Long Xuanye: It Wasn't Me! I Didn't Do It!

Long Xuanye stared blankly at the girl's busy figure, a storm of emotions churning in his heart.

Saint Cai'er seemed to sense his gaze, stopped what she was doing, and turned around.

Their eyes met.

Inside the cave, only the soft crackling of the campfire broke the silence.

The girl's clear purple eyes reflected Long Xuanye's somewhat startled face, along with the dancing flames.

She saw the complexity in his gaze and tilted her head slightly.

Then, Saint Cai'er stood up, walked with light steps to the edge of the straw bed.

She didn't speak, just stood there quietly, looking down at him.

Long Xuanye wanted to say something, but his throat felt dry, and not a single word came out.

Just as he was about to try propping himself up again, the girl moved.

She slowly crouched down, her slender figure stretching long in the firelight.

A pair of soft arms, hesitant yet incredibly firm, reached out and gently wrapped around his neck.

The embrace was warm, carrying the girl's unique, faint fragrance.

Long Xuanye's stiff body involuntarily relaxed under this soft encirclement.

He could feel that the girl's body was very slender, even a bit frail, and the arms holding him trembled slightly.

Saint Cai'er gently applied pressure, pushing his head downward.

Following her force, Long Xuanye rested his head on a warm, soft place.

It wasn't the girl's shoulder, but her chest.

Even through a layer of clothing, he could still feel the steady, powerful heartbeat.

A slightly cool small hand touched his forehead.

The moment their skin made contact, Long Xuanye's body gave a slight jolt.

"The fever... seems to have gone down."

A youthful voice sounded by his ear, like a feather brushing against his heart.

"Are you okay?"

Saint Cai'er asked.

Long Xuanye's heart felt as if something had slammed into it hard.

He had crossed over into this world, from a wailing infant to a child who could walk on his own, and now to a young man.

All along, he had been the one taking care of others.

His mother, Bai Yue, was frail and sentimental, requiring constant attention.

His younger brother, Long Haochen, was young and naive, needing guidance at every turn.

He was a transmigrator with an adult soul; from the moment he learned to walk, he forced himself to shoulder everything.

Injury, bleeding, fighting... had long become routine.

But being cared for so gently and meticulously by a girl like this, like a true child, was a first.

A warm current surged from the deepest part of his heart, spreading through his limbs and bones.

His weakened body seemed to be dispelled by this warmth.

Long Xuanye's lips moved, and in his relaxation, he couldn't help but say something playful.

"Cai'er... could it be that you're someone who could become my mother?"

Sorry, Shia.

I'm saying something greedy...

However, the cave was too quiet.

Saint Cai'er was in a special period of the Reincarnation Trial; the gradual loss of her sight had made her hearing far sharper than normal.

This murmur entered her ears without missing a single word.

The arms around Long Xuanye's neck suddenly stiffened.

The girl's body instantly tensed up.

"You... you... what are you saying?"

Saint Cai'er's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible panic and embarrassment, and even the tips of her ears flushed crimson.

She let go, scooting back like a startled fawn.

Long Xuanye snapped back to reality, silently cursing "crap."

He had just been speaking from the heart, casually playing off a meme from his previous life's anime, never expecting her to hear it so clearly.

Looking at the girl's adorable, flustered and indignant expression, Long Xuanye felt nothing but awkwardness.

Just as he was about to explain, Saint Cai'er suddenly sat down beside him.

She reached out her small hand and felt his forehead again, as if confirming something.

"Your fever's gone. Your injuries really must be healed."

Her voice had steadied somewhat, but the blush on her face hadn't faded in the slightest.

Long Xuanye was just about to breathe a sigh of relief.

But the girl hesitated again, then added in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum.

"...It's not impossible either."

Long Xuanye was stunned.

"What's not impossible?"

He followed the sound and met Saint Cai'er's clear purple eyes.

In the firelight, the girl's cheeks were red like a ripe apple, but her gaze was unusually serious.

Saint Cai'er didn't have many complicated thoughts.

She was just a child.

She remembered what this young man had said to her when she was at her most desperate.

That he and she were both unlucky wretches abandoned by the world.

He had saved her.

So now, wasn't it only right for her to "save" him in return?

Losing one's family, especially one's mother—what unbearable pain that must be.

Saint Cai'er herself was mired in that very pain.

So surely Long Xuanye felt the same, didn't he?

She wanted to repay him.

In the clumsiest, most sincere way she could think of.

Saint Cai'er took a deep breath, her purple eyes fixed firmly on Long Xuanye.

"It's okay."

"I can be your mom, too."

Inside the cave, the leaping firelight stretched their shadows long.

Long Xuanye was frozen solid.

The air seemed to congeal.

She... was she serious?

Long Xuanye's brain short-circuited for a moment.

No, girl, I was joking!

I was just playing with a Previous Life reference, don't take it seriously!

If this gets out, people will think I have some kind of weird fetish! What about my hard-earned reputation as Long Xuanye?

Acting all mature and steady in public, but secretly finding a little girl to be my mom?

Don't do this to me!

But Saint Cai'er clearly couldn't receive his frantic internal rant.

Seeing that Long Xuanye didn't respond, she just tilted her head, looking a little puzzled.

Then she moved closer, and her small, cool hand gently grasped Long Xuanye's palm.

Her hand was very small, and very soft.

With her other hand, Saint Cai'er picked up the stone bowl beside her, scooped up a spoonful of warm meat porridge with a wooden ladle, 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 expressionless little face.

The pain from his wounds pulsed, reminding him of his current weakened state.

He thought it over, and finally opened his mouth.

Forget it, I'll just go along with her for now.

The warm meat porridge slid down his throat, driving away some of the chill from his body.

One spoonful, then another.

Saint Cai'er fed him patiently, and Long Xuanye ate in silence.

The atmosphere in the cave fell into a strange kind of harmony.

When the bowl was empty, Long Xuanye felt he had regained some strength.

He had to fix this bizarre seniority issue.

"Um... we haven't formally met yet."

Long Xuanye cleared his throat and spoke first.

"My name is Long Xuanye. And you?"

The girl's movements paused for a moment before she answered softly.

"Saint Cai'er."

"Cai'er..." Long Xuanye silently repeated the name in his heart, then revealed a gentle smile. "Then from now on, I'll call you Little Sister Cai'er, alright?"