Author's notes: Hello! It's time for another update! This chapter took me a while to figure out how to write. I wasn't sure what to say but I trudged through it alright. So please enjoy this chapter!

"Um, if you don't mind me asking Meng Yao, how on earth are you acquainted with… ah, what's their names again? Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji?" I asked him telepathically.

"IT'S A VERY LONG STORY" he replied with a sigh. "BUT LET'S JUST SAY THAT I OWE THESE TWO MORE THAN JUST A SIMPLE APOLOGY."

The smell of freshly made food made my stomach both gurgle and do cartwheels in protest. The last few months of my life, on those rare days where I could actually eat something and not have to be tube fed, all I could remember was eating bland and tasteless hospital food. It wasn't a big deal, but it just felt more like the hospitals were doing the bare minimum of keeping their patients well fed and alive rather than making food that was edible.

I watched as Lan Wangji ladled what looked like congee from a tureen into two small bowls on the table. He then walked over to my bed and scooped me up into his arms like it was nothing. The smell of sandalwood flooded my nose as I reached out and held on to his shoulder, trying to keep my balance. He walked back to a small dining room table and deposited me on a wooden stool across from them at the table.

Wei Wuxian was already dumping what looked like an absurd amount of chili oil into his bowl while Lan Wangji was talking small graceful mouthfuls, savouring every bite. He was excitedly telling him about the spell he used on me and how it had worked, a child–like excitement glittering in his eyes while Lan Wangji just smiled and nodded in between bites. When was the last time I sat down to a peaceful family meal like this? Growing up, my sister and I were more often than not watching my parents having screaming matches with each other. And if they weren't screaming at each other, then they'd be taking their frustrations out on the both us, leading to one of us running to the washroom in tears. Lan Wangji must have noticed the hesitation on my face because he then gently nudged what I guessed was my bowl of congee towards me.

"Eat." he told me "You'll need a full stomach before you take your medication."

My stomach lurched again. The smell of congee filled me with dread and made me want to bolt for the nearest exit. In addition to the bland and tasteless hospital food I had to eat, my days were also filled with having to eat very plain and disgusting congee that I could barely keep down.

"YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T JUST SIT THERE STARING AT YOUR BOWL OF CONGEE FOREVER," quipped Meng Yao in the corner of my mind. "YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO EAT SOMETHING EVENTUALLY."

Reluctantly, I added some toppings to my bowl and took an experimental nibble of my congee. The taste of ginger, scallions, cilantro, white pepper, sesame oil, youtiao, and shredded pork soothed the raging maelstrom that was my stomach and filled my chest with warmth and happiness.

"Where are your parents?" asked Lan Wangji

What could I tell him? That they were currently in another world mourning because I had died? Who'd believe that? I had to tell him something and quick.

"They…went to up to heaven" I told him sadly, "Mommy and Daddy aren't here anymore."

They both looked at each other in shock while I ate another spoonful. I felt bad about ruining the mood, but I didn't know how else to answer them. Wei Wuxian coughed nervously, trying to change the subject to something more light hearted.

"I see…D-do you have a name?"

I debated between giving them my real name and an alias. They did risk their lives to protect me last night, AND they did look worried about me from what I saw through Meng Yao's screen. I suppose I could tell them my real name right?

"Alice. My name is Alice"

"Ai-ris-su…"

They both tried pronouncing my name with a noticeable thick Mandarin accent. Of course people of this era wouldn't be familiar with foreign names. Or rather, people of this world. Did they ever do trades with people from foreign countries? That didn't matter right now. Luckily growing up bilingual meant that I'd have both an English AND a Chinese name.

"My friends call me Alice, but Mommy and Daddy call me Lihua at home."

"Lihua is a nice name, it means beautiful and flourishing." Said Lan Wangji, a hint of a smile on his lips.

