"Still not up yet… Chen Mo really is…"
Bathed in the rosy light of late afternoon, the long figure sprawled across the pink bed looked almost indecently eye-catching. Talulah let out a quiet sigh, leaned in, and tucked the blanket more securely around him.
Now she finally understood why Ch'en Hui-chieh was always so hard on her brother.
It was practically mid-afternoon, and he still showed no signs of waking. If it were Hui-chieh, she would have yanked him up by force and started lecturing him on the spot.
Talulah knew she shouldn't indulge him like this. But every time she meant to wake him, the sight of his calm, peaceful sleeping face made her hesitate—and then relent.
"Am I being too lenient with him?"
She crouched by the bed, studying the face that looked so much like her own. Her hand moved to his hair, stroking his head as if soothing a child back into sleep—tender, unhurried, full of quiet affection.
As his older sister, she really had been negligent.
"Mm…"
A sudden murmur made her pause—only for a heartbeat. Then she resumed, lightly brushing his horns, easing the tension from his furrowed brow.
It was time to meet Exusiai again. And Talulah had stayed in Lungmen long enough—Reunion was still waiting for her return.
Yet after enduring so much, after finally getting to spend time with her own blood… she had to leave again.
It really was hard to part.
With her thoughts in knots, Talulah leaned closer and whispered by his ear.
"I'm sorry, Chen Mo."
"...Hff…"
The only answer was his steady breathing. Talulah never intended to wake him anyway. Seeing him still sleeping soundly, she smiled softly.
"When you're asleep, you actually look like a gentle, well-mannered boy."
She lowered her lips and pressed a kiss to his forehead. After smoothing the silver hair she'd mussed, she slipped out of the room without a sound.
The instant the door clicked shut, Chen Mo opened his eyes.
He sat up, yawned, then wiped at the damp warmth on his forehead and muttered under his breath.
"She's acting like she's about to go fight a boss and we're saying goodbye for life. Seriously."
It wasn't like they'd never see each other again. Who knew Talulah would become this sentimental after gaining a little brother?
"…Whatever. I'll go see her off."
2:48 p.m.
Penguin Logistics Dormitory
"You mean you're going to meet Chen Mo's sister later?"
Croissant rested her head on the back of the sofa. She could tell that even Texas—pretending to watch TV—and Sora—looking down at her phone—were listening closely. So she kept going.
"Then what do you think her goal is? A nice, proper talk about Chen Mo?"
"If that's what she wanted, she could've just said so yesterday." Exusiai shuddered at the memory, her pretty face twisting. "But the way she spoke… I swear she's asking me out for a fight."
"A fight?" Croissant crossed her arms and nodded. "Yeah… that tracks. If I had a little brother like Chen Mo and some street punk like you tried to get close, I'd beat you to death too."
"Hey! Is that how you talk about your own teammate?!"
Exusiai punched Croissant in the shoulder, then turned to Sora with a pitiful, pleading look—only to find Sora grinning like she was enjoying a show.
"Help me think of something, Sora. I do not want to throw hands with my future sister-in-law."
"You can't beat her anyway."
The calm, flat remark hit like a bucket of ice water, dousing what little warmth Exusiai had left. Texas glanced at Exusiai's stricken face and continued, voice heavy.
"You said she's Chen Mo's biological sister. Then you should know what she is."
"Don't forget how Chen Mo dragged us out single-handedly."
Texas lounged with her long pale legs propped on the coffee table, posture loose—but her tone had turned solemn.
"Another red dragon… and I'm saying this now: I'm not helping you fight her."
"Hmph! Like I need help from a single, lonely dog like you!"
Exusiai said it with attitude, but she'd already decided she was going to drag Texas and the others along to the meeting anyway. More people meant more courage. At minimum, she'd feel less like prey walking into a trap.
Sora finally put her phone away. Watching Exusiai and Texas bicker, she laughed quietly and asked:
"Then what kind of person do you think Chen Mo's sister is, Exusiai?"
What kind of person?
"She's obviously a deranged little-brother-obsessed weirdo!" Exusiai declared, nodding emphatically. "If she didn't look so much like him, I'd think she was some random rival showing up out of nowhere!"
Sora looked surprised, but she still smiled.
"Then do you really think she'll actually hurt you—Chen Mo's friend? Relax. At most she'll scare you a bit, see if you're genuinely chasing her brother…"
Sora paused, then looked a little uncertain as she asked:
"You are genuine… right? Not just—well—not just trying to get a man into bed?"
For a moment, the room went dead silent.
Even Texas shot Exusiai a suspicious look.
After all, during their trip in Siesta, this lusty Sankta had slipped off to her room more than once to "handle certain needs."
Under the group's questioning stares, Exusiai's confidence wavered. She was clearly guilty—but she still forced her chin up and shouted:
"Of course I'm genuine! What do you take me for? I'm not some horny woman!"
"…Whatever. I'm done talking to you people. I'm going now!"
Her face burning red, Exusiai sprang to her feet, grabbed the things she'd prepared in advance, and bolted straight out the door.
Bang!
Staring at the closed door, Croissant scratched her head.
"Uh… did we push her too far? She's not seriously just drooling over Chen Mo's body, is she?"
"No," Sora said lightly. "She's just embarrassed."
A soft rustling of fabric sounded.
Sora turned—only to see Texas already dressed, expression calm and unreadable.
"Texas, you're going too?" Croissant asked.
Texas nodded.
"Mm. That's an unknown Draco. I don't feel safe letting Exusiai go alone."
She slid the sword hilt into place at her waist, then opened the door. Standing in the doorway, she looked back at Croissant and Sora.
"If Exusiai and I don't come back, get the boss to help."
Bang!
With two people gone in an instant, the living room felt strangely empty. Croissant dropped onto Texas's seat and sighed.
"The boss is busy dealing with Officer Ch'en and Governor Wei lately. He doesn't have time to babysit employees' private drama."
Sora blinked, then realization dawned.
"No wonder we haven't seen the boss much. So he's been having a rough time too."
"Yeah." Croissant scratched at her backside. "He even wanted to throw a party today to reward everyone."
Then her grin slowly turned mischievous. She bumped Sora's waist with her shoulder, eyes sparkling with trouble.
"Say… if Texas ends up liking Chen Mo, do you think she'll fight Exusiai for him?"
Sora stared at her, speechless. She hadn't expected Croissant to be such a deeply hidden chaos addict.
"…Texas? Interested in that kind of thing? That ice-cold wolf?"
Croissant shrugged, then mimicked Texas's lazy pose, propping her legs up on the coffee table as she whispered with a grin:
"You never know. You know how special Chen Mo is."
"Heh… I kind of want to see it."
"To see that cool, detached gray wolf… fall for someone and start chasing a man."
....
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