Smack!
Gu Xin, eyes rimmed red like a storm at dusk, slapped Tang Coco. Coco’s hands were tied behind her, her body weak, so she toppled sideways like a cut reed.
“...”
Coco said nothing. She lay on her side across the bed. Wild white hair fell like winter grass over her face, hiding whatever expression trembled beneath.
“Do you know why I’m this angry?”
Gu Xin’s voice shook. Her eyes burned wet.
“I’m sorry...”
Coco didn’t move. Her voice caught, thin as a thread in rain.
“Don’t give me ‘sorry.’ I’m asking why I’m furious!”
Gu Xin shouted. Tears finally broke free, rolling like beads off a snapped string.
“I... lied to you all...”
Coco whispered.
“No. That’s not it!”
Gu Xin yelled. She knelt on the mattress and turned Coco over. Coco’s face was washed in tears, one cheek flushed bright. Gu Xin hadn’t used much strength, but Coco’s skin was too soft. Seeing that red print, Gu Xin’s heart twisted tighter, like frost grabbing glass.
“I’m angry because you went through this and told no one. What were you trying to carry alone? We promised, remember? Hard times, we face them together.”
Gu Xin’s voice cracked.
“I’m sorry...”
Coco’s tear-bright eyes trembled.
“I don’t want your apology. The person I love doesn’t cave, doesn’t crumble.”
“...”
“Forget me. I can’t go back.”
Coco’s voice fell, like a blade dropped in snow.
“What did you say?”
Gu Xin stared, disbelief flashing cold.
“I said... you all should forget me. The old Tang Ke is dead.”
Coco shouted, forcing the words out like stones.
“Bastard! Say that again!”
Gu Xin pressed one hand over Coco’s chest, raised the other. A chill surged there, gathering like winter wind, then shaped into an ice sword that kissed Coco’s throat.
“Kill me.”
Coco’s laugh was ragged, like a broken flute.
“You think I won’t?”
Gu Xin’s voice flared.
“No. The Xin’er I know fears nothing.”
“So... do it.”
Coco closed her eyes. A single tear slid from the corner, a clear river under moonlight.
“...”
“Bastard!”
Gu Xin roared, brought the sword down toward Coco’s brow. Coco didn’t move. She didn’t even breathe.
At the instant the tip would pierce, the ice began to vaporize from the point, dissolving like mist in morning sun. It looked like it had already gone through.
“...”
After a long heartbeat, Coco opened her eyes. She stared at the half-sword hovering there, then turned to Gu Xin. Gu Xin stood with eyes shut, sobbing softly. Her body trembled like a leaf in wind.
“From this moment... Tang Ke is dead. He died by my hand.”
Gu Xin whispered. She flung the remaining half of the ice blade. It hit the floor and shattered into glittering fragments that faded away.
“Xin’er...”
Coco looked at her, voice shaking.
Gu Xin moved. She cupped Coco’s small face with both hands and kissed her. Her lips crashed over Coco’s parted mouth like a tide.
“Mmph!!”
Coco’s eyes flew wide at the face sweeping close. She hadn’t expected Gu Xin to strike like lightning. There was nothing gentle—only a fierce claim that pried her teeth apart. Coco fought hard, but with her hands pinned, she lifted her knee, trying to push Gu Xin’s stomach away.
Then she felt something cool and slick climb fast from her ankle to her thigh, winding tight like a crystal serpent. Her legs were bound together, then pulled straight by an unseen force. She couldn’t move at all.
When Coco had been unconscious, Gu Xin had changed her into a simple sleep dress. The hem stopped at Coco’s upper thighs, leaving long legs bare to the air. Now crystal-white ice chains wrapped those legs. A broad slab of ice spread across the floor, holding Coco’s legs stretched out and still.
“Mmph! Mmph!!”
Coco struggled helplessly. Soon her eyes squeezed shut. A strange tingling fizzed over her skin. Her fight slowed, melting. It was the first time she’d felt anything like this.
“Mmm—mmh—”
She tried to call out, muffled. Gu Xin didn’t stop. Coco’s breath frayed, thin as silk.
Gu Xin seemed to realize. She paused, lifted her head, and let Coco go.
“Cough... cough...”
“What—what are you doing!”
Coco coughed twice and shouted, voice hot with shock.
“Do you know you were wrong?”
Gu Xin’s eyes were red, her gaze a storm.
“I...”
“I asked if you know you were wrong!”
Coco didn’t answer fast enough. Gu Xin’s voice tightened, a taut bowstring.
“Mm...”
“I’m sorry... Xin’er...”
Coco’s tone softened, a faint wind against a still lake.
“You bastard!”
Gu Xin cursed, punching Coco’s shoulder twice, hard enough to sting. Then she collapsed into Coco’s arms and held her tight, sobbing out all the night’s weight.
“Uwaaah! You bastard! Uu—uu!”
“...”
Coco didn’t speak. Her tears fell without control, quiet rain over stone.
Hearing Gu Xin’s crying from the room, Meng Yuting wiped her eyes in the hallway. She stood, then went back to her own room, leaving the night to hold its breath.
Meanwhile, at Ye Yiyi’s home in Jinxiu Garden, Ye Yiyi and Li Muyan lay on one bed. Their hands were clasped, facing each other, curled like two swallows.
“Yiyi... what do you think Coco and Gu Xin are to each other?”
Ye Yiyi asked, voice low, tired as dusk.
“I don’t know either...”
Li Muyan shook her head lightly, hair swaying like willow.
“Why are they that close... Were they really just friends before?”
Ye Yiyi spoke softly. Her grip tightened, warmth pressing into Li Muyan’s palm.
“...”
