They lingered in the infirmary, the quiet settling like rain easing off a tin roof, and Marilyn’s sobs dwindled like dew drying on petals.

“Yiyi, how’s your foot?” Tang Coco asked, her voice soft as a warm breeze brushing curtains.

Seeing Marilyn steady at last, face smoothed like a lake after a squall, Tang Coco took a tissue and dabbed her cheeks like wiping frost from glass, then turned to Ye Yiyi.

“Mm, feels fine,” Ye Yiyi rotated her ankle, the motion neat as a sparrow testing a twig.

“Good. Let’s find food,” Tang Coco tapped Marilyn’s small head, light as a butterfly wing, smiling like dawn breaking.

“I’m not hungry anymore…” Marilyn murmured, cheeks pink as peach blossoms after rain.

“Oh please, don’t try that with me,” Tang Coco shot her a look, sharp as a flicked fan.

“But—shouldn’t you put medicine on your back?” Ye Yiyi eyed the swelling, red as a maple leaf at sunset.

“No… I don’t want strangers seeing my body,” Tang Coco said, her blush rising like a lantern’s glow; with familiar faces, the gate felt less guarded, like a courtyard door left ajar.

“Alright,” Ye Yiyi nodded, her understanding spreading like calm tea steam.

Tang Coco stood and dressed, her motions clean as folding silk; Ye Yiyi slipped into her shoes and tested two steps, light as a cat on new snow. Then a soft knocking came, gentle as a woodpecker on bark.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Um… can we come in?” a cautious girl’s voice floated through, tiptoeing like fog; it sounded like Zhou Yi.

“Come in,” Tang Coco replied, her tone even as a straight path, and the door opened like a curtain to morning. Zhou Yi and Xiaofei stepped in, Zhou Yi holding Tang Coco’s cap and sunglasses like treasures returned from a tide.

“Are you alright now?” Zhou Yi asked, worry fluttering like a moth at a lamp, seeing Ye Yiyi standing.

“I’m fine,” Ye Yiyi smiled, warmth spreading like sunlight across tiles.

“Okay, then… this is for you,” Zhou Yi came up to Tang Coco, her words stumbling like pebbles in a stream, nervous as a fledgling; she handed over the sunglasses and cap.

“Thanks,” Tang Coco took them, fingers light as a feather.

“Earlier I was out of line… I wanted a photo,” the girl with the camera said, remorse pooling like ink in water; she hadn’t expected a face like Tang Coco’s, no wonder the refusal was firm as a shut gate.

“It’s alright,” Tang Coco smiled, her expression bright as a halo.

The two girls saw that angelic smile and covered their mouths, their surprise popping like fireworks.

“Wow, you’re so pretty!”

“Uh…” Tang Coco stared, speech stuck like a fishbone; to strangers, her looks hit like a lightning flash across night. She slid the sunglasses back on, the cap left aside—its white brim stained like snow marked by soot.

“Whoa—” With the sunglasses on, her aura rose like incense smoke in a temple, Zhou Yi and Xiaofei let out another sigh of wonder.

“Stop. Enough.” Tang Coco finally snapped, the line cracking like a bamboo rod.

Pfft— Ye Yiyi laughed behind her, bubbles fizzing like soda. She stepped to Zhou Yi.

“Quit gushing. This one can’t handle it,” she teased, light as willow fluff.

“…” Zhou Yi rubbed her nose, embarrassed as a cat caught stealing fish.

“Sorry…” Xiaofei blushed, color climbing like dawn on the horizon.

“Ah…” Tang Coco sighed, the sound low as wind through pines. She turned to Ye Yiyi.

“Let’s get dinner?”

“Hey! I said I’d treat you!” Zhou Yi chimed in, her voice bouncing like a ball.

“No need, we’ll grab something simple,” Ye Yiyi smiled, easy as flowing water.

“That won’t do—my treat!” Zhou Yi thumped her chest, bold as a drumbeat.

“Alright…” In the end, Tang Coco, Ye Yiyi, and Marilyn followed Zhou Yi and Xiaofei along a quieter route, the corridor like a side stream, to the food court inside the building. The stalls were a mosaic of colors, bright as market flags in wind, and the girls hesitated like birds choosing branches.

“Yiyi-jie! Let’s eat that,” Marilyn pointed at a high-end hotpot place, her finger straight as an arrow.

