Long Xuanye stared blankly at the busy girl, his heart a tangle of emotions.
Saint Cai'er seemed to notice his gaze. She stopped what she was doing and turned around.
Their eyes met.
The only sound in the cave was the soft crackling of the bonfire.
The girl's clear purple eyes reflected Long Xuanye's astonished face, along with the dancing flames.
She saw the complicated look in his eyes and tilted her head slightly.
Then Saint Cai'er stood up and walked over to the bed of dried grass with light steps.
She didn't say anything. She simply stood there, looking down at him.
Long Xuanye wanted to speak, but his throat felt dry, and he couldn't get a word out.
Just as he prepared to try pushing himself up again, the girl moved.
She slowly crouched down, her slender figure stretched long by the firelight.
A pair of soft arms reached toward him, hesitant yet utterly resolute, and gently wrapped around his neck.
Her embrace was warm, carrying the faint, distinctive fragrance of a young girl.
Long Xuanye's stiff body relaxed unconsciously beneath the softness surrounding him.
He could feel how slender she was, almost frail, and how the arms encircling him trembled slightly.
Saint Cai'er applied a little pressure, gently guiding his head down.
Long Xuanye followed her lead and rested his head against something warm and soft.
Not the girl's shoulder, but her chest.
Even through a layer of clothing, he could feel the steady, strong beat of her heart.
A small, cool hand settled on his forehead.
The moment their skin touched, Long Xuanye's body trembled slightly.
"Your fever... seems to have gone down."
Her childish voice sounded beside his ear, like a feather brushing against his heart.
"Are you all right?"
Saint Cai'er asked.
Long Xuanye's heart felt as though something had struck it hard.
After transmigrating into this world, he had gone from a bawling infant to a child who could walk on his own, and then to the boy he was now.
All this time, he had been the one taking care of others.
His mother, Bai Yue, was frail and sentimental, and he had to worry about her constantly.
His little brother, Long Haochen, was young and naïve, innocent and carefree, and he had to guide him at every turn.
He was a transmigrator with the soul of an adult, and from the moment he learned to walk, he had forced himself to shoulder everything.
Getting hurt, bleeding, fighting... It had long since become part of everyday life.
But this was the first time he'd been cared for so gently and attentively by a girl, like a real child.
A warm current welled up from the depths of his heart and flowed through his entire body.
The warmth seemed to chase away the weakness in his body.
Long Xuanye's lips moved. Relaxing like this, he couldn't help making a cheeky remark.
"Cai'er... Does that mean you could become my mother?"
Sorry, Xia Ya.
I'm saying something so greedy...
But the cave was too quiet.
Saint Cai'er was going through a special period of the Reincarnation Trial. As her eyesight gradually faded, her hearing had grown far sharper than an ordinary person's.
Every word of his murmur slipped into her ears.
The arms wrapped around Long Xuanye's neck suddenly went rigid.
The girl's body stiffened at once.
"Y-you... what are you saying?"
A trace of fluster and embarrassment crept into Saint Cai'er's voice, and even the tips of her ears flushed crimson.
She let go and scooted backward like a startled fawn.
Long Xuanye came back to his senses as well, cursing himself inwardly. Oh no.
He'd only spoken on impulse, tossing out a joke from an anime in his previous life. How could he have known she'd hear every word so clearly?
Looking at the girl's adorable, mortified expression, Long Xuanye felt awkward all over.
Just as he was about to explain, Saint Cai'er suddenly sat down beside him.
She reached out and felt his forehead again, as if checking something.
"Your fever's gone down. Your injuries should really be better now."
Her voice had regained some of its composure, but the blush on her face hadn't faded at all.
Long Xuanye was just about to breathe a sigh of relief.
But the girl hesitated, then added in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz,
"...It's not like I wouldn't."
Long Xuanye froze.
"What wouldn't you?"
He turned toward her voice and met Saint Cai'er's clear purple eyes.
In the firelight, the girl's cheeks were red as ripe apples, but her gaze was exceptionally earnest.
Saint Cai'er didn't have many complicated thoughts.
She was just a child.
She remembered what the boy had said to her when she'd been at her most desperate.
She and he were both unlucky souls who'd been abandoned.
He had saved her.
So wasn't it only natural for her to "save" him in turn?
How painful must it be to lose your family, especially your mother?
Saint Cai'er herself was mired in that very pain.
So Long Xuanye must be the same, right?
She wanted to repay him.
In the only way she could think of—the clumsiest, yet most sincere way.
Saint Cai'er took a deep breath and looked at Long Xuanye with determined purple eyes.
"I can."
"I can be your mother, too."
In the cave, the dancing firelight stretched their shadows long across the ground.
Long Xuanye went completely rigid.
The air seemed to freeze.
Was... was she serious?
Long Xuanye's brain stalled for a moment.
No, come on, I was joking!
I was just making a reference to something from my previous life. Don't take it seriously!
If word got out, people would think I had some weird fetish! What would happen to my hard-earned reputation?
I act so mature and dependable all the time, and then I go and find myself a little girl to be my mom in private?
Don't do this to me!
However, Saint Cai'er obviously couldn't hear his frantic inner rant.
When Long Xuanye didn't respond, she merely tilted her head, seeming a little puzzled.
Then she moved a little closer and gently took his hand in hers.
Her hand was small and soft.
With her other hand, Saint Cai'er picked up the stone bowl beside her. She scooped up a spoonful of warm meat porridge with a wooden spoon and brought it to his lips.
Her movements were gentle and natural.
Long Xuanye looked at the spoon hovering by his mouth, then at the girl's utterly impassive face.
The pain from his wounds came in waves, reminding him how weak he was right now.
He thought it over, then finally opened his mouth.
Forget it. I'll just play along for now.
The warm meat porridge slid down his throat, dispelling some of the chill in his body.
One spoonful, then another.
Saint Cai'er fed him patiently, and Long Xuanye ate in silence.
The atmosphere in the cave settled into a strange harmony.
Once the bowl was empty, Long Xuanye felt a little stronger.
He had to get this bizarre family relationship straightened out.
"Um... we haven't properly introduced ourselves yet."
Long Xuanye cleared his throat and spoke first.
"My name is Long Xuanye. What's yours?"
The girl paused, then answered softly.
"Saint Cai'er."
"Cai'er..." Long Xuanye repeated her name silently, then smiled warmly. "Then can I call you little sister Cai'er from now on?"
Before you continue