Lin Shuang lowered her gaze to the hand holding hers, then looked up at Robin's back.
She said nothing.
But a faint unease lingered in her heart.
Even the touch felt off.
It might've been a dream, but something didn't sit right.
With her mental strength and sharp memory, Lin Shuang immediately sensed the dissonance.
While she was lost in thought, the two of them had already made their way down the corridor and stopped in front of a picture frame.
Robin halted.
"This leads to Penacony's dream. Just pass through here. Go ahead."
Robin stepped aside, offering Lin Shuang the entrance with a polite gesture.
Lin Shuang didn't step in right away. Instead, she looked over and asked:
"You're not coming with me?"
"I'll follow soon. Our entry points are slightly different."
Then Robin stepped forward, leaned in close to Lin Shuang, and rose slightly on tiptoe to whisper near her ear.
The tone was soft, but faintly teasing:
"Enjoy the dream while you can, hehe~"
With a chuckle that sounded just a bit warped, Robin suddenly stepped back and raised her hand as if to push Lin Shuang forward and into the frame.
But the moment those fingers moved to touch her—
Snap—
Lin Shuang turned on instinct, grabbing Robin's wrist mid-motion.
She met the startled expression of 'Robin' with a faint smile, and a complex sigil flickered in her eyes.
Her gaze was sharp, as though she saw through everything this 'Robin' truly was.
"Lin Shuang… that really hurt when you grabbed me..."
Before she could say more, Lin Shuang yanked hard, pulled the 'Robin' into a firm embrace, and—
She fell backward, dragging the girl with her straight into the glowing frame.
…
As the light faded, the solid ground gave way to rushing wind in her ears.
Lin Shuang looked down at the dreamscape of dazzling lights and laughter, then glanced at the girl still cradled in her arms.
She leaned close to her ear and murmured:
"It's not smart to impersonate someone I know, Masked Fool—Miss Sparkle."
As her disguise shattered, Sparkle instantly returned to her true form. Her long blue hair turned into black twin tails.
The gown vanished, replaced by a short red skirt.
Even her frame shrank considerably in Lin Shuang's arms.
Sparkle, her head still pressed against Lin Shuang's chest, looked up with a playful pout:
"Oh my~ I didn't expect the sharp little white-haired girl to see through me that fast. Come on, how'd you figure it out? Was it my technique?"
"Maybe. Just practice more if you're bad at it."
Lin Shuang didn't bother to sugarcoat it. From what she remembered, Sparkle hadn't said a single nice word since showing up.
She was the type of 'female devil' that made you want to teach her a lesson.
"Hmm... That's no fun. Caught right away. Fine, little white-hair, let me go. I need to go polish my skills!"
Sparkle raised her little fists, but Lin Shuang only smirked and tightened her hold.
"No."
"I didn't think you liked Sparkle this much. But you do know we're about to crash, right?"
There was some urgency in Sparkle's voice, though it sounded more like an act for Lin Shuang's ears.
Lin Shuang didn't respond. She flipped in midair and pinned Sparkle underneath.
"Even better. We'll make a grand entrance in Penacony."
"Wait, hey! I'm actually falling here!"
She cried out twice, then abruptly stopped, flashing a sly grin. Out of nowhere, she pulled out a button.
"Thought I'd panic? You're more fun than I expected, little white-hair. Want to guess what this button does?"
"No guess."
Lin Shuang didn't hesitate. She simply grabbed Sparkle's hand and pressed the button.
And then—boom—!
A burst of fire lit up the dream-sky and blossomed into fireworks.
Tourists turned to look.
Through the smoke and flame, two girls in a tight embrace fell straight toward the square below.
Passersby only stared for a few seconds before losing interest.
Crashes like this weren't rare for new dream chasers. No one ever got hurt in dreams anyway.
In the dust and noise, Sparkle coughed and squirmed, complaining:
"Ahem… seriously? You pressed it without even asking? Ahem… I was gonna do it myself!"
It was hard to tell if she was actually mad or just pretending.
Lin Shuang knew she couldn't hold onto Sparkle forever, so she let go. But before she did, she slipped her hand into Sparkle's hair—
And tied a knot in her twin tails.
Then, she watched as Sparkle crawled out of her arms and stood up amid the rubble.
With a grin, she shot Sparkle a look that said, "You started it."
"Oh, come on! A button like that—you expect me not to press it?"
"…"
Hands on her hips, Sparkle glared up at Lin Shuang:
"I just figured it out, little white-hair... huh?"
She stopped mid-sentence, suddenly sensing something off.
Reaching back, she touched her twin ponytails.
"Oh! You're so mean! Don't you know a hairstyle is sacred for a cute girl? And you tied it into a knot? Seriously!"
Sparkle covered her head and puffed her cheeks in protest.
But Lin Shuang just shrugged.
"Ahaha~ I've got plans. Let's chat next time. See you~"
With that, Lin Shuang turned and walked away.
She had no plans to mess with Sparkle further—not when she didn't even know what the girl was truly after.
Better to focus on her own mission first.
"Eh? Hey! Why are you running off already? Don't go!"
Sparkle stood there stunned. She'd expected at least a few more exchanges before being left behind.
"Damn woman! Next time we meet, I'm tying 180 knots into your hair!"
Pouting at Lin Shuang's retreating back, Sparkle stuck her tongue out exaggeratedly.
Then, still clutching her tangled twin tails, she fiddled with them deftly until the knot came loose.
But the strands remained messy, her once-smooth hair now a wild tangle.
--+--