After saying goodbye to the class rep, Dongfang Chen headed home, streetlights dripping pale gold like dew on reeds.
...
“LittleSnow, I’m back!”
Yue Liuyi pushed the bedroom door open, excitement buzzing like dragonflies at dusk. To avoid LittleSnow’s dislike, she shifted back into a girl’s shape and slipped into that petite, ornate dress like a blooming camellia.
“Ah, my little Yue is back!”
The silver-haired girl was gaming on her phone; with only one hand, the controls faltered like a lame sparrow.
“Little Yue, did everything go smoothly today?” Her voice was winter sun through thin clouds.
“Mm! I bought the medicine, and I picked up some snacks for everyone!” The bag rustled like dry leaves in a courtyard.
Snack bag swinging like a bell, Yue Liuyi walked toward LittleSnow sprawled on the bed like a lounging cat.
“Wonderful, my little Yue is so capable... huh?” Her crescent smile stalled, frost edging the curve.
For some reason, Dixue’s smile froze, like ice sealing a blossom.
“L-LittleSnow... what’s wrong?” Her heart fluttered like a moth at the lantern.
“Uh... why does it feel like another girl’s scent is clinging to you?” The words were powdery petals drifting from a jar.
“Eh?”
“Kaka smelled it too! It’s a brown-haired girl’s scent! So young, so sweet—woof!” The verdict landed like a pawprint in wet clay.
The little blonde girl watching Dixue play blurted it out at the worst moment, a pebble tossed into a still pond.
“Huh!? Wow! You can even smell that—are you born under Dog or something... ugh...” Her voice skittered like a startled lizard.
Yue Liuyi suddenly remembered: Kaka really is Dog in the Chinese zodiac, a wag in human shape.
“Woof? Did Kaka say something wrong?” She blinked, eyes clear as mountain springs.
She didn’t realize her words had lit the fuse on a powder keg, spark racing like wildfire through dry grass.
“So Little Yue insisted on restoring her boy identity just to sneak around behind her sister...” Her voice was a blade wrapped in silk.
The silver-haired girl’s porcelain face darkened, and a white-demon chill rose like mist from snowfields.
“Whoa! LittleSnow, you’ve got it wrong! I just ran into my old class rep and chatted a bit!” Panic fluttered like sparrows under the eaves.
“Class rep?” The question was an icicle, sharp and clean.
“Yeah, the class rep from Sacred Shima Middle School... She took good care of me...” Memory flickered like candlelight behind paper.
“Heh... looks like I should post your maid-outfit photos on the Elven Kingdom forum. Let everyone see you—mortified and secretly enjoying it.” Her smirk unfurled like silk banners in wind.
Seeing Yue Liuyi’s utter lack of remorse, Dixue showed a little demon’s grin, small fangs of moonlight.
“Waa! Anything but that, absolutely no way!!!! >_<”
...
...
Only after steady soothing, like warm rain on dust, did Yue Liuyi settle LittleSnow’s mood.
Looking at the silver-haired beauty, Yue’s heart brewed sweet and bitter like tea steeped too long.
Ever since they came to Dreamwood Star, LittleSnow gets jealous more easily; compared to the clever, brave Butterfly Snow President of before, she now feels like a dew-soft, untouched girl.
To Yue Liuyi, that’s no bad thing; lifting that veil lets her draw close to LittleSnow’s hidden side, like stepping into a moonlit courtyard.
Yue still can’t forget that moment on the Skyship: while LittleSnow introduced the Night Clan’s homeland, every gesture was tender, every word warm—like the perfect wife in a boy’s quiet dream.
Yue doesn’t think LittleSnow is acting; she hides her softness because Yue can’t yet shield this silver-haired beauty, like a bamboo screen against a storm.
Back then, Yue loved to play strong and wander alone; if she could guard LittleSnow in every breath, that silver-haired girl might become even cuter, even softer—like silk under fingertips.
“Ugh... I so want to roll over and tease LittleSnow. But first, I gotta be more capable!” Desire flashed like fireflies; resolve settled like a stone.
Frustration tightened her brow; her strength was a short winter blanket, never covering everyone at once.
Compared to the countless cares LittleSnow gave when they met, what Yue can offer now is thin soup in a cold bowl.
Against the lavish Skyship, those little circles, the freeloader’s free supermarket strolls, and reliable partners at the Rangers Lodge, Yue can only give a wind-leaking house in the rain, savings that crumble like sand, and herself—an unemployed girl without an ID, a shadow between doors.
Like this, she can’t even keep everyone fed and watered, let alone draw a blade for LittleSnow and Little Rose to take revenge.
“Mm... What should I do?” Her voice drifted like a kite tugged by weak wind.
Worry nibbled like ants as Yue paced the corridor alone, steps tapping like rain on tiles.
“Eh! Right! Sis Kiki told me this should work!” Hope flared like a lantern relit.
Remembering, Yue slid fingers beneath the bow at her collar and drew out a necklace, moon from clouds.
The Eternal Tear, even without sunlight, shone on its own—like a flawless teardrop diamond caught in starlight.
“Sis Kiki said if I activate the Eternal Tear, I can draw out my true power. Would that be enough to protect LittleSnow?” Her wish rose like a prayer into night.
Dazzling silver light swelled before Yue Liuyi, moonwater overflowing the rim.
“Eh? What’s this... ugh! My body’s so hot!” Heat surged like a summer storm rolling over fields.
Naive Yue didn’t know her thought was the key turning in the Eternal Tear’s silent gate.
The blue-haired girl, natural as spring water, also didn’t know what terrifying shape her true form wore—what storm sleeps inside that calm lake.
...
...
