“Why do I have to go?”
Mu Xi’s voice was as cold and hard as permafrost, without the slightest hint of emotion.
Her crimson eyes flickered in the shadows with a cold, resistant light.
She struggled to free herself from the oppressive weight and sense of confinement pressing down on her.
“Hehe~”
Mu Ming, straddling her, let out a mischievous snort. Instead of letting go, she leaned in even closer, that identical face twisted into a wicked smile.
At such close distance, Mu Ming’s ruby-like eyes reflected the smoldering anger in Mu Xi’s own gaze.
“If you won’t go…”
Mu Ming’s voice was as sweetly threatening as a serpent flicking its tongue, each word landing with venomous clarity on Mu Xi’s taut nerves, “then I’ll just… pay Little Rou a visit.”
Her fingertips, cold as feathers, lightly tapped Mu Xi’s tightly pressed lips, then slowly slid down her jaw, finally resting on her faintly heaving collarbone.
A smile, equal parts innocent and sinister, bloomed on her face.
“…Let’s see what she thinks of her…’suddenly arriving big sister’…”
“Wouldn’t that be… ‘interesting’?”
She deliberately emphasized the words “suddenly arriving” and “interesting.”
“You’re threatening me?”
Mu Xi’s voice dropped to absolute zero, her deep, abyssal crimson eyes suddenly narrowing, gaze sharp as blades, as if to pierce through the face before her!
But then, a fleeting, nearly invisible trace of panic and pleading flashed through her sharpness.
“Don’t… drag Little Rou into this…”
Her voice was strained and hoarse—a final, untouchable soft spot.
Mu Ming’s smile grew even more radiant, her satisfaction evident in her sense of control.
“Then come shopping with me.”
Her tone was breezy, as if they were just discussing the weather, making the earlier threat sound like a harmless joke.
“What are you really after?”
Mu Xi’s voice was tight with anger and deep confusion. “Just to amuse yourself?”
“What could I possibly want?”
Mu Ming blinked innocently, though her crimson eyes sparkled with mischief.
“I just want to go out and have some fun… is that so wrong?”
She wiggled her body like a little girl, increasing Mu Xi’s discomfort beneath her.
“…Fine…”
After a long, airless silence that seemed to freeze the very air,
Mu Xi, like a deflated balloon, finally let her tense body relax.
In the end, she bowed her head in resignation, silver hair falling forward to conceal the storm of emotions swirling in her eyes.
A crushing sense of defeat nearly drowned her.
“Heehee! Let’s go~”
Mu Ming instantly lit up like a child who’d just gotten their favorite candy, letting out a delighted cheer.
She leapt nimbly off Mu Xi, landing barefoot on the chilly floor, and spun in place with excitement.
“Hurry up and get changed!”
“You—go outside,” Mu Xi sat up, rubbing her waist and abdomen, which were numb from being pinned down. Her voice returned to its usual icy chill.
“I need to change.”
“Eh?”
Mu Ming tilted her head, her mischievous smile returning, red eyes full of teasing.
“What’s the big deal if you change in front of me?”
She spread her hands in a showy gesture.
“We’re the same person, after all~”
“Or are you saying…”
She leaned closer, her smile turning wicked.
“You get shy even changing in front of a mirror?”
“Keep talking nonsense…”
A vein twitched at Mu Xi’s temple as she raised her hand, a faint, dangerous pink-purple Starlight gathering in her palm.
“And I’ll hit you…”
Her tone was icy, with a warning that was all too real.
“Alright, alright~”
Mu Ming pouted, raising both hands in surrender, though her grin never faded.
Like a wisp of smoke, she left the room with a playful hum, closing the door behind her.
Five minutes later.
Mu Xi pushed open the door and walked into the living room.
She wore an outfit that all but melted into the shadows: a loose Black Hoodie with the hood pulled low, a matching Baseball Cap pressed down over her eyes, a simple Black Skirt, opaque Black Stockings hugging her legs, and a low-key pair of Black Canvas Shoes.
She radiated an aura of “do not approach” from head to toe.
But when she saw who was in the living room, her steps froze.
Mu Ming was sitting on the sofa, legs swinging leisurely.
And she was wearing…
That white Academy Sailor Uniform, the very one Mu Xi had worn to school, now retrieved from her wardrobe—pure, crisp, and unmistakably innocent.
The blue-and-white scarf was tied just right, and the pleated skirt swayed gently with her swinging legs.
“You…”
Mu Xi’s brows furrowed in an instant, her voice tight with suppressed anger.
“Why are you wearing my clothes?”
“I don’t have anything else to wear~”
Mu Ming stood and spun around innocently, showing off the Academy Sailor Uniform that so utterly clashed with her usual dark aura.
“I can’t very well… go out naked, right?”
She shrugged as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Why not use your Magic Attire?”
Mu Xi demanded coldly.
“It’s so tiring to keep a Magic Attire running with magic all the time!”
Mu Ming exaggerated a sigh, as if complaining about some huge burden. “Besides…”
She twirled lightly on the spot again, her skirt fluttering.
“We’re going out shopping, not off to battle~”
She stopped spinning, hands on her hips, and gave Mu Xi’s nearly invisible all-black outfit a disapproving once-over, her red eyes full of disdain.
“And also…”
“That outfit of yours…”
She deliberately drew out the words, pointing at Mu Xi with her index finger.
“You look just like… a suspicious stalker!”
“Can’t you wear something else?”
Mu Ming wrinkled her delicate nose.
“There’s nothing youthful! Sunny! Energetic!”
With that, as if to demonstrate what “youthful energy” really meant, she rose on tiptoes and spun a perfect circle in the middle of the living room.
The white skirt bloomed like a lily, tracing a graceful arc in the faint light streaming through the window.
She stopped and tilted her head, wearing a look that was both expectant and sly, her ruby eyes sparkling as she gazed at Mu Xi.
“So? Do I look good or what?”
Mu Xi’s gaze landed on that version of herself—wearing her Academy Sailor Uniform, beaming radiantly, as if her entire being was aglow.
That face, so nearly identical to her own, was now overflowing with a pure, even dazzling vitality she had long forgotten.
A strange sensation welled up within her.
Had she just seen, on that familiar face, a hint of…strange, inexplicable attraction?
What startled her even more was that the icy skin of her own cheeks seemed to be… warming, ever so faintly and uncontrollably?
Mu Xi quickly averted her gaze, as if scorched by that smile, and instinctively tugged the brim of her cap lower, hiding any betraying emotion in her eyes.
Her voice, barely masking her panic and feigning coldness:
“Enough of this nonsense…”
“Let’s… just go.”
“Alright~”
Mu Ming drew out the word with delighted triumph, her tone brimming with victorious glee.
She bounced over to the door like a little bird eager to take flight and play.
Getting attracted to a woman’s that’s essentially just you with a different hair color is weird, yes.