Knock, knock, knock!

At the door of the Moon Post Bookstore, the sudden knocking rolled in like beads tapping porcelain.

No storm tonight, so the sound rang crisp as winter air; upstairs, in the bedroom, the girl heard it sharp as frost.

A flicker of curiosity, edged with worry. Who’s here?

Yue Dier frowned, her mood a cloudbank she couldn’t disperse; she couldn’t move freely, and that adorable blue-haired girl lay sunk in bliss, asleep like a moon drowned in milk.

She could at least toy with Xiao Yue’s hair, silky as riverweed—but the downside was simple as an empty courtyard: nobody was opening the door.

Woof! Kaka can go open it, right? Sis, did you schedule guests tonight?

Nope.

It’s me… anyone home?

The voice outside was a girl’s, fresh as spring water. Dixue hadn’t heard it before, but Kaka’s tail snapped up like a pennant at dawn.

Woof!

Kaka? You know the owner of that voice?

I do! It’s Sis Kiki!

Huh?

Woof, I’ll get the door!

…

The little blonde darted from the room like a sunbeam, leaving Dixue alone on the bed, her thoughts a tangle of ivy.

Ugh, trouble. Xiao Yue, wake up already! Your Sis Kiki’s here!

Annoyance pricked first, then action: Dixue shook the blue-haired girl in her arms, but no matter how she rocked, the little blue-haired pervert-turned-girl stayed asleep, sweet as a lotus dreaming.

Hmph… Xiao Yue’s getting off easy.

If Xiao Yue woke, Dixue planned to face this so-called Sis Kiki with a frostbitten smile, to let Xiao Yue taste a battlefield of jealous hearts.

But with Xiao Yue sleeping, Dixue let that plan melt like snow on a brazier.

She told herself she wasn’t that jealous; she just loved Xiao Yue’s flustered, helpless blush, a peach-petal look.

Hello?

From outside came the stranger’s voice, light as a wind-bell.

Come in.

My name is Aiqiqi. Are you the partner Miss Dixue who met Xiao Dong during the adventure?

The girl who stepped in was a very mature blue-haired beauty—hair down to her waist like a waterfall, eyes soft as lakewater, with the plain grace of a neighborly big sister.

Not a partner—husband! Xiao Yue is my wife. We tied the knot in the New Land!

Dixue lied without blinking, her calm a pond without ripples; she wasn’t staking a flag, she was probing the lines between Aiqiqi and Xiao Yue.

Huh? Huh?!

Aiqiqi flinched back a step, surprise flashing like lightning behind her lashes.

Heh, unexpected, right? Xiao Yue, body and soul, is mine.

She tugged Yue Liuyi’s cheek, then hugged the sleeping blue-haired girl tighter, possessive as a winter cat.

I-I didn’t expect… that Miss Dixue, this beautiful… would…

Aiqiqi swallowed hard, tremors running through her like leaves in wind. That you’re… a boy?

A boy?!

So the world outside really has boys this beautiful… stunning…

Aiqiqi’s gaze dipped to Dixue’s skirt, then rose to the snow-white collarbone; her cheeks bloomed pink as cherry petals.

I’m not a boy!

But—brother-in-law… aren’t you Xiao Dong’s husband? Doesn’t that make you a boy?

Ugh… a “husband” can be a girl now! I’m a genuine maiden!

As she snapped back, Yue Dier realized she’d lost her cool, her temper a sparrow skittering.

The blue-haired elder girl before her was far scarier than Dixue imagined; with a few soft words, she turned the probe into a mirror and sent it back, smooth as silk.

Worse, Dixue—who could read lies like footprints in dust—felt every word from Aiqiqi ring true, solid as stone.

Which meant the girl wasn’t playing tricks; she truly thought so, with the simplicity of clear water.

Love is like that: in the face of pure truth, all pretense crumbles like paper in rain.

Realizing this, Yue Dier raised her guard to twelve parts, alert as a night watchman.

Anyway, Xiao Yue is my partner. Miss Aiqiqi, what brings you here tonight?

Some business… but seeing you, I’m much more at ease, like a traveler finding a lantern.

Aiqiqi studied Yue Dier, then nodded, earnest as a temple vow. Miss Dixue, you’re badly hurt, aren’t you?

Mm…

Dixue nodded, silent as snow.

Miss Dixue is incredible. Even with wounds deep as knife-carved bark, you guided Xiao Dong to release magic on that scale—and never exposed the caster’s place in the storm. Physically and mentally, as Xiao Dong’s spouse, you’re textbook competent.

Huh?

And you’re beautiful to boot, the exact style in Xiao Dong’s little sketchbooks. I approve this match. Please take care of Xiao Dong; don’t let her suffer anymore.

W—wait!!!!

Realizing the opponent wasn’t playing by any rules she knew, Yue Dier shot upright like a startled heron, then shook the blue-haired girl in her arms again.

Yue Liuyi’s bangs swayed like grass in breeze; with that utterly content sleep-face, she looked silly-sweet and adorably dumb.

Such a cute, dopey girl… Miss Aiqiqi, are you sure you’re handing her to me this easily?

Mm. Since Xiao Dong’s parents are gone… no one will arrange a betrothal, so it falls to me. Oh—right! Miss Dixue, you’d want a dowry, yes? How about the alchemical key to Dreamwood Star’s treasure vault? There should be plenty of divine arms inside.

Hold on! Shouldn’t we wait for Xiao Yue to wake up before discussing something like this?