“From now on, this will be your dorm—a two-person suite I set aside just for you,” the principal said, pointing at a villa gleaming like fresh jade.

So this is what power does—it bends rules like wet bamboo.

Alicia gave the place a glance, a swallow skimming water, then turned to Ling.

“Ling, want to go pick up some daily things?”

Her question tugged Ling out of her stunned daze like a bell tugging dawn.

“Uh… okay.”

—To the supermarket—

They filled their basket, a little boat brimming with soap and towels, then Alicia’s gaze drifted to the electronics, a river of glass and light.

“By the way, Ling, you still don’t have a phone, right? Let’s get you one.”

Ling felt calm settle like evening fog; this world mirrored her last like a lake mirrors the moon, except for magic rippling the surface.

She simply nodded, a willow leaf drifting with the current.

Alicia picked a pink smartphone that bloomed like a cherry blossom, and bought it. The clerk’s smile sprang open like a paper fan.

“Your Highness Alicia, do you need anything else? We have computers, tablets, even headphones.”

Ling followed her pointing hand; a pink cat-ear headset pricked up like a kitten behind glass, snagging her gaze.

Alicia noticed, her lips lifting like a crescent moon.

“Please wrap that headset too.”

The clerk glanced at the petite girl beside Alicia; her heart seized like a plucked string.

“Your Highness has a very cute friend.”

“Mhm—very cute, right?”

The clerk didn’t know Ling was Alicia’s adopted sister. Their father, the king, hadn’t announced it—no timing yet—but the bond sat there like a seal pressed in wax.

Back at the dorm, Ling unboxed the new phone with bright eyes, sparks flying like fireflies. Alicia watched, a soft smile warming like sunlight on tea.

“Do you know how to use it? Want me to show you?”

The layout mirrored her old world, buttons and menus like familiar stepping stones. Ten minutes, and Ling’s fingers danced like dragonflies over the screen.

Alicia didn’t know Ling was a traveler; surprise lifted in her chest like a kite, then pride settled like a silk shawl. Her sister was clever and sweet—any heart would soften.

She pulled the pink cat-ear headset from the bag and set it on Ling, hands petal-soft and steady as spring rain.

“Looks great. You just need to pair the headset’s Bluetooth.”

While she adjusted the band, their faces drifted close, breaths mingling like warm mist. Ling’s heart hammered like a drum; heat rose like a kettle about to sing. Pink crept over her cheeks like dawn.

“Um… Alicia, Sis… could you come a little closer?”

She didn’t know what Ling wanted, but that tiny wave of a hand was a lantern calling through night; she couldn’t ignore that glow.

“Hmm? What is it? Is something confusing?”

Alicia leaned in. Mature grace and soft youth nestled together like peony and bud; indulgence shimmered in Alicia’s eyes, shyness flushed Ling’s face—an image worth ninety-eight billion, at least.

“Chu~”

Ling’s rosy mouth brushed Alicia’s cheek, a petal clinging like spring rain.

“T-this… is a reward, okay? Don’t misunderstand.”

Her blush deepened, eyes misted like a pond in morning, and shame burned like a coal; she wanted to burrow into the earth like a shy mole. She couldn’t, so she bolted, feet pattering like a startled fawn, back to her room.

Alicia stood stunned, still as frost on stone. When warmth returned, all she saw was Ling’s fleeing silhouette and a blush like peach skin.

It had come too fast, leaving Alicia alone with lingering warmth on her cheek, like a handprint of spring.

When she cooled, a knot swelled inside her like tangled vines. She had to admit it—her heart had moved, lantern tilting in the wind.

It wasn’t the love of sister for sister anymore; it had changed color like autumn leaves, turning into a lover’s red.

She didn’t know when her compass had shifted, but the star she followed was Ling.

And the world would not bless this. Even as an Imperial Princess, gossip would flicker like knives behind screens. Her father’s judgment mattered like a mountain’s shadow.

Even if he agreed, would Ling accept her? What if Ling flinched like a snowflake at ash, and stepped away?

There were three chains on this feeling—gender, age, sisterhood—three iron hoops around her heart.

This love would be hard, thorny as wild roses, happiness scarce as rain in drought.

Worse, it could bring trouble to Ling, stones in her path.

No. She had to pull this sprout out of her chest before it grew into a forest.

For Ling, for herself—even if there was a one-percent chance Ling liked her (truth humming at one hundred), she couldn’t let it bloom.

She carved the mantra into her mind like words into ice: this is for Ling’s ordinary life; I won’t feed desire and harm her.

After a long while, she pressed the feeling down like a lid on boiling tea, took a cold shower, needles of water stitching her calm.

She returned to the room. The bed rose with a strange little bump, like a hill under a quilt, but battle with herself had drained her like ebb tide.

She fell face-first onto the soft cloud and slept, never minding the hidden stone beneath.