Ye Yiyi and Li Muyan had been drifting through downtown for ages, the streets a river of glass and neon. They’d arrived in the morning, ate lunch, then kept roaming like leaves on a slow current. Ye Yiyi bought armfuls of clothes, autumn already knocking like a cool hand on the window, so she grabbed what she could while the sun still burned bright.

“What’s wrong? Still sulking?” Her voice brushed the air like a dusk breeze.

“…No.” Her reply fell soft, like a petal on water.

“Come on, don’t lie to me. I know your angry face, like thunder behind clouds.”

“…”

“Yiyi, trust Coco. She wouldn’t abandon you. Today, her words weren’t meant as knives.”

“Huh? You’ve changed so much—now you defend her.” Her eyes lifted, stormlight gathering.

“So believe me. I trust her. Otherwise I wouldn’t let her get close to you.” Her tone was steady, like a lantern in mist.

“What happened between you two? Since you came back from the States, everything shifted like sand in wind.”

“Uh…” Her gaze slipped, a shadow crossing like a passing bird.

“Are you tied to Abnormals too?” The question landed like a stone in still water.

“Uh…”

“An Abnormal? Why would I—” Her denial frayed like thin silk.

“Stop the car.” The words snapped, like frost cracking.

“Hm?” The brake caught, a brief hush like snow.

Li Muyan pulled over, the city’s buzz a hive around them.

“Come here. Look into my eyes.” Her stare was a blade of moonlight.

“…”

“Are you an Abnormal? Don’t lie to me.” Her heartbeat pounded like drums in a temple.

“I…”

“I am…” The admission rose like smoke from embers.

“I knew it… You’re all keeping things from me…” Her breath shook, a sparrow in rain.

“No, Yiyi!” Her plea reached out like a hand over fire.

“So… one day you’ll leave me too, won’t you…” The fear opened like a cold gate.

“I…”

“Looks like… we’re not the same kind of people…” Her voice went hollow, an empty room.

She threw the door open and ran, her silhouette a streak of white in the crowd’s tide.

“Yiyi! Come back!” The shout broke like surf on stone.

Li Muyan called after her, but she wasn’t Tang Coco; she still remembered the restriction that old Ouyang Lingtian had set, a chain like iron under silk. In the bright heart of the city, she couldn’t use Anomaly Power to chase. By the time she slid from the driver’s seat, Yiyi was already far, a swallow lost in the urban sky. With no other choice, Li Muyan shaped a tiny tracker with her Anomaly Power, a gnat of light, and fired it so it clung to a strand of Yiyi’s hair.

“Ah…” The sigh left her like a spent breeze.

When Ye Yiyi vanished into the sea of people, Li Muyan sank back into the car, her chest tight as a knotted rope, and called Tang Coco.

Right then, Tang Coco lay resting on a bed soft as cloud, while Su Xinhua fed her fruit one jewel at a time. Her phone rang, a silver bell in a quiet room.

“Hello? Muyan, what’s wrong?” Her voice was warm as tea.

“Coco… Yiyi… she ran off alone…” The words shivered like leaves.

“Ran off!? What happened?” Her body rose, a bow pulled taut.

“Don’t panic. I tagged her with a locator. No immediate danger, but I think you should be the one to find her.” Her calm settled like rain.

“Okay, send me the signal. I’m going.” Resolve flashed like steel.

“What is it, Ke’er?” Su Xinhua’s gaze softened, a lake at dusk.

“Something with Yiyi. I need to go find her.” She stood, a shadow lengthening.

“Alright, be careful. Your Anomalous Energy just came back a little.” Concern folded around her like a shawl.

“Mm, I know.” She nodded, eyes steady as lamps.

“By the way, Mom, there’s something I want to discuss…” Her voice dropped, a hush in bamboo.

“No need to discuss. I know what you want to say. Yiyi came to you over that, didn’t she?” A smile bloomed, gentle as spring.

