“What’s wrong?” Tang Coco sat beside Li Muyan, her voice a cool breeze brushing still water.

“I need to tell you something… about Yiyi.” Li Muyan spoke with a clouded face, sorrow pooling like dusk.

“Mm, go on.” Tang Coco steadied her breath like a stone in rain, then listened in quiet tide.

“I’m telling you this, but don’t tell Yiyi…” Li Muyan’s words fell like a drawn line across sand.

“Okay.” Tang Coco nodded, the motion small as a sparrow settling on a branch.

“Actually, Yiyi’s current parents… aren’t her birth parents.” Li Muyan’s sentence struck like a bell in fog.

“…” Tang Coco’s brows knit like gathering storm, yet her face stayed calm, a lake under moon.

“Oh… I see.” Tang Coco’s voice lowered, surprise a ripple that faded into night.

“You haven’t known us long, so you may have missed it. Yiyi gets on terribly with her parents.” Li Muyan’s tone drifted like winter wind through bare branches.

“You’ve been here a while. You haven’t seen them visit her, have you?” Her words hung like cold dew.

“That’s true… so that’s the story.” Insight lit Tang Coco’s eyes like a lamp behind paper.

“These last days, Yiyi clashed with her parents. Her mother wants to set her up with a boyfriend.” Li Muyan’s fist tightened like granite under thunder.

“But to her mother, Yiyi is just a tool to bind families.” The sentence cut like a thin blade of ice.

“…” Tang Coco kept silent, her breath steady like autumn reed, and let Li Muyan’s voice flow.

“Yiyi isn’t a girl without opinions. They kept meddling in her life, so she moved out.” Li Muyan’s words stepped like footprints across fresh snow.

“And this time… she plans to break free and be fully independent.” Determination flared like a lantern in wind.

“I support her. We planned to start a business together, but then… I ended up like this.” Her face sagged like willow leaves in rain.

“I understand… Don’t worry. I’ll handle things with Yiyi.” Tang Coco clasped Li Muyan’s hand, warmth like tea steam rising.

“Mm, I’ll count on you for a while.” Relief glimmered in Li Muyan’s eyes like dawn behind mist.

“You—hey, stop worrying about others first.” Tang Coco’s tone tapped like fingers on a table of wood.

“Remember this. You are you. Hold your own will.” Her words beat like a drum under night.

“During this time, don’t let anything control your mind, no matter what.” Her gaze stood like a gate against storm.

“Mm, I’ll do my best.” Li Muyan nodded, the motion light as drifting snow.

“Not your best! You have to do it.” Tang Coco’s soft shout snapped like a twig in frost.

“Mm… I get it.” Li Muyan smiled, feeling Tang Coco’s care like a shawl around shoulders.

At that, Tang Coco finally eased, her heart settling like sand after a wave. She rose and called upstairs.

“Xin’er, take me back.” Her voice floated like incense through the stairwell.

“Okay~” Gu Xin came out of the bedroom, steps light as petals falling.

Ten minutes later, the two women were on the road to Ye Yiyi’s home, headlights threading like fireflies.

“Xin’er… I asked Marilyn to activate your and Yuting’s chapter.” Tang Coco watched the window, thoughts crossing like migrating geese.

“I’m worried something might go wrong with Muyan.” Her words gathered like rain on a bamboo eave.

“Mm… that works… Do you have a handle on this?” Gu Xin looked ahead, eyes steady as a mountain line.

“I can’t say. It depends on Muyan. I hope she can push through.” Tang Coco’s brow tightened like rope under strain.

“Mm.” The car hummed like a river running under night.

“As for Ningxin… tell me when you want to go. I’ll go with you.” Gu Xin’s voice warmed like sunlight through cloud.

“Okay.” Consent fell like a simple pebble into a wide stream.

Twenty minutes later, Gu Xin dropped Tang Coco at Ye Yiyi’s villa gate, then left like wind slipping past pines.

Tang Coco took the key Yiyi had given her and opened the door, entering like a shadow crossing a threshold.

“I’m back~” Her call rose like a bird over a courtyard.

“Mm, all done?” Ye Yiyi sat on the couch, keeping Marilyn company, calm as tea steeping.

“Yeah~” The answer flicked like a fish tail in clear water.

“Yiyi, let me cook tonight.” Tang Coco’s smile bloomed like peach petals in spring.

“It’s been too long since I made you something good.” Her words wrapped like a warm scarf.

“Okay~” Ye Yiyi’s happy nod bounced like a kite tugging its string.

Tang Coco changed into a homey short skirt, tied on an apron, and walked into the kitchen, hands moving like swifts.

With ingredients turning under her fingers, she felt more and more like a “little wife,” a flame glowing under clay.

After a while, Ye Yiyi stepped into the kitchen, her presence soft as moonlight on tiles.

“What is it?” Tang Coco asked, knife tapping like rain on bamboo.

