"Hey—could you try being a little more upbeat?" Meng Yuting breathed by Tang Coco’s ear, her words a warm breeze.

"Get up first. I can’t breathe." Tang Coco braced herself, chest tight like a knotted ribbon.

"Can’t breathe? Fine then." Yuting rolled to the side like a cat, the bed a small boat. Her arm hooked Coco’s shoulder and, with one smooth tide, pulled her over and tucked her into her arms.

"Uh... why are you this practiced?" Coco asked, deadpan as a still drum, her body drifting against Yuting like a leaf.

"Of course I’m practiced. I learned it from you before, then tried it a few times with Xin." Yuting smiled, her grin a crescent moon. Coco stared, a row of black lines in her mind like storm strokes.

"..."

"What did you two do behind my back?" Coco asked, suspicion rising like fog.

"Want to know? Then you and I can... try it tonight." Yuting’s laugh was a teasing ripple.

"..."

"No, forget it." Coco shot her a look, eyes a sliver of frost. How did she never notice Yuting being this shameless?

"Listen. I won’t let you spiral into wild thoughts again. What’s this about not being human? Are you a ghost now?" Yuting’s voice sharpened, firm like a struck bell.

"..."

Coco didn’t answer. Her gaze drifted away like a kite cut loose.

"This body deserves care. It’s a figure many girls dream of. You need to cherish it, protect it, and love it." Yuting’s fingers pressed Coco’s shoulder, gentle as rain.

"Of course, I’ll help protect and ‘love’ your body too." Yuting added, her tone a sing-song blade.

"Uh..." "Wow, when did you get this..." Coco lifted a finger, her gesture a small dagger pointing at Yuting.

"What? Get what?" Yuting smiled, light as lantern glow.

"Hmph. I’m nothing compared to you. Who knows how many flings you’ve racked up outside." Yuting huffed, her voice puffing like steam.

"..."

"Forget it. I’m not talking about this." Coco rose to end it, afraid the wind would blow old tales back in.

"Right, I heard you plan to drop out? You’re done playing at school?" Yuting asked, her words landing like pebbles in a pond.

"Mm... I only waste time there. And like this... going back would bring trouble." Coco spoke lightly, her tone a pale cloud.

"Actually... you don’t have to drop out." Yuting said suddenly, thought glinting like dew.

"Mm? Why?" Coco asked, eyes blinking like sparrow wings.

"Keep your student status. One more identity helps when needed. You don’t need the diploma anyway. If the school notices you rarely show, you lose nothing." Her reasoning flowed like a clear stream.

"..."

Coco fell silent, weighing it like a scale. Then worry crept in like ivy. "But like this..."

"It’s great. A college girl with character draws eyes. Maybe when you go back, a flock of little fanboys chases you." Yuting laughed, a flock of sparrows taking off.

"..."

Coco gave Yuting a long, wounded look, eyes a bruised plum. "Get lost... who wants fanboys."

"Haha, relax. There’ll be fangirls too." Yuting’s tease was a twinkling star.

"..."

"Anyway, I think you should keep studying. That way, you won’t feel... not human." Yuting said seriously, her words steady as stone.

"Mm... okay, I’ll think about it." Coco answered, a soft nod like falling petals.

"Alright, rest for a bit. I’ll go help Xin." "Mm." The words parted like ripples, and Yuting stood and left.

At that moment, Ye Yiyi and Li Muyan returned home. As soon as they stepped into the villa, they froze like statues.

Marilyn had Meng Xiaoxiao pinned on the sofa, cheeks flushed like ripe peaches, eyes hazy as morning mist. Clothes were a storm, scattered and wrinkled—clearly, the two had “fought.”

"My god, what are you two doing?" Li Muyan asked, voice cracking like thunder.

"Mm? Such a strong wine smell." Ye Yiyi said, nose twitching like a curious fox. On the coffee table sat a bottle of her collectable red wine, which should’ve been in the living room cabinet.

"What did you do? Why are you drinking?" Li Muyan asked, words raining down.

"Mm... two Sis Yiyis~" Marilyn turned her head toward Ye Yiyi, gaze doubled like a dizzy moon.

"..." Ye Yiyi and Li Muyan shared a speechless look, silence thick as glue. Marilyn was truly drunk.

"Yiyi, help me pull her off..." Meng Xiaoxiao blurted, desperation fluttering like a moth.

After Ye Yiyi and Li Muyan left, Marilyn and Meng Xiaoxiao sat on the sofa, snacking and watching TV. Xiaoxiao felt the food dry and wanted water. As she stood, Marilyn tugged her.

"Xiaoxiao, what are you doing?" Marilyn asked, voice tilting like a swing.

"I’m checking for drinks." Xiaoxiao smiled, light as sunshine.

"I’ll go~" Marilyn said, and hopped off the sofa, feet quick like sparrows, running to the fridge.

"Uh... alright..." Xiaoxiao sat back down, her sigh a soft breeze.

