A Rough Kiss

Aemeath stared blankly at him. Her usually sparkling eyes were wide and round with shock.

What's wrong with A-Yan? Has he forgotten something? Rover was the one who saved me? Has A-Yan lost his memories too, just like Rover did before?

Seeing Aemeath's dazed expression, Lu Yan thought she was disappointed. He asked cautiously, "Are you disappointed?"

Aemeath came to her senses at the sound of his voice. Her shock faded, replaced by heartache and anger.

"Huh? Are you an idiot?" Aemeath's voice rang out through the living room, breaking the suffocating silence.

All her usual sweetness had vanished from her voice, leaving it full of anger.

Before Lu Yan could react, Aemeath suddenly pounced on him like a hissing cat.

Instead of approaching him gently, she swung a leg over and straddled his thighs. The aggressive position made him freeze instantly.

Aemeath pressed herself against Lu Yan's chest without reservation. She cupped his cheeks in both hands, forcing him to raise his head and look her in the eyes.

"What the heck! Are these the things you spend all day overthinking?" Aemeath's eyes reddened, and tears glimmered in them, but her gaze was unusually fierce.

"You're worried about that? You're doubting that I found the right person after crossing dimensions? How could I get the wrong person?"

Aemeath could no longer hold back her tears. They slid down and landed on the back of Lu Yan's hand, startlingly hot.

"Listen carefully. I'm only going to say this once."

"You're not ordinary at all! When everyone here forgot me, you were the only one who still remembered!"

"Do you still think you're ordinary?"

Aemeath's voice trembled slightly with emotion. Her fingers dug into Lu Yan's hair, forcing him to feel her presence. "The person I love is you, the one who was lonely himself but still tried in his own clumsy way to give me warmth!"

Aemeath lowered her head and pressed her forehead against Lu Yan's. Their breaths mingled.

"You think you're an ordinary person? You think you have no abilities?" Aemeath gritted her teeth, but tears kept falling onto Lu Yan's cheeks.

"Do you have any idea? You... you carefully hid how much you knew about me so I wouldn't feel lonely."

"You forced yourself to swallow that awful fish soup so I wouldn't be sad. That unconditional favoritism is your greatest ability!"

Aemeath's fingers slid down Lu Yan's cheek, finally coming to rest over his beating heart.

"I don't need a savior who can save the world."

Aemeath's tone gradually revealed the nature she kept buried deep inside. "I only want you. I only want this Lu Yan, who blushes at a word from me, who needs me to rub his stomach when it hurts, who doubts himself because he's afraid of losing me! The A-Yan who cares about me!"

"If that identity, whatever it is, weighs on you, then forget it from now on!" Aemeath declared domineeringly. "Now there's only my A-Yan."

"You're mine. From head to toe, every strand of your hair, every humble thought you have, all of it belongs to me!"

"Aren't you afraid? Fine, then let me prove it to you!"

The moment the words left her mouth, Aemeath gave Lu Yan no chance to argue or react.

Aemeath squeezed her eyes shut and kissed Lu Yan hard on the lips, almost as if she were plundering him.

There was no gradual, tentative approach, nor any of the beautiful, romantic filter of an idol drama. It was simply a collision of tears, hurt, anger, and unreserved love.

"Mmph..." Lu Yan grunted as their lips collided.

With Aemeath's eyes closed and her impulsive haste, the kiss was not only completely unpracticed but also knocked against his teeth.

A faint taste of iron and the saltiness of tears spread between their lips and teeth.

Lu Yan's brain completely shut down at that moment.

His eyes, so accustomed to holding back, were now wide with shock. Aemeath's face was reflected clearly in them, just inches away, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

Her warm tears slipped down her cheeks and into the narrow gap between their tightly pressed lips, salty and astringent.

Aemeath's hands were still clamped tightly around his face, and her body was trembling.

It was a clumsy kiss.

Aemeath had no idea what to do next.

In her subconscious, kissing meant pressing her lips tightly against the other person's and crushing them together, as if only through such rough physical contact could she force all the love in her heart into the heart of this person who was always trying to retreat.

Aemeath's breathing was quick and uneven, her warm breath spilling freely over the tip of Lu Yan's nose and his cheeks.

Because she didn't know what she was doing, the tips of their noses even bumped awkwardly together. But instead of pulling back, Aemeath pressed herself against him even harder.

Lu Yan felt the soft, eager, unpracticed sensation on his lips, and his heart, long frozen by his feelings of inferiority, gave a muffled rumble. Then the thick layer of ice shattered inch by inch.

Aemeath is trembling. Lu Yan felt the soft body in his arms shake, and felt the fingers cupping his cheeks tighten unconsciously.

He suddenly realized that beneath the mask of this seemingly forceful, domineering girl, who kept saying she wanted to possess him completely, lay a fear even deeper than his own.

She was afraid. Afraid that he would push her away completely because of his feelings of inferiority, afraid of losing the person she loved again.

If Lu Yan's feeling of unworthiness was an insurmountable wall, then Aemeath's tears and clumsy kiss were the most powerful explosives, blasting his wall to pieces.

Yes, to hell with saviors, to hell with heroes.

The soul who had saved the world might deserve everyone's admiration.

But all the girl before him needed was someone who could truly hold her and accept everything about her.

Since she had crossed dimensions just to hold on to an ordinary soul like him in this ordinary world, what right did he have to run away?

Lu Yan slowly closed his eyes.

His hands, which had hung stiffly at his sides, finally moved.

He raised one hand and gently laid it over the back of Aemeath's hand as she cupped his cheek, feeling the warmth of her fingertips. Then he took the lead, gently pulling her hand down and clasping it tightly in his own.

Next, his other hand slowly traveled up Aemeath's slender waist until his palm came to rest firmly against the back of her head.

That gesture declared Lu Yan's complete surrender, as well as his acceptance of everything about her.

"Mmph..." Feeling Lu Yan respond, Aemeath stiffened sharply, then let out a muffled, soft moan.

Lu Yan had no experience kissing either.

He tilted his head slightly, adjusting it to an angle where their noses were less likely to bump.

He no longer let Aemeath press against his lips without knowing what she was doing. Instead, he tentatively and gently took her lower lip between his.

Lu Yan's movements were light, as if he were tasting a delicious strawberry jelly.