The Weight of a Promise

Ming Yu chuckled softly, her eyes curving slightly at the corners. Her gaze, fluid and shifting, swept over Qing Shui Ling Yin, who stood frozen in place, before drifting away to the distant, boundless sky.

Qing Shui Ling Yin slowly stepped forward, her expression subtly changing.

“How could you know about something like this… Did Mr. Ming tell you?”

“What do you think?”

“I… I don’t know…”

Gazing at Silver Kite’s exquisite profile, Qing Shui Ling Yin felt a momentary lapse of concentration, inexplicably catching a familiar echo in the other’s words.

Ming Yu gestured to the spot beside her, a faint smile playing on her lips.

“Don’t worry, come sit here.”

“If, by chance, you feel like jumping, I’ll pull you back up.”

“You…”

It seemed a sensitive memory had been triggered, causing Qing Shui Ling Yin’s pupils to tremble faintly, her mind momentarily dazed.

She remembered it vividly: a heavy rain had fallen that day.

Ming Yu had asked her if there was anywhere she wished to go.

‘A place I wish to go…’

Initially, Qing Shui Ling Yin had chosen the signal tower simply because it offered an easy, clean exit from this hellish world, a swift passage to the heaven she envisioned.

Constantly, her chest felt as though a massive stone weighed upon it, leaving her breathless and utterly suffocated.

Here, fairness and justice held no sway; only survival and procreation mattered.

Some people were born destined never to achieve self-realization, forced to scramble for basic physiological needs, abandoning their dignity merely to survive.

“Mr. Ming, I don’t know what the meaning of life is. Is it to procreate? To make my children, and my children’s children, continue to struggle in this hopeless world?”

“Mr. Ming, can you tell me… why can you still endure all of this?”

In the rain, the lost, bewildered girl poured out the buried sentiments of her heart, giving voice to her deepest despair.

“Uh, I’ve never really thought about such things… Your situation, I diagnose as reading too few books and thinking too much.”

Ming Yu unceremoniously clasped Qing Shui Ling Yin’s wrist, preventing the young woman from impulsively ending her life.

“I…”

“Don’t dwell on these thoughts… This rain is quite timely; usually, the heavens aren’t so diligent. By the way, are you cold?”

Without waiting for Qing Shui Ling Yin’s response, Ming Yu took it upon himself to remove his outer robe and wrap it around the girl.

He sat on the edge of the tower’s platform, pointed to the space beside him, and chuckled amiably at Qing Shui Ling Yin.

“Watching the rain from under the eaves also has its own charm.”

“Life is like being… uh, anyway, since you can’t resist, you might as well try to enjoy it.”

“If, by chance, you feel like jumping, I’ll pull you back up.”

His voice carried an easygoing chuckle, and his palm pressed gently against the girl’s fair wrist. The warmth permeated her delicate skin, thawing her frozen heart just a little.

****

The sensor door leading to the rooftop silently slid open.

A pure white, fluffy creature padded forward with elegant, tiny steps, its sea-blue cat eyes glinting with unpredictable, almost human emotions.

After ending her communication with Ming Yu, Little Nightingale felt inexplicably vexed, so she secluded herself in her bedroom, lost in a daze.

Hearing Ming Yu’s return, and then hearing Ming Yu leave with her “fiancée,” she lay in bed, curled up under the covers, tossing and turning.

Little Nightingale felt as though cat claws were scratching at her chest, unable to settle her restless thoughts. The word “fiancée” endlessly circled in her mind.

‘This feels very uncomfortable, a strange panic rising in my heart.’

‘It’s as if something important has been taken away…’

‘Someone like Sister Ming Yu… surely no one could dislike her…’

‘Completely different from me…’

Finally, Little Nightingale could no longer bear her internal turmoil. She picked up Luna and softly asked her to check the situation on the rooftop.

