Chapter 15: A Warm Feeling Inside

Mu Xi quietly exited the room.

Ka-da.

The door closed softly behind her, shutting out all sounds from inside the ward.

In the cold hospital corridor, the smell of disinfectant was especially pungent.

Mu Xi leaned her back against the chilly door, tilted her head back slightly, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

Above her, the harsh white fluorescent light buzzed quietly.

Maybe she just didn’t open it the right way.

Mm, that must be it.

She silently counted in her heart.

Three…

Two…

One…

She opened her eyes again, her gaze returning to calm, and turned the doorknob once more.

Creak—

The door opened.

Inside the ward, Mu Yurou was already lying neatly back in bed, the quilt pulled up properly.

Huang Xi sat primly on the chair at the bedside, hands placed on her knees, like a well-behaved student.

Only, the lingering blush on both of their faces, not yet completely faded, silently testified to something unsaid.

“Xiaorou, now that your sister’s here, I’ll head off. Bye-bye!”

Like being poked by a needle, Huang Xi shot up from the chair, speaking at lightning speed.

Before the words even finished, she’d already ducked her head and, like a gust of wind, swept past Mu Xi, vanishing swiftly around the corridor’s corner, leaving behind only a hurried silhouette.

Only the two sisters remained in the ward.

Mu Xi walked to the bedside cabinet and gently set down the fruit bag she’d brought.

She pulled out a chair and sat by Mu Yurou’s bed.

“Looks like you’re recovering well, Xiaorou.”

Mu Xi’s voice was gentle and calm.

“It’s really… really not what you think, Sis!”

Mu Yurou hurried to explain, her cheeks flushing again.

Suddenly!

As if recalling something extremely important, Mu Yurou’s body stiffened ever so slightly.

She’d collapsed from exhaustion during the fight, her Magic Attire had dissolved!

Her true identity was revealed!

Her sister… she was nearby the battlefield at that time!

Did she… did she see?!

Did she recognize me?!

A wave of panic clamped down on her heart.

What should I do?!

I have to probe her!

“Sis, I…”

Mu Yurou’s voice was laced with barely noticeable tension, her dark eyes fixed tightly on her sister.

“Xiaorou, that was too dangerous.”

Mu Xi interrupted her, frowning slightly, pure concern in her voice.

“The doctor told me everything. When you were helping to evacuate people, you rushed too much, slipped, hit your head, and got a concussion. That’s why you were in a coma for three days…”

She reached out and gently tucked the quilt around Mu Yurou.

“Next time, you must be more careful. Protecting yourself is the most important thing, understand?”

Mu Yurou froze.

Then, a massive wave of relief and gratitude swept through her.

So… that’s how the Association explained it!

Sis… she believed it!

She didn’t see! Or maybe… she didn’t recognize me!

“Oh…”

Mu Yurou nodded rapidly, her voice much lighter now, with a hint of playful whining, “Right, right, right! Next time, I’ll be careful!”

“It was too dangerous. You really must protect yourself.”

Mu Xi emphasized again, her face full of deep concern.

“Got it, Sis.”

Mu Yurou replied obediently.

“Rest well,” Mu Xi stood up, getting ready to leave.

“Next time, remember to pick up my call. I get so worried when I can’t reach you.”

“Oh…”

Mu Yurou answered softly, though deep down she felt a bit indignant.

After all… she’d just risked her life on the battlefield to protect her sister…

But… that “credit” couldn’t be spoken of at all.

This feeling… was so suffocating.

Mu Xi had just turned and taken a step.

Suddenly, she stopped.

As if recalling something important.

She slowly turned back around.

Returning to the bedside, under Mu Yurou’s slightly confused gaze, Mu Xi reached out.

Her fingertips, cool but gentle, softly brushed through her little sister’s silver-white hair, which looked especially smooth under the ward’s light.

Her movements were slow, with an indescribable tenderness, as if she were touching a rare treasure.

Her fingertips gently slid through the strands.

“My little sister has grown up…”

Mu Xi’s voice was soft, carrying a trace of distant sentiment, her gaze seeming to pierce through time.

“Eh?”

