At this hour, Tang Coco slid into the Porsche borrowed from Mo Zitong, the campus road a slow stream under her wheels, and a nagging thought pricked like a thorn.

“System, hook into the main program. Patch her to me.”

“Connecting… reply received: currently busy… please wait…”

Irritation flared like dry tinder; she shouted inward, “Lulu, get out here!”

“Hey, hey!? I’m here, I’m here—just a little joke, alright~”

Her voice chimed in Tang Coco’s head like a silver bell in fog.

“Hmph. I took my eyes off you, and you’ve been living quite well, huh?”

“Of course~ Sister Xin’er’s arms are a cozy nest. Hard to leave~”

Silence stacked like cold stones.

“When I get back, I’ll deal with you.”

She swallowed the heat, then let the question rise like steam. “I need something serious. What’s with my hair?”

“Hair? What about it? Fading again?”

“That ‘again’ makes me want to sock you. Why do you talk like sand in my shoe…”

Two veins pulsed on her forehead like taut bowstrings.

“Hehe~ kidding. Your hair’s changing normally. You’ve been using your Anomaly Power a lot, right?”

“Mm.”

“Then it’s normal. I Energy is merging with your body, deeper than skin—shaping not just your strength, but your temperament too. No harm; think of it like spring rain soaking in.”

“My temperament? It’ll change me? Into what?”

“Into a gentle, cute moemoe girl~ I’ve been waiting for this moment~ hehehe~”

Lulu’s laugh slithered like a mischievous cat through her mind.

“Hey, that sounded like a guilty hobby leaking out.”

“I Energy’s full fusion isn’t always smooth sailing. When danger winds tighten around you, I Energy adapts faster, like ivy catching sun.”

“I see.”

“How long till it’s fully merged?”

“There’s no ceiling. I don’t know its full potential. Keep breaking your limits, and its power stretches like the horizon—endless.”

Quiet settled like dusk.

Tang Coco weighed it, then let the calm drop. “Alright. You’re done here.”

“System switched to sub-system. Standing by.”

“This one runs fast, like a rabbit in brush…”

A few minutes later, the park’s green edged into view like a soft lake.

“Mm?”

She eased the car to the curb, the brake a gentle anchor, and spotted Meng Xiaoxiao. The crowd around her billowed like a ring of sparrows—why so many?

Beep—beep.

The Porsche’s horn fluttered like a quick bird. Meng Xiaoxiao knew Tang Coco had arrived and stepped toward the car—then three dormmates snagged her like playful nets. One girl hugged her waist from behind, the other two hooked her arms; in a laughing tangle, Meng Xiaoxiao was stalled.

“Xiaoxiao, don’t rush. Let him come pick you up.”

“Yeah, yeah. If you run, you miss the show.”

Her roommates grinned, eyes bright as lanterns.

“Hey! Let me go!”

Meng Xiaoxiao struggled, voice popping like firecrackers.

“What’s going on?”

Beep-beep-beep—

Tang Coco frowned at the chaos, tapped the horn again, but the far side was still a bubbling pot.

“Honestly. A pack of kids…”

She shook her head, winter-cool, then opened the door and stepped out like a blade of light.

“She’s coming!”

Heads turned—boys and girls—toward the Porsche, curiosity rising like smoke.

“Wait… what’s that white?”

“Hey!? Long hair? A girl?”

“Damn… b—beauty…”

“Wow—what is that… am I seeing things?”

White hair, like frost spilled at dawn, set against an angel’s face. At five-foot-nine, wrapped in a black-and-white dress, her long legs were clean lines in open air. Students froze, moths to a moon.

Tang Coco walked toward them, expression still as a lake; the cluster settled, hush falling like snow.

“Coco-jie!”

Seizing her roommates’ daze like a gap in clouds, Meng Xiaoxiao broke free and dove into Tang Coco’s arms.

“What are you doing!?”

Tang Coco tapped her head lightly, the gesture neat as a knuckle on wood.

“It’s them. They insisted you come pick me up.”

“Uh…”

Tang Coco lifted her gaze to the stunned boys and girls, their faces blank as blank paper.

“Your classmates?”

“Yeah. Roommates and classmates.”

“Oh. I see.”

“Hi there~”

She smiled and waved, a breeze through bamboo, but… no reaction. The group stayed carved like stone.

“Xiaoxiao… come here…”

A girl finally beckoned, careful as walking on dew.

“What’s up?”

“Is she… your sister?”

“Uh, not blood-related.”

“She’s an exchange student too?”

“Yep. We’re in the same class.”

“What!? No way! With that aura… how can she be a freshman? I thought she was a senior.”

“Uh… she’s just tall, that’s all~”

“How could it be? That figure… and that face… Ah! I can’t do it. I’m quitting Xiaoxiao’s fan club and starting a new one.”

A boy’s feelings burst like a popped balloon.

“Count me in… Lord… she’s too beautiful…”

Another boy nearly trembled, like grass in wind.

