A Forgotten Name and a Troubled Heart

Ming Yu gazed at Qing Shui Ling Yin’s haggard face with a pang of pity. She sighed inwardly, wondering how she might persuade her friend to take better care of herself.

After receiving the work card, Qing Shui Ling Yin quickly turned, handing it to Lite, the security captain, as she began to explain.

“Although I’m not clear on what happened,” she said, “please don’t make things difficult for her. I invited her here myself, and I’m truly sorry…”

****

With an active researcher vouching for the intruder, the security team lost any right or authority to question the matter further. There was simply no way around it; the disparity in their statuses was evident.

Furthermore, Qing Shui Ling Yin’s sincere attitude had given Lite ample face, leaving him with little to say. He could only nod, then turn and wave his hand, signaling his team to withdraw.

Ming Yu, standing nearby, quietly watched Qing Shui Ling Yin handle the situation, contentedly slurping her ice cream. She felt quite relieved.

Following Qing Shui Ling Yin back to her seat, Ming Yu pushed another ice cream toward her. She blinked playfully.

“Try this one.”

“What is it?”

“Something delicious,” Ming Yu replied with a soft smile.

Hearing this, Qing Shui Ling Yin picked up a small spoon, gently scooped a mouthful, and brought it to her lips. The refreshing chill instantly spread through her, permeating her very core.

Although she rarely indulged in sweets, she found this particular taste not at all unpleasant.

It was as if she had forgotten the name of the person before her, yet she didn’t mind a single moment spent in her company.

Qing Shui Ling Yin suddenly set down her spoon, hesitated for a moment, then gathered her courage to gaze into Ming Yu’s blood-red eyes. She spoke softly.

“Um, excuse me…”

“Due to some research, I might have forgotten a few things…”

“May I ask how I should address you?”

Qing Shui Ling Yin felt an inexplicable unease, her small hands clenching into fists beneath the table. She wondered what kind of response the other person would give.

She had discovered several distinct blanks in her memory.

If her suspicions were correct, these voids should have held the image of the person before her, chronicling every detail of their shared moments.

Behind this emptiness, it seemed, lay a surging tide of affection.

But then, the other person was also a woman…

Qing Shui Ling Yin bit her lip, her gaze flickering as she couldn’t help but question her past sexual orientation.

At the same moment, Ming Yu, who had been savoring her treat, suddenly froze. Her gaze slowly met Qing Shui Ling Yin’s blank stare, her breath hitched, and her pupils abruptly dilated.

She stopped her movements and reached out to touch Qing Shui Ling Yin’s forehead. It didn’t feel particularly hot; how could she be speaking such nonsense?

Qing Shui Ling Yin wasn’t the type to joke around.

Ming Yu frowned slightly, her eyes narrowing as she countered.

“Qing Shui Ling Yin, do you know what you’re saying?”

“I-I just wanted to ask your name…”

“Ask my name? What kind of joke is this?”

Ming Yu, whose good mood had even quelled her desire for action, now felt her heart sink. Her expression gradually turned grim.

Something had indeed happened.

****

Qing Shui Ling Yin stared at her tightly clasped wrist, reluctantly following the other person to the general hospital. In her heart, she silently repeated a name.

‘Ming Yu… Ming Yu…’

‘It feels so familiar, like family…’

‘Or perhaps, our relationship was always meant to be this way…’

Qing Shui Ling Yin’s eyes curved gently, an unbidden tenderness in her gaze as it fell upon Ming Yu’s hand holding hers. The emptiness in her chest felt as if it had been filled by something profound.

Deep within her memory, she could find no trace of her father or mother. Her childhood recollections were limited to the black walls of the orphanage, the scolding of the church nuns, and the gloomy sky outside the window.

Immersed in her own world, Qing Shui Ling Yin docilely followed Ming Yu’s every move. Whatever Ming Yu requested, she complied without question.

After blood tests, an MRI, and a visit to the psychiatrist, she sat down, leaning tiredly against Ming Yu while they awaited the results. Without a trace of burden, she rested her head on Ming Yu’s shoulder and slowly closed her eyes.

In stark contrast to Qing Shui Ling Yin’s serene composure, Ming Yu was far from calm. The doctor’s words replayed incessantly in her mind.

“As you suspected, this patient’s depression shows a tendency to relapse…”

“While it’s not yet clear, judging by the amnesia symptoms, the cause might not just be psychological. It could also be related to damage in brain structure and function…”

“If that’s truly the case, the condition could continue to worsen, and there’s nothing we can do about it…”

“The theories and technologies of brain science were taken to Sky City long ago…”

****

Sky City.

Always Sky City.

Ming Yu propped her cheek with a hand, her irritation growing as she endlessly considered all possible trajectories of the illness, especially the worst-case scenario.

She might lose Qing Shui Ling Yin.

For some reason, the mere thought of this possibility made Ming Yu’s heart feel as if it were being squeezed by a hand. Her blood pressure surged uncontrollably, and her scarlet pupils irregularly contracted and expanded.

****

“Mr. Ming, when will you finally marry me~~

“Mr. Ming, let’s make a pinky promise, alright? Once you return, you’ll marry me and make me your wife~~

“Mr. Ming… This might be the last time I call you that… Ming Yu, you surely haven’t forgotten that I am your fiancée…”

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

“I don’t care. No matter what you become, I will still be your fiancée.”

****

To be honest, Ming Yu genuinely liked this girl.

This affection had evolved, starting from pity for her background and struggles, growing into admiration for her resilience and effort, and finally blossoming into a reliance on her gentleness and trust.

In her career, Ming Yu had never relied on anyone, yet when it came to matters of the heart, she was utterly clueless.

Qing Shui Ling Yin’s companionship brought her genuine ease and joy, as if she had shed a heavy burden and fallen into a haven of tenderness meant only for her.

She had to admit that her past self had been cowardly.

Given the high mortality rate of a Sea Beast Hunter, she hadn’t dared to stake Qing Shui Ling Yin’s full affection and bright future on a life that constantly teetered on the brink of death.

Ming Yu chuckled self-deprecatingly.

But now…

Due to that cursed genetic disease, she had not only transformed into a woman but had also developed these inhuman, monstrous fangs and claws.

Could she truly expect Qing Shui Ling Yin to overcome the barriers of same-s*x attraction and still harbor a romantic love for her?

It wouldn’t be fair to Qing Shui Ling Yin.

Qing Shui Ling Yin clearly deserved better choices, a chance to live an ordinary life like any normal person.

Yet, now Qing Shui Ling Yin was ill, and Ming Yu realized she could have given her what she desired when she was still healthy.

The more Ming Yu thought about it, the more agitated she became. She worried for Qing Shui Ling Yin’s condition, yet simultaneously felt disgusted by her own sentimentality.

A surging desire for aggression rose within her heart.

Ming Yu’s gaze fell upon the girl’s face beside her. The gloom in her eyes immediately receded, transforming into a mixture of unwillingness and helplessness.

Once they reached Sky City and Qing Shui Ling Yin’s illness was cured, then she would ask for her thoughts.

If she could still accept spending her life with another woman…

Then Ming Yu would have no reason to be sentimental anymore.