“Meow~ (๑•ᴗ•๑)”

Luna, a clever little angel, always effortlessly understood her thoughts and shared her worries without complaint.

Through Luna’s eyes, Little Nightingale saw the two figures sitting side-by-side on the rooftop edge, and an indescribable feeling welled up in her heart.

As she silently wished it, Luna, following her unspoken command, quietly crept up behind the two, attempting to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“…So, you are Ming Yu, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“You… why did you become like this…”

“You know how it is in our line of work; our bodies inevitably suffer some issues… This is a genetic disease.”

“A genetic disease? Is it serious?”

Qing Shui Ling Yin’s voice suddenly rose in pitch.

Recalling the doctor’s diagnosis, Ming Yu felt a hidden bitterness, yet her expression remained calm and unconcerned, unwilling to let Qing Shui Ling Yin worry.

“Don’t worry, it’s not a big problem.”

Ming Yu casually dismissed the concern, deftly changing the subject as she inquired,

“Speaking of which, have you met the girl inside the house?”

“I have. Why do you ask?”

“If her father hadn’t saved me with his life, I might not have made it back… She’s still young, and if you have the capacity, I hope you can help her.”

“Yes, I will.” Qing Shui Ling Yin nodded solemnly in response.

At this, Ming Yu smiled faintly, instinctively raising her hand to gently pat Qing Shui Ling Yin’s head.

“Mr. Ming… perhaps this will be the last time I call you that,” Qing Shui Ling Yin began softly, biting her lip. “Ming Yu, surely you haven’t forgotten that I am your fiancée…”

“The past is the past, and now is now,” Ming Yu said helplessly.

Although her transformation had brought many new troubles, perhaps, in turn, Qing Shui Ling Yin would release her attachment to her.

‘How can a girl be a fiancée to another girl?’

‘Besides, Pharos law doesn’t permit it.’

‘Any marital relationship that hinders procreation is forbidden by law.’

“Ming Yu, you said you wouldn’t abandon me, never… You promised me.”

“Wait, calm down first…”

“I don’t care! No matter what you’ve become, I am your fiancée.” Qing Shui Ling Yin suddenly grew agitated.

She firmly gripped one of Ming Yu’s hands, refusing to let go.

“Ah, you…”

Just as Ming Yu was about to speak, a warm, damp sensation suddenly appeared on her other hand.

Turning her head, she saw the little white cat had climbed onto the railing, now perched by her hand, its tiny pink tongue gently licking her fingers.

“Luna? What are you doing here?” Ming Yu exclaimed in surprise.

“Meow~ (੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭”

Luna stretched out its front paws, clearly adopting a “cuddle me” pose.

‘Irresistible, utterly irresistible.’

Ming Yu raised an eyebrow, then scooped Luna directly into her arms, beginning to dote on it mercilessly.

‘Since Little Nightingale isn’t around, I won’t hold back.’

‘You barged in yourself.’

“Ming Yu? This cat…”

“It’s a gift I gave to that girl,” Ming Yu said, narrowing her eyes contentedly as her hands began to work. A flurry of strokes soon elicited soft purrs from Luna.

“Oh, right, I haven’t introduced you yet… Her name is Little Nightingale, and this little cat is Luna.”

“Although Little Nightingale can be a bit shy, I’m sure you two will get along well.”

Watching Ming Yu happily doting on the cat, Qing Shui Ling Yin’s gaze drifted over that devastatingly beautiful face, and a sense of unreality welled up within her.

This was Ming Yu, the Ming Yu she had longed for, the one she had yearned for so deeply…

‘Though the reunion was vastly different from what she had imagined, perhaps… it wasn’t so bad?’

“Little Nightingale, you say? I hope so…”

****

Inside the bedroom, beneath the covers.

Short, lingering gasps, intertwined with soft, tingling murmurs, echoed faintly within this domain that belonged solely to her.

Little Nightingale curled her body into a ball, silently enduring Ming Yu’s caresses.