorts—cinched to within an inch of their life—and the corner of her eye seemed to twitch ever so slightly.
5 minutes later, the two of them were seated at the table.
"Eat while it's hot." Lu Qi lowered her head and took a sip of congee. "You're way too thin, and your complexion is alarmingly pale. You need to eat more."
"...Thank you."
Lu Li picked up her chopsticks. The congee had been cooked until it was soft and silky, dissolving on the tongue the moment it touched it, carrying a faint, gentle rice fragrance. She sipped at it slowly while Lu Qi rattled off a stream of instructions beside her.
"I have school today. You'll be home alone."
"There's leftover food from yesterday in the fridge. If you get hungry, just heat it up."
"You know how to use the microwave, right? It's the white one..."
"I should be back around 5. If I'm later than that, I'll send you a message...oh right, you don't have a phone?"
Lu Qi paused, as if turning this problem over in her head.
"Forget it. Just stay home. Don't go anywhere."
"...Got it." Lu Li nodded. "I won't go out."
****
After breakfast, Lu Qi slung her backpack on and changed into her shoes at the entrance. Lu Li stood to one side of the entryway and watched her tie her shoelaces, then stand up.
"I'm heading out. Be good, Xiao Li."
"Mm."
Lu Li hesitated for a moment, then spoke anyway.
"...Be careful on your way."
The instant those words left her mouth, she knew she'd slipped. That tone, that habit—it was completely from before, the way she'd always seen Lu Qi off at the door. Too natural. So natural she hadn't even thought about it.
Sure enough, Lu Qi's movements stopped. She turned her head, studied Lu Li for 2 seconds, then suddenly smiled.
Before Lu Li could respond, Lu Qi pushed open the door and stepped out.
"Okay, I'm off—"
The door swung shut behind her. A click—the latch fell into place.
Lu Li stood where she was, staring at the closed door, unmoving for a long moment.
The Security Door clicked shut, and the apartment fell instantly quiet.
Lu Li walked to the window and watched Lu Qi's figure gradually shrink below. Dark-blue school uniform. Ponytail swaying behind her. When she reached the estate gate, she turned and waved up at the window.
Only once that small figure had vanished entirely from view did Lu Li pull her gaze away. She turned around, leaned back against the windowsill, and began to sort through her thoughts.
Alright. Now that she'd calmed down—what was next?
The immediate crisis had passed, but the bigger problems were only just beginning.
[1] The identity problem. "Lu Li"—in the legal sense—still existed. ID card, bank card, student registration, all of it was still there. But "Lu Li (new)" was completely undocumented: no ID, no household registration, no proof of anything. Worse, her current face bore absolutely no resemblance to the photo on Lu Li's ID. Even if she walked into a bank holding the old ID, she'd be stopped on the spot.
[2] The money problem. There was still a small amount of savings in the bank account—money she'd earned working part-time over the past few years. Not a lot, but enough to keep the two of them going for a while. The catch: she couldn't withdraw it in person, and online banking was tied to her phone—which was nowhere to be found. Lu Qi was still in school; she couldn't let her drop out to work. So she needed to figure out a way to get money.
[3] Phone and documents. The clothes she'd been wearing that day—her phone and wallet should've been in the pockets. Where had Lu Qi put them? Or had she thrown them out? She needed to look.
[4] These eyes. Crimson pupils, silver-white hair. Even if she put on a hat and tucked the hair away, what about her eyes? Would she have to wear sunglasses every time she went out? Were there colored lenses that could cover pupil color like that? But buying contact lenses meant going outside...another dead end. Online shopping would need a phone...! ‘Could modern people really not function for even a second without their phones?’
[5] Her existing relationships. She'd already missed 2 days of classes at university. Her roommates...wait, no, she lived off campus. No roommates. But people in the class group chat had definitely been asking where she'd gone. And there was the tabletop group—she was GM for the weekend session, and if she just vanished, that bunch would absolutely lose their minds. How was she supposed to explain it? Just disappear? Make something up?
Too many problems. Every single one was thorny; not one had a ready-made answer.
Lu Li let out a long sigh and pushed herself up from the sofa—this time she'd learned her lesson: no engaging her core. She used her hands to prop herself up like a sensible person.
"One at a time...no rush..."
She muttered to herself, willing herself forward.
Start with the easiest one.
Step 1—find the phone.