The alarm clock rang.
Lin Lingling opened her eyes, stared at the ceiling for three seconds, then flipped over like a salted fish and pulled the covers over her head.
Five minutes later, a small cold hand slipped under the covers and precisely pressed against the back of her neck.
Lingling shot up, her crimson eyes wide, white hair a complete mess, the collar of her pajamas twisted to one side, revealing half of a pale shoulder.
Lin Jiu stood by the bed, head tilted, her blue eyes full of innocence.
“Sis, it’s morning.”
“…There are many ways to wake someone up.”
“But this way is the fastest.”
Lingling stared at her expressionlessly for three seconds, then reached out, pinched Lin Jiu’s cheeks, and pulled them outward.
“Mmm… Sis… that hurts.”
“If it doesn’t hurt, you won’t learn.”
“But Sis’s face is also fun to pinch—I want to pinch it too—”
“No.”
Lingling let go, threw off the covers, and got out of bed. Her bare feet touched the floor, and a chill spread up from the soles. She let out a small yawn and walked toward the bathroom.
Lin Jiu rubbed her reddened cheeks and watched her sister’s back. A few strands of white hair hung messily over the collar of her pajamas, and the delicate line of her neck was soft in the morning light.
She was really small.
At one meter fifty-three, she was short even among girls. Add to that the exquisitely delicate face and those crimson eyes that never revealed emotion—if not for knowing her true identity, everyone would probably think she was just a cute, doll-like beautiful girl.
Of course.
An ordinary beautiful girl wouldn’t infiltrate underground strongholds in the dead of night and wreak havoc, nor would she be given the code name “White Night” by the Countermeasures Section.
“Sis.”
“Hm?”
“Breakfast today is bacon, eggs, and toast. Do you want sugar in your coffee?”
“…Yes.”
“How many lumps?”
“Five.”
“Okay.”
Lin Jiu turned and walked toward the kitchen, the ties of her apron forming a neat bow at her back.
This was their ordinary, warm morning.
After breakfast, Lingling changed into her school uniform. A white shirt and a deep blue skirt, with a blue-striped tie at the collar representing the second year. She stood in front of the mirror at the entrance and looked at herself.
She stared at the white-haired beautiful girl in the mirror, who looked like a delicate doll.
“Beautiful girl,” she evaluated herself expressionlessly.
“Mmm, is Sis talking to herself?” Lin Jiu poked her head out from the kitchen.
“Nothing.”
“Sis was definitely saying ‘beautiful girl.'”
“…If you heard, don’t ask.”
After saying that, although Lingling’s face remained expressionless, her earlobes flushed a faint red.
Lin Jiu smiled and walked over, skillfully straightening the slightly crooked tie on Lingling’s collar. Her movements were very practiced, like a wife adjusting the tie of her husband about to leave on a journey.
“There, Sis is cute today too.”
“…I don’t need that kind of evaluation.”
“You do. Sis doesn’t care enough about her own appearance.”
Lingling didn’t reply. Instead, she looked up at Lin Jiu. The black-haired, blue-eyed girl, who looked very similar to her, wore the same school uniform, but with a black tie at the collar representing the first year. She was five centimeters taller than Lingling—Lingling was one fifty-eight, not tall among girls, but standing next to her, she still had to look up slightly.
“…Let’s go.”
“Okay!”
The two walked side by side out of the apartment. The old neighborhood of the Seventh District was waking up in the morning light, the air filled with the refreshing scent unique to early mornings. When they passed the old vending machine, Lingling stopped and bought a can of iced coffee.
“Sis, didn’t you already have coffee this morning?” Lin Jiu tilted her head and asked.
“This is a backup.”
“A backup coffee?”
“For staying awake. I have a feeling today is going to be long.”
Lin Jiu didn’t press further. She knew what her sister meant by “long.”
It seemed today’s Ability Assessment was destined to be anything but peaceful.
—
Luter Academy Main Gate
Morning sunlight spilled over the white school gate. Students in small groups began to enter the campus. As soon as Lingling and Lin Jiu reached the gate, they saw a familiar figure.
