"Uh... sorry, an emergency blew in at her place, so she headed back first."

Ningxin said it, embarrassment clinging like damp mist.

"Oh, I see. No worries—another day works; we've still got time."

Gu Xin smiled, easy as spring sunlight after a drizzle.

"Mm... how about this? I've got her photo; take a look first. I vouch for her—she's a proper good girl."

Ningxin spoke, guilt pricking like cold rain on her back.

She pulled out her phone, flipping to a shot she’d stolen last time she tricked Tang Coco into staying here, snapping it while Coco slept.

In the photo, Tang Coco lay turned on her side, hands folded before her like petals; her eyes rested closed, inviting silence like moonlit water.

Whether by Ningxin’s design or chance, the quilt covered only her arm, baring a white shoulder and the shadowed curve at her chest like a gentle ravine.

"Gotta admit, she's got some beauty."

Meng Yuting looked at the picture, eyes glinting like wet stones.

"But... what's your relationship? This photo?"

She asked with a hooked smile, sly as a fox under moonlight.

"Haha, we're just close sisters. She's a bit gullible, easy to trick, like a lamb in spring rain—so I'm asking you two to guard her."

"What's her name?"

Gu Xin asked, the question sharp as raindrops on glass.

"Tang Coco."

"Tang Coco?!"

Meng Yuting startled, thunder rolling under her ribs.

"Isn't that the same name as Xiaoxiao's classmate... or is it her?"

Gu Xin asked, doubt swirling like morning mist.

"Uh, I don't know."

Meng Yuting waved it off, her hand drifting like a leaf.

"Can you send me this photo? I'll ask my sister. If it's the same person, we can accept your terms; there's already a bridge between them, like willow branches touching."

"Mm... I trust you. I'll share, but it can't spread—keep it locked like a jewel in a box."

"Don't worry. We're all girls; we know the drill."

Meng Yuting smiled, calm as evening water.

"Alright, I'll send it tonight."

"Mm, it's getting dark, and the sky looks ready to break—we'll head back."

Gu Xin stood, her shadow lengthening like a reed.

"Okay, I won't see you off. I'll reach out to that girl, cast a line into the dark and see what's going on."

Right then, Tang Coco walked alone along a suburban road; night had fallen like a curtain, and wind rose, heralding hard rain.

"Why... why did they come here... why show up before me... Xin'er, Yuting."

Her thoughts scattered like ashes in a gale.

Tang Coco stared blankly at the ground, feet moving on their own like a sleepwalker in fog.

"What... what do I do... if they find out... no... I can't..."

Her heart clenched like ice around a flame.

"We said we'd cut clean, like a blade to silk—then why... why does my heart ache like a torn string..."

She sank into a crouch, clutching her chest, curling like a wounded bird.

Boom!

A crack of thunder ripped the sky, mirroring her mood, and the rain came down in sheets like iron beads.

She stayed by the curb, curled in pain, a fallen leaf stuck in a gutter.

"Hey, Yiyi, did Coco come back?"

Ningxin called Ye Yiyi, her voice tight like a drawn bowstring.

"Huh? Coco didn’t. Wasn't she eating at your place, Ningxin?"

"She didn't go back? She's not here either. She came, didn’t even see me, and bolted like a startled deer."

"Huh? What's going on? Did you call her?"

"I did. She didn't pick up—the line felt dead, like frost."

"How can this be... it's raining out... where did she go..."

Her worry spread like ink in water.

"Alright, Yiyi, I'll go look for her."

Ningxin steadied herself, resolve kindling like a torch in wind.

"Mm, me too. Let's connect soon."

Ye Yiyi hung up; the beep pricked the air like a pin.

"Yiyi, what's wrong?"

Li Muyan came down the stairs, seeing her panic ripple like wind on a basin.

"Muyan, Coco's missing. Ningxin said she left there, but didn't come back—my chest feels tight like a storm cloud."

"Huh? Maybe she went somewhere else."

His doubt floated like dust.

"Where could she go?"

Her mind stared at an empty street, bare as winter branches.

"Call Meng Xiaoxiao and Sister Mu; maybe she's with them."

"Right, I'll ask."

Ye Yiyi called in a rush; the answers returned heavy as wet cloth—she wasn't with them.

"Strange. In this downpour, where did she run off to?"

Li Muyan wondered, brows crossing like branches in rain.

"Ningxin said Coco looked off when she left; I'm scared something happened."

Ye Yiyi spoke, worry fluttering like trapped moths against glass.

"Don't think the worst. Maybe she's out to blow off steam; we'll go find her."

His voice held steady like a drum under thunder.

"Mm."

The two women and one man took a car, combing the stormy streets like lanterns fishing in rain.

By the road that runs from the suburbs to the city, Tang Coco sat beneath a flimsy billboard, ignoring the rain needling her skin.

"What do I do... leave... leave this place... I can't let them find me."

Fear curled around her like smoke.

"But... Yiyi, Xiaoxiao... the others..."

Their names weighed on her like stones in a river.

Warning: host's physical capacity low. Confirm environment and take measures.

The voice cut across her mind like cold steel.

"Heh... already failing? What's the point of this body! Why make me into this! Why!"

Her cry broke like waves against a cliff, salt and fury in the rain.