Qianling told Yang Mo, “There’s nothing left on the phone, just a few photos.”
But as expected, Yang Mo wasn’t about to let any bit of information slip by.
She pressed on,
“Photos? Of what?”
“They’re scenes of you with your older sister.”
Even though Qianling tried to keep it vague, Yang Mo instantly understood what those photos might contain.
“I see…”
With a somewhat nostalgic expression, she gazed ahead, then turned her eyes back to Qianling beside her.
“Let me take a look too.”
Contrary to what Qianling had imagined, her mood seemed unusually relaxed.
So Qianling pulled up the photos page, and the two of them looked together.
Looking at the photo of Mapo tofu with a blurred image of chopsticks, Yang Mo recognized those were her own chopsticks.
She raised her sleeve to her lips and giggled softly.
As for the following photos from the night market, she added to Qianling, “That was from the temple fair the town holds every year. Want to go together when it happens?”
“Of course.”
Qianling agreed happily, feeling like her promises with Yang Mo were growing in number.
But as for the goldfish in that cup, there was some bad news.
“The day after we brought it home, it… flipped over. My sister and I put up a gravestone for it behind the hill.”
When Yang Mo saw the photos of herself, Yang Xia, and their grandmother, she remained very calm.
“Back then the house was lively. Even though things have changed a lot since then, I’m fine now, because…”
At that, she lowered her head a little and raised a palm, as if what followed shouldn’t be heard by others.
Qianling cooperatively tilted her head, bringing her ear to Yang Mo’s lips.
“Because you’re with me, Qianling… so you don’t need to worry about me too much.”
Hearing Yang Mo’s gentle whisper, Qianling couldn’t help but look at her face.
As their eyes met, Yang Mo squinted with a shy smile.
Qianling didn’t know how to respond, so she just replied, “Oh…”
Only then did she realize that Yang Mo had seen through her completely.
Just like in the original story—even after burying the goldfish, parting from loved ones, and even if Qianling had never arrived—Yang Mo still made it through each day in her own way.
So that’s how it is. You’re much stronger than I imagined, Yang Mo?
As she pondered this, the bus suddenly braked hard.
“Do you even want your license?! Idiot!”
After the bus came to a halt, the driver grumbled and cursed.
On the right-hand road, a car had ignored the red light and crossed the line, only coming to an emergency stop just before sideswiping the bus.
Probably because she was lost in thought, Qianling’s stance had loosened for a moment, and inertia flung her forward.
Luckily, Yang Mo reacted quickly—one hand holding the rail, the other wrapping around Qianling to stop her mid-fall.
Coming to her senses, Qianling realized her face was pressed against Yang Mo’s chest, the two as close as they had been during their hug.
Hurriedly, she grabbed Yang Mo’s shoulders to right herself and pulled back a little. Only then did Yang Mo’s face come back into view.
“That was dangerous just now, but I’ve got this—well-trained muscles.”
As she spoke, Yang Mo struck a bodybuilder pose with the arm that had just been holding Qianling.
Qianling thought: Seems like it’s not just her heart—even her body is tougher than I expected.
Then she said to Yang Mo, “Don’t underestimate my intel. You don’t exercise at home at all, do you?”
After that retort, both of them couldn’t help but laugh.
After a while, the bus finally reached their stop.
The moment she got off, Yang Mo jumped ahead of Qianling, showing her the view behind.
“Tada, here we are.”
She raised both her sleeves to one side. Following that direction, Qianling could immediately see a massive silver-gray building standing tall among the high-rises.
That was the mall they were visiting today.
Aside from the main building, there was also a semi-outdoor area connected to the interior, lined almost entirely with food stalls. It looked like a great place to rest after shopping.
Once Qianling caught up, Yang Mo walked side by side with her toward the mall.
They were so close that their hands almost touched.
This made Qianling think back to the day before, up on the library rooftop.
It had really been awkward then…
Not just the unease and excitement of holding hands with Yang Mo, but also what she’d realized after.