“Hotpot? Great. Can you all handle spice?” Zhou Yi glanced at the sign, her tone flickering like a match.

“Mm.” Ye Yiyi and Tang Coco nodded, simple as stones.

“Then this one,” Zhou Yi said, heading to the front desk, her steps steady as a drum. A server soon arrived, guiding them into a private booth like leading guests through a bamboo gate.

“Order whatever you like,” Zhou Yi passed the menu, the paper light as a sail.

“I’m fine with anything… Coco, you pick,” Ye Yiyi handed it over again, a relay smooth as passing a baton.

“I can do anything…” Tang Coco scratched her head, wry as a tilted moon; she really ate everything, like a sparrow that never picky-pecks.

“Are you two not hungry? I’ll do it!” Marilyn grabbed the menu, her choice swift as a hawk’s dive, picking several dishes that looked delicious, glossy as lacquer. Zhou Yi and Xiaofei added a few more, eager as sparks; Zhou Yi clearly loved hotpot, eyes bright as coals.

“Coco, take them off,” Ye Yiyi said, the practical note crisp as paper; sunglasses at dinner were clumsy as gloves at a tea ceremony.

“Okay…” Tang Coco removed them, her eyes clear as spring water. Opposite, Zhou Yi and Xiaofei couldn’t stop looking, their gazes circling like swallows.

“Coco-jie, are you a student at Ninghai University?” Zhou Yi asked, curiosity sprouting like grass after rain.

“Yes.” Tang Coco nodded, neat as a pin.

“Then you must be the campus beauty,” Zhou Yi teased, smile curling like a ribbon.

“Uh… no, she is,” Tang Coco pointed at Ye Yiyi, the move playful as a cat’s paw; the topic of campus flowers was a thorny rose to her.

“…” Ye Yiyi stared at her, speechless as a stone; Tang Coco stuck out her tongue, impish as a fox.

“So jealous,” Zhou Yi looked at both of them, envy shimmering like heat over a road.

“Hey… you two are adorable too. Bet you’re popular,” Ye Yiyi hurried to comfort, her words gentle as rain.

“No way…” Zhou Yi’s cheeks pinked, blush like a blooming camellia.

“Xiaoyi’s popular. Lots of guys chase her,” Xiaofei said, laughter skipping like pebbles over a pond.

“…” Zhou Yi glared at Xiaofei, betrayal stinging like nettles.

“Then… Xiaoyi, do you have a boyfriend?” Ye Yiyi asked, voice soft as a cello.

“N-no…” Zhou Yi shook her head, and bitterness flickered like a shadow at dusk.

“Yeah… Xiaoyi broke up with her ex. She’s single now,” Xiaofei added, words dropping like leaves.

“Xiaofei, stop,” Zhou Yi flushed, red as a ripe apple.

“Alright, alright,” Xiaofei waved it off, her hand loose as a frond.

“Yiyi-jie, do you have a boyfriend?” Zhou Yi pivoted the topic, quick as turning a fan.

“Well… I—” Ye Yiyi opened her mouth, the answer forming like a pearl, but Tang Coco cut in.

“She does! Of course she does!” Tang Coco declared, drama flaring like a stage light.

“Mm?” Ye Yiyi stared at Tang Coco, a big question mark blooming like smoke rings.

“Wow. Then he must be super handsome, since Yiyi-jie’s amazing,” Zhou Yi asked, curiosity bright as a candle.

“Don’t listen—” Ye Yiyi tried, but Tang Coco swept on like a river after a gate opens.

“Obviously. He’s universal, unbeatable, super handsome,” Tang Coco said, flipping her hair like a banner.

“…” Everyone stared, speech tumbling like marbles, except Marilyn, who was lost like a chick in tall grass.

“That guy… could it be…” Zhou Yi guessed, the thought sparking like flint.

“Me! Who else?” Tang Coco said, confirming it like a stamp on wax.

“Coco!” Ye Yiyi hissed, shame and anger rising like steam; she hadn’t expected Coco to spill this to outsiders. She pinched Coco at the waist, sharp as a crab’s claw.

“Ah! Ah!” Tang Coco yelped twice, first from the pinch, then from her hand swatting away Ye Yiyi’s fingers and tugging the swollen back, pain flaring like a coal.

“Wow… sudden rush of couple vibes,” Xiaofei propped her chin, sweetness thick as honey in tea.

