Meeting

The girl's expression was so indifferent, as if she were gazing not at a familiar and close person, but at a void or emptiness.

Yet her tears still uncontrollably filled her eyes, blurring her vision. Light danced in her blue pupils along the ripples of the water, obscuring the face of the person before her.

Su Qing'an patiently wiped away the tears with her fingertips. As their skin rubbed together, the girl's eyes became slightly red. She opened her eyes, gazing at the clear face, her lips moving slightly.

"Master Su...?"

The boy's fingertips lingered beside the curled eyelashes, unwavering.

After quietly wiping away his tears, he said softly:

It's me.

Fu Hua pursed her lips, her expression remaining largely unchanged.

The girl lowered her eyelashes for a moment, as if she didn't want the other person to see her embarrassing appearance, but the impact of the six-month separation and the first meeting, along with her unwillingness to run away, still made her choose to look directly at the other person.

Then that beautiful face was reflected in Su Qing'an's dark eyes. Her tears fell like broken threads down her knuckles, yet they seemed to fall into the still Mind Lake, creating ripples.

Only when he saw this person could the boy understand his own abnormality and... also perceive subtle fluctuations in his emotions.

His fingertips sank into her soft skin, and the girl's body heat subtly exuded an alluring aura.

The two were so close, even their slightly pursed, cherry-colored lips were close together.

Those eyes reflected her own forced smile, yet her face remained expressionless; at the same time, the pure, lotus-like color of her eyes was so dim, like withered branches.

Her long, thick eyelashes fluttered slightly like fans, glistening with tears.

No desires, no feelings.

Su Qing'an could only understand the difficult reality she was facing.

Do you know about your uncle's situation?

It's probably only possible that Himeko told her beforehand.

In fact, this was indeed the decision made by Himeko after considering various factors. In her view, Fu Hua, who was happy to see Su Qing'an first, would only become more upset when she learned of her father's death soon after, due to the contrast between the positive and negative feedback.

The idea of starting with a scare and then building up to a climax always makes people feel better, so she calculated the shortest time it would take for Su Qing'an to reach Yakarta and informed Fu Hua of this news beforehand.

The result is the scene we see today.

Fu Hua looked at his face, her feigned indifference masking a deep sense of discouragement.

She had secretly resolved to show Su Qing'an her mature side when they met, but...

Too cunning.

Why show up at a time like this?

Wouldn't that make it even harder to endure?

The captain did it on purpose, didn't he? How wicked!

Even knowing all this, the young girl still couldn't suppress the grievances welling up inside her when she saw the other person.

Seeing the other person should have made me happy, but this feeling of grievance washed away all the resolve I had secretly made, and tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

Training is tough. Death is terrifying. Combat is awful. Missions are exhausting.

These seemingly trivial matters, which he thought he could bear alone, now collapsed like a tall building with an unstable foundation. The reality of his father's death crushed most of his previous self-control and endurance.

She wanted to continue to put on a brave face, but her expression gradually lost its initial composure.

And so the girl buried her head in the boy's arms.

That way you won't be able to see it, right? she thought.

I actually wanted to just hug the other person, but I couldn't.

Such immaturity and utter vulnerability were things Fu Hua didn't want to show the other person. She suppressed the urge to embrace the other person and draw warmth from them, choosing instead to let her arms hang naturally, her slender fingertips touching the cold ground.

Su Qing'an failed to perceive the girl's inner persistence and stubbornness. He looked at the little girl leaning against his chest, unable to discern her expression.

Her face was buried in the fabric, the breath of the fabric silently caressing her skin, the delicate touch of her hair falling on the back of her hand, the temperature they felt as their skin touched, and the heartbeats they heard at such close range were all exceptionally clear.

You should hug her right now, right?

Following the gentle ripples in his Mind Lake and adhering to normal logic, Su Qing'an reached out his right hand to ruffle her smooth hair, while his left hand lightly stroked the girl's thin and frail back. He chose to listen quietly and remained silent for the time being.

