The birdsong on the island was always more abundant than on the mainland.
As the morning sun rose from the sea’s horizon, this nearly heart-shaped island was the first to be bathed in the dawn light, with flocks of seabirds soaring and chirping joyfully amidst the morning glow.
The newly built Yuxin City naturally was not devoid of these sounds of life.
The faint, distant chirping drifted in, passing through the window lattice and falling into the bedroom within the courtyard.
On the soft couch, the white-haired girl opened her eyes right on time.
What greeted her vision was an exquisitely beautiful sleeping face—somehow, Hua Yan, who had originally been sleeping with her back turned, had shifted over and was now facing her, sleeping peacefully.
The sleeping Hua Yan had shed her usual lively, radiant charm, her facial features appearing soft and gentle.
Her pale golden, beautiful eyes were closed, her long, thick eyelashes fluttering slightly with each breath.
Her delicate, upturned nose was pretty and refined, and the corners of her mouth were lightly upturned in her dream, as if she were having a pleasant dream.
Looking at Hua Yan like this, Yun Xuechang felt her own heartbeat thump faster.
‘I like her.’
She curved her eyes, gently moving her head a little closer to Hua Yan’s side.
Memories from last night flooded her mind—the image of the red-haired girl earnestly saying she liked her too resurfaced.
‘Me.’
‘It was only last night that I learned I like Yan’er, and Yan’er, by coincidence, likes me too.’
‘So wonderful.’
The red-haired girl’s long, quiet breaths brushed against her face, carrying an intoxicating floral fragrance.
‘Right, last night, Yan’er also kissed my cheek.’
Recalling that light, brief kiss, a faint blush of shyness couldn’t help but rise on the white-haired girl’s usually cool and aloof face.
‘Yes, we are people who understand each other’s hearts now. I am her Xuechang, and she is my Yan’er.’
‘My Yan’er.’
She silently repeated it once more in her heart.
She liked this word.
Yun Xuechang reached out a hand, gently brushing aside the few strands of red hair that had fallen by Hua Yan’s ear.
‘Since we have both expressed our feelings for each other, does that mean I can also kiss Yan’er now? Yan’er said that lovers who understand each other’s hearts can do these intimate things.’
Thinking this, her eyes brightened.
She propped herself up slightly, slowly leaning closer to Hua Yan’s peaceful sleeping face, and gently pressed her lips against her cheek.
The cheek of the sleeping red-haired girl was soft and smooth.
This feeling was different from being kissed last night; it was a novel kind of wonderfulness.
A hint of shy joy and a sense of satisfaction welled up in her heart together.
The stray lock of hair on the white-haired girl’s head also bounced up and down along with her mood.
‘It’s just a pity we can’t casually kiss on the mouth.’
Yun Xuechang laid her head back on the pillow, staring quietly at Hua Yan’s rosy lips, lost in thought.
‘If I casually kissed Yan’er’s mouth, we’d probably end up having a baby……..’
The girl couldn’t help but feel a bit regretful in her heart.
But for one, their daughter is still young, and for another, whether or not to have more children is a major decision that must be discussed properly with Hua Yan.
‘It seems I can’t secretly kiss Yan’er’s mouth.’
The white-haired girl silently withdrew her thoughts, continuing to stare blankly at Hua Yan’s lovely face.
‘Since Yan’er and I are already in love, and we even have a daughter, then we should probably get married, right?’
‘But I promised Yan’er before that I wouldn’t marry her…….’
The girl, who had always been true to her word, slightly furrowed her brows, feeling a bit troubled.
‘Wait—what I said was that I would let Yan’er go find a woman she liked to marry. Now that she likes me, and I like her, then after this South Sea Secret Realm matter is settled, I’ll just propose to Yan’er.’
‘Rongrong said that during this Secret Realm expedition, I would encounter a great opportunity. When the time comes, I’ll give that opportunity to Yan’er as a gift. She’s sure to agree.’
Thinking this, the white-haired girl quickly figured it out.
Her furrowed brows smoothed out, and she happily went back to staring at Hua Yan’s sleeping face.
