The mountain breeze was a little chilly. It brushed against the girl's slightly flushed cheeks, calming her emotions.
She swallowed the pastry in her mouth, raised her sword, and began to practice.
Xu An brought out the remaining pastries and sat on the steps, watching Ye Shunguang practice her swordplay.
Gradually, he became spellbound.
The girl's figure looked dazzling beneath the sinking afternoon sun. The gradually darkening sky seemed to think these wonderful moments ought to pass a little faster, and the sun seemed impatient to dip below the mountains.
After finishing her sword practice, Ye Shunguang saw her junior brother sitting there watching her. Her emotions, which had just settled somewhat after her practice, suddenly felt strange again.
She stood in place with her sword in hand, seemingly thinking about something.
Seeing Ye Shunguang stop, Xu An hurried over.
"Senior sister? What's wrong?" Xu An asked, a little puzzled.
"Oh, ah, huh? Nothing, nothing." Realizing Xu An had come so close, she spoke a little helplessly and suddenly took a step back.
(Was that half step back really necessary?)
Xu An thought that, but stopped where he was without coming closer. He couldn't frighten his senior sister.
"Senior sister, I've still got the dessert I made for you. Remember to try it later~" Xu An said with a beaming smile.
"Mm-hmm, all right. I'll savor it properly and tell you all about how it tastes afterward."
After exchanging those words, they both stood there in silence.
(Oh no, we seem to have reached a stalemate. This is a little awkward. Damn it, somebody tell me how to pursue a girl and how to date!)
"Um~" They spoke almost simultaneously.
"You go first, senior sister."
"You go first, junior brother."
Once again, they spoke at the same time.
Ye Shunguang's earlobes turned red.
Seeing this, Xu An hurried to speak again. "It's all right, it's all right. What did you want to say, senior sister?"
Then he gently leaned his head toward her.
"Junior brother, um, um..." Ye Shunguang lightly stroked her own face with one hand, her eyes on the ground, her voice growing quieter and quieter.
"Could you... call me senior sister a few more times?"
After making out what she said, Xu An looked at Ye Shunguang's face with a slightly odd expression.
"Is... is that not okay?" Ye Shunguang's little face suddenly filled with disappointment.
"No! Not at all! Of course not! Of course I can!" Xu An protested repeatedly.
Come on, senior sister, with that pitiful little look on your face, how could I bear to refuse you!
"Senior sister~ Senior sister!" Xu An tried calling her twice.
"Ehehehe~" Ye Shunguang's pretty face filled with satisfaction.
"This is my first time being a senior sister. Usually, when I'm with Master and the others, I'm the most junior. So being called senior sister feels this happy and satisfying."
Xu An tried calling her that another couple of times.
Ye Shunguang was so immersed in this happiness that she couldn't pull herself out of it, her eyes narrowing and the corners of her mouth lifting high.
"Senior sister~ Calm your heart~ Exercise self-restraint~" Xu An suddenly teased.
Ye Shunguang instantly froze. After coming back to her senses and seeing the slightly teasing look in her junior brother's eyes, she suddenly worked up a wicked burst of courage and said haltingly, "Y-you little junior brother! How dare you tease your senior sister! Your life is mine!"
As she spoke, she reached out to ruffle Xu An's hair.
She began play-fighting with him.
Although Xu An was a head taller than her and could have avoided her hands with just a few slight dodges.
But come on, only an idiot would do that, okay?
Xu An pretended to dodge while bending slightly at the waist to make it easier for his little senior sister to ruffle his hair.
After thoroughly "bullying" Xu An's hairstyle, Ye Shunguang looked satisfied. But when she realized what a bold thing she had just done, she felt a little embarrassed again.
Yet to maintain her image as his senior sister, she could only keep up her senior-sister airs with a faint blush on her face.
"Hmph ╯^╰. Let's see if you dare tease your senior sister again," Ye Shunguang said with her hands on her hips.
Seeing her like this.
Xu An was practically screaming inside. So cute (づ￣3￣)づ╭❤~ I want to hug her. Never mind, that would probably make senior sister blush until she started bubbling, probably.
Xu An coughed twice. "Ahem, senior sister, it's getting late. I really enjoyed spending time with you today. Master and the others and I have things to do tomorrow, so I'll head back now? Remember to eat the dessert I made!" As he spoke, Xu An condensed a sword form and made ready to leave.
"W-wait! Junior brother. From now on... just call me Xiaoguang for the time being~ My brother, Master, and the others all call me that. I'll call you by your name too. Is that okay?" Ye Shunguang asked, not knowing why she felt a little nervous.
"Hmm? Why? It's fine, senior sister! If you like hearing me call you senior sister, I'll just keep calling you that~ I like seeing the way you smile when you're happy, senior sister. You should smile more." As Xu An spoke, he remembered Ye Shunguang's icy demeanor when they first met today.
Though that seemed to have a charm of its own too. Ehehe.
Ye Shunguang lowered her head. "Mm... Junior brother! If you ever encounter any storms in the future, I'll make sure you're thoroughly protected!" As she spoke, Ye Shunguang seemed to make a promise, her gaze somewhat resolute.
"Hahaha, all right! Then I'll be troubling my Xiaoguang~ senior sister~ from now on?" Xu An said with a smile.
"Hmm?" Ye Shunguang made to raise her hand again, and Xu An hurriedly took flight.
"Senior sister! I have something to do, so I'm leaving! I'll come see you again next time!" Xu An called as he flew.
"Got it!" Ye Shunguang called back loudly too, waving her hand vigorously in the direction Xu An had gone.
Ye Shunguang kept watching Xu An's departing figure, a trace of reluctance in her eyes.
Only when she could no longer see him did she return to her room.
She picked up the notebook she had left on the table.
Taking up her pen, she quickly began to write.
[The weather was lovely today. I practiced swordplay in the morning and practiced swordplay in the afternoon.
But in the afternoon, the junior brother I met when I sneaked down the mountain last time came to see me. I was so happy. He even specially brought me pastries from the Yin Tea House, and he made chocolate mousse for me himself.]
Having written this far, Ye Shunguang looked at the insulated bag on the table and went over to open it.
A very pretty chocolate mousse sat inside. Besides chocolate shavings, it was topped with a chibi Ye Shunguang made of chocolate.
Xu An had probably made it with the white chocolate in the kitchen.
The chibi Ye Shunguang wore a cute expression, with a smile on her face.
Looking at it, Ye Shunguang couldn't help letting the corners of her mouth secretly curl upward too.
She cut herself a piece and carried it to her desk, continuing to write as she ate.
[It tastes very good. There's a tiny bit of bitterness, followed by sweetness. It has that taste of bitterness first and sweetness afterward. Junior brother is very skilled. He's good enough to open a shop.]
Ye Shunguang paused, ate another mouthful of mousse, and continued writing.
[Junior brother is very obedient, but also disobedient. I asked him to call me senior sister, and he teased me. How infuriating. I worked up the courage to teach him a lesson, and he became obedient again.]
[Junior brother said he likes the way I smile. Does that mean he likes me?]
Having written this far, Ye Shunguang suddenly stopped writing and sat at her desk looking at her diary.
The upturned corners of her mouth gradually settled. She turned to look at the pale moonlight outside the window, her thoughts unknown.