A gray mist of confusion settled over Yun Shi. “What do you mean?”

Of course it’d be like this. Maya Hanazaka watched the moment roll in like a familiar tide, unsurprised.

She’d known Yun Shi was in the dark. Her bewilderment felt natural, like rain on an unready roof.

But Maya wanted to speak, to lay it bare like a letter pressed to a table.

“Yun Shi, I first ran into you when we were sorted into classes. We voted for class rep then. Remember? You didn’t vote for me.”

Without noticing, Maya let old days unfurl, like faded ink being warmed back to life.

That memory, once washed pale like sun-bleached cloth, took shape again on her tongue.

“Maya Hanazaka, I—”

Yun Shi didn’t know why Maya was saying any of this, but instinct pricked like a thorn. This girl who liked girls had something heavy to say.

“At the start, I really hated you. I couldn’t stand Yun Shi Bianqi at all. Your manner, your tone—none of it was my type. Worst of all, you were always so ambiguous with other girls. That kind of person is hard to like.”

“…”

“I thought you were just a sissy, a pretty boy I’d never look at. But you kept getting close to Mizuki, close to other girls. I got pulled in without noticing—drawn to the worst in you.”

Maya stepped up, her footsteps soft as falling ash. Her gaze was flat, like a still pond without a ripple.

“I hated you, I resisted you, I even envied you. But when I found out you… you’re a girl, I realized I’d done so much wrong. I kept thinking you were clinging to Mizuki. I kept thinking you were a jerk with a cloud of girls. I never stopped to think you might just be lonely.”

“Alright, alright, don’t—”

“No, let me say it. Hear me, Yun Shi. Knowing you’re not one of those gross boys made me so happy. If you’ve got lots of girls around, I can accept it. You’re not like those boys. You’re different.”

“Stop. Don’t you think you’re being weird—”

“Why can’t I say it? I will say it! I admit I treated you badly. But it’s okay, I still have a chance, don’t I? I can get closer than the other girls. I can like you more than other friends.”

“Maya Hanazaka!!”

Yun Shi’s voice cracked like thunder in a summer storm. She had to stop this before it spilled forever.

If Maya kept going, there’d be no end. And Yun Shi… she finally saw what Maya wanted.

Maya hadn’t come for fun. She came with a blade of resolve.

“Yun Shi Bianqi, you’re the worst kind of woman. But… that’s exactly why I’m obsessed.”

Maya pressed in step by step, a tide against stone. Under Yun Shi’s startled eyes, Maya shoved her to the wall and squared up.

Yun Shi tried to raise a hand, but Maya caught her wrist like a hawk snagging prey. Yun Shi struggled, then shrank under Maya’s storm-bright presence. Her strength slipped like wet sand.

“What are you doing…”

She couldn’t make sense of it, like trying to read in the dark.

Maya was too sudden, like a gust slamming a door. Yun Shi couldn’t keep up.

Or maybe Yun Shi didn’t dare to think. She didn’t want to understand.

“Yun Shi, I…”

Maya gazed at her with a dazed hunger, breath quickening like rain drumming on tiles. She tipped Yun Shi’s chin up, her face drifting closer like a boat cutting to shore.

“!”

Yun Shi jolted, a bird trapped mid-flight. She wanted to resist, yet expectation climbed her chest like warm fire. Why…

It had come this far. There was no easy way back. Maya let that thought carry her, drifting closer to Yun Shi’s mouth.

“Stop!”

A roar snapped the scene like a lightning strike. At the shed’s door stood Sham, anger burning like noon sun.

“Sham…”

“What shameless thing are you two doing? Let her go!”

Sham blazed, steps hammering the ground like drums. She pried Maya’s fingers free with iron force.

“Sham, listen to me—”

“Shut up! I don’t want to hear it!”

Maya’s words hit a wall. In the heat of Sham’s fury, nothing could enter.

Watching someone force the one she liked, Sham couldn’t look away. She couldn’t stand by like a broken fence.

Yun Shi didn’t dare speak. She knew exactly why Sham was angry, like feeling the heat of a nearby flame.

After that night, she hadn’t seen Sham this close. And now, she wished she hadn’t under this sky. This scene wasn’t good for anyone.

“Xiao Yun.”

“…Yes.”

Her name, spoken like a stern bell, pressed down on Yun Shi. She shrank without thinking, fear pooling cold as winter water. She didn’t even dare to look up.

“How pathetic.”

“But…”

“Why her.” The question lashed like a whip.

“I…”

“Answer me.”

Sham’s hard edge came out like a drawn blade. Yun Shi could only bend like bamboo in wind. Her usual cool vanished.

Push hard, and she softened. That was the truth of it.

“Sham, what are you doing!”

Maya couldn’t stomach it. Her voice flared like sparks.

“None of your business, you sneaky cat.”

“What did you call me! When did I ever— And what I do with Yun Shi has nothing to do with you!”

Two lines crossed and lit fire at first touch. Stuck between them, Yun Shi glanced left, then right, helpless as a drift leaf.

