Chapter 81: An Unexpected Morning

The next morning.

Flora woke up relatively early as usual; at least, she had slept comfortably.

She sat on the bed, waiting for her consciousness to slowly return, and toyed with her hair that had become messy from sleep with her right hand.

It was strange. Although it would usually be a bit messy, it wasn’t normally like this. Her hair felt particularly tangled today, and her head felt a little itchy.

After sitting for about two minutes, Flora felt a bit more awake.

‘I should go eat.’

Flora changed her clothes and went to have breakfast. She finished quickly and then walked down the corridor back to her room.

“Flora.”

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out, but the voice did not have its usual tone. Flora subconsciously turned around.

“Xueli…?” Flora was stunned for a moment, even forgetting to use a title when she spoke.

Then, there was silence. The silence lasted for several seconds, yet it was surprisingly not awkward.

Xueli’s gaze fell on Flora’s face and then quickly shifted away, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing the parchment in her hand.

“That gift,” she finally spoke, her voice very soft, “I saw it last night.”

Flora held her breath.

“It…” Xueli paused, seemingly searching for the right words. “That smile is very warm… warmer than I remember.”

The sentence was very simple, and Flora understood it perfectly. Her heart softened and sank.

“I’m glad you like it,” Flora said softly.

Xueli looked up at her, her crimson pupils appearing exceptionally clear in the morning light. “The ‘thing you heard by chance’… you remembered it very clearly.”

“Because it was important,” Flora blurted out, her tone very flat.

As soon as those words left her mouth, both of them were stunned. The corridor was so quiet that the faint chirping of birds from the distant courtyard could be heard.

Xueli tilted her head slightly, and a strand of silver hair slid down with her movement, hanging by her cheek.

That always perfect and proper hairstyle actually had a small, disobedient strand of hair.

Flora’s gaze fell on that strand of hair, and a sudden impulse surged in her heart. She took a step forward and reached out her hand.

“Your hair… it’s a bit messy.”

Xueli did not dodge. She only raised her eyes, watching Flora approach.

Flora’s fingertips first gently tucked that strand of hair back behind her ear. This gesture was already intimate enough, but her hand did not leave immediately.

Her fingers hesitated for a moment, and then she very lightly and quickly stroked the top of Xueli’s head.

The sense of their height difference appeared once more, but this time, it was somewhat different. In this moment, the touch was as light as a feather brushing past.

Xueli’s body visibly stiffened.

Flora suddenly realized what she had done and immediately withdrew her hand.

“Who gave you permission to touch me?”

Xueli’s voice carried a familiar coldness, but it was also mixed with a rare softness; the last word even became very faint.

However, she did not retreat; instead, she stood in place. The tips of her ears turned a faint red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

“I just…” Flora didn’t know how to explain for a moment.

“My hair is messy because I was organizing documents just now,” Xueli turned her face away, her voice sounding muffled. “It just got messed up by accident when I lowered my head.”

This explanation sounded a bit petty and a bit clumsy.

Flora looked at her slightly reddened profile and suddenly understood something in her heart.

Xueli took a quick glance at her and then immediately looked away. As if to hide something, she subconsciously tightened her grip on the parchment in her hand.

“Mm,” Flora responded softly, suppressing a smile.

“I’m leaving first,” Xueli said in a low voice.

“Alright.”

Xueli took two steps, then suddenly stopped without turning back. “When you go back… watch the steps.”

This instruction, which had no context and was completely unnecessary, made Flora pause for a moment before a wave of warmth surged in her heart.

“You too,” Flora responded softly.

Xueli’s back disappeared at the end of the corridor. Her stride was still elegant, yet it was a little bit faster than usual.

Flora stood in place. She raised the hand that had just touched Xueli’s hair; that soft and cool sensation seemed to linger on her fingertips.

She gently closed her palm, carefully tucking that sensation into her heart.

The morning light still quietly filled the corridor, but something had already changed.

A moment later, Xueli had long since walked away, yet Flora still stood in the corridor without moving a single step.

Only now did she finally come to her senses. The unique feeling of coolness and softness when she touched Xueli’s hair just now was still striking her nerves.

Accompanying this gentle, cool sensation was the scent from Xueli’s body, which was like the first snow of winter — fresh, yet carrying a hint of coldness.

These detailed sensations, as well as the sight she had seen, echoed over and over in her consciousness.

She had never seen that side of “Xueli” before.

The Xueli who was always indifferent, who always acted properly, and who seemed like a naturally flawless, perfect princess — she had actually blushed just now.

The Xueli who spoke flawlessly and always maintained a safe distance had actually not dodged her hand, but had let her complete that stroking motion.

And that sentence, “Who gave you permission to touch me,” although it sounded like a familiar reproach, the slight redness on the tips of her ears and the softness at the end of the sentence made one have to admit that at that moment, she was not the usual “Xueli.”

Flora looked at her right hand.

It seemed as though the scent from the top of Xueli’s head still lingered on it. That moment was both dreamlike and real.

Just now… she really had stroked Xueli’s head.

Flora’s face turned red once again.

But at this moment, she also slowly calmed down.

Xueli’s reactions just now clearly carried a bit of nervous and bewildered cuteness.

That clumsiness formed a sharp contrast with her original “perfection,” causing a sense of heartache to rise from the depths of Flora’s heart.

Flora began to walk toward her room, but a clear realization had already formed in her mind —

Both Xueli herself and the relationship between them had become a bit different.

After returning to her room, Flora didn’t do anything. She just followed her own consciousness, sitting on a chair and picking up the paper and pen there to write randomly.

She didn’t know what she was writing or what the meaning was.

She just sat like that, letting time slowly pass. She couldn’t go find anyone right now, and there was nothing to do while staying in the room. It was a bit boring, so she just wrote some scattered things.

After a short while, about one hour later, Ilya arrived.

“We’ve finished talking over there. Let’s get ready to leave. Do you have anything else to do?”

“No, let’s go.”

Ilya was silent for a moment and then nodded. “Then let’s go.”

Accompanied by several Blood Clan maids, Flora and Ilya walked toward the place where the carriage was parked.

Flora still held that tremor from the morning in the corridor within her heart, warm and heavy.

But just as they were about to pass through the final—