A blue-haired, golden-eyed girl with an elegant and serene temperament stood by the gatepost, wearing the school uniform and a white sash representing the student council. She looked as if she was waiting for someone.
That person was Chiyotsuki.
Seeing them, Chiyotsuki smiled slightly and walked over.
“Good morning, Lingling, Jiu.”
“Sister Chiyotsuki, good morning,” Lin Jiu greeted obediently.
“…Morning.” Lingling nodded.
Chiyotsuki came to her side and naturally walked in step with her. Lin Jiu fell half a step behind, leaving the spot on the left of her sister open, but her blue eyes never left the two of them.
“How are the preparations for today’s test?” Chiyotsuki asked.
“Same as usual.”
“Still using the disguised C-rank fire ability to get by?”
“Yeah.”
Chiyotsuki nodded. Her golden eyes looked toward the sports field in the distance. The testing area was already being set up, electronic screens were being calibrated, and staff were bustling about. Everything was the same as every other year.
But this year, it was different.
“Lingling.” Chiyotsuki’s voice dropped a little. “Be extra careful today.”
“…I know.”
“It’s not just about the test. The people coming today…”
“Countermeasures Section, Ishida Sanae.” Lingling interrupted her, her tone flat. “And Defense Department’s Sergei Volkov, right? I know about all that.”
Chiyotsuki looked at her, a hint of surprise flashing in her golden eyes, then it turned into a gentle smile.
“It seems you’ve already checked.”
“I checked last night.”
“Good.” Chiyotsuki stopped walking and turned to face Lingling. Her blue hair fluttered slightly in the morning breeze. Her golden eyes looked seriously into those crimson pupils. “But there’s one thing you might not know. Among today’s visitors, it’s not just Ishida Sanae and Sergei.”
Lingling’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
“There’s one more,” Chiyotsuki said. “Identity unknown. I saw a name without a photo in the student council’s security coordination document. The note said ‘Countermeasures Division Technical Support.’ No name, no photo, no specific information at all.”
“…Technical support?”
“Yes. But I checked that name—or rather, that code name—and its login records in the school’s system.”
Chiyotsuki’s voice dropped even lower.
“In the past three months, that code name has logged into the school’s surveillance system. Every login time coincided with the times you were at school.”
Silence.
The morning breeze blew, and Lingling’s white hair, like a waterfall, gently lifted. A glimmer flashed in her crimson eyes, as if calculating something.
“…Interesting.”
She only said those three words.
But Chiyotsuki understood the weight of those three words. This wasn’t an ordinary student’s “interesting”—it was the interesting kind of “interesting.”
“Lingling.” Chiyotsuki reached out and gently pressed her hand on Lingling’s shoulder. “No matter what happens, remember you are a student of Luter Academy. The student council has a duty to protect its students. If something really goes wrong, I will always stand by your side.”
Lingling looked at the fair, slender hand on her shoulder.
“…Why?” she asked.
“Because I picked you up.” Chiyotsuki smiled. “When you pick something up, you have to take responsibility for it to the end.”
Lingling was silent for a few seconds.
Then—
“…I’m not a stray cat.”
“But you’re cuter than a stray cat.”
“…………”
Lingling expressionlessly looked away and continued walking. Lin Jiu followed with quick small steps, a faint smile on her lips.
“Sis’s ears are red.”
“No, they’re not.”
“They’re red.”
“It’s because of the sunlight.”
“We’re facing away from the light now.”
“…Shut up.”
Behind them, Chiyotsuki watched the two sisters leave, her golden eyes curving into crescent moons. Then her smile faded, and she turned her gaze toward the sports field.
There, a woman in a dark blue Countermeasures Section uniform was talking to the staff. She had short brown hair and wore thin-rimmed glasses—a plain-looking woman in her thirties.
Ishida Sanae.
Chiyotsuki’s golden eyes narrowed slightly.
“Technical support,” huh.
Interesting.