How did it get like this…

Tears pricked, but wouldn’t fall. Yun Shi had no way out.

“It does concern me. I’ve known Xiao Yun longer than you, Maya.”

“So what? If she’s with me, that doesn’t hurt you.”

“I won’t allow it.”

“Why not!”

“Because I like her. That’s reason enough.”

The words rolled out like a muffled thunderclap and shook the air.

Maya stared at Yun Shi, disbelief flickering like a candle. Yun Shi kept her head down, silent as a stone.

She hadn’t expected this shape of storm.

Sham wore a slightly proud look, a banner raised like a challenge. Maya bit down, bitterness scratching like sand.

“I…”

She could hold back on many things. But not this. Love was a ground she wouldn’t surrender.

“I like Yun Shi too. I have the right to chase her!”

She finally said it, but the timing landed like rain on a funeral. Saying it as a pair would’ve felt warmer. Now, if she didn’t, she might never get another chance.

Yun Shi never dared to speak. She’d guessed Maya’s feelings. Hearing them said aloud still shocked her, like ice water down the spine.

The girl who loved girls liked her. And her good friend liked her. That twist had never once crossed her mind. Yun Shi’s hands hovered, unsure where to rest.

“I see…”

Sham let out a small, self-mocking laugh. Then her face set like stone.

“Xiao Yun, tell me. Who do you like?”

“Yun Shi, between me and her, who?”

This was hell. Why did a scene from a harem show fall right into her lap…

Chooses? She couldn’t. For her, liking someone was still misty, like dawn fog. She hadn’t had time to be sure. She couldn’t answer on command.

“Xiao Yun, we’ve been together so long. Don’t you feel anything for me?”

“I was awful to you before, I know. I didn’t know you were a girl back then, right? I can change now. Give me a chance, please?”

Caught in the gap, Yun Shi felt like a knot in the rope. Anything she said would snap a strand.

“Um, Sham…”

“You’re choosing me, right!”

“No. I meant, Maya Hanazaka—”

“Yun Shi, I knew you’d pick me!”

“Wait, that’s not— I…”

This was a trap of choices. Pick one, abandon the other. Yun Shi didn’t want to drop either.

Sham was her friend. Maya was sharp-edged, but still a friend. Choosing between them felt like breaking a cup you loved.

“Sham…”

As Yun Shi twisted under the weight, a voice came from outside, soft as a bell in fog.

At the entrance stood Mizuki, her face set, shadows under her eyes like bruise-blue petals.

“Mizuki?”

Sham froze. Her jealousy blew out like a candle.

Mizuki lifted a tear-streaked face to the sky. Then she smiled through the wet, a crescent thin as winter moon.

“Congrats, Sham. Do your best.”

Her smile was wan, a light almost gone. It was more a cry than a grin.

Mizuki liked Sham. But now, she could only bless her as a friend who’d found someone. She couldn’t win, not ever. Sham liked the “boy” named Yun Shi.

“Hope you have a good boyfriend.”

She turned and ran, a willow leaf caught on a fast stream. She’d come because she saw Sham rushing to the equipment shed. She arrived only to watch Sham fight for love, like banners clashing.

Enough. Mizuki had had enough. She didn’t want to see Sham. It hurt too much.

“Wait, Mizuki!”

Sham realized, too late. She bolted after her, feet pounding like hooves.

Yun Shi felt a dark premonition unfurl like a raven’s wing. She sprinted out of the shed, and Maya followed close, heat at her heels.

Outside, Sham’s figure pulled away, then thinned, then vanished into the dusk like smoke.

Yun Shi stopped, knowing she couldn’t catch up. She stared at the place where the silhouette had melted.

There, leaning against the wall, stood a girl who’d been silent all along. Her face was calm as snow, but her eyes carried quiet rain.

“Yan Er…”

Yan Er said nothing. When Maya came up, she finally spoke, voice soft as falling petals.

“Congratulations, Maya.”

“Yan Er, I…”

“Honestly, I never thought a girl who loved girls would fall for a boy.”

“That’s not it, you’ve got it wrong!”

“No need to explain. I know you like Yun Shi. And I know… you finally have interest in boys.”

Yan Er’s smile bent, brittle as dry reeds. She didn’t know why, but tears pushed hard.

“Having a boyfriend isn’t bad either, Maya.”

She smiled, and yet it felt like she was crying. She walked past Maya, stopped in front of Yun Shi, sorrow clouding her face like weather rolling in.

“You win…”

She left that single line like a wilted flower, then walked past Yun Shi and away.

Maya tailed her, drawn by a string she couldn’t cut. Not following felt wrong in her bones.

Now, Maya could only trust her gut, like a compass in a storm.

Slowly, the sun slid down the horizon, a blood-orange disc melting behind rooftops. Only Yun Shi remained in the empty yard.

She stared at the bare ground, a stage stripped of actors. Her heart felt hollow, like an empty clay bowl.

A moment ago, it hadn’t been like this. But now—

“Why did it end up like this…”

Between them, friendship had cracked like ice under late-winter feet.