She said softly:

"My father is dead, Master Su."

The boy whispered:

"I saw my uncle in the last few minutes before he passed away."

Fu Hua was stunned for a moment, her expression gradually changing from feigned indifference to overwhelming sorrow.

She closed her eyes, her voice trembling with a hint of sobs, and said:

"Dad has always wanted to see you."

"Every time I visit him, he talks about you for a long time."

"So... it's already very good. It's already very good that Master Su was able to meet him once."

Su Qing'an remained silent, thinking that perhaps Fu Xiuran had already considered him as family a long time ago.

That person would earnestly tell him how to buy fresh beef and vegetables, quietly tell him about Fu Hua's likes and dislikes and her past trivial matters, gossip about the neighbors, talk about some experiences from their youth, talk about how they met and fell in love with their wife, and share many thoughts about their family's martial arts...

The boy at that time could feel the warmth that was given.

But now, he can't even feel sadness for that person anymore.

Su Qing'an could only suppress her slightly chaotic thoughts.

The more you look back on the past, the more you realize your own abnormalities, and the awareness of the clear existence of these abnormalities is a kind of invisible torment.

What should I say to comfort her?

After Fu Xiuran left, that ancient eastern town was completely submerged in the torrent of time. The iron hoof of history trampled the past warmth and trivialities into the silt in the river, and only memories could preserve some of the warmth of the past.

For Fu Hua, the bond of blood no longer exists.

Su Qing'an could understand that feeling of utter loneliness and despair.

Before the future arrived in this world, the deaths of Su Jinyan and Chen Luoqiu had left a psychological shadow that lingers to this day, and the root of that self-destructive tendency and obsession with the promise all stems from this.

One can imagine the distortions and changes that occurred to the boy during this period.

Fu Hua may be more resilient than she was back then, but that doesn't mean she can recover.

Even though she could rationally understand the entanglement and existence of these emotions, Su Qing'an still found it difficult to empathize with them.

Having lost that empathy, he could only say in a dry, soft voice:

"Um."

"Your uncle asked me to stay with you and continue living in this world."

She sniffed and murmured softly:

"Um."

Su Qing'an gently combed through her hair with his fingertips, and continued:

"I promised my uncle, but even if he doesn't say anything, what I'm going to do won't change."

"Also, I... I'm sorry I slept for so long."

"It must be tough living in this kind of world."

Fu Hua didn't know how to respond to the boy's words.

But she knew.

She knew what kind of suffering Su Qing'an had gone through, what kind of despair she had endured, and what kind of torment and choices she would have to face when Awakened, before she could stand in front of her and give her this comfort.

How can we expect someone like him to apologize?

You shouldn't have let Master Su do that. You clearly planned to comfort him properly when you saw him.

But now it's completely the other way around.

How selfish. How despicable. How cunning.

She should be the one feeling most sorry, biting her lip, unable to escape the sudden emptiness that had gripped her chest.

Her father's departure was not sudden, but even though she had expected it, whenever she recalled their past life and the days when he was by her side, the girl could not control the suffocating emptiness and powerlessness.

Even so, she managed to overcome the overwhelming stream of trivial thoughts and memories flooding her mind.

Fu Hua sniffled and said softly:

"It's not Master Su's fault."

The girl tightened her grip on the ground slightly, unable to allow her weakness and sadness to burden the other person with a burden they didn't have to bear.

I've been working so hard all this time so as not to hold the other person back.

I had promised my father that I would do it, and to do that I had to overcome this pain.

The little girl lifted her head from the boy's chest, revealing her fair face and earnest eyes. She repeated in a voice still choked with sobs:

"It's not Master Su's fault."

Su Qing'an gazed at her quietly, momentarily at a loss for words.

Fu Hua gazed into those pitch-black eyes, but all she could vaguely see was a desolate, Lightless sea.

His indifferent expression was like a silent barrier; this reality, like an ancient glacier, suddenly suppressed all emotions into a corner.