“Coco… in a while… I might need to move.” Ye Yiyi spoke lightly, her voice a drifting cloud.

“…” Tang Coco thought a moment, her mind circling like a hawk, then said:

“Is it because of your mother?” Her tone fell like a stone into still water.

“You… you know already.” Ye Yiyi’s answer trembled like a reed under breeze.

“Yiyi… when did you move out on your own?” Tang Coco kept cutting vegetables, blade flashing like a silver stream.

“I moved out after middle school graduation.” Yiyi’s memory unfurled like an old scroll.

“My parents wanted me to stop studying then.” Her words thudded like shutters closing.

“They wanted tutors to teach me company management, then send me to their company.” The path laid out like tracks in dust.

“But… I didn’t want to go to their company.” Her will stood like a lone pine on a ridge.

“I wanted my own business.” That dream glowed like a lantern held high.

“Then we clashed, so I moved out.” The break was sharp as ice in spring.

“My dad sends me money every month.” The support came like a steady winter sun.

“And this villa, the car, and all that—my dad set them up.” Gratitude flickered like embers in ash.

Tang Coco didn’t speak, and listened, her silence a calm pond under stars.

“Actually… in my heart… I’m very grateful to my father.” Yiyi’s confession drifted like smoke from incense.

“Yes… grateful.” The word perched like a small bird on a sill.

“It’s strange to say.” The thought twisted like vines along a wall.

“I’m grateful to my father, who’s my birth father.” Her voice trembled like a string drawn taut.

“For some reason… I feel there’s an invisible screen between us.” The barrier shimmered like heat over road.

“So in high school, I decided to build my own career, then repay him.” Resolve set like iron under hammer.

“It’s just… father only listens to mother on some things.” The dynamic flowed like a river diverted by a dam.

“And my mother… to be honest… I don’t have a good impression of her.” Her words cooled like frost over grass.

“I was raised by a nanny.” The childhood drifted like a boat without oars.

“Sometimes father took care of me, but she… never really did.” Hurt lay like cold stones in a stream.

Yiyi’s face filled with sadness, her eyes dimming like a lantern in wind.

“Sorry, Coco, for making you hear so many unhappy things.” Her apology fell like a soft leaf.

“It’s okay.” Tang Coco’s reply warmed like soup on a winter night.

“Yiyi… I think you’re right.” Her approval rose like sun over rice fields.

“Since you have your own ideas, go do them boldly.” The blessing spread like wings.

“Girls… first, take good care of yourselves~” Her laugh rang like chimes under eaves.

“Coco, aren’t you a girl too? Why treat yourself like that before?” Yiyi lifted her head, the question sharp as a gust.

“Uh…” Tang Coco’s smile stalled, freezing like water under frost.

“Ahem… anyway, don’t worry.” She steered the talk like a boat away from rocks.

“No matter what you do, we’ll support you.” Her promise stood like a doorway lit at night.

“Mm! I know~” Yiyi’s joy sparkled like morning dew on leaves.

“Alright, go play with that rascal for a bit. I’ll make you two something good.” Her tone danced like a flute.

“Mm-hmm~” The agreement hopped like a sparrow.

Half an hour later, Tang Coco finished a table of dishes, all her specialties, shining like stars on porcelain.

“Wow~ this looks so good~” Little Marilyn crouched on a chair, eyes wide like moons.

“Of course. Also… since when do you have foodie stats?” Tang Coco sighed, exasperation fluttering like a fan.

“Mm… maybe I learned it from you.” Marilyn thought, words drifting like feathers.

“Ha!? How am I a foodie?” Anger sparked in Tang Coco like firecrackers.

“If you aren’t, how’d you make all this?” Marilyn rolled her eyes like marbles.

“That was because missions needed it!” Tang Coco’s retort cracked like thunder.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk~” Marilyn waved her hand, dismissive as a breeze.

“…” Tang Coco’s patience thinned like melting ice.

“You little thing, you think I don’t dare hit you?” Her threat flashed like a drawn blade.

“Come on, come on, like you could beat me.” Marilyn stood on the chair, hands on hips like a tiny general.

“You!!” The word snapped like a twig.

“Alright, alright, you two can argue about anything.” Ye Yiyi soothed, voice like rain on moss.

“Coco, your face is red.” Her tease rose like steam from tea.

“Uh…” Tang Coco touched her cheeks, warmth blooming like peach petals without a spark.

“Hmph, probably thinking something unspeakable.” Marilyn’s jab landed like a pebble in a pond.

“Say that again!” This time, Tang Coco’s anger burned like a brazier.

“Save it, please. Look at your tiny frame~” Marilyn’s smirk tilted like a crescent moon.

“You!” Tang Coco seethed, yet she couldn’t refute, her silence heavy as a stone.

“I’m digging in~” The little loli announced, lifting chopsticks like willow wands.

“Alright, alright~ Lulu’s teasing you.” Ye Yiyi laughed, guiding Tang Coco to sit, touch gentle as silk.

