Morning broke the next day, sunlight sifting through dense trees and scattering thin coins of gold across the earth.

Inside a cool, moss-scented cave, Lin Fan yawned, his arms stretching like a lazy cat.

Comfort wrapped him like a warm quilt, and he sighed in half-dreaming bliss.

As his hand fell, it met not stone but a small, soft bundle, warm as a steamed bun.

"What is this?" he murmured, eyes still shut like shutters against rain.

Still not fully awake, he gave it two absent squeezes, and doom sprang like a snapped bowstring.

"Lin Fan!" A roar, sharp as a tiger’s claw, exploded at the foolish boy’s ear.

"Ahhh!" Lin Fan jolted awake, dread flooding him like icy river water.

Before the little lioness beside him truly pounced, he dropped to his knees, forehead pounding the ground.

Xiaoxue, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking—half-asleep—spare me, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!

He kowtowed like a drum beating for mercy, fear drumming in his chest.

"You groped my chest and think 'sorry' covers it?" She stood, face flushed like peach blossom.

"Then if I punt your jewels into dust, I just say 'sorry' too?" Her knee lifted like a drawn bow.

At that knife-edge moment, Lin Fan shouted, "Xiaoxue, your eyes—your red is back to gold!"

"Really?" Her pale, petite knee froze mid-air, surprise glittering like dew.

"Really, really." Seeing a path to survival, Lin Fan’s hope flared like a spark in dry straw.

Whoosh—Little Loli vanished from the cave, a streak cutting for the lake to check.

"Guess I’ll grab fruit for breakfast," he chuckled, greed lingering like honey on his fingertips.

"And, man, that feel was… not bad." He grinned, hands still miming a squeeze in empty air.

Then—whoosh—he also slipped out of the cave, a fox dodging trouble with speed.

Little Loli darted through the forest, her body a swallow skimming green waves.

A night of recovery had knitted her wounds, and now her steps flew like arrows.

In moments she reached the river, dropping to the bank like a lily touching water.

Her reflection bloomed on the surface. Golden irises danced in wide eyes like twin suns.

"Back to normal," she smiled, lips curving like a crescent moon.

She rinsed quickly, then sprinted cave-ward, wind tugging her hair like playful fingers.

Inside, fruit carpeted the ground, and Lin Fan munched like a carefree squirrel.

"Yo, Xiaoxue, you’re quick," he said, smiling as the golden little figure returned like sunlight.

"Hmph, scumbag." Her cheeks puffed like steamed buns; she bit a fruit with a crisp snap.

Soon breakfast ended. The two sat facing each other, silence settling like dust.

Lin Fan studied the tiny marvel before him, glimpses under her cloak flashing like pink petals.

Her golden hair was a little tangled, so he slid behind her like a quiet breeze.

"Hey! You beast, what are you up to?" Her startle leapt like a cat off a branch.

"Nothing—just fixing your hair." His hands fell into her smooth lengths like combs through silk.

"Hmph." She let him, pride prickly as a hedgehog yet soft under the quills.

Jasmine drifted from her skin, clearing his head like morning tea after rain.

When he finished, he lifted the hair to his nose, reluctant as dusk leaving a lake.

That scent was a snare, sweet and cool, and he couldn’t stop one last inhale.

"Had your fun? Then move." Little Loli stood, words crisp as a blade, and stepped out.

Lin Fan followed at once, boots clipping stone like hoofbeats.

"Let’s find a nearby house and trade for clothes," he said, eyeing her tattered outfit like torn clouds.

"Mm." She nodded, and they sprinted through trees, two shadows chasing the wind.

An hour’s run carried them out of the forest. A farmhouse sat ahead like a lone boat.

"I don’t want to face people like this." At the wall, her blush rose like rosy dawn.

"What’s wrong, shy?" Lin Fan’s grin curled like a fox’s tail.

"Shut up!" She forced the words out, face burning like hot coals.

"I’ll slip in and knock them out, okay?" Lin Fan said, voice cooling like tempered steel.

"It’ll have to do." As she answered, he flashed over the wall, a shadow slicing stone.

Within ten seconds, his call came: "Xiaoxue, it’s clear—come in."

She flipped inside, landing light as a leaf on a breeze.

Lin Fan had already stepped into the house. Little Loli hurried after like a sparrow.

It was a simple rural place, plain as clay. At the table, two hosts lay slumped.

"Let’s change and go," Lin Fan said, emerging in a plain T-shirt, calm as morning.

Little Loli slipped into the inner room and found a red dress folded on the bed.

"It’s the best I could find, but it’ll be big," Lin Fan called, voice floating like smoke.

"No. Pants—easier to move," she replied, resolve firm as hammered iron.

Moments later, she hobbled out in an oversized white T-shirt and long pants.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha…" Lin Fan couldn’t hold it, laughter spilling like beads from a broken string.

"What are you laughing at?" The clothes were twice her size; every step wobbled like a duckling.

"First, make a call. Tell your family where you are. Phone’s there." He pointed, finger like an arrow.

Little Loli hobbled to the phone, dialed a familiar number, and waited through two beeps.

"Who is this…?" A middle-aged voice came, rough with worry like gravel.

"Dad!" The word burst out, and tears flowed like spring water uncorked.

"Xiaoxue, where are you? I’m worried sick," her father said, a storm whipping his tone.

"Dad, I’m in the suburbs…" she managed, words trembling like leaves in wind.

"Easy, breathe, speak slowly," her dad said, panic jangling like loose bells.

"Sir," Lin Fan cut in, voice steady as a keystone, "go to XXX Station to pick up your daughter."

He hung up, the line falling silent like snow.

"Xiaoxue, let’s go wait for your dad." He stroked her hair with gentle palm, warmth like sun.

He scooped her up, her small body feather-light, and broke into a run.

"Put me down, you perv!" She squirmed, protest wriggling like a hooked fish.

"Smack." His palm landed on her tiny butt, not hard, not light, a warning like thunder far off.

"Try that again and behave," Lin Fan said, steel sliding under velvet.

Her blush bloomed like a ripe cherry; she edged closer to his chest, a secret leaning.

Together, they sprinted toward the station, two streaks flying like swallows over fields.