“Don’t listen to her,” Ye Yiyi blushed harder, red as autumn fruit, scrambling to explain like chasing a hat in wind.

“It’s okay, Yiyi-jie. Honestly, I envy you two,” Zhou Yi smiled, a curve soft as a crescent moon, though a thread of sorrow ran through it like a faint river. “You trust each other, so you can be all-in.”

“Alright, let’s drop it,” Ye Yiyi said with a smile, her intuition sensing old aches in Zhou Yi like bruises under silk.

Right then, the server carried in a big pot, steam blooming like white clouds, with plates of ingredients, bright as painted fans.

“Lulu can handle spice, right?” Ye Yiyi asked, her tone mild as fresh bamboo.

“Of course. I eat everything!” Marilyn patted her belly, pride round as the moon; she probably loved anything, heart wide as a meadow.

“…” Tang Coco shot Marilyn a look, cool as a shaded pond, then added a meatball to the spicy broth, lips opening like a small shell. She took a slow bite, and her face reddened fast as a flare; this body feared spice like a fawn fears thunder.

“Mmm—aaah! Wha—what is this?” Marilyn squealed, words muddled like a mouthful of marshmallow, fanning her hand like a sparrow wing.

Too spicy? Spit it out. The non-spicy side’s there,” Ye Yiyi said, worry thin as silk yet firm as a beam.

“So hot! So hot!” Marilyn cried, then swallowed the meatball, the motion bold as a swallow diving.

“…” Ye Yiyi watched Marilyn, speech stuck like snow under a boot.

“So爽… so good,” Marilyn sighed, delight bubbling like spring water, and grabbed another piece from the spicy side, reckless as a flame.

“Hey? Coco, you…” Ye Yiyi noticed Tang Coco’s face, red as a peony, even the ears flushed like embers.

“Water…” Tang Coco’s eyes brimmed with tears, glittering like rivers under moonlight.

Meanwhile, at the seaside villa, Li Muyan and Gu Xin sat at the table, lunch steam curling like mist over waves. The camera drifted down: Li Muyan wore gray cotton shorts, and his left thigh had gone black, spreading like ink in clear water.

“Gu-jiejie… like this… how many days do I have?” Li Muyan asked, voice flat as a long shore, fear tucked away like a blade under cloth.

“Mm… at this rate, about a week,” Gu Xin said, her estimate calm as a physician’s hand; she hid nothing, faith steady like a lighthouse in fog.

“A week…” Li Muyan lowered his head, the words heavy as stones dropping into a well.

“Muyan,” Gu Xin said, seeing his mood sink like twilight over the sea.

“Mm?” Li Muyan looked up, puzzled as a gull circling.

“What do you think of Coco?” Gu Xin asked, the question drifting like a feather.

“Huh? Why ask that?” Li Muyan frowned, confusion rustling like reeds.

“Tell me,” Gu Xin smiled, light as a morning ripple.

“Coco… she’s great. Kind-hearted, and stunning, though she’s a bit silly sometimes,” Li Muyan said, affection warm as a hearth.

“Right… do you think she gets sad?” Gu Xin continued, voice even as a metronome.

“Sure,” Li Muyan said, because everyone has sad hours, rain crossing any sky like fate.

“Then… when do you think she’s saddest?” Gu Xin asked.

“Well… lots of things could do it,” he said, possibilities branching like bare trees in winter.

“Yes, many things hurt. Do you know what would break Coco the most?” Gu Xin’s last question fell like a final bell, clear as ice.

"Hmm... my thoughts drift like fog—I don't know."

"You probably know—Tang Coco and I are friends, threads woven long ago. So I know when her heart shatters most, like porcelain in winter."

"What kind of storm?" Li Muyan asked, his voice calm like a still pond.

"When the one she loves slips away, like a boat leaving its moorings. When the one she loves is in danger, like a flame caught in wind."

"..." Li Muyan fell silent; thoughts sank like stones in a deep lake.

"That's how she is—she'd risk her life to shield the one she loves, like a lone pine facing a storm," Gu Xin spoke softly; her voice brushed the air like silk.

"I see—the mist clears. Then the one she loves is truly blessed, sunlight poured into cold hands."

A bittersweet warmth rose; Li Muyan lowered his head and smiled faintly, like a thin crescent on a cloudy night.

"Muyan... I'm sure—you are the one she loves too, like an arrow loosed into quiet water."

"Me?!—the word fluttered out like a startled bird."