“Miss Shen, let me wipe that for you.”
The wind ambled through the low shrubs in front of the door, stirring up a soothing coolness.
Shi Jinlan’s expression was calm. The flames on her body swayed in one direction with the passing breeze, silent and peaceful.
Chi Qian felt her brain crash for a moment, actually imagining the scene of herself lifting Shi Jinlan up from the front in a princess carry.
In what position would Shi Jinlan be held by me?
Would her hands have to wrap around my neck, her shoulder resting against my chest?
The two of them were about the same height. If I picked her up, the tip of her nose would brush against my chin, her breath carried by the fresh wind onto my neck.
This person’s hands are cool, and her breath carries a chill too.
The spring sun is bright, and when the two intertwine, brushing past the collar… it’s deadly…
The sun emerged from behind a patch of clouds, shining directly onto Chi Qian’s face.
Chi Qian felt she couldn’t let her thoughts run any further. How long had they known each other? What was this about a princess carry?
This Shi Jinlan isn’t testing me again, is she?
Suspicious, Chi Qian glanced at Shi Jinlan.
But the woman’s expression was always faint and calm, revealing nothing.
A princess carry is no good. To be safe, carrying her on my back is less likely to provoke Shi Jinlan.
“I’ll carry you down on my back instead.”
“Okay.” Shi Jinlan nodded, raised her hands, and lightly looped them around Chi Qian’s neck.
A gust of wind rose, and Chi Qian then lifted Shi Jinlan onto her back with great ease.
Everyone dressed in thin layers in the spring. The sharp bones of Shi Jinlan’s wrists pressed against Chi Qian’s collarbone, a cool temperature seeping through her sweatshirt. Even without being held in her arms, that cold fragrance still clung to Chi Qian’s neck, diffusing into the spring breeze.
The scent on Shi Jinlan was just like her: cold and restrained. Even after changing into a simple, crude cotton-linen dress, that scent remained on her.
Chi Qian descended the steps, the fragrance brushing against the air by the tip of her nose.
She remembered that in the past, the person at the workstation next to hers was a large, stout man who exuded a thick, foul odor.
She couldn’t stand it. Every summer, she would curse this damnable human body odor, praying this useless function would be evolved away sooner rather than later.
But at this moment, she seemed to understand the principle that everything has its pros and cons.
So some people really do have a natural body fragrance.
That scent was like a clean morning after the rain, the air suffused with a feeling of pure freshness.
As expected of a girl.
Girls are truly the most wonderful creatures in the world!
“Where are we going?”
Just as Chi Qian was silently thanking Shi Jinlan in her heart, that placid, cool voice came from behind her ear.
“Depends on where you want to go.” Chi Qian was in a good mood, and even the sound of her footsteps carried a sense of joy. “There should be a lot of wildflowers blooming on the mountain at this time; it must be especially beautiful. The seaside isn’t bad either. It’s warm today, so the water won’t be too cold.”
Chi Qian gave Shi Jinlan two choices.
However, she felt that Shi Jinlan probably wouldn’t want to go to the seaside anytime soon. After all, that place had brought her very bad memories, and possibly even some psychological trauma. She probably wouldn’t…
“The seaside, then. The one where you found me.”
Chi Qian’s vows and oaths1 were shattered by Shi Jinlan.
And not only did Shi Jinlan want to go to the seaside, she wanted to revisit the old place2 where it all happened.
As expected of the future villain.
A true villain dares to face their fears directly.
But it was precisely this that made Chi Qian’s heart suddenly tighten.
Shi Jinlan didn’t remember the specific details of that day she found her, but what if she remembered something after going to the seaside?
Hadn’t she planned to hide their sloppy first kiss for a while?
Why did she even bring up the seaside?
Chi Qian, oh, Chi Qian, why does your mouth not have a brain!
“Are you sure you want to go there?” Chi Qian wanted to see if Shi Jinlan would take it back.
