Southridge City.
Starfall Conservatory of Music.
A tea shop.
6:00 p.m.
Ethan Moore pushed open the glass door of the tea shop, sweat pouring down his face.
As a first-year student fresh out of orientation week, he had just earned a two-day break. At this hour, the shop was crowded, mostly with couples killing time together.
A lot of eyes were drawn toward the left side of the room.
In the second-to-last row sat a girl in a white dress. In the very last seat was someone with an eye-catching silhouette, long hair draped over her shoulders. She was facing away from everyone, so no one could see her face.
Ethan walked over to the second-to-last row.
The girl in the white dress was his older sister.
Lena Moore.
She had barely started college before being crowned campus beauty.
Five foot six, soft and refined features, and a faint smile that always lingered on her lips. She gave off the warm, gentle feeling of the girl-next-door, the kind of older sister everyone wished they had.
"Ethan, what happened to you?" Lena asked, pulling a tissue from her bag and handing it to him. "Why are you drenched in sweat?"
Ethan sat down, took the tissue, but didn't wipe his face. Instead, he stared at her seriously.
"Lena, listen to me. Please listen carefully," he said solemnly. "What I'm about to tell you is really, really terrifying. Don't freak out."
Lena tilted her head. She rarely saw her brother look this serious.
"What is it?"
Ethan took a breath.
"I just had a dream. And in that dream, this world we live in is actually a novel."
"But not a normal novel," he continued. "It's a tragic yuri story."
"And then—"
Pfft.
Before he could finish, Lena burst out laughing.
Ethan panicked. "No, I'm not joking! I'm serious!"
Trying not to laugh, Lena nodded. "Okay, okay. Go on."
"You're one of the main characters," Ethan said. "And you're the bottom—"
"Hey!" Lena jumped to her feet, clearly displeased. "What kind of dream is that? Even if I were the protagonist, I'd obviously be the one on top!"
"Lena, please don't interrupt me. Just let me finish, okay?"
Ethan knew how unbelievable this sounded.
But everything he said was true.
He had dreamed of his previous life. The memories were so vivid they felt like yesterday. In that life, he had finished reading the novel… then walked outside and died in a traffic accident.
"Alright, alright. Say it all," Lena said, sitting back down.
"You're the one being pursued," Ethan continued. "And here's the important part. When classes officially start the day after tomorrow, you'll meet someone. She'll be your professor. Her name is Clara Vaughn. Professor Vaughn."
"Lena, I have to warn you. You must stay far away from her."
Lena frowned. "Why?"
"Because she's a complete psychopath," Ethan said urgently. "She has a split personality, drinks blood, and she's totally unhinged. A full-on yandere."
All the violent, explicit scenes from the novel flashed through his mind. Back when he read it, he didn't think much of it. Now, imagining his sister in that story made his stomach turn.
Lena had always treated him well growing up. Food, drinks, toys, she shared everything with him.
And in that novel, someone like her ended up with a monster like Clara Vaughn.
"Ethan!" Lena quickly glanced around. When she saw no one paying attention, she relaxed a little. "You can't just say things like that!"
"I know," Ethan nodded. "I just didn't want you to underestimate how serious this is. Just promise me you'll stay away from Clara Vaughn."
Lena looked at him with concern, then patted the seat beside her.
"Come sit next to me."
"…Why?" Ethan finally wiped the sweat from his face.
It was early September, still brutally hot after running around. He had sprinted all the way from his dorm, and his back was soaked.
"Just sit."
"Oh."
Ethan had always listened to his sister. She was the first person in the world who had ever been kind to him.
"Ethan," Lena said quietly, lowering her voice. "You're eighteen now. And those kinds of things… well, you can read them. But maybe don't read too much of that stuff, okay?"
"…."
Ethan froze for a second before realizing what she meant.
"No, Lena, listen to me. I'll say it again. Everything I said just now is real!"
She sighed and gently ruffled his hair.
"I know. Having dreams like that at your age is normal. But you have to separate dreams from reality."
"…Never mind," Ethan muttered.
He knew it sounded ridiculous. Who would believe the world was a fictional story?
Still, for her sake, he took a breath.
"Lena, can you promise me one thing?"
"What is it?"
"Promise you'll never get involved with Clara Vaughn," he said seriously.
"Alright," Lena nodded helplessly. "But you have to promise me something too. Cut back on those… unhealthy stories."
Ethan fell silent.
—
Ten minutes later, Lena walked out of the tea shop with her arm linked through Ethan's.
Both of them were striking. One the campus beauty, the other the campus heartthrob. During the orientation week, the siblings were often seen together. At first, people even thought they were dating.
"Oh, Professor Lynn?" Lena greeted the woman walking toward them. "You're here for tea too?"
The woman was her academic advisor, Professor Lynn Harper.
"Lena," Lynn said with a warm smile. "I'm meeting a friend."
"Oh, I see."
"Professor," Ethan greeted politely.
After a brief exchange, the siblings headed toward the cafeteria.
Professor Harper entered the tea shop and walked straight to the last seat on the left.
The woman sitting there wore a simple white blouse and a long black skirt. Her hair fell loosely over her shoulders. Her features were refined, her nose straight, her lips pale, her gaze clear yet deep. She gave off an unmistakable sense of distance.
"Well, Clara," Professor Harper said cheerfully as she sat down. "You finally came back to the country. What are you staring at? Is whatever's outside really more interesting than your old friend?"
"Nothing," Clara Vaughn replied, taking a sip of water.
Her eyes lingered on the reflection of a young man's back outside the window.
Unhinged?
Blood-drinking?
A fictional world?
A dream?
…Interesting.
Ethan followed his sister into the campus food court.