Mu Yurou was a bit puzzled, her big black eyes blinking.

“Why… say that all of a sudden?”

“Just feeling a bit emotional,” Mu Xi withdrew her hand, lips curling into a faint, gratified yet subtly complicated smile.

“You’ve grown up, you can protect yourself now…”

Her gaze landed on Mu Yurou’s face, as if implying something.

“…And you can protect others, too.”

“Your classmate, Huang Xi… she just told me,” Mu Xi added naturally, “When you were helping evacuate people, you tripped while protecting a fallen child…”

She gently patted Mu Yurou’s hand.

“Xiaorou, you’ve always been my pride.”

Mu Xi’s voice was warm and firm.

“I’m off now, rest up.”

With that, she didn’t linger any longer and left the ward.

Ka-da.

The door closed softly.

The ward fell completely silent.

Only the low hum of the air conditioning remained.

The air felt a little too cold; the skin not covered by the blanket sensed a chill.

But…

Mu Yurou lifted her hand and gently touched the place where her sister had just stroked her hair.

It felt as if her sister’s warmth still lingered there.

An indescribable warmth spread quietly from that spot, instantly dispelling the chill in the room and filling her heart.

So warm.

Mu Xi left the ward, taking only a few steps down the cold, disinfectant-scented corridor.

“It seems… there’s something you didn’t tell our little sister.”

A teasing, dissatisfied voice—similar to hers, but lighter and more flippant—suddenly sounded from the shadowy corner beside her.

Mu Ming’s figure, like ink dripping into clear water, slowly “emerged” from the wall’s shadow.

She crossed her arms, leaning sideways against the cold wall, black hair and red eyes, with a half-smile playing on her lips and a sharp gaze fixed on Mu Xi.

“I have nothing to say to her.”

Mu Xi didn’t pause for a moment, didn’t even spare Mu Ming a glance, her voice as cold as the corridor tiles.

“She can’t tell me, nor does she want to.”

Her tone was calm and steady, yet carried the fatigue of seeing through everything.

“She wants to protect me… stand in front of me like a Guardian.”

“But she doesn’t want me to know… that she’s doing this Magical Girl work… that could end in disaster at any moment.”

“She doesn’t want me to worry… that’s all.”

“Tch,” Mu Ming sneered, pushing off the wall and blocking Mu Xi’s way in a few steps, trying to catch her attention.

“If it were up to me, I’d just lay it all out. Why hide it? What a hassle!”

Mu Xi finally stopped.

She looked up, those abyss-like red eyes calmly meeting her own dark reflection.

“She is my sister.”

Mu Xi’s voice was low, yet carried a decisive, unyielding edge, drawing a clear boundary.

“Not ‘our’ sister.”

Her gaze lingered on Mu Ming’s face for a moment, then added:

“And certainly not yours.”

With that, Mu Xi didn’t hesitate, walking straight ahead.

Her body passed through Mu Ming’s intangible form, like passing through a cloud of mist!

“Ugh!”

The moment Mu Ming was passed through, her body exploded like scattered smoke!

She became a swirling mass of pale mist, laced with strands of darkness!

The mist twisted and surged violently in the cold air.

A moment later, a few steps behind Mu Xi, the mist rapidly coalesced and reformed, like a reversed image.

Mu Ming’s black-haired, red-eyed figure reappeared.

She stood there, staring at Mu Xi’s departing back.

That silhouette, drawn long under the harsh lights, exuded an air of resolute distance.

A sharp sting of being ignored, of being treated as invisible, gripped Mu Ming’s heart like a cold serpent—frustration and anger welling up in an instant.

The carefree look on her pretty face vanished, leaving only gloom and hurt.

“Tsk!”

Mu Ming clicked her tongue hard, full of resentment, the sharp sound echoing in the empty corridor.

She watched as Mu Xi’s figure disappeared around the corner.

An icy sense of loneliness surged, threatening to drown her.

Agitated, she kicked the wall beside her and, facing the air—or perhaps herself—she gritted her teeth and muttered in a low, aggrieved, and confused tone,

“What do I have to do… to make you notice me…”