A Romantic Trap and an Unexpected Reunion

Qing Zixi remained stunned for three full seconds before leaning over, scanning the code, and paying fifty. She chose the pink hair accessory adorned with a cute little rabbit.

Xia Mengying also handed over cash, receiving the silver hair accessory that hung with two delicate tassels.

Afterward, Qing Zixi bowed her head while Xia Mengying raised her hand, and they adorned each other with the small hair accessories they had just bought from the stall.

Perhaps it was better not to be too sober.

Qing Zixi felt that throughout her childhood, she had been immersed in her own fantasies, imagining all sorts of wonderful things, and together with her blonde childhood friend, they had done many things that were both ridiculous and endearing.

They once took all their pocket money to try their luck at a big prize wheel and buy chicks, ducklings, and bunnies. In the end, the prize wheel was a scam, and all the little animals died within a week.

While the outcome was rather grim, the process itself had been romantic. At the very least, she had been happy during those days.

But at some point, she had grown up, becoming as dull as those numb, mechanical adults.

She found herself meticulously calculating every penny for daily necessities, dismissing some things as unnecessary and postponing others.

Life was arranged in a seemingly “orderly” fashion, yet it completely disregarded any emotional value.

Life, after all, required one to create their own romance, didn’t it?

Qing Zixi’s lips curved slightly. She saw a look of pure, unadulterated happiness bloom on the pink-haired loli’s face, a smile she had never witnessed before.

“It’s truly beautiful, like a token of our love~”

“How do you manage to ruin a perfectly good atmosphere like that…?”

This time, Xia Mengying proactively took Qing Zixi’s hand and led her forward.

“Do I look good?”

She tilted her head, asking.

“Slightly less than me.”

Qing Zixi chuckled softly. They continued to wander for a long while before heading back towards the residential complex.

It was indeed just as Xia Mengying had said.

“Some things feel one way when you just think about them, but entirely different when you actually do them.”

“So, just be brave and try it out!”

On their way here, Qing Zixi hadn’t noticed that they would pass an arch bridge. Beneath the small arch bridge, several jets of water burst forth like fountains.

They transformed into various shapes in mid-air, dancing to the melodious music, illuminated by colorful lights.

“This is Water Street, the musical fountain. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Xia Mengying tilted her head to look at Qing Zixi, then pulled out her phone.

“Let’s take a picture?!”

‘She couldn’t help but feel that her sister had become somewhat cuter than before.’

Qing Zixi rarely took photos; in fact, she hadn’t even looked in a mirror before this.

Yet, in the short time she spent pondering, she was already pulled to the edge of the bridge.

Xia Mengying’s face pressed close, but could only rest against Qing Zixi’s ample chest.

—*Click!*—

The photo captured Xia Mengying’s happy, lively smile, alongside Qing Zixi’s fleeting, forced twitch of a smile.

To be fair, this residential complex truly lived up to their choice; the location was excellent.

With a commercial street, a food street, and this musical fountain plaza, nothing was too far away.

‘But, had it really come to this…?’

Qing Zixi pursed her lips, glancing at the time on her phone.

Half past ten.

It was the hour to return home, wash up, tell a bedtime story, and then sleep.

‘No! I don’t want to sleep with this person!’

Qing Zixi struggled internally. Unfortunately, she was currently homeless.

While she had a dorm at the training camp, the rules there were strict: no entry after ten o’clock.

She didn’t have enough money for a hotel either.

Suddenly, a question popped into Qing Zixi’s mind.

‘Had she, perhaps, fallen into this person’s trap every step of the way!?’

First, relentless pressure had pushed her to a dead end. Then, a sudden, gentle approach had made her lower her guard, leading her to go shopping.

On the way, the other displayed her cuteness, lulling Qing Zixi into a false sense of security.

Now, with the dorms closed for the night and nowhere else to go, she was being half-coaxed, half-dragged back home.

‘So after all that, she was still going to end up in bed with her!’

“Um, I, I mean, can we sleep in separate rooms?”

Qing Zixi forced a smile, making a suggestion that even she found utterly impossible.

“Of course not~ And the other room doesn’t have a bed.”

“I, I’ll just sleep on a futon on the floor!”

“How could I let you do that? You’re my precious little sister~”

Qing Zixi tilted her head, looking at Xia Mengying, who was humming a little tune, and followed up with a question.

“Then, why don’t *you* sleep on the floor? Hey!”

With a smack to her derrière, Qing Zixi ultimately followed her home obediently.

Pushing the door open, the lights inside were on. Qing Zixi distinctly remembered turning them off before they left.

She heard Xia Mengying make a clicking sound with her tongue.

“You’re back, what were you doing… *Eek*!?”

The blue-haired girl was walking towards the door. However, her composure instantly shattered when she saw the girl standing beside Xia Mengying.

Having just shed her down jacket, this newcomer was clad in an ethereal white gown, her silver hair cascading like a waterfall, and her cool, detached eyes were fixed upon Lan Mengyao.

“Zixi, Zixi Zixi Zixi…!?”

Although she had become curvaceous and graceful, Lan Mengyao couldn’t possibly fail to recognize Qing Zixi. Moreover, with Qing Zixi and Xia Mengying standing together, her surprise quickly gave way to understanding of what had transpired.

“Why did you use *that* potion on little sister Zixi?”

Lan Mengyao quickly rushed over. Her tone held a hint of confusion, laced with a subtle reproach. After all, such potions could cause a degree of pain.

“She drank it herself,” Xia Mengying waved her hand. “No matter how much I want to experiment, I wouldn’t try something I’ve already tested again.”

Then, tilting her head, she asked with a hint of displeasure, “Why did you come looking for me?”

However, at that moment, Lan Mengyao could hardly bother to reply to Xia Mengying. She held Qing Zixi’s small hand, examining her from left to right.

The transformation from a cute, white-haired loli into a silver-haired mature woman genuinely piqued her curiosity.

‘And was all of this… real?’

Lan Mengyao curiously pinched her shapely bottom.

“Hey! How can both of you just—”

Qing Zixi immediately sprang back, widening the distance between herself and Lan Mengyao.

‘She absolutely had to retract her impression of Lan Mengyao as somewhat gentle.’

‘That pinch was certainly not gentle!’

Of course, Qing Zixi didn’t know that areas that suddenly appeared where there were none before would be several times more sensitive than for a normal person. And this principle didn’t just apply to her upper body.

“Am I not welcome? Did I come at a bad time~?”

Lan Mengyao watched Qing Zixi’s reaction with keen interest. While admiring her pretty face, she playfully teased her pink-haired friend, who had just finished hanging clothes after standing on a stool.

“Oh, come on, I could never not welcome you~”

Although it was a positive reply, Qing Zixi couldn’t help but detect a faint hint of jealousy within it.

‘Who would willingly share their prey with a friend, even their best friend?’

“But I really didn’t expect our cute little sister Zixi to turn into a sexy mature woman.”

Lan Mengyao leaned closer, stroking her chin as she continued to scrutinize Qing Zixi, making Qing Zixi’s skin crawl.

However, the keen-eyed Qing Zixi immediately noticed something amusing. She reached out, placed her hand on her own head, then moved it parallel to Lan Mengyao’s head.

A playful smile curved on her usually cool face.

“Minnow, so short~”