The You of the Past

Greenheart Park was packed with countless visitors that afternoon.

In the heart of Rongcheng's concrete jungle, a park attraction like Greenheart Park was truly rare, drawing plenty of visitors every day.

"Mmm—haa..."

The little fox leaned close to a cluster of blooming flowers and took a deep breath.

"They smell so good!"

Fox Fox praised them.

Nan Jiayu followed behind the Golden Fox. Seeing Su Tianqing praise them so highly, she leaned forward to take a careful sniff as well. Sure enough, she could smell a faint, elegant fragrance.

"Though I don't know what these flowers are called, they really do smell nice," Nan Jiayu remarked critically.

Chirping birds flew past them and landed on the nearby grass, curiously looking toward the two beastfolk.

"Oh, birds!" the little fox said, watching them curiously.

But the instant one bird met Nan Jiayu's gaze, its entire body trembled. It flapped away in panic, even leaving behind several scattered feathers.

Nan Jiayu and Su Tianqing blinked at the same time.

"Why did it just run away when it saw us?" Su Tianqing muttered softly, scratching behind her ear.

The Golden Fox glanced back and spotted the petite catgirl's narrowed cat eyes behind her. She suddenly understood why the bird had fled.

How could that bird not be afraid upon seeing this cat?

Besides its woods, Greenheart Park also had a lake.

"Have you heard the name Tears of Rongcheng, Little Fish?"

"I have heard people mention it before." Nan Jiayu nodded.

"You've actually heard of it?" Fox Fox was stunned.

"It's a pretty famous attraction, so I'd heard a little about it."

"Mmm... I see..."

Several pedal boats floated at the center of the lake. Su Tianqing pedaled the water wheel with effort while chatting with Nan Jiayu, whose movements beside her were relaxed and easy.

The sunlight was bright, the lake sparkled with ripples, and the water wheel slapped and spun across the surface, kicking up countless splashes.

Their little boat of friendship had reached the middle of the lake when Su Tianqing, panting heavily and collapsed over the steering wheel like a ball of fur, realized she might have overestimated her stamina.

"I'm exhausted! I can't pedal anymore!"

Fox Fox wagged her tail wildly as she gave up.

Nan Jiayu looked helplessly at Fox Fox and her minnow-tier stamina.

"Then let's rest for a while. The scenery here is quite nice," the catgirl said.

The view from the center of the lake was wide and open, with the lush greenery all around them in full sight. There was also a strange, peaceful quiet in the air.

Su Tianqing had been right. For such a tranquil place to exist in bustling Rongcheng, it truly lived up to the name Tears of Rongcheng.

The catgirl simply leaned back against her seat, her cat eyes involuntarily drifting toward the fluffy tail swaying beside her.

"...Gulp." The catgirl swallowed.

Her tail-petting stunt from class that day sprang back into her mind. Now, this world-class tail was within reach, yet she did not dare extend her hand toward it again.

This was pure torture!

"Hm? Little Fish, why are you staring at my tail?"

Noticing the burning gaze beside her, Su Tianqing turned her head and asked curiously.

Nan Jiayu hurriedly looked away.

"N-No, I wasn't. I just thought the sun was a little too bright, so..."

"...Hehe~"

Fox Fox smirked mischievously.

The fluffy sensation against her knee suddenly caught the petite catgirl's attention.

Looking down, she saw that the tail that had been lazily swaying around had somehow fallen in front of her. Su Tianqing was currently turned toward the distant shore, admiring the scenery as though she had not noticed anything about her tail at all.

Perfect chance!

The catgirl's eyes lit up, and both hands immediately crept toward the brilliantly golden fox tail.

The fine, silky fox fur instantly swallowed her palms. Every gap between her fingers felt that incomparably smooth, wonderful touch, making it impossible to let go.

"Little Fish."

Suddenly, the little fox turned toward her and spoke.

The hands petting her tail snapped back like lightning. Nan Jiayu pretended nothing had happened and coughed lightly twice.

"Ahem. Wh-What is it?"

"Just sitting here and looking at the scenery is a little boring. Let's chat." Su Tianqing scooted closer to the catgirl as she spoke.

"Sure. What should we talk about?" Nan Jiayu tilted her head curiously.

After a brief pause, Su Tianqing was the first to raise a topic.

"Then let's talk about... life before university!"

Through the lingering memories in her body, Su Tianqing had caught a glimpse of the life "she" had once lived.

In truth, the lives of beastfolk from this generation were largely the same: they wandered in from the outside world and grew up in orphanages or under the care of kind humans.

The childhoods of new-generation beastfolk rarely included companions of their own kind. Human children also excluded these strange beings with ears and tails, so most of their childhoods were spent in loneliness.

"When I was very, very young, Grandpa and Grandma found me. They raised me like their real granddaughter and even gave me money so I could study in Rongcheng."

"I was so lucky to meet their family. Without them, I probably would've died in some filthy ditch somewhere long ago."

After telling her story, Nan Jiayu could not help feeling emotional.

The two of them watched several waterbirds land on the lake in the distance. As ripples spread beneath their feathers, Nan Jiayu quietly turned her gaze toward Su Tianqing beside her.

Tianqing was so sunny, cheerful, and cute. Maybe her childhood had been...

Thinking that, Nan Jiayu suddenly recalled Su Tianqing's current circumstances.

Like her, Su Tianqing was supported by the Beastfolk Mutual Aid Society. But Nan Jiayu at least had her grandparents' home to visit, while Tianqing had always been alone. Nan Jiayu had never seen her with any other friends, either.

At least I have three roommates!

"I really envy you, Little Fish."

Fox Fox spoke quietly.

There was clearly nothing unusual in the little fox's expression. Her lips were merely pursed as always, yet there was a heartbreaking sadness about her.

Su Tianqing had not lied.

After carefully reading through the memories left behind by the original owner of this body, Su Tianqing could understand why the heavy task called Wish, which yearned for attention, had appeared in the Codex.

Loneliness was an illness.

"Su Tianqing" had been sick far, far too long. Perhaps she herself had also been subtly influenced by those memories.

She craved friends, craved attention, craved people's eyes on her—yet she would hide away again out of fear of those overly passionate gazes.

That was the Su Tianqing of the past.

Seeing the complicated expression on the little fox's face, Nan Jiayu took a deep breath. As though making up her mind, she spoke.

"Tianqing!"

"Huh?! Why are you suddenly shouting so loudly? You scared me!"

Su Tianqing was so startled by that shout that her tail puffed up a whole size.

"D-Do you have time tonight?"

"...Huh?"

Suspicious.

No, what was going on? Was this moving that fast?

She had only gotten a little sad while reminiscing! Were beastfolk the kind of species that started asking people whether they were free tonight—a question with such strong romantic implications—after knowing them for just a few days?!

A-Although Little Fish really was cute, and she did like petite catgirls, wasn't this moving way too fast?!

Fox Fox wasn't ready yet!

"Ah, sorry! That's not what I meant! I'm so sorry!"

Suddenly realizing the glaring ambiguity in her words, Nan Jiayu blushed and waved her hands repeatedly.

"What I mean is, if you don't have anything to do tonight, you can come to my younger sister's place and study with me! Her dad makes lots of delicious food!"

"Huff, huff, huff... I thought you were that bold, Little Fish..."

"Sure. Tomorrow's the weekend anyway, so let's go hang out at your younger sister's place."

The little fox gave a sweet smile, dazzlingly bright.