Tang Coco slipped into backstage, eyes circling her like lanterns in fog, and headed straight for Xu Yinuo. Xu Yinuo didn’t go on; another host took the spotlight like a stand‑in moon.
“How’d it go? I didn’t blow it, right?” Her voice carried a sly gleam, like a cat flicking its tail under warm light.
“Didn’t expect you actually had some skill.” Xu Yinuo watched her like a jeweler weighing a rare stone.
“Tch.” The sound snapped like a sparrow shaking off a crumb. Under that gaze like needles of rain, Tang Coco shifted, then turned away; Xu Yinuo’s smile thinned like mist and she slid back to work.
At the door, a graceful silhouette came rushing in like a breeze through bamboo—it was Ye Yiyi.
“Coco!” The call rang bright as a bell, and she hugged her, soft warmth and a faint jasmine scent wrapping like silk.
“Uh…” Surprise hit first, like a pebble dropped in a still pond, then Coco stood there, stiff but melting.
“Coco, let’s always be together, okay? I’ll be your family, and you won’t be alone.” Her words rose like a lantern in a long night.
Coco’s heart lifted like a kite, then dipped when the string tugged; she’d wished for more, and the wish fluttered away like a startled sparrow.
“Yiyi… sis, why say this out of the blue?” Her voice wavered like a thin reed in wind.
“I can feel the loneliness in you, so I’ll stay by your side.” Her promise settled like a shawl over winter shoulders, and her arms tightened like sheltering wings.
Coco understood, a soft dawn breaking; Yiyi had caught the feeling in her song, the ache folded like paper cranes. She liked Ye Yiyi even more, wondering where else one could find a girl so gentle and keen.
“Mm, okay, Yiyi-jie. I’ll treat you all as my closest family.” The words fell warm as tea.
“Mm.” Ye Yiyi answered, light as rain on tiles, then smoothed her clothes and said, “Come on, let’s head home. Nothing else tonight. I’ll call Muyan.”
“Okay.” The reply was small but sweet, like sugar in milk.
They met up with Li Muyan and drove back to the villa, headlights carving silver paths like knives through dark silk.
On a street in Ninghai City, a black Mercedes sports car idled like a panther in shadow.
“Young Master Qun, that Tang Coco girl makes a man itch.” The driver’s grin crawled like ants under skin.
Qun Shaohua exhaled smoke like a lazy dragon, eyes narrowing to blades. “Just a poor girl. She’s close with Ye Yiyi, sure, but she won’t be hard. I’ll have her.”
“Ha! Young Master, you’re fierce.” The praise rolled like oil on iron.
“Save the flattery. Take my car out later. I’m heading home.” His tone cut clean, like a whip crack.
“Got it!” The answer popped like a cork.
Back home, the three women stepped in, shoes tapping like raindrops on stone. Li Meng sat on the sofa with a book, pages rustling like autumn leaves, a fresh scholar’s aura soft as spring water.
“Oh, you’re back.” Her smile rose like morning sun.
“Mm. You should’ve seen Coco today—she was amazing.” Ye Yiyi’s words bubbled like a kettle at boil.
“Really? Then tell me everything later. Let’s eat first. I cooked dinner.” Happiness shimmered on her face like glaze on porcelain.
“You can cook?” Coco blinked, surprise flaring like sparks.
“Of course. I make my own meals when I’m home. My brother can’t cook at all—just… not as tasty as yours.” Her laugh rang like chimes.
“Wow, I thought none of you could…” Coco’s eyes slid, a quick glance like a dart, toward Li Muyan and Ye Yiyi; Li Muyan caught it like a hawk snatching a moth.
“Hm? What’s that supposed to mean? Looking down on us?” Hands went to her hips, stance bristling like a cat with puffed fur.
“Uh… no… of course not… ha‑ha…” Coco’s smile trembled like a paper fan.
“You are thinking it. It’s been days since I taught you a lesson. Itching for trouble?” Li Muyan’s voice tapped like a ruler on a desk.
“Yiyi‑jie…” Coco sought rescue, eyes pleading like a deer’s in tall grass.
“Li Meng, I’ll help you carry the dishes.” Ye Yiyi’s gaze slid gentle as water past Coco’s begging expression, and she flowed toward the kitchen. Li Meng tossed Coco a ‘take care’ look like a tiny paper charm.
“Don’t—come closer!” Coco backed up, steps skittering like pebbles down a slope, as Li Muyan advanced with stormy brows.
Words didn’t help; laughter and squeals burst like firecrackers. Li Muyan ‘tidied her up’ with merciless tickles and a playful pounce, and even the two carrying plates joined in with light swats and feather‑soft pokes.
At the table, Ye Yiyi, Li Muyan, and Li Meng ate sweetly, smiles like peach blossoms, while Coco sat on the sofa, clothes ruffled like a storm‑tossed bird, eyes glistening with tiny tears.
“Hey, are you eating or not?” Li Muyan lifted a piece of meat, the chopsticks like twin spears, and aimed it toward Coco.
Coco answered with a look sharp as a knife.
“Suit yourself.” Li Muyan popped the bite into her mouth, chewing slow as a cat savoring cream, which only fanned Coco’s temper like bellows.
When they finished, Ye Yiyi finally moved, picked out a neat mix of dishes, colors bright as a garden, and sat beside Coco with the bowl cradled like a warm lamp.
“Alright, Coco. Eat a little.” Her voice soothed like rain after dust.
Coco didn’t budge, cheeks puffed like a sulking robin. Ye Yiyi found it terribly cute, and she lifted a piece of meat to Coco’s lips, gentle as a feather.
“Here—let me feed you. Open wide.” The coaxing lilt danced like strings on a zither.
Coco glanced at the meat, then at Ye Yiyi’s tender face, and her pride slipped away like snow under sun; she opened her mouth, shy as a bloom.
Soon Ye Yiyi was feeding her, steady as moonlight, while Li Meng held a glass of water by her side like a clear spring. The little storm in Coco’s heart faded, leaving a calm lake and soft ripples of warmth.
