A Paper Airplane Across Time and Space

In the studio, time seemed to stand still at that moment.

Aemeath sat on Lu Yan's lap, her arms still wrapped around his neck, but her eyes were fixed on the screen.

In the picture, a little girl dressed in Lahai-Roi clothing with pink pigtails is facing the sunlight, raising a paper airplane high in her hand.

The air remained still for a full half minute, with only Aemeath's breathing echoing in Lu Yan's ears.

"A-Yan, you actually..." Aemeath's voice still had a nasal tone from just waking up, "You actually drew what I looked like when I was a child."

She silently watched the Little Aemeath on the screen, a thin layer of mist welling up in her eyes.

He tightened his arms around her waist, his broad, warm hands gently stroking her back, his voice tender:

"Do you like it? I think my Little Aemeath must have been like this before she bore those heavy burdens—running in the sunshine, folding paper airplanes, and smiling more brightly than anyone else."

Aemeath sniffed, forcing a mischievous smile, and turned to look at Lu Yan, her tone tinged with a hint of emotion:

"It seems that Master Lu's memory is really quite good. I can hardly remember what I looked like when I was a child, but you drew it perfectly."

"Because it's very important." Lu Yan didn't elaborate, simply giving his reason.

As Aemeath gazed at the scene, the smile on her lips gradually faded slightly. She tilted her head slightly, pointed to the boundless expanse of emerald green lawn, and raised an eyebrow with a hint of displeasure:

"However... Master Lu, this painting seems to be missing something crucial."

"Something's missing?" Lu Yan frowned slightly in confusion.

He re-examined the image, from its color composition to its light and shadow perspective, from the mountains in the background to the flowers in the foreground. "Was the rune drawn incorrectly? Or is the vegetation in the background incompatible with the ecology of Rinascita?"

Seeing him caught up in his professional habit, Aemeath reached out and slapped his cheeks, forcing him to look away from the screen and onto her own face.

"None of those!"

Aemeath gave a soft snort, released her grip, turned around, and snatched the pressure-sensitive pen from Lu Yan's hand.

Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight. "Without you! Are you crazy? You just plan to draw this huge lawn and then leave me sitting here all alone, grinning like an idiot?"

Lu Yan was stunned.

"In your mind, I deserve to have been playing with paper airplanes by myself since I was little?" Aemeath pouted, her tears of emotion now dampened by her anger.

"Since you wanted to paint a childhood picture for me, why aren't you in that childhood?" Aemeath looked away.

"But back then, we..." Lu Yan subconsciously wanted to say that back then, they were separated by the distance of stars and dimensions.

"No buts!"

Aemeath immediately interrupted him, her voice soft and sweet, but her attitude unusually domineering, "I've already stamped the deal, you're now my love interest, you have my Frequency within you, 'my past must include you.'"

Aemeath lowered her head and manipulated the pressure-sensitive pen. Although she wasn't very good at drawing, she knew where the figure should be.

After drawing a rough outline.

Aemeath suddenly stopped drawing, shoved the pen back into Lu Yan's hand, and said in a low, almost pleading voice, "Draw one~ right here."

Lu Yan looked at her serious profile and took the pen.

Yes, he was only thinking about making up for the regrets of her childhood, but he overlooked the fact that what she longed for most deep down was companionship.

How could he be absent from this beautiful past that he built with his own hands?

"It was my fault." Lu Yan's eyes softened, and he pulled down Aemeath's hand, placing it to his lips and kissing it tenderly.

"I'm sorry, my little princess. I shouldn't have left you there alone."

"Hmph~ Good to know~" Aemeath said in a haughty tone.

He gripped the pressure-sensitive pen again. He prepared to draw an adult version of himself behind Little Aemeath.

A tall person, who could shelter her from the wind and rain, gazed tenderly at the little girl on the grass.

Just as he sketched out the outline of broad shoulders, Aemeath's hand slammed down on the back of his hand.

"Stop, stop, stop! What are you drawing?" Aemeath leaned forward, looking at the skeletal sketch on the screen that clearly belonged to an adult male, and immediately stopped him.

