"Take this, Hela! Ha!" Xing Lan stood on her bed in Stitch pajamas and hurled a pillow at Hela on the bed beside hers.
Hela failed to dodge in time and took a direct hit to the head.
"Hahahaha! One-shot kill! Come on, Hela, let's fight another three hundred rounds!" With that, she picked up the pillow, jumped onto Hela's bed, and unleashed a flurry of attacks.
Wearing Patrick Star pajamas, Hela sat on the bed looking utterly bewildered as Xing Lan hit her with an endless pillow combo.
She seemed a little confused about the point of it all, but at least she knew Xing Lan wasn't really trying to attack her.
"Time for bed, you two..." Feng Xuan pushed the door open and stepped inside, only to see Xing Lan and Hela's pillow fight. He clicked his tongue softly.
"Xing Lan, Hela's already silly, and you're hitting her too. Won't that make her even..." Before Feng Xuan could finish, a pillow struck him square in the head.
"You audacious scoundrel! Sneaking into the girls' dormitory in the dead of night-are you after my Hela?!" Xing Lan pulled the dazed Hela into her arms and stared warily at Feng Xuan, who had been struck by the pillow in the doorway.
"..."
Feng Xuan pulled the pillow off his face, the corners of his mouth twitching wildly.
"All right, fine. I won't disturb you two little ancestors. Get to sleep." Then he closed the door, turning off the light on his way out.
The room was plunged into darkness.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean? I haven't gone back to my bed yet!" Xing Lan stared toward the door with a pair of shining eyes.
"Hey~ Hela, since that's how it is, we'll just have to make do and sleep together~" Then she hugged Hela and burrowed under the covers with her.
"Wow~ Hela, you're so warm. How about warming my bed for me from now on?"
Hela: ⚆_⚆
"Hehe, just kidding. Go to sleep.
Yawn~
I really am exhausted today."
Holding Hela, Xing Lan closed her eyes, which shone in the darkness, and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Seeing that she had fallen asleep, Hela closed her eyes too and lay there staring blankly.
Five thirty in the morning.
A pair of shining eyes suddenly opened in the dark dormitory.
She gently loosened her arms from around Hela and slowly sat up.
When she turned to look at Hela, she found Hela looking back at her with peach-pink eyes.
⚆_⚆
Xing Lan's slender body jolted, and her expression instantly turned awkward.
"Ahaha, Hela, you're up too. What a coincidence! Um, go back to sleep. I'm just going to the bathroom. Bye-bye~" Then she quickly changed out of her pajamas and walked out awkwardly.
Xing Lan gently pushed the door open, poked half her head out, and looked around before tiptoeing out.
"Good morning~ Miss Xing Lan."
Xing Lan, who had just closed the door, jumped in fright. She hurriedly turned around and saw Si Xiaobei in panda pajamas, brushing his teeth and looking at her.
"Uh, g-good morning... What are you getting ready to do?" Xing Lan greeted Si Xiaobei with her hands behind her back, stumbling over her words a little.
Si Xiaobei seemed not quite awake yet. He rubbed his eyes and said sleepily:
"I just woke up and was getting ready to wash up and get dressed. Are you going to train, Miss Xing Lan? You're so hardworking."
Xing Lan trembled. She hadn't expected him to see through her true purpose at a glance.
Xing Lan sighed and ultimately decided to admit it.
"Ah, yeah, I'm going to train. After all, talent is nothing in the face of hard work!" She patted Si Xiaobei on the head and headed toward the basement, full of fighting spirit.
"Bye-bye, then, Miss Xing Lan." Si Xiaobei waved, yawned, and continued washing up.
As she passed a doorway, Xing Lan seemed to hear some strange sounds coming faintly from inside.
Curious, she leaned closer and listened.
"Fuck your %#! You dumb, play your $#*! I could put a fucking dog on the keyboard and let it stomp around, and it'd play better than you! You..."
"Uh..." From the voice inside, Xing Lan could more or less tell what was going on in there.
She silently pulled her head away and continued toward the basement.
Although a few small lights had been installed along the stairs to the basement, the entire stairwell still looked incredibly dim.
Xing Lan arrived in the basement and looked at the vast, empty space and the training equipment illuminated by only a few lights. Unable to resist, she threw her arms wide and shouted.
"Here I come!"
"Ah!" A scream came from somewhere nearby in the basement.
Liu Xiaogang, wearing a black tank top, emerged from behind the mock unfinished building and looked at Xing Lan in bewilderment.
Xing Lan also stared at the still-sweating Liu Xiaogang with her shining eyes, her raised arms not yet lowered.
For a moment, they stared at each other, and the air fell deathly silent.
"Um, are you here to train?" Liu Xiaogang finally spoke first, breaking the eerie atmosphere.
"Mm-hm."
"Then why'd you yell like that?"
"Uh..." Xing Lan's cheeks began to turn slightly red. She wasn't quite sure how to answer Liu Xiaogang's question.
"Hey, don't worry about the details! All you need to know is that I'm here to train." Xing Lan waved a hand, then planted both hands on her hips, though her cheeks were still a little red.
"..."
"Hey, speaking of that, why are you up so early to train too?" Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Xing Lan hurriedly changed the subject.
"Oh, I get up this early to train every day. Usually, the captain kicks me out of bed, but he's been away these past few days, and I'm still a little unused to it."
"I see~ Hehe!" Xing Lan nodded, then took a straight saber from a nearby weapon rack.
"Come on, Xiaogang, spar with me and let me see how strong you are!" Xing Lan assumed an attacking stance and looked at Liu Xiaogang confidently.
Liu Xiaogang didn't refuse and readily agreed.
"Sure. The captain did tell me to give the newcomer some proper training." He then took out a long spear and held it in his hand.
Hehe, I'm only a tiny bit weaker than the captain when he's not using his ability. Liu Xiaogang doesn't have an ability, so there's no way I can't beat him. Xing Lan worked it out in her head, the corners of her mouth slowly curving upward.
An hour later.
"Ni, hao. Hello. Give it a try."
"N~i, ni, h...ao, hao?"
"Wow, Miss Hela, you're amazing! You learned it so quickly! Your pronunciation is still a little off, but that's okay. I'll teach you slowly."
At the table, Si Xiaobei held a copy of "A Complete Guide to Chinese Characters for Young Children" and patiently taught Hela to speak, while Hela studied with rapt attention.
Just then, two bowls of millet porridge were brought over and placed in front of them.
"It'll be time to eat soon. Take a break, you two, and have some porridge first. The rest will be ready shortly." Nanming, wearing an apron, set the porridge down and walked back toward the kitchen.
"Okay, Brother Nanming!"
Si Xiaobei smiled toward Nanming in the kitchen, then picked up his porridge and blew gently on it.
"Miss Hela, the porridge is very hot, so you can't drink it straight away. You need to blow on it like this." Si Xiaobei blew on his porridge again in demonstration.
Hela watched what he did, then carefully picked up her porridge and copied him, blowing on it.
"That's right, just like that. You're amazing, Miss Hela."