Compared to the main cafeteria of Starfall Conservatory, which was cheap but forgettable, the smaller food hall was far more appealing. Rows of specialty stalls filled the space, offering everything from braised chicken and clay pot rice to omelet rice and spicy hotpot. The scents alone were enough to make people linger.
They stopped at the spicy hotpot stall and ordered a shared set for two.
Taking the order number, the siblings found a table and sat down.
While they waited, Lena propped her chin on her hands and glanced at Ethan with a knowing smile.
"So," she said lightly, "now that you're in college… is there a girl you like?"
"Not at the moment," Ethan answered, though his mind was clearly elsewhere.
In the novel he remembered from his previous life, there had been no such person as Ethan Moore. He didn't exist in the story at all. The entire plot revolved around Lena and Clara Vaughn, their entanglement, their obsession, their slow descent into tragedy.
"You know," Lena continued, her tone playful, "there are a few girls in my class who seem quite interested in you."
She rested her elbows on the table, her white dress standing out vividly amid the noise and clutter of the food court. Even seated, she was impossible to miss. Glances drifted toward her from all directions, hopeful, curious, lingering.
But Lena didn't notice any of it.
Her attention was entirely on her brother.
She reached out and ruffled Ethan's slightly messy hair.
Ethan was tall, nearly six feet, with clean features and a striking face; he looked gorgeous. More than a few girls in Lena's class had tried to get his contact information through her.
"Forget it," Ethan said, shrugging. "Don't try to set me up. I'll figure it out myself."
The two of them weren't in the same department. Ethan studied piano performance, while Lena was in vocal studies. Just as girls in her class asked about Ethan, students in his class had tried asking him about Lena.
He had turned them all down.
Simply put, none of them felt worthy of his gentle, soft-hearted sister.
"If you ever do like someone," Lena said with a small smile, "remember to tell me. I'll help you vet her."
"…Right."
Ethan had planned to find a girlfriend in college, to experience a normal campus romance.
But right now, that wasn't an option.
First, he had to make sure Lena and Clara Vaughn never crossed paths.
Easier said than done.
According to the original story, Clara Vaughn was Lena's major-course professor. How could there be no interaction at all?
Lost in thought, Ethan didn't notice Lena scrolling through her phone.
A message suddenly popped up in her class group chat.
Professor Harper: @Everyone The schedule is out. Take a look.
Lena opened it.
Early mornings. Every single day.
Monday through Friday were packed, except for Friday afternoon.
But what caught her attention wasn't the schedule itself.
It was the list of instructors.
"…Ethan," she said slowly. "Didn't you say my major professor's last name was Vaughn?"
"Yeah," Ethan replied. "Vaughn. First name Clara."
Lena handed him her phone.
"Then where did you hear that?" she asked. "Look at my schedule. There's no Professor Vaughn listed anywhere."
Ethan took the phone, frowning as he read.
"That's… impossible."
"Ethan," Lena said carefully, "who told you Clara Vaughn was my professor? And… do you even know her? Who is she to you?"
"Wait. Hold on." Ethan pressed his fingers to his temple.
Something was wrong.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
He was certain Clara Vaughn should have been Lena's professor. He remembered it clearly.
"Our hotpot should be ready," Lena said after a moment. "I'll go get it."
She stood and headed toward the stall, leaving Ethan alone with his thoughts.
It was dinner time now, and the food court had grown crowded. People often joked that beauty could improve one's appetite, and it wasn't entirely untrue. Watching someone attractive walk by somehow made the food taste better.
Lena carried the tray back, her short walk drawing more than a few glances.
But almost immediately, those gazes shifted.
Another presence had entered the room.
No one noticed exactly when she appeared.
She stood there quietly, tall and composed, like frost-covered plum blossoms standing against the snow. Her expression was calm, distant. Her posture effortless, confident.
Some people simply seemed born to be at the center of the world.
Not only did the students in the food court stare, even Lena paused, instinctively glancing over several times.
It was the woman from the tea shop earlier. The one whose face no one had seen.
This time, there was no mistaking it.
She was stunning.
Not in a flashy way, but with a cold, restrained elegance that radiated from within.
"Wow," Professor Harper said, patting the woman beside her on the shoulder. "Clara, you really haven't lost your charm. Look at them. You're still dangerous to students of every gender."
Clara Vaughn ignored her friend's teasing.
"What are we eating?" she asked calmly.
Professor Harper glanced around. "How about rice noodles? You used to love clam noodles, didn't you?"
Clara scanned the crowded room. "No seats. Let's go."
"…You're right." Professor Harper sighed, then suddenly stopped. Her eyes lit up. "Wait. Over there. One of my students. We can share a table."
Clara followed her gaze.
Her eyes landed briefly on a boy seated alone, head lowered, lost in thought.
"…Alright," she said.
"Hey," Lena said, nudging Ethan. "Look over there. That woman's really beautiful."
"Mm," Ethan replied absentmindedly.
His thoughts were racing.
One thing was certain. This was the world of the novel he had read in his previous life. The historical details alone made that clear.
Another thing was also certain.
Lena Moore was absolutely the female lead. Her name, background, birthday, department. Everything matched.
So why wasn't Clara Vaughn on her schedule?
Had he missed something?
Ethan searched his memories. In his mind, the past played back like recorded footage, clear and precise.
"Lena," Professor Harper called as she approached.
Lena stood up immediately out of habit. "Professor."
"Relax," Professor Harper said with a wave of her hand. "Would you mind if we joined you?"
"Of course not."
"Thank you," Professor Harper said warmly. "I'll go order. Clara, sit down first."
Clara gave a quiet acknowledgment.
She stepped around Ethan from behind, her long strides unhurried, and took the seat beside him.
(Ethan and Lena conversing, and the professor in the back.)