"Nǐ hǎo ma? How are you?"
Chat Noir hopped the railing of the observation deck, grinning at the sight of his partner. "Good evening, my lady," he said, dipping in a low bow.
She walked by him without a glance, her gaze riveted on the phone in her hand.
"Tiān shì lán de. The sky is blue." Ladybug paced to the far side of the observation deck, and turned to come back. "Of course the sky is blue. Ugh, this app is ridiculous!"
"My lady?"
"Māo shì hēisè de. The cat is black." Ladybug snickered. "Well, that's appropriate."
Chat Noir tapped her on the shoulder, and she spun with a shriek. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!"
"Oh my god, Chat." She pulled the earbuds from her ears. "Don't sneak up on a girl like that!"
"I really didn't mean to. I said hi, but you didn't hear me."
"Oh. I guess I was just in the zone."
"What zone is that, exactly? It sounded like you were talking about blue skies and black cats in Chinese."
Her eyes widened. "You speak Chinese?"
"You were also saying the translations."
"Oh, right." She blushed.
"But, as it happens, I do speak Chinese."
"Of course you do," she said, rolling her eyes.
"I do! It's been a part of my study curriculum for years."
"Really? Huh, you're the second person I know, outside of my family, who speaks Chinese. What are the odds…" She sat on the edge of the platform with her feet dangling from the edge, and her arms resting on the railing.
Chat settled next to her, copying her pose, and rested the side of his head on his arms, to look at her. "People in your family? Are you Chinese, then?" She gave him a withering look, and he shrank back a bit. "No prying, right. Sorry."
She sighed. "It's ok. I'm half Chinese, actually. My dad is French."
"Huh." He blinked. "I have a friend who is the same. I wonder if you know her. Her name is Ma—"
"Chat!" She interrupted him sharply.
He sighed heavily, and looked out over the city. "Right."
Ladybug cleared her throat, and nudged him with her shoulder. "Maybe one day, Chaton," she said softly.
"Mm-hmm."
"Do—do you think that maybe you could help me practice?"
"What, the Chinese?"
"Yeah. I'm trying to embrace my roots, and I want to surprise my mom with it, but I'm pretty terrible."
Chat looked at her strangely, his eyes searching.
"Chat?"
"Yeah." He shook himself, and his expression cleared. "Yeah, I'd be happy to help you paw-tice, my lady."
She groaned at his pun, and his face split in a grin. She shook her head at time, but smiled anyway. "Xièxiè, Chaton."
"Of course, my lady."
Ladybug sighed in relief. With both Adrien and Chat Noir helping her, she'd pick it up in no time!