Ten minutes later, Little Gui emerged from the neighboring courtyard, where she'd used thawed pool water to scrub away the grime and dust — walking over with a slightly flustered air.
Her fiery red ponytail was pinned up with a flame-lotus hair ornament, red base with gold trim. The sleeveless cut made her shoulders and neck look chiseled as carved jade, while a satin ribbon tied in a diagonal bow at her waist evoked spring waters winding around a red lotus.
The high-slit qipao hem revealed long, fair legs that played off the red satin — merging classical Chinese glamour with dangerously flattering tailoring into something like a dazzling red lantern, swaying in the night just before dawn.
"No — no way. That's Little Gui?"
The spoon Little Pillow Sushang had only just picked up clattered to the floor again. She stared, wide-eyed and dumbstruck.
She simply could not believe that the gorgeous beauty standing before her was the same brash, boisterous best friend who lugged her acrobatics props all over the Xianzhou — more bewitching than any Foxian she'd ever seen~!
"As expected of me. Lord Caelus is truly incredible!"
Snapping out of her brief moment of awe, Stelle immediately squared her shoulders and lifted her chin.
Her taste in qipaos was simply impeccable!
"..."
March 7th slid her gaze sideways, baffled. "Did someone compliment you?"
Sure, Stelle was quite pretty right now too — when she wasn't talking, she looked like a fairy stepping out of an ink-wash painting, swaying gracefully with a pipa in her arms — but then she opened her mouth. And had a brain.
I should go buy myself a qipao sometime.
Of course, she absolutely would not be buying the same style as Stelle's or Little Gui's.
Compared to the few scraps of transparent fabric Caelus had produced earlier, the qipao's exposure level wasn't actually that high — but the top button of the mandarin collar was left undone to accentuate certain feminine assets, the slit's arc reached all the way to the hip bone, and the narrow front panel left the inner thigh deliciously bare.
No question about it — this was a novelty-lingerie piece.
But it looked so good.
March 7th instinctively whipped out her camera and snapped a photo.
'White' Seele kept her head bowed, her bangs hiding a face flushed as rouge. The reason was, admittedly, a little embarrassing to say out loud.
Her other self — the Seele from the parallel world — had previously bought two qipao-style dresses, one in blue-and-white and one in black-and-red, both beautiful but just a touch on the revealing side, saying she wanted to wear them for Brother Caelus.
"Seele… if I wore a qipao like that… would it… would it look good?"
Watching Guinaifen in her qipao, 'White' Seele suddenly found herself imagining herself in that same outfit.
[Trust me, other-me — guaranteed adorable! The kind that keeps Brother Caelus in bed all day!]
Caelus-Seele grinned from somewhere in the back of her mind.
[K-keeps him in bed!? What are you even saying, other-me! QAQ]
Her fingers twisted the hem of her clothes without thinking. At those words, 'White' Seele immediately buried her burning face against her own chest, leaving only the tips of her scarlet ears poking out as she let out a flustered, squeaky protest.
[How about we put it to a vote? What do you say, Seele?]
In the mental space patterned like a black-and-white chessboard — with its ivory carved frames — Caelus-Seele lounged against sea-blue velvet on a Gothic princess throne topped with a crown motif, one little finger pointing at her own cheek as she smiled across at 'Black' Seele on the opposite black-trimmed crimson velvet throne.
As the inner personality born within 'White' Seele's body, 'Black' Seele had long since grown accustomed to her role as a silent bystander. She'd accepted it from the moment she first became self-aware — always stepping aside, relinquishing control of the body, quietly watching over her other self's growth.
For 'Black' Seele, as long as 'White' Seele was happy, nothing else mattered.
After coming to this world and meeting Caelus-Seele, their world of two became a world of three. 'White' Seele had been gradually growing — 'Black' Seele should perhaps have felt lonely — yet because Caelus-Seele kept her company in the mental space, she never did feel alone. Caelus-Seele had even given her the name Seele as a gift.
"This was always our name to begin with!"
— That was what Caelus-Seele had said.
From that day on, 'Black' Seele regarded 'White' Seele and Caelus-Seele with equal affection, the three of them forming an unbreakable triangle.
The only problem was — both of her other selves had fallen for 'Brother Caelus,' and she herself…
'Black' Seele recalled that time during their shopping trip, when Caelus had ruffled her hair and smiled, telling her to pick out whatever clothes she liked.
He knew she was different from the other two Seeles, yet he'd said those words to her anyway. She was just a fragment of Seele, after all… so why did this complicated feeling in her chest refuse to be explained?
