The battlefield was finally quiet.
Well mostly quiet.
The parking lot looked like a natural disaster had lost an argument with a construction site.
Broken pavement.
Collapsed walls.
Scorch marks.
Ice.
Stone.
A suspicious number of popcorn kernels.
And standing in the middle of it all— was Chūn Lěng Fēng.
Nobody knew who he was.
Nobody knew where he came from.
Nobody knew why he looked so pleased with himself.
Chūn Lěng Fēng spread his arms dramatically.
"Well?"
Silence.
"Anybody?"
More silence.
"...Tough crowd."
Qiū Huà Bǐ leaned toward Yè Yī.
"Can we return him?"
"No."
"Exchange him?"
"No."
"Store credit?"
"No."
"Damn."
Chūn Lěng Fēng pointed immediately.
"Hey!"
"What?"
"I heard that."
"Good."
The stranger looked deeply offended.
"You're rude."
Qiū Huà Bǐ looked at him.
"You landed in a pile of bricks."
"Intentionally."
"No."
"Okay, maybe not intentionally."
Violet sighed, already tired.
She hadn't even known him for five minutes.
That was impressive.
Very few people exhausted Violet this quickly.
Meanwhile— Chūn Lěng Fēng was staring directly at her now.
Not at Yè Yī.
Not at Qiū Huà Bǐ.
Not at the battlefield.
Her.
Like a child who had discovered a second child with the same rare toy.
Then— his eyes lit up.
"Oh."
Violet immediately knew that tone.
"No."
"I didn't even say anything."
"No."
"How did you know what I was about to say?"
"Because you're loud."
"That's profiling."
"It isn't."
"It feels like profiling."
"It isn't."
The argument ended there.
Mostly because Chūn Lěng Fēng had already moved on.
His attention span was a fragile thing.
"You use Time."
The atmosphere shifted slightly.
For the first time— the joking disappeared.
Not completely but just enough.
Violet looked at him.
"Yes."
"I knew it."
His grin widened.
"I KNEW IT."
Nobody knew why he was yelling.
Not even him.
"You know how hard it is finding somebody else?"
"Not particularly."
"No, seriously."
He pointed at himself.
"Do you know how many years I've been dealing with Time nonsense alone?"
"Several."
"THANK YOU."
"That wasn't sympathy."
"...Still taking it."
Yè Yī quietly watched.
Qiū Huà Bǐ quietly watched.
Neither interrupted.
Because for the first time— Violet was actually having a conversation longer than three sentences.
That alone was worth observing.
Chūn Lěng Fēng continued.
"When I saw you earlier—"
He pointed dramatically.
"You did that thing."
"What thing?"
"The thing."
"..."
"..."
"You'll need to be more specific."
"You know."
He waved both hands.
"The Time thing."
Qiū Huà Bǐ rubbed his forehead.
"What a helpful explanation."
"Thank you."
"It wasn't."
"Still taking it."
Violet folded her arms.
"Time & Distance."
The grin disappeared immediately.
For the first time—
Chūn Lěng Fēng looked genuinely surprised.
"You recognized it?"
"Yes."
"How?"
Violet stared.
"..."
"..."
Then she pointed at her own eyes.
Understanding finally dawned.
"Oh."
"Right."
"The impossible Arm."
"One of them."
That made him laugh loudly.
The kind that made nearby birds leave.
Yè Yī immediately disliked him.
Not personally, just volume-wise.
The man was far too loud.
Then suddenly—
Violet checked the time.
She immediately turned around.
"We're leaving."
"Excuse me?"
"We're leaving."
Chūn Lěng Fēng blinked.
"That's it?"
"Yes."
"You don't have questions?"
"No."
"None?"
"No."
"I have an incredibly tragic backstory."
"Most people do."
"..."
That one actually hit him.
Violet looked toward Yè Yī and Qiū Huà Bǐ.
"Home."
Both stood.
No arguments,because it was late and tomorrow was Sunday.
Which meant—
Church.
Mandatory church.
A fact both boys had learned the hard way.
Qiū Huà Bǐ sighed dramatically.
"Why do we even have mandatory attendance?"
"Because."
"That's not an answer."
"It is."
"It really isn't."
Nobody listened.
The group began walking away.
Chūn Lěng Fēng stared, then pointed at himself.
"Are you forgetting somebody?"
"No."
"That's cold."
"Goodnight."
And they kept walking.
The silence lasted exactly twelve seconds.
Then—
Footsteps.
Behind them.
Still there.
Following.
Qiū Huà Bǐ looked back.
The stranger was still walking after them.
"...Why is he following us?"
"I live now."
"What?"
"I've decided."
"You can't just decide that."
"Watch me."
Qiū Huà Bǐ looked toward Violet.
"Can we stop him?"
"No."
"Why?"
"I don't care enough."
"THAT'S THE WORST REASON."
Chūn Lěng Fēng looked delighted.
"You see?"
"I already like this group."
"We don't."
"Minor detail."
Qiū Huà Bǐ groaned.
This was happening.
This was actually happening.
An incomplete human-brained person had attached himself to them like a stray dog.
A very loud stray dog.
The group continued walking.
Then Violet casually spoke.
"Don't worry."
Nobody trusted that sentence anymore.
"There's food."
Yè Yī stopped immediately.
The others kept walking before noticing.
Qiū Huà Bǐ slowly turned.
"...Why did he stop?"
Yè Yī's expression remained perfectly calm.
Which somehow made it worse.
"Clarify."
Violet looked innocent.
A dangerous thing.
"What?"
"The food."
"What about it?"
"Who is cooking?"
Silence.
Qiū Huà Bǐ suddenly understood and immediately stepped backward.
"No."
Chūn Lěng Fēng looked confused.
"What?"
Yè Yī's eyes narrowed.
"You cooked last time."
"I did."
"There was smoke."
"Only briefly."
"There were flames."
"Technically."
"There was a fire extinguisher."
"Preparation is important."
Qiū Huà Bǐ covered his face.
"Oh no."
Chūn Lěng Fēng blinked.
"...How bad can it be?"
Yè Yī and Qiū Huà Bǐ looked at him.
"Very."
And somehow—
For the first time since arriving—
Chūn Lěng Fēng looked genuinely nervous.
As the four figures disappeared into the night—
Neither Yè Yī nor Qiū Huà Bǐ realized it yet but something had changed.
The group felt different.
Louder and more chaotic.
Significantly more dangerous to nearby furniture.
But different.
And for the first time—
The future Quartet had finally gathered beneath the same sky.