The main dining room changed its lighting after the sky had darkened. Crystal chandeliers cut the light into fragments, scattering silver pieces across the white tablecloths.
I had changed into a light blue silk shirt and a navy blue pencil skirt. The shirt was silk, the collar slightly open, revealing the dark blue crystal choker at my collarbone. The back was largely open, with Y‑shaped straps forking from between my shoulder blades toward each shoulder. A small silver gear hung at the intersection on my spine, its teeth catching the light. The pencil skirt hugged my waist and hips tightly, the hem stopping at mid‑thigh. I had to smooth it when I sat down. Black high heels, the leather matte, a thin silver chain around the ankle. The deep wine‑red cross‑body bag, velvet with embossed patterns, the gold clasp reflecting the light. My ash‑gold hair fell loose over my shoulders, wine‑red ribbons woven through the strands.
Dianzi was still wearing her misty‑pink lolita dress, white over‑the‑knee stockings, her purple‑pink hair in a fluffy bun. The X‑shaped straps on her back held a small pearl‑white shell, glowing warmly under the crystal lights. She took Lychee out of her bag and placed it on the table, facing the window. The squirrel's round body hugged its acorn, its black‑bean eyes reflecting the chandelier light.
Outside the floor‑to‑ceiling window, moonlight spread a silver‑white path across the sea. I touched the fine chain around my neck. A faint blue glow flickered, and a semi‑transparent floating interface projected from the choker. The livestream lens automatically turned towards the table.
"My treasures, tonight's moon is very bright." I turned the lens towards the window. The silver‑white path on the sea stretched from the ship's side all the way to the horizon, its edges broken by waves into countless tiny points of light.
[chat] So beautiful 🌕
[chat] The moonlight on the sea is amazing
[chat] Wife looks so gentle tonight
[chat] The atmosphere is perfect
Dianzi cut her steak into small pieces, forked one into her mouth, and chewed twice. "Sister, this steak is better than yesterday's."
"You ordered fish yesterday."
"Fish was good too. But steak is better."
"Cheers." I raised my champagne glass and shook it gently towards the lens. Amber bubbles rose inside the glass.
"Cheers." Dianzi raised her glass too. We clinked, the sound crisp and clear under the crystal chandeliers.
[chat] Cheers, wives 🍷
[chat] The moonlight and the beauties
[chat] The atmosphere is so nice tonight
[chat] Cheers 🍾
Dianzi put her glass down and moved the squirrel an inch closer to herself. "Sister, I don't think it needs a job." Her voice dropped a little, as if afraid of being overheard.
I looked at her. "Why do you say that?"
"Because it just lies there every day, doing nothing. Someone gave it a name, gave it an acorn. People aren't like that. People have to find jobs, send out CVs, get interviewed, get rejected, try again." She paused. "It's so lucky."
"It doesn't have hands," I said.
"I don't have hands either."
"You do."
She looked down at her own hands – ten pale fingers, nails coated with clear polish. "I have hands, so I have to find a job. It has a tail, but it doesn't need one. Tails are better than hands."
"A tail can't send out a CV."
"It could stick its tail into the claw machine and grab someone else."
I laughed. "Then it wouldn't be a squirrel. It would be a monster."
"Monsters don't need to send out CVs either." She tilted her head, thinking. "Monsters just have to stand there, and people come to them."
"To fight them."
"Still better than sending out CVs." She stabbed a piece of fruit with her small fork, popped it into her mouth, her cheeks puffing out.
[chat] Little sister is so cute 🍓
[chat] The squirrel philosopher
[chat] 'Monsters don't need CVs' – I'm dead
[chat] Tails are better than hands haha
——She doesn't know that squirrels actually do send out CVs. They hold the pen with their tails.
I took a sip of champagne. The bubbles burst on my tongue, a slight sting. "So you want to be a monster?"
"No. I just want to be a squirrel that doesn't need to send out CVs."
"Then you'd need a big fluffy tail."
"You have two legs. You can send them out for me."
"You send them yourself. I'll help you revise them."
She blinked, then smiled. "Okay. When I send them, you'll help me revise them."
"Yes."
She stabbed another piece of fruit and held it to my lips. "A reward."
I opened my mouth and bit it. It was a strawberry, very sweet.
The moonlight still lay across the sea. Dianzi flipped the squirrel over, face down on the tablecloth, then flipped it back.
"It would suffocate face down," she said.
"It doesn't have a nose."
"So it wouldn't suffocate?"
"No."
"Then I want to be a squirrel too." She held the squirrel up to her eyes, black‑bean eyes to black‑bean eyes. "Lychee, will you take me as your apprentice?"
The squirrel's black‑bean eyes stared at her.
"It didn't say anything. That means yes." Dianzi put the squirrel back on the table and nodded with satisfaction.
[chat] I could watch sister and the squirrel talk forever
[chat] Lychee is taking apprentices 🐿️
[chat] This chapter is so healing
[chat] I want to be a squirrel that doesn't need to send out CVs
"That's all for tonight, my treasures. Good night. See you tomorrow." I waved at the lens.
The chat kept scrolling. I touched my choker, and the blue light dimmed. The interface disappeared.
Dianzi tucked Lychee back into her bag, leaving only its head out. "Sister, do you think there's really a Chang'e on the moon?"
"No."
"Then what's there?"
"Rocks."
"How boring."
She stood up and brushed the wrinkles from her skirt. I stood up and followed her. As we walked out of the main dining room, the lights in the corridor dimmed one notch. The sea outside the porthole had shifted from silver‑white to dark grey. Clouds had covered the moon.
The corridor was left with only footsteps. Moonlight leaked through the porthole, cutting patches of light on the dark red carpet – the same as in the morning, but in the opposite direction.