The morning sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling across the living room carpet.
Su Lin Yue sat cross-legged on the sofa, faint silver light curling around her fingertips as an apple in front of her wobbled through the air.
"Up... up... steady..." The girl struggled to control the unruly fluctuations in space, beads of sweat faintly gathering on her forehead.
"Um... Yueyue, there's something I'd like your help with." A gentle voice interrupted Su Lin Yue's spell.
"Plop." The apple slipped out of her control and landed on the carpet.
Su Lin Yue wasn't annoyed. Instead, she turned around curiously.
Rosalia stood behind her, wearing a simple house apron, nervously pinching the hem of her clothes with both hands.
"Sis Rosalia? What's up? Has that idiot of a big sister of mine been picking on you again?" Su Lin Yue picked up the apple, wiped it off, and took a bite.
"No, that's not it..." Rosalia's cheeks flushed pink. She hesitated before asking softly, "Well, I saw on the calendar that today is some kind of holiday in your world... called Valentine's Day?"
"Pfft—cough, cough!" Su Lin Yue nearly choked on her apple.
Her eyes widened, then she suddenly looked enlightened.
"Oh, that! It's a Western holiday. Couples give each other chocolates, flowers, and stuff. Of course, we in Huaxia have the more traditional Qixi Festival, too."
As she spoke, Su Lin Yue's eyes suddenly turned mischievous.
"So, Sis Rosalia, you're asking about it because you want to give my idiot sister a present, aren't you?"
"Mm..."
Caught out, Rosalia's face instantly turned red to the tips of her ears.
She lowered her head and twined her fingers together, answering in a voice barely louder than a whisper. "Mm..."
"No problem! Leave it to me!"
Su Lin Yue thumped her chest, brimming with confidence. "When it comes to this, just leave it to—"
But halfway through, the confidence on her face crumbled, replaced by helpless frustration.
"Uh... Sorry, Sis Rosalia."
Su Lin Yue sighed. "Back when my older sibling was still that stinky old brother, I knew exactly what he liked: figurines, graphics cards, or certain educational materials on his hard drive..."
"But ever since the two worlds merged and she completely turned into... uh, the Skeleton Witch she is now, her personality's changed a lot. These days, she's always muttering to herself while writing some novel or other. I can't tell what she likes anymore."
The current Su Liya looked like a delicate little doll, with white hair and red eyes. She still had that same mouthy attitude, but her tastes really were hard to figure out.
Hearing that, the light in Rosalia's eyes dimmed a little, but she soon smiled gently again. "It's all right, Yueyue. I was too forward. I'll just think of something myself..."
"No! We can't leave it at that!" Su Lin Yue suddenly jumped up as if she'd been injected with adrenaline, her eyes gleaming with a distinctly mischievous light.
"If we don't know, then we'll investigate! Sis Rosalia, we can follow my sister and see what she's doing today and what she's interested in!"
"Huh? Follow her? Isn't that a little wrong?" Rosalia hesitated.
"It's fine! It's for love! Come on, let's go!"
Su Lin Yue didn't give Rosalia a chance to refuse. She took her hand and pulled her outside.
Though the worlds had merged, the bustling commercial street was still lively. With all the strangely shaped races around, it looked even more fantastical than before.
Thanks to the subtle bond between siblings, the two quickly spotted their target in the city-center plaza.
Su Liya was impossible to miss.
Amid the thronging crowd, a little girl under five feet tall, with white twin ponytails and a Gothic Long Dress, turned heads at a rate of three hundred percent.
At that moment, Su Liya stood outside an upscale dessert shop.
"Shh—over there!"
Su Lin Yue pulled Rosalia behind a huge beastman security guard, peeking around him.
"Sis Rosalia, look! What's my sister doing?"
Rosalia clasped her hands nervously and rose onto her tiptoes to see. "Su Liya... looks like she's buying something?"
Through the display window, they saw Su Liya pointing at the rows of exquisite, expensive Valentine's Day Limited Chocolate in the case, waving her little hand with a flourish.
"This one, this one, and that whole row! I'll take them all. Pack them up!"
"That's so much!" Su Lin Yue gasped. "Is she planning to eat all that?"
Soon, Su Liya came out carrying bags upon bags of gift boxes.
She didn't head home. Instead, she went to the fountain in the middle of the plaza.
A group of people seemed to be waiting there: humans, elves, and even a few skeletons in suits.
With a beaming smile, Su Liya walked over and handed out the chocolates one box at a time.
"Here, this one's yours."
"This one's for the succubus over in West City."
"And this one's for that person over there..."
Hidden nearby, Rosalia's face went pale.
She watched Su Liya smile as she gave the chocolates—symbols of love—to one stranger after another...
