Lin Qimian didn’t budge, and Xu Yueliang kept her eyes fixed on her without moving either.
The server behind Xu Yueliang spoke up. “This way to order, please~”
Xu Yueliang finally pulled her gaze away and headed to the counter to place her order first.
Preparation took a while, so she leaned against the counter’s edge and turned to look back again.
The two little girls tilted their heads up, their eyes glued to Lin Qimian.
Lin Qimian simply took a seat. The headpiece carried a faint rubbery scent, and the inside was pitch black—if she didn’t position it just right, her vision was badly obstructed.
She straightened it out, and the little girls erupted in giggles.
Lin Qimian’s voice emerged muffled from inside the headpiece, pitched low. “This… is pretty fun.”
“Yes, yes!” chirped the one with the red bow. “Do you like it too, sis?”
Lin Qimian: “…”
She could hardly say yes or no—she hadn’t even gotten a clear look at what it was.
“This one’s super fun,” said the girl with the blue bow, holding something out to her. “You stick it in your mouth and blow.”
Lin Qimian tipped the headpiece down and spotted a classic kid’s party blower.
Lin Qimian: “…”
Red bow: “Wanna give it a try, sis?”
She had no idea how it really worked, but since she’d plopped down here and was using their stuff without asking, a bit of friendly interaction was only polite.
She picked up the blower but didn’t shove it inside the headpiece.
The bright, multicolored toy flipped smoothly along her fingers, from index to pinky and back again.
“Wow!!!” Red bow squealed with delight. “Sis, you’re amazing at that!”
Blue bow: “You must’ve been the pen-spinning champ in school!”
Red bow whipped out her phone. “Pretty sis, want me to film a video? You rocking this headpiece with that—it’s so cool!”
Lin Qimian raised a hand to block the phone, her gaze locking with Xu Yueliang’s through the headpiece’s narrow slit.
Xu Yueliang was bent forward slightly, watching her without a twitch.
Safe behind the headpiece, Lin Qimian stared right back, unflinching.
That single second of eye contact made Xu Yueliang break into a sudden smile, and she strode straight toward them.
Lin Qimian: “！！！！”
No more showing off—Lin Qimian dropped the blower and clutched the headpiece’s edges with both hands.
Xu Yueliang arrived with a smile as radiant as the sun in this rotten weather, exuding that effortless charm that drew anyone in.
“Hi, cuties!” She pointed at Lin Qimian’s head, grinning. “That’s adorable! Where’d you get it?”
Lin Qimian: “…”
Red bow: “Wow, miss, you want one? I’ll send you the link.”
Xu Yueliang pulled out her phone and opened her Taobao friends page. “Yes, please!”
She could make friends anywhere.
Any app turned into her personal social network.
Red bow sent the link while chattering away. “This one’s cute too, and this is hilarious. This shop’s pretty good overall, but the smell of ours kinda sucks…”
“Really?” Xu Yueliang glanced up at Lin Qimian.
Lin Qimian: “？？？？”
Why was she looking at her?
Xu Yueliang’s eyes crinkled with amusement, her question aimed squarely her way. “Pretty sis, does it really have no smell?”
No sense acting overly guilty. Lin Qimian gripped the headpiece tighter, ready to mumble a reply in a disguised voice.
But before she could utter a word, Xu Yueliang leaned in close, filling her entire field of view.
The narrow peepholes framed nothing but Xu Yueliang’s face, magnified up close.
Her big eyes blinking innocently, her lips shimmering with gloss.
Full cupid’s bow, corners quirked up like a playful cat up to no good.
“Let me sniff.” Xu Yueliang’s nose tip brushed near as she inhaled deeply.
Lin Qimian didn’t pull away. She couldn’t bring herself to.
Xu Yueliang leaned back with a smile. “Yep, no smell at all. But pretty sis, your perfume smells amazing. I want some too.”
Lin Qimian’s heart jolted. This time she recoiled for real.
She’d hidden her face but forgotten all about the scent.
Fortunately, her coffee was ready. The server called her name.
Xu Yueliang straightened up, flashing a sweet smile that conveyed her delight in the chat and her thanks.
She waved to them all. “Bye~”
The bow girls waved back enthusiastically. “Bye, miss~”
Hands loaded with her order, Xu Yueliang paused at the door for one last glance back.
Lin Qimian sat bolt upright in her chair, frozen in place.
Green-headed Fish sat there dazed, like a soulless goofball statue.
Xu Yueliang vanished from sight, and the bowtie sisters launched into an animated discussion.
“That big sis was so pretty—her makeup was just flawless!”
“It’s gotta be stage makeup. Did we just bump into some pre-debut idol?!”
“Wahhh, today’s been overflowing with beauties. I’m in heaven…”
Lin Qimian pulled off the headgear. “She really is stunning.”
