Chapter 27: See You This Weekend

When Qiu Mian woke up, she realized she had somehow slipped free of Qiu Kui’s embrace and was now lying flat on her back.

One of Qiu Kui’s hands still rested loosely on her waist, while the other arm was tucked beneath her neck like a pillow.

Their faces were close, breathing even.

Qiu Mian stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. Her cheeks began to heat up again.

She carefully lifted Qiu Kui’s hand away, slipped out of bed like a thief, and darted into the bathroom.

The cold rush of water helped cool the flush on her face.

At breakfast, Qiu Kui had returned to her usual timid, cautious self. Yet the occasional stolen glances she sent Qiu Mian’s way and the faint extra pink at the tips of her ears gave away that she wasn’t entirely calm.

Qiu Mian kept her own expression cool and distant, quickly finishing her meal.

As they left the house, they “ran into” the ever-energetic Xia Qingkong exactly as expected.

“Morning! Qiu Mian! Qiu Kui!” Xia Qingkong waved with a bright smile. Her gaze swept across Qiu Mian’s face, flicked to Qiu Kui, then returned to Qiu Mian as she winked. “Sleep well last night?”

Qiu Mian’s face stayed tightly composed. She gave a stiff “Mm” in reply.

Qiu Kui murmured a soft “Good morning” and lowered her head, fingers unconsciously picking at the strap of her schoolbag.

“Oh right, Qiu Mian!” Xia Qingkong fell into step beside her as naturally as breathing, her tone light and cheerful. “You haven’t forgotten about our weekend plans, right? Two o’clock!”

“I know.” Qiu Mian kept her eyes straight ahead and quickened her pace.

“Great!” Xia Qingkong’s smile curved even wider, completely unfazed by the cold response. She continued on her own. “I checked it out specially! That shop only makes twenty portions of their signature desserts each day—if you’re late, they’re gone! So we have to be on time!”

“Mm.”

“And about that mask…” Xia Qingkong suddenly lowered her voice and leaned close to Qiu Mian’s ear, speaking in a conspiratorial whisper.

“I remembered something else later. I heard the senior who loved wearing masks left some notebooks or journals behind in the school’s old archives room. But hardly anyone goes there now—the locks are all rusted.”

Old archives room? Journals?

Xia Qingkong seemed pleased with her reaction and kept going in that I’m only telling you tone. “Plus, Shimizu quietly mentioned to me yesterday that there’s more than one fox mask. The one she has is a ‘replica’—or maybe a ‘copy.’ The real ‘original’ is supposedly hidden somewhere by that senior, and only someone who meets the right conditions can find it.”

“So? Interested now? We can talk about it properly this weekend. Who knows, maybe we can even… find a way to sneak into the old archives room for a little ‘adventure’?”

“Adventure in the old archives room?”

The suggestion was undeniably tempting. Qiu Mian almost agreed on the spot, but the last scrap of her reason made her simply press her lips together and let out a nasal “We’ll see.”

“Ehh~” Xia Qingkong drew out the sound, sounding a little disappointed, but she bounced back with another smile. “Okay, okay. We’ll talk about it when we meet this weekend! I’m sure you’ll come, Qiu Mian!”

Their conversation had almost completely left Qiu Kui out.

She walked along in silence, head lowered, but every word Xia Qingkong said close to Qiu Mian’s ear drilled straight into her.

“Mask… senior… archives room… weekend…”

The words tumbled through Qiu Kui’s mind, mixing with the image she had seen last night—Jie-jie’s face flushed while staring at her phone.

A sour, stifling emotion swelled inside her chest like a balloon being pumped full of air.

Jie-jie… shares so many secrets with Xia Qingkong?

Jie-jie… would never say any of this to her?

This weekend… they’re going out alone… to ‘adventure’?

She quietly edged closer and closer to Qiu Mian until she was practically glued to her side, walking with their arms nearly touching.

Xia Qingkong finally seemed to notice the sidelined Qiu Kui. She turned with a natural smile. “Qiu Kui, do you have any plans this weekend? Want to come along? The dessert shop is really great!”

Qiu Kui lifted her head and gave Xia Qingkong a quick glance.

“N-no thanks… I’m fine.”

“Eh? Really? That’s too bad.”

Xia Qingkong tilted her head, looking genuinely regretful.

Qiu Mian had also noticed Qiu Kui drawing nearer.

Assuming she was just intimidated by Xia Qingkong’s enthusiasm, she instinctively shifted to place herself between them, shielding Qiu Kui behind her while frowning at Xia Qingkong. “She’s not going. Don’t meddle.”

At that moment the three of them reached a crosswalk just as the light turned red and they had to wait.

