The morning light spilled across the corridor’s carved railings, stretching the shadow of Lilia holding Yiyi long and thin.
The person in her arms wore a loose white camisole, bare shoulders touched by warmth.
Her eyelashes were still drooping in sleepy laziness until she heard a familiar voice and hazily looked up.
Lilia was the first to react, her arms tightening around Yiyi in a flash of startled panic as she spoke, her voice trembling: “Mother? Aunt Xiamir? What are you…”
Before she could finish, the movement in her arms interrupted her.
Yiyi, seeing who had come, snapped nearly fully awake.
The tips of her ears flushed bright red, and she quickly snuggled deeper into Lilia’s embrace, causing the strap of her camisole to slip further.
Her voice was muffled with anxiety: “Huh? Xiamir? …Huh?! W-What are you doing here!?”
“I’m here to bring you home, of course. Why else would I come? To watch you two little sweethearts being all lovey-dovey?” The moment Xiamir said this, a thick, sweet embarrassment colored the air in the corridor.
Yiyi’s face, buried in Lilia’s arms, grew even hotter, as if doused in warm wine.
She shrank further into the crook of Lilia’s neck.
The white camisole strap slipped to her elbow, revealing a pink-tinged shoulder.
“Xiamir, don’t say such things?! I—I wasn’t doing anything!”
Yiyi’s voice was anxious and soft, like a flustered kitten, yet she burrowed even deeper into Lilia’s arms, her ears nearly dripping with red.
Lilia looked down at her flushed ear tips and couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
She reached out to gently pull the fallen camisole strap back up over Yiyi’s shoulder, her fingers grazing warm skin.
She felt the girl in her arms shiver slightly.
“Come now, Lilia, let me hold my little Yibao.”
Xiamir stretched out her hands, her tone less teasing now, gentler.
Lilia hesitated, not letting go at once.
She glanced down at Yiyi, still burning in her arms, and patted her back softly, as if comforting her.
Yiyi sensed the movement and peeked up from the hollow of Lilia’s neck, catching sight of Xiamir’s outstretched hand before quickly ducking back down.
She mumbled quietly: “I—I can walk on my own…”
“Oh, is that so?”
Xiamir raised an eyebrow, her gaze falling to Yiyi’s fingers still clinging to the edge of Lilia’s clothes, a smile in her voice.
“Then why don’t you let go of Lilia’s shirt and come down yourself?”
“I—I can do it!”
Prodded by these words, Yiyi straightened, her cheeks still pink, but she stiffened her neck to act tough.
Seeing this, Lilia quickly loosened her hold, carefully supporting Yiyi’s waist and slowly lowering her to the ground, softly reminding her: “Yiyi, go slowly.”
But as soon as her feet touched the cold floor, Yiyi stumbled—her legs still weak from sleep and her heart flustered, she couldn’t steady herself.
She almost fell, but Xiamir’s dragon tail caught her just in time.
In one smooth motion, Xiamir scooped Yiyi into her arms, reached out, and gently tapped Yiyi’s nose, smiling as she said: “Still trying to act tough? If I hadn’t caught you, our little Yibao would’ve landed right on her bum! Wouldn’t you be the first one to cry then?”
That made Yiyi’s face flush right to the tips of her ears.
She nestled into Xiamir’s arms and retorted in a soft voice: “I—I wouldn’t…” But her voice was so weak that even she didn’t sound convinced.
“What a stubborn little thing.”
With that, Xiamir took a new pacifier from the small bag at her side and gently put it into Yiyi’s mouth.
The instant the soft pacifier touched her lips, Yiyi instinctively took it.
The tiny, pitiful whimpers she’d been making were immediately muffled, leaving only faint sucking sounds.
Her cheeks puffed out, her gaze softened, and the hand gripping Xiamir’s collar gradually loosened, shifting instead to gently hold the edge of the pacifier.
Yet the red on her ears hadn’t faded.
“Lilith, I’m taking Yiyi back to the Dragon Clan now.”
Xiamir turned, holding Yiyi, her dragon tail sweeping softly over the floor.
“Alright, take care,” Lilith replied warmly.
Lilia stepped forward, tugging lightly at Lilith’s sleeve.
When she looked up, her eyes were filled with hope and her voice was tinged with careful pleading: “Mother, I want—I want to go to the Dragon Clan too. Can I stay with Yiyi?”
Lilith saw the affection in her daughter’s eyes and glanced at Yiyi, who was sneaking peeks from Xiamir’s arms.
With a helpless smile, she reached out to ruffle Lilia’s hair: “You, your eyes are full of nothing but Yiyi now. Go on then, but remember to follow the rules of the Dragon Clan and don’t give your Aunt Xiamir any trouble. In a few days, I’ll send someone to bring you both home.”
“Thank you, Mother!”
Lilia instantly lit up, skipping happily to Xiamir’s side, her gaze glued to Yiyi, whispering softly: “Yibao, wherever you go, I’ll go. I’ll always be with you.”