“Xiaoxiao! What are you doing? Let me go!”

Coco’s heart jolted like a caged bird; she yanked hard. Whatever bound her wrists bit cold and tight, like iron vines.

“Heh-heh, Coco-jie, now I can finally look at you properly.”

Meng Xiaoxiao sprang like a cat. She slammed Coco onto the bed, flipped her, and sat astride across her hips.

“Hey, Xiaoxiao, keep this up and I’ll get mad. Let me go. So this was your plan.”

Blindfolded, Coco saw nothing but darkness, like ink pooling. Frustration flooded first, then shame—how did I get this dumb, trapped by a little girl?

“Oh? You sure you want to be mad?”

Meng Xiaoxiao’s tone tilted sweet then sharp, like a blade wrapped in silk. Her hands darted to Coco’s underarms.

“You— ah—hahaha... you dare— stop... don’t mess around... haha... stop...”

She hadn’t expected this body to be so fragile, like paper under rain. Xiaoxiao’s tickling shook out helpless laughter; she couldn’t endure. Beneath the laughter, a strange ripple rose—half ache, half softness—a sensation she had never known.

“Hmph. Still angry?”

“Haha... n-no... please... haha... stop already...”

Hearing her yield, Meng Xiaoxiao stilled, like a breeze dropping.

“Don’t move. Or I’ll tickle you again.”

Coco’s small face burned like sunset; her breath stumbled. She dared not twitch. Xiaoxiao lifted the blindfold with both hands, like parting clouds.

“Who painted this ugly makeup on you? It’s really awful.”

She somehow produced two wet towels, cool as river leaves, and began wiping Coco’s face. Coco kept her eyes closed, a helpless sigh pooling inside. So I’d been exposed long ago; are girls now this sharp, or am I the fool?

After a few minutes, Coco’s breathtaking features surfaced again, like the moon slipping free of clouds.

“Wow. I knew at first sight you were a beauty, Coco-jie, but I didn’t expect this. Tsk tsk. I kind of get why you go to school like this.”

Coco didn’t speak. She stared at Xiaoxiao, eyes wet like spring, cheeks puffed in anger. That perfection stunned Xiaoxiao. She suddenly dove back down, hugged Coco tight, and burrowed her head against Coco’s chest.

“Mmm~ so comfy.”

“Hey! You!”

Her chest was nudged and pressed by Xiaoxiao’s small head, like waves against a shore. That odd feeling grew sharper.

“St-stop... stop now, or I won’t speak to you anymore!”

At that, Xiaoxiao froze, like a deer hearing thunder. Coco’s heart skipped—was I too harsh? Then Xiaoxiao’s voice drifted up, small as a moth.

“Coco-jie, from now on, will you really be my sister? When I was little, my real sister stayed with me, then she disappeared. You feel like her. Please, Coco-jie, stay by my side.”

She tightened her embrace, like ivy clinging. Coco blinked, and the knot in her chest loosened. So the breezy Xiaoxiao also hid sorrow in her heart. Kind-hearted, Coco wanted to hug her back—then remembered her hands were tied behind. With Xiaoxiao holding her, she couldn’t move at all.

“Um... Xiaoxiao, could you untie me? Let’s talk properly.”

“No. I don’t want to. I want to hold you like this...”

“......”

Stubborn as a little stone, Xiaoxiao refused to let go. She lifted her head from Coco’s chest and studied Coco’s cheek, like gazing at a peach blossom.

“Coco-jie, you smell so nice.”

“.........”

Side Story: Meng Xiaoxiao’s Sister

“Sis! The kitty’s gone!”

In a lavish villa, a five- or six-year-old with twin ponytails looked up at a girl of seven or eight. Her big, bright eyes brimmed with tears, like dew.

“It’s okay, Xiaoxiao. It only went out to play. After a while, it’ll come back to this warm home, back to your side.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Sure enough, at dusk the white kitten wandered back, soft as snow. The twin-ponytail girl hugged it, grinning like sunlight. To her, her sister was the best, someone who never lied.

Until one day...

“Xiaoxiao, be good at home. Sis will go away for a bit and come back in a few days.”

The older sister stroked her little sister’s head, her voice gentle as wind.

“Mm. I’ll wait for you at home. Then we’ll play with the kitty together.”

The younger spoke happily, missing the flicker of reluctance in her sister’s eyes, like a cloud shying the sun.

After that, the sister never returned. Even when the cat grew old and died, the younger still waited. She buried the cat with trembling hands and cried hard, like rain. That day, Yanjing lay under a desolate snow.