After Meng Xiaoxiao left, Tang Coco sat on the bed, rubbing her temples; the sudden ambush left her head buzzing like a beehive.

"Ah... that crazy girl..." Her sigh drifted like dawn fog over quiet tiles.

"Mm?" She lowered her head, then noticed; color rose and darkened, like a plum ripening and bruising.

Her nightdress had been neat, but now it looked indecent, like silk tossed by a mischievous breeze.

Her right shoulder lay completely bare, a snow-white slope under open sky.

"Meng Xiaoxiao!!!" Her roar cracked the house like a thunderclap over a summer lake.

In an instant, her fury swept the villa like wildfire across dry grass.

"Xiaoxiao, what did you pull this time?" Meng Yuting watched Meng Xiaoxiao scamper into the living room, footsteps like sparrows hopping across tiles; she guessed trouble had bloomed again.

"Ah? I don’t know—" Her voice hopped like a sparrow on a fence. Meng Xiaoxiao blinked, innocence painted on like morning dew.

"Hehe, it’s fine; they do this a lot." Ye Yiyi laughed, her tone light as wind through bamboo.

Back in the room, Tang Coco huffed to the sink, her mood stormy as a summer cloud.

After a moment, Ye Yiyi came in, voice soft as warm rain. "Tang Coco, you okay?"

"Mm? I’m fine," she said, the words muffled like cotton. Tang Coco turned, the toothbrush still in her mouth, bubbles clinging like seafoam.

"Puh—hahaha, you’re adorable, Tang Coco." Ye Yiyi’s smile curled like a crescent moon. "I picked a dress and shoes for you, they’re on the bed—change into them later."

"Mm." The reply dropped like a pebble into a quiet pond.

Ye Yiyi chuckled, then drifted downstairs, joining Gu Xin and the others; their talk bubbled like a spring.

Ten minutes later, washed and clear as a fresh leaf, Tang Coco came to the bed and lifted the dress.

"Isn’t this the one we sent to Aunt Qin?" The thought rose like smoke. "Do I really have to wear this?"

It wasn’t that she disliked it; the dress felt like an old path now grown wild with flowers.

She mulled for a breath, thoughts circling like swallows, then decided to wear it; her hands moved like flowing water.

Quickly, she changed, yet her puzzlement deepened, a knot tightening like vine on a fence.

The style had shifted; details had been added, tiny stars sewn like frost on midnight silk.

It looked better, no doubt, but the question lingered like mist—what had happened behind the scenes?

The back had been altered to lace mesh, a net fine as spider silk; against her white back, it shone like moonlight on snow.

Only—her back felt cool, a breeze slipping across skin like autumn on a river.

"Forget it, this will do." She steeled herself, heart settling like a stone in a stream.

She pulled on black knee-high socks and black canvas shoes with white trim, shadows and ink lining her steps.

Before the mirror, she spun once; the skirt lifted like a startled flower, and heat rushed to her cheeks like peach blossom.

"Ahem... better not fool around." She pressed herself calm, the voice a reed through wind.

She went downstairs, each footfall light as feathers drifting from a skylight.

By then, Ye Yiyi and Meng Yuting were chatting with Gu Xin, their laughter weaving like lanterns in a festival night.

Tang Coco stepped into the lobby, air cool as a jade hall.

"Tang Coco, you’re down." Ye Yiyi rose and turned, words warm as tea, but Tang Coco didn’t answer.

She stood still, gaze locked on the two sitting on the sofa, her stare sharp as frost on glass.

No—impossible—how could this be? The thought struck like lightning behind clouds.

How are they here? This can’t be. Her body retreated on its own, a tide pulling from shore.

She caught on the step and fell, a soft thud like a sparrow dropping from a branch.

Even then, she didn’t cry out; her mind was filled with those two faces, looming like twin moons.

"Ah! Tang Coco." Ye Yiyi startled, then ran over, urgency beating like a drum.

"Tang Coco, are you okay? Why so careless? What’s wrong?" Her worry wrapped around like a shawl in winter.

"Are you alright..." Meng Yuting, Gu Xin, and Meng Xiaoxiao hurried over, footsteps scattering like rain.

"Sis Tang Coco, what happened?" Meng Xiaoxiao leaned close, eyes wide like a fawn’s.

"Help me get her down first." Ye Yiyi’s voice steadied, firm as a bridge over water.

"I’ve got her." Gu Xin stepped in, her movement clean as a blade of wind. She and Ye Yiyi reached to lift Tang Coco.

Tang Coco stared blankly as Gu Xin came near, mind fogging like a valley at dawn; then she snapped back.

"I’m fine... no need." The words fell cool, like dew sliding off bamboo.

She stood slowly, spine straightening like a young pine. Ye Yiyi still held her arm and guided her downstairs to the sofa.

"Tang Coco, you alright?" Ye Yiyi asked, her tone soft as cotton.

"Mm... fine, just careless." Tang Coco’s reply drifted like a leaf across water.

"You scared me, Sis Tang Coco." Meng Xiaoxiao grinned, sunlight back in her eyes. "Let me introduce you—my sister, Meng Yuting, and her bestie, Gu Xin."

"What—" The word snapped like a twig. She froze inside, shock blooming like a sudden firework. Meng Xiaoxiao’s sister is Meng Yuting?

Memory rose like old lanterns; she remembered things from before, flickering yet bright.

She had said she had a younger sister at home—how did I not think of it? The regret pooled like ink.

"Hi, I’m Meng Yuting." Meng Yuting smiled at Tang Coco, her grace flowing like willow over water. "You must be Tang Coco. A true beauty; even I feel humbled."

"Hello," Tang Coco said, voice calm as shade under a tree.

They won’t recognize me... surely they won’t. The thought hid like a fish beneath reeds.

"Hello—nice to meet you. I’m Gu Xin." Gu Xin stepped forward, hand offered, smile warm as spring sun.

"..." Silence hung between them like a thin veil in light.