“Senior…” Xia Yao looked at the blood-drenched girl before her, her dull gaze shifting.
“Senior! Senior, you’re hurt…” She hurried forward anxiously, condensing magic power into strips of cloth to tie the wounds.
“I don’t need that,” Lin Xiaojue said, yet she still reached out her hand and watched the girl bandage her.
The magical battle suit possessed self-healing capabilities and provided recovery effects to the body when worn.
Although she now possessed less than one percent of her peak ability, it was more than enough for burns of this degree.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Xia Yao repeated her apologies over and over as she bandaged the wound.
Lin Xiaojue watched Xia Yao calmly.
The painful injury on her hand had long since subsided. She had many questions in her heart, but she had to wait a little longer.
After a long time, the wound was finally bandaged. Her hand was wrapped in strips of black satin that contrasted sharply with the pure white Wedding Dress.
Xia Yao did not respond. Instead, she held up the hand and carefully scrutinized the result of her bandaging.
“It’s all my fault…”
She let out a low, dissatisfied grunt, pursed her lips, and turned to flee.
“Xiao Xia!”
Lin Xiaojue grabbed Xia Yao’s hand and pulled her around.
In the wind and snow, her eyes met Xia Yao’s. Those eyes were terrified, uneasy, and like a startled rabbit.
She looked as though she felt she had committed a grave sin and intended to flee at the first opportunity.
“That… I…” Xia Yao’s eyes darted away, her voice thick with a sobbing tone. Lin Xiaojue knew what she was thinking.
“Xiao Xia, no one was hurt here. Everyone left safely.” Her gaze was gentle as she took Xia Yao’s hand. “Everyone is fine, and so am I.”
“But…”
“But what? Did Xiao Xia do something wrong?”
Lin Xiaojue pulled the hand closer, bringing Xia Yao nearer until the two of them were nestled in each other’s scent.
Xia Yao kept her head down, not saying a word.
The wind and snow slowed, and the vast flakes drifted slowly over the sea. The silence diffusing between them became exceptionally prominent against the soft snow.
Lin Xiaojue knew that Xia Yao couldn’t bring herself to speak.
She hoped Xia Yao would open her mouth, even if it was with dissatisfaction, and even if Xia Yao vented her emotions on her. She didn’t want Xia Yao to remain silent forever.
“Hey, Xiao Xia, you must have been very sad lately.”
“Ah…” Xia Yao opened her mouth, her eyes shimmering, but she lowered her head once more. “I haven’t been.”
Her tone was stubborn.
“You haven’t?”
A subtle silence filled the air.
“No.”
Xia Yao’s answer remained the same. Lin Xiaojue knew she wouldn’t get anything else out of her. She was bottling up her emotions inside her heart again.
She squeezed Xia Yao’s hand. At the warm, soft sensation, Xia Yao froze slightly. She looked left and right, but no one else was in the snowy surroundings.
“Senior…” Xia Yao tried to let go, but that warmth gripped her tight.
She couldn’t pull her hand away. Clearly, the other’s hand was half a size smaller than hers and didn’t have much strength, yet she simply couldn’t break free.
‘Senior, what exactly is she thinking?’
Xia Yao lowered her head humbly. This embarrassing appearance had already been discovered by Senior. ‘I will definitely be hated.’
“Xiao Xia, I’m not going to let go.”
“Eh?” Xia Yao’s eyes widened slightly as they met Lin Xiaojue’s radiant golden eyes.
There was a watery tenderness in those eyes. It was like sunlight shining on a lake with a golden sandy bottom, creating golden ripples. It was warm and made one unconsciously want to look a little longer.
Suddenly, those eyes drew closer.
The wind stirred her pure white veil and the skirts of her Wedding Dress, leaving behind the scent of roses in the icy world.
Clearly, everything before her was a vast expanse of white, yet she was captivated by this snow-white elf.
‘I wonder who will be lucky enough to marry such a beautiful bride? So beautiful, truly so beautiful.’
It made Xia Yao want to step back involuntarily. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t accept such kindness. So, she instinctively chose to escape.
Her feet moved backward, making the snow on the ground creak. Then, she was pulled back by Senior once more.
“Xiao Xia, I’ve already felt your heart.”
“Xiao Xia wants to run away, right?”
“Xiao Xia is in pain, isn’t she?”
“I… I’m not.”
Xia Yao pursed her lips, not daring to turn back and meet Senior’s gaze.
“Stop bottling it up inside!”
Lin Xiaojue suddenly yanked Xia Yao toward her, closing the distance between them instantly. An exquisitely sculpted face came into view; she could even feel their warm breath on each other.
Xia Yao still tried to look away, but at such a close distance, she could no longer escape Senior’s eyes.
Whenever she turned her head, Lin Xiaojue would move with her to meet her gaze. There was simply nowhere to run.
“Senior…”
“I’m here.”
“I ruined Senior’s clothes…” Xia Yao said, thinking back to the memory of the clothes she had knitted being ruined by her family.
She didn’t want everyone to fight, so because she couldn’t find an answer, she told a lie.
“It’s okay.” Senior’s reply was warm.
“In the past… I caused a lot of trouble for everyone… I lost control often…” Xia Yao dithered, speaking slowly.
“That’s also fine.”
“But…” Xia Yao looked up at Lin Xiaojue.
She desperately wanted to summon her courage, but she didn’t have the ability. ‘If only I could face it like Gu Xue.’
“Say it out loud. Don’t worry, it’s alright.”
Xia Yao opened her mouth, but her cheeks felt hot, and she couldn’t utter a single word. The words she had just formed in her head were blocked in her heart the moment she tried to speak them.
This sentence wasn’t right, and that one wasn’t right either. She longed to find a perfect sentence, but she didn’t have the vocabulary to match it.
“Xiao Xia, you actually like me, don’t you?”
“Eh?”
Xia Yao’s eyes snapped wide. Her gaze darted around frantically, and her speech became incoherent.
“I… I’m not… I don’t… I’ve always looked up to Senior… I’ve always wanted to stand by Senior’s side… but I…”
‘But I can only stay in a lonely room, living a life being rushed by my family.’
Xia Yao lowered her head, the shadow of her thick bangs covering her eyes. Before her was a dense darkness, which was then brushed aside.
A pale hand brushed her bangs away, revealing the bright, snowy landscape. The girl in the Wedding Dress wore a sweet smile, and the wind and snow had stopped at some point.
“Xiao Xia, look. The snow has stopped.”
“Ah… yes.”
Not knowing how to respond, Xia Yao answered haphazardly, like a student taking a test they hadn’t studied for.
“So, the snow in Xiao Xia’s heart should melt too, right?”
She didn’t understand what Senior meant, but Xia Yao was still captivated by her smile. She tilted her head, revealing her slender neck. Her silver hair drifted along with the veil, blooming like a sea of flowers.
“Xiao Xia.” She pulled Xia Yao up. With her bandaged hand, she spread her five fingers and interlaced them with Xia Yao’s, locking their ten fingers together.
Lin Xiaojue didn’t know how much effect this would have; she had learned it from a shojo manga about a monster wanting to eat a human girl. It was a way to make someone relax.
“Come and play in the snow with me.”