Chapter 65 Making a Promise If one day I forget why I...
After Simmons left, Shen Lixia remained seated in her chair. The cicadas were already chirping outside, and a cool breeze drifted in through the window, brushing against her face.
However, the boy felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, not feeling any coolness at all. He felt as if he were standing on a hot iron and wanted to jump out immediately.
Qiao Yanshen tightened the door bolt and slowly began to take off his coat and loosen his belt. She heard the boy rocking the corner of his chair, but she didn't find it jarring. Instead, it felt like being stepped on by a bird's claws as it hopped around.
Oh, and the little bird. It's clingy, energetic, and carefree.
Oh, it's a little bird.
"Senior Sister, it's me—"
"Come sit on the bed and let's talk."
Qiao Yanshen let his long hair down and smiled, gesturing for her to come over. Shen Lixia was still thinking about how to explain what she had been hiding when her legs started moving on their own. When she came to her senses, she was already sitting next to Qiao Yanshen, her head down, not daring to look at him.
After removing the coat, the faint fragrance seemed to become clearer. This scent is usually light and elegant, giving people a cold feeling; but now, as the two people are closer, it gradually spreads, taking on warmth, like fine snow melting, and the softness hidden beneath instantly replaces the coldness, gently stirring one's heartstrings.
Don't be angry, don't be angry...
His usually sharp mind became completely confused after being exposed in that instant, almost turning into a lump of mush. He was afraid that if Qiao Yanshen said something like "count to three," he would freeze.
Last time he merely used the divine fire without permission, but this time he deceived her. He lied to her, claiming he didn't know, and concealed the truth about the dream.
Instead of the expected reprimand, she felt a familiar warmth and touch on her shoulder. Shen Lixia clenched her fists in the darkness, her heart pounding even harder.
Qiao Yanshen leaned on her shoulder.
"Speak."
...Even a second later would be a crime.
Shen Lixia took a deep breath and then quickly recounted the dream, including what happened in her sea of consciousness.
Unexpectedly, Qiao Yanshen was not angry. Instead, he listened quietly to her talk until she finished speaking, at which point he softly hummed in agreement, seemingly lost in thought.
As the feeling of being too hot to think faded, Shen Lixia realized—was it possible that her senior sister wasn't actually angry?
What kind of person is she, feeling guilty? Just amusing herself?
Just as she was thinking this, Qiao Yanshen suddenly straightened up, reached out and touched her face, then patted her gently but firmly, making her turn her head.
A surge of scalding heat suddenly welled up, flushing the boy's face with a deep blush, and the light in his eyes trembled slightly.
She stammered, but in the end, she didn't say anything. She was half-fixed by Qiao Yanshen, facing him, but she avoided eye contact and could only close her eyes resignedly.
A soft laugh rang in her ear, and the heat shot up to her earlobe, threatening to set her on fire.
"Li Xia, I'm not angry with you... why are you always so afraid of me?"
Shen Lixia remained silent for a while, then carefully opened her eyes, only to be met with a sea of smiling faces.
She knew she must have looked ridiculously foolish just now, though she wasn't much better off now. The blushing boy clutched his clothes, and after a long pause, he pitifully managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Senior Sister...you're really not angry?"
There's no excuse for her; she was even deliberately hiding it.
Qiao Yanshen shook his head. "I'm not angry."
"Really?"
"Of course. Does Li Xia want to keep asking? Then I can just say it a hundred times." Qiao Yanshen withdrew his hand, and after saying it helplessly, he really seemed to take a deep breath and repeat "don't be angry" a hundred times.
Shen Lixia shook her head. This is enough; going any further would be utterly ungrateful.
Seeing that she had calmed down, Qiao Yanshen continued, "I think Li Xia must be thinking the same way I am right now... about this scroll, and everything we've been through all along."
“I know,” Shen Lixia gazed at the other woman, finishing the sentence she hadn’t uttered, “In our past life, right?”
She swung her legs and said, "I don't know about Senior Sister's side, but I think I'm the reincarnation of this Lord Lingguang."
Qiao Yanshen nodded, and after thinking for a moment, said, "I think I must have been her best friend in my previous life."
After the words were spoken, the air remained silent for a long time before finally being broken by an uncontrollable laugh.
The laughter seemed impossible to suppress, only stopping when people were almost out of breath. Shen Lixia wiped away tears from the corners of her eyes, wanting to speak but being stopped by a cough.
Qiao Yanshen leaned closer and gently patted her back.
“How absurd, it really is absurd.” The boy barely caught his breath, his face showing no pain, only relief between his brows. “But, finally, I said it—at the moment when everything was said and my guess was confirmed, I felt so relieved.”
“Me too.” Qiao Yanshen pursed his lips. “Suddenly I feel like I’m not the only one bearing this burden.”
Shen Lixia smiled, her eyes crinkling, and lowered her voice mysteriously: "Because we shared a secret. Senior Sister, now we're in the same boat."
Qiao Yanshen blinked, her eyes flickering as if she remembered something. She wanted to say that it had actually been a long time coming, from the very beginning when they came here together, even their first meeting, it was as if it had all been arranged by fate, just waiting to happen.
But now that she's reached this point, it's not because of any other guiding factors, but simply because it happened naturally. In other words, even without that innate longing in her soul, she was certain that she would be attracted to Shen Lixia.
It turns out that the feeling of sharing secrets with someone is not fearful, but rather relaxing.
Even joy. Joy that no longer had to be endured alone, even if shrouded in mist...
I'm not afraid as long as you're by my side.
In my distant memory, she seemed to have said those words.
A warm sensation came over him. Qiao Yanshen looked down and saw that Shen Lixia had hooked her little finger around his. The young man turned around to face her and took her hand in his.
"Let's make a deal."
The chirping of cicadas and the rustling of grass were suddenly drowned out. In the boy's bright eyes, the sharp pupils were like blades, distinctly sharp yet dazzlingly beautiful. She couldn't look away, and could only let this sharp blade penetrate her heart, tasting the feeling of making a deal with the devil.
However, it is indeed breathtakingly beautiful.
So Qiao Yanshen replied softly, "Okay."
The flickering light was dim, the oil lamp was almost burned out, making the woman appear even more gentle and graceful, her long hair like deep, dark water, with the light quietly floating within it.
She reached out and hooked her little finger with his.
"No matter what happens in the future, we are always ourselves. We will not belong to anyone else, nor will we be changed by anyone else's will."
Shen Lixia lowered her eyes, "...Let Qiao Yanshen always just be Qiao Yanshen."
The name replaced the title of "senior sister" as it slipped through my throat, leaving a subtle, tingling sensation, like the fluttering of a butterfly's wings.
Qiao Yanshen smiled and mimicked her words, saying, "Li Xia will always just be Li Xia."
After making a pinky promise, touch your thumbs together to complete the agreement.
If one day I forget why I am who I am, at least you will remember me.
-----------------------
Author's note: This is finally over!
I think the romance storyline is progressing well enough. After the next side quest is completed, Li Xia will realize it.
Neither of the kids were very quick to grasp this, so they only realized they liked it slowly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com