Squeeze In

Lang Yue's eyes grew slightly warm.

She looked at her son, as though she could see the marks of his sudden growth overnight.

She quietly drew a breath, suppressing the bittersweet ache and emotion in her heart. Walking over to Bai Lin, she crouched down to meet his gaze, her voice gentle but carrying one final confirmation.

"Linlin, your father and I understand how you feel."

"But we also need to respect Na'er's wishes, right?"

She looked at the silver-haired girl who had been quietly holding Bai Lin's hand all along and asked softly,

"Na'er, would you like to..."

"Stay with our family?"

"Live together with Brother Linlin, Uncle, and Auntie?"

All eyes fell upon Na'er. Bai Lin was so nervous that he held his breath, his palm faintly sweating.

He hurriedly turned to Na'er and added in a low, eager voice, as if he were promoting his most treasured possession.

"Na'er, stay!"

"Our family is really nice!"

"Dad can make lots and lots of fun little soul-tool toys! And Mom's cooking smells so, so good!"

"I..."

"I'll let you play with all my toys!"

"I'll protect you and never let anyone bully you!"

"Really!"

"Will you stay and be my little sister?"

Na'er raised her little face.

Under the dim yellow light, her pale violet eyes were like crystals immersed in a river of stars, clear enough to reflect Bai Lin's earnest, anxious face, Tang Ziran's gentle gaze, and the warm expectation in Lang Yue's eyes.

She looked at Bai Lin's hand tightly holding hers. The warmth from his palm was the only clear source of heat in her cold memories, the only anchor she could grasp in this unfamiliar world.

The fog of confusion seemed to gradually disperse beneath this warm light.

An exceedingly faint yet utterly certain warmth quietly began to grow within her empty heart.

She no longer looked anywhere else. Her gaze settled steadily in Bai Lin's expectation-filled eyes, and then she gently nodded.

A syllable slipped clearly and softly from her lips, carrying the peace of dust finally settling.

"...Mm."

"Dad, Mom!"

"Did you hear that?"

Bai Lin instantly became like a little sun that had been lit up. He sprang to his feet, his face filled with pure, unrestrained delight, his voice rising with excitement.

"Na'er agreed!"

"She agreed to stay and be my little sister!"

Excitedly, he took Na'er's hand and spun her in a small circle on the spot, her silver hair tracing a tiny arc of light beneath the lamp.

He looked at his parents, his eyes shining with astonishing brilliance.

"She agreed!"

Tang Ziran and Lang Yue exchanged smiles. All their worries had fallen away, leaving only abundant warmth and the solid reassurance of a new life becoming part of their family.

A crystalline gleam flashed at the corner of Lang Yue's eyes. She reached out and gathered both little children into her embrace, instantly wrapping them in warmth.

"Good, good..."

Lang Yue's voice caught gently.

"From now on, Na'er is our little daughter."

"Linlin, you're the older brother. You have to keep your word and protect your little sister properly, okay?"

"Mm!" Bai Lin nodded vigorously in his mother's embrace, his little face flushed with excitement. Turning his head toward Na'er beside him, he gave her a huge, dazzling smile and declared,

"Na'er, this is your home from now on!"

"You have an older brother now!"

Nestled in the warm embrace, Na'er felt the vigorous warmth radiating from the boy beside her and his unreserved joy.

Her little body seemed to relax a little, leaning ever so slightly closer to that warmth.

Deep within her pale violet eyes, the thick, inescapable fog of confusion was finally torn open by the roomful of light and the boy's burning promise, allowing in a faint glimmer called "home."

The warm yellow wall lamp cast a small circle of gentle light through the room, driving away the heavy night beyond the window.

Tang Ziran briskly smoothed and fluffed the slightly messy bedding on his son's small bed. Along the wall, he deliberately laid down an extra thick, soft blanket, temporarily creating a sufficiently comfortable little "territory" for Na'er.

"Sorry you two have to squeeze in together tonight."

Tang Ziran straightened up with an apologetic smile. His gaze swept over the two children sitting side by side on the edge of the bed before finally resting on Na'er's quiet profile.

"Na'er, is it alright to sleep like this?"

"Will it feel unfamiliar?"

His voice was especially gentle.

Na'er raised her little face, her pale violet eyes appearing especially clear in the lamplight.

She looked at Bai Lin's warm figure beside her, then at the clean, comfortable little bed her father had arranged, and gently shook her head as she answered softly.

"...It's fine, Uncle."

"That's good."

Tang Ziran let out a sigh of relief, his broad palms ruffling both children's heads.

"Tomorrow, Dad will go buy a new bed!"

"Then Na'er will have her own little nest!"

"Tonight, be good and go to sleep early, understand?"

He gave Bai Lin a few more reminders to take good care of his little sister before closing the door, leaving the quiet room to the two children.

The room instantly fell silent, with only the faint hum of the wall lamp remaining.

Bai Lin was the first to take off his little shoes. He nimbly climbed into the inner side of the bed and patted the space beside him that had been specially left open and covered with a thick blanket. His face was filled with undisguised excitement and a little sense of responsibility as the master of the room.

"Na'er, come on up!"

"It's warm here!"

Na'er did as he said, somewhat awkwardly taking off her shoes and climbing onto the bed as Bai Lin had done.

Her small body sank into the soft blanket, carrying a trace of the restraint of someone newly arrived.

Imitating Bai Lin, she carefully pulled the covers up to her chest.

"Good night, Na'er."

Bai Lin turned onto his side to face Na'er. A pure smile rested on his face, and his voice carried the soft sweetness unique to children at bedtime.

Na'er's long eyelashes fluttered. Her gaze lingered for a moment on Bai Lin's warm smiling face before she imitated him and responded softly.

"...Good night, Brother."

This "Brother" sounded more natural than it had at dinner.

A child's drowsiness always came swiftly and completely.

After the immense disappointment of awakening his martial soul during the day, the terror of his soul being torn apart, and the intense emotional upheaval of bringing Na'er home, Bai Lin's body had long since been exhausted.

Almost the instant he closed his eyes, his long, steady breathing began to sound. His little chest rose and fell rhythmically as he sank completely into dreamless sleep.

Listening to the even breathing beside her and feeling the warmth beneath the covers that belonged to another living being, Na'er's nerves, taut all day, finally began to slowly relax.

She lay quietly, her pale violet eyes gazing at the hazy halo cast by the wall lamp onto the ceiling. The confusion in her eyes had not completely faded, but the bone-deep cold loneliness seemed to have been driven away somewhat by this unfamiliar warmth that was nevertheless within reach.

Like the wings of a weary butterfly, her long eyelashes finally lowered slowly, covering those eyes that held the stars. Her breathing gradually became long and even as well.