All afternoon, Ye Yiyi hid in her room like a shy cat, never coming out.
No one knew what she was doing; Tang Coco didn’t care.
She sat alone on the couch, tuning her Anomaly Power like strings.
Only when night pooled like ink did Ye Yiyi step out.
She kept dodging Tang Coco like a shadow slips from fire, cooking alone in the kitchen.
Heh~
Tang Coco let out a helpless smile, like a sigh turning into a curve.
At the table, Ye Yiyi kept her head down, eating in quiet like rain soaking earth.
Tang Coco watched with a faint hook at her lips, saying nothing, like a banked flame.
After dinner, Tang Coco returned to her room.
She rummaged through the wardrobe like a magpie and found a red nightdress.
She laid it on the bed like a petal.
Without hesitation, she stripped and stepped into the shower, steam rising like mountain mist.
Like the old Tang Coco, she was done in a bit more than ten minutes.
She toweled off, then slipped into her underwear and the nightdress.
She had never worn this one because Li Muyan had picked it for her.
The red gauzy nightdress felt soft as wind, but so thin it showed beneath.
The red-haired Tang Coco didn’t mind at all; she reclined like a fox on snow.
She conjured her system’s panel like light from water and kept upgrading her Armor.
Over an hour later, a soft knock brushed the door, like two raindrops.
Knock-knock~
Hearing it, Tang Coco’s mouth tilted up, a crescent moon on her face.
It’s not locked.
Click.
Silence pooled outside like a held breath, then the door edged open at last.
Tang Coco looked up.
Ye Yiyi entered in a white nightdress, hugging the big white bear from the amusement island.
Hey, little beauty—need something?
I... I can’t... sleep alone...
Heh~
Tang Coco smiled with hidden spice, like pepper in tea.
Seeing that smile, Ye Yiyi felt she’d erred; regret rose like tide.
Um... I should just go back to my room...
She turned to leave, but the door swung shut, a bamboo gate barring her.
Come here.
Tang Coco spoke, and the space beside her lay open like a waiting harbor.
I...
Ye Yiyi hesitated, words light as feathers.
I told you, tonight’s your chance.
When I leave and come back, I might not be like this anymore.
Do you still want a slow burn with that dumb, adorable Tang Coco?
Hearing that, Ye Yiyi lowered her head, a willow bowing to wind.
You know how many rivals you have.
Whether you seize this chance is on you.
As she finished, the door behind Ye Yiyi opened again, slow as tide.
Tang Coco turned back and continued her work like a weaver at dusk.
Ye Yiyi stayed silent for a long time, then drifted toward Tang Coco like a floating leaf.
Heh~
Tang Coco chuckled and used her Anomaly Power to shut the door, frost-seal neat.
Ye Yiyi reached the bed and lifted the quilt, a cloud opening.
She set the big white bear on first, then slid down herself.
The bear became a wall between them.
Ye Yiyi hugged it, burying her face in the plush like snow.
Even proud Tang Coco couldn’t help laughing, wind through reeds.
She laughed softly and returned to her task, a craftsman threading a needle.
Half an hour later, she finished tweaking the Mech and dismissed the panel like a lantern going dark.
She turned to Ye Yiyi beside her.
Ye Yiyi held the same pose, still as carved jade.
Tang Coco knew she wasn’t asleep; her breathing was messy, grass trembling in a gust.
She bent and pressed the big white bear gently, and half of Ye Yiyi’s face peeked out.
Her eyes stayed shut, and her long lashes trembled like moth wings.
Comfy?
Tang Coco asked softly, but Ye Yiyi kept feigning sleep, a shell holding its pearl.
That thing’s not as comfortable as me, right?
She said it, then tugged hard and pulled the big white bear free, like a root ripped from earth.
