By the time Meng Yuting and Gu Xin got home, they found Meng Xiaoxiao sprawled on the sofa like a lazy cloud, her slender legs crossed over the coffee table like twined willows, the TV flickering like lake light.
“Old sis! Sister Gu, you’re back!” Her voice popped like firecrackers under a dusk sky.
“Hey, where am I old…” Meng Yuting arched a brow like a drawn bow, the protest sharp as a sparrow’s chirp.
“Heh, calling you that makes us closer.” Meng Xiaoxiao grinned, a fox in sun-dappled grass.
“Alright, I’ll cook. You two play.” Gu Xin smiled, calm as a warm kettle, and drifted toward the kitchen like steam.
“Mm. Xiaoxiao, let me ask you something.” Meng Yuting sat beside her, a cloud settling beside a willow.
“What’s up?” Curiosity lifted Meng Xiaoxiao’s eyes like lanterns in evening rain.
“Look at this photo. Is that your classmate, Tang Coco?” The phone lit her palm like a moon on water.
“Whoa! How do you have her photo!” Shock skittered through her like a cat on ice.
“Uh… it’s really her?” Surprise pricked Meng Yuting like a sudden wind under the eaves.
“Wow, sis! How was this taken—this… this is… same bed!?” Her words tumbled like marbles down a stair.
“Uh… don’t get worked up. Someone gave it to me.” Meng Yuting’s helpless look drooped like a damp banner.
“No way! I haven’t made my move yet! Someone jumped the line!” Jealousy flared like a match at dry straw.
“Uh…” Black lines felt like storm marks across Meng Yuting’s face; her sister’s “interests” rose like unexpected weeds after rain.
“No, I’m asking her right now!” Meng Xiaoxiao lunged for her phone like a kingfisher for a ripple.
“Hey, hey, wait. I promised not to share this photo. You can’t tell Tang Coco.” Meng Yuting caught her wrist, steady as a stone in a stream.
“But…”
“Relax… I asked. Nothing happened that day.” Her tone folded like a fan, calm under midsummer heat.
“Still no! Coco-jie can only sleep with me!” Possessiveness staked the ground like a flag in wind.
“!” Meng Yuting stared, wide-eyed like frost on glass.
“I’m getting more and more curious about your classmate. Bring her over sometime. Didn’t she have family stuff last time?” She shifted the topic like a boat slipping to a calmer channel.
“Uh… no rush. She promised to hang out with me over National Day. You’ll meet then—just a few days away.” Warm anticipation hummed like cicadas in late afternoon.
“Oh—works for me.” The agreement settled like tea leaves in a cup.
Just then, a phone chimed from Gu Xin’s jacket, a cricket singing from cloth.
“Xin’er, your phone’s ringing.” The words floated toward the kitchen like a breeze.
“Bring it to me.” Her voice drifted from the pots, steam rising like white clouds.
“Here.” Meng Yuting handed the phone over, the gesture simple as passing a ladle.
“Hello?” Gu Xin’s tone was clear as spring water.
“Hi, this is Ningxin.” The name fell like a pebble into a still pond.
“Mm, what’s the matter?” Calm wrapped her words like silk around bamboo.
“Well… I just spoke to Coco. That girl has some private things going on, so… it’s not convenient right now. Let’s postpone what we discussed.” Ningxin sounded awkward, her voice turning like a leaf in a shy wind.
“Oh… I see. No problem. We’ll follow her wishes.” Gu Xin’s acceptance was smooth as river stone.
“Sorry to waste your time. My promise still stands. If you need help I can give, just ask.” Apology glowed like a lantern under a gate.
“It’s fine. Let’s count it as making friends. We’ll still need your care in Ninghai.” Gu Xin’s smile warmed like sunlight through bamboo.
“You’re too polite. I still have a few things to handle, so I’ll let you go.” Her words folded neatly like paper cranes.
“Alright, bye.” The call ended with a click, crisp as a snapped twig.
“What now? She have more trouble?” Meng Yuting’s question lifted like mist over tiles.
“Mm… simply put, they don’t need our protection for now. Let’s leave it be.” Gu Xin’s answer settled like dust after wind.
“Huh? She’s turning us down?” Curiosity pricked like a thorn under a glove.
“Probably not that. Likely another reason.” Gu Xin’s gaze was steady as a star.
“By the way… I just asked Xiaoxiao. This Tang Coco is her classmate.” The coincidence slid in like a knife through fruit.
“Uh… that’s quite a coincidence.” Surprise rippled across Gu Xin like rings in water.
“Yeah. Even if Ningxin doesn’t need us, we’re tied to Tang Coco now. An Abnormal sits right beside my sister; I can’t just let it drift.” Determination set like iron under snow.
“And she dares refuse us? I want to see what kind of deity she is.” Fire sparked in Meng Yuting’s eyes like flint on steel.
“You… don’t bully her.” Gu Xin’s tone soothed like rain on a tiled roof.
“Hmph.” The sound puffed like a tiny storm cloud.
“Alright, alright. Help me wash the veggies.” Her smile waved like a palm frond.
“Nope—I’m going to play with Xiaoxiao.” Laughter bounced like a pebble skipping across water.
“….” Silence hung like a moth in lamplight.
Meanwhile, at Mo Zitong’s home…
“Waaah!!!!” A scream pierced the bedroom like a kettle shriek. Tang Coco had just set down her phone when she realized—her clothes were gone. The thought struck like lightning: this was Mo Zitong’s house.
“Coco, what happened!” Ye Yiyi rushed in, swift as a startled swallow.
“M-m-my clothes! Where are my clothes!?” Panic fluttered like a trapped butterfly.
“Uh…” The pause floated like a loose leaf.
“I undressed you.” Mo Zitong walked in, cool as moonlight sliding over tiles.
“Y-you—why!?” Shock splashed like cold water.
“Nonsense. You wanna lie on my bed covered in mud and rainwater?” Her stare cut like a winter wind.
“I…” Shame flushed like sunset over a ridge.
“Relax. Your little hill won’t make me lose my composure.” Mo Zitong flicked her hand, casual as tossing a pebble.
“Little hill?” The words stumbled, then tipped like a teacup. Her chest wasn’t huge, but the curve was clean as a drawn arc.
“Uh… fine.” Seeing nothing had happened, Tang Coco let it go, the tension drooping like wet cloth.
“Yo? Are you even a girl? I said your ‘little’ and you stayed this calm…” Mo Zitong eyed her, curious as a cat at a window.
“Tch.” Tang Coco shot her a glare, sharp as a knife glint.
