Monday morning brought the usual bustle to school. Students gathered on the plastic track for early workouts, bookworms memorized vocabulary by flowerbeds, and duty students swept fallen leaves from their assigned zones.

HuiXiang and Ling Xu strolled past the winter-green cherry blossom grove, chatting and laughing on their way to the student council’s morning assembly on the playground.

Their inseparable bond had lasted nearly five years—classmates since middle school, then desk-mates in high school. Their constant togetherness was utterly ordinary. What *would* be strange was seeing Ling Xu without her shadow, HuiXiang.

"Good morning! Bro—Brother!" HuiXiang waved excitedly at Qinmu approaching in the distance. Ling Xu chuckled beside her, her clear, slightly high-pitched voice chiming in: "Morning, Qinmu."

Qinmu tossed her half-finished soy milk cup into a trash bin after one last sip. She adjusted her glasses, squinted carefully, then broke into a wide wave and quickened her pace. "Morning, HuiXiang!"

The trio converged and headed toward the playground—the same direction, the same destination.

Jintang High’s playground was River City’s most lavish. Beyond its standard 400-meter track stood a twelve-story sports complex and a private swimming pool. Every year, it effortlessly claimed top spot for hosting major student tournaments, favored by both education and sports authorities.

After walking silently beside the chatting girls for a while, Qinmu cleared her throat to break the exclusionary bubble.

"Ling Xu, long time no see. What’ve you been up to lately?"

Ling Xu’s bright, intelligent eyes locked onto her face. She smiled faintly. "Nothing much. Writing articles for magazines, sketching landscapes outside the city..."

"Wow, impressive! Writer *and* artist—no wonder you’re the legendary Ling Xu!" Qinmu clapped in genuine awe. She’d known Ling Xu since middle school, back when she’d already been a published novelist with award-winning novellas—a true campus icon.

"Don’t exaggerate," Ling Xu deflected smoothly. "You’re amazing too, Qinmu. Master chef. Taekwondo club begged you to join for years, but you refused. A true hidden master." Their humble mutual praise left HuiXiang—whose talents were decidedly modest—awkwardly sandwiched between them.

"Hey! Enough already," HuiXiang huffed. "We’ve known each other forever. Cut the formalities."

"Not being formal—just stating facts." Qinmu shot her a teasing glance, eyes glinting with mischief. "HuiXiang, could it be... you’re insecure about having no talents?"

HuiXiang snapped her head around, glaring with such terrifying intensity it was the most horrifying look Qinmu had ever seen.

"Brother," HuiXiang’s voice dropped to a whisper, her eyes darkening until no starry whites remained—like a zombie’s. "Shall I end you here and now?"

"I’m sorry! I’m sorry!" Qinmu recoiled, trapped in a nightmarish vision: not her gentle sister, but a fanged mutant with pitch-black eyes. "Yikes! Ouch!!" She stumbled backward over a loose stone and crashed sideways onto the plastic track. Even sprawled on the ground, HuiXiang loomed over her, relentless.

"Have you learned your lesson? Mock me again, and the punishment won’t be this light."

"I have." Qinmu pushed herself up, brushing the slightest speck of dust from her clothes. Her flush faded in the chilly air. Under Ling Xu’s gaze, she scratched her head sheepishly. "Ah... sorry you had to see that family drama."

"Not at all!" Ling Xu smiled warmly. "Sibling banter is fun. Brothers like you who get along with sisters are rare these days."

"We don’t get along!" HuiXiang turned away haughtily, pretending indifference to the ‘Brother’ she secretly adored. "I only discipline her to stop *him* from embarrassing me everywhere."

"Same. I’d marry this brat off in a heartbeat—far away, where I never have to see her again."

"Really?" HuiXiang swiveled back, studying Qinmu’s face with sudden seriousness.

"Of course... not." Qinmu tapped her sister’s nose playfully, savoring the upper hand. "But remember this: I hold all your secrets now. Tread carefully."

HuiXiang clenched her fist dramatically—as if gripping Qinmu’s entire fortune. One squeeze, and Qinmu would lose everything, ruined beyond recovery.

"Understood." Qinmu nodded meekly. Her secret—being a girl—was still unknown to Ling Xu. As long as HuiXiang’s mouth stayed shut, no one but her sister would ever know she wasn’t male.

"Secrets? What secrets?" Ling Xu’s writerly imagination instantly spiraled into multiple horrifying scenarios.

"Ah... nothing! Just sister stuff." Qinmu waved dismissively, hoping to dodge the sharp-eyed girl.

But secrets rarely stay buried. Seeing their united front, Ling Xu’s eyes lit with sudden understanding. She grinned slyly. "Ah~ Well then... I wish you both happiness!"

"Happiness? Why happiness?" Qinmu blinked, then smacked her forehead as she grasped Ling Xu’s implication. "No! It’s not like that! HuiXiang and I aren’t—"

"Exactly! Brother and I would never do *that*!" HuiXiang’s face burned crimson, her mind flashing to very un-child-friendly images.

"Then what *is* the secret?" Ling Xu’s eyes widened in mock horror. She scrutinized the twins—identical except for HuiXiang’s slightly curvier frame. "You’re not even real siblings, are you?"

"Of course we are! We’re twins!"

"Yeah, Ling Xu," HuiXiang teased, "been reading too many scandalous novels lately? Your brain’s full of weird stuff."

"HuiXiang! I—I don’t read those!" Ling Xu’s face flamed. Her private shame, exposed before a boy—she’d rather vanish into the earth than erase this mortification from Qinmu’s mind.

"Don’t worry," HuiXiang patted Qinmu’s shoulder, grinning. "My brother’s basically a girl anyway. Just treat her like your sister, yeah?"

"Like hell I am! Stop spreading rumors!"