Her roommate tugged Meng Xiaoxiao’s hand, voice small as a mouse. “C-can I take a photo with her?”

“Uh… well… ask her yourselves…”

“Xiaoxiao, help us ask… I… I’m shy…”

Meng Xiaoxiao stared, speechless, then walked back to Tang Coco.

“Are we leaving or not?”

Hands on her waist, Tang Coco’s tone landed clean, like a gavel.

“We’re leaving. But… they want a photo with you.”

Silence lifted an eyebrow.

“I already regret saying yes to you.”

“Hehe~ help them out~ Coco-jie is the best~”

Pause, a thin line.

“Alright.”

“I’ll tell them.”

She gave the word to her roommates, and the spot exploded like a festival.

“Whoa!!!”

The boys lit up too, sparks everywhere, but Meng Xiaoxiao pricked their bubble clean.

“Not you guys. I won’t let any boy touch my Coco-jie.”

“Ah…”

Ten minutes later, the car purred again, the city a lazy tapestry rolling by. Meng Xiaoxiao sat in the passenger seat, humming like a lark, fingers dancing across her phone like dragonflies.

“Why are you this happy?”

“Hehe~ Coco-jie is out playing with me. Of course I’m happy~”

“Come off it. I used to take you out plenty.”

“This time’s different. This is my turf.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

Her words snagged like a hook; Tang Coco didn’t catch it.

“N—nothing, haha. Okay, I sent the info to the car’s nav.”

“Got it.”

A sly thought flickered in Meng Xiaoxiao, like a fox slipping through trees. In Yanjing, where you’re not familiar, some strings pull themselves.

Following the navigation’s thread, Tang Coco rolled up to a towering glass building, its skin a mirrored lake, its face blank of any signs.

“This the place?”

“Yup, this is it~”

“What do they do here?”

“Everything inside the walls—shopping, feasting, play.”

“Oh. Fine.”

Sounded workable; she didn’t like wandering streets like fallen leaves anyway.

They parked, then stepped to the hall’s doors, the air cool as shade.

“Hello. Please present your VIP card.”

The male attendant’s voice was polished, like stones in a stream.

“Here. I’ve already booked a package.”

Meng Xiaoxiao handed over a small card; he glanced, returned it with a smile neat as folded paper.

“Miss Meng, welcome. Please come in. Someone will escort you to your suite.”

“Suite?”

The word tilted odd in Tang Coco’s ear, like a pebble in a shoe. A place to play, yet a suite…?

“Let’s go~”

Laughing, Meng Xiaoxiao took her hand, the gesture warm as cotton, and led her inside.

“Hey, explain this. Why a suite?”

“Alright~ truth is, this place is called the Second World.”

“Second World? Sounds like teenage fantasy.”

Her tease fell light, like a thrown pebble.

“Uh… a little cringe, sure, but that’s how life runs inside. With this card, every expense here is free—like an endless spring.”

She flipped the golden card; it flashed like a coin in sunlight.

“So it’s just a one-stop playground. Do they need to be this mysterious?”

“Uh… yeah. You’re a big princess—you’ve been to places better than this.”

Meng Xiaoxiao puffed her cheeks, a small cloud.

Tang Coco was quiet a heartbeat; this little one always tied her hands like silk.

“Alright, alright~ I’m here for you. We’ll do it your way.”

“Humph, that’s more like it. Come on, it’s noon. Let’s eat first.”

“What’s with that suite?”

“Nothing big~ we’ll play till tomorrow, then head back.”

She thought a moment, then let the day flow like a river; nothing urgent back home, so let this girl have her sun.

“Welcome, honored guests. Please follow me.”

A beautiful hostess walked up, smile bright as a fan.

“What now?”

“Come and see.”

Mystery in her tone like mist, Meng Xiaoxiao led the way. They reached a special room—an opulent makeup table gleamed like lacquer, racks of clothes stood like colorful forests.

“Please have a seat. Staff will arrive soon.”

The hostess slipped out, a quiet door like a closing petal.

“Hey. What exactly are we doing?”

“Just a slight change of image. Everyone here does it.”

“Why?”

Tang Coco’s curiosity pricked like a thorn.

“In here, you strip off outside identities. Except whoever you came with, no one knows anyone—no family, no background. They call it the Second World because you can sculpt your face to match your imagined self, like painting on fresh snow.”

“Oh? That’s a bit interesting.”

For the first time, interest stirred in her chest like a small flame.

“Right~”

Two female makeup artists entered, steps neat as dancers.

“Welcome, honored guests. Any requests for your look?”

“Use the order I submitted. Style A is mine, Style B is hers.”

Meng Xiaoxiao tipped her phone like a conductor’s baton.

“Understood. We’ll prepare now.”

“What are A and B?”

She felt like she’d been asking questions all day, her words beads on a string.

“It’s nothing big. I already designed your look. You’ll see soon~”