“You know about this?”
Tang Coco flicked her chin at the TV like a sparrow pecking grain, and Ningxin’s eyes drifted over like water to a bank, catching on the same thing.
“Oh, that. I heard it too,” Ningxin said, her tone light as wind through reeds, yet her gaze held a steel glint like frost on glass.
“Headquarters is interested,” she added, words falling like pebbles into a quiet pond, “and they even trained some people just for this.”
“Oh. I see.” Tang Coco’s thoughts rolled like low clouds, surprised that Huaguo had set its sights on that Armor.
“But I don’t like it,” Ningxin muttered, her nose wrinkling like a cat catching bitter herbs. “It’s ugly to me; I like your look, Coco—sharp and sexy, like a night blade.”
“…”
Tang Coco’s face went flat as ink on rice paper, and a dry cough scraped her throat like a twig on stone.
Sexy? Her mind twitched like a startled fish; that thing took lives, and “sexy” felt like silk draped over a blade.
Besides, she had never seen herself when she went berserk, only felt a red tide rise like a storming sea.
“Alright, anything else?” Tang Coco’s wariness curled like a hedgehog, and her voice slid shut like a door in rain.
“Hmm…” Ningxin tapped her chin, fingers hopping like raindrops on a leaf.
“Quit the cutesy act…” Tang Coco whispered, the words drifting like smoke under a beam.
“Right! This is for you.” Ningxin’s smile opened like a fan, and she pulled a small red box from her bag like a berry from a bush.
“Wear it,” she said as she clicked the lid, revealing a silver bracelet that gleamed like a crescent, a diamond nested in it like a star tangled in thin silver threads.
“Why’re you giving me this?” Tang Coco’s brow tightened like a knot, wary of hidden meanings like thorns under petals.
“Hey, don’t overthink, kid.” Ningxin flicked Coco’s forehead, the touch popping like a bean, then her tone turned steady as a compass. “It’s a locator.”
“Press a finger on the diamond for five seconds,” she said, each word neat as stacked tiles. “The heat sensor kicks on, and I can find you like a lighthouse in fog.”
“Uh…” The sound hung in Tang Coco’s mouth like a droplet, and she took the bracelet with a slow hand like a leaf catching snow.
“Do we really need this?” she asked, unease rippling like wind across fields. “Is it that bad?”
“I hope we never use it,” Ningxin sighed, her breath thin as mist, “but I only rest easy if it’s on you. Just treat it like jewelry, a moon on your wrist.”
“Alright. Thanks.” The word felt warm in her chest like tea, and she fastened the silver circle like a ring of light.
“It’s nothing,” Ningxin said, smiling like spring sun. “I can’t let a girl this cute walk near danger like a lamb by a cliff.”
“Old perv…” Tang Coco grumbled, cheeks heating like embers, and she twisted away while Ningxin’s “grabby paw” lingered like a playful cat.
“Hey! Who’re you calling old?” Ningxin’s eyes went wide like polished glass. “I’m only twen—”
“Twenty what?” Tang Coco needled on, her tone skipping like a stone. “You’re older than me, so that’s older.”
“You…” Anger gathered in Ningxin like thunderheads, her smile snapping like a twig. “You’ve done it now.”
“That dinner tab from last time?” she said, a spark lighting like a match. “I’ll collect with interest.”
Her little universe flared like a nova. She didn’t even kick off her heels; she pounced onto the bed like a small panther and knelt beside Coco.
“Hey, hey—?” The mattress jolted under Tang Coco like a startled drum, and she turned to see a ruffled wildcat ready to pounce.
“What are you doing? Don’t go wild—this is my room.” Regret shivered through her like a cold draft; trash talk was a bad seed sprouting fast.
“Your room’s no tiger’s den,” Ningxin said, voice low and stubborn like packed earth. “What would I be scared of?”
“I’m a patient,” Tang Coco snapped, pride bristling like fur. “Don’t take advantage.”
“Oops,” Ningxin said, smirking like a crescent moon. “No one said I was a saint.”
“I—”
“Turn over.” Her grip tightened like a tide, and she flipped Tang Coco facedown like a page, leaving her sprawled like a fallen kite.
“Ah!” The cry cracked the air like a snapped string, and the bed springs answered with a small storm’s creak.
