Seeing Gu Xin’s smile, Tang Coco’s feelings knotted like climbing vines in spring fog. The woman she once loved stood close like warm sunlight, but they couldn’t know each other.

“Hi.”

Their hands met; heat pooled in her palm like a small ember. Coco drowned in nostalgia, while Gu Xin felt a strange pull, like a familiar scent in rain.

“Oh! I forgot my phone in my room. I’ll go get it.”

Coco seized the excuse, let go, and slipped away like a startled sparrow from a branch.

“Huh? Is Coco really that shy? She looks super nervous…”

Meng Xiaoxiao watched Coco bolt upstairs, surprise fluttering like a ribbon in the wind.

“Heh-heh—this is fun. Xiaoxiao, now I get why you cling to her like a cat to a sunbeam.”

“Whoa, big sis, don’t tell me you’re going to steal Coco from me…”

Meng Xiaoxiao eyed Meng Yuting, alert as a kitten guarding its saucer.

“Kids should focus on school.” Meng Yuting rolled her eyes, a fan flicking shut.

“I’m not a kid!”

“Heh-heh—your sister bond is sweet, like steam rising from warm tea,” Ye Yiyi said, smiling like a crescent moon.

Huff, huff—

Coco shut her bedroom door, drifted into the bathroom, and faced the mirror like a lake at night.

It’s fine… it’s fine. No one will recognize me anyway. Panic swelled, then ebbed like a tide in the dark.

She kept whispering to herself, a mantra beating like a small drum. Tang Coco, get it together—ice cracks when you stomp.

Maybe… it’s destiny. The thought floated up like a paper lantern, soft and inevitable.

She saw that strange place from her coma—black water and silent faces, like figures behind silk. Fate felt like a net she couldn’t tear.

She drew deep breaths, each one a cool wave. She slapped her cheeks lightly; color bloomed like peach petals.

She straightened her clothes, smoothed them like calm ripples. She grabbed the phone by the bed and headed downstairs.

“Coco, you’re so slow.”

Hee-hee— Coco stuck out her tongue, sheepish as a cub caught sneaking honey.

“Sorry, I hadn’t fully woken up. I’m a bit out of it.” She spoke to Meng Yuting and Gu Xin, eyes skimming away like fish avoiding a hook.

“It’s fine.” Gu Xin smiled, gentle as morning light through bamboo.

“No problem, little beauty. You’re adorable,” Meng Yuting laughed, bright as wind bells.

“Alright then, Sister Xin, Sister Ting, let’s get ready to head out,” Ye Yiyi said, checking the time like watching sand slip through glass.

“Huh? Sister Xin?” Coco blinked, surprised as a deer in shallow water. Since when was Ye Yiyi this close to them?

“Yeah.”

“Since when are you all this chummy?” Coco’s words lifted like curious smoke.

“Just now. Sister Gu and Sister Ting are really nice,” Ye Yiyi beamed, warmth spreading like sun on tiles.

Women are mysterious, Coco thought, the idea turning like a leaf in wind.

“Mm, time’s about right. We brought one car,” Meng Yuting said, calm as a steady helm.

“Mm, we’ll take one too. I’ll load our luggage.” Ye Yiyi tugged her suitcase toward the garage, wheels humming like crickets.

“I’ll help.” Coco followed, with Xiaoxiao trailing behind like a small shadow.

“What’s wrong, Xin?” Meng Yuting glanced back, catching Gu Xin’s silence like a chill under shade.

“That Coco… don’t you think she’s a bit off?” Gu Xin’s voice was low, doubt curling like mist on a pond.

“Maybe. She’s an Abnormal too, right? Looks like she didn’t tell Ye Yiyi, probably hiding her identity,” Meng Yuting said, steady as stone.

“Mm… but I keep feeling I know her. I’m sure we’ve never met. And she keeps dodging my eyes like a fish under reeds.”

“She’s probably shy. Or she’s got a secret she can’t tell. It’s fine; within these walls, the water stays still,” Meng Yuting patted her shoulder, firm as a handrail.

“One more thing… she’s called Tang Coco. I keep thinking of Tang Ke,” Gu Xin murmured, the name falling like a pebble into water.

…

Meng Yuting fell quiet; the ripple touched her too. When she first heard Coco’s name from Xiaoxiao, Tang Ke surfaced like a shadow.

“It’s gotta be coincidence. Don’t tell me that guy turned into a girl. That’s too wild,” Meng Yuting said, shaking her head like a branch shedding rain.

“Maybe. I’m overthinking.”

“No, no… I think Xin has a crush on that girl,” Meng Yuting teased, a fox’s grin bright as lantern light.

“Shut up! I’m not you!”

“Haha. I’m pretty interested in her anyway. I’ll net you a little sister,” Meng Yuting thumped her chest, bold as a drumbeat.

“You’re trying to mess with girls again!”

“Relax—no one escapes my game plan,” she declared, confidence spreading like fire on dry grass.

Gu Xin stared, speechless, at smug Meng Yuting, a peacock preening under sun.

In the garage, Coco packed luggage, the rhythm neat as stacking tiles. She asked Meng Xiaoxiao softly, like speaking in a courtyard at dusk:

“Xiaoxiao, what’s your sister doing here?”

“She’s here to keep me company. My parents don’t trust me alone at school, so they sent her back. She even set up a branch in Ninghai.”

“Oh… I see. So she’ll be here a long while?” Coco’s words drifted, leaves circling a stream.

“Mm… probably. She doesn’t tell me company stuff,” Xiaoxiao shrugged, light as a sparrow hop.

“Oh…”

Tang Coco sank into thought, a stone dropping into a deep lake, rings widening in silence.