Thinking of this, she instinctively drew her hand back a bit, trying not to touch Yang Mo’s hand.
But Yang Mo’s hand suddenly grasped hers firmly.
Qianling glanced up and saw that Yang Mo wasn’t even looking her way, maybe not even noticing her reaction. She simply called out, “Let’s get fired up!”
Then she raised a fist from her sleeve to cheer herself on.
Only then did she turn to Qianling with a serious expression.
“Qianling, picking out clothes is a big occasion for girls. It’s time to show some spirit.”
After saying that, she kept staring at Qianling with that serious look, as if waiting for some confirmation.
Qianling hesitated for a while, then weakly raised a fist and replied in a low voice, “Yeah~ let’s go.”
Though honestly, it didn’t sound much different from her usual tone.
Yang Mo gave a satisfied smile at that.
“Alright, let’s go!”
With Qianling’s nod, Yang Mo burst forward like a racehorse at the starting gun, dragging Qianling along.
“Geez, what’s with all the rushing…”
Even though Qianling complained out loud, she felt much more at ease inside.
Thanks to Yang Mo’s chaotic energy, her own thoughts had been completely scattered.
Once inside the mall, their first stop was a heavyweight.
That place, of course—was the lingerie store.
Standing under the pink sign at the entrance, Qianling felt a pounding in her left chest, as if a judge were inside hammering out her death sentence.
Even though, in reality, her heart didn’t beat at all.
She looked at the dazzling array of styles in the glass case, then glanced at Yang Mo, who had already walked in naturally, and didn’t know what to do for a moment.
Yang Mo turned back and saw her still at the entrance, so she called, “Qianling, come in!”
Qianling now understood—there was no turning back.
So, the day had come after all…
From the moment she woke up at Yang Mo’s house, she’d expected this to happen.
But now that it was here, she could only accept it.
Qianling lowered her head a little and slowly stepped inside.
The moment she entered, Yang Mo introduced her to the saleslady, “This is my little sister, I’m buying for her today.”
“My, what a cute little sister! How old is she?”
“This year…” Yang Mo hesitated briefly, then answered, “She started middle school with me.”
In her conversation with the saleslady, Yang Mo again claimed Qianling as her sister, but Qianling was too nervous to care about that anymore.
The only thing to be glad about was that she wasn’t called a little kid this time.
As expected, salesladies in women’s specialty stores really are more considerate.
Qianling thought to herself.
Hearing Yang Mo’s explanation, the saleslady understood at once, “Starting middle school, huh? Then it’s time to get prepared for this.”
“Wait…”
Qianling stepped forward to stop the conversation.
“My figure is totally flat, so I don’t really need these, right?”
But the saleslady disagreed. “That’s not it, little sister. Middle school is when you grow the fastest. Not wearing underwear can lead to all sorts of problems.”
Yang Mo jumped in as well.
“And besides, you do have a bit of a chest, Qianling, don’t you?”
“……”
Qianling fell silent, then glared sharply at Yang Mo.
Could you maybe say a little less?!
She rebuked Yang Mo silently in her mind.
As someone who couldn’t grow and never had biological needs—a doll, in fact—she really didn’t need to wear underwear at all.
She’d originally hoped to use that as an excuse, but in this situation, it was hard to wriggle out.
And Yang Mo—how could she speak so confidently, like she really knew…
She thought back: that brief moment when she changed into the maid outfit, and then… during bath time.
Wait… during bath time? Didn’t that mean—
Ah…
Qianling suddenly understood.
Just like the story about covering one’s ears while stealing a bell.
When bathing, she’d tried her best not to look at Yang Mo’s body, and hadn’t noticed Yang Mo’s gaze either.
But only now did she realize…
Other people wouldn’t mind these things like she did.
And every part of her body had already been seen, top to bottom.
With her mind overloaded, steam started rising from Qianling’s head, and she slumped onto a seat in the store, head tilted to the side, looking just like a broken-down machine.