"So... Su Liya has so many people she... likes?"
Rosalia's voice trembled, and her eyes instantly reddened. "I suppose... Su Liya is so outstanding and adorable now, and she's a famous author, too... I'm... I'm just a useless necromancer..."
Watching Rosalia's heart break, Su Lin Yue's fists clenched.
They were clenched! Really clenched!
"This is outrageous!" Black smoke rose from Su Lin Yue's body—a sign that her magic was running wild.
"What a two-timing scumbag! My scumbag sister's keeping the home flag flying while waving flags everywhere else, huh? How dare she make Sis Rosalia so sad!"
"Come with me!"
Su Lin Yue grabbed Rosalia and stormed out.
"Yueyue? No, don't..."
But Rosalia couldn't stop her.
In the center of the plaza, Su Liya had just handed the last box of chocolates to a courier and was about to wipe her brow.
Suddenly, a murderous shadow fell over her.
"Su! Li! Ya!"
Su Liya's ahoge twitched in fright. She turned around instinctively. "Good grief! Who is it?"
Her little sister stood there with black smoke pouring from her head and an expression that said, "I'm going to punish you for the greater good." Beside her was Rosalia, eyes red and face full of hurt.
"Yueyue? Rosalia? What are you doing here?" Su Liya blinked her innocent red eyes.
"Don't play dumb!"
Su Lin Yue gritted her teeth. "You scumbag! Tell me, just how many boats are you trying to keep a foot in? It's Valentine's Day, and instead of going home to spend it with Sis Rosalia, you're out here handing chocolates to a bunch of strangers?!"
"Doesn't your conscience hurt?!"
Su Liya froze. "Huh? How many boats?"
Rosalia tugged at Su Lin Yue's sleeve, head lowered, her voice choked with tears. "Yueyue, don't say any more... It's okay... Even if Su Liya likes someone else... I... I just want to stay by her side..."
Su Liya was completely baffled by that pitiful confession. Then she understood, and her feelings swung between exasperation and amusement.
"Wait, wait, stop!"
Su Liya held out both hands to make an X. "Your imaginations are going to break through the roof! What are you even talking about?"
She pointed to the courier beside her, who was writing something in his ledger.
"Did you misunderstand? Have you forgotten what I do for a living?"
Su Liya planted her hands on her hips and said with righteous confidence, "I'm a bestselling author! I'm just giving a few gifts to the readers who've supported me for so long!"
"It's called fan engagement. Get it?"
"Gah?" Su Lin Yue froze, just as she was about to use Space Cutting.
Rosalia, who had been silently crying and preparing to leave alone, froze, too.
"R-readers?" The black smoke above Su Lin Yue's head vanished in an instant, and her expression turned wonderfully complicated.
"You mean... all those were for your readers?"
"Obviously! Who else?" Su Liya rolled her eyes. "Even I'm not shameless enough to openly cast a net across the whole street! I'm no playgirl. Besides, I've always been faithful, right, Rosalia?"
"Ah... Well..."
Su Lin Yue awkwardly scratched her head, her toes almost digging out a whole apartment.
"Haha... Hahaha, so that's what it was... I knew it. My sister may be a little perverted, but she's still a decent person..."
Tears still clung to Rosalia's lashes. But after hearing the explanation, a delighted smile blossomed across her pale little face, like the sun coming out after a rainstorm.
"Really, Su Liya? They weren't... for your lovers?"
"Of course not."
Su Liya sighed helplessly, stepped forward, and reached out to wipe the tears from the corners of Rosalia's eyes.
"Silly. Those were chocolates I bought. How could I just give away the chocolates I made with my own hands?"
As she spoke, she pulled two exquisitely made little boxes from a pocket in her elaborate skirt, as if performing a magic trick.
She handed one to Su Lin Yue and the other to Rosalia.
"Here. These are special editions for you two. They taste a hundred times better than the fan gifts."
Su Liya turned her head aside, a blush appearing on her fair cheeks.
"I was going to surprise you tonight... But you turned it into a cheating stakeout. Honestly."
Holding the little box, Rosalia felt sweeter than if she'd eaten a spoonful of honey.
"Su Liya... You're so kind."
"Hmph. At least you've got some conscience." Su Lin Yue took her box with a haughty air, but she couldn't suppress the smile tugging at her lips.
With the misunderstanding cleared up, the three exchanged smiles.
Su Lin Yue suddenly remembered something and turned to look beyond the screen, flashing a radiant smile:
"Sorry, everyone! That was one big misunderstanding!"
"But now that it's cleared up, I'd like to wish all the dear readers watching—"
"Happy Valentine's Day!!!"
Before you continue