“Why…?”

“I’m the bad one; you’re the good one. Fine, I’ll spell it out.” Her voice cut like a cold blade through mist. “It’s an exam, separate trials for both of us. The purer the heart, the easier the pass. Got it?”

“I… don’t get it.” Her doubt flickered like a moth against glass.

“The most important thing is to find Tangxue fast and stop her!” Qianya’s temper sparked like flint; she grabbed Xuewei’s collar and growled low, a storm under breath. “You move through the forest faster alone than I do. Clear?”

“...Clear.” Fear pooled in Xuewei’s chest like winter water; she nodded, trembling.

“Then move.” Qianya shoved her, a gust through reeds, and they sprinted into the trees. Shadows crowded in until a three-way fork split the path like a trident.

“...Looks like fate. Which way?”

“I… the middle.” Xuewei’s voice was a thin thread.

“Left for me.” Qianya strode off and vanished into ink-dark shade. Xuewei filled her lungs, gathered a candle of courage, and took the middle road.

“Tee-hee~ we meet again, little sister. So—surprised?” The angelic girl popped into Qianya’s path, a smile like sugar over ice. Before the smirk could bloom, Qianya drove a wooden spike through her left chest.

It was a mirage, a ripple of light.

“You split me and Xuewei on purpose, didn’t you?” Qianya’s tone was cool rain on stone.

“Oh my, striking first—Qianya really is a bad child.” The angel clicked her tongue, her smile brightening like a lantern.

“What is good? What is bad?” Qianya tilted her head, a hawk measuring the wind. “You fooled me twice, and you still dare wear the word ‘good’?”

“Mm? Did I ever claim to be a good person?” Her grin turned sly, fox-tail swaying in moonlight.

“...Interesting.” Qianya’s mouth curved; this smelled like a den of thieves.

“But I am good.” The angel folded her hands behind her, a secret hidden like a shell. “I’m just here to tell you: not far ahead is the material storage. Beat the monster there and you’ll receive the Academy’s admission notice~”

“Oh?” Qianya smiled without ripples and walked straight through the angel’s projection. At the corner ahead, she reached the end of the path and saw Xuewei rushing toward her, breath quick as wings.

“Huh!? Qianya… why you?” Shock hit Xuewei like a clap of thunder; she froze.

“Xuewei… it’s you, of course.” Qianya sighed, a leaf’s helpless fall. “What did she tell you?”

“...Beat the enemy ahead and take the token.” Bitterness pressed her lips like brine.

“Mm. Same script as mine.” Qianya nodded, the motion light as dew. “Thanks for trusting me.”

“...?”

Qianya stepped in and hugged her, gentle as a shawl. “Let’s go. If her goal is for us to take each other’s heart, we just walk back together. Simple.”

“...Right!” Understanding lit Xuewei’s eyes like dawn through frost.

“Which way back…?”

“Uh… pick one?”

They settled it with rock–paper–scissors and took the path Xuewei had come from. The instant they stepped out of the forest, that troublesome angel appeared again, smile sweet as fruit on ice.

“Congrats, you two~ Fastest duo I’ve seen. Should I praise the white-haired little sister’s sharp wit, or is your bond so good you can trust each other completely~?”

“...”

“Gross.” Qianya didn’t bother to soften it; her words slapped like a cold wave. Xuewei only kept her face impassive and swallowed the retort.

“Huh!? Did I guess wrong?” The angel blinked, thrown off, like a bird missing the branch.

They returned to the gate and finished enrollment proper, the ink drying like dusk.

“Can you admit both of us?”

“Of course… but remember to wear your uniforms on campus, or you’ll be processed like invasive species.” Her tone was cheerful, sunlight on snow.

“!” The warning pricked like nettles.

“Are there patrol guards inside the Academy…?”

“Naturally~” The angel cocked her head and smiled, crescent-bright. “By the way, sorry for teasing you earlier. As compensation, I’ll tell you what I know about little sister Tangxue. She and her sister arrived not long ago. Here’s her dorm number. And these are yours.”

Qianya and Xuewei took their dorm placards. Their room was for two, right next door to Tangxue—neighbors by design, fate knocking like rain.

“Ah, thank you.” Qianya’s expression was a knot of threads; she still offered thanks. They changed into the Heavenly Deity Academy uniforms and headed out at once, focus sharp as a blade: find Tangxue, everything else can wait.

“Bye-bye~” The angelic senior waved, eyes smiling. “With a bond that good, are you sure you’re not a pair? Did I really guess wrong…”

The campus was ordinary in size, a lake within ridges, but speed was restricted. Even flat out, they took half an hour to reach the dorms. With Qianya leading, the path ran straight like a drawn bowstring; alone, Xuewei would’ve hesitated at every turn, pride a stone that kept her from asking the way.

“Mm…” A small sound, like a pebble in water.

“What’s wrong?” Xuewei glanced at Qianya, worry a thin mist.

“It feels like a human nobles’ school.” Her gaze swept the arches and lawns, seeing gilded rules behind green leaves.

“Does it…” Xuewei nodded with a borrowed calm, a mask like porcelain. In truth, she’d never attended school; after adoption, she’d only had royal tutoring—one mentor, one student, a quiet room like a sealed box.

“Qianya, did you study in a place like this?”

“Of course.” Qianya spoke as if stating weather. “I lost my parents young and grew up in a foreign land. I’ve tasted human schooling.” Her words drifted like old smoke.

Talking, they arrived at Tangxue’s door. They traded a look, steadying like oars, then pushed it open.

“Brother!”

“Tangxue!”

“...?”

The room didn’t hold the girl they knew. On the bed sat a stranger with a familiar echo, a young girl pale as moonlight. Her long hair was gray-white tipped with faint blue, like frost kissed by dawn. The moment the door swung, a chill seeped out; when Qianya met her eyes, it felt like a winter spell clamped down on the soul.

Xuewei fared no better. She trembled, a bird under a hawk’s shadow, some nameless feeling twining tight.

Am I afraid… or do I dread? Irritation flickered in Qianya’s chest like sparks in dry straw; she dragged her focus back, because even a glance at this girl felt like the edge of death.

“What business do you have with my elder sister?” Rain Moon Willow’s voice was clear and cold, flat water under ice, without a ripple of emotion.

“Elder… sister?” Qianya’s expression twisted, curiosity like a needle; she flicked a glance at Xuewei, testing her reaction.

Don’t rush in, Xuewei… This one isn’t someone we can afford to cross.