In Little Loli’s eyes, a red glass marble lay on the floor of a rather deep pool, pulsing with a fierce, almost homecoming pull.

"Um... Lin Fan, could you grab something for me...?" She turned. Her eyes, blood-red like winter berries, fixed on him.

"Xiaoxue... change your eyes back, please. That stare gives me the chills." Lin Fan wiped his brow, as if brushing off cold dew. "Ah... sorry." She stuck out her tongue, kitten-cute, and the scarlet drained away.

"Something at the bottom? I’ve got it." Lin Fan stripped to his shorts. Before diving, he thumped his chest like a drum before battle. "Pervert!" Little Loli shrieked.

"Wait, I’m just getting ready to swim, don’t freak out!" "Go die, you sadistic creep!" She sprang, a white flash like a gull’s wing, and booted him into the pool.

Cold closed over him like blue glass. He steadied himself and searched. A red glow burned below, a bead like an ember on the pool floor. "That must be it." He arrowed down, snatched the bead, and surged up.

"Hah!" With a splash, Lin Fan broke the surface. "Got the bead?" Little Loli crouched at the edge, golden pupils flickering like lanterns over water. "Take a guess~~~" He grinned. Her eyes bled red again, and his smile froze like ice on a stream.

"Alright, alright, you win..." He scrambled ashore and pulled his clothes back on. "Done changing?" She covered her eyes with two pale hands like lotus stems. "All set." He rubbed the red bead on his pant leg till it shone, then lifted it to the light. "Quit staring, dummy. You don’t even know how to use it."

She blinked, and the bead was in her palm. A voice rang in her mind, cool as metal: Confirm absorption of Energy Orb? After absorption, you gain one skill enhancement and replenish system energy. Absorption is this system’s only path of evolution. It will also trigger one mechanism. "What mechanism?" she asked in a rush. System: Without Battle Mode, the host’s body remains at original human stats. Boosts trigger only in Battle Mode— Meaning: without the red-eye state, Xiao Qianxue turns soft and gentle, easy to topple. Before, even out of Battle Mode, she was still athlete-strong.

"That’s dirty, but I’ve got no better choice. Confirm!" The bead flared, a sunrise clenched in glass. The light made both Lin Fan and Xiao Qianxue screw their eyes shut.

When they looked again, the bead had become a red mist draped over her like gauze. After a breath, the haze thinned and blew away. She felt a slight swell at her chest, a subtle tide under silk. She glanced down. "Nani?" It was barely an upgrade—call it A to A-plus.

Lin Fan piped up from the side. "Xiaoxue, your chest looks a bit bigger." "Shut up, you pervy brute. Where are your eyes all day?!" Her roundhouse kick sang through the air and sent him flying. She snapped at the system, urgent as rain on bamboo. "Why would absorbing a bead make... there... bigger?!" This question is outside system parameters. A sharp click followed, like a machine powering down.

"Uh... huh?" She blanked out for a beat. "Ow, that kick had some force." Lin Fan hobbled back, hand on his waist. His green casual jacket was scored with claw-like rips. "You okay?" Seeing the damage, guilt pricked her like needles.

"I’m fine. Just a jacket. But next time, warn me before you kick." He kept it light, though his gaze still drifted to a certain someone’s chest. "Hmph. I’ll let you off." She flicked her golden hair and headed deeper into the forest. "This bead is interesting. I should find more next time," Lin Fan thought, watching her small back like a firefly fading into trees. He followed.

By noon, they’d rigged a grill by the beach. Wave-light flashed like fish scales. They laid out their take—snake, rabbit, fish—gleaming on the sand. "Looks like lunch will be a feast." Little Loli watched Lin Fan prep by the fire. "Has to be." He lined up spices like little hills and cleaned the entrails with river-smooth hands.

"Careful. Don’t turn them into jerky." He washed his hands, watching her set the meat on the rack. "I—I won’t!" Her cheeks flushed like peach skin. At the sight of blood, a thirst rose in her, a tide wanting to drink every drop.

Under Lin Fan’s touch, the barbecue came out golden and singing with smoke. Little Loli pounced like a hungry tiger. The food vanished like clouds blown by wind, yet she still left plenty for him. "I thought I’d be chewing on the grill later," Lin Fan joked around a mouthful. "I’m not a glutton!" She sat aside, hugging a coconut, sipping its milk like moonlight.

Good times slip fast, like sand through fingers. Dusk fell, and they returned to their cave. "What do you want to do tonight?" Lin Fan walked up slow. He crouched behind her and gently set his head atop hers.

That familiar jasmine scent rose again, soft as night rain, and Lin Fan drifted in it. "Tell me about you," he murmured. Little Loli turned, gaze serious, a clear spring looking back at the boy behind her. "About me, huh..." Lin Fan sat beside her, the rock cool as slate.

"Where do I start?" He paused. "Country C isn’t as simple as it looks. There’s a secret organization. They recruit espers. I’m the eldest son of the ruling family. I won’t say more. It won’t do you any good."

She listened in quiet, like a pine taking wind, piecing the hints together. "I don’t want to see you inside that organization someday. I mean it," Lin Fan said, careless tone hiding an iron line. "Let’s hope not..."

The secret was heavy. It struck her like thunder under a clear sky, leaving a tremor in her bones. "Alright, I’m pitching the tent. Want to take a wash?" Lin Fan pulled a spray shower and other cleaning gear from a case. "Then I won’t be polite." She took the things and darted off like a swallow.

When she came back, a handsome campfire danced—and one tent sat beside it. "Why only one tent?" Suspicion shaded her voice like a thin cloud. "Uh... I probably left too fast and didn’t check the gear." Lin Fan rubbed his head, sheepish, then grabbed another set of toiletries and jogged off.

When he returned, the camp was quiet. No sign of Little Loli. "Did she run off angry...?" A crease of worry cut his brow. He opened the tent. Inside, in pink pajamas, Little Loli knelt, combing her long golden hair. Her flawless face glowed in the firelight seeping through the seams, beautiful enough to steal a heartbeat.

He slipped in, quiet as a cat. Jasmine with a hint of milk floated up to meet him. Her voice drifted out, faint as mist. "You can sleep here too. It’s not the first time. But! If you dare pull what you did that morning, I swear I’ll have fresh human blood to drink tomorrow~~~" Her last note lifted, playful and deadly.

"Got it, got it." Lin Fan hadn’t expected Xiao Qianxue to share a tent. He was ready to sleep outside. Now his heart thudded like a drum, and his limbs felt wooden.

"Then... good night." Little Loli curled up in a corner like a small fox.

"Good night..."