When she abruptly pulled the door open, her bloodshot eyes first caught sight of He Xi Qian Yu standing in front.
Seeing his slightly weary but unharmed figure, Dong Xiang's taut nerves relaxed for a moment, and the breath she had been holding all night slowly exhaled.
The next second, her gaze moved past He Xi Qian Yu, falling on the figure he was carefully supporting in his arm.
Time seemed to freeze.
After clearly seeing that face, which had become somewhat unfamiliar due to the erosion of time, Dong Xiang's hand gripping the doorframe tightened abruptly, her pupils contracted violently, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
There were no words.
Dong Xiang's accumulated longing and worry of over a decade, like a bursting flood, instantly overwhelmed all barriers.
She fiercely crashed into Kirishima Arata's embrace, using all her strength to tightly hug his slender body.
Her face was buried deep in her father's neck, her slender shoulders uncontrollably heaving violently.
Scalding tears instantly burst forth, soaking Kirishima Arata's clothes.
The suppressed cries of over a decade broke through her throat, echoing in the quiet back alley.
She held him so tightly, as if loosening even a tiny gap would make this rediscovered miracle evaporate like morning dew.
Kirishima Arata was staggered backward by his daughter's powerful embrace, only managing to stand steady with He Xi Qian Yu's support behind him.
His stiff arms, after the initial shock and bewilderment, slowly lifted.
With endless heartache and guilt, he carefully embraced this lost-and-found treasure.
He could clearly feel the violent trembling of his daughter's body and the strength that almost crushed his ribs.
Kirishima Arata's cloudy eyes were also filled with tears, blurring his vision.
His Adam's apple bobbed violently, finally turning into a low call: "Dong Xiang... Daddy's back..."
His arms tightened further, as if to knead the lost decade of time into this belated embrace.
Just then, Dong Xiang's face, buried in her father's neck, turned slightly.
Through her tear-filled eyes, she saw He Xi Qian Yu, who had been supporting her father, and also smelled the lingering scent of blood on him.
Recalling her appearance just now, an extremely complex warm current surged through her heart, and two blushes suddenly flew onto Dong Xiang's cheeks, her earlobes also tinged with crimson.
He Xi Qian Yu keenly caught the blush on Dong Xiang's face and that hint of discomfort.
He smiled knowingly, then lowered his head and symbolically sniffed the scent of blood on himself, his eyes full of consideration.
He gently released his hand supporting Kirishima Arata, and after confirming that the father and daughter could stand steadily, he stepped back, leaving the space entirely to them.
"Ahem," He Xi Qian Yu cleared his throat, his voice extremely soft, "Um... you two continue.
I'll go up and take a shower first."
After speaking, he quickly winked at Dong Xiang, giving her a comforting look, then nodded slightly to Kirishima Arata, turned around, and prepared to quietly slip into the coffee shop through the back door.
"Wait!"
A slightly flustered voice suddenly sounded, interrupting He Xi Qian Yu's departure.
Dong Xiang abruptly lifted her head from her father's shoulder, her crimson cheeks still streaked with un-dried tear marks, her violet eyes, washed by tears, were exceptionally clear, now shimmering and gazing directly at He Xi Qian Yu.
Under her father Kirishima Arata's surprised and confused gaze, Dong Xiang seemed to have made some kind of decision.
She first released her arms that were tightly embracing her father, but still subconsciously held onto one of his arms, then, she took a step forward.
Immediately after, under Kirishima Arata's astonished gaze and He Xi Qian Yu's completely unexpected surprise, she unhesitatingly extended her other arm, gently wrapped it around He Xi Qian Yu's waist, and lightly pressed her tear-stained cheek against his blood-stained shoulder.
He Xi Qian Yu's body instantly stiffened, his hand hovering in mid-air hesitated, and finally, he very gently returned the embrace, his palm lightly resting on her back.
Kirishima Arata was completely stunned.
He watched his daughter actively embrace the young man who had just saved him and called himself a "friend," and seeing the intimacy between the two, his brain temporarily stalled, unable to comprehend the scene before him that defied his understanding.
Great confusion made him instinctively blurt out, his voice still tinged with a slight sob: "You two... aren't you friends?"
In his perception, which had been isolated by a long imprisonment, his daughter's world seemed to still be stuck in childhood; he couldn't comprehend this intimacy that surpassed ordinary friendship.
"Cough! Cough, cough..."
He Xi Qian Yu, held by Dong Xiang, was immediately choked by this direct question and coughed violently, his face flashing with embarrassment and a hint of panic.
He cautiously glanced at Dong Xiang, who was still leaning her face on his shoulder, seemingly determined not to lift it, and could feel the temperature of her neck skin rapidly rising, so he had to bite the bullet and, with some awkwardness, explained to Kirishima Arata:
"Um... Mr. Kirishima... strictly speaking... boy, girlfriend," He Xi Qian Yu struggled to utter the word, his voice unconsciously getting lower and lower, "should... also be a kind of... special friend... right?"
The air seemed to instantly solidify, leaving only the subtle breathing of the few people.
Dong Xiang buried her hot cheek deeper into He Xi Qian Yu's shoulder, her fingers unconsciously clutching tightly at the clothing on his back, as if she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
Kirishima Arata stood still, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the tightly embracing two, the lingering strong scent of blood now seemingly completely unable to conceal the complex atmosphere filling the air.
He saw this powerful young man, yet at this moment, he seemed a little flustered by his daughter's embrace, and his carefully protective posture was full of cherishment and tenderness.
He saw his daughter's hands tightly embracing He Xi Qian Yu, he saw that embrace filled with trust and dependence, and he also saw the slightly relaxed line of his daughter's back when she buried her face in the man's shoulder.
Kirishima Arata looked at his daughter's reddened earlobes and dependent posture, then at the young man's embarrassed yet undeniably gentle expression, and a long-overdue realization appeared in his mind.
He suddenly realized that during the long years of his absence, his daughter had grown up.
A moment later, Kirishima Arata nodded very slightly.
He admitted he was not a qualified father; he missed his daughter's growth, he missed all the times she needed a father's protection.
But Kirishima Arata was very relieved that his daughter had grown up in places he couldn't see.
Not only did she survive strongly, but she also found the person who could actively embrace and comfort her.