Chapter 121: The Day the Alarm Clock Grew a Dango

“Xiaoxiao, the ahoge on your head is so long! It even bounces up and down sometimes—how do you do that?”

“It’s inherited from Evran, but mine is better—longer and more flexible.”

“Flexible? Can you actually control your ahoge?”

“Mhm. For example, I can make it spin on top of my head. Maybe I could even fly like a helicopter.”

Saying so, Su Xiaoxiao pointed at the ahoge on her crown. Su Xiao Zi stared intently as it began spinning faster and faster, whipping up gusts of wind around her head.

Su Xiaoxiao’s feet slowly left the ground. With a blank face, she rose straight up, floated out the window, and soared toward the blue morning sky and the rising sun.

“Hey! Stop! Where are you going!? Can you land safely!?”

In the dream, Su Xiao Zi shouted desperately.

Right at that moment, a noisy alarm blared.

Su Xiao Zi’s eyes fluttered open. She was staring at her own bedroom ceiling.

So it was just a dream…

And a super dumb one—dreaming that Xiaoxiao flew away using her spinning ahoge…

In the dream she’d even wanted to chase after her.

Ding ding ding——

The alarm kept ringing mercilessly. Su Xiao Zi reflexively punched it.

The alarm stopped—but instead of silence, she heard a girl’s pitiful cry.

“Huh? Hallucination? Or… am I still dreaming?”

Dream?

Her mind cleared quickly. She turned her head and saw a single pink ahoge peeking over the edge of the bed, curled into a trembling little circle like it was sulking.

At the same time, two antennae poked up from the same spot, swaying gently.

“Eh!?”

Su Xiao Zi scrambled upright, convinced she was hallucinating. She looked down—two girls were sitting side by side on the floor, leaning against the edge of her bed.

Evran’s alarm clock clattered to the floor. She clutched her head with both hands, ahoge curled into a tight ball, whimpering softly.

Next to her sat Tina, a router perched on her head like a crown, two antennae standing straight up.

Both girls had been crouched with their chins resting on the mattress, staring up at her.

Su Xiao Zi scratched her messy bedhead, utterly baffled.

“What are you two doing squatting by my bed so early?”

“Tina does not know. Evran dragged Tina here.”

Evran, who had cheekily balanced the alarm clock on her head, had just been accidentally punched by Su Xiao Zi. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she looked up pitifully.

Tina glanced at Evran, then calmly reached out and grabbed the pink ahoge like it was a weed, speaking in a serious, lecturing tone.

“Evran is a crybaby. This weird antenna must be sending her bad commands. Tina will remove it for you. Hm? Why won’t it come off?”

“AAAAAHHHH! Tina Tina Tina! Don’t pull my ahoge! It hurts, it hurts!!”

It’s not a weird antenna!!

Evran flailed wildly, desperately trying to pry Tina’s fingers away.

Tina paused, then let go with perfect composure.

“Understood. Pink antenna. We’ll settle this next time. Tina will wear you on my head someday.”

“It’s NOT an antenna!! Stop declaring war on my ahoge!!”

Evran shouted indignantly, then picked up the fallen alarm clock and set it back on the nightstand.

Su Xiao Zi finally understood why her punch had made a girl scream instead of just silencing the alarm. She sheepishly twirled a strand of her hair.

“Sorry… I accidentally hit you, Evran. I thought it was just the clock… By the way, why were you wearing the alarm clock on your head? And Tina—what’s with the router?”

“Evran said the room’s Wi-Fi is bad and phone signal keeps lagging. She asked Tina to carry this and stay close.”

Tina explained with her usual flat tone. Evran’s cheeks flushed shyly.

Su Xiao Zi blinked, then burst out laughing, covering her mouth.

Both girls looked like mischievous little kids right now.

“Still, it’s rare to see Tina like this. She used to only follow official instructor commands. That means she’s starting to act on her own will. Looks like you two are getting along really well.”

Su Xiao Zi praised them, then reached out to pat Evran’s head as an apology and comfort. Evran immediately leaned into it with a blissful expression.

“Really? Tina used to be so cold… We haven’t known each other long, but she’s actually super easy to get along with~”

“That’s good. Maybe little Tina is starting to understand what friendship feels like, right?”

Su Xiao Zi looked at Tina. She had always believed that even though Tina claimed not to have human emotions, she wasn’t truly cold machinery.

She might not know what “happy” meant yet, but she liked ice cream—and when she ate it, she was happy. She just didn’t realize it.

She might not understand “sad,” but when she heard her instructor had lost contact in battle and was presumed dead, her processing power dropped and she wanted to enter sleep mode. That was Tina’s unique emotion.

And half of Tina was human flesh and blood—she could feel and generate emotions more easily.

It would just take time. A long time.

When asked directly, Tina’s eyes flickered with a rare moment of panic. She quickly shook her head.

“Tina does not understand friendship. Tina just thinks Evran’s body is very nice to look at, and occasionally wants to stay near her.”

Su Xiao Zi didn’t quite catch the meaning, but she nodded with an “mm-hmm, I see” expression.

But… didn’t that sound kind of like a scumbag line? And a little pervy? Was it just her imagination?

“You… you’re just after my body! You—you—you’re awful!”

Evran suddenly realized, clutching herself tightly and scooting five centimeters away from Tina.

Tina lowered her gaze slightly, staring at a certain part of Evran’s body, and said calmly,

“Tina likes soft things.”

“Hey! Where are you looking when you say that!? Kyaa—! Big Sis Xiao Zi, Tina’s a hidden little pervert!!”