I could only think about how ironic my name was in hindsight. My parents gave me my name expecting me to grow up to be a strong and beautiful person. Yet I died a bald and sickly burnout with only bitter and sad memories to my name. Perhaps this was why I preferred being called by my English name, even if I did wind up with people making Alice in Wonderland jokes around me. At least the Alice in the book got to be as carefree and happy as she could be, even if it was all a dream in the end.

"You're not from around here are you?" asked Wei Wuxian.

I almost choked on my congee, coughing and sputtering as I attempted to clear my airway. A glass of water was poured for me, which I gratefully downed several mouthfuls of while thumping my chest with my hand. Of course someone in a skimpy and tattered hospital gown would stand out here! I shook my head no, suddenly finding the floor much more interesting to look at than them. Again, I couldn't really tell them I was from another world. They'd label me as a lunatic wouldn't they?

"N-no I'm not…" I said timidly, letting my voice quiver and trying to play up the whole "homeless orphan" angle of my fabricated back story.

I felt bad about lying to them, but I was also all by myself in a strange new world without a way to protect myself. And now that I knew about the existence of demons and goodness knows what other creatures of the night existing here, I'd need to find some way to make sure I didn't wind up becoming just another nameless face that became monster fodder.

"I…I came from very far away. Daddy was always drinking so he and Mommy would fight all the time." I whimpered, squeezing some tears out for good measure. "S-sometimes Mommy would hit and yell at me and Jiejie when she couldn't find him. One night, I saw Mommy go into the kitchen and grab a knife. I saw her stab Daddy many times. Jiejie told me to run but…"

The tears were now freely falling down my face. I used the back of my hand to rub at my eyes. By then I felt a pair of broad hands rubbing soothing circles into my back. I looked up to see Lan Wangji looking at me. Though he didn't really show it on his face, I could tell that he at least felt bad for me. A pang of guilt blossomed in my gut but I forced it back down as I continued with my lie.

"What happened next?" Lan Wangji asked me in a tone that was firm but barely teetering on the edge of anger.

"I saw Mommy attacking her! I ran as fast as I could. I lived outside for a few days and then a man picked me up, saying that he would take me back to his house. But when we got back there, he put a cloth over my mouth and I fainted. When I woke up, the scary man was talking to another man about wanting to sell me. I escaped but then I got lost in the forest… I was so scared!" I wailed, doing my best impression of a frightened kid.

Did I feel bad about using my real parents back at home as the basis of this lie? Maybe a little bit, but I didn't really have the best of relationships with them. If anything, using them for the basis of this sob story was my way of spiting them from beyond the grave. Nothing would ever make up for a childhood being filled with having to hide behind locked doors during screaming matches nor being berated for not having good enough grades to get into some top prestigious school my parents could only wish they could get into when they were younger. This was my own form of revenge on them, however petty it may be.

"WOW, YOU REALLY LAID IT ON THICK FOR THEM DIDN'T YOU?" said Meng Yao, the slightest hint of amusement in his voice.

"Oh shut it Meng Yao!" I reprimanded in my head

I didn't know what kind of face he was making right now, but if I could see him right now, he'd probably be sitting there with a bemused expression. He was probably going to roast me for it at a later date, but that could wait for another time. For now, I needed to make sure that I was convincing enough to make sure I had a means of surviving in this world, even if it meant telling a few white lies in the process.

"I-i-if I stay here, that bad man will find me again!" I sobbed

I felt myself being pulled into an embrace by Lan Wangji, surprised how strong he was. That gnawing feeling of guilt only served to grow even more in me, threatening to eat me alive. I heard footsteps behind me and then a comforting hand on my shoulder, one that I didn't deserve to have on me.

"You've been through a lot haven't you?" asked Wei Wuxian from behind me quietly. "I'm sorry we didn't find you sooner. We'll make sure to find that bad man and make sure he doesn't hurt anyone else."

