Chapter 179: Floating Song of Ten Autumns (4)

An Yu softly refused, completely unaware of the strange state the girl beside her was in. 

Instead, she kept speaking, her voice carrying that icy yet fragile tone that struck straight into Ning Dongli’s favorite zone.

“Ning Dongli, what are you thinking? Don’t hide it.”

Not playing games together didn’t mean An Yu was going to leave.

Not only would she not leave, she was going to do something even more important.

She was going to help Ning Dongli.

Because she could tell that Ning Dongli needed help.

People sometimes lost their way, and in those moments, as her friend, An Yu should lend a hand.

At least, that was how An Yu saw it.

“Hm…?”

The water-blue eyes of Ning Dongli gradually filled with a dazed haze.

Maybe An Yu simply thought this position would stop Ning Dongli from running away, but for Ning Dongli it felt completely different.

If this kept up, she was going to break.

The assault was far too stimulating for her.

“Ning Dongli, tell me.”

“Wuu…”

The girl let out a soft whimper. Her entire ear flushed an intense shade of red.

She tilted her head slightly, as if trying to escape An Yu’s overwhelming advance.

Speak.

But clearly An Yu saw nothing wrong with what she was doing.

She could sense that Ning Dongli wanted to do something but was still hesitating.

As her friend, she needed to draw that something out and help her accomplish it.

“Say… wuu… say what… mm…”

Ning Dongli could no longer think straight. 

She had no idea what she was supposed to say and could only respond on instinct.

“You want to do what.” An Yu explained calmly.

“I… I want… mm…”

Ning Dongli was struggling. 

She wasn’t even sure what An Yu was asking anymore; her mind had turned into complete mush.

She could only stammer, but nothing coherent came out.

For the first time, Ning Dongli felt that having the voice she loved so much this close wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

She really was going to break.

“I…”

She couldn’t form a single complete sentence, but An Yu clearly had no intention of letting her off.

“Ning Dongli, even though I don’t know what happened.”

An Yu spoke softly, breathing warm air against Ning Dongli’s ear.

“Wuu… mm…”

Ning Dongli’s cherry lips parted slightly as uncontrollable whimpers escaped.

An Yu paid them no mind and continued.

From the dejected look in Ning Dongli’s eyes, she had sensed something else.

For a friend, An Yu would offer help.

Ning Dongli’s eyes widened, her pupils trembling faintly.

Even though An Yu’s actions had turned her face bright red, she still caught the meaning behind the words.

An Yu said she would help her.

“Hm?”

The realization hit Ning Dongli like a thunderbolt. Her body shivered lightly, and the blush on her pretty face deepened.

The excitement from hearing An Yu’s voice intertwined with the tension of having her inner thoughts exposed.

She had deliberately chosen not to play along with Ning Wanciu’s act of pretending nothing was wrong, precisely to prove to her sister that she wasn’t fragile and didn’t need to be worried over.

But it seemed she had failed completely.

No matter what, her sister was still worrying about her.

Ning Dongli had no idea what to do anymore. She wanted to be a normal little sister, yet she kept failing.

She wanted to let Ning Wanciu relax.

She felt her sister was already so tired and didn’t want her to keep worrying about her, but she simply couldn’t manage it.

In that instant, Ning Dongli stopped struggling. She lowered her head slightly, lost in thought.

Seeing her reaction, An Yu delivered the final blow.

An Yu pulled back just enough to look straight into the girl’s eyes. 

“Tell me. I’ll help you.”

They were friends.

An Yu stared expressionlessly into Ning Dongli’s eyes. 

Those amber irises held an undeniable, unrefusable intent.

Ning Dongli’s pupils trembled faintly. 

From this cute girl—who was even smaller and more delicate than herself—she felt a faint but unmistakable pressure.

Yet that pressure made her heart flutter with an indescribable thrill.

Aside from Ning Wanciu, this was the first time Ning Dongli had ever felt genuine care from someone else.

“Mmm, I’m here.”

She would answer her little sister An Yu’s call.

An Yu was a good person.

For some reason, those simple words—“I’m here”—caused Ning Dongli’s emotions to crumble.

“Wuu… Why… would you want to help me?”

Because she was rarely shown care by others, Ning Dongli suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of grievance. 

Her whole body trembled as if she had been struck down, and the tears at the corners of her eyes could no longer be held back.

“Ning Dongli.”

An Yu blinked, seemingly surprised that Ning Dongli would ask such a question.

But the answer was easy.

Because all she had to do was tell the truth.

Because we are friends.

Even though Ning Dongli’s original intentions hadn’t been pure, An Yu had always been straightforward.

To An Yu, Ning Dongli had always been her friend.

A friend who would come play games with her whenever she wanted.

That was how it was for Ning Dongli, and it was the same for An Yu.

“Wuu… An Yu…”

Ning Dongli could no longer hold back her emotions. 

Tears flowed uncontrollably.

But she couldn’t be blamed—she really couldn’t control it…

“Ning Dongli?”

Seeing the girl burst into tears, An Yu blinked blankly, not quite understanding what was happening.

Before she could figure it out, Ning Dongli threw herself at her.

“Mm?”

The blonde girl hugged An Yu tightly, tackling her onto Ning Wanciu’s bed.

Pinned beneath Ning Dongli with no chance to react, An Yu heard the girl’s sobbing.

“Waaaah…!”

Even someone as dense as An Yu could tell what she should do now.

She didn’t struggle. Instead, she lifted her head and gently stroked the little head of the girl on top of her.

An Yu said nothing and simply kept stroking.

“Wuu… An Yu…”

An Yu answered Ning Dongli softly, making her presence felt.

“Wuu…”

Ning Dongli clung to An Yu, wanting to stop crying, but her body refused to listen.

Even though this was practically their first real meeting, she wanted to rely on the girl in front of her.

“Ning Dongli, what do you want to do?”

An Yu spoke gently, repeating the same question. She wanted to hear Ning Dongli’s thoughts.

“I… I want…”

Ning Dongli’s eyes grew hazy. 

She refused to let go of An Yu as all the words she had never been able to say poured out unconsciously toward the girl before her.

“I want to be a normal little sister. I want my sister to stop worrying about me all the time. I want to lighten her burden, but no matter what, I can’t seem to be normal. Even just a little—I want to be a normal little sister. As long as I stay like this, unable to go outside, I’ll never be able to do it. I don’t want her to keep suffering because of me, the way she did earlier.”

The girl’s words kept flowing.

“I want to prove to her that I’m fine now! That she doesn’t have to tiptoe around me anymore!”

That was what Ning Dongli wanted to do.

Just as Ning Wanciu was always thinking about her little sister, Ning Dongli was always thinking about her big sister.

Pinned beneath Ning Dongli, An Yu blinked silently.

“Mmm, I understand.”

She ruffled the girl’s hair, then pinched her pretty cheek the same way she had before.

So soft. 

It felt nice.

Now she knew exactly what Ning Dongli wanted to do.