The Kiss

When Luochen emerged from the main hall of Bamboo Peak, the sun was already dipping below the horizon.

“It’s time to prepare dinner,” she murmured. “And speaking of which, tonight’s the New Year’s Eve gala!”

Having been through so much the day before, Luochen had almost completely forgotten about the upcoming celebration.

“Senior Sister, where have you been all day?”

“And Chen Ruan? Didn’t she return with you?”

Su Yue leaned in from outside the kitchen, her curiosity piqued.

“Miss Chen… she had an urgent matter to attend to and has already departed. I saw her off.”

Luochen had deliberately withheld the truth, knowing full well that among the three residents of Bamboo Peak, Su Yue harbored the most profound hatred for demonic cultivators.

Indeed, it was an aversion that seemed to stem from instinct itself.

Luochen didn’t want Chen Ruan to be disliked by Su Yue, nor did she wish for her junior sister’s hard-won friendship to end so abruptly.

Thus, driven by her own selfish desires, she kept the truth from her junior sister.

“But didn’t she say she’d stay until after the New Year? What could be so urgent that she left without even saying goodbye?”

Su Yue’s brow furrowed, a hint of confusion clouding her features.

“I’m not entirely sure myself,” Luochen quickly interjected. “Let’s just eat first, Junior Sister.”

She swiftly changed the subject.

****

As night fell, amidst the fervent cheers of the Feibai Sect disciples below the stage, the grand finale of the evening—“The Rogue and the Princess,” performed by the two disciples of Bamboo Peak—was about to make its magnificent debut.

Yet, Su Yue found herself feeling a little displeased.

She noticed that Luochen was clearly not herself tonight; not only was she forgetting her lines, but her action sequences were also somewhat chaotic.

While other disciples might not have noticed, Su Yue knew precisely how flawlessly Luochen had performed during rehearsals.

At this moment, a cloud of worry overshadowed her senior sister’s face, and the faint smile she wore was clearly forced.

Luochen knew her performance tonight was rather poor, despite her strong desire to fully immerse herself in the act.

However, too many events had transpired yesterday, making it truly difficult for her to concentrate.

This was especially true after learning that Chen Ruan was a demonic cultivator.

If Chen Ruan was a demonic cultivator, could her destiny be tied to the demonic path?

If this world was destined to be destroyed by a war between the righteous and demonic factions, then the demonic side must surely possess a corresponding level of power, mustn’t it?

In that case, had letting Chen Ruan go truly been akin to ‘releasing a tiger back into the mountains’ (TL Note: A Chinese idiom meaning to allow a danger to return to its source, where it can cause more trouble)?

She then recalled the words of the World Will.

“Every Fated One is key to saving the world.”

Interpreting this statement, Chen Ruan indeed could not die.

Moreover, when they first met, the aura of the Heavenly Dao emanating from her was roughly twice as strong as that of her junior sister and her master.

With such a configuration, could she be the protagonist among protagonists?

Why was this damned World Will such a riddle-speaker?

Luochen’s brows furrowed even deeper.

After Luochen stumbled over her own feet yet again, Su Yue had grown numb to it.

Fortunately, the performance was finally drawing to a close.

This was the final act.

Amidst the screams from the audience, Su Yue, playing the rogue, reached out and embraced Luochen’s waist.

After a momentary pause, Luochen complied, collapsing into Su Yue’s embrace.

“I will love you forever,” Su Yue uttered, her gaze deep and filled with affection as she looked at Luochen.

“And I, you,” Luochen responded, her waist still encircled by Su Yue’s arm.

However, her face held none of the shyness she’d shown during rehearsals.

Instead, only an unyielding sadness and a somewhat strained smile remained.

Su Yue leaned down, her eyes fixed on Luochen’s, and moved her lips closer.

As their faces drew nearer, Su Yue could even feel Luochen’s breath ghosting across her cheek.

Luochen’s eyes shifted, seemingly lost in thought.

‘Was she still thinking of someone else at a moment like this?’

A surge of anger flared within Su Yue.

‘Ever since Chen Ruan’s disappearance today, her Senior Sister had been utterly distracted.’

‘Something was clearly amiss.’

‘Yet, she refused to tell her the truth about Chen Ruan’s departure.’

‘Did her Senior Sister truly consider her an outsider?’

‘Even during their performance, she was preoccupied with thoughts of Chen Ruan.’

‘Was their performance together truly so insignificant?’

Gazing at the cherry-red lips so close to her own, Su Yue suddenly felt a wave of irritation.

She leaned down and kissed her forcefully.

It was a sorrowful kiss.

The sensation on her lips instantly jolted Luochen awake.

‘Shouldn’t this have been an angled kiss, a stage illusion? Why had her Junior Sister actually kissed her?’

‘Moreover, having lived two lives, this was her very first kiss! To think it was given away so unexpectedly, without clear reason.’

