After dinner, Qianling and Yang Mo sat idly together on the sofa in front of the television.
At this hour, the interesting shows hadn’t started yet.
So Qianling didn’t pay much attention to the screen. As she watched, she pulled out her phone.
For some reason, Yang Mo, sitting beside her, kept staring at her in silence.
Qianling looked up and asked, “What is it?”
“I just feel like… Qianling’s about to get snatched away from me by her phone.”
Yang Mo pinched her own chin, putting on a serious thinking face, though her expression didn’t actually change much.
From what Qianling knew of her, that sort of reaction meant she was joking.
At the same time, Qianling couldn’t help but imagine—if there was an elder in the house who didn’t know how to use a phone, they might say something similar to her.
But all she could do was spread her hands helplessly and say, “Can’t be helped. There’s nothing interesting on TV right now.”
“Yeah, it really is kind of boring.”
Yang Mo shared the same feeling as Qianling. That was probably why she didn’t mind Qianling playing with her phone.
Just then, Yang Mo’s own phone rang again.
And unlike the notification sound from posting something online, this time it was a crisp “ding dong”.
Now there was another person holding a phone in front of the TV.
Before she started typing, Qianling asked curiously, “Why so many messages all of a sudden?”
After all, until today, she’d never seen Yang Mo reply to messages on her phone before.
Yang Mo looked troubled by Qianling’s question.
“Yeah, why is that, I wonder?”
She covered the back of her head with one hand, then tried to gloss things over with a silly grin.
Qianling didn’t react, just kept staring at her intently.
Unable to bear Qianling’s piercing gaze, Yang Mo had no choice but to tell the truth.
“I used to find notifications annoying, so I turned them all off. But my sister scolded me about it, and today you started using a phone too…”
At this point, Yang Mo’s previously pitiful expression almost seamlessly turned smug.
“So I worked on it and learned how to block notifications from individual apps!”
“Oh, that’s pretty impressive.”
Qianling commented in an even flatter tone than usual.
A small step for Yang Mo, a giant leap for civilization.
While she was thinking that, Yang Mo, ignoring her indifference, had already started checking her messages.
At first, her face was calm, but as she typed out replies with her thumbs, her brows began to knit.
The more she replied, the more tightly her brows furrowed, and her typing grew increasingly frantic.
In the end, she put down her phone and sighed, shoulders drooping.
“Qianling…”
Hearing her name, Qianling turned and asked, “What is it now?”
Yang Mo’s tone was distinctly glum as she answered, “Looks like you’ll have to watch the house again. My sister wants me to go with her tomorrow to bring flowers to Grandma. No matter what I say, she won’t let you come along.”
“I see…”
Qianling thought for a moment and understood.
According to the original story’s timeline, it had been about half a year since Yang Mo’s grandmother passed away—perhaps Yang Xia wanted to pay her respects.
In this matter, Qianling could actually understand Yang Xia quite well.
Even if Yang Mo had already started to treat her as family, the fact was, she’d only known them for a few days. Being left out of an occasion like this was only natural.
So she told Yang Mo, “You and your sister go together, it’s fine. I actually have some other things I need to take care of anyway.”
“Other things?”
Yang Mo looked confused.
“I mentioned this at school before, didn’t I? About what I do when I’m by myself?”
“I’m searching for my ‘Sisters’—other dolls like me. I plan to destroy them before they activate.”
Qianling had already told Yang Mo about the other dolls, but this was the first time she’d mentioned what she was actually doing.
Yang Mo immediately grew worried. “But isn’t that dangerous? Why are you doing this all alone… If you’re okay with it, I want to help too!”
“Because it takes a lot of time, and only I can sense dolls before they activate.”
Qianling shook her head.
Still, Yang Mo seemed unable to accept it. She hung her head and muttered softly, “That’s not a good enough reason…”
At that moment, Qianling brought something up in front of her.
“Did you forget we have this now?”
Yang Mo looked up and saw it was the phone she’d given Qianling.
It already had a SIM card and could make calls and access the internet, which was exactly what Qianling wanted her to remember.
“If I ever need your help, I’ll contact you right away, and if you ever need me, I’ll come to you in an instant.”
Qianling smiled and continued, “Just like our fight at noon—when we’re apart, we handle our own tasks; when we’re together, we work seamlessly. Don’t you think that’s the best kind of partnership?”
Yang Mo’s eyes grew brighter.
“Is that so… I understand!”
As if the word “partner” had ignited her fighting spirit, she clenched a fist over her chest and even cleared her throat before saying her next line.
“My partner, I’ll entrust the search for our ‘Sisters’ to you!”
With that, she raised her other hand, as if wanting a high five from Qianling.
That tone… more like a king giving out a quest in an RPG than a partner.
It wasn’t quite what Qianling had imagined, but she reached out anyway.
Their palms met.
On one side was Qianling, unsure how to feel; on the other, Yang Mo, beaming with joy.
Thus, the contract of partnership was formed.
The next morning, as usual, Qianling woke up first.
She gazed at Yang Mo’s sleeping, soft-cheeked face, almost unable to resist her usual urge to pinch it.
But the sun outside was only just rising, and today’s schedule wasn’t as packed as yesterday’s, so letting Yang Mo sleep a little longer wouldn’t hurt.
She glanced at Yang Mo again.
Thinking, “Lucky for you.”
Then she left the room.
Nearly two hours later, Yang Mo finally stumbled sleepily downstairs. The two waited together for Yang Xia until lunchtime.
When the knock sounded and the door opened, Qianling saw that red-haired, green-eyed, braided girl for the first time in two days.
The feeling was mutual.
Though she’d just seen Qianling two days ago, Yang Xia acted as if it was their first meeting.
That girl—Yang Xia—was, of course, dressed in her usual clothes today.
A simple T-shirt on top, jacket tied around her waist, and denim shorts below.
It was a pretty cool outfit for the season, but given Yang Xia’s well-proportioned figure, she didn’t have to worry about the temperature.
At the sight of Qianling, Yang Xia pulled a face as if she’d bitten into ginger, then let out a long sigh.
So Yang Mo, standing beside her, complained, “Sis, it’s rude to sigh at someone the moment you see them, you know.”
Yang Xia put a hand to her forehead and said, “So it’s true… We really did take in a weird doll at home.”
As if to confirm Yang Xia’s conclusion in person, Qianling silently raised two fingers and flashed a confident “V” right in front of her.