By the verdant little riverbank, a young girl kicked her tiny feet on a park bench.
The patterned floor seemed to hold a grudge against her just then. Under her kicks, it bore two streaks of black-and-white rubber marks and gritty trails.
"It’s been ages since I sent that message. Why aren’t you here yet?"
Her feet were already going numb. These shoes would probably be ruined after today.
Why was she in such a foul mood? She couldn’t be bothered to explain.
But it definitely wasn’t from hunger.
"If you don’t show up soon, I’m leaving," she muttered, pulling out her phone to send a voice message.
She waited.
*Ding!*
A new message popped up—another voice note.
She tapped it open. Listened.
"I’m here. Just washing my face, then I’ll come."
At that familiar voice, the girl’s eyes flickered for a moment. Still, she typed back: "Fine. I’ll wait."
"Hmm." A one-second reply came.
Then... two more hours of waiting...
She had no clue if she’d made the other person cry. Or if they’d gotten diarrhea, squatted in a stall for two hours without toilet paper.
"Sorry. The public restroom ran out of paper. I’m late."
Liu Xiyun actually said that to her face!
Little Green’s expression froze, unsure what to show.
Watching Liu Xiyun gesture for her to scoot over and sit, she hesitated. "You weren’t sneaking off to meet some cute guy, were you? That long? Seriously stuck in a toilet?"
"No." Liu Xiyun shook her head firmly. "I don’t have a boyfriend."
Little Green shook her head back, disbelieving. "I don’t buy it. If you weren’t dating, why’d it take forever?"
"It was really the toilet!" Liu Xiyun’s tone suddenly sharpened, startling Little Green.
Little Green gathered herself quickly. With a careless shrug, she said, "Whatever. Not my problem anyway."
"But..."
"But I’m still curious. No toilet paper? How’d you even get out?"
"How’d you get out?"
That curious gaze dropped to Liu Xiyun’s thighs. Liu Xiyun blushed.
After a pause, she blurted, "I ordered delivery."
"Oh." Little Green nodded. "Was the rider male or female?"
"Male." Liu Xiyun replied on reflex.
"Male!?"
"A guy in the women’s restroom!?"
Little Green’s face twisted into pure, exaggerated shock.
Seeing those wide, disbelieving eyes, Liu Xiyun snapped. "You tricked me!"
"Tricked you how?" Little Green tilted her head, confused.
Liu Xiyun fumed. Under that astonished stare, she actually explained:
"You said *delivery rider*!"
"Aren’t they always guys!?"
"Could one even be a girl!?"
Liu Xiyun paused, lost in thought. On the bench, she swiveled toward Little Green, her pretty eyes locking on.
"Can boys really turn into girls in this world?"
"Uh... impossible," Little Green shook her head. After fake-deep thought, she added, "Unless he was a girl all along!"
"Hmm." Liu Xiyun nodded. "I think so too."
"Hmm?" Little Green frowned beside her.
Liu Xiyun snorted proudly. "Exactly! So the rider who delivered toilet paper to the women’s restroom must’ve been female! Why else wait so long?"
"Because female riders are rare."
Liu Xiyun’s face soured with frustration. "Today’s just cursed!"
"If I knew, I’d never have gone out with you."
"Yeah, real bad luck," Little Green agreed.
Then she added, "But I said I’d just buy stuff alone. You followed. Whose fault is that..."
That reminded her of earlier—today sucked for her too.
"So where’s what you bought?" Liu Xiyun eyed her sharply.
Little Green had her excuse ready. "No money. Didn’t buy anything."
"You’re broke?" Liu Xiyun stared, astonished.
Little Green put on a pitiful, wounded look. "Yep. That’s why I called you over."
"Otherwise, why bother when you vanished? Couldn’t I just buy it myself?"
"...You vanished first..." Liu Xiyun said quietly after a beat.
"I didn’t know! I said—I haven’t gone out in ages. So many people, I got lost. It was an accident."
"Besides, we have phones. Can’t get lost."
Liu Xiyun nodded. "True."
"Really true."
"Mhm." Little Green nodded at her. "So... go buy stuff now? I pick, you pay. Deal?"
"Hmm. I’ll lend you the cash. When we see Brother Qin, he’ll pay me back. Okay?"
"Okay..."