A crowd of other students gathered around them, also waiting to cross.

Xia Qingkong kept chattering excitedly about weekend plans, even starting to imagine what tools they might need for the “adventure.”

Though Qiu Mian’s expression stayed cold, she listened attentively and occasionally gave short one- or two-word replies.

Suddenly, a student riding a bicycle nearby seemed to lose control. The handlebars jerked and the bike wobbled straight toward them!

“Watch out!”

“Ah!”

A few startled cries rose around them.

The bike was falling right between Qiu Mian and Xia Qingkong!

Everything happened too fast. Qiu Mian instinctively tried to step back.

But in the instant the bicycle threatened to knock over several nearby students and cause a small panic—

An arm shot out from Qiu Mian’s side, wrapped around her shoulders, and yanked her hard into a tight embrace.

It was Qiu Kui.

Qiu Mian felt herself crash straight into a warm chest.

Qiu Kui held her fiercely, locking her firmly against her.

“Mmph!” Qiu Mian let out a muffled grunt, squeezed so tightly she could barely breathe.

The bicycle clattered to the ground a few steps away. The rider scrambled up and apologized awkwardly.

The brief commotion died down quickly. No one was hurt.

But Qiu Kui still didn’t let go.

She kept hugging Qiu Mian tightly, chin resting on top of her head.

“Q-Qiu Kui? Let go, I’m fine.” Qiu Mian’s face burned with embarrassment as she tried to wriggle free.

Being hugged this tightly by her little sister in the middle of the street—as the big villain no less—was way too strange. And Xia Qingkong was right there watching!

Xia Qingkong was indeed watching.

She steadied a classmate who had nearly been caught in the spill, then turned her gaze to the tightly embraced sisters.

Her smile stayed in place, but a deep glint flashed through her bright eyes.

Qiu Kui acted as if she hadn’t heard Qiu Mian at all.

She kept holding on, her arms tightening another fraction and pressing Qiu Mian even closer.

Then she tilted her head slightly and lifted her eyes toward Xia Qingkong standing a few steps away.

Xia Qingkong met her gaze. Her smile didn’t waver; if anything, it grew brighter.

She blinked and said cheerfully, “Wow, Qiu Kui, that was such a fast reaction! Good thing you pulled Qiu Mian back, or she might have gotten hit!”

The light turned green.

Qiu Kui finally loosened her arms, but one hand remained firmly wrapped around Qiu Mian’s wrist, grip strong.

She lowered her head and looked at the girl in her arms. “Jie-jie… are you okay?”

Qiu Mian finally managed to lift her head and breathe. Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment and her hair was slightly tousled.

“…I’m fine.” Qiu Mian tugged at her wrist. It didn’t budge.

She glanced at the hand still tightly holding hers, then at Qiu Kui’s unreadable face. A strange feeling flickered through her, but she didn’t struggle again. “Let’s go. Light’s green.”

“Mm.” Qiu Kui answered obediently, but the hand around Qiu Mian’s wrist didn’t loosen. Instead she held on and walked quickly across the street, leaving Xia Qingkong a little behind.

Xia Qingkong followed at a leisurely pace, watching the pair of sisters walking hand-in-hand with that subtle, charged atmosphere between them.

Only after they had crossed and were nearing the school gates did Xia Qingkong speak again.

She called to Qiu Mian, “It’s settled then, Qiu Mian! Sunday at two o’clock—don’t be late!”

Before Qiu Mian could answer, the hand gripping her wrist suddenly tightened again, pinching her wrist bone hard enough to sting.

Qiu Kui didn’t look at Xia Qingkong. She kept her head down, eyes fixed on the ground, and spoke in a soft voice only the two of them could hear. “Jie-jie… are you… going out this weekend?”

Qiu Mian paused. She glanced at Xia Qingkong’s expectant face, then felt the silent resistance pressing into her wrist.

Trouble…

She sighed inwardly, but she couldn’t possibly give up the clues about the mask and the archives room.

“Mm.” She gave Qiu Kui a single affirming sound.

Then she lifted her head and looked at Xia Qingkong, expression returning to its usual chill. “Got it. I’ll be there.”

Xia Qingkong beamed. “Perfect! I’ll be waiting!”

Qiu Kui said nothing more. She simply tightened her grip on Qiu Mian’s wrist even further, her thumb absently stroking the delicate wrist bone.

The three of them walked into the school grounds. Xia Qingkong hummed a cheerful tune, clearly in a good mood. Qiu Mian kept her face cold, but her mind churned with thoughts.

And Qiu Kui stayed right beside her, still holding her wrist, purple eyes lowered so no one could read them. Only the faint, tight line of her pressed lips betrayed the unrest inside.