We continued to eat in silence, though my obvious guilt in stringing them along like this managed to kill my appetite all together. After choking down my breakfast, I was more than willing to take the medicine that was brought up to me. It smelled very strongly of medicinal herbs and tasted exactly how you'd imagine traditional Chinese medicine to taste like. No amount of Haw Flakes would ever flush the bitter and weird aftertaste out of my mouth, though a part of me deserved it after lying to the two of them like this.

After breakfast, the two of them went into town to help the villagers with retrieving more bodies from the forest as well as purifying them and to ask around for leads, leaving me by myself in the inn with my thoughts. They were going to see right through me and then abandon me to be eaten by monsters. I probably deserved it anyways. Who in their right mind would ever want to take in a liar like me? Since I couldn't do much in my injured and feverish state, I fell into a fitful sleep, tossing and turning from the guilt.

I found myself at the gazebo again, with Meng Yao squatting down to feed the fish in the pond from a dish he had beside him in the grass. I sat on the bench, burying my face into my hands. I've only spent one night and one morning in this world, and I've already turned my new life into a shit show that would make any person balk at me in horror. I've also lied to two people that have done nothing but risk their lives to save me and nurse me back to health.

"That was quite the dramatic lie you spun there Lihua." Meng Yao said chuckling as he picked the plate up beside him and went to sit across from me. "A mother going on a rampage AND human trafficking? How on earth did you come up with something this elaborate?"

I could practically hear the amusement and sarcasm dripping in his voice. A part of me wanted to wipe that smarmy expression off his face, and another part of me wanted to wring his neck out, but I was the one that did still lie to them. I was the one who decided that yes, to open her mouth and stick her foot in it, like the dumbass that I am. How I was going to take responsibility for this?

"I…I really don't know Meng Yao. I can't just TELL two people that I just met that oh guess what? I'm from another world! People who say things like that get labelled as lunatics! What else was I supposed to say? And how do I know that I can trust them?"

I could feel a headache and a very strong urge to kick myself coming on, though I feel like I'll be kicking myself more times in the future than I'd be anticipating. I watched as he poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip of it, savouring the taste.

"Lihua, you know you are going to have to tell them the truth eventually right? I just hope you'll be able to accept the consequences as they are."

"I don't want to hear that from a man who could have been a serial killer in life!" I groaned.

A look of hurt briefly flashed across his eyes before he put his cup down and regained his composure. Did I accidentally strike a nerve? No, it couldn't be right?

"I know that you promised me that you'd be up front and honest with me but, I can't exactly hold you to that promise when I myself can't be honest and upfront as well. It'd make me a hypocrite!"

What on earth had I done? Why had I contradicted myself like this? I may as well be as amoral as that "scary man" from my fake back story. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Meng Yao with a worried look on his face, probably the first genuine expression out of him that wasn't condescending or mocking me.

"I've told my own fair share of lies too, and I'm not very proud of what I did either." He sighed." I just don't want you to make the same mistakes I did."

I reached up and patted his hand gently, a small smile on my lips.

"Well, I guess that makes us partners in crime then. I don't know what I'll do when those two find me out but, at least if you're mentoring me we can figure out how to get by in this world."

I awoke from my nap, still feeling sore and stiff due to sleeping with a sling, but not as nauseous and feverish as before. If I was going to get abandoned, I needed to stop wallowing in self pity and figure out a game plan for myself.

Author's notes: Alright, so I'm guessing you're all sitting at home wondering what on earth Haw Flakes are.

Well, Haw Flakes are a type of Chinese candy made from Hawthorn fruit, hence the name. They're these small dark pink and circular discs that are stacked on top of each other and packaged to look like fireworks. They're kinda powdery and sweet when you eat them. I've also found out that when people are taking traditional Chinese medicine, they eat these afterwards because of how bitter and gross it sometimes is. If you're curious about what they look like, they look like this: wiki/Haw_flakes

So yes, Alice is punishing herself for her lying by thinking she doesn't even deserve to have the sweet relief of Haw Flakes (which I don't think would even exist in the world of MDZS)