In the early morning, just as dawn was breaking, Yun Xuechang opened her eyes right on time.
She was about to sit up when her body was gently restrained, making it impossible to move.
“Rongrong, don’t be noisy…”
A warm breath, carrying a thick floral scent, puffed gently against her cheek.
Yun Xuechang turned her head to look, coming face-to-face with a bright, vivid countenance.
That face was breathtakingly lively. Her pale-gold almond eyes were closed, and her vermillion lips were slightly parted.
She was close enough that Yun Xuechang could count every single trembling eyelash.
At some point, Hua Yan had crossed the gap they had intentionally left the night before.
She had wrapped herself around Yun Xuechang, holding her in a firm embrace.
With a soft warmth in her arms and the scent of flowers filling her senses, Yun Xuechang — who was usually strictly self-disciplined and rose every morning to practice her sword — suddenly lost the desire to get up.
She truly couldn’t bear to wake the young girl who was sleeping so soundly.
And so, Yun Xuechang lay there quietly, allowing Hua Yan to use her as a body pillow and letting those soft red tresses tangle with her own white hair.
She gazed at that beautiful sleeping face without blinking once.
She remained like that until the sun was high in the sky.
“Whoa! Yun Xuechang! Why are you so close to me!”
Hua Yan opened her eyes dizzily, only to meet a pair of distant yet focused red eyes staring back at her.
“Why aren’t you up for your morning sword practice!”
She abruptly let go, jumping to the other side of the bed like a startled cat. A blush quickly stained her cheeks.
“Yan’er, you were the one holding me just now.”
Feeling the soft warmth suddenly leave her arms, Yun Xuechang blinked and explained softly, “I didn’t want to disturb your peaceful dreams, so I didn’t get up.”
“Huh? Ah…”
Hua Yan wanted to argue, but the memories of her waking moments told her that the other woman was right — at some point, she really had hugged her and slept like that for the entire night.
“Then… then why were you staring at me the whole time!” she stammered, flushing red as she tried to save face.
“Yan’er is beautiful, so I couldn’t help but look,” Yun Xuechang answered honestly.
“You! You!”
Hua Yan pointed at that cold, soft, and pale face, unable to say a single complete sentence for a long time.
Her cheeks were so red they looked ready to drip blood.
“I — I’m going to see Rongrong! If you like looking at beautiful people so much, go look in the mirror until you’ve had your fill!”
With that, she grabbed her outer robe and fled the room.
Yun Xuechang watched the frantic red figure depart and tilted her head slightly.
‘Yan’er told me to look in the mirror… Was she praising me for being beautiful too?’
Actually, she had never cared about her own appearance. Looking at herself every day, she had long since grown accustomed to this skin.
Even if others praised her, it would hardly cause a stir.
But Hua Yan was different. In her eyes, Hua Yan was naturally exquisite.
Even ten years ago on the Yin-Yang Platform, she had been dazed by that face veiled in a hazy charm, allowing the other to kiss her.
‘Since Yan’er says so… then I must be beautiful too.’
The White-haired Fairy’s eyes crinkled as a faint smile bloomed on her lips.
‘It is better this way — being a match for her is a good thing after all.’
……
When Hua Yan rushed out the door, a small pink figure was already sitting under the locust tree in the courtyard, clearly having waited for a long time.
“Mother, why are you up so late?”
Hua Xiangrong sat on the stone bench under the tree. She looked up at Hua Yan, whose cheeks still held a lingering blush, and blinked suspiciously.
“Mother, honestly tell Rongrong, did you fight with Mom last night? Is that why you’re up so late?”
“What… what fight! Who taught you such things!”
The blush that had just begun to fade from Hua Yan’s face surged back instantly.
“It is fighting,” Hua Xiangrong said with a serious expression.
“Xiao Mei from the Academy said that her mother and mother sometimes oversleep, and that’s because they fought the night before. She even said she saw bruises on her mother’s neck. Anyone can tell they were from a fight!”
She tugged at the hem of Hua Yan’s clothes, her little face full of worry.
“Mother, don’t fight with Mom anymore, okay? If it comes down to it, Rongrong will come back and sleep with you both.”
‘Fighting? Was that fighting?!’
‘And that Xiao Mei! Such a young age and she doesn’t learn anything good. What kind of nonsense is she teaching Rongrong!’
Hua Yan was both angry and embarrassed. She stomped her foot, but looking at her daughter’s innocent and worried expression, she didn’t know how to explain herself.
“We… we didn’t fight! Look, where are the injuries on my neck!”
As she spoke, she knelt down and showed her long, fair neck to Hua Xiangrong.
“Hmm… Mother really doesn’t have any.”
Hua Xiangrong carefully inspected her like a little adult, then turned and ran toward Yun Xuechang, who had just walked out the door.
“Mom! I want to see your neck too!”
Though Yun Xuechang was somewhat confused, she still gently leaned down and picked her up, allowing the girl to scrutinize her neck.
“Rongrong, can you tell Mom what you are doing?” she asked softly, blinking.
“I’m checking if Mom and Mother were fighting behind Rongrong’s back last night!”
The pink-haired girl answered crisply, repeating her “theory” once more.
‘Fighting?’
‘Why would Xiao Mei’s mother and mother fight at night? From the sounds of it, it happens more than once or twice.’
‘If it was a spar between disciples, why would it leave marks on the neck?’
Yun Xuechang blinked in confusion.
Unable to figure it out, she stopped dwelling on it and simply explained patiently, “Rongrong, your mother and I did not fight last night. We just talked until it was late, so we woke up behind schedule this morning.”
“Really? You aren’t lying to Rongrong? Are you really on good terms?”
The little girl in her arms was still uneasy.
“Yes, it’s true.” The White-haired Fairy’s tone was serious. “We are on very good terms.”
After a pause, she suddenly remembered something and added, “Last night, we slept while hugging the whole time.”
“Hey! Yun Xuechang! What nonsense are you telling the child!”
Hua Yan’er’s face turned completely red — whether from anger or shame, it was hard to tell — as she stomped her foot.
‘I clearly said “we” were hugging, not just Yan’er hugging me. Why can’t I say that?’
However, looking at the red-faced Hua Yan who looked like she was about to explode, Yun Xuechang obediently admitted her mistake.
“I am sorry, Yan’er. I misspoke.”
She paused, choosing her words carefully before explaining to the girl in her arms again, “Actually, I was the one who insisted on hugging Yan’er to sleep last night. She wanted to kick me out, but I was the one who insisted on staying.”
“Huh? Really?”
Hua Xiangrong tilted her small head, eyeing Yun Xuechang’s calm, unruffled face with suspicion.
“Mom, would you really do that? If Mother is threatening you, just blink quietly and tell Rongrong.”
“What do you mean, threatening!”
Hua Yan put her hands on her hips and said crossly, “In… in any case, that’s how it was! She insisted on hugging me last night and begged me for a long time before I agreed!”
“Oh, okay then…”
Hua Xiangrong nodded her little head, seemingly convinced.
‘Hmph, children really are easy to coax.’
Hua Yan looked at her “silly” daughter, a successful smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
‘As for this Yun Xuechang… she isn’t as dull as I thought.’
Thinking this, she looked up at Yun Xuechang, who was carrying the child toward the kitchen. Under the sunlight, that cold profile looked incredibly soft.
The more she looked, the more she felt —
She was quite to her liking.