Liu Yunrou, the eldest daughter of the Liu family, was born into wealth and privilege, yet she humbled herself to the dust only for one person.
Mu Yunmiao, her cousin, is also Mu Xiyao's cousin and the eldest daughter of the Mu family's direct line.
That affection is like the breeze on a spring night, silent yet omnipresent.
She will bathe
Liu Yunrou, the eldest daughter of the Liu family, was born into wealth and privilege, yet she humbled herself to the dust only for one person.
Mu Yunmiao, her cousin, is also Mu Xiyao's cousin and the eldest daughter of the Mu family's direct line.
That affection is like the breeze on a spring night, silent yet omnipresent.
A month before Mu Yunmiao's birthday, she would personally embroider a sachet, the stitches so fine that the loose threads were almost invisible, but when giving it as a gift, she would simply say, "I bought it on a whim."
When Mu Yunmiao was injured during her cultivation, she would ride a hundred miles overnight just to deliver a bottle of the Liu family's secret healing pills. She would stand outside the door all night and leave quietly before dawn, without even leaving her name.
At every banquet, her gaze would cut through the crowd and land on that woman in simple clothes with gentle features, then she would lower her head and chuckle softly, concealing the flutter in her eyes.
But Mu Yunmiao seemed to have never noticed.
She called her "Cousin Yunrou" in a gentle yet distant tone, just like she would with any other scion of a prominent family—polite, proper, and never giving her a second glance.
Liu Yunrou wasn't annoyed. She just stood there quietly, like a secluded orchid blooming in a corner, not competing or vying for attention, yet exuding a subtle fragrance.
Until that day, Mu Yunmiao disappeared in the secret realm. Liu Yunrou rushed in like a madwoman, stayed up for three days and three nights without sleep, and came out covered in blood, carrying the unconscious Mu Yunmiao.
At that moment, her eyes were filled with unprecedented panic and determination.
“Mu Yunmiao,” her voice was hoarse, but every word was clear, “If you dare to die, I will make the entire secret realm perish with you.”
That was the first and only time she called her by her full name.
Later, when Mu Yunmiao woke up, she looked at Liu Yunrou, who was guarding her bedside with red eyes, and finally sighed softly.
"Cousin Yunrou," she said gently, but with a hint of helplessness, "why are you so good to me?"
Liu Yunrou lowered her eyes, her fingertips trembling slightly, but she only smiled, as she had done countless times before, and did so lightly.
“Because,” she whispered, “you are Mu Yunmiao.”
That's all.
But that was enough for her to go through fire and water, to die a thousand deaths without hesitation. — But that alone was not enough.
On the third day after Mu Yunmiao woke up, Liu Yunrou brought her medicine herself as usual, but the moment she opened the door, she saw that there was another person in the room—
Mu Xiyao.
She sat on the edge of the bed, feeding Mu Yunmiao candied fruit with a smile on her lips and a soft voice: "Cousin, take another sip and the bitterness will dissipate."
That "cousin" was called out affectionately and naturally, as if they were siblings from the same mother, connected by blood.
Liu Yunrou stood outside the door, her knuckles clenching silently, causing the medicine in the porcelain bowl to ripple gently.
She suddenly remembered that she could only ever call her "Yun Miao," while Mu Xiyao could call her "cousin"—
This is a privilege bestowed upon her by her bloodline, but also an insurmountable chasm for Liu Yunrou in this lifetime.
Mu Yunmiao looked up and saw her by the door. She smiled gently and said, "Yunrou, you've come."
That smile, still gentle, was no longer distant—
But it's no longer special.
Liu Yunrou lowered her eyes, concealing the emotions within them, and stepped forward to hand her the bowl of medicine: "Drink it while it's hot."
Mu Yunmiao took it, her fingertips inadvertently brushing against Liu Yunrou's, but Liu Yunrou's fingertips trembled slightly as if burned.
Mu Xiyao saw this and her eyes flickered slightly, but she remained silent.
After finishing her medicine, Liu Yunrou got up to say goodbye. As she turned around, she heard Mu Yunmiao say softly, "Yunrou, thank you."
She paused, turned her back to her, and said in a low, hoarse voice, "No need to thank me."
"I did it voluntarily."
Stepping out of the room, Liu Yunrou leaned against a pillar in the corridor, looking up at the moonlight on the horizon, when she suddenly felt a tightness and pain in her chest.
She remembered that day in the secret realm, when she held Mu Yunmiao, who was covered in blood, and cried like a child—
Before Mu Yunmiao fell into a coma, the last thing she called out was "Xi Yao".
At that moment, she knew she had lost.
It wasn't that he lost to Mu Xiyao.
It was a loss to bloodline, a loss to fate, a loss to—
The word "cousin" is something she can never get over.
Even so, she still enjoyed it immensely.
Because she is Mu Yunmiao.
That's all.
But that was enough for her,
No regrets in my life.
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