In the pitch-black night, only the distant commercial street flickered with sparse colorful lights. The residential area was almost entirely dark, no houses lit anymore.

The cicadas' chirping and frogs' croaking continued, but they seemed tired. The gaps between sounds grew longer.

What had been annoying noise now felt like a soothing lullaby, repeating endlessly. It made me even more exhausted.

I barely finished copying the article, my eyes almost unable to see the words.

Reading it might take minutes, but copying took ten times longer—and still wasn’t enough.

Truly, such painful things only seem beautiful in hindsight, right?

People always romanticize their memories, even when they weren’t actually beautiful.

Why am I getting so sentimental? Thinking about philosophy like this?

I chuckled to myself, closed the notebook, and stretched comfortably. Though tired, the accomplishment from finishing this grueling homework was unmatched. It felt better than finding god-tier gear in a game.

The desk clock pointed to ‘1’, past midnight—already 1 AM.

I hadn’t realized how late it was. Being a student really is tough.

I staggered up, turned off the light, and collapsed onto the bamboo mat. The electric fan creaked as it spun, struggling to fight the room’s heat.

Yue Feather was fast asleep, softly snoring.

He rarely snored unless utterly exhausted. Today’s events must have drained him completely.

I yawned hugely, eyes refusing to stay open. I fumbled for the blanket, pulled it over my stomach. Within three breaths, I was asleep.

If I had deep sleep every day, I’d save so much time, right?

I thought hazily as I drifted off.

...

Summer is lively, especially in cool early mornings when animals come out. By noon, the heat makes them too lazy to move. Not all are as heat-proof as cicadas.

Today, I woke before the alarm rang. I couldn’t tell if it was natural or the insects’ and birds’ chirping outside.

The sky was gray, sun not risen yet. At most, it was dawn.

Summer mornings come early; dawn is usually around 4:30 AM.

Yue Feather checked the time. It was a little past 4:20 AM—unbelievably early. Even for him, an early riser, this hour was rare all year.

Silver Bell slept soundly. He always felt her posture resembled his, though not masculine. His own was neutral.

Right now, she hugged Yue Feather’s arm. Her chest rose and fell slowly. Her warm breath tickled his arm, making him blush.

"Yesterday... did she sleep like this all night... hugging my arm?" Yue Feather muttered, blushing. He struggled inside, unsure whether to pull his arm away.

One, he feared waking her. Two, he wanted to stay hugged by Silver Bell...

This cuddling gave him the illusion he was her boyfriend.

Of course, he knew it was just a girl seeking security in sleep. Even a life-sized teddy bear would get hugged this tightly.

As an ordinary guy, Yue Feather was best at dismissing wild thoughts. Like when he felt someone liked him, he’d remind himself it was just an illusion.

They were so close, bodies touching. His little monster reacted traitorously—but it was probably just a normal morning thing.

Even touching her, this close, felt dreamlike. Like an anime scene, not real life. To him, it felt utterly unreal.

Close to Silver Bell, he smelled her sweet, milky fragrance. It grew stronger near her chest.

Better than pure milk, it made him want to bury his face there.

Teenage girls having this scent isn’t strange. It’s just hormones—a fragrance only the opposite sex smells and likes. Bluntly, it’s a maiden’s pure body scent, untouched by the world.

Yue Feather looked at Silver Bell’s collarbone. He touched it with his finger, then quickly pulled back.

Her collarbone felt cool and pleasant. It looked beautiful too...

Hugging Yue Feather, Silver Bell seemed too hot. She loosened her grip, turned away. This startled him; he thought he’d woken her.

"What am I daydreaming about so early..." He tapped his head, stretched his bandage-wrapped hand, and staggered up from the floor.

He realized heat had woken him. His whole body was sweaty, back soaked through.

"Summer... so hot... not even peak heat yet. How to survive vacation... I want an air conditioner..." Yue Feather grumbled, heading to the bathroom. "But no money. An AC costs two or three thousand yuan. My monthly allowance is under five hundred..."

With time to spare, Yue Feather felt unusually relaxed. He even watched the sunrise from the balcony.

"Huh... homework... done?" Tidying the desk, Yue Feather was surprised. He’d planned to copy it at school. With only two people home, Silver Bell must have copied it for him.

Her handwriting differed from his chicken-scratch. Hers was messy but legible—clean, large, like their Chinese teacher’s, yet more vigorous.

It reminded him of forging parent signatures in elementary school. That same feeling.

Strange that such a cute girl wrote like this.

Yue Feather stole a glance at Silver Bell, sound asleep hugging a pillow. She showed no sign of waking.

"Right, I can make breakfast too. Shouldn’t always let her do it," he muttered. This wasn’t just repayment—it was because he liked it.

Breakfast wasn’t hard. Silver Bell had prepped the wontons. He knew basics: boil water, add wontons, cook them.

He even added noodles, making wonton noodles.

Suddenly, Yue Feather felt watched. He turned to see Silver Bell leaning on the kitchen door, rubbing her eyes.

Probably the alarm woke her.

"So early... today..." Silver Bell mumbled, half-asleep.

"Ah... woke up early."

"You’re cooking breakfast?"

"Mm... yeah... nothing else to do..."

"Not bad..." Silver Bell looked deeply satisfied. Yue Feather didn’t get why she wore a parent-proud expression. "Scoop the fried egg now. Perfect timing..."

"Mm..." Yue Feather scooped it out. A half-runny egg was tastiest, but he always failed the timing. Sleepy Silver Bell nailed it. "Eat together?"

"Mm, I’ll wash up." She rubbed her messy hair, nodded, and headed to the bathroom. Soon her voice came: "Yue Feather—toothpaste is gone..."

"Used up?" He sighed inwardly. Living together doubled consumption; his allowance was tight. But he acted calm: "Oh, I’ll buy some tonight."

"Mm." Silver Bell squeezed a tiny bit from the tube, muttering: "Such a hard life... shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste—all running low..."

When Yue Feather brought out the wonton noodles, Silver Bell was dozing at the table. He chuckled helplessly, gently patted her awake: "Eat first. Sleep after."

"No need... just thinking..." she insisted weakly. But during eating, she almost fell asleep multiple times.

Worst, she nearly face-planted into the bowl. Yue Feather caught her just in time.

"Yesterday’s homework... thank you..."

"Don’t mention it... stop saying thanks..." Silver Bell waved impatiently, forcing her eyes open. She wobbled, picked up the jade ornament—shaped like braised pork—and tried to eat it. Yue Feather stopped her again.

"Just sleep if you’re tired."

"Huh? Not tired..." She saw it was jade, put it down awkwardly, but insisted. Like a drunk denying drunkenness.

Yue Feather had no idea why she was stubborn about this.

But this made her human. Otherwise, she’d be an untouchable fairy, distant and pure.

Silver Bell finally finished breakfast like a mission. She collapsed on the table, asleep. Yue Feather carried her to her room before heading to school.

On the quiet morning road, he kept lifting his hand to his nose. He could still smell Silver Bell’s sweet, milky fragrance.

"Today... I won’t wash my hands..." he murmured.