Li Muyan felt that pressure, then saw the hurt in Yiyi’s eyes. She asked, gentle as rain, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing...”
Ye Yiyi tucked herself smaller, like a cat curling in.
“Oh, come on. I know you too well.”
Li Muyan tugged Yiyi’s hand, a teasing smile thawing the air.
“Don’t worry. Your closeness with Coco isn’t far from theirs. That means you’re just as important in that idiot’s heart.”
“...”
Ye Yiyi fell quiet. Thoughts drifted like lanterns downriver. Li Muyan could tell Yiyi’s mood had lifted, a warm light at last.
“But why is my closeness with her so much lower?!”
Li Muyan frowned, baffled, like a kid scowling at a scoreboard.
“Looks like I need to... ‘increase’ our bond sometime.”
“Uh...”
Ye Yiyi stared at Li Muyan, speechless, half amused, half exasperated.
By eleven that night, inside Coco’s room, their storm finally quieted. Gu Xin brought a damp towel and wiped Coco’s face, gentle as a spring breeze. Then she opened the wardrobe, picked a white sleep dress, and set it by the bed. She stripped right there and slipped it on. Coco saw and flushed, pink rising like dawn.
“Bastard, what are you blushing for? It’s not like you haven’t seen.”
Gu Xin shot her a glare, half fire, half ice.
“Uh...”
Coco had no idea how to wriggle out of that. She turned away, ears warm as embers.
A moment later, Gu Xin was dressed. Coco turned back. “Um... Xin’er...”
“Don’t call me Xin’er. I haven’t forgiven you, you bastard.”
Gu Xin cut her off, voice cold, breath hot.
“Uh...”
Coco’s face froze in a helpless, red embarrassment. She swallowed, then tried, soft as a plea, “Then... can you untie this bastard first?”
Her voice crumpled. She shifted, the bindings still locked tight. Her legs were so cold, they were turning numb.
“No. It’s your punishment.”
Gu Xin’s tone stayed firm, a stone in river water.
“But... it’s freezing. If this keeps up, my legs will get damaged...”
Coco winced, mouth twisted like bitter melon.
“Don’t lie. My Anomaly Power doesn’t work on you. I learned that years ago.”
Gu Xin said it flat, like a fact etched in ice.
“...”
Coco stared, speechless. Back in the Shadow Division, Tang Ke’s body had high resistance. Ordinary freezing or burning barely touched him. But—
“I don’t have my Anomaly Power now. It’s really cold...”
Coco cried out. Her legs were drifting out of feeling, like they were sinking under a lake.
“...”
Gu Xin fell silent. She came to the bedside and looked at those long legs bound tight in ice. She touched the chain. The skin where it pressed showed purple, bruised by the cold.
She dissolved the chains.
“Phew...”
Coco exhaled, deep and shaky, fogging the night a little.
Gu Xin eyed Coco’s legs, pale with a bluish tint. She sat beside her and rubbed Coco’s skin, palms warm, coaxing blood back like a gentle tide.
Watching her, Coco felt sweetness bloom in her chest. Gu Xin still cared. But as feeling returned to her legs, something shifted, sharp and strange.
“Mm—”
Coco jerked, startled by the sensation. A tiny sound slipped out. Gu Xin paused and glanced back. Coco’s cheeks were red, teeth on her lip, like she was fighting a swelling ache.
“Uh...”
Being a woman herself, Gu Xin understood. She sighed, a quiet surrender. “Bastard...”
Gu Xin stood and left, doing something off in the dim. Coco steadied herself quickly, breathing even, letting the ripples fade. Gu Xin returned, one hand hidden behind her back.
“Um... my hands...”
Coco fought to roll, turning her bound wrists toward Gu Xin, asking for release.
“Heh.”
Gu Xin didn’t untie her. She laughed, light and cold. Coco felt a chill climb her spine at that sound. She looked back.
Her eyes went wide. In Gu Xin’s hidden hand lay a thick coil of cotton rope.
“Are you—no way, right?!”
Coco shouted, stunned, voice jumping like a cat on a hot tile.
“Heh. Now they won’t get frostbitten.”
Gu Xin’s smile stayed dark. Something in Coco’s gut went tight. Fear pricked, fine as needles.
“Hmph. This is a bastard’s due.”
Gu Xin lunged.
“Ah! Stop!”
Coco’s scream shot through the room. Ten minutes later, Gu Xin had her trussed tight. Not just her legs—her arms were bound to her body, every line held fast.
“Xin’er... how did you become like this... The old you...”
Coco lay helpless on the bed, eyes wide with a frightened glimmer.
“The old me? I used to be gentle, didn’t I?”
“Heh. Sorry—Tang Ke and I died together. And we owe it all to you.” Gu Xin’s smile was frost on a winter blade.
“...”
Silence pooled like ink. Tang Coco felt a mist roll in; she no longer knew her at all.
“All right.” Gu Xin’s tone was still water. She sat on the bed behind Tang Coco.
She tugged the quilt up, a soft cloud covering them both. Then her arms closed from behind, ivy tightening.
“Tell me what you’ve been through lately.” Her words drifted like smoke, yet pressed like a storm.
“Uh… before the story… can you loosen up a bit?” Tang Coco grimaced like she’d just drained bitter tea.
“Not happening.” Gu Xin’s reply cracked like ice underfoot. Her threat slid in, a moonlit blade:
“You’d better tell the truth, word for word, about what happened. Otherwise… I can’t promise I won’t do something to you.”
As she spoke, Gu Xin’s hand settled on Tang Coco’s chest, light as a feather, heavy as a stone.
Damn—who is this female hooligan? Tang Coco screamed inside, her thoughts scattering like startled sparrows.