Marilyn opened the fridge, the cold light a pale lake. No drinks inside—Ye Yiyi lived alone lately and didn’t like them. She closed it, then spotted two beautifully wrapped bottles on the cabinet. She took one, uncorked it, and drank.

"Wow—so fragrant." Marilyn beamed, the aroma blooming like roses.

She tipped the bottle and drank in big gulps, a river of red sliding down.

"So good." Her words were sugar, and the bottle emptied, drop by drop, until she finished the whole thing.

After Xiaoxiao’s explanation, Ye Yiyi and Li Muyan went speechless again, their expressions flat as stone.

"What do we do... Will Lulu be okay?" Meng Xiaoxiao asked, worry a cloud over her brow.

"It’s fine. Let her rest." Ye Yiyi shook her head, the gesture a steady metronome. She lifted Marilyn in her arms.

"Wow wow—Yiyi, what are you going to do to baby..." Marilyn cooed in Ye Yiyi’s embrace, voice syrupy as honey.

"Uh..." Ye Yiyi’s face lined with black comic strokes, and she ignored it. She carried Marilyn to the bedroom upstairs.

After laying Marilyn on the bed, Ye Yiyi called Tang Coco.

The call connected fast, the tone a clean chime. Tang Coco asked on the other end, "Yiyi? What’s up?"

"Um... your Marilyn... got drunk... do you have a fix?" Ye Yiyi said awkwardly, voice pinched like a crumpled note.

"Huh?" The words hit Coco like a dropped stone. A random call telling her... her System got drunk?

"What happened?" Coco asked, a black line across her face in her mind.

"Here’s the story..." Ye Yiyi gave an embarrassed rundown, her sentences stumbling like pebbles.

"Sigh... Yiyi, don’t worry about her. I’ll handle it." Coco said at last, resignation a quiet tide.

"Okay~" Ye Yiyi answered sweetly, voice a soft bell, then hung up.

"System, get out here." Coco set down the phone and shouted in her heart, her intent sharp as flint.

"Host, do you need something?" The System’s voice arrived quickly, even and cold as glass.

"Aren’t you drunk?" Coco asked, suspicion flickering like candlelight.

"Only my physical entity is drunk. My consciousness doesn’t react to alcohol." The System explained, tone flat as slate.

"Can you fix your entity? A little loli drunk is a mess." Coco sighed, helplessness pooling like rainwater.

"No. The entity is designed to resemble humans. All bodily functions match ordinary humans. After drinking, it recovers naturally." The System replied, mechanical as gears.

"..." Hearing that, Coco gave up completely, her thoughts folding like a fan. She sent Ye Yiyi a text: let Marilyn sleep it off.

Coco put down the phone. Then Gu Xin knocked and stepped in, her arrival a gentle tap of rain.

"I brought your clothes. I’ll put them in the wardrobe." Gu Xin carried a stack of new outfits, colors layered like silk.

"Okay." Coco nodded, a small motion like a leaf dipping.

"There’s a new nightdress. Change into it so I can see if it fits." Gu Xin handed over a black sleep dress, fabric dark as ink.

"Uh... fine." Coco took it and looked it over, eyes skimming like swallows. It seemed simple enough, so she agreed, slipped off her outer skirt, and changed.

Soon, Gu Xin finished arranging the wardrobe. She turned back and saw Coco dressed. The black gauzy skirt fell just below her thigh root, the mesh at chest and sleeves adding a mature allure like twilight lace.

"Mm—sure enough, Coco can carry any style beautifully." Gu Xin nodded, satisfaction warm as tea.

"..." "Come on, let’s go down. Dinner’s almost ready." "Okay~" Gu Xin took Coco’s hand, their steps falling like twin beads, and they went downstairs.

"I’ve decided. I’ll take Yuting’s advice and keep studying." At the table, seeing the girls nearly done eating, Coco spoke, her voice a calm stream.

"Really? You finally worked it out." Li Muyan said, joy bright as morning sun.

"Mm, thank you all." Warmth bloomed in Coco’s chest like spring flowers.

"Xin, look at this one, acting so polite with us. How about... we ‘do’ her tonight?" Yuting puffed her cheeks at Gu Xin, mischief dancing like fireflies.

"Do? Do what?" Coco asked, clueless, her head tilting like a sparrow.

"Mm... another day. No rush." Gu Xin thought for a beat, her pause a still pond, completely ignoring Coco.

"What are you two even saying..." Coco muttered, then stood. "Alright, I’m full."

"I’ve run your bath. Go wash up." Gu Xin said, voice smooth as silk.

"Oh..." Coco went to the bathroom. She tested the water, warmth rising like steam, then slipped out of her clothes and into the tub.

She lowered her head and looked at her fair, petite body, skin white as snow. A sigh drifted out. "Sigh... too bad it’s my own body."

She reached out and touched herself, fingertips tracing like feathers.

"Figures. You really won’t spare even yourself." Suddenly, Meng Yuting appeared at the bathroom door without a sound, a shadow like a cat.

"You—you—how did you get in?" Coco blurted, shock jumping like a startled fish.