But I also believe you didn’t lie to me, Qianya, so I kept talking with you under this cold sky.

"So that’s how it is." Qianya looked at Dawn Sugar Snow, her expression knotted like reeds by a river wind.

Unease pooled, cool as moonlight. Everything here should be a dream Rain Moon Willow stitched from memory. The true divine realm left long ago. That’s the truth. Yet everything feels painfully real. This girl before me, Dawn Sugar Snow… maybe she’s the perfect sister living in Rain Moon Willow’s heart. What about the Dawn Sugar Snow in the real world?

"Qianya? Your face is getting stranger by the minute, like a cat watching rain…"

"Ah! Sorry, sorry—I drifted off, like a kite in a high wind. Some odd things popped up."

"If you’ve got questions, you can tell me. No matter how cloud-wild, I can take it."

"Mmm…"

You might accept it. Your sister might not, she thought, a quiet pebble sinking into water.

They watched the starfield in hush, starlight spread like frost on black stone. After a while, Dawn Sugar Snow asked, "Beautiful, isn’t it?"

"Mm."

"What do you think it looks like?"

"The night sky."

"That’s not funny, Qianya."

"Ahaha—no? Okay, to me it looks like a painting. Everything’s so real, yet far. Like brush on silk: vivid, but still a painting. We can touch the surface, but what’s inside belongs to our imagination."

"That really is an interesting way to put it."

"Ahaha, is it?"

"Since you answered me, I’ll answer one of yours. Anything goes. Whether I can answer is another matter."

"Eh? If you can’t answer, can I swap the question?"

"How about you ask first?"

"I… I want to know what Rain Moon Willow likes to eat."

"Huh?" Dawn Sugar Snow blinked, then a laugh splashed out. "Didn’t see that coming. Of all things, you ask me that."

"Uh, don’t you know?"

"Of course I do. I don’t just know what Yueyu likes to eat. I even know how she curls when she sleeps."

"Then what does she like?" Qianya pressed, eyes bright as a spark.

"Grilled fish, I’d say. Besides fish, her top pick is cake. She’ll eat any dessert. Spicy is fine. She hates bitter melon. She doesn’t like sour. She also avoids anything that needs shelling… Which means, outside a few favorites, she kind of hates everything else." Dawn Sugar Snow drew a slow breath, like bracing against a cold tide, suddenly feeling how bad that sounded.

"Looks like I’ll have to knock that bad habit into shape."

"Thanks! Now I know what to prepare for Yueyu."

"Mmm, one question. Do you like my sister?"

"Like her? I do. Yueyu’s chilly on the outside, but she’s been helping me like a true friend. Not just Yueyu—I like you too, Dawn Sugar Snow. If you’re a friend, I’m fond of you. As for asking what she likes, that’s for a gift, of course. If I send one first, we’ll warm up as friends, and I might even get a return gift. Heh, that’s pure profit, right?"

"Ah, so that’s how you see it…" Dawn Sugar Snow’s tone lightened like a veil lifting, though her gaze turned a shade odd.

"Isn’t that a normal way to make friends?" Qianya tilted her head, a little bird in thought. "Yueyu seems shy. So I’ll be the one to open that window."

"Yueyu’s like a friend I used to know. Same temperament. Too shy to message the one she liked, always waiting for replies. At first it was fine. Later, he thought she was tired of him and stopped reaching out. By the time he was with someone else, she still hadn’t spoken. At the wedding, she could only smile awkwardly and offer blessings."

"Helpless, right? But that’s how it went. She’s still single. Mention love and she breaks into messy tears." Qianya sighed, wind-soft. She, at least, wasn’t built that way; if she liked someone, she’d step forward and never let them drift from her sight.

"That is pretty tragic." Dawn Sugar Snow nodded, sympathy deep as a well.

"Yueyu’s similar. I worry if I don’t speak up, she might never come talk to me. I treasure friendship. I don’t have many friends, like lanterns few and far in a long night. Does that make sense, Dawn Sugar Snow?"

"I get it." Dawn Sugar Snow let out a small breath, like dew leaving a leaf. Seems she’d misunderstood.

"But let me pour a little cold water. Yueyu might send a return gift. It may not be what you hoped for…"

No one knew her sister’s level better than Dawn Sugar Snow. If the return gift was food, a hospital bed might be waiting.

"Haha. I’d be over the moon just to get anything from her. What it is doesn’t matter."

"Is that so."

Silence fell again, as steady as a cliff face. They sat on the edge until a thin chill nipped like a fox at their ankles.

"Time to head back and sleep. It’s late."

"Yeah. We’ve got class in the morning."

"Let’s warp back? The campus bans teleport magic, but I’ve got my own workaround…" Dawn Sugar Snow smiled, secretive as moonlight behind gauze.

"Sure."

If they could jump back, Qianya was all in. Walking from here would take half an hour, a trail long as a river.

Dawn Sugar Snow stood, freed one hand, and painted a rain curtain on the cliff with water, brush-sure. A simple portal shimmered into place.

"This gate isn’t made of space element. It’s water elementalization used for rapid movement. Wanna try?"

"Sounds fun. I’ve gone elemental before, but moving fast mid-elementalization—I’ve only heard stories."

"Heh. Then here’s your chance."

As the creator, Dawn Sugar Snow stepped to the water screen first.

"Let’s go."

"Mm." Qianya didn’t overthink it and followed. A cool breeze stroked her cheek, and they stood before the dorm again. It felt gentler than a space gate, yet just as swift.

"Amazing! So other elements can mimic a space gate too." Qianya’s eyes shone on Dawn Sugar Snow, bright as wet stars.

"Any power mastered to its peak can shift into a thousand forms. Magic just shortens the road." Dawn Sugar Snow’s laugh was light, like rain on eaves.

"Qianya, want help moving Xuewei back to her bed?"

"No need, ahaha, I’ve got her." Qianya smiled, a touch awkward. She lifted petite Xuewei from Dawn Sugar Snow’s back, light as a little cloud, and carried her into her dorm.

"You sleep so soundly." Qianya’s expression tangled like twine. She watched the sleeping Xuewei, unsure what to do. When she woke, Qianya would ask if she remembered why she’d come.