The night in Stone City, free from pollution, the starry sky was exceptionally clear.
Hate?
Those days and nights of torment, the images of her parents dying before her eyes, scene after scene like phantoms, had haunted her for far too long.
But now, when she too had made up her mind to stop thinking about it, to stop carrying it, those bone-deep hatreds seemed to fade and grow distant, along with the disappearance of her physical scars.
She was tired.
Truly, so tired.
Rather than struggling endlessly through hatred and pain, it was better to let herself go.
Feeling the warmth of Ye Lan’s embrace behind her, feeling the heartbeat in her chest that pounded violently for her, feeling this rare, fragile moment of peace.
Mu Xi was silent for a moment, then finally, in a tone that was almost a sigh, laced with a hint of uncertainty yet utterly serious, she replied softly:
“I’ll try…”
She paused, as if searching for more precise words, and finally added in a low voice: “To live well with you.”
These few words, light as air, seemed as if they might scatter in the wind at any moment.
But to Ye Lan’s ears, they struck like thunder!
Ye Lan’s body trembled violently, her pupils sharply contracting! She could hardly believe her ears!
The next second, she tightened her arms, using every ounce of strength, pulling Mu Xi’s petite form tightly, desperately into her embrace, as if to crush her, to embed her into her very bones, never to part!
All the future scheming, it all seemed to lose its importance. In this moment, the power of Stone City, the plans of ambition, none of it compared to the precious treasure regained in her arms. She was the sole pillar of her despair and madness, the only light in her gray life.
Everything in the world seemed to lose color, to fade into silence, leaving only her.
Ye Lan lowered her head, her burning lips trembling, pressing a gentle kiss upon Mu Xi’s cool, soft hair, a kiss carrying unprecedented reverence.
Mu Xi’s body trembled slightly again, but this time, she did not flinch, nor did she struggle.
She simply bore it silently, even lifting her head slightly, pressing her cheek against Ye Lan’s warm chest.
The heart wildly pounding for her in Ye Lan’s chest, through the thin skin, transmitted clearly.
Thump, thump… strong and powerful, full of the breath of life.
Mu Xi raised her head, gazing once more at the silent night sky.
The stars remained distant, the future still uncertain.
But the wasteland in her heart called despair and confusion seemed to truly hold a faint warmth, as渺茫 as starlight.
Live well?
With this woman who had once brought her endless nightmares, yet now treasured her like a precious gem?
Could she really?
Mu Xi didn’t know the answer, but she knew that from this moment on, some things, perhaps, truly had begun to change.
Ye Lan held her tightly, feeling the rare obedience and closeness of the small person in her arms, her heart filled with immense satisfaction and the emotions of gains and losses.
She lowered her head, looking at Mu Xi’s delicate profile faintly visible in the steam, her voice hoarse, carrying intense, undeniable obsession: “Xi’er, remember what you said today.”
“We will live well together.”
“We definitely will.”
Her tone was resolute, as if making a promise to Mu Xi, and as if giving herself an order.
Ye Lan’s embrace remained firm, carrying an irresistible force, as if to completely merge her into her very flesh and blood. The heart pounding wildly for her in her chest, thumping loudly, transmitted clearly through the thin fabric and warm skin, carrying scorching warmth and intense possessiveness.
Ye Lan’s burning lips still lingered on her hair, the devout and precious touch causing a slight tremble in Mu Xi’s heart.
Steam filled the air, blurring each other’s vision, and blurring those bone-deep wounds.
Mu Xi leaned in Ye Lan’s embrace, feeling this rare peace, and in the desolate corner of her heart, it truly seemed a sliver of light had been shone in by this domineering yet fervent emotion.
“Live well…”
Mu Xi softly repeated these words, her voice light as a feather, carrying a hint of confusion she herself didn’t notice.
She raised her head, looking at Ye Lan’s face so close.
That face, beautiful to the point of excess, was now filled with the wild joy of regained treasure and cautious cherishing. In her deep phoenix eyes was unvarnished, intense love that threatened to devour her.
Mu Xi was silent for a moment, as if organizing her words, or as if making some kind of decision.
She pushed back slightly, though still within Ye Lan’s arms, creating enough space to look directly at her.
“Ye Lan,” she spoke softly, for the first time without any honorific or distant title, directly calling that name.
Ye Lan’s body stiffened almost imperceptibly, the flame in her eyes instantly burning brighter, staring intently at her, waiting for her to continue.
“Since we’re going to live well together,” Mu Xi’s voice carried a strange calmness, as if stating an obvious fact, “you say you love me, and it seems, you love me much more than I love you.”
Ye Lan nodded without hesitation, her voice hoarse and urgent: “Yes, Xi’er, I love you, more than my life, more than everything!”
“Then,” Mu Xi’s gaze was clear, reflecting Ye Lan’s fanatical light, “by normal logic, shouldn’t you… be pursuing me?”
“Pursuing?”
Ye Lan was stunned. This word seemed more unfamiliar and complex to her than controlling a city.
She frowned slightly, somewhat confused, “I… aren’t I already pursuing you?”
In her view, pulling Mu Xi back from the edge of despair, giving her the best protection, cherishing her like a treasure and keeping her caged by her side—wasn’t that the ultimate pursuit?
Mu Xi shook her head, her long silver hair rippling fine ripples across the water’s surface with the movement.
“No,” she corrected seriously, “that’s not pursuit, that’s… your previous methods.”
She paused, as if unwilling to mention the word “training,” and glossed over it vaguely, “What I mean is, like ordinary people do. The dating kind.”
At the word “dating,” Mu Xi’s ears tinged faintly red.
Then, she added another sentence, her voice so low it was almost inaudible, yet it clearly fell into Ye Lan’s ears: “Right now… I suppose, I’m… your girlfriend?”
The identity of “girlfriend” made even Mu Xi herself shiver involuntarily.
Heaven knows, deep down she always thought of herself as a man, and now she had to bear this delicate female body, admitting to being another woman’s “girlfriend”?
This feeling… too bizarre! What had she just said?!
Ye Lan’s eyes instantly lit up with astonishing brilliance!
Girlfriend!
Xi’er admitted it! She was her girlfriend!
This realization, like the sweetest honey, instantly melted all doubt and unease in Ye Lan’s heart.
She almost couldn’t control the impulse to crush Mu Xi into her arms again, but seeing the hint of shy annoyance and discomfort on Mu Xi’s face, she forcibly suppressed it.
“Yes! You are my girlfriend!” Ye Lan’s voice trembled slightly with excitement, yet filled with unprecedented joy and certainty, “Then, Xi’er, how do you want me to pursue you?”
She truly was doing this for the first time, her tone carrying a hint of bewilderment and clumsiness, “I… I’ve never pursued anyone, I don’t really understand.”
Looking at Ye Lan’s rare, almost reverent look of genuine inquiry, Mu Xi’s mood suddenly became subtly complex.
All along, their relationship had been led by Ye Lan, with her bearing it.
Now, it seemed, there was a slight possibility of the reverse.