"Chu Lian, you're awake?" Pulling open the door, the proud girl saw Chu Lian and Chu Chu embracing. She froze for a moment, then forced a somewhat stiff smile as she asked.
"Mm." Knowing they couldn't continue like that, Chu Lian naturally released Chu Chu. Facing Cai Ya, she sensed her condition and couldn't help but sigh in admiration. "I didn't see you for just one night, and you've already undergone a complete transformation."
"Mid-stage Spirit level strength. It's not particularly strong, and your energy circulation isn't very smooth yet, but I can tell—you're improving little by little."
"I'm not the kind of person who lets you leave me behind so easily. Since you've grown, I won't be willing to fall behind either. I may not be very strong right now, but sooner or later, I'll catch up to you. Don't slack off either—if I surpass you, that won't look very good." Cai Ya curled her lips, no longer dwelling on what she had just seen. She reached out to twirl a strand of her long hair, idly playing with the curled ends as she gazed into Chu Lian's eyes.
For some reason, Chu Lian felt as if she saw a faint six-pointed snowflake flickering within Cai Ya's eyes. Yet whenever she tried to focus on it, it disappeared without a trace.
Though the change was subtle, Chu Lian still committed it to memory. If she had the chance later, she would investigate what it meant.
"Alright, I'll be waiting for the day you surpass me. Just don't end up getting left behind halfway through the chase—that wouldn't be very fun. I'm really looking forward to fighting you. Win or lose, it'll definitely be an enjoyable experience." Chu Lian welcomed her provocation. After all, becoming someone's goal wasn't a bad thing.
It was just that Cai Ya had only just awakened. Although her aura and energy purity had reached the mid-stage Spirit level, her physical attributes and total energy reserves were still lacking. She still had a long way to go if she wanted to catch up.
Of course, Chu Lian would help her. That was beyond question. Ice-element cultivation was somewhat unique, and she wasn't sure she could teach it properly herself. However, finding a mature cultivation system for her wasn't difficult—and it was currently the best choice.
"Just wait and see." Clearly, those weren't the words she truly wanted to say. Clearly, she had been happy to see Chu Lian awaken. Clearly, she had desperately wanted to rush forward and embrace her.
But all of that vanished the moment she saw the two sisters holding each other. Along with a trace of displeasure in her heart, everything she had wanted to do suddenly became something she didn't want to do at all.
Perhaps it was the pride in a young girl's heart telling her that doing so now would only make her look inferior.
Even if that possibility was almost nonexistent—perhaps just her own imagination—one thing couldn't be denied: girls often failed to say what they truly felt.
All the longing she had wanted to express, all the worry she had wanted to share, ultimately condensed into a single sentence: "You're awake?"
With nothing else to say, she could only search for topics. Talking about her strength and growth was undoubtedly a perfect excuse to conceal her true feelings, wasn't it?
She refused to admit that she was avoiding things—that she was jealous—that she hated her own lack of resolve.
"I'll be waiting," Chu Lian said casually, half-joking. "After all, the future Ice Empress shouldn't disappoint me."
But those words were etched deeply into the girl's heart, becoming a direction she would strive toward in the future.
"Cai Ya..." The people involved might not realize it, but an outsider could see clearly. The subtle tension between the two, the way they hid their feelings—perhaps neither of them noticed, but Chu Chu could sense it all.
Still, she said nothing. Whether it was Big Sis or Cai Ya, this was something they had to resolve themselves. Interfering would only complicate matters further.
Having experienced the pain of losing someone important, the girl did her best to maintain the fragile balance between the two proud girls, afraid that either of them might make a foolish decision.
"I'm going to stabilize my energy first. You should go find the others." Suppressing her urge to embrace Chu Lian, Cai Ya said this before closing the door.
Chu Lian let out a soft sigh, shaking her head slightly without saying anything. She knew that if she had taken the initiative just now, Cai Ya probably wouldn't have felt this way. Why did she have to compete with her for no reason?
Behind the door, out of her sight, Cai Ya leaned against it and slowly slid down, burying her face in her knees in silence. Was she crying? Was she hurting? Even she didn't know.
"Big Sis, I suddenly remembered something—I'll go take care of it. Oh, right, Xiu'er is resting in my room. She hasn't woken up yet. You can go check on her later." Chu Chu noticed Chu Lian's subtle expression and understood that she needed time alone to sort things out. So shortly after Cai Ya closed the door, she used an excuse to leave, pointing out where Li Xiu'er was before departing.
