After leaving the clothing store, SigrdrÃfa and Xuan Xi walked for a while before stopping in front of a communication stone shop.
“Let’s go in and take a look, Xuan Xi,” she said.
Xuan Xi followed her inside and saw various communication stones displayed in the counter, big and small, with different prices. The screens ranged from black-and-white to color.
SigrdrÃfa gave the shop a quick glance and pointed at the one in the very center of the counter. “This one. Let me see it.”
That communication stone was water-blue, with a screen as large as an open book and bezels so narrow they were almost invisible. It shimmered with a soft luster under the light, almost identical to the one SigrdrÃfa herself used.
The clerk took out the communication stone. SigrdrÃfa received it, turned around, and handed it to Xuan Xi. “For you. Take it.”
Xuan Xi looked at the communication stone, then at SigrdrÃfa’s face, but didn’t take it. “This is too valuable. I can’t accept it.”
“But the one you have now is too old.”
“I can still use it.”
“The screen is too small.”
“I can see clearly.”
“You can’t access the forum.”
“I don’t read the forum anyway. If there’s any news, you’ll tell me, right?”
SigrdrÃfa was silent for a moment, her amethyst eyes fixed on Xuan Xi. Her lips were pressed together slightly, clearly unwilling to give up persuading her.
She didn’t lower her hand. The water-blue communication stone hung between them, coldly gleaming in the afternoon sunlight.
“Take it,” she said, her tone as serious as it had been at the clothing store. “Your communication stone is too old. When I contact you, I always have to wait a long, long time before I get a reply. It’s not because you’re slow to respond—it’s because that piece of junk is too slow to receive transmitted signals. I don’t want to wait that long.”
Xuan Xi was taken aback. “Wait, what do you mean by ‘don’t want to wait that long’?”
SigrdrÃfa didn’t answer, but her cheeks turned red—so red it was clearly visible even in the afternoon sunlight.
“Seriously, the messages you’ve sent me so far don’t even add up to twenty.”
“They’ll increase from now on.”
Xuan Xi stared at her flushed cheeks, then at the water-blue communication stone. She suddenly remembered something: SigrdrÃfa had almost never sent her long messages on the communication stone. Each message was just a few words, sometimes even ending a topic with a single “Okay.” She had always thought SigrdrÃfa didn’t like using the communication stone, didn’t like sending messages.
But now she understood the reason (probably?).
It wasn’t that she didn’t like sending messages—it was that her own communication stone was too slow to send and receive. Having to wait a long time for a reply after sending a message… Sige must have found that feeling unpleasant.
Xuan Xi reached out and took the water-blue communication stone. It was cool and smooth, yet much lighter than her old black-and-white one.
“Then send me more messages from now on,” she said.
The corner of SigrdrÃfa’s mouth lifted slightly. “Okay.”
After they finished strolling around the town and headed back to the academy, Xuan Xi walked ahead while SigrdrÃfa followed closely behind. The academy gate gleamed dully under the moonlight, the indicator light for the entrance glowing red.
“What time is it?” SigrdrÃfa asked.
Xuan Xi pulled out the new communication stone. The screen lit up, casting a soft glow on her face, and the numbers on it made her stop in her tracks. She stared at the line of numbers for two seconds, then slowly looked up, wearing an odd expression as she faced SigrdrÃfa. “…Eleven forty.”
The weekend curfew was eleven thirty. They were ten minutes late.
SigrdrÃfa’s expression didn’t change, but her ear twitched—an instinctive reaction like an animal sensing danger. Xuan Xi had learned to read what that movement meant: she was thinking about something against the rules.
“Come on. I’ll take you over the wall,” SigrdrÃfa said.
They both turned and walked quickly along the outer wall of the academy. The wall was tall, but to a dragon, it was nothing. The problem was that the academy walls were lined with a sensing barrier. Once magic fluctuations were detected, an alarm would go off.
SigrdrÃfa stopped beside an old tree leaning against the wall.
“You climb the tree,” she said. “I’ll jump up, and you pull me up from above.”
Xuan Xi looked up at the tree. Its trunk was thick, its branches reaching over the top of the wall, the leaves shimmering silver under the moonlight. She gave an “okay” gesture. She’d done plenty of wall-hopping back in Border Town. After Hellas’s Blacksmith Shop closed, she’d sometimes sneak out and climb an old tree outside town to daydream. Those were among the few moments of happiness that belonged only to her.
But this time was different. This time it wasn’t to get out—it was to get in, and this time she had a friend by her side.
Xuan Xi grabbed the lowest branch and pulled herself up. Then the second, the third. Her movements were quicker than she’d expected. The tree was big, the branches sturdy, and there were plenty of footholds.
SigrdrÃfa watched her from below, moonlight reflected in her eyes along with Xuan Xi’s shadow.