Red Bow beamed at her. “You’re gorgeous too, pretty big sis! Don’t tell anyone, but we’ve been sneaking glances at you for ages…”
Blue Bow nodded eagerly. “We were worried we’d annoy you with our chatter. Never imagined you’d be into this stuff too.”
Lin Qimian turned the headgear over and examined it properly.
Ugly didn’t even begin to cover it. It was an indescribable, bone-deep kind of hideousness.
Red Bow winced. “Oops, I hit record earlier and forgot to stop it… The video’s got that big sis in it too…”
“Don’t post it,” Lin Qimian said on instinct.
Red Bow waved her hands frantically. “We wouldn’t dream of it! Not without permission.”
Lin Qimian’s fingertip glided lightly across the tabletop. “It has me in it. Send it over.”
The girls were sweetness itself, hanging on her every word.
She not only got the video from them but watched as they deleted the original from their phone.
The thumbnail showed her in that hideous fish head. Lin Qimian couldn’t bring herself to tap it. She pocketed her phone, left the café, and headed home to watch the stream.
The outing had thrown her a curveball, but the takeaways weren’t bad.
Perfume like that wasn’t some ultra-exclusive limited edition unique to S City—or to her, for that matter. Xu Yueliang couldn’t possibly pinpoint the person inside the fish head just from a whiff.
At two in the afternoon, Xu Yueliang appeared in the live stream right on schedule.
Her hair and makeup were unchanged from the look Lin Qimian had seen.
Knowing the style ahead of time filled Lin Qimian with a peculiar thrill of delight.
Everything proceeded as usual. Lin Qimian even fetched a book, reading while she watched.
A book held colors more vivid than jade.
The stream rolled on for two hours when, prompted by some bullet comment, Xu Yueliang suddenly remarked, “I saw something really fun today…”
Lin Qimian glanced up. “…”
Xu Yueliang gestured at her head. “A super pretty big sis wearing the cutest fish-head hood.”
【Head fully covered—how’d you even know she was pretty?】
Xu Yueliang grinned. “I’ve said it a million times: true beauties shine without showing their face. Every inch is perfection.”
【Here we go again.】
She chuckled mischievously. “No, but seriously, it reminded me of my beauty doctor big sis. Kinda similar vibe, actually…”
Lin Qimian tossed two gifts her way, derailing the topic.
Xu Yueliang mentioned her beauty doctor sister constantly—back when she explained her absences, or griped about her inflamed gums, or even when spotting a Green-headed Fish.
All those mentions had lost their edge. The first had sent Lin Qimian’s heart racing in panic; the second had left it tingling. Now? Just a calm, water-smooth resignation.
She’d talked her up so much, yet after their parting, not a single message had come through.
The Jiaojiao account might as well have been forgotten.
As dusk settled in, Xu Yueliang stood and announced she was taking a break to change outfits for a special performance.
The moment she stepped out of frame, Lin Qimian’s WeChat pinged with a message from Little Moon: 【11? You there? Mukbang time!!!】
Lin Qimian typed back: 【Here.】
She’d been there all along—ever since the request, through every pivotal moment.
Ten minutes later, the screen flickered, revealing a heaping plate of molten chocolate-stuffed buns.
The original massive portion had been sliced into countless bite-sized pieces, chocolate powder and gooey filling spilling across the plate in a mouthwatering, stomach-filling haze of aroma.
“Feast your eyes on this!” Xu Yueliang called out, her slender white hand the only part in view.
Lin Qimian unleashed a barrage of fireworks. Once the screen-filling effects faded, Xu Yueliang bounced into frame.
She was wearing a school uniform.
That Middle School uniform.
Plain blue-and-white, oversized and shapeless.
Xu Yueliang had slapped a cartoon sticker over the school badge, but Lin Qimian knew exactly what lay beneath—just as she knew precisely how Xu Yueliang would look in it.
A touch goofy, a bit daft. Slender white wrists and neck, her smile evoking a rain-fresh playground, the lawn newly mown.
It was a look that could rewind time, the one true emblem of her youth.
Xu Yueliang’s eyes crinkled with mirth, lips pursed playfully. “This special performance is just for 11~~”
Lin Qimian blinked. Xu Yueliang clasped her hands behind her back, leaned forward, and snatched a piece of bread from the plate with her mouth, swallowing it down in one gulp.
Chocolate powder smeared all over her lips. Cheeks puffed out, Xu Yueliang finished chewing before flashing a grin. “Hands-free feeding!”
She turned to 11. “Pretty clever, right? I told you this wouldn’t stump me!”
The live chat was flooded with reminders about the smudge on her mouth. Before Xu Yueliang could dart out her tongue to lick it away, Lin Qimian fired off a comment: 【No more performing.】
Xu Yueliang froze, probably assuming she wasn’t amused. Her next smile came out a little awkward. “11’s such a buzzkill…”
Lin Qimian sent her a private message: 【I want to watch alone.】
