Amorous Glow

"..." Shiori did not understand what weight that tear carried. She could not guess, yet she clearly sensed the faint trembling in her palm----

Huanyue immediately reined in the tears showing on her face, taking half a step back and gently wiping the corners of her eyes with her fingertips. "How strange... lately..."

"Huanyue must be exhausted, completely exhausted." Shiori gently rubbed her head. "So much has happened lately... I'm sorry. You must have been carrying so much on your own."

"It isn't Shiori's fault... I could clearly feel that Shiori wanted to make me happier..." Qian Huanyue lowered her head in distress, her silver bangs slightly veiling her reddened eyelids. "It's a little disappointing... This was supposed to be such a rare moment... but I..."

"No!" Shiori cut her off, her tone firmer than ever before. "As long as Huanyue is here, right in front of me, then everything else—whether it is disappointing or anything else—ceases to exist."

"Am I being selfish... Shiori...?"

Shiori shook her head, her fingertips gently brushing over the slightly damp corners of her eyes.

She had never imagined that Huanyue, who always wore a calm, faint smile, could reveal such a fragile expression, as though she might shatter like glass. It made Shiori's heart tighten slightly as well.

Yet unexpectedly, it was as though she had let out a breath of relief.

If it had been an unchanging smile, that would have been even more frightening.

Her tea-colored eyes were full of tenderness. "Not at all, Huanyue."

Huanyue had always been gentle. At times, she was almost cruelly gentle, as though she had shared all that tenderness with everyone else while leaving none for herself.

"..."

"...Can it really continue intact forever, Shiori?" Qian Huanyue asked softly. "I always have this feeling... that the