"…"
Fán Xuányè looked up at her, hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Mm."
The two walked outside the cave and casually found a spot to sit down.
In the sky, a bright moon cast its gentle light, surrounded by countless stars that seemed drawn to it, turning into dazzling orbs of light.
"What do you want to talk about?"
Fán Xuányè gazed at the clear, bright sky, feeling somewhat better. Since coming to the military academy, he had tried his best to forget the unhappy times before. But today, the sudden arrival of Fán Yúnchè had stirred up those nauseating memories again.
"Turn off the live stream device."
Mù Qīngyǔ didn't answer his question. Instead, she pointed at her wrist and switched off her device.
Seeing Fán Xuányè do the same, she finally spoke softly, "You probably weren't very happy before, which is why you came to the military academy trials as soon as you became an adult, right?"
"Mm." He nodded slightly. "I've always felt like an outsider in my family. Everyone else seems so happy together, but I'm different."
"My father, although he plans to give me a portion of the company in the future, looks at me with nothing but disgust."
"I know. He believes what others say—that my mother ran away with someone else."
"At least your father has a reason." Mù Qīngyǔ sighed lightly, resting her hands behind her head and lying back to stare at the starry sky.
"My father hasn't acknowledged me since I was born. He has many scheming beauties and many children. To him, I'm just a number."
Recalling her own childhood in a previous life, a pang of pain surfaced in her heart.
An absent father, palace intrigues, a cramped cold palace, and harsh servants—all made her life unbearable back then.
However, Fán Xuányè frowned at her words, hesitated a moment, then said calmly, "Isn't that… illegal?"
"…"
Mù Qīngyǔ twitched the corner of her mouth. "Maybe."
Honestly, Fán Xuányè was quite the character. His unexpected comment completely erased her sad mood.
It seemed he wasn't as fragile as she had imagined—not everyone needed comfort like her brother did.
They both fell silent. After a while, Fán Xuányè sat quietly, then turned to look at her and simply lay down beside her, gazing at the clear night sky together.
"Yo, enjoying the moonlight?"
A familiar voice came from beside them. Mù Qīngyǔ didn't turn her head, but in the next moment, a close-up of a handsome face appeared before her.
Kǎzé'ěr's violet eyes glowed faintly as he held a pearl between his fingers, letting it drop onto her face.
The small, translucent pearl lightly bounced on her cheek, stopping perfectly at the philtrum due to her full lips.
"What?" She frowned, touching her face and picking up the pearl.
The pearl glistened in the moonlight, small but clearly of excellent quality.
Without a word, she slipped it into her storage pouch.
Kǎzé'ěr: …
What about my beautiful pearl?
"Pretty quick with the hands, huh?"
Kǎzé'ěr's lips curled into a "death smile," his tone teasing and sarcastic.
"I'm heading back now." Fán Xuányè, feeling out of place, got up and walked back into the cave.
Mù Qīngyǔ looked up, watching him disappear into the cave before speaking quietly, "It's mine now."
"Who said it's yours?" Kǎzé'ěr raised an eyebrow. "That pearl's pretty valuable, you just slipped it into your pocket like it was nothing."
"You threw it at my face—what else is that if not giving it to me?" Mù Qīngyǔ's lips curved into a cold smile as she tilted her head toward him. "Unless you admit you have sticky fingers and can't help throwing things at people."
[Haha, Mù's got a point!]
[I was so happy, Mù turned off her stream, so I switched to Kǎzé'ěr's, but then, hey, there's Mù again!]
[What Mù said is spot on. If Kǎzé'ěr admits it, he's basically insulting himself. If not, then the pearl's a freebie.]
[Freebies or not, since it's for his hubby, it's all good, right?]
[…Can the person above please stop overthinking? Be normal, please! I'm done here.]
…
As expected, Kǎzé'ěr hesitated, then sighed helplessly, "Fine, the pearl's yours."
"Mm." She nodded lightly and closed her eyes.
"You're not going to sleep out here, are you?" Kǎzé'ěr raised an eyebrow, surprised at her closed eyes.
Mù Qīngyǔ didn't answer. After days of tiring house-building and today's sudden incident with Fán Yúnchè, she was simply exhausted.
A gentle breeze blew through the darkness. She only meant to rest her eyes for a moment, but unexpectedly, she fell asleep.
"Mù Qīngyǔ?"
No reply came for a while, so Kǎzé'ěr called softly and turned his head to see her already asleep.
So tired, huh?
He raised his eyebrows in puzzlement, just as his violet eyes flashed unexpectedly.
Curious, he looked down at the screen on his wrist and saw many fans of Mù Xuěyáo asking for help in the comments.
Tsk, such a pain.
He took a deep breath, frowned in frustration, but after some hesitation, he stood up, leaving Mù Qīngyǔ behind and followed the fans' directions toward where Mù Xuěyáo was.
However, not long after he left, Sū, who had been watching at the cave's entrance, slowly walked out.
Sū glanced at Kǎzé'ěr's departing figure, a flicker of doubt in his eyes.
Could it be that this mermaid's sexual orientation really is different?
Whatever, it's none of his business.
He shook his head and quickly walked over to Mù Qīngyǔ's side.
The steady sound of breathing was audible as he looked down and saw her eyes tightly shut, clearly asleep.
Frowning, Sū thought of how cautious Mù Qīngyǔ usually was—falling asleep like this meant she must be utterly exhausted.
He sighed softly, glanced at the already closed live stream on his device, and extended his left hand.
A bright white light shimmered in his palm.
Placing his hand gently on Mù Qīngyǔ's forehead, his light-based power activated, softly flowing into her body and easing the fatigue built up over days.
Light powers weren't just for offense—they could also heal and restore.
"Rest well."
Sū smiled faintly at Mù Qīngyǔ's gradually improving complexion.
After a while, he withdrew his ability.
He scooped her up with ease.
Looking down at Mù Qīngyǔ peacefully asleep in his arms, he raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
Mù Qīngyǔ was surprisingly light.