After the initial chaos faded, Su Ling gradually regained consciousness. “He” lifted his hand; it was a tiny, delicate hand.
“Hehe, Qianqian, are you curious about your own hands~”
“Look, this is your mother’s hand.”
A hand suddenly appeared in front of “him,” and only then did Su Ling notice that he was currently nestled in a woman’s arms.
Listening to the gentle whispers, feeling the warmth of the embrace, and gazing at the hand before his eyes, “he” couldn’t help but giggle, a clear, bell-like laughter ringing out.
Just then, the sound of a door opening echoed, and steady, heavy footsteps approached…
“Qianqian looks so happy right now. Did you see something amusing?”
Very soon, before Su Ling—or rather, Su Qianqian—appeared a handsome man.
The man looked quite nervous, wanting to touch her hand but afraid his strength might hurt his daughter’s fingers, now as thin as wheat stalks.
Seeing the hesitation on the man’s face, Su Qianqian reached out her own hand, grasped one of his fingers, and laughed again…
But gradually, Su Qianqian began to feel drowsy. Slowly, she closed her eyes, and indistinct voices drifted to her ears:
“Shh~ Qianqian has fallen asleep… Ah, how come a grown man like you is suddenly in tears?”
“In that moment just now, I truly realized I’m a father. It’s wonderful… I will protect her for a lifetime…!”
The blurred voices faded away, and Su Qianqian slipped completely into sleep.
“My parents…? I wonder what it’s like to have parents… Qianqian doesn’t sound like a boy’s name…”
Half-asleep, she recalled the faces of beauties, the tales, and the fated meetings of her past.
But these would be sealed away. From now on, it would be Su Qianqian’s life…
In the blink of an eye, time flowed on. As spring, summer, autumn, and winter turned, another spring arrived.
“Big Sister! Mother told me to call you back for dinner!” A graceful young girl called out to a tall tree.
“Coming, coming, wait for me~” A lazy reply came from up the tree, and then a girl nimbly climbed down like a monkey.
“Big Sister, Father and Mother both told you not to climb trees anymore. If they find out, you’ll get scolded again.”
The girl who climbed down the tree reached up to rub her younger sister’s head nonchalantly as she said, “As long as you don’t tell, Lingling, they’ll never know~ You’re on my side, aren’t you?”
“But I do think it’s a bit dangerous… But of course I’m on your side, Big Sister, hehe.”
Su Lingling purred happily, rubbing against her sister like a little kitten as Su Qianqian scratched her chin.
Just like that, Su Lingling took Su Qianqian’s hand, and they started the journey home.
Only… Su Qianqian looked at her younger sister, now almost a whole head taller than herself, and felt somewhat conflicted…
Since that “Siege,” eighteen years had passed. Su Ling had made a clean break with the past, and the Heavenly Scar had vanished. Now, she was completely free.
She had cast aside her old self and destiny and returned to the world in a new identity.
Now, she was simply Su Qianqian, the Young Miss of a family in a mortal nation.
All Su Qianqian wanted now was to fully enjoy this rare freedom and the love of her family, spending her childhood in a lazy and carefree way.
During this time, Su Qianqian hadn’t devoted much effort to cultivation, but even so, she had already broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
It was much slower than in her previous life, but she didn’t care.
For her, cultivation was never difficult, but she didn’t want to waste the comforts of a peaceful life on it.
She wasn’t sure if it was starting cultivation too early that slowed her physical growth, or if Su Lingling simply grew too fast, but her younger sister—three years her junior—was now much taller than she was.
Soon, Su Qianqian and Su Lingling arrived home, where the table was already covered with dishes.
“We’re back~”
With that, Su Qianqian took her seat and began eating her favorite dishes.
Her mother, Liu Qingyao, stood with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face as she looked at Su Qianqian: “Did you wash your hands? No eating until you do. Look at your hair, it’s all messy. Did you even brush it after getting up this morning? And wait, why are there leaves in it? Did you climb a tree again?”
“No way~ If you don’t believe me, ask Lingling. I was just wandering around the Market, must have walked under a tree and had a leaf fall on me.”
“Y-yeah! I can vouch for Big Sister!” Su Lingling hurriedly raised her hand in support.
Seeing the obvious conspiracy between the two, Liu Qingyao could only sigh and rub her forehead, then pulled out a comb she’d prepared in advance and began to tidy up Su Qianqian’s hair.
“Oh right, Qianqian, what did you think of that young man yesterday?”
“Nothing special. He just liked to show off.” With that, Su Qianqian took a big bite of chicken leg.
“Someone like that isn’t worthy of Big Sister!”
“Exactly, that kind of guy isn’t worthy of my daughter!” Their father, Su Changfeng, who’d finally made it home for a meal, chimed in as well.
“But Qianqian, you’re almost eighteen now. You should start thinking about finding someone you like,” Liu Qingyao tried again, not giving up.
“So troublesome… How about I just stay home with you both? I don’t spend much, very easy to support.”
“Great! I feel—” Su Changfeng was about to finish when Liu Qingyao’s gaze stopped him, and he immediately started wolfing down his food.
Seeing Su Qianqian so unbothered, Liu Qingyao could only give up.
After finishing her daughter’s hair, she sat down between her two girls, and, looking at the adorable pair on either side, her mood instantly improved.
“In a couple of days, there’s a Temple Fair in the City. Do you want to go?”
Su Qianqian thought for a moment, then replied, “Sure, but I’ve already used up this week’s allowance. Mother, can you give me some more~”
“Mm…”
Before Liu Qingyao could hesitate, Su Qianqian unleashed a barrage of cute begging, “Please~ It’d be too sad to go to the Temple Fair with no money, wuwuwu~”
“Alright, alright, I really can’t refuse you. Here, I’ll give you girls some more, but have fun and be careful!”
“I get some too? Yay!” Su Lingling, who hadn’t done anything, squealed with delight at getting another allowance.
Su Qianqian grinned happily as well. She didn’t care about the small allowance—after all, she’d seen all kinds of immortal treasures before.
She just enjoyed being able to act spoiled like this……
“I’m full. I’m going for a nap, mm-ha~”
“Big Sister, can I nap with you today?”
“You’re taller than me now, sleep by yourself.”
“Please, I want to nap with Big Sister today~”
“Where did you learn such weird phrases… Fine, come if you want, but you know I’m not a very neat sleeper…”
Watching the sisters clinging together as they left, Liu Qingyao and Su Changfeng exchanged a smile.
The sunlight was warm and the weather bright.
The two sisters slept soundly together— though this time, it was the elder sister who ended up being held in her younger sister’s arms.