'Black' Seele pressed a hand over her heart.
Was it just… the influence of her other two selves…?
[Seele? What are you thinking about?]
In their state of shared consciousness, no matter who held control of the body, each personality could sense the others' emotions — with only Caelus-Seele able to actively disconnect and adjust the link.
Caelus-Seele could feel the tangle of complicated emotions stirring within 'Black' Seele.
[N-nothing!]
'Black' Seele snapped out of her wandering thoughts and pushed down the fluster in her heart. Her forced-calm reply made Caelus-Seele's lips curl ever so slightly upward — and she didn't press further.
She was Seele, soul-linked to 'Black' Seele!
With herself as the inside agent, helping to raise her own other-self's affection meter — it was practically effortless.
For instance: whenever 'Black' Seele felt lonely, she'd nudge Caelus to go comfort her, have a heart-to-heart. When 'Black' Seele saw herself as a mere appendage, she'd have Caelus affirm her as an independent 'Seele' in her own right. It was Caelus who had officially bestowed the name 'Seele' upon 'Black' Seele in the first place.
It was barely one step removed from a cracked dating sim — Caelus-Seele could relay real-time feedback on how 'Black' Seele's or 'White' Seele's feelings shifted in response to Caelus's actions. In short, it amounted to one thing:
A clear flag is still a flag, isn't it?
[I think the qipao Seele picked is really pretty~]
That comment had nothing to do with Caelus. Well, maybe the tiniest bit.
Teasing the softest one — 'White' Seele — was a shared hobby between her and Caelus-Seele. Listening to 'White' Seele's shy, muttered protests, 'Black' Seele broke into a grin.
Whatever happens, it's nothing to do with me anyway.
Caelus-Seele's eyes shifted with a little flicker of scheming.
Later, when she comes looking for me in that qipao, I can use the [Tiger Talisman] to call 'Black' Seele out. We bought two outfits — of course all three of us should wear them together!
Multitasking four streams of thought simultaneously was the most basic of passive skills — Caelus-Seele's quiet scheming didn't interfere in the slightest with Caelus's actions.
"Smile for the camera, Caelus-cub~!"
Stelle, dressed in her sky-blue qipao, threw an arm around Guinaifen and flashed a peace sign at the phone Caelus had raised as a lens.
Guinaifen kept her head down, ten fingers laced together and twisting restlessly against the red fabric in front of her.
"This feels… this feels even more mortifying than the time I declared my independence in the middle of the street…"
"Oh? You've already pulled that one off?"
For a streamer, the single most important trait was a total absence of shame — and Caelus had curated a whole catalogue of increasingly unhinged content challenges designed to drill that very quality into Little Gui.
"It's all thanks to you, Sensei~!"
The moment the topic veered to content stunts and chaos, Little Gui started loosening up again, scratching her cheek with a laugh.
"I haven't started the full character suit streaming yet — the actual vtubing stuff — but all the other extreme bits you've given me, I've tried every single one. Like pineapple-on-the-head, jumping into an ice hole, electric-drill corn on the cob — that kind of thing."
"What even is any of that?"
Little Gui pulled out her phone and played the saved footage. Haxxor Bunny, confronted with content so abstract it broke her brain, made the expression of someone who'd just seen a train, Old Yang, and a phone all at once.
She didn't get it!
Are streamers from other worlds really this unhinged!?
March 7th shook her head in helpless resignation. Little Gui had gone to school under Caelus and learned the Art of Pure Chaos — that girl's life had a new calling now.
Even draped in a qipao practically designed to lure someone in, the moment the conversation turned to content chaos, every trace of suggestive tension melted away.
"Good. Very good. Excellent. Little Gui, you've come a long way."
Caelus gazed upon her as though watching a rising star of the streaming world — the Xianzhou's Tiger King was about to reclaim her rightful throne.
"In that case, it is time for your Sensei to teach you one final lesson."
Caelus clasped one hand behind his back and tilted his head to gaze coolly at the sky.
"So Stay Alive, Bravely~?"
Eyes flashing as if a keyword had been triggered, Stelle immediately launched into song.
"You little pest, what are you singing for? I haven't fallen into an Imaginary dimension, you know."
Caelus gave Stelle a light chop on the forehead with the edge of his hand — and then got bitten for it.
"The final lesson?"
Guinaifen's expression turned solemn.
"Mm. Are you ready, Little Gui?"
The close physical contact seemed to tip Stelle off by some shared sixth sense — she released her bite on Caelus-cub, wiped her mouth against his chest, then hopped back a step and pulled out her phone to record.
"Yes, Sensei — I'm ready!"
