“There’s no fish here...” A plain-looking guy blurted. Lian blinked, puzzled, like a sparrow cocking its head. “What fish?”

The guy stared at Lian, utterly lost, a fogged-up pane of glass. “Weren’t you asking me where the fish were?”

Lian gave him that look, flat and slow, like watching a toddler eat chalk. “Classmate X, don’t dodge responsibility. You’re in charge of getting the other schools to agree to this joint event. Use any means. Make it happen.”

“Yes!” He spun and left the conference room, shoes skimming like oars over a still lake.

“Classmate Y! You’re to compile Midsummer Night’s Lewd Dream in full. We’ll screen it at the theater beside the gym. Got it?”

“Yes!”

“Classmate Y=3X+7! Fix your name and come back.”

“Yes!”

“As for those who want to see me in a swimsuit...” At that baited word, everyone’s focus snapped tight like nocked arrows; breaths blasted from noses like steam.

“Slap yourselves five hundred times. As hard as you hit that Dick earlier.”

Silence frosted the room. Then tears spilled, and palms flew; some earnest souls even wove magic to power the blows. Smack-smack-smack-smack echoed like hail on a drumskin. A passing student heard the cascade of slaps, face flushing like a ripe peach, and bolted. After that, the conference room turned taboo, a sacred no-go zone; couples alone dared step in, thieves of moonlight.

Alicia watched Lian stand on the table, commanding like a young general, eyes warm with petal-soft fondness. Of course. The one she loves is good at everything, polished to perfection, as if she could do anything. Unlike me. Maybe I don’t deserve to stand beside someone this brilliant. The thought sank like a stone; her mood dimmed like dusk behind clouds.

“Hey! Big Sis Alicia, why are you spacing out? Get over here and help. I’m beat.” Lian’s voice rang bright, tugging Alicia up like a hand through fog.

Well—at least Ling still needs me, right? Let me cherish this stretch of time like holding a warm cup in winter. She walked over and sat beside Lian, slipping into the whirl of discussion like a fish into current.

The sky was already dyed red, clouds like strokes of cinnabar. Only then did Lian and Alicia leave the gate hand in hand, their shadows long as reeds. Remi and the others had gone ahead at Alicia’s gentle, “You guys head back first.”

“Mmm—” Under the sunset, Lian stretched like a cat on a sun-warmed sill, a soft sound slipping out, loose and content. Alicia laughed, ruffling Lian’s small head like smoothing silk. “Dummy. Kids shouldn’t stretch too much. It’s bad for spinal growth.”

“Huh? Where’d you pick up that weird theory?”

“I heard it from the voice of the world.”

“What, listening to the world?”

Lian’s surprise popped like a bubble; Alicia chuckled. “Haha, just kidding.”

“Don’t toss out boring jokes like that.” If she really heard it, that’d be dangerous... The thought landed in Lian’s chest like a cold drop.

“Alright, enough. Let’s head back. We’ve got a mountain of work tomorrow.”

“Can’t be helped. Asking Hatsune Miku to come isn’t something you can snap your fingers for. She’s a top-tier diva.”

Seeing Lian’s fatigue ripple like low tide, Alicia opened her arms, ready to lift her like cradling a sleepy bird. “Allow me to carry Lady Ling home. Lady Ling should rest well.”

Hearing that odd title, Lian played along, wrapping her arms around Alicia with mock-command. “Approved. Target—our home.”

“Then, we depart!”

Where they couldn’t see, a black luxury sedan blinked its headlights twice, like fireflies winking bad news. As if it were sending a sorrowful signal. Have I... been abandoned? I cried. Did you?

After dinner, Alicia scooped Lian off the sofa where she was watching TV, like lifting a blanket still warm from the sun. “Ling! It’s been ages since we bathed together. Let’s do it tonight!”

“Eh—again? You’re not planning to get handsy, are you?”

Alicia’s grin turned wolfish, a dot of drool gleaming at the corner like dew. “How could I! I’m— I’m a pure soul! You don’t trust me?”

Lian shook her head, slow as a pendulum.

“Really don’t?”

Lian nodded hard, a pecking woodpecker.

Alicia flopped sideways, showing only half her face, a tear threading from her eye, like a woman tossed aside by a playboy in a rainy alley. Hand her a handkerchief now and she’d probably bite it and sob. Remi stepped out from the side, timely as a stage cue, and offered a handkerchief. Alicia bit the corner and let out a muffled whimper.

Ah... she actually did it. Is she a fool? Am I going to catch the idiot trait?

Lian couldn’t take it; she helped Alicia up with a sigh, weary as damp wood. “Alright, alright. I’ll bathe with you. Stop crying, or people will think I’m abusing you.”

“Really bathe with me?”

“Really?”

“Really really?”

A vein popped on Lian’s forehead like a red cross, anger humming near the edge. Alicia bolted upright, scooped Lian, and charged into the bathroom like a gust through bamboo. As the door swung, Alicia called to Remi to block it, as if to keep Lian from escaping. Lian’s face filled with black lines, exasperation like ink seeping through paper.

Remi actually had Flan seal the bathroom door with magic, reinforced to a ridiculous degree, like ironwood braced with chains. This shared foolishness between mistress and maid made Lian fear the stupidity might be contagious. She even started to feel for the Ling who used to deal with Alicia before; no wonder she held out so long.