Downstairs, Li Muyan and Ye Yiyi didn’t hear a thing; the living room was calm as a pond, with light slanting in like soft rice paper.
Ye Yiyi tidied, her hands moving like swallows, while Li Muyan sat on the sofa like a mountain stone, steady and still.
“Yiyi.”
“Mm?” Her answer floated back like a ribbon, and she looked over with eyes bright as lake water.
“Come here. I need to tell you something.” Li Muyan patted the cushion beside her, the sound light as a drumbeat.
“What is it? You’re so serious.” Concern opened in Ye Yiyi like a lilac, and she set things down to sit beside her.
“National Day’s in a few days,” Li Muyan said, words falling slow as leaves. “I might not spend it with you all.”
“Huh? What happened?” Worry rose in Ye Yiyi like a cloud, casting a brief shade.
“I went home that day,” Li Muyan said, her gaze dipping like dusk, “and my dad told me he’s going abroad over the holiday. He wants me to go too.”
“How? Uncle Li never asks you for anything.” Ye Yiyi’s surprise fluttered like a startled dove.
“This time’s… special,” Li Muyan said, voice thin as thread. “So I—”
“Oh. I get it.” Ye Yiyi lowered her eyes, thoughts drifting like lanterns on water, then she saw words hover on Li Muyan’s lips like moths and spoke first.
“It’s okay,” she said softly, warmth settling like a blanket. “If you can’t dodge it, then go. Maybe he really needs you.”
“We’ll find another day and go out together,” she added, hope glimmering like a pebble in streamlight.
“Mm…” Li Muyan’s reply was small as a seed, and her head bowed like a reed in breeze.
“Don’t be like this,” Ye Yiyi murmured, leaning close like a willow branch. “This isn’t you.”
She wrapped her arms around Li Muyan, the hug closing like a circle, sweet and warm as tea steam.
“…” Li Muyan froze a beat like a held note, then resolve set in her like ice turning clear.
“How about this—feels more like me?” She slid a hand to Ye Yiyi’s slim waist like a ribbon, fingers brushing light as feathers.
“Ah! You—forget it.” Color bloomed on Ye Yiyi’s cheeks like peach petals, and she sprang back like a startled deer. “I’m going to cook.”
“Hey, wait! I’ll help.” Her offer rose like a kite tugging its string.
“No need!” Ye Yiyi cut her off, firm as a closed fan, and strode kitchen-ward like a stream with purpose.
Tap tap…
Footsteps trickled down the stairs like rain on bamboo, and Ningxin came down with the air of a breeze leaving a room.
“Ah, Ning-jie, you’re down,” Ye Yiyi called, voice light as a bell.
“Mm.” Ningxin glanced up the stairwell like a watchful hawk. “Just checked on her. She’s fine. But you two—what’s all this?”
“N-nothing! I’m cooking.” Ye Yiyi flitted to the kitchen like a sparrow, hands fluttering as she fled.
“Hehe. Muyan, come here,” Ningxin said, smile curving like a hook, but her eyes steadied like stones. “I’ve got something to tell you.”
“Oh.” Li Muyan joined her on the sofa, the two of them sitting like twin peaks, their faces turned serious as a winter sky.
“Got it, Ning-jie,” Li Muyan said after a quiet stretch, her voice settling like a seal pressed into wax.
“Good. Do your best,” Ningxin answered, trust shining like morning light. “I believe in you.”
Over ten minutes slipped by like sand, and their talk finally came to shore.
“Yiyi, I’m heading out,” Ningxin called toward the kitchen, words drifting like smoke. “Tell that little brat upstairs for me.”
“Huh? Ning-jie, won’t you stay for dinner?” Ye Yiyi’s voice rose like steam from a pot.
“Not today,” Ningxin replied, a wry smile touching like a leaf. “The club needs me; without me, they’ll tangle things up like vines.”
“Alright then. Next time, you’re staying to eat,” Ye Yiyi said, promise landing like a chop on wood.
“Okay, okay—I promise,” Ningxin laughed, the sound bright as chimes. “You keep busy. I’m off.”
“Mm. Bye-bye.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Li Muyan said, standing like a cedar, and she left with Ningxin into the dusk like two shadows crossing a gate.
Ye Yiyi wiped her hands, then headed upstairs, her steps soft as petals, to check on Tang Coco.
