“Little Moon, Little Moon! Where are you…?”
A desperate yet familiar cry drifted like wind through reeds, and Yue Liuyi froze mid-step.
“Is that Dixue?”
“Little Moon, Little Moon! Are you okay?!”
Footfalls pounded from far off, like rain racing the eaves. A silver-haired girl burst into view and swept Yue Liuyi into her arms.
In this form, Yue Liuyi was shorter than Yedie Snow by a touch. Flat shoes grounded her like pebbles in a stream, so she could only be cradled, warm and close.
“LittleSnow?”
“It’s so good to see you again, Little Moon. So, so good.”
Dixue pressed her cheek to Yue Liuyi’s blue hair, and relief spilled from her lashes like dew shaken from a leaf.
The heat of those crystalline tears left Yue Liuyi at a loss, like a bird startled mid-flight. She couldn’t understand why Dixue was crying.
“Um… slipping away this morning without a word… I’m really sorry.”
“That doesn’t matter! You’re alive, Little Moon—that’s more than enough!”
Her arms were soft as drifting clouds and warm as daylight on stone. Yue Liuyi’s pulse smoothed like a lake, and even the ache in her right arm ebbed.
“LittleSnow…?”
“Just now, the Murder Fiend attacked you, didn’t he? I thought I was too late… but you’re here, in front of me, talking to me—thank the heavens!”
That longed-for embrace hit like spring after a hard frost, no less than the joy of a homecoming. Only then did Yue Liuyi notice: though she’d just fought, Dixue was wetter with sweat, her dress clinging like a second skin, soaked through.
“LittleSnow… did you race here just for me?”
“Mhm. I’m sorry I only made it now. I didn’t help at all…”
She brushed her tears away, a smile blooming like sun through mist. She “admired” Little Moon up close, as if fearing she’d float off like a lantern, eyes locked to those sea-blue irises.
“How did you get away from the Murder Fiend? Did some gallant prince on the road rescue you?”
“I drove him off myself… We fought, and I got lucky.”
“Eh? Little Moon drove him off? You’re that strong?! Are you hurt? You weren’t vio—”
Seeing Yue Liuyi’s clothes mostly intact, Dixue let out a long breath, like a bellows settling. Then she spotted the gash on Yue Liuyi’s right shoulder, and nearly jumped like a fish from water.
“That deep! And tainted with rusted blood! We have to treat it now! Wait… the curse is dispelled? Still needs a bandage!”
Without a heartbeat’s hesitation, Yedie Snow tore a strip from her own dress. The fabric fluttered like a pale wing as she wrapped Yue Liuyi’s shoulder.
“No, don’t—your dress is so expensive!”
The gesture pinched Yue Liuyi’s heart like a tight shoe. After strolling the mall, she’d learned how pricey girls’ clothes were. One tear, and hundreds were gone.
Her worry was real, but her worldliness small. She still underestimated the value of Dixue’s dress—no ordinary cloth, but an enchanted piece. One rip, and at least a thousand sank like a stone.
“Dresses can be bought again. If Little Moon dies, there’s no buying you back.”
Dixue looked at Yue Liuyi, her green eyes clear as a mountain spring.
That gaze jolted Yue Liuyi like a bell struck at midnight. She didn’t know that this silver-haired girl had searched for her all day.
“Nightmare Rust didn’t die—someone brought him back by special means.”
The moment a red alert rang from the Support Division, Dixue ran herself ragged, chasing after any trace of Yue Liuyi. Tracking spells flared like fireflies, surveillance feeds rolled like tides, portal logs turned like pages.
No matter what she used, her hands came up empty. Of course they did. Yue Liuyi was a girl who shouldn’t exist under the sun.
Yedie Snow fell into a narrow well of despair. She knew what Nightmare Rust was—twisted to the bone. If she didn’t reach Yue Liuyi in time, she feared she’d meet a body, scored and cold as winter bark.
(So in the end, Little Moon is okay, and that’s wonderful. To still see those eyes—it’s truly wonderful!)
“…”
Under that gaze, Yue Liuyi dropped her head like a blossom brushing the ground. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what to do.
Guilt came first, like frost on glass. Because he was a boy. Because Yue Liuyi could only exist at night, like a moonlit mirage. Because the real self might not deserve this care.
A thousand words tangled like vines. In the end, all her thoughts gathered into two simple syllables.
“Thank you…”
“Eh? Why thank me, Little Moon? Isn’t this just what a friend should do?”
Dixue tilted her head, pale fingers combing through azure strands to brush off soot-dark dust.
“Because I might not actually be Yue Liuyi. Or I might have… another identity.”
“Oh, that’s all? I thought it was something dire~”
She set a hand to the other’s chest, feeling the heat of a living heart, and nodded with a smile.
“No. Little Moon is Little Moon. What I like isn’t your face or your name—it’s your stubborn, shining core.”
“Eh?”
“The strength you showed against the Murder Fiend. The grit when the walls closed in. The empathy when you shielded a temporary roommate. I love all that.”
“And that spirit too—even after being violated, you stayed pure and upbeat.”
“I wasn’t violated! I told you, my clothes just got a bit torn!”
Yue Liuyi waved her left hand in protest, a leaf fluttering in a small wind. Dixue caught that protest and held it, soft as moss.
“Heh…”
Holding Yue Liuyi’s left hand, Dixue smiled a yes-that’s-how-it-is smile.
“And Little Moon makes people worry. You don’t know how to tie a dress sash. You can’t do makeup or hairpieces. You walk too boldly.”
“So adorably clueless—I’m afraid someone will just whisk you away~”
“Ugh…”
At that, Yue Liuyi had no room to argue. He was a boy, after all. Even as a girl, old habits stuck like burrs.
As Dongfang Chen, none of it mattered. As Yue Liuyi, it was dangerous. A wardrobe slip or a misstep might be daily fare, making others fret.
“So no matter who Little Moon is, I want to be your friend forever. Can you help me make that wish come true?”
Under Yedie Snow’s gaze, Yue Liuyi went quiet, like a pond under stars. In that deep green, she found a plain, steady truth—enough to be a forever anchor.
“If you say that, LittleSnow… even if, one day, I’m not me…?”
“Mhm. No matter what. Pinky promise—won’t change in a hundred years.”
Dixue’s smile was light as a breeze. She held out her little finger.
(Then at least, at night, I can…)
Yue Liuyi lifted her head. The haze in her heart cleared like mist over water.
“Mhm. Pinky promise—won’t change in a hundred years.”
Their little fingers hooked, a bridge of trust under the quiet moon. Leaves drifted in slow spirals. Clouds gathered like gentle hands, offering blessings for the birth of a friendship.
