At the breakfast table.
Shen Yiyue, her face flushed, was quietly eating the toast that Ning Yu had just made.
Ning Yu, on the other hand, acted as if nothing had happened, pouring milk from the strawberry milk carton into a glass.
Shen Qianqian sat between the two, glancing left and right with an unmistakable, knowing smile on her face.
"Keep looking!"
Shen Yiyue picked up her fork, tempted to use it to shoo her younger sister away.
"Big sis, why are you so shy? I didn’t see anything," Shen Qianqian teased, her expression playful as she looked at her flustered older sister.
"Ah... so sweet, so nice..."
Shen Yiyue couldn’t take it anymore. She put down her fork and lunged at her sister:
"I’ll teach you to knock before entering!"
Shen Qianqian grabbed her breakfast and began circling the table like a character in a game of cat and mouse.
"Don’t get so worked up, sis! I was just saying the juice is sweet, what’s the big deal?"
"You keep talking, just wait, don’t let me catch you, if I do..."
Shen Yiyue chased after her, gritting her teeth, occasionally changing directions to try and cut her off.
Unfortunately, Shen Qianqian was an expert at this game, having mastered the art of "Sister Evasion."
Ning Yu watched the two sisters engage in their usual antics, taking another bite of bread and sipping her strawberry milk.
She acted completely unfazed.
It was just a kiss, after all. What was there to be shy about?
Sadly, Ning Yu still didn’t understand the concept of shyness, so Shen Yiyue was left to blush on her own.
......
After breakfast.
Shen Qianqian’s little face was red, as if she’d been thoroughly teased.
She sat at the far end of the sofa, glaring at her sister while furiously scribbling something on a piece of paper.
Shen Yiyue and Ning Yu sat at the dining table, where the dishes had already been cleared.
Now, a large sheet of paper was spread out, and Ning Yu was using a marker to make notes alongside Shen Yiyue.
"First of all, no matter what, that ‘firework guy’ will find Ning Yu."
"Pfft!"
Ning Yu couldn’t help but laugh at the term ‘firework guy.’ If Chen Xing heard that, she’d probably be furious.
"Plus, none of the weapons we’ve tried have worked on her. It’s like she’s surrounded by some kind of protective shell, as hard as a turtle’s!"
Shen Yiyue rambled on, seemingly with an endless supply of information.
Ning Yu listened intently, recognizing how long Shen Yiyue had gone without someone to confide in.
Now, she was finally by her side, ready to face things together.
Shen Yiyue didn’t even notice the gentle look in Ning Yu’s eyes as she spoke.
"So, all the direct methods of confronting her have failed."
Ning Yu listed out the various approaches Shen Yiyue had mentioned on the paper, marking each with an X to indicate they were ineffective.
"Maybe we’ve been approaching this the wrong way."
She rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.
"This person can’t be defeated head-on."
"And she’s always accompanied by that minion who can create clones. Dealing with him alone is already a nightmare."
Shen Yiyue frowned at Ning Yu’s words and asked,
"Ning Yu, I’ve also tried running away with you."
"We went to the neighboring X City, hid in a deep basement, even to remote mountainous areas."
"But in the end, we were always caught."
"There must be something on Ning Yu that’s being tracked."
She walked over to Ning Yu, inspecting her closely, even sniffing around as if trying to detect something unusual. She was one step away from stripping Ning Yu down for a thorough search.
"Your guess is correct."
Ning Yu nodded in agreement, stopping Shen Yiyue’s odd behavior.
"Stop!"
Shen Yiyue reacted as if she had PTSD, shuddering and shouting loudly.
Her reaction was so strange that even Shen Qianqian, who had been focused on her drawing, looked over.
Ning Yu was also startled and asked softly,
"What’s wrong?"
Shen Yiyue regained her composure, glanced at her sister, and signaled her to keep drawing before explaining,
"I know what Ning Yu is going to say, and the answer is no."
Ning Yu was taken aback. She hadn’t even said anything yet.
But she realized Shen Yiyue had misunderstood. She reached out and pinched Shen Yiyue’s cheeks, squishing her mouth into a small ‘o’ shape.
"What are you overthinking, dummy? I’m not leaving you behind this time."
Shen Yiyue seemed satisfied and tried to say something, but her cheeks were still being squeezed. She wriggled her lips and finally freed herself from Ning Yu’s grip.
"Hmph, good."
"If I remember correctly..."
Ning Yu began searching her memories.
"Ning Xuan once said that Chen Xing wants to kill me, but she’s defying some higher authority’s orders."
"By the way, have you met Ning Xuan?"
Ning Yu turned to ask Shen Yiyue.
"Yeah, she looks a lot like you," Shen Yiyue recalled, then reached out to touch the silver hair draped over Ning Yu’s shoulder.
"Both of you sisters have such beautiful hair..."
"Hey, hey, focus!"
Ning Yu took her hair back, noticing Shen Yiyue’s lingering gaze.
"So, I was thinking maybe we should try a different approach, starting with this ‘defiance’ of orders."
She drew another line on the paper, indicating a new direction.
Putting down the marker, Ning Yu asked Shen Yiyue,
"Can you still go back further? I need to return to the time when I met Ning Xuan."
On the paper, she marked a point one day earlier, when she had encountered Ning Xuan.
If they could go back there, Ning Yu felt they might find more clues from Ning Xuan.
"I can, but only about a day. Going further might exceed the limits of my ability," Shen Yiyue checked her notes and confirmed it was possible.
She then pulled out her pistol from her weapon case, placing her hand on it to infuse it with her power.
"Isn’t there a gentler way to do this..."
Ning Yu flinched at the sight of the gun, knowing Shen Yiyue was about to use her usual brute-force method.
"There is, but it’s more complicated. This is the most efficient way," Shen Yiyue replied, putting the gun away and extending her hand to Ning Yu. Just as Ning Yu was about to take it, Shen Yiyue’s hand trembled and she pulled back.
"What if, when we go back, Ning Yu forgets everything again?"
Seeing her cautious expression, Ning Yu reached out and firmly grasped her hand.
"Don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone this time."