“So, what you’re saying is, you sneaked into my house to prepare dinner to celebrate my discharge from the hospital?”
Lu Yuan sat on the sofa, watching Lin Wan kneel and apologize in front of her, while Chen Lianxue obediently sat to the side.
“Yup, yup!” Lin Wan nodded sincerely. “See, I didn’t even come to pick you up from the hospital. Of course, I came early to your house to prepare some food for you!”
“……”
Lu Yuan rubbed her forehead.
“I’m not even going to ask how you got into my house, nor why you were rummaging through my wardrobe.” Lu Yuan’s voice grew increasingly exasperated. “Even if I take a step back and believe everything you said was true and you didn’t lie to me…”
Lu Yuan pointed at the empty dining table.
“Then tell me, where’s the food?”
Lin Wan held up her phone and handed it to Lu Yuan. “I just ordered takeout. It’s still on the way.”
“Takeout?!” Lu Yuan couldn’t help but complain.
“Eheh.” Lin Wan struck a cute pose.
Don’t try to get away with cuteness!
***
“You’re the one accusing me!” Lin Wan pouted, pointing at Chen Lianxue. “Why did you bring some random girl home?”
“Indecent!” Lin Wan added.
“Objection!” Lu Yuan slammed the table. “Don’t use your imagination to slander my innocence out of thin air! She’s our new teammate! Chen Lianxue, little sister!”
“Hello, Sister Lin Wan,” Chen Lianxue bowed slightly.
“Little… sister?” Lin Wan looked confused. “She looks about the same age as us. Why are you calling her your sister?”
Suddenly, Lin Wan leaned toward Lu Yuan’s ear and whispered.
“You… have this kind of fetish?”
“What fetish!” Lu Yuan pretended to look righteous. “She really is my little sister!”
Well, she couldn’t deny that being called ‘sister’ felt kind of nice.
“What do you mean? What do you mean by ‘really your little sister’…?” Lin Wan was baffled.
“Uh… well…” Lu Yuan leaned toward Lin Wan’s ear.
“She’s Officer Chen Xin’s daughter,” Lu Yuan whispered.
“What?!” Lin Wan was so surprised she almost fell to the ground.
Officer Chen Xin’s daughter? Her?
“The crystal Rose gave really works?” Lin Wan muttered softly.
“Yes, at least it seems effective. So far, no problems,” Lu Yuan responded quietly.
“Sisters… what are you talking about?” Chen Lianxue asked curiously.
“Ah~ haha, it’s nothing, nothing,” both Lu Yuan and Lin Wan waved their hands.
***
“In short, ahem.” Lu Yuan cleared her throat. “The three of us are officially a team now. We have a debut tour in a few days, so like Starlit Glass, we need a team name.”
Lu Yuan sat cross-legged on the sofa, arms crossed, seriously surveying the two in front of her.
Lin Wan slouched awkwardly on the lazy sofa, twirling a strand of blue hair with her finger; Chen Lianxue knelt politely beside the coffee table, holding the hot tea Lu Yuan had just made, sipping it gently.
***
“Ahem, then,” Lu Yuan cleared her throat again. “Any ideas for our team name?”
Lin Wan immediately raised her hand. “‘Azure Meteor’? How about that?”
“Rejected.” Lu Yuan was expressionless. “Sounds like it’s from some kids’ anime.”
“Uu…” Lin Wan puffed her cheeks. “Then how about ‘Snow Moon Flower’? Elegant and romantic.”
“Sounds like the name of a bubble tea shop.”
“Lu Yuan, you’re so strict…” Lin Wan pouted and curled up pitifully.
Lu Yuan sighed and turned to Chen Lianxue. “Lian Xue, any suggestions?”
Chen Lianxue blinked shyly. “I… I think… ‘Stardust Tears’…”
“……” Lu Yuan and Lin Wan fell silent simultaneously.
“Is it too… too edgy?” Chen Lianxue’s face instantly flushed red as she waved her hands frantically. “Sorry! I just thought of it casually!”
“No, it’s actually not bad…” Lu Yuan rubbed her forehead. “But our image probably can’t support such a heavy name.”
Names like that always signal doom in dark, edgy novels — definitely unlucky.
***
Lin Wan suddenly clapped her hands. “I got it! Since there are three of us, why not call ourselves ‘Three-Colored Cup’? Pink, blue, and black, just like us three.”
Before she finished speaking, Lu Yuan grabbed the cushion on the sofa and threw it at her. “Do you think we’re ice cream?!”
“Then you come up with one!” Lin Wan caught the cushion. “Don’t just make us think!”
Lu Yuan hesitated. She actually already had a name stuck in her head that she couldn’t stop thinking about.
But it was a name she absolutely could not say out loud.
Called Lu Chuxue.
Damn.
“I’m not good at naming things!”
“Me neither!”
***
While the two were bickering, Chen Lianxue suddenly spoke softly, “Um… how about ‘Nightingale’?”
“Nightingale?” Lu Yuan blinked.
“Mm.” Chen Lianxue nodded, voice gentle yet firm. “The nightingale… sings even in darkness, and its song brings hope.”
Lu Yuan and Lin Wan exchanged glances and fell into thought.
“Surprisingly… not bad?” Lin Wan tilted her head.