The sensation of the kiss was wonderfully indescribable, a jolt like an electric current shooting from the crown of her head straight through her entire body.

Luochen felt her legs grow weak, and she completely collapsed into Su Yue’s embrace.

”Junior Sister… what’s wrong?”

Luochen lifted her gaze, wanting to look at Su Yue.

A single, clear tear appeared in her line of sight.

The tear landed on Luochen’s eyelashes, slowly tracing a path into her eye.

Though her vision blurred, she understood whose sorrowful tears these were.

Recalling her terrible performance earlier, Luochen’s muddled mind finally grasped what was amiss.

They had rehearsed for this performance for so long; the depth of Su Yue’s anticipation for today was matched only by the extent of her disappointment in Luochen’s showing.

‘Why had she neglected her junior sister’s feelings at such a crucial moment?’

Luochen was filled with regret.

As their lips parted, Luochen realized the person before her intended to pull away.

‘If she didn’t do something now, she would surely regret it.’

With that thought, Luochen cupped Su Yue’s face in her hands and drew her back.

Aiming carefully, she tilted her head back and initiated a kiss.

It was a clumsy, inexperienced kiss.

“I’m sorry, Junior Sister. I’m so sorry.”

In her ear, Su Yue heard Luochen’s soft whisper.

Below the stage, the crowd erupted completely.

“Holy cow, was that a real kiss?”

“Of course it’s acting! That part was in the rehearsal. Don’t talk nonsense!”

“It didn’t look like acting to me.”

“There wasn’t that latter part in the rehearsal, was there? Had I misremembered?”

Watching the performance from below the stage, Venerable Zhu Qing felt utterly bewildered.

****

Inside her room, Su Yue sat on the bed, clutching her stuffed bear.

Her fingers slowly traced her lips.

Recalling the recent kiss, a blush crept onto Su Yue’s face.

“Junior Sister, may I come in?” a familiar voice called from outside the room.

“Mm,” Su Yue replied indifferently, her tone betraying neither joy nor sorrow.

Click.

The sound of the door opening echoed softly.

Su Yue looked up; her Senior Sister appeared no different from usual.

Save for her slightly swollen lips.

They were Su Yue’s handiwork.

Luochen sat on the edge of the bed and took Su Yue’s hand. “I’m sorry, Junior Sister. I truly am.”

“We prepared for today for so long, yet my performance only disappointed you.”

Su Yue squeezed Luochen’s hand and spoke slowly.

“Senior Sister, I know something is troubling you. Ever since Miss Chen left, you’ve been like this.”

“I was upset because you wouldn’t tell me the truth about what happened.”

“Do you truly see me as an outsider, Senior Sister?”

“Of course, Junior Sister, you are my ‘neiren’ (TL Note: A term that can mean ‘insider’ or, more commonly, ‘wife’ in ancient Chinese)! “

Luochen hastily explained, but instantly realized the double meaning in her words.

“No, no, not that kind of ‘neiren’! Ah, Junior Sister, you understand what I mean, don’t you?”

“Pfft.”

Seeing Luochen’s slight panic, Su Yue burst into laughter.

The tense atmosphere in the room immediately lightened.

“My apologies, Junior Sister. Please forgive my earlier presumption.”

Luochen’s expression grew serious, and she spoke with a hint of solemnity. “I merely wished, perhaps selfishly, for your relationship to remain as it was. But you also have the right to know the truth.”

“The truth is, Miss Chen… she is a demonic cultivator.”

Though she had somewhat prepared herself, Su Yue still revealed a look of profound shock.

“She actually…”

“But Miss Chen isn’t the kind of person who indulges in wanton slaughter.”

Luochen hastily explained on Chen Ruan’s behalf.

“Even Master said she possesses an upright nature… at least for now.”

As if losing confidence in her own words, Luochen’s voice trailed off.

A silence fell between the two, each lost in their own thoughts.

“I, too, believe Miss Chen is not that kind of person.”

In the room, so quiet one could hear a pin drop, Su Yue broke the silence.

“At least not right now. The future is long, and we will undoubtedly meet her again.”

“What kind of person she truly is, I will see for myself then.”

Su Yue’s words brought great relief and happiness to Luochen.

“Senior Sister, I also acted inappropriately.”

Her gaze fell upon Luochen’s slightly swollen lips, and recalling her own bold actions from earlier, the tips of Su Yue’s ears turned a faint crimson.

Following Su Yue’s gaze, Luochen instinctively touched her own lips.

“Does it hurt?”

“Much, much better now!”

Luochen hadn’t expected Su Yue to bring up the subject, and her small face instantly flushed scarlet.

The atmosphere grew somewhat awkward, and Luochen felt it was time to change the subject.

“Junior Sister, it seems you really like the bear I gave you.”

Gazing at the stuffed bear, softly cradled by Su Yue, Luochen’s thoughts drifted back to when Su Yue had first arrived at Bamboo Peak.