"Honestly... I could've handled this. Why did I make it so complicated?" Chu Lian muttered to herself. She realized she really wasn't good at dealing with these kinds of situations. A true expert in romance would have definitely comforted both girls just now.
"Big Sis, you have your own space. Chu Chu already had her moment in your arms just now, so now it's their turn to feel at ease. And... I'm not upset. I don't want to cry either."
"After all, Big Sis never belonged to Chu Chu from the beginning. I was the one who stubbornly clung to you to earn my place by your side. Someone like me doesn't really have the right to say anything about others."
At a corner on the second floor, Chu Chu leaned against the wall, tilting her head back as she thought silently.
These things couldn't simply be ignored. Big Sis... who does your heart truly belong to in the end? Chu Chu wanted to know, but she was also afraid of finding out.
If she really had to choose someone, it would probably be Sister Ayase, right? Even though she rarely appeared before them, judging from the emotions Chu Lian showed toward her, she clearly had the greatest advantage.
So... who would she choose?
Forgive me for thinking like this. It's just... someone as amazing as Big Sis—how wonderful would it be if she could belong to me alone? But that would be too selfish.
"Well... I won't monopolize Big Sis for now. But one day, I'll definitely win her over. Even if I can't make her mine alone, I'll at least become the most important—or the most favored—person in her harem. I can do it. I swear on these boobs of mine!"
As Chu Chu thought this, she clenched her fists. She was unwilling, yet powerless. Big Sis was free—there was no way she could interfere. Unless she chose to leave, all she could do was watch and let her decide for herself.
But how could she possibly leave? Since that wasn't an option, she turned her thoughts elsewhere. If she couldn't monopolize her, then she would become the best among them.
Why? Because of the sheer weight of her chest—she was confident she could compete.
Of course, she had no idea that Albedo's was actually even larger than hers. While part of that was due to Albedo being a fully grown woman, it couldn't be denied that Chu Chu's wasn't the biggest.
And if you included that woman on the sofa—cough, that young lady—then if she wanted to compete in that department, she'd need a few more years of growth.
Moreover, considering Chu Lian's particular fixation on chests, someone like Chu Chu might end up being disliked rather than favored.
"Mm, everything is fine." This time, it was Liu Yanran who came out to see her. The girls seemed to share an unspoken understanding—only after one left would the next appear.
What happened earlier between Cai Ya and Chu Chu had been a complete accident. At that time, Chu Chu should have been resting in her own room. Perhaps it was fate playing tricks, causing both girls' emotions to become unusually sensitive.
"Phew... Yanran, I almost didn't make it back this time." Among all the girls, if there was someone best suited for her to confide in right now, it wasn't Inori, but Liu Yanran.
Their fates were intricately intertwined, and Liu Yanran understood her better than anyone else.
So upon seeing her, Chu Lian tucked away her other emotions deep within her heart, stepped forward, and threw herself into Liu Yanran's arms, recounting what had happened in Nether City.
"I see..." Sitting on the bed, Liu Yanran listened as Chu Lian spoke while leaning against her. She nodded in realization. "If that person knows you're Xiang Yu—not the historical one, but you—and understands that you came from the Otherside, then they must be from that same era or very close to it. And their status must have been quite high to know such secrets."
"Exactly. What I don't understand is—could that guy be some kind of lolicon? Xiu'er and I are still so young, yet he wants to marry both of us. That's just disgusting."
What angered her even more was that he wanted to marry both her and Xiu'er—taking both sisters at once.
That was something she should be the one doing—not him. It was incredibly irritating.
However, she didn't notice the implication she had just revealed.
"Chu Lian... are you admitting you're a loli?" Liu Yanran covered her mouth with her hand, laughing softly.
Among the girls, aside from Tina and Anna who were too young to count, Chu Chu and Chu Lian were the shortest in terms of height.
But Chu Chu at least had a well-developed figure, making her appear more mature.
Chu Lian, on the other hand, was the very definition of a flat loli—no chest, no hips, no height—and unbearably cute.
Back then, she had stubbornly refused to admit she was a loli. Yet now she had accidentally let it slip herself. Honestly...
"Cough, cough... I was just saying it casