Bai You tilted her head slightly and swished her fish tail, gently moving a little closer. Ripples spread softly through the water as her tail fin glided.
She looked into Varesa's green eyes and asked cautiously, "But I feel like something is still weighing on your mind. You're clearly happy, so why does it seem like there's a little sorrow hidden in your eyes?"
At the question, the smile on Varesa's face slowly faded a little, and her turquoise fish tail, which had been beating cheerfully, gradually came to a stop in the water.
She turned her head and looked through the dim lake water toward the darkness deep inside the cavern, as though gazing into the distance from thousands of miles away.
A barely audible sigh drifted through the water.
"Some things have been weighing on my heart for a very, very long time." Varesa slowly withdrew her gaze and looked at Bai You again.
A trace of wistfulness showed in her eyes. "The truth is, apart from you, I haven't seen another Water Nymph in a long time."
"But Water Nymphs weren't always this rare."
"Once, our kind could be seen swimming everywhere, in lakes of every size across Snezhnaya and in the coastal waters..."
Varesa gazed into the dark depths of the cavern, as though looking through the heavy lake water to see a distant, frozen land.
"After the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya issued her order, my parents and the vast majority of the Water Nymphs in our tribe were driven to a place so remote that even letters couldn't reach it."
"That place is so remote that ordinary people could never find it. Since then, I've rarely seen another of my kind."
She turned back to Bai You, her eyes full of curiosity and anticipation. "May I ask you a few questions?"
Bai You looked at the somewhat melancholy Varesa and nodded gently.
Varesa then softly asked a string of questions. "So, did you come from that place of exile?"
"Or have you been living in hiding in Snezhnaya all this time?"
"Or did you leave with the tribe back then and end up in another country, only to return to Snezhnaya now?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly came to her senses, realizing she had let her emotions get the better of her and asked too eagerly.
The tips of her ears grew faintly pink with embarrassment. She hurriedly moved back a little and apologized to Bai You.
"I'm sorry, I lost my composure. I threw so many questions at you at once without considering how you felt."
"It's just been so long since I saw a Water Nymph who looked so much like me. For a moment, I couldn't control my emotions."
Bai You hurriedly reassured her in a gentle voice. "It's all right, it's all right. I just didn't expect you to have something like that weighing on your mind."
The lake water beneath the cavern flowed slowly, tiny glimmers of light dancing across the scales of their fish tails.
Seeing the anticipation and loneliness in Varesa's eyes, Bai You felt a faint ache in her heart.
She gently swished her fish tail and drifted slowly in front of Varesa. After thinking it over, she couldn't very well tell her something as absurd as transmigrating.
"Actually... I don't have any of the pasts you mentioned."
Bai You's voice came softly through the rippling water, tinged with bewilderment.
"I don't know how I got here either. All I remember is that my name is Bai You, and that's it."
"Apart from that, I can't remember anything."
Varesa froze, a flash of surprise passing through her beautiful green eyes.
It immediately gave way to deep sympathy and guilt. She hadn't expected to reopen Bai You's old wounds by accident.
She stayed frozen in the water, forgetting even to move her turquoise fish tail and letting the current gently rock her.
"...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to reopen your old wounds." Varesa spoke very softly.
"But how could this happen? You don't know where you came from?"
Bai You thought for a moment, then nodded gently, her fish-fin ears twitching slightly.
"It's all right. Maybe heaven wanted me to meet you."
Bai You tilted her head as she spoke.
Varesa was silent for a moment. Then she slowly reached out and gently took Bai You's hand. The lake water was cool, and their hands pressed tightly together.
Bai You looked at Varesa and spoke earnestly.
"And about your parents and your people, I'll definitely help you reunite with your parents. Whether it's a Harbinger or anyone else, even the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya herself, if they dare stand in the way, I'll clear away every obstacle."
After saying all that, Bai You suddenly felt she had been a bit too chunni and couldn't help feeling embarrassed.
Beside her, Varesa could no longer restrain the emotions that had built up in her heart after hearing Bai You's words. She gently clasped Bai You's small hand.
Her turquoise fish tail instinctively curled gently around Bai You's waist, its fin trembling slightly and stirring up tiny ripples.
"Thank you, Bai You. I never thought anyone would say those things to me."
"But the situation is a little complicated and hard to explain. The Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya's decision to exile my parents and my people was also the most reasonable decision at the time."
Her muffled voice came through the water, noticeably nasal, as though she were about to burst into tears.
"I won't go back on my word," Bai You said softly, resting her cheek gently against the top of Varesa's head.
"From now on, this won't be yours to worry about alone."
(The author traveled back from the future and made some revisions. I also feel that the story at the beginning isn't very good. It'll get more exciting later on ⊙︿⊙)