Tang Coco had no room to guess what Ye Yiyi was thinking; her own mind was a thicket whipped by wind.

I die, and my girlfriend’s compass spins like the sky flipped over—what kind of fate is this?

“Xiaoxiao, let me talk to your sister for a bit. Go play with Yiyi-jie,” Tang Coco said, breezy as shooing a sparrow from a branch.

“Huh? Why? You’re not gonna flirt with my sis, right? No way, I’m not going,” Meng Xiaoxiao pouted, lip jutting like a stubborn carp.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Be good, I’ll play with you later,” she coaxed, promise soft as moonlight after clouds.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Fine…” Meng Xiaoxiao skipped ahead and caught Ye Yiyi’s arm, quick as a swallow swooping.

“What did you want to tell me?” Meng Yuting asked, hugging Tang Coco’s arm, her smile a slim crescent moon.

“Um… Yu… Yuting-jie, do you like girls?” The words tumbled out, clacking like beans in a bowl.

“Mm? Yeah,” Meng Yuting said, careless as a pebble tossed into a pond.

“…” Tang Coco hadn’t expected such a clean cut of an answer; she gathered herself like sand settling after a wave.

“Then… Yuting-jie, didn’t you have a boyfriend before?” Her voice probed like a twig touching water.

“A boyfriend? Of course,” Meng Yuting replied, casual as naming the weather.

“How would that…” Tang Coco’s thoughts fogged, a river wrapped in morning mist.

“That boyfriend was really outstanding. I liked him a lot. Gu Xin was his girlfriend too,” Meng Yuting said, memory fluttering like a bright pennant in wind.

“Then… how did you and Gu Xin…” Tang Coco asked, doubt circling like a hawk.

“Honestly, it’s fine to tell you. That damned boyfriend ran off to who knows where. Gu Xin and I had only each other to lean on, two strays sharing one roof, and time twined us like vines,” Meng Yuting said, watching Gu Xin’s back like watching a lantern drift.

“I see… What if your boyfriend comes back one day?” Tang Coco tested the ground like a toe at a cold stream.

“If he comes back, I’ll have him get gender reassignment. He always looked like a girl anyway. I even put him in skirts a few times, haha,” Meng Yuting laughed, light as wind rattling chimes.

“… Damn, that’s savage,” Tang Coco thought, her shock a wave hammering a cliff.

Turned out one of my girlfriends blooms lilies, she thought, surprise opening like white petals at dawn.

“Alright, I’ve spilled our secrets. Won’t you tell me yours?” Meng Yuting hooked a smile, bait on a bright line.

“Ah? M-my what?” Tang Coco tensed, skittish as a rabbit under brush.

“Heh, don’t play dumb. I saw your photo at Ningxin’s,” Meng Yuting said, her eyes glinting like a fox in dew.

“Ningxin!” Tang Coco blurted, the name cracking like a thunderclap.

“So you get it now?” Meng Yuting’s tone was smooth as silk.

“You… you two know?” Tang Coco dropped her voice, a leaf falling without sound. She heard her own fear of her Abnormal identity flutter like a trapped moth.

“Keep it down. You don’t want Ye Yiyi knowing you’re an Abnormal, right? Relax, Xiaoxiao doesn’t know about our identities either,” Meng Yuting said, finger to lips like a reed hiding a whisper.

“…” Silence pooled between them like ink.

“I’m curious. Why did you suddenly refuse our help?” Her question drifted over like a shadow from a passing cloud.

“No… no reason. Too much trouble,” Tang Coco said, brushing it off like dust from a sleeve.

“What’s troublesome? I heard your Anomaly Power rank is high. Aren’t you afraid of wolves watching from the dark?” Meng Yuting pressed, gaze steady as a spear.

“It’s fine. I can handle it.” Tang Coco stepped away, cutting through the crowd like a knife through water.

“Heh, fine, don’t say it. But…” Meng Yuting watched her retreat, lips curling like a cat’s.

“Little beauty, you won’t escape my palm,” she murmured, a net cast over a calm sea.

“Yiyi…” Tang Coco came up to Ye Yiyi, ready to greet her, but before the word landed, Ye Yiyi grabbed her arm and sang out like a bell.

“Alright! We’re here! Coco and I will go exchange the tickets. Everyone wait right here!” she called, then pulled Tang Coco along, swift as a stream dragging a leaf.

“Yiyi-jie?” Tang Coco stared at Ye Yiyi’s back, baffled; all morning she’d been cold as frost, and now she glowed like noon sun.

“Coco… do you… like Yuting-jie?” They slipped into a quiet corner, shade pooling like a pond. Ye Yiyi stood before her, head down, cheeks pink as a peach.

“Huh?” Tang Coco blinked, lost like a deer in tall grass.

“Um… just now, Yuting-jie said she wanted you as her wife…” Ye Yiyi’s voice thinned, mist curling over water.

“Uh… she was joking… right?” Tang Coco said, a hesitant oar stroke on still water.

“No… I don’t think she was joking,” Ye Yiyi said, eyes fixed on Tang Coco’s, ripples trembling over a lake.

“Uh…” Tang Coco had no words; the same thought sprouted, a bud pushing through soil.

Ye Yiyi saw her silence. She lowered her head, thoughts wheeling like swallows. After a breath, she clenched her fists at her sides, resolve hardening like ice. Then she moved, and hugged Tang Coco head-on, fierce as a summer rain.

“…Yiyi-jie?” Tang Coco froze, her mind a snowfield swept clean.

“Coco… don’t call me Yiyi-jie anymore… just call me Yiyi,” Ye Yiyi breathed, her voice soft as cotton by the ear.

“Hm? Didn’t you say you’re a year older, so…”

“No, no need… From now on, just call me Yiyi, got it?” Ye Yiyi pushed back, a rare edge glinting like a blade.

“Yiyi… are you okay?” Tang Coco lifted her arms too, warmth circling like morning sun.

“Hoo~ I’m fine~ Let’s go exchange the tickets,” Ye Yiyi said, suddenly letting go, bright as a kite in clear sky, then tugged Tang Coco forward like string in a playful wind.

……