Shi Jinlan leaned against Chi Qian’s back. The warm, damp feeling from her memory had become dry and cool. This familiar sensation made her lips curl into a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. “Of course.”
The sun hung high in the sky. In the distance, the hazy white sky and the sea merged into one, with no clear dividing line to be found.
Although the spring sea couldn’t compare to the azure blue of summer, it was already much better than the dark, murky cyan of winter. Waves carrying white foam rushed onto the sand, gentle and peaceful.
The sunlight coated everything on the beach in a bright glow, as if the storm had never come.
Shi Jinlan followed her memory and stopped on the beach. She looked out at the sea and asked Chi Qian, “You found me right here?”
“Mhm,” Chi Qian nodded, having spent the entire way thinking up a counter-strategy.
“But why in my memory was I saved from the water by someone?” Shi Jinlan raised her eyes, her tone faint as she spoke to Chi Qian in an understated manner.
“You remember?”
How long have we even been here…
Chi Qian felt a little unnerved. Shi Jinlan glanced at her and gave a reassuring answer. “Not really. It’s a bit blurry.”
“Oh, is that so.” Chi Qian secretly breathed a sigh of relief and gave Shi Jinlan an ambiguous account. “I saw you here, but a wave came and knocked you farther away, so I jumped in.”3
“See” and “find” sound the same. If I say it fast enough, you can’t tell the difference. Besides, I’m not lying. If Shi Jinlan mishears, she can’t blame me.
Almost all of Chi Qian’s cleverness was poured into that one sentence. Shi Jinlan nodded thoughtfully. “So that’s how it was.”
—So the warmth I kept recalling in my dreams really did come from this person.
Wave after wave washed ashore, cleansing the blowing wind.
Chi Qian’s shadow fell across Shi Jinlan’s hand. She moved her hand slightly, but no matter how she tried to grasp it, the shadow would never stay in her palm.
How interesting.
If this matter was really as simple as she claims, then what is she so nervous about?
Could it be that while I was unconscious, she did something… unspeakable to me?
The sun fell on Chi Qian’s face, the intense light burning her cheeks red.
Just like the face of a bashful young maiden.
Shi Jinlan’s gaze swept over Chi Qian for a long moment, then deepened with the shadow cast as she lowered her eyes.
Whatever she was thinking, the flames burned intensely, as if she were in the middle of a brainstorm.
“Mrow~”
Just then, Thirteen shot out from somewhere.
The calico pattern on its fur was too distinctive; Shi Jinlan recognized it at a glance.
“Your cat.”
Hearing this, Chi Qian’s eyes focused. It really was Thirteen.
She had no idea where the cat had run off to; it had been missing all morning.
But its appearance now was well-timed. It didn’t feel like a coincidence, more like it was coming to the rescue.
The sound of the waves diluted the cat’s meows, but it also perfectly interrupted their conversation.
Thirteen didn’t speak to Chi Qian in her mind the entire time. It just kept meowing, pointing out an injured seagull on a reef not far from them.
Chi Qian followed the sound and looked closely. There really was a seagull not far away.
But… it’s so close. We’ve been here for a while and didn’t see it. It feels like it was just spawned by the system…
As I thought, this world is just one giant game map!
Although Chi Qian was complaining internally, her reaction was swift. Under Thirteen’s lead, she quickly walked toward the injured seagull.
【Host, since you chose to hide it, you should act more composed,】 Thirteen chided.
She had thought the first kiss was a great token of affection, which was why she had agreed to Chi Qian’s plan.
Now, she was starting to regret it.
【I’ve never done this before. It won’t happen next time,】 Chi Qian promised Thirteen, and as thanks, she added: 【I’ll get you some freshly sun-dried little fish when we get back.】
Thirteen replied: 【Ten.】
【Alright, alright,】 Chi Qian agreed at once. As she spoke, she deftly pulled a bottle of anti-inflammatory powder and some portable gauze from her pocket.
