Fu Hua Wanted to Offer Comfort

Seele disliked the silence, even though it lasted for less than a minute.

But that sense of oppression unmistakably stretched time out for an extended period.

She realized that she and Su Qing'an weren't actually that close; they had only known each other for a short two days. So why didn't she feel uncomfortable calling him "brother" anymore?

Seeing him dejected and sad, Seele's mood also became somewhat unpleasant; she didn't like seeing Su Qing'an like this.

The reason, of course, includes the selfish thought that if the owner/bodyguard has a problem, he/she will be easily affected.

But there might also be some tenderness involved; she has somewhat accepted the fact that Su Qing'an is her brother, which is why she inevitably cares a little about his mental state.

Of course, Seele herself believes that this reason only accounts for a small part of the story.

Yes, that's it.

At that moment, when the little girl saw his somewhat bewildered and vulnerable appearance through the peephole, her first reaction was confusion.

She thought Su Qing'an shouldn't be like this.

Perhaps it was from the moment when the power that isolated people from the world and rejected the world was crushed by Martial Intent.

Perhaps it was from the moment the droplet of water in the Sea of Quantum was burned away by the boy.

In the little girl's eyes, a boy's demeanor should be one of unwavering determination.

He should be the kind of brave person who would not waver or be afraid even if he walked towards the abyss.

But then Seele froze, finding her own taken-for-granted thoughts strange.

Why can't my brother be sad?

Why can't Su Qing'an show vulnerability?

This is something that makes absolutely no sense.

Such first reactions and habitual thinking are thoughts that Seele despises.

She quickly reflected on herself and chose to quietly listen to the boy's breathing until just now when she decided to intervene and interrupt.

The Martial Intent spirit was so overwhelming that the little girl subconsciously forgot Su Qing'an's real age.

Upon closer reflection, Su Qing'an had never explicitly stated her age.

But if you only look at his appearance, he's not actually that much older than me.

In reality, they are only three years apart in age, yet the depth of their lives seems vastly different.

Seele herself was well aware of this.

While Su Qing'an was unconscious, she clearly saw the scars that stretched upwards from his finger bones like those in a ukiyo-e painting.

In that instant when [the hidden] self-released, these extraordinary things were reflected into my pupils without any concealment.

So even after Su Qing'an deliberately used [hidden] to cover up these abnormalities, Seele still understood a lot.

For example, the boy who picked him up was also quite abnormal.

But he also has a personality very typical of his age, a fact that the little girl only just realized.

In reality, Su Qing'an was just an ordinary person, and he was far less powerful than he imagined.

Unlike her past self, who was used to finding warmth in a gloomy world by sticking together, Su Qing'an was only used to giving warmth to others, but often didn't care whether she felt cold herself.

Such a person is good at everything, but is extremely demanding of himself.

That's just... like being an idiot.

"Squat down," she whispered.

After Su Qing'an obediently did as he was told, Seele reached out and silently patted his head.

Her cool fingers slipped into her hair, her soft fingertips gently pressing against her scalp, a touch that felt like a gentle caress, yet also like a massage.

Seele whispered:

"It's okay if you don't tell me, that's just my brother's personality."

"It's awkward, strange, and like a child trying to be strong, and then later they'll try to justify it like an adult..."

Seele is right; to avoid remaining silent, I would probably say something similar.

Su Qing'an was speechless, yet found the conversation somewhat amusing...

It reminds me of my old relationship with Himeko- nee.

I really miss those days.

She paused for a moment, her deep blue eyes fixed on the boy's face, and continued:

"But Seele was picked up by Su Qing'an, who is just like that."

"Then there's nothing we can do."

A smile played on the boy's lips. He lowered his eyes and said softly:

"Yes, I might just be a terrible adult to Seele."

"They're the kind of self-righteous adults who like to impose their own ideas on you."

"But from my perspective, this is perhaps the best option I can think of."

Seele wrinkled her nose and said with dissatisfaction:

"People who know they're terrible but still do things their own way are really annoying."

"Sister Hua wouldn't like it either..."

The little girl's expression suddenly became somewhat subtle as she recalled the other person's behavior and the unconsciously gentle tone when mentioning the boy's name. She realized with frustration that this principle did not apply to these two people at all.

Seele said softly:

"Never mind, forget I said anything."

As a final act of revenge, the little girl ruffled the boy's hair with her ten fingers, then ignored him as if nothing had happened and sat down on the sofa alone.

She picked up the remote and skillfully turned on the TV.

Seele has recently taken a liking to watching animal documentaries and nature channels, while younger cartoons don't seem to capture her attention as much.

Her eyes reflected the colorful images on the television, and her body was neatly arranged with her legs together, her posture very polite.

Su Qing'an's gaze still made Seele slightly uncomfortable. She pursed her lips, but didn't even glance at him, and said softly:

"If there are no green peppers for dinner."

"Seele... I forgive you."

Su Qing'an's lips curled slightly, and he agreed in response:

"Good."

In a sense, he was indeed healed a lot, like a gentle breeze that had swept around the New Caledonia Reef and then carried the boy to the incredibly clean and beautiful coral sea beneath the reef.

At night, the scattered reefs seem to reflect the flickering stars in the sky, as if silently proclaiming that only the aurora borealis at 90 degrees south latitude can surpass this spectacle.

And so the sorrows scattered on the white sand beneath the ocean currents, and unknowingly, solace warmed the whole body in this brief dream.

These things all came from the little girl's patting her head and the words that fell between her lips.

Nothing was resolved, but my mind returned to peace.

In fact, Su Qing'an himself could not obtain any effective solutions. All the current factors pointed to a future outcome that would only be worse than he imagined, and could not possibly get better.

So... perhaps all he needs are a few light words, an encouraging look, and a touch of warmth conveyed through his fingertips.

That's enough.

No one needs to help the boy bear any burden; simply letting him understand that he is not alone is more important than anything else.

Su Qing'an turned and stepped into the kitchen. The rice in the rice cooker was already in the keep-warm mode; all that was left was to stir-fry the vegetables.

Sitting on the sofa, Seele glanced at the boy's location. She quietly took out the phone she had bought yesterday from her pajamas pocket, hesitated for a moment, and then tapped on the profile picture of the person whose contact name was "Sister Hua" and sent a message.

[My brother seems a little sad today for some reason. Sister Hua sees him next time, please give him a hug.]

After posting, the little girl Mind's Eye logged off her account.

She smiled happily and continued watching the animal documentary with great interest.

"Yuno, no need, I can blow it myself."

Hearing the girl's refusal, Satou Yunona continued to run her fingers into the girl's damp hair. Her eyes brightened slightly, admiring the texture of the gray hair.

She said softly:

"It'll be done soon. It must be a hassle for Hua to dry her hair herself with such long hair."

Satou Yunona looked righteous and indignant, clearly having no intention of putting down the hairdryer and letting Fu Hua dry herself.

Although Teacher Su is very aloof, Hua is so cute!

Surprisingly, she has a somewhat soft side in this aspect of her personality; she's the type who's easy to tease but makes others feel embarrassed to tease her.

As Satou Yunona slowly dried the little girl's hair with a silent hairdryer, she watched her adorable expression as she quietly drank her milk tea through a straw, and a bright smile appeared on her face.

Fu Hua seemed somewhat uncomfortable.

The intimate gesture of having someone help dry her hair was something her parents had only done for her when she was a child.

Her helpless response:

"It is indeed a bit troublesome, but Yuno helps me blow on it, it will be just as troublesome, right?"

To this, Satou Yunona replied matter-of-factly:

"Hua's hair feels great. Besides, blow-drying someone else's hair and blow-drying your own are two different experiences. At least when I blow-dry Hua's hair, I don't find it troublesome at all."