“Mom, you—” Surprise flickered like fireflies.

“Finding my daughter makes me happy enough. Don’t forget, the villa I bought is right across from Yiyi’s home—am I going to live in a hotel forever?” Her laugh chimed like beads.

“So you planned it all along!” Relief washed over her like warm rain.

“Hehe—look at how capable your mom is.” Pride winked like a comet.

“I love you, Mom.” The words glowed like lanterns.

“I love you too. Go on—don’t keep that girl worrying.” Her gesture shooed like a mother sparrow.

“Mm.” She turned, a blade of shadow.

Then Tang Coco shot out in a black Porsche, the car an arrow through neon.

Ye Yiyi wandered the street, nowhere to go, the avenue a maze of light. She’d rushed out so fast her bag was still on the car seat, so she drifted aimlessly, a boat without oars.

“It’s so dangerous… Why are you all Abnormals… How many around me are Abnormals…” Her thoughts circled like ravens.

She pictured Tang Coco wounded that last time, the image a thorn in her chest, and worry throbbed like a drum. No one seemed to understand her mood, a winter lake under a gray sky.

She lifted her head and watched people weave in and out of shops, a tide against the shore. Maybe some of them… are Abnormals, she thought; they’re good at hiding… and good at lying… The idea crept like ivy.

She turned toward a park, trees whispering like old friends.

By then, Tang Coco had reached Li Muyan, whose car rested by the curb like a quiet beast.

“What happened? Why did Yiyi blow up so suddenly?” Coco slid into the passenger seat, her brows drawn like arrows.

“She… learned I’m an Abnormal. She might feel there’s a gulf between us, a cliff of silence. She might think we all lied to her… so…” Li Muyan frowned, the crease a dark river.

“…” Coco listened, the weight settling like stone.

She realized it was serious, the air cold as iron.

“Alright. I’ll find her. You head home.” Her decision cut clean, a knife on rope.

“Okay.” The answer fell like a pebble.

“And… when you get home, lift that last seal. We don’t need it anymore. We might face enemies ahead.” Coco’s gaze sharpened, a hawk in wind.

“…” The words snapped something inside, a twig in frost.

Li Muyan sensed Coco knew more than she said, but this wasn’t the time to ask. The moment held like glass.

“I understand.” She nodded, a small bow, then drove off, taillights like embers.

Coco stepped out, then followed the system’s ping, her stride quick as a fox across snow.

“System, find a quiet corner no one notices. Deploy the stealth Armor. Then cloak above Yiyi.” Her whisper flowed like smoke.

“Understood. Stealth Armor engaged. Optical camouflage online.” The reply hummed like a wire.

The Armor slid overhead, a ripple in air, and fed Coco the scene like a stream of light.

Coco sat on a bench, stone cool under her palms, a phone in hand as cover, but her eyes tracked Yiyi like a star to its moon. Seeing Yiyi’s face sink, her own heart twisted, a vine pulled tight. Yiyi had entered the central park, moving toward the back hill, trees layered like painted fans. Coco chose to wait, to let her cool down; to jump in now would be like striking flint near dry grass.

She sat too long and missed the tide building around her. She’d gone out without anything to cover her face, and her white hair and moon-clear features drew phones like moths to flame.

Click. A shutter snapped, like ice cracking.

“Uh—” The sound jolted her, a spark in dry straw.

The noise rose, a murmuring swarm, and Coco finally saw it: she was ringed by a crowd, phones lifted like a forest of spears.

“Wow! She looked up!” Joy burst like confetti.

“My god! She’s even prettier head-on!” Awe lifted like wind.

Coco cursed inside—“Damn!”—her own voice a hot coal. How could she be so careless? Her eyes scanned for an exit, mind racing like rain on glass.

A white figure moved toward her, a glide like a crane.

“Hm?” Coco felt someone closing from her left rear, the presence a cool breeze.

She turned.

“Ouyang Lingxue!?” Recognition struck like lightning.

She hadn’t expected to meet this icy girl here, a shard of winter in summer.

“Take this. Put it on.” Ouyang Lingxue removed her sunglasses, gesture clean as a blade, and handed them over.

“Uh… oh…” Coco slipped them on, a veil of shadow.

Lingxue took Coco’s hand, firm as silk rope, and led her back the way she came. In the crowd ahead, two men in suits carved a path, a channel of calm in the flood—clearly her bodyguards.

Coco thought, Not surprised—she’s the heiress type; even her shadow has guardians. The idea flickered like a candle.

Lingxue brought Coco into a café, warmth and coffee scent rising like earth after rain. They took a private booth, walls snug as a cocoon, and the two bodyguards stood at the door like pillars.

“Why’d you come back here?” Coco asked, her tone easy as water.

“Bored. Came out to stroll.” Lingxue’s answer fell cool, a snowflake.

“Uh…” Coco still wasn’t used to that cold blade of a voice, a chill on skin.

“About last time—sorry. I forgot the dinner with you.” Coco’s apology was soft, like a ribbon on wind.

“I knew you forgot. I didn’t expect you to remember.” Her words were frost, unmelting.

“…” Coco’s other hand kept on Yiyi’s dot, her focus split like moonlight on two streams.

“So… why did you ask me out last time?” Her question lifted, a kite tugging its string.

“I need your help.” Lingxue’s gaze held steady, a winter sun.

“Hm? What kind of help?” Curiosity pricked like a needle.

“My sister came from Yanjing to Ninghai. She wants to live with me, but I don’t want that.” Her voice stayed flat, a calm lake.

“Huh?” Coco blinked, baffled like a cat at rain. What situation was this—why not want your sister to stay?

“Why? Did you two fight?” She guessed, tossing a stone into water.

“No… I…” For the first time, Coco saw Lingxue hesitate, her face caught between masks, and a faint blush rose like dawn.

“Uh… fine, if you don’t want to say, don’t. How do you need me to help?” Coco cut straight, a knife through silk.

“Tomorrow night, she’ll come to my place. I want you there early, say you live with me, then chase her off.” Lingxue’s plan landed like a chess piece.

“Pfft—” Coco almost sprayed coffee like a sudden shower, holding back to keep her “lady” mask intact.

“Is that… okay?” Her doubt crept, a shadow on the wall.

“What’s not okay? You like girls, don’t you? Or am I much worse than Ye Yiyi?” Lingxue’s words rang, a bell under ice.

“…” Coco felt her secret was an umbrella everyone already saw, open in sunlight.

“Alright… I’ll help.” She nodded, the promise a knotted cord.

“Then… can you tell me your identity?” Lingxue’s eyes narrowed, a blade tested for edge.

“My identity?” Coco’s brow arched, a leaf stirring.

“You’re an Abnormal, right.” The statement rested, heavy as stone.

“…” Silence pooled between them, a quiet pond.

“Don’t be too shocked. I met your… grandfather, I think. Ouyang Lingtian. He probably didn’t tell you.” Her tone drifted, a mist through pines.

“…” Lingxue’s gaze dimmed, a lantern lowered.

“So that’s it… We haven’t talked to family for a long time. I am an Abnormal—but not right now.” Her confession was clean, a white sheet.

“Not right now? What do you mean?” Coco leaned in, curiosity a bright moth.

“Just what I said. With your strength, you should sense I have no Anomalous Energy on me now.” Her words were calm, rain tapping bamboo.

“Mm…” Coco felt it—the emptiness like a clear sky.

“That’s because… my ability has a big flaw. It only wakes when there’s no sun.” The truth fell, soft as dusk.

“…” Coco’s eyes tightened, a knot forming.

“You’d tell me something that crucial?” Her voice dipped, weighty as iron.

“That’s because I trust you.” Lingxue’s gaze lifted, open as a palm under moonlight.