"..."

Right then, Tang Coco had to admire Meng Xiaoxiao’s imagination—vines climbing a wall, sprouting wild ideas everywhere.

"Pfft—haha. Your thoughts are running like rabbits. Coco didn’t even bring shoes."

Ye Yiyi couldn’t help laughing too, her smile hopping like a sparrow at the window.

"Then how… ah—could it be!" Her words tumbled like pebbles down a slope.

Meng Xiaoxiao tilted her head; a spark lit in that quirky mind like a firefly at dusk.

"Ugh… gone for just one day, and you two already…" Li Muyan drifted to the windowsill, wilted like a kite with no wind, head bowed as if she’d lost something precious.

"Hey, hey, hey—where are you two going with this? I was just… carried… carried here." Tang Coco’s voice stumbled like syrup slow to pour.

"Wow, I want to carry you too! Sister Coco, let me carry you back later!" Meng Xiaoxiao’s eyes blazed like twin stars spotting treasure.

"No way! With that willow-branch frame, can you even lift her? She’s porcelain right now—you’ll drop her." Li Muyan turned, words cutting like a sudden gust against a kite.

"Then…" Meng Xiaoxiao puffed up, then glanced at Tang Coco and wilted like a morning glory under noon sun.

"Alright then…" She lowered her head, shadows pooling around her feet like ink.

"It’s fine. I’m already so happy—Xiaoxiao cares about me." Warmth spread through Coco like sunlight over a quiet pond.

"Really?" Her eyes were crystal-clear, a bit of cloud still floating in them.

"Of course! Xiaoxiao’s my good little sister. When I’m better, I’ll go to your place and play." The promise stretched like a kite string tugging toward blue sky.

"Mm. Okay!" Color returned to Xiaoxiao like calm settling over ripples.

Li Muyan strode to the bed and, like a clean gust, scooped Coco up before she could react.

"Waaah!" Coco always felt like glass on the edge when someone lifted her, so the cry flew out on its own.

"Yiyi, open the car door. I’ll take her home." Li Muyan’s voice was steady, her steps firm as a bridge.

"Wait—clothes, clothes!" Coco squirmed; her short-sleeved shirt and cotton shorts caught the breeze, her back bare like pale moonlight.

"It’s fine. This works." Li Muyan shifted the shirt with a practiced hand, laying it like a cloud over her arm, then walked on through Coco’s man-eating glare like a tiger stalking unbothered.

"Uh… Xiaoxiao, wait here. I’ll help her and come back for your things." Ye Yiyi smiled at Xiaoxiao’s pout, then hurried after them, quick as a swallow.

Along the way, eyes pinned to them like needles to silk. Coco couldn’t bury her face in Li Muyan’s chest—he wasn’t Ye Yiyi—so she blushed and fixed her gaze on his shoulder, a safe ledge in a rushing crowd.

Once I’m healed, I’m taking them all down. Hmph. The thought drifted dark, like a storm cloud that might be broken.

"Hm?"

Coco’s eyes flared like a startled deer, then settled; she turned and nestled into Ye Yiyi’s side, a kitten finding cotton-soft warmth.

"Tsk-tsk-tsk~" Li Muyan watched, a thin line of pride curling like smoke.

At last, they reached her red Porsche—bright as a lacquered cherry. With Ye Yiyi’s help, Li Muyan tucked Coco inside.

"Muyan, you go on ahead. I’ll head back with Xiaoxiao."

"Okay. Take it slow." The engine purred like a cat, and the hospital fell behind like fading rain.

"Where’d you go yesterday?" In the car, boredom drummed in Coco’s chest like a fingertip on glass.

"I went home. My dad needed me." Li Muyan kept her eyes on the road, focus tight as a drawn bow.

"What’s wrong? One day without me—did you miss me?"

"No. Scram." The reply snapped like a twig.

Coco was speechless—this woman was never serious, always swatting strings like a playful cat.

"Right. With Yiyi beside you, why would you miss me…" A flicker of loneliness crossed Li Muyan’s eyes, a cloud passing over sun, gone before it could be caught.

Coco steadied her breath, studying Li Muyan’s profile, sharp as a crescent moon.

"Hm? What’s up? Why’re you staring?" Li Muyan caught the glance in the right mirror, light skimming like water.

"Uh… nothing."

"Tch. Don’t tell me spring’s stirring in you." Her grin had thorns like a rose.

"Shut up! You got a death wish?"

"Hahaha. Little miss, you’re in my hands now—mind your manners~" Her voice swooped like a hawk teasing its catch.

"Fine, you win. I’ll zip it, okay." Coco turned to the window, the city flowing past like a river of lights.

"Heh-heh." Li Muyan chuckled and drove on, steady as a tide.

At home, Li Muyan slipped out to open the doors, then carried Coco to her room, tucking her in like clouds laid over a quiet hill. Coco watched, a strange feeling rising—why was Li Muyan so well-behaved today, like wind turning gentle?

"Alright, rest. I’ll tidy up the place." She turned toward the door, footsteps soft as leaves.

"Hey! You okay?" Coco’s voice floated after her, light as a feather thrown into dusk.