Just as Ling Ling and Lady Ye were still bickering half-heartedly at the corner of the corridor,
Suddenly, Ye Fengxue’s gaze landed on Ling Ling’s left ring finger.
There, a pitch-black ring was quietly encircling her slender, delicate finger.
The surface of the ring had patterns that occasionally emitted an unknown luster under the sunlight.
“Wait.” Ye Fengxue’s eyes instantly sharpened. “What’s that?”
“A ring.”
“No duh, of course I know it’s a ring. The problem is—” Ye Fengxue grabbed Ling Ling’s left hand and brought it close for a careful look. “When did you start wearing a ring? And on your ring finger, no less?”
“About three days ago…”
“Three days ago? Isn’t that when you took leave?” Ye Fengxue’s brows furrowed. “Wait, your sister also took leave.”
“You both took leave at the same time, and now you have a ring on your ring finger—”
After a moment of intense brainstorming, Lady Ye’s emerald eyes flickered with shock.
“Don’t tell me you’re—”
“I’m what?”
“Don’t tell me you actually made a move on your own sister?!”
Ling Ling stared at her expressionlessly.
“You perverted siscon!”
Ye Fengxue’s voice shot up an octave, then quickly lowered. She glanced around to make sure no one was nearby before continuing in a hushed tone.
“I’ve always felt your attitude toward your sister was off! You’re glued together every day, and sometimes the way she looks at you is just like—”
“Like what?”
“Like… like…” Ye Fengxue’s face turned bright red. “Anyway, it’s just not right!”
Ling Ling tilted her head.
Although her face still showed no expression, a mischievous glint clearly flickered in her crimson eyes.
“Lady Ye, are you that concerned?”
“Who-who’s concerned!” Ye Fengxue bristled like an angry cat. “I’m just reminding you as a classmate—you’re real sisters! Not to mention social ethics, the law alone—”
“Xiao Jiu and I aren’t blood-related.”
“Huh?”
Ye Fengxue’s train of thought stalled for a moment.
Ling Ling withdrew her left hand from Ye Fengxue’s grasp and gently rotated the pitch-black ring on her ring finger with her right hand, speaking in a flat tone. “Xiao Jiu and I are artificial humans from some organization. Although we share the same genetic template, we’re not biological sisters in the traditional sense.”
“Arti… artificial humans?” Ye Fengxue’s brain seemed to be rebooting. “You mean you two are—”
“Yeah. So there’s no legal issue.”
“…So you really did go after your own sister?!”
“No.”
“Then what’s with the ring?”
“It’s a supernatural ability weapon.” Ling Ling raised her left hand, letting the ring glint coldly in the sunlight. “It’s called ‘Divine Relic.’ It can materialize into an armed form. Xiao Jiu has one too.”
“Supernatural ability weapon?” Ye Fengxue leaned in for another look, her emerald eyes full of curiosity. “It just looks like an ordinary ring… Wait, you said your sister has one too?”
“Yeah.”
“What does it look like?”
“Silver-white.”
Ye Fengxue’s mouth twitched.
“One black, one white, both on the ring finger… That’s a pair of couple rings!”
“Coincidence.”
“How is that a coincidence?!”
“It automatically chose to be on my ring finger. Can’t take it off.”
“A supernatural ability weapon that can’t be taken off? That makes it even weirder!”
Ling Ling thought about it and felt that Ye Fengxue had a point.
But if it couldn’t be taken off, it couldn’t be taken off. She couldn’t do anything about it.
Still, seeing Ye Fengxue puff up like that, she thought it necessary to explain a little—in her own way, of course.
“Lady Ye.”
“What?”
“Do you really think I’m the kind of person who would go after her own sister?”
Ye Fengxue stared at her seriously for a full five seconds.
“Hard to say.”
“…Why?”
“Because you usually act cold and aloof, but the moment your sister is mentioned, your expression changes.”
“Changes?”
“Yes. It’s subtle, but I can tell.” Ye Fengxue crossed her arms, wearing a ‘you can’t fool me’ expression. “When your sister brings you lunch, your eyes soften a bit.”
“When your sister talks to you, you use more words to answer than you do with others.”
“And last time, when your sister ran up and hugged you, you said ‘let go,’ but your hands never actually pushed her away.”
Ling Ling was silent for a moment.
