Idiot

Good, so shameful! Chen Ruan thought about the previous scene,her cheeks ablaze with a mortified blush, Chen Ruan buried her face deep into her pillow, recalling the previous scene and rolling restlessly.

‘How could I have just pounced on her like that?’

‘But, but…’

The memory of Luochen’s tender voice, her soft, yielding form, and the crisp, clean scent that clung to her, flooded Chen Ruan’s mind.

‘Perhaps, it wasn’t I who had been at a disadvantage, after all?’

****

“Miss Chen?” A familiar voice, cutting through her reverie, drifted from beyond the door.

“Coming,” Chen Ruan called out, quickly composing herself before unlatching the door.

“I’ve come to bring you medicine.”

Luochen, holding a bowl of medicinal broth, offered it to her.

“Thank you, Sister Luochen.”

Stepping into the room, Luochen observed Chen Ruan, who was now furrowing her brows as she drank the medicinal broth.

A comfortable silence settled between the two of them.

“Are you terribly afraid of the dark?” Luochen’s voice suddenly broke the quiet.

“Not really, no.”

Chen Ruan lifted her gaze, only to find Luochen regarding her with an unwavering, earnest expression.

“Er… perhaps just a little.”

Luochen remained silent, her eyes shimmering like polished glass under the light under the soft glow of the lamp.

Meeting Luochen’s clear, unwavering gaze, Chen Ruan ultimately capitulated.

“I am quite afraid of the dark, it’s true, due to some past events.”

“I apologize; I didn’t consider things thoroughly enough.”

“No, no, it has nothing to do with you, Sister Luochen; I was the one who ran off carelessly.”

“No, I should have realized it sooner. Every morning when I came to check on you, your luminous spirit stones were always lit, yet I never connected the dots.”

Luochen suddenly clasped Chen Ruan’s hand, her voice filled with genuine sincerity.

“I’m truly sorry for leaving you there alone.”

“Should there be anything at all I can assist with, or anything you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to tell me.”

As Luochen’s words of concern washed over her, a sudden ache tightened Chen Ruan’s throat.

She had not shed a single tear when loneliness had enveloped her.

Yet, enfolded by this unexpected warmth, her defenses finally crumbled.

After losing her loved ones.

After glimpsing the massacre within the memories of the dying Demon Lord.

To see these individuals, who proudly proclaimed themselves righteous, disregard the lives of an entire city and unleash a devastating sword array, all to avoid alerting the hidden Demon Sect Leader and ensure their scheme’s flawless execution.

A searing flame of vengeance had ignited deep within her heart.

For revenge, she had endured starvation in remote mountain forests.

She had scurried frantically through a mortal world rife with deception and betrayal.

‘So tired.’

For a cultivator, reaching the Fifth Revolution (TL Note: A stage in cultivation, indicating significant strength) was typically sufficient to establish oneself firmly in the world.

Yet, in the deepest recesses of her heart, Chen Ruan remained nothing more than a seventeen-year-old girl.

A girl who had spent years in solitude, a girl who desperately yearned for love.

And here, at last, she felt an affection she had long been deprived of.

But why, of all places, did this love originate from here?

And why, of all people, did this love come from you?

Chen Ruan found herself adrift in confusion.

Her vision blurred by tears, she bowed her head, allowing silent droplets to trace paths down her cheeks.

Luochen simply held her close, offering a silent, gentle embrace.

“Thank you, Sister Luochen.”

Chen Ruan lifted her head, wiping away the lingering tears from the corners of her eyes.

“Thank you, truly.”

“I’m sorry, Sister Luochen.”

“I’m truly sorry.”

The girl’s almost imperceptible murmur went unnoticed by Luochen.

‘Luochen, you truly are an idiot, the biggest idiot in all the world.’

‘Why are you so good to me?’

‘Your kindness, your love—they will all ultimately transform into sharp blades destined to wound you.’

As if witnessing Luochen’s shocked, helpless gaze upon discovering the truth, Chen Ruan recoiled from the thought, unable to dwell on it further.

The remaining unspoken words transformed into silent tears, tracing paths down her face.

****

Having emerged from Chen Ruan’s room, Luochen found herself strolling along the winding mountain path.

A certain heaviness weighed upon her heart.

‘It appears Chen Ruan, too, carries the burden of an unfortunate past.’

Luochen sighed, wondering, ‘Is this truly the kind of tribulation a Daughter of Destiny (TL Note: A person destined for greatness or a significant role, often implying trials and challenges) must undergo?’