The Sword Heart Technique has a subtle effect on strengthening the soul, and it also provides a sublime training in the sense of recognizing people.

Perhaps on the surface, Su Qing'an in front of me is no different from before, but even with the exact same expression, the warmth he conveys is completely different.

The existence of Clear Mirror Sword Heart allowed her to understand Himeko's feelings almost entirely through instinct and intuition once her emotions had stabilized somewhat.

Fear, apprehension, unease.

She silently tried to sense the lifeless Mind Lake, as if by doing so she could understand the current situation and prove that these were nothing more than illusions born from emotional turmoil.

Abnormal. Different. Strange.

Even without obtaining any clues, Fu Hua still understood the current situation in a shorter time than Himeko, thanks to her detached demeanor.

The boy wasn't surprised that Fu Hua noticed something was wrong with him. If someone he'd only met once could sense something was off, how much more so would a girl who knew him so well?

Su Qing'an hesitated for a moment, then closed his eyes, as if he didn't want anyone to see the deathly stillness within them.

Su Qing'an has never liked lying, but if she had the ability to cover it up, she would rather lie than let the other person know about these changes.

After a moment of silence, Su Qing'an smiled, but it was as hollow and illusory as the beautiful lines drawn on a doll.

He said in a low voice:

"Hua, I think I'm a little broken."

Fu Hua lowered her gaze, no longer looking at him. Instead, she gathered a few strands of the boy's loose, dark hair, twirling their texture, and said softly as if she hadn't noticed anything:

"Although Master Su looks good with long hair, I'll still cut it for you when we get back."

"You've slept for so long, there must be many things you don't know. I'll tell you all about them later."

"Seele must be lonely being alone in the Logistics Department all the time, but she'll be so happy to see you no matter what."

Su Qing'an was stunned. He said:

"Hua, I..."

But she was interrupted. Her slender arms wrapped around his neck, and she pulled Su Qing'an, who didn't know how to react, into her arms. After he understood that he was being held, the sound of her breathing, carrying a subtle warmth, fell into his ear.

"It's okay, I know."

"Master Su has always worked very hard."

A palpable hatred and rage burned within her chest, yet sorrow slowly, like a tide, covered, swallowed, and chewed everything up, leaving only a deathly stillness.

Warm tears fell onto the thin fabric covering Su Qing'an's body, slowly seeping into the bone-chilling cold.

The girl whispered:

"No matter what, Su Qing'an is Su Qing'an."

Su Qing'an pursed his lips upon hearing this, looking back at Fu Hua from different timelines, and said in the same way:

"Yeah, me too."

"No matter what, Chinese is Chinese."

Shiyu Qiluo tried her best to suppress her curiosity and gossip, and steadfastly remained at her post in the watchtower.

Carole, clutching her arm armor, had emptied the coolant from her hands until it overflowed from the cannon muzzle. Her bright eyes were fixed on the two of them, finally confirming her suspicions from more than half a year ago.

Hua and Teacher Su are indeed having an affair.

Neither of them had noticed the unusual emotion in Fu Hua's expression earlier.

In their view, it was only after Su Qing'an stepped into the watchtower and politely gestured to the two of them, quietly removing Hua's goggles, that the other party became emotionally out of control.

This seems quite ordinary given that they met again after six months and the other person's previous experiences, and it doesn't surprise anyone.

Both Carole and Shiyu Qiluo understood perfectly well the changes and efforts Fu Hua had made in secret after Su Qing'an left.

She wasn't usually a very opinionated person, but she wanted to gain independence and the right to fight for herself as soon as possible.

Through Himeko's training and numerous missions, the girl has developed her own judgment and the decisiveness and courage to give orders to her teammates.

This was truly unbelievable for the girl who used to be timid and withdrawn.

It's easy to imagine how profoundly the boy's disappearance meant to her.

The atmosphere between the two was so tense that it was difficult to disturb them. This prompted Carole to gesture to Shiyu Qiluo, tacitly agreeing to take over the position that was originally Fu Hua's.