“Ling! Ling! Rise and shine!”

“Mm?”

A chorus of calls burst by her ear like wings beating; her mind drifted up from sleep like mist lifting.

Darkness thinned like fog at dawn; the little one rubbed her eyes out of habit like a cat washing its face.

Vision cleared like glass wiped clean; a fall of red hair slid into Ling’s gaze like a flicker of flame.

“Big sis?” Her voice oozed syrup, sugar that never sticks to Ling on normal days, like frost that won’t take.

Alicia caught the awkward beat and smoothed it like wind over a pond; she apologized to the room with a soft smile.

“Ling’s like this—every wake-up her blood pressure dips like the tide going out, and she turns hazy; don’t mind it.”

“Eh, it’s fine—anyway… kinda cute, right?” The words drifted like petals on water.

Ling turned toward the praise like a sunflower tracking light; her snail-slow brain sifted the figure before her like molasses.

A verdict rose like a seal stamped: the Ninety Nine Maiden.

“Jiu Jiu, sis?”

Thump—!!

That one word hit; Jiu Jiu clutched her chest like an arrow finding its mark.

Her heart took heavy damage—broken, sunk, beyond repair, like a ship in storm.

Jiu Jiu could swear by sky and stone, vows set like cairns on a ridge.

She—had no interest in lolis, like winter soil refusing spring shoots.

Those tiny, not-yet-grown creatures held zero charm for her, like unripe fruit on a cold branch.

Abso—lute—ly—none.

So she set it firm, like a stake in sand: this pounding heart was only a love for cute things.

Yes, absolutely, like a collector’s itch for shining gems rather than flesh.

She just liked collecting cuteness, like fireflies in a jar; this little cutie only sparked her collector’s urge.

The Ninety Nine Maiden convinced herself, as if liking flat-chested, flat-bottomed little ones was a stain like ink on silk.

The dazed loli watched conflict cloud Jiu Jiu’s face like storm-shadow, and she tilted her head like a sparrow listening.

She also noticed Arthas beside them, faint as dusk shadow under trees.

Her mind turned again like a millstone; keywords dropped in like seeds on soil.

Search… a single result surfaced like a bubble rising.

“Arthas, little sister?”

Arthas heard Ling call and saw Jiu Jiu’s gaze swing back like a compass to north.

She didn’t know why Jiu Jiu and Alicia got “big sister,” while she got “little sister,” like a tag flipped in the wind.

But Arthas didn’t care; to her, sister orders were wind and smoke, drifting like cloud.

Though she stood a touch taller than Ling, and some places swelled a touch more, like hills under snow.

Arthas only nodded like a calm reed, and the dazed little thing let her attention drift like a leaf downstream.

She turned back to the redhead petting her golden hair, smiling like a fox in warm sun.

“Sis?”

Alicia froze for a heartbeat like a deer in dew, then pulled back her hand on instinct like a tide retreating.

“I’m here—lamp on. What’s up?”

Ling tilted her head again like a curious cat watching a moth.

Was it doubt, or a playful act, like a wink from moonlight?

Neither.

She lifted both hands like a tiny bird asking to be held.

“Hug~”

Two soft syllables flicked out like sparks; Alicia felt an electric prickle race through her body like lightning threads.

Her whole self went numb and sweet, like honey over ice; it was oddly pleasant, like rain on warm skin.

So this was the taste of a little one acting coy, like sugar melting on the tongue.

A shock’s tingle, a heart’s pause—hard to hate, like a cloud shading noon.

“Hug!”

Alicia was still floating in that comfort like a boat on a lazy river, and forgot the tiny commander’s order like a note lost.

The muddled little one grew displeased at once, like a storm face rolling in over fields.

She repeated the “hug” order, with weight in her tone like a leopard’s rumble under leaves.

Yes, she was truly mad, like thunder under velvet.

“Okay, okay, coming—like the wind answering~”

Alicia’s motherly halo flared like a warm lantern; she slid her hands under the little one’s arms and lifted her from the floor like a breeze.

As for a princess carry… the little one wouldn’t like that fixed pose, like a stiff cradle under glass.

But even hugged as wished, the little thing wouldn’t behave; she kept a tiny sting ready like a bee in her sleeves.

She felt it was unfair that Alicia obeyed only after two commands.

So a punishment had to visit like a soft rain on stone.

Her hands looped Alicia’s neck, then sneaked to the middle of her back like mice on night rafters.

Two fingertips gently pinched the small bit of flesh there, like pebbles teasing a stream’s ripple.

Alicia sensed the move in her arms, and instead of resisting, she felt twin itches bloom like two seeds sprouting.

One from her back, like nettles; one from deep in her soul, like a feather in a hidden cave.

It wasn’t a flash-and-gone itch; her heart craved something more, like a thirsty root seeking water.

That feathering in the soul grew stronger, like a tide pulling moonward.

But the cutie in her arms was muddled by her body’s fog; Alicia wouldn’t take advantage to scratch that inner itch like a hand in forbidden sand.

Helpless, she chose a tiny counter, like tapping a drum.

She sneaked two light pats on the little one’s butt like drips on a drumskin.

Bounce met palm with spring, like ripe mochi; the feel steadied her heart and smoothed the itch like wind on wheat.

The little one had no idea she’d been teased; she thought her mischief got caught, and guilt fluttered like a startled bird.

She yanked her hands back and wrapped them tight around Alicia’s neck like ivy claiming a tree.

It was as if she told Alicia, “See? My hands stayed on your neck, so I never pinched your squishy bit,” like a sign on a gate.

Yes, that was the exact feel of “no silver buried here,” like hiding coins under a lantern.

The little one turned obedient in Alicia’s arms like a lamb settling; Alicia didn’t dwell on it and let calm fall like dusk.

“Alright. Jiu Jiu says she found a spot and raised a house with magic like a mushroom after rain.

We’ll stay there tonight—call it a slice of life to try out~”