Lu Yuan stroked her chin. “Indeed, much more reasonable than the previous suggestions.”
“Can… can it be?” Chen Lianxue’s eyes lit up.
“Of course! It’s decided!” Lu Yuan patted Chen Lianxue’s head. “Consider it your gift for joining us, little sister Lian Xue. From now on, our group is called Nightingale.”
“Why didn’t I get a gift back then…” Lin Wan muttered quietly behind them.
***
Ding dong.
The doorbell rang.
“The takeout is here!” Lin Wan jumped up to open the door and took the delivery from the courier. “See! It’s still pretty plentiful…”
Before she finished speaking, Lin Wan tripped over her own feet, falling flat on the floor with a loud thud.
“…Are you okay?” Lu Yuan squatted down in front of her.
“I’m, I’m fine!” Lin Wan gave a thumbs-up bravely, then noticed, “Ah! The noodles spilled!”
Lu Yuan stared at the noodles leaking out of the paper bag in silence for three seconds. “Is this your so-called feast?”
“There’s more!” Lin Wan nervously tore open the other packages. “Look! Takoyaki! Ah, hot hot hot…”
Plop.
Even the few takoyaki fell to the floor.
Lu Yuan covered her face.
Seeing this tragedy unfold, Chen Lianxue softly suggested, “Maybe… I can cook?”
“You can cook?” Lu Yuan was a little surprised.
“Mm, my mom used to work overtime until late, so I’d make something for myself,” Chen Lianxue said.
Such a well-behaved child, Lu Yuan thought, and smiled warmly.
“Then give it a try.” She patted Chen Lianxue’s head.
***
Five minutes later, a muffled bang came from the kitchen.
When Lu Yuan rushed in, she saw Chen Lianxue staring blankly at a frying pan emitting black smoke, with an unidentifiable object writhing inside.
“S-sorry, this stove is different from what I’ve used before. It’s too advanced. I don’t know how to use it…” Chen Lianxue’s voice grew quieter. “This is supposed to be a fried egg…”
Lu Yuan instinctively took two steps back, horrified by the bubbling, wriggling black mass at the bottom of the pan.
Is this a fried egg? This looks like summoning a dark god!
Lin Wan suddenly poked her head between the two. “I get it! Lian Xue is a Cooking Handicap! That’s an adorable trait!”
“Adorable my foot! This is a survival crisis!” Lu Yuan complained. “If we don’t order takeout again, we’ll starve here tonight!”
***
After much coaxing and improvising, they finally got through dinner.
Late at night, Lu Yuan lay on the living room sofa, covered with a thin blanket.
Lin Wan and Chen Lianxue were sleeping in the bedroom.
Originally, Lu Yuan wanted Lin Wan to go home, but Lin Wan refused stubbornly, insisting on squeezing in with them, so the two had to sleep in her room instead. After all, as the host, Lu Yuan couldn’t let them sleep on the couch.
“Really… her own house is just next door…”
Lu Yuan complained as she turned over, the sofa creaking softly. She glanced out the window at the moon, which seemed especially full tonight.
***
Click.
The bedroom door was gently pushed open.
Lu Yuan immediately closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep as footsteps quietly approached and stopped by the sofa.
“…Lu Yuan?” Lin Wan’s voice was soft, hesitant.
Keep pretending to sleep.
“I know you’re awake,” Lin Wan suddenly said. “You’re not this quiet when you’re asleep.”
How did she know? Because she once had nothing to do in the middle of the night and secretly watched Lu Yuan sleep. When Lu Yuan sleeps, she snores softly.
“…Tch.” Lu Yuan reluctantly opened her eyes. “Why aren’t you sleeping at this hour?”
By the moonlight, she saw Lin Wan in light blue pajamas, her long blue hair loose over her shoulders, holding a pillow.
“I can’t sleep.” Lin Wan plopped down beside Lu Yuan. “I want to sleep with you.”
The lingering fragrance in Lin Wan’s hair approached, mixed with the warmth unique to a girl, causing Lu Yuan to instinctively shrink back.
***
“Hey, hey, don’t say things that can be easily misunderstood… ah.” Lu Yuan’s words caught in her throat.
Lin Wan’s fingertips slowly traced up the inside of her wrist like touching a fragile porcelain. This usually clumsy girl’s touch now held an incredible reverence.
“You’re not misunderstanding.”
The world spun.
Suddenly, Lin Wan grabbed both of Lu Yuan’s hands, pinned them above her head, and straddled her on the sofa.
“What are you doing…”
Lu Yuan was momentarily panic-stricken, completely controlled by Lin Wan. Her hands were trapped above her head, and she lay pinned on the sofa like a little black cat caught misbehaving by its owner.
Lu Yuan could feel something invisible slowly stroking beneath her skirt. Lin Wan’s hands were clearly in view, so whose invisible hands were those touching her?
Could it be her telekinesis?!
“Lin Wan… don’t do this. Lian Xue is still in the room,” Lu Yuan whispered weakly.
But Lin Wan didn’t respond. She spoke to herself instead.
“Hey, Lu Yuan…”
Lin Wan’s breath brushed against her lips, and the palm holding Lu Yuan’s wrist was faintly warm.
“In your eyes… who am I?”
The question came too suddenly, leaving Lu Yuan speechless.
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