Night was ink-black, pricked with stars, a bright moon hung like polished jade. Beneath its silver spill lay a forest, dark as a sleeping sea. In the undergrowth, a golden figure moved, slow as a firefly drifting.
“Out of the cave, go left…” Little Loli leaned on a little wooden crutch she’d made, slogging through roots like waves. Her voice was a stream under her breath, babbling directions.
What energy did that Lin Fan use, that healed wounds like spring rain? It’s unbelievable. Turns out I’m not the only one with abilities; this world opens like a bud.
But how did that bear die? Did I kill it? If I did, why is my memory a fog? Lost in thought, she drifted to a riverbank, water clear as glass mirroring her. A cold breeze stroked her soft cheek like a cool leaf. “Eek…” She blinked back to herself, and saw the river at her toes.
“What clear water…” Little Loli crouched, fingers combing the current like silk, a sweet, childlike smile blooming. Then she peered at the beauty in the mirror-water, and jolted. “My left eye—why is it red?” In the river’s face, her left iris burned blood-red, one gold, one crimson, wide with disbelief.
“Now I get why Lin Fan flinched for a heartbeat.” When our eyes met, his pupils jumped like startled birds. He must’ve seen this.
“System, system, are you there?” Xiao Qianxue called in her mind, worry like a drum. “Host, what are your orders.” The mechanical voice clicked into her skull, cold as steel. “You scared me. I thought you vanished when the energy ran dry…” Little Loli exhaled like letting down a pack. “Why are my eyes red when I didn’t enter battle mode?”
“Host, this likely relates to your body.” During your fight with the bear, your innate trait erupted like a volcano, and slew it. “I saved a recording in time. Please view it.”
A stab of pain throbbed in her head, then the blackout bloomed vivid as dawn. Blood-light surged before her eyes like a tide. With a whoosh, a blood-colored greatsword formed in her hands and felled the bear. The clip ended. “I have this kind of power?” “Isn’t that basically cheat mode?” Little Loli stared at her pale hands, awe flickering like flame.
“I think your own power flared and left your eyes altered,” the machine replied, voice flat as winter. “Will they stay red like this?” “Sorry, Host. I can’t determine that.”
“Then what do I do? How do I face people with one gold, one red eye?” Panic fluttered in Little Loli’s chest like a trapped bird. “Forget it. Future me can handle future mess. First, wash the blood off.”
She stripped off her torn school uniform and black stockings, and in just her underwear slipped into the clear water. She swam like a fish, silver ripples trailing. Soon the flawless little beauty climbed ashore, slow as a kitten. She tried her old clothes, and couldn’t get them on. “Seriously, what the hell. You want me to spend the night with a guy in just underwear? If he forces me, who pays for that?” Her cheeks burned like sunset.
She turned the old clothes into a cloak and draped it over herself, then headed back. Before long, the familiar cave swam into view like a dark mouth. Step by step, she entered. Lin Fan crouched by the fire, rigging a simple grill. A dead rabbit lay beside him like a gift from the woods.
“Xiaoxue, you done washing?” Lin Fan smiled toward the doorway, voice warm as the flames. “I—idiot, who told you to call me Xiaoxue…” Little Loli yelled, face red as apples. Her slim white legs pressed together, and she tightened the cloak, edging inside. “Pfft…” Lin Fan couldn’t help another laugh. He set the wooden grill aside, rose, and walked toward her like a lazy cat.
She’d barely sat when she saw him closing in. “You twisted perv!” she shrank, knees tight, cloak wrapped like a cocoon. “Don’t you dare try weird stuff!” Her blush flared like embers as she shouted to hold him off.
He glimpsed pink underwear beneath the cloak, a flash like cherry petals. “I am a perv,” Lin Fan grinned, stepping closer, “so what’ll you do?” He pulled off his shirt, showing a decent, corded torso like a young pine. “Come closer and I’ll transform!” she yelped. “I’m scary when I transform!”
A T-shirt dropped over her shoulders, soft as a cloud. A warm hand landed on her head. “You just bathed, be careful not to catch a chill,” Lin Fan said, voice gentle as rain.
She glared at him with one gold eye and one red, but the rising blush betrayed her like dawn. “Alright, playtime’s over.” Lin Fan withdrew his hand, sat back by the fire, and tended the rabbit.
Little Loli sat to the side without a word, face flushed. She drew up her knees, tucked her head by habit, and whispered, slow as falling ash. “Looking like this, aren’t you afraid of me?” Lin Fan froze a beat, then spoke quick as a spark. “Of course not. You’re too cute; fear has nowhere to land.”
“Really?” Little Loli peeked up, only her eyes showing, at his back over the fire. “Really. Absolutely.” He lifted the rabbit, skin sizzling like rain on iron. Red light burst in his palm like a flame, shaped into a blade, and he sliced the meat with ease. He skewered the pieces on little twigs. He picked one and passed it to the slightly downcast Little Loli.
“Here, Xiaoxue.” “Let’s skip the sad talk and feed the belly first.” At the sight of rabbit, Little Loli couldn’t hold back. She grabbed the skewer and nibbled small bites, like a squirrel. Lin Fan took one too, sat beside her, and chewed slowly. Watching her eat, the corner of his mouth lifted like a crescent.
As if feeling his gaze, she glanced over, stuck out her tongue playfully, then turned back to eating. Lin Fan finished his skewer, saw she was nearly done, and patiently readied two more in hand.
She spotted them and snatched one without ceremony, mouth opening for more. Lin Fan shoved the last skewer into his own mouth and chomped. In mock defiance, she stripped her skewer in one bite. Her cheeks puffed up like two little buns.
Lin Fan gathered the sticks and tidied the camp, then sat again. “Xiaoxue, how did you get here?” he asked. She didn’t object to the name, as if by default. “Kidnapped,” she said. “They wanted to do things to me…” “So I killed them all.”
She still hugged her knees, stared ahead, and spoke calmly, face like still water. “It’s been days. I don’t know if my dad’s already gone insane.” Tears broke ranks. “I really… sob… kind of… miss them…” She buried her head and cried, heavy as summer rain. Lin Fan set a hand on her smooth golden hair, stroking, and said, firm as rock. “Tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll get back.” “Really?” She looked at him with hope, rims red, tear tracks bright as dew. “Really. For sure.” Lin Fan turned his gaze toward the cave mouth, night deep as ink.
“Sleep now. We’ve got an early start tomorrow.” He patted her silky hair again, reluctant as a tide ebbing.
“Fine. One more thing. No weird stuff tonight. Remember, or I’ll bite you to death.” She waved a tiny fist like a dandelion puff. Lin Fan stole a glance at the flat little buns on her chest, then forced a straight face. “Got it, got it…” “Got it?” she said coldly. “Then what were you just staring at?” She didn’t hesitate. Her fist shot out and smacked Lin Fan in the face. “Help—” His screams rolled through the forest like thunder long after the storm.
