Chapter 289: [Unswerving Devotion] Spun Out of Thin Air
“I am no mirror spirit; I am likely… another possible version of you.”
Bai Cha made up a lie on the fly, feeling almost zero mental burden given that the person before her shared her own face.
Xu Taotao looked at her with a baffled expression, saying, “Yet we bear different appearances.”
Gazing at her, Bai Cha suddenly asked, “Can you describe the differences between us?”
“Well… truth be told, we look quite alike. If I must describe it, your nose is slightly different from mine—yours might be a touch more straight and defined, and your mouth is a bit different as well, slightly thinner than mine.”
Xu Taotao found it truly difficult to articulate, for their features remained exceedingly close.
Bai Cha looked thoughtful.
This description sounded far more like an accurate depiction of her real-world appearance.
So in Xu Taotao’s eyes, her face was “Bai Cha’s” face as well? As for Xu Taotao herself, when looking in the mirror, did she see a face nearly identical to Xu Shengsheng’s, much like Bai Cha did when roleplaying her identity?
This inevitably stoked further speculation regarding the relationship between the two.
“You have yet to answer me—why do you claim to be another possible version of me? Our appearances differ.”
Xu Taotao was observing Bai Cha as well.
“Given that it is another possibility, bearing a different appearance is naturally possible too. How old are you?”
“15.”
Bai Cha nodded, saying, “Then I am three years older than you; I am 18 this year.”
A thread of confusion surfaced in the depths of Xu Taotao’s eyes.
Even their ages differed—was it possible that she had been born three years earlier in another world, which accounted for her different appearance?
It still felt surprisingly difficult to explain, yet she harbored an inexplicable sense of trust toward Bai Cha, so she tentatively chose to believe it anyway.
Bai Cha had already taken her hand in hers.
[System Prompt: Parasitize Host ???]
The prompt for the host’s name produced a burst of crackling static noise, as though censored by the system.
Having originally intended to leverage her skill to probe the other party’s true identity, it now seemed she could indeed only observe first.
Regardless, she parasitized Xu Taotao anyway.
Unclear as the other party’s circumstances were, she was bound to be a critical figure.
Yet Xu Taotao froze unexpectedly.
She looked down at her own hand.
It felt as though something had entered her body.
Noticing her expression, Bai Cha asked directly, “Can you feel it?”
Xu Taotao asked blankly, “What did you do to me?”
This was Bai Cha’s very first time encountering a host capable of sensing the existence of a Dodder Vine seed.
Refraining from explaining outright, she merely said, “Try sensing it for yourself.”
Hearing these words, Xu Taotao focused on sensing the anomaly within her body.
It felt as though something were taking root and sprouting inside her.
Exceedingly subtle, she could almost see her own physical anatomy, catching sight of thin, yellow vines appearing within her meridians.
Xu Taotao was thoroughly astounded.
“What is this? I feel something taking root and sprouting inside my body?”
Bai Cha adopted a look of surprise as well.
“It seems you and I are indeed identical,” she said, though in truth she was merely spinning lies out of thin air.
“That is a form of power. How should I put it…” She pondered briefly before continuing, “Equivalent to a special ability? Can you understand that? It means your body will be able to release Dodder Vines in the future.”
“Then doesn’t that make me a monster?” A trace of terror surfaced across Xu Taotao’s face.
The more clearly she could perceive the physical changes within her body, the faster the initial sense of novelty brought by uncovering a new world upon meeting Bai Cha eroded away.
A thread of unease settled into Xu Taotao at last.
She indeed craved for her life to undergo change—for herself to possess the power of choice rather than merely having her life ordered about by others.
Yet she had recognized the danger as well.
Although her current existence could be seen straight to its end at a single glance, it was indeed sufficiently safe, was it not?
Because it could be seen straight to its end, she held full knowledge of what would happen next and could handle it accordingly, for she had operated this way for so many years.
Conversely, the unknown and infinite possibilities lay before her like a dense fog; without taking that step forward, no one could tell what lay within.
Much like how she had only just realized that the young girl standing before her—who shared a similar appearance—might be extraordinarily dangerous.
Her expression was far too transparent, allowing Bai Cha to read her thoughts at a single glance.
Come to think of it, although the other party shared the same appearance as her real-world self, Xu Taotao seemed completely incapable of acting.
She was noticeably more naive and innocent.
“Are you afraid?” Bai Cha spoke up.
Xu Taotao pressed her lips together, and though she remained silent, the look in her eyes had begun to fill with vigilance.
Just moments ago she had felt the other party filled her with a sense of trust, yet dismantling that trust proved exceedingly easy as well.
Once a person harbored suspicion toward another, trust ground to a screeching halt.
“It is truly difficult for me to explain it to you…” Bai Cha let out a sigh, unfastening her earring.
“In my world, I discovered this, and I swapped my own earring with this one.”
Taking it to inspect carefully, Xu Taotao unfastened her own earring as well.
The one in Bai Cha’s hand was indeed her own.
“You ought to have noticed anomalies as well. When you wept earlier, I heard the sound, yet I couldn’t see you.”
Xu Taotao recalled lying there weeping, turning her head to catch sight of a pair of embroidered shoes, and nodded in agreement.
“I possess certain special abilities, yet they were suppressed after I arrived at your place, for this does not belong to my world.”
Bai Cha let out a faint, haunting sigh, her gaze turning gloomy and sorrowful as well.
“Furthermore, I likely have zero means to return right now either. I was originally curious about what lay on the other side of the mirror, initially assuming it was a haunting…”
Throughout her entire narrative, she uttered not a single word asking Xu Taotao to trust her, yet the psychological defenses Xu Taotao had just erected were now quietly crumbling as well.
She began to waver once more.
Perhaps the person before her truly was merely a version of herself from another possibility?
“Do the people in your world all possess this kind of power?”
Xu Taotao finally spoke up to inquire again.
Bai Cha offered a flawless, irreproachable smile.
The other party was indeed simple and naive—wasn’t she about to begin extending her trust anew?
“Naturally, every single one of us possesses power, though everyone’s abilities differ somewhat. You have already sensed my power—it allows my body to grow Dodder Vines to exercise control.”
Xu Taotao sensed the situation inside her body once more, feeling far less revulsion toward it than she had moments ago.
“Then I…”
“I helped you awaken your power. Among the people in our world, every single individual holds a single opportunity to aid someone else in acquiring power.”
Bai Cha lied without batting an eye, her gaze brimming with utter sincerity.
Xu Taotao believed her.
“So that’s how it is! No wonder—it scared me half to death… Looking at it this way, we truly are the same person then?”
Xu Taotao grew excited all of a sudden, perhaps because she had been deeply expectant to begin with, paired with certain special sensations that led her to instantly believe Bai Cha the moment she “straightened out” the logic.
“Then in the world you reside in, must you obey your family’s orders to marry and bear children as well?”