“…” The peace settled like night falling.

After dinner, Tang Coco dragged Marilyn back to her room, grip firm as iron under cloth.

“Hey! What are you doing!? I want to sleep with Yiyi!” Marilyn shouted, voice sharp as a hawk cry.

“Sleep nothing! You’re staying here tonight.” Tang Coco’s anger stamped like hooves on a bridge.

“Mm…” The sound drooped like a wilted leaf.

“Hmph! Fine, I’ll sleep.” Marilyn puffed her cheeks, then relented like a tide pulling back.

“…” Tang Coco was caught off guard, her words tangled like vines without support.

Marilyn flopped onto the bed and shut her eyes, stillness deep as a pond at night.

Half an hour later, Tang Coco returned from her shower, steam gone like mist, and Marilyn lay unchanged, likely asleep.

“Uh… asleep so early?” Tang Coco murmured, boredom spreading like fog over fields.

She sat at the bedside for a while, silence humming like cicadas beyond the window.

Suddenly, a thought struck, sharp as a falling plum. She stood and tucked Marilyn’s blanket, motion gentle as snow.

She turned off the light and slipped out, her steps soft as cat paws. After she left, Marilyn’s lips curled like a sly crescent.

“Knock, knock,” came a light tapping, soft as rain, to Yiyi’s ears.

Yiyi had showered, wearing a pink, hanfu-style, cinched sleep dress, seated on the bed like a lotus on water.

She’d been spacing out for a long time, thoughts drifting like clouds. At the knock, her fist tightened like a pearl trapped.

She rose and walked to the door, steps steady as a path through bamboo, and opened it.

“Yiyi…” Her name breathed out like wind through reeds.

“Coco…” Tang Coco answered, her cheeks flushing like peach petals after rain.

“Come in.” Yiyi’s hand drew her inside, touch warm as spring sun, and they sat together on the bed.

Silence pooled for minutes, heavy as a lake under night. Finally, Tang Coco spoke first.

“Yiyi… I have something to tell you.” Her voice trembled like a plucked string.

“Mm…” Yiyi replied softly, the sound a moth’s wing over silk.

“When my hair turned red… did I… do something?” Tang Coco’s question wavered like firelight in a draft.

“…” Yiyi shuddered at the words, body rippling like grass under sudden wind.

“Yiyi… it’s my fault… I—” Tang Coco lowered her head, guilt dripping like rain from eaves.

“Coco… why are you apologizing?” Yiyi’s interruption cut cleanly, like a knife through paper.

“I…” The word faltered like a leaf in wind.

“Do you think I’d blame you?” Yiyi’s gaze lifted, sharp as starlight on water.

“Or is it… that you don’t hold me in your heart, so you feel sorry?” Her tone chilled like moonlight on stone.

“No! It’s not like that.” Tang Coco hurried to explain, words tumbling like pebbles down a slope.

"I'm sorry..." The apology fell like a leaf in quiet water.

"Coco, some words have been hiding in my heart for a long time... The more I bury them, the more they ache, like a stone under water."

Ye Yiyi spoke; the corners of her eyes grew damp, like dew gathering on petals.

"..." Silence pooled like ink.

Tang Coco kept quiet; she sensed the shape of it already, like a shadow behind a paper screen.

"Coco... the you now... it's the true you, isn't it?" Her question floated like a lantern across a dark pond.

"Yes..." The word fell soft as snow.

Tang Coco spoke with her head bowed, like a willow over water.

"All right..." The decision clicked like a door swinging open.

Ye Yiyi said it, then suddenly pulled Tang Coco into her arms, like gathering a stray bird to her chest.

"I like you... Today I finally say it to the Coco I love." The confession moved like spring rain.

Ye Yiyi spoke with her eyes closed; a single tear clung to her lashes like a clear bead of dew.

"..." The room fell quiet, like night after a rainfall.

Tang Coco didn't move. Her heart was knotted like vines, tugging in opposite directions.

"..." Another pause stretched like silk.

Seeing Coco still frozen, Ye Yiyi let go and brushed the corner of her eye, like wiping rain from a window, then said:

"All right. My heart's laid out. If you still feel you owe me... then leave. If it's not that... then... I want to know your heart too." The words stood like stones on a path.

Ye Yiyi spoke with her eyes closed. Then she loosened the sash of her sleepwear; the loose fabric slipped down her smooth skin like water over jade.

"..." The pause hummed like a held breath.

Tang Coco looked at the girl before her. Ye Yiyi sat with eyes closed, her sleepwear fallen aside, her body trembling like a leaf in wind.

Seeing all of it, Tang Coco shook her head. A small smile unfurled like a petal, and she said:

"Ah— Yiyi's gotten so bold, hasn't she?" Her tease fluttered like a sparrow.

Tang Coco said it and leaned in, gathering her into an embrace, like two rivers meeting.