A Kiss I Didn’t Understand… But a Promise I Could Feel

Is this a way of expressing love?
I’m not entirely sure.
But I can feel the emotion infused within it—an incredibly genuine longing for me,
a gratitude that I could return to her side once more,
a joy that we can continue to be together.

Emerging from the shock of the kiss, I looked up at Lin Yuxuan, who was staring at me with a beaming smile, a surprised and somewhat dazed expression on my face.
Although I didn’t understand what had just happened, or what that feeling was,
in response to the promise Lin Yuxuan had given me, I returned a grateful smile.
“Thank you, Yuxuan!”

“Just like always, after all…”
Hearing my words of thanks, Yuxuan lowered her head and murmured something softly.

“Mm~?”
Because her voice was very low, I couldn’t make out what she said. I tilted my head in confusion.

“No, nothing!”
Faced with my bewilderment, Lin Yuxuan waved her hands in a slight panic, her voice rushed and flustered.
Then she reached out and turned my body around.

Facing the white tiled wall again, the hot water from the showerhead sprayed over me once more, warming my body again.
This time, Lin Yuxuan began applying a somewhat cool liquid to my hair and body.
Soon, every part of me was covered in bubbles.

“Hey, Chenlian,”
Lin Yuxuan said softly behind me.
“Can you tell me how you see us?”

“Everyone… is a good person,”
I answered without thinking.
The kind faces of Mom, Hadi, Ye Qing, and Lin Yuxuan surfaced in my mind.
“All of you… are very good… to me. You are… my precious… family now.”

“Is that so? If Chenlian feels that way, everyone will definitely be very happy!”
Lin Yuxuan said this with a hint of delight in her voice.

“Chenlian! Yuxuan! I’ve brought your clothes and towels!”
Just then, from outside the bathroom, came Mom’s voice—a bit muffled through the door.

“Ah! I’ll open the door!”
Lin Yuxuan turned off the showerhead and, naked with her white, slender, graceful figure, trotted to the door and opened the glass door.

I too stood up, covered in bubbles, and walked toward the door.

“The top ones are your clothes, Yuxuan. Chenlian’s clothes are underneath. And here are the towels.”
Mom handed the clothes and towels she was carrying to Lin Yuxuan in order, explaining as she did.

“Mom!”
I happily called out to my current mother, walked up next to Lin Yuxuan, and smiled goofily at her.

“Chenlian! You’re covered in bubbles!”
Mom’s eyes widened as she looked at me, covered in bubbles, standing at the door, looking somewhat astonished.

“Chenlian! You’re not supposed to run around before you’ve finished bathing!”
Lin Yuxuan put the clothes and towels away and urged me to go back. So I was pushed back inside again.

“Chenlian! When you’re done bathing, go to the door at the very back of the living room and call Ye Qing and Hadi to dinner!”
Mom smiled and instructed me.

“Mm!”
I nodded to show I understood. Then Mom closed the door and left.

“Come on, Chenlian. I’m going to rinse you off now!”
Lin Yuxuan turned on the showerhead and sprayed hot water over my head. The bubbles on my body washed away with the flow of water.

She turned off the showerhead, picked up a towel, and dried my body and hair.
“Are these the clothes?”
Lin Yuxuan picked up one of the outfits Mom had given me and set it aside, then helped me put on underwear and a blue-and-white lace dress.

After all the clothes were on, Lin Yuxuan, still naked, pushed me in front of a large floor mirror.
“Chenlian, what do you think? The clothes Sister Fuzi picked out?”

I looked at myself in the mirror.
My somewhat damp pink long hair was gathered behind my shoulders, fully revealing my somewhat slender, delicate, fair face.
My clear, bright purple pupils were examining myself in return.
Above my purple pupils were curved, willow-leaf eyebrows and long, slender eyelashes.
My thin, soft pink lips were slightly closed together.
The knee-length dress, which fit perfectly, accentuated my slender, petite figure.
My exposed, slender hands were folded politely at my waist.
Beneath the hem of the dress were two snow-white little feet.

Standing in the mirror was an unfamiliar, innocent-looking beautiful girl with pink hair.
For a moment, I had the feeling of “Who is this?”
But I knew very well that the person in the mirror was my current self.

“Mm!”
I nodded in affirmation. The figure in the mirror gave a small, light nod of its small head as well.

“Ahhh~! Chenlian really is so cute!”
Lin Yuxuan let out something between a shout and a squeal, rubbed her face against mine, then pushed me out of the bathroom.
“Chenlian, go carry out Sister Fuzi’s mission! I’ll come down in a little while!”
Lin Yuxuan gave me a charming smile with her eyes slightly narrowed, then turned, her flowing black hair swaying, and closed the door behind her.

I shuffled in my pink slippers toward the stairs.
I recalled what Mom had said: “Mm~, living room… very back.”
Thinking about the general direction, I walked down from the second floor.
Standing in the spacious hall, I looked around.
No one.

“Very back?”
I murmured to myself as I looked toward a relatively hidden area beyond the living room, dimly lit.
Following my instincts, I walked over there and spotted a white wooden door against the wall.

[Hadi and Ye Qing are in there. I need to go call them to dinner.]
Following Mom’s instructions, I walked toward the door.
Just as I was about to knock, an excited, resolute voice reached me faintly through the door.
It was Ye Qing’s voice.

“I don’t know exactly how I’ll do it… but I will protect Yue Chenlian.
I won’t let Chenlian get hurt ever again…
No, even if it costs my life, I will continue to protect her by her side!”
The last part was very loud—even through the door, I could hear it clearly.

After hearing Ye Qing’s impassioned words, I lowered my head and placed my right hand over my chest.

Ye Qing, too—even if it costs his life, he wants to protect me.
All of them treasure their current selves—me, as Yue Chenlian, this much.
But I haven’t done anything at all.
I haven’t given them a matching promise in return.
Lin Yuxuan said, “Just being yourself is enough.”
But I don’t even know what my current self is.
What should I do?
How can I live up to their feelings?
How can I not make the same mistakes as last time?
How can I avoid hurting them again?

While my heart was tangled in these thoughts, the door suddenly opened.
“Doctor, forget you. I’m leaving now!”
Ye Qing said angrily, then stepped out, looking a bit upset.
I looked at Ye Qing with a slightly dazed expression, not knowing what I should do.

Ye Qing didn’t seem to notice me, nearly colliding with me.
My view was blocked by Ye Qing’s chest, covered in his school uniform. For a moment, I couldn’t see anything.
But I could smell the faint scent lingering on Ye Qing’s body.

Then Ye Qing, as if startled, took a big step back, putting distance between us.
He looked flustered, his mouth slightly open, his eyes looking at me in surprise.
After a moment, his somewhat tanned face, as if suddenly stimulated, flushed bright red in an instant.

I pushed aside my worries and tilted my head in confusion, looking at Ye Qing’s strange expression, not knowing what had suddenly come over him.