It was strange. In her original world, Chi Qian had always found the habit of keeping things in her pockets troublesome, yet now she had adapted to it very well.
It was as if… this was how she was always meant to be.
“You carry these with you?” Shi Jinlan had come over at some point. Her placid voice still made Chi Qian jump.
A shadow covered the small area, bringing a chill to the spring day.
Thirteen stretched stiffly, then pretended to be uninterested in the seagull and hid far away.
But Chi Qian couldn’t hide.
Under Shi Jinlan’s gaze, she skillfully treated the seagull’s wound while answering, “I’ve been more prone to injury than others since I was little. And what if someone else gets hurt? Like this.”
“It’s not a person,” Shi Jinlan frowned, correcting Chi Qian’s wording.
“But it’s still a life,” Chi Qian held the opposite view.
Shi Jinlan lowered her eyes, watching Chi Qian’s professional bandaging technique without a word.
The environment she grew up in and everyone around her had always told her that this world was a place where things compete and heaven chooses, where the fit survive4. A bird with a broken wing could never fly again.
“Hey!”
Perhaps sensing Shi Jinlan’s hostility, the seagull in Chi Qian’s hands suddenly began to struggle violently.
It desperately flapped its already broken wing, as if trying to prove to Shi Jinlan that even with a broken wing, it could still fly.
The seagull had fallen by the sea, and the constantly surging water had long since soaked its feathers.
As it tried to fly, Chi Qian let go and instinctively dodged to the side, allowing the seagull to send up a shower of water with its flapping wings, splashing in all directions.
Because of this, Shi Jinlan, who was standing behind Chi Qian, was left without cover.
The sandy ground was difficult to move on. She couldn’t dodge, and the water flew toward her, completely unobstructed.
“Whoosh—”
A wave washed ashore, and the splashing water ran down from Shi Jinlan’s collar, spreading rapidly across the cotton-linen fabric.
Her collarbone, dotted with water droplets, was half-covered and half-gleaming a cold white in the sun, appearing frail and thin in the sea breeze.
A few strands of long hair were blown across her water-streaked face, the damp ends catching on her eyelashes.
The sun made the water droplets sparkle. Her raven-feather-like eyelashes, unable to bear the weight, were pressed down by one, then two droplets, trembling lightly in the wind.
The interlude happened suddenly and ended just as abruptly. Shi Jinlan slowly closed her eyes.
That cool, detached face was now wet, a trace of enchanting pitifulness showing through her cold pride.
Chi Qian clutched the small bottle of anesthetic in her pocket and suddenly understood certain twisted psychologies.
If only a drop of water would trail down her neck and land on her collarbone right now.
【Host, I think you need to console Shi Jinlan,】 Thirteen’s voice came through.
Chi Qian didn’t understand.
Not until Shi Jinlan looked up at her, a dark flame burning beneath her calm gaze. Even though she was looking down at her, Chi Qian’s back instantly went rigid.
She had been too lost in her twisted game and had lost her senses.
—A beauty drenched in water is a fine sight, but why did I abandon Shi Jinlan in place just to dodge some water?
Chi Qian watched as a drop of water, just as she had wished, rolled down Shi Jinlan’s neck and into the hollow of her collarbone. The seagull, the culprit, now lay limp on the ground due to the numbing effect of the anti-inflammatory powder Chi Qian had sprinkled.
Its wet wings were spread out on the ground, motionless, as if it were playing dead.
Chi Qian glanced at it from the corner of her eye, her own eyes filled with envy.
If only I could also fall to the ground and play dead.
But she couldn’t.
Not only could she not, but she also had to clean up this mess and smooth Shi Jinlan’s fur.5
So, Chi Qian stood before Shi Jinlan and said in the gentlest tone she had ever used in her life, “Miss Shen, let me wipe that for you.”
The author has something to say:
Now: Don’t want you to soothe me.
Later: Begging you to soothe me QAQ
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