“Then there are some things I need to say.” Tang Coco’s gaze was winter frost, a pale blade laid across the table.
“First, Xiaoxiao being with me has nothing to do with my background. She doesn’t even know Abnormals exist, let alone my past. I treat her as my little sister from the heart, clear as a mountain spring, and she does the same.”
“Second, your thinking’s off. Why do you always use any means necessary, like bringing a cleaver to sew a tear? Why not sit down and talk, about Yiyi, about your parents? Why do you keep choosing extreme measures, a hammer for thin glass? To be blunt, your Anomaly Power is weak. You hurt someone overseas and still came back in one piece—that was luck, a stray leaf carried home by a tame wind.”
Her tone was a thin blade flaring in the light, cold and precise as frost.
Mo Zitong lowered her head, a cloud veiling her face, hiding whatever weather moved inside.
Silence pooled on the narrow chair, still water in a tight alley. Minutes passed. Tang Coco finally broke the surface like a pebble dropped in a pond.
“Hey… fine. Tell me how I’m supposed to help.” She let out a sigh, shoulders falling like wilted leaves under late autumn rain.
“Huh? You… you’ll help me?” Mo Zitong looked up, her eyes glossy with dew, and the sight sent a prickle through Tang Coco’s chest like cold current on skin.
“Yeah, yeah. Just spit it out. And act normal—stop playing the pitiful card.” Tang Coco turned her gaze aside, a bird skimming away to the nearest branch.
“Actually… I want you to come home with me. Lately a few foreign families, proud of recruiting some Abnormals, have been pressing our family like a storm front. I want you to go back and scare them, a thunderclap to clear the sky.”
Tang Coco’s thoughts rippled, her inner voice a splash of ink. “What do you mean? You think I’m some big monster? ‘Scare them’? This boss—no, this lady—am I really that terrifying?” The complaint rose like a cat puffing up then smoothing its fur.
“I’m not thrilled… but fine, I’ll do it.” She turned her face, pretending calm like a moon behind thin clouds, a hint of tsundere heat tucked away.
“Really? You really agreed?” Mo Zitong grabbed her shoulders and shook her twice, waves slapping a small boat, and Tang Coco’s head went dizzy.
“Great! I knew meeting you was written by fate, stars lining up over a quiet sea!”
Mo Zitong hugged her, warm as a shawl thrown over winter.
“Hey. Aren’t you taking advantage here?” Tang Coco’s deadpan floated like a leaf refusing to sink.
“It’s fine. We’re both girls.” Her voice hopped like a light breeze over grass.
“But your motives don’t feel pure.” Tang Coco narrowed her eyes, seeing fox tails flick beneath a silk curtain.
“I’m so happy—let me hold you for a bit.” Joy spilled like sunlight through blinds.
Tang Coco gave up resisting, surrendering like a stone warmed by noon. Honestly, this wasn’t bad—Mo Zitong was a top-tier beauty, a lily in full bloom; otherwise she wouldn’t be the number one campus beauty of Ninghai University. With them pressed so close, Tang Coco caught the faint fragrance on her skin, soft as jasmine mist.
She’d agreed because Mo Zitong felt a little tragic, a life blown off course by sudden Anomaly Power, a storm carving a new riverbed. Deep down, a leftover “older brother” instinct stood like an old pine in snow, and Tang Coco chose to help.
“Coco…” Mo Zitong breathed by her ear, her voice soft as spring rain on green shoots.
“Mm? What is it?” Tang Coco’s reply was a pebble skimming water.
“Will you be my girlfriend? I really like you—nothing to do with anything else. I like you from my heart, bright as a clear moon.”
“Let’s… talk later.” Her answer was a paper fan, closing with a flick, feelings tucked away like tea cooling in a cup.
“Nooo, I want to know now.” She coaxed, sweet as a kitten pawing at a sleeve.
“We’re not even that close.” The protest was a fence of bamboo, thin but standing.
“Then… let’s get a little closer.” Mo Zitong shifted, settling onto Tang Coco’s lap, facing her. She curled her arms around Tang Coco’s neck, a vine looping a warm branch, closed her eyes, and leaned in, a moth seeking flame.
“Uh…” Tang Coco hesitated, temptation hanging like a ripe peach within reach. It’s handed to me—do I take it?
But reality didn’t give much time. Just as their lips were about to meet, the breath between them fog-thin—
“Ahem.” A dry cough cut in from the other side, a twig snapping in quiet woods.