“Give me your hand,” Xuan Xi said, crouching on a branch and reaching down.
SigrdrÃfa took two steps back, ran forward, kicked off the trunk, and her silver-white hair traced an arc through the air. Her hand grabbed Xuan Xi’s with precision. Xuan Xi pulled hard and hauled her up.
The two of them squeezed onto the same branch, shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh, so close that Xuan Xi could hear SigrdrÃfa’s heartbeat quicken slightly.
“The wall is below,” SigrdrÃfa said in a low voice, pointing to the top of the wall under the branch. “Just jump down.”
“Mm.”
“Are you afraid of heights?”
“No.”
“Then why is your heart beating so fast?”
Xuan Xi didn’t answer. SigrdrÃfa couldn’t see her expression, but she saw her lips move slightly, as if she wanted to say something, then swallowed it back.
On the wall top, Xuan Xi jumped down first. She landed lightly, almost silently. Her water-attribute body allowed her to cushion the impact with a water membrane. She stood up and waved upward.
SigrdrÃfa jumped down too, but her landing was heavier—the tips of her shoes thudding against the grass. Just then, footsteps sounded from a distance.
“Who’s there?”
The beam of a flashlight swept around the corner and caught both of them.
Damn. It was a patrolling instructor!
Without a second thought, Xuan Xi grabbed SigrdrÃfa’s hand and ran toward the dormitory building, fingers interlaced, palm against palm.
They ran across the lawn, across the stone path, silver-white hair and ink-green hair intertwining in the wind.
“Stop!” The voice behind them grew fainter and fainter.
Xuan Xi pulled SigrdrÃfa into a side path. There were no streetlights on the path, only moonlight filtering through gaps between buildings, painting silver-white squares on the stone slabs. They ran between those squares, feet landing on moonlight, hearts pounding against their ribcages.
SigrdrÃfa’s hand was held in hers. She didn’t struggle, didn’t hold back—she just let herself be led. Like a passenger who never asks about the destination, just sits quietly and watches the scenery fly by outside the window.
They stopped at the side entrance of the dormitory. Xuan Xi leaned against the wall, panting heavily. Her face was flushed from running, fine beads of sweat glistening on her forehead. SigrdrÃfa stood next to her, her breathing much steadier—an S-rank’s physical ability far surpassed Xuan Xi’s—but her chest was still rising and falling slightly.
Xuan Xi tilted her head to look at her and suddenly laughed.
“What are you laughing at?” SigrdrÃfa asked.
“Laughing at us,” Xuan Xi said. “The S-rank Miss and me, running from a patrol instructor on campus in the middle of the night, like thieves.”
SigrdrÃfa looked at her, those amethyst eyes reflecting the moonlight. “You’re not a thief.”
“Then what am I?”
SigrdrÃfa didn’t answer. She reached out gently and brushed away a strand of hair stuck to Xuan Xi’s forehead by sweat. Her fingertips slid across Xuan Xi’s forehead—cool, soft, carrying that faint, cool fragrance.
“Nothing… go on in.” She withdrew her hand and pushed open the side door.
The hallway was quiet. Only their footsteps echoed in the empty corridor. The midnight blue light streamed in through the windows, dyeing the hallway into a deep sea.
Xuan Xi walked behind SigrdrÃfa, watching her silver-white hair sway in the blue light. She suddenly thought about that rapid heartbeat earlier. Maybe it wasn’t from running. Maybe it was something else.
She quickened her pace and walked up beside SigrdrÃfa, matching her step.
“Sige.”
“Mm.”
“Are you coming with me down the mountain next weekend too?”
SigrdrÃfa turned her head to look at her. “Do you want to?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go. But we need to come back earlier.”
Xuan Xi curved her lips. “Okay.”
The two walked into Room 404 and each washed up.
After her shower, Xuan Xi lay down on her bed. In her spare time, she picked up the new communication stone. The water-blue screen lit up in the darkness. The contact list showed only three names: her adoptive father Hellas, Elsa, and her current roommate and benefactor—SigrdrÃfa.
The communication stone vibrated. SigrdrÃfa had sent a message: “Did you have fun today?”
Xuan Xi stared at the line for a few seconds, then looked up at the other side of the screen. She typed: “I had fun. The clothes were beautiful, the wontons were delicious, the communication stone is great, and of course, the person keeping me company is wonderful.”
“Mm.”
“Did you?”
After a while, the communication stone vibrated again. “Had fun too.”
Xuan Xi stared at those three words for a long time, feeling that they carried more weight than any long sentence.
Outside the window, moonlight squeezed through the gap in the curtains. Xuan Xi closed her eyes, a small curve forming at the corner of her mouth.
“Good night, Sige.”
“…Good night, Xuan Xi.”
From behind the folding screen came the sound of pages turning—quicker than usual, as if trying to hide something.
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