“Then let me wash the dishes.” After dinner, Lu Ke volunteered, gathered plates and chopsticks like fallen leaves, and carried them into the kitchen.

Xiao Qianxue slipped off her chair, smoothed her nightdress like moonlit silk, and drifted toward the sofa like a quiet tide.

“Uh… huh?” Gu Wen felt suddenly alone, a hollow bell rung in her chest. She glanced at Lu Ke at the sink, water clattering like rain.

She turned to Xiao Qianxue. The blonde girl leaned over the sofa, fiddling with a boxy console—looked like a PS4—buttons glinting like small stars.

“Xue’er?” Nerves fluttered like trapped sparrows. After wrestling with herself, Gu Wen walked to the blonde’s side.

“What’s up, Sister Gu Wen?” The Little Loli had just booted up Halo, sat on the sofa, and lifted the controller like a tiny shield.

“Um… can I hug you? I… can barely hold it in.” Her voice stuttered like a hesitant brook. Heat bloomed on her fair cheeks like peach petals.

“Hm. Hugging’s fine, but promise me one thing.” Xiao Qianxue set the controller down, eyes calm as a still lake.

“Alright. Whatever it is, I’ll do it.” The words fell like a vow carved in stone.

“From now on, please take good care of my brother.” Her gaze held firm, bright as twin embers.

“Huh?” Gu Wen stared at the impossibly cute girl before her. Those golden-red eyes were serious, sharp as autumn light. It wasn’t a joke.

“Can you?” The honey-sweet voice drifted close, soft as mist.

“Mm. I will. As… his girlfriend, maybe?” The blush deepened, a sunrise spreading across her face.

“Well, that’s none of my business. As long as you agree, I’m relieved.” The blonde smiled, sweet as sugar on the tongue. “Also, it’s our secret. Don’t tell my brother.”

“Okay, but why?” Gu Wen glanced toward the kitchen, curiosity flickering like a moth.

“No reason. Alright, Sister Gu Wen, you can hug me now.” Her tone was playful, a bell chime in spring air.

“Whoa—amazing!” Gu Wen scooped the small body into her arms. Softness and a jasmine scent rose like warm breeze, and her doubts scattered like petals.

“Mmph—don’t, I can’t breathe!” The blonde wriggled free, gulped air like a swimmer breaking the surface, fear flickering in her eyes.

“Ah, sorry. I got carried away.” Gu Wen stuck out her tongue, a sheepish grin blooming like clover.

“So… how’s my brother doing at school now?” The blonde hugged a pillow to her chest, a shield of cotton.

“Him? He’s blazing like the noon sun. Top grades. Good-looking. Nice car. Ties to half the professors. The campus’s number-one male idol.”

“Is he really that popular…” Xiao Qianxue lowered her head and pouted, a tiny cloud over a bright sky. It was almost her old self.

“Chores make me happy! Also—what are you two doing?” Lu Ke came out from the kitchen, steam trailing him like fog, and saw Gu Wen grinning at the blonde with a pillow.

“Nothing. If you’re that happy, wipe the table too.” Xiao Qianxue grabbed the controller from the coffee table. With the other hand, she swept her golden hair back like a stream of light. Annoyance edged her voice.

“I’ll help!” Gu Wen shot up, hand raised like a flag.

“Great.” Lu Ke didn’t refuse. “Come to the kitchen first. I’ll grab the towels.”

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“I wonder how Xiaoxue is doing now. Days without her feel hollow.” A cute brown-haired girl stood at the top-floor balcony of a seafront building, sea wind combing her hair like salt fingers.

“Young Miss, the Master wants to see you. He says it’s very important.” A maid appeared at the balcony entrance, black-and-white uniform crisp as snow and ink.

“Tch. What does he want now?” The old resentment stirred like a storm front. He hadn’t let her take Xiao Qianxue. Love curdled into hate.

Led by the maid, Joanna entered a not-so-large room. Inside sat powerful elders, names usually heard like thunder, faces rarely seen.

“Why are you late?” Her father’s voice cracked like a whip.

“What’s it to you whether I’m late or early?” She shot back, sharp as a blade.

“Seems you’ve lacked discipline lately.” He burned with shame before the elders, anger rising like wildfire as he moved to stand.

“Enough, Hongfei. Joanna is still young.” The elder at the center spoke, voice steady as an old pine.

“Hmph.” Joanna found a seat aside and sat, frost resting on her brow.

“Since everyone is here, let’s begin.” The elder’s words fell, and the room hushed like a lake at dusk.

“Days ago, we received a communiqué from that organization.” Joanna’s family was military. She knew a sliver of the Ability Organization’s shadow.

“What!?” Most in the room burst out, disbelief flaring like lightning. That group flipped clouds and summoned rain in this country. Above them, three great clans loomed.

And they—at best—were one branch in the armed machine. Before that organization, they were kittens before a saber-tooth.

“They want us to do something. More precisely, they want Joanna to do something.” The elder waited for the shock to ebb, then continued.

“They said this: contact Xiao Qianxue, your good friend. Arrange a meeting. Then they’ll erase all her past records. She can start anew with you.”

You can’t trust everything adults say. With this elder, even a punctuation mark might be false. Yet Joanna knew nothing of the Organization’s moves, nor what befell Xiao Qianxue after she left.

“Really?” Her voice was a tight string, humming.

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“Mmm, today I’m off to learn gun-fu.” Last night, Lu Ke and Gu Wen half-flirted while working through files. She’d dozed beside them, bored as a drifting leaf.

The blonde girl sat up from bed, rubbing sleepy eyes like dew-bright almonds. Her phone on the nightstand began to ring, a silver bell in morning light.