"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to—I just… my head went hot and I lost control. Please forgive me, Chen Mo!"
Swire kept bowing at him in rapid succession, flustered and tense.
She'd acted on impulse and hauled him straight into her arms without thinking. They weren't lovers—barely even "dating"—and she definitely didn't have the right to be that forward.
Please don't be mad… He probably won't care, right? He shouldn't care…
Watching her panic, Nian burst out laughing beside them.
"Hahah—if you'd been a little more forceful, you might've actually made him give in."
"Who starts a first date by rushing to 'do it'?" Chen Mo shot back, then waved Nian away. "Alright, get going. I'm here to 'meet' someone. You're not planning to tag along as the third wheel, are you?"
"Of course not. Following you two around is boring," Nian pouted. "If we were playing mahjong, sure. This? No thanks."
Then her eyes flicked toward a street corner in the distance, and a strange smile curled at the edge of her lips.
"Besides, if anyone's going to be the third wheel, it won't be me."
With that, she swished her tail and disappeared into the crowd.
Chen Mo scratched one of his horns, baffled. "Since when did Nian start talking like a riddle merchant?"
Swire swallowed, still nervous. "Um… you're not angry anymore, right?"
Chen Mo considered her for a beat, then pointed at the tiger tail behind her.
"I'll forgive you if you let me touch your tail once."
It looked fluffy—ridiculously fluffy. And he'd heard tiger tails were kind of firm, too. He was curious.
Swire froze for half a second—then her eyes lit up and she nodded so hard it was almost comical.
Yes. Absolutely. Please.
She'd spent most of her prep time making sure her tail looked perfect, and now it was finally paying off.
"Of course. Touch all you want. But first we should—"
She didn't even finish.
Chen Mo's hand was already on her tail, gripping it with open curiosity.
Swire went rigid on the spot.
Around them, passersby started throwing over increasingly strange looks. Only then did Swire remember what Ch'en had told her: in Chen Mo's eyes, close friends touching each other's tails was no big deal.
Maybe that was true for Draco.
But for most tailed races—Lupo, Kuranta, and the rest—letting someone grab your tail in public wasn't "casual."
It was basically public teasing. The kind that made people's imaginations run wild.
"I—I mean… Chen Mo," Swire stammered, cheeks blazing, "let's find somewhere more private before you… touch it."
Even Swire couldn't withstand the stares. She grabbed his wrist and dragged him away at a near-run, leaving behind a cluster of onlookers silently marveling at how daring young people were these days.
And in a far-off corner—
"Chen Mo… and Officer Swire…?" Exusiai pressed herself against the wall, peeking out.
She'd been about to dash over the moment she spotted Chen Mo, only to have a tiger suddenly cut in and scare her into hiding on reflex.
But now—
"So Swire has that kind of intention too…"
A heavy pressure sat in Exusiai's chest. It stung. It was bitter. It made breathing feel strangely difficult.
Of course she felt it—she wasn't made of stone.
But she wasn't going to lose her mind and challenge Swire to some ridiculous "real woman duel" in the street, either. That would only humiliate Chen Mo.
And the situation was bad.
Exusiai forced down the turbulent emotions and crossed her arms, thinking hard.
Most people, after the initial anger, would deflate. They'd get discouraged and quit—because the opponent was Swire: famous, well-born, beautiful, competent, and polished in every way.
Compared to that, Exusiai was a paycheck-to-paycheck mess with a mediocre figure and no financial safety net. Competing head-on sounded like a joke.
But—
"I'm not giving up that easily!"
The halo above her head flared brighter as if reacting to her resolve. She clenched both fists and pumped them once, firing herself up.
A rival had appeared. That meant she couldn't keep drifting along like this, doing nothing.
Besides, Chen Mo's sister had acknowledged her before. No way she was losing to some tiger who showed up out of nowhere.
And with Chen Mo's personality, he probably didn't even think of this as a date. At most, it was friends hanging out.
Right. That had to be it.
She hadn't seen Chen Mo blush even once. His expression looked exactly the same as when he was with her.
The more Exusiai thought, the more confident she became—so confident she didn't notice the grey figure who'd appeared behind her.
A low voice cut in.
"Chen Mo and Swire… are on a date?"
"Wah—Texas!" Exusiai jumped, clutching her chest. "Don't talk from behind me like that! You scared me!"
Then she blinked. "Why are you back? Didn't you say you were going home?"
Texas turned her head away, avoiding Exusiai's eyes.
There was no point pretending.
She did have feelings for Chen Mo—feelings that had crossed a line she didn't want to name. And the moment she heard Exusiai was going to see him, her body had moved before her mind could stop it.
That possessive tug in her chest had dragged her here—and left her feeling ashamed of herself.
She'd sworn she'd calm down for a while, get a grip.
But somehow, just hearing his name was enough to ripple her composure like water struck by a stone.
Texas lowered her gaze, lips parting slightly. After a long silence, she finally tried to speak.
"I—"
"I get it!" Exusiai cut in instantly, bright and confident.
Texas paused.
…Get what?
Exusiai planted her hands on her hips, chin lifted in absolute certainty.
"You heard from Croissant that I was coming to find Chen Mo, and you rushed over because you wanted to learn a few tricks from me about how to chase a guy, right?"
"Don't worry!" Exusiai declared. "Swire showing up is unexpected, sure—but everything is still under control!"
Then she seized Texas by the wrist and started running, tugging her in the direction Chen Mo and Swire had disappeared.
Having a "teammate" like Texas beside her made Exusiai's already blazing fighting spirit burn even hotter.
"Come on, come on! We can't let that tiger take advantage of Chen Mo!"
"By the Lord, I swear—my idol's first kiss is going to be mine, Exusiai's!"
Exusiai was practically vibrating with energy, full of confidence and momentum—
While Texas, pulled along in silence, looked anything but.
Staring at the back of Exusiai's short red hair, Texas bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood, the metallic sweetness blooming across her tongue.
From this point on…
She absolutely could not lose control again.
Especially not in front of Exusiai.
....
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