“…Lady Ye, you’re very observant.”
“I just happened to notice!” Ye Fengxue’s ears began to redden again. “And it’s because you’re too obvious, not because I was deliberately watching!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes!”
Ling Ling looked at Ye Fengxue’s bright red ears and suddenly felt a urge to tease her.
Lady Ye was just too easy to read.
Growing up in the Ye family, she should have been good at hiding her feelings, but in front of Ling Ling, she always reacted this way—prickly at the slightest touch, blushing at the slightest provocation.
Maybe she didn’t realize it herself, but Ling Ling understood: the reason Ye Fengxue acted like this around her was because, subconsciously, she saw Ling Ling as someone she didn’t need to pretend in front of.
So Ling Ling decided to give a gentle poke.
“Lady Ye, could it be that you’re jealous?”
Ye Fengxue froze.
As if someone had hit the pause button, she remained locked in her pose with arms crossed, even her breathing stopped for a beat.
Then, her face visibly reddened.
“Wh-wh-what nonsense are you talking about! Why would I be jealous! If I wanted rings, I could buy a ton anytime! Rubies, sapphires, even the Heart of Africa—my dressing table is full of them! Who would envy your weird rings that can’t be taken off and come from who knows where!”
Ling Ling watched her babble incoherently, the amusement in her eyes growing.
But she didn’t press further.
Knowing when to stop—that was her principle when teasing Ye Fengxue. Crossing that line would no longer be teasing, but hurting.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Ling Ling responded flatly, gently letting the topic drop.
Ye Fengxue slowly calmed down, but the blush on her face hadn’t completely faded.
She turned around, leaned against the corridor wall, and looked up at the blue sky outside the window. She was silent for a long while.
“…Actually.” Ye Fengxue’s voice became much quieter than before. “It’s not like I’m not jealous, either.”
Ling Ling waited quietly for her to continue.
“I grew up in the Ye family. I never lacked anything. Food, clothes, things I used—everything was the best. Whatever I wanted, a single word and it would be brought to me.”
Ye Fengxue raised her right hand and looked at her palm. “But those things… no one ever asked me if I wanted them.”
“They just gave me what they thought I should have. The family thought the young lady might need this, so they bought it. The family thought the young lady shouldn’t have that, so they threw it away.”
The corner of her mouth twisted into a helpless smile.
“So, am I jealous? Of course I am.”
Ye Fengxue lowered her hand and turned to face Ling Ling, her emerald eyes meeting hers directly.
There was no tsundere or awkwardness in those eyes now—only a frank, unguarded sincerity.
“It’s not because of the ring itself, but because someone gave it to me sincerely.”
Ling Ling looked at her.
The morning light streamed in through the corridor window, coating Ye Fengxue’s black hair with a faint golden layer.
Her profile appeared much softer than usual in the light, and even her usual young lady aura had receded.
Ling Ling was silent for a moment, then spoke softly.
“Ye Fengxue.”
“Hm?”
“That look just now was way cuter than when you’re putting on your young lady act.”
Ye Fengxue froze, then blushed again.
“You—”
“Honestly.”
Although Ling Ling’s expression remained unchanged, her tone was more earnest than usual when she said those two words.
Ye Fengxue looked into her crimson eyes, wanting to retort, but in the end just huffed and turned away.
“…I am cute, obviously.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t just ‘yeah’ me! Every time you say ‘yeah,’ I feel like you’re brushing me off!”
“I’m not brushing you off.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Ye Fengxue gave her a suspicious look, then sighed and brushed her hair back. Her young lady aura returned to her, though now it seemed tinged with a different emotion.
“Let’s go. Senior Chiyo said she’d come see you around noon.”
“President Chiyo?”
“Yeah. She had student council stuff in the morning and said she’d come at noon.” Ye Fengxue started walking toward the stairs. “Perfect timing. I’m going to the cafeteria at noon, so I’ll reward you by letting you accompany me.”
“I brought a lunchbox.”
“Then come to the cafeteria and accompany me while I eat.”
“Too lazy to walk.”
“Lin Lingling!” Ye Fengxue spun around, her expression saying ‘try saying that again.’
Ling Ling sighed and started walking toward the classroom.
“Did you just sigh?”
“No.”
“I heard it!”
“You misheard.”
The two of them bickered all the way back to the classroom.
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