“Really, Tangxue… this has to be the last one!” Lan’er pressed her palms like a lotus in prayer, pleading with misty eyes.

“But Lan’er… didn’t you say that the last few times?” I curved a half-smile like a crescent moon and asked.

If I didn’t know this routine, I’d have blown like firecrackers; I cooled like dusk rain. We only bought ten; I won’t let that sly woman drift Lan’er off like a kite in crosswind.

“I, but…”

“Lit—” The shop manager lifted a hint like a waving fan, but I cut her off like a snapping twig.

Ugh, filthy! The mood splashed like muddy water.

“Manager sis, we’re not just here for lingerie; our day’s a sparrow hopping to other nests.”

“Ah, right…” Lan’er nodded like a pecking dove. “Sorry, manager sis… we’re heading elsewhere; thanks for all the lantern-light advice.”

Lan’er’s noble roots sit like jade under silk; money is drizzle to her, while knowledge burns like a steady lamp.

“No worries, no worries. Come play again, little Lan’er~” Her voice flowed like syrup over warm pancakes.

Did Lan’er give her our names while I blinked like a fish breaking water?

“Mm! Bye, manager sis!”

“Bye, you two cute little sisters~” Her goodbye fluttered like ribbons on a breeze.

She kept her promise like a knot tied tight; she gifted every set we eyed like ripe fruit in baskets. I grabbed a few pretty little camisoles for Xuewei, petals of fabric I think she’ll like, and tossed them into storage space like stones into a clear pond.

Trailing a mall with a girl who loves browsing is a long road like a river bend, and painful like a pebble in a shoe. Whenever Lan’er spots something she likes, she drifts in like a moth to a lantern, and the staff swarm like sparrows with bright sales chatter. To them, a rich, naive loli is a spring to draw from; to Lan’er, money is snow that doesn’t melt, so she’s fine. I’m not; I work weekly for my black‑hearted aunt like a draft ox, and smile until tears fall like drizzle.

We only breathed easier when we reached the food court, neon steaming like a night market under rain.

“Tangxue… eat less, okay? You’ve already had so much.” Lan’er watched me walking while stuffing grilled skewers like fire sticks, worry pooling like dew.

“Hey, Lan’er, we’re at the food court, a sea of aroma like rising fog—how can I not feast? Food’s the true Dao of life!”

“Here~ Lan’er, try this grilled meatball. It’s fragrant and spicy like a chili breeze, not greasy like pond scum.”

“I can’t… Tangxue, how can you eat like a wolf yet stay light like a feather…” Lan’er’s eyes skimmed my chest like a swallow over water, then paused. “And your figure’s still so good.”

“No idea… Maybe I’m just the type that won’t get fat, a stomach like a bottomless well? I’m always hungry, still growing like a sapling reaching sun—so I gotta eat.”

“Does it have anything to do with that cookie you ate, the one like a tiny spell? I tasted it last time… then I was starving like a hollow drum…”

“Uh, probably not.” My memories drifted like fog; I’ve always eaten like a wildfire.

“Want to test it when you’re free?”

“How do I test—oh! Lan’er, look! They’ve got lamb skewers smoking like campfires!”

“Tangxue, don’t run so fast! Eat and sprint, and your stomach will cramp like a knotted rope…!”

Sadly, Tangxue didn’t hear; my feet flew like wind chasing a kite.

I count every coin like beads when it’s anything else, but with food, money burns like paper offerings.

“Tangxue… Mom said barbecue with ice cream will wreck your stomach like a cold rain on hot coals!”

“C’mon, it won’t. My stomach’s an iron cauldron under a mountain; this stuff barely ripples the broth.”

“…”

“Tangxue, let’s head back… it’s afternoon, and the sun’s slanting like an amber blade.” Lan’er looked ready to cry and laugh, a spring cloud torn by wind; ever since my ‘lunch’ here at noon, she hasn’t—

Lunch rolled to four in the afternoon, time puddling like spilled tea.

“Well… since it’s late, why don’t we stay for dinner—no, midnight snacks—then head back?” My grin flashed like a fox under moonlight.

“…”

“Kidding~ Lan’er, let’s go home.” I softened like dusk settling on rooftops.

“Mm!” Relief rose in her chest like a breeze after rain; in her heart, a silent “Finally!” rang like a bell.

“Lan’er, I need to swing by where I used to stay, a shadow I left behind like dust.”

“Eh? Tangxue, but…”

“I forgot the place is a mess, hygiene like weeds.” I gave a bitter smile like a cracked cup.

“I’ll go with—”

“No need. You head first; I’ll clean it solo, like sweeping leaves from my own doorstep.”

No way I’m letting Lan’er see my room’s ghostly swamp; if someone I know saw that, I’d die socially like a paper lantern snuffed.

Shock headline! The blue‑haired beauty’s secret lair is a pigsty like a 300‑pound shut‑in’s nest! Is this human nature falling like autumn leaves, or morality melting like frost?

Scram! If anyone pulls that stunt, I’ll torch their house like a phoenix fire, then flood it clean like a river in spate!

“Oh… then I’ll head back first. Tangxue, remember to get back ear—” Her words dangled like silk, and I had already slipped away like a shadow.

“Come back early…” Watching my back fade like a swallow at dusk, Lan’er whispered like thread.

—

I’m back, I’m back—wait! This place feels wrong, like a chill crawling over a pond.

I narrowed my eyes like a hunting cat and scanned the room like ripples. On the floor, strange footprints bloomed like damp fern fronds.

A thief!

A thief dared steal from my house, like a rat gnawing a rice jar?! Unforgivable!

Anger flared like a torch; I vowed to carve a lesson like a scar on oak.

The footprints look daintier, like willow leaves—maybe a woman? Heh… damn lady, just you wait; once I blink in, I’ll chain a combo like thunder.

Elemental Sight opened like a blue iris.

“This turtle… she’s lying on my bed like a cat on warm slate. Think this house is empty?” I chuckled in fury like sparks popping. “Wait right there!”

I decided to bonk her, clean and sharp, like a cudgel from a storm.

Weapons? For me, blades and bats fall like rain; I want one, I get one.

Water‑element Blink—my body slid like a fish through silk.

“Bastard! Lie on my bed, and you die today like a candle under a boot!”

I went wild, swinging blindly like a summer storm thrashing a bamboo grove.

“Hey, bastard, eaten yet? If not, eat my club like a meteor falling!”

“I haven’t eaten…” A girl’s buzzing voice seeped from the blanket like a bee in lavender.

Huh? That sounds familiar, like an old bell behind fog.