Upon hearing this, Fu Hua silently took a sip of her milk tea, which was taken as an endorsement of the legitimacy of the other party's actions.

She let Satou Yunona casually pick up strands of hair and blow-dry them, and the occasional light touch of her fingertips on her neck, followed by the sensation of her scooping up strands of hair, made her feel a little itchy.

The other person brought this milk tea for herself after returning to her dorm. Because of her appetite and exercise, she didn't have much of a psychological barrier to drinking milk tea before dinner.

After drying their hair, the two planned to go out for dinner.

"----."

The phone vibrated slightly; Seele's message interrupted these original plans.

Fu Hua stared blankly at the message on her phone. The taro balls and tapioca pearls in her mouth suddenly tasted bland, and their sweet and slightly chewy texture failed to make her feel even slightly happy.

She was about to type in a message to ask for details when she noticed that Seele's avatar had suddenly turned gray, indicating that she had gone offline.

This child's personality... is truly indescribable in every sense of the word.

But compared to that, the information contained in that sentence was what really caught the girl's attention.

Will Master Su... also feel sad?

Yes.

This is an obvious fact.

When they first met, Fu Hua knew that Su Qing'an's past must contain untouchable scars, like the indelible mark on his heart, the place closest to the boy's soul.

Even if she dared to touch that scar, she couldn't bear to see him saddened by it.

Therefore, Fu Hua has always remained tight-lipped about this matter.

Only after realizing on the plane that Su Qing'an didn't care about certain things did she resort to slipping money into his pocket, hoping he would say more.

The reason for this cautiousness is quite complex, and the most crucial element lies in the scene she witnessed before she initially struck up a conversation.

That day, the girl started from the subway station and watched him walk through the streets and alleys before finally stopping at a corner of the flower shop.

The extent of the unspoken struggles and sorrows the boy endured along the way remains a mystery to be known.

Fu Hua is the only gamer who could possibly decipher this, because she is the only one who witnessed everything.

The unknown reasons that saddened Su Qing'an must be related to the core secret that led him to this predicament.

Fu Hua didn't really want to pay attention to these things; she tried her best to remind herself that they were none of her business.

But just thinking about the initial scene made it impossible for the girl to completely ignore it.

The boy's knuckles turned white from the force as he crumpled the bellflower petals, as if his entire soul was trembling with the effort.

The shock of that scene is still fresh in Fu Hua's memory. It was at that moment that she realized that some people can make her feel the same sadness with just a glance.

That's why the girl felt so lost and anxious upon seeing Seele's message.

Why is Su Qing'an sad?

What can I do about this?

[Next time Sister Hua sees him, she should give him a hug.]

Will that work?

Next time...

Passively waiting for everything to happen has become a deeply ingrained habit for the girl, much like a train that has already embarked on its tracks and is now very difficult to change course.

But now she's going to pull the lever.

Even if I'm shy, there's nothing I can do about it. Even if I get strange looks from Yuno, it doesn't matter. Even if my whole body feels hot and my steps falter involuntarily, it's a problem I have to overcome right now.

"Yuno, I have to go out for a bit."

The girl put on her boots, hurriedly grabbed her coat, and walked outside, leaving Satou Yunona bewildered.

She doesn't want to meet again.

That's a perfunctory and careless act, like applying ointment only after a wound has healed.

Regardless of whether Seele's words were true or false, Fu Hua instinctively rejected the possibility of carelessness leading to the truth.

The girl was not convinced by Su Qing'an's apparent strength, because she had already seen through his most vulnerable side from the very beginning.

Therefore, it is normal for teenagers to need help.

Just like back then... those eyes that suddenly became calm after reflecting my own face.

This might be like the mindset of parents who rush their children to the hospital for a minor scrape; often, the actual facts are not important.

The important thing is that some people will feel uneasy about this.

If she doesn't find her own way to relieve this unease, she'll inevitably become extremely restless.