Guinaifen set aside all awareness of her current outfit and thrust forward the deep, enticing valley of her décolletage with all the gravity of someone about to inherit the sum total of humanity's cultural and artistic heritage.
Caelus glanced over.
Frankly speaking, if Little Gui stood completely bare in front of him, he could keep his eyes under control, stay composed, look away. But a novelty-lingerie qipao playing at half-concealment? Who could endure that?
"Little Gui, there's something I need to tell you."
Caelus suddenly raised a hand and pressed it down on Guinaifen's shoulder. His gaze held a thousand unspoken things — a torrent of deep feeling, laced with unease and hesitation — like a secret buried in his heart about to be pried loose.
At the brush of skin, the girl's body gave a tremor as if she'd touched a live wire. Caelus leaned in slowly, closing the distance between their faces to an extremely dangerous range, his deep, slightly downcast eyes fixed on hers.
Guinaifen's heart shot straight up to her throat.
In that moment, the very first word that surfaced in her mind was — Confession.
No way, right?
Little Gui wasn't blind — she could tell that March 7th, Seele, and Bronya were all stunning, each with her own distinct charm, all clearly on close terms with Caelus. And then there was Stelle, who she could make even less sense of…
How would it ever get to her turn?
March 7th, Stelle, and everyone else were right here — Sensei wouldn't do something that would embarrass both of them in broad daylight, would he?
Or… had the content bit already started? Was this about manufacturing an ambiguous atmosphere to manipulate the emotional reactions of the people around them?
Guinaifen analyzed carefully. Her heartbeat began to slow. That was it — this had to be the final lesson's content.
Should she play along?
She darted a meaningful look at Sushang, signaling her to prop up the phone and start filming — reference material she could rewatch obsessively and absorb every technique — and then Little Gui arranged her expression into the bashful look of a girl receiving a confession.
"Go ahead. You can tell me."
"Actually…"
His voice was gentle, yet somehow bursting at the seams — Sensei was so good at this!
"I'm 'Only Love Little Gui'!"
"Huh? Huh!?"
Guinaifen's analysis came to a screeching halt. Her beautiful eyes went wide, and she spun her head toward Caelus in genuine shock.
The Number One donor who had been sending her money straight from the very beginning — the top fan supporting her career — was Sensei all along?!
And that username — Only Love Little Gui — Caelus didn't actually like her, did he?
The instant that thought surfaced, Guinaifen became acutely aware of what she was wearing — a novelty-lingerie qipao — and that she, the gorgeous streamer, was being held by the shoulder by her Number One donor!
She immediately went into a full-blown panic.
Sure, this was great footage that would pull in a massive wave of views — but it would end her career right then and there!
So nervous! So nervous!
March 7th, Stelle, Sister Sushang — why are you all just standing there watching!?
Someone stop Caelus, please!
What if this really is a confession — what is she supposed to do? How does she turn him down in a way that's kind but not brutal?!
Accept it?
No she can't… but she can't refuse harshly either.
The atmosphere pressing closer and heavier made Guinaifen swallow involuntarily. She angled her face away — she couldn't bring herself to meet those deep, tender golden eyes — and called upon every last neuron in her brain (possibly an infectious gift from Sushang) to figure out how to let him down gently.
And then — Guinaifen saw Caelus produce something as if from thin air. His hand was closed around it, so she couldn't make out what it was — only a glint of reflected light.
Something reflective?
A ring!?
In that charged atmosphere, Little Gui's very sharp brain instantly jumped to the most logical reflective object it could conjure.
"Wait — wait, don't do anything hasty."
Guinaifen sensed the atmosphere was genuinely off, and she backed up two steps.
"Little Gui, this is a gift from me."
Her racing heart stopped dead for two full seconds — then gradually settled back down.
So it really was a content bit after all!
Seeing that what Caelus held was just an ID document, Guinaifen exhaled with relief. Still — his acting was genuinely terrifying!
But now that she thought about it — why was he giving her an ID?
The question rose, and Guinaifen's gaze instinctively dropped to where Caelus's fingers were touching the document. In an instant, her eyes blew wide, her mind ground to a complete halt, and the color drained from her face.
In the age field, clear as day, it read: Three years old!!
THREE YEARS OLD!?
"Sister Streamer, by physical age, I'm actually a minor, you know~."
Caelus's smile shone like sunlight.
A minor?
Even as the shock hit her consciousness like nothing she'd ever experienced, the moment the word minor connected with the word streamer, one single word detonated in Guinaifen's nearly-crashed brain.
Refund!
"OHNONONONONO!"
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