Until—
“Wow! Yun Xuechang! What are you doing getting so close to me again in the morning!”
The moment Hua Yan opened her eyes, she was met with an extremely close-up, smiling, cool and aloof face.
Her cheeks rapidly heated up, and she quickly put some distance between them.
“Yan’er, you said it yourself.”
Yun Xuechang’s ethereal voice carried a hint of grievance:
“You said we are already lovers who understand each other’s hearts, that I can be close to you.”
“Well, you can’t just—”
Halfway through her sentence, Hua Yan looked at the other’s face, which clearly showed grievance, and memories from last night quickly flooded back. She cleared her throat and swiftly changed her tune:
“Ahem! I mean………….. that………….. you can’t just suddenly lean in like that!”
“You… you have to give me a little time to get used to it, okay……”
Hua Yan unconsciously twirled the hair by her ear with one hand, her cheeks flushed.
“I understand.”
Yun Xuechang nodded in understanding, then sat up straight and said seriously:
“Yan’er, I want to hug you now, and I also want to kiss your cheek. Can you agree and then prepare yourself?”
“You’ve been hugging me all night! Haven’t you had enough yet!”
Yun Xuechang shook her head honestly.
Hua Yan’s body was soft and warm; she felt she might never get enough of hugging her in this lifetime.
“Geez!”
Hua Yan bit her lower lip, her face flushed red, her cheeks burning so hot they almost seemed to drip blood from Yun Xuechang’s straightforward manner.
‘This blockhead, how did she become so clingy once her feelings were awakened?’
‘But……. does this also mean that I am indeed very charming, that I’ve completely captivated her and she can’t leave me?’
A proud smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
She brought a fist to her mouth and gave two light coughs, secretly stealing a couple more glances at Yun Xuechang’s sincere, beautiful face, before finally nodding with feigned reserve and slightly opening her arms towards her:
“Since… since you’re begging me like this, then… then come on…… But, only for a little while, okay……”
“Mhm!”
Yun Xuechang nodded happily, embracing her face-to-face once more.
‘How come she hugs so tightly as soon as she starts, this dummy…….’
Her face flushed, Hua Yan allowed that soft body with its slightly cool temperature to press against her own, fitting tightly together.
She buried her reddened face into Yun Xuechang’s shoulder; strands of that cool, unique scent belonging to Yun Xue裳 alone drifted into her nose.
Just as Hua Yan was feeling dizzy with shyness from Yun Xuechang’s active embrace, Yun Xuechang pulled back a little distance. Then, a serious statement came from beside her ear:
“Yan’er, I’m going to kiss your cheek now.”
‘Huh?’
The voice by her ear made Hua Yan’s delicate earlobe tingle. She quickly said:
“Wait! I only agreed to let you hug me just now! I didn’t say……”
But Yun Xuechang’s warm, moist lips had already pressed against her cheek.
Hua Yan’s pupils suddenly dilated, as if steam was about to puff out of her ears.
The instigator, the white-haired girl, pulled back, lightly biting her own pink lips, her eyes curved into happy crescents, a look of complete satisfaction on her face.
“Huh?”
But hearing Hua Yan’s words from just now, she asked with a hint of worry:
“Yan’er, I thought you also agreed I could kiss you…… Did I do something wrong?”
“That goes without saying! Of course you were wrong!”
Flustered and annoyed, Hua Yan pointed a finger at her, her other hand covering the cheek that had just been kissed, her almond-shaped eyes glistening with moisture.
‘This blockhead! Even if her feelings have awakened, it looks like she still needs proper discipline!’
“Oh……”
Yun Xuechang nodded, looking somewhat dejected.
“But… but……”
Seeing her like this, Hua Yan’s heart couldn’t help but soften again. She turned her head away, stubbornly saying:
“But… occasionally, having it happen once in a while is… is fine too……”
“After all……. the feeling was actually quite nice.”
She uttered this last sentence almost inaudibly.
“Mhm!”
“Huh? You… don’t hug me again right away!”