Lu Yan stopped drawing, somewhat puzzled, and turned to look at her. "Draw me. I need to stand behind you and protect you."

"Who asked you to stand behind me like an adult!" Aemeath glared at him playfully, then a sly glint flashed in her eyes.

Her voice was filled with barely concealed excitement and anticipation. "Since it's a painting of me as a child, of course it should also depict you as a child!"

"Me when I was a child?" Lu Yan raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Aemeath's eyes sparkled, as if she had discovered something new. "Yes! You painted this because you regretted not being able to be with me, didn't you?"

"How about we become childhood Childhood Sweethearts, growing up together, right here in this painting?"

"I want a Little Lu Yan the same age as me, to run wild on the grass with me, and to fold paper airplanes with me!"

Aemeath became more and more excited as she spoke; she had even begun to visualize the scene in her mind:

"Hurry up! I want to see what Little A-Yan looks like! Is he still this cold-faced, secretly horny guy who's actually a complete mess inside?"

Lu Yan was taken aback by her seemingly repressed flirtatious remark, and shook his head with a helpless smile.

He felt a sweet warmth in his heart because of the Childhood Sweethearts scene she described.

How wonderful it would be to have met her in childhood.

"Okay, I'll do as you say. Draw me as a child."

Lu Yan agreed.

He used a keyboard shortcut to undo the previous sketch, closed his eyes, briefly recalled what he looked like when he was eleven or twelve years old, and then started drawing again.

This time, he drew very smoothly. Next to Little Aemeath, he sketched the figure of a boy.

Aemeath was no longer sleepy. She nestled quietly in Lu Yan's arms, even softening her breathing, afraid of disturbing his creative process.

She stared intently at the screen, watching her Little A-Yan gradually grow fuller.

When the basic color scheme for the figures was complete, Lu Yan stopped writing, seemingly contemplating the interaction between the two characters.

"Hands!" Aemeath suddenly exclaimed excitedly, pointing to Little Aemeath's empty left hand on the screen and Little Lu Yan's right hand hanging by his side.

She turned her head, her breath brushing against Lu Yan's ear. "A-Yan, let them hold hands! Little Aemeath's right hand is holding a paper airplane, so her left hand must hold yours tightly!"

Lu Yan's heart skipped a beat at the breath he heard beside his ear.

He turned his head and looked at Aemeath so close that they were almost touching. In those bright, star-like eyes, he saw unreserved affection.

"Good."

With the collaboration of the two, the painting finally found its soul.

Two small figures sat side by side on the lush green grass, as if sharing each other's body heat.

Little Lu Yan was no longer just an observer; he turned his head, his still deep black eyes fixed on Little Aemeath beside him.

Little Aemeath tilted her head back, her right hand raised high above the paper airplane carrying her hopes, her smile carefree and radiant. Her other hand naturally grasped Little Lu Yan's right hand.

Two tiny hands were clasped together perfectly.

The paper airplane in the picture doesn't appear to be being thrown.

"That way, I won't be lonely anymore." Lu Yan put down the pressure-sensitive pen and let out a long sigh of relief.

He looked at the painting on the screen, titled "Childhood Sweethearts," and a warm mist welled up in his eyes.

"It's so beautiful..." Aemeath looked at the scene on the screen, and tears streamed down her face without warning.

But this time, she had a happy smile on her face.

Lu Yan noticed that Aemeath was crying and gently comforted her, stroking her back repeatedly with his large hand:

"Aemeath, don't cry."

Aemeath turned her head sharply, then cupped his face tightly in her hands, closed her eyes, and with hot tears streaming down her face, kissed his thin lips without hesitation.

"Thank you, A-Yan," she murmured indistinctly between her lips.

Lu Yan closed his eyes and took the initiative to deepen the kiss, which was filled with the scent of sunshine and tears.

Outside the courtyard, a paper airplane flew out from somewhere, skimming over the courtyard wall, drawing a graceful arc in the air, and finally landing on the newly turned soil.