In the deepening twilight, a faint glimmer of light ahead drew her attention.

Su Yue’s door stood slightly ajar, allowing a soft, indistinct glow to spill from the narrow gap.

‘Junior Sister?’ A thought sparked in Luochen’s mind.

Peering through the narrow opening, she saw Su Yue sitting on her bed, clutching a teddy bear, while a half-finished scarf trembled in her hands along with the steel knitting needles.

She attempted to thread the yarn through the needle, mimicking the diagram on the open book before her, but in her attempt to pick up a stitch, she inadvertently tangled the pattern.

The tip of the needle, without fail, pricked the girl’s tender fingertip.

Su Yue winced slightly at the prick, yet she did not pause her diligent efforts.

Bathed in the soft, amber glow emanating from the luminous spirit stone, the girl meticulously, if clumsily, continued to craft this precious item, stitch by painstaking stitch.

Luochen gently tapped on the doorframe. “Junior Sister, may I come in?”

At the sound of her voice, a flicker of panic crossed Su Yue’s face, and she instinctively tried to conceal the scarf in her hands.

In the very next moment, however, she found herself caught by Luochen’s knowing, mischievous gaze.

“Junior Sister, might this be the very book you were engrossed in during class earlier today?”

Luochen gestured towards the “Scarf Knitting Tutorial” lying open before Su Yue.

“Mm.”

Su Yue lowered her head, avoiding Luochen’s gaze, and with her delicate lips barely parted, managed to squeeze out a faint, almost inaudible response.

“Junior Sister, what has suddenly sparked your interest in knitting scarves?” Luochen inquired, a hint of curiosity in her tone.

“Just boredom.”

A tell-tale blush, dusting the tips of the girl’s ears, subtly betrayed her true feelings.

Though not entirely convinced, Luochen decided against pressing the matter further.

Observing the girl’s clumsy attempts, Luochen decided that as her senior sister, it was her duty to intervene.

“Junior Sister, how about I teach you?”

A delicate, fragrant breeze enveloped Su Yue as she felt someone embrace her from behind, their hands gently yet firmly enclosing hers.

A soft, yielding warmth pressed against her back, sending a jolt like an electric current coursing through the girl’s entire body.

“Too close,” Su Yue whispered, almost inaudibly.

She instinctively buried her head, attempting to conceal her subtly flushed cheeks within the dark strands of her hair.

“First, to prevent the knitting from becoming too tight, you need to loop the yarn every so often, just like this.”

Luochen gently took Su Yue’s small, soft, almost boneless hand, instructing her with meticulous care.

“Also, it appears your scarf is knitting a little crooked.”

As if her arm wasn’t quite long enough, Luochen leaned in even closer, demonstrating each stitch with careful precision.

Her soft form was pressed intimately against Su Yue’s, and warm breaths feathered against her neck, sending a ticklish sensation through her.

Su Yue felt as though she might faint, yet she struggled to maintain an outward composure.

The lamplight softly flickered, casting a quiet stillness throughout the room.

A considerable time passed.

“Junior Sister, I’m leaving now.”

Luochen, standing at the doorway, waved gently to Su Yue.

“Mm.”

After such a prolonged ‘intake’, Su Yue felt that her ‘Luo energy’  for the day had already exceeded its limit.

The primary after-effects manifested as a deeply flushed face and a mind that felt utterly muddled.

“Why is your face so red? You’re not sick, are you?”

The unwitting instigator of this predicament, however, remained entirely oblivious; she leaned down slightly, allowing their foreheads to gently touch.

Su Yue lifted her gaze, finding Luochen’s elegantly serene face mere inches from her own.

The world around them fell into a profound stillness, and Su Yue could even hear the frantic pounding of her own heart.

She unconsciously licked her inexplicably dry lips, then swallowed hard.

“You don’t seem to have a fever.”

The beautiful moment shattered as the person before her muttered to herself.

“I’m leaving, Junior Sister, see you tomorrow.”

Luochen offered a graceful smile, then gently pulled the door shut behind her.

Su Yue parted her lips, seemingly on the verge of uttering words of farewell or a plea for her to stay, but the words caught in her throat, unspoken.

The girl scrambled to the window, watching Luochen’s departing figure shrink into the distance until it vanished entirely from sight.

“Idiot Senior Sister,” she murmured.

Realizing Luochen was truly gone, Su Yue whispered, a mix of shyness and vexation coloring her tone.

The girl, her mind swirling with unspoken thoughts, inhaled the lingering scent on the bed, her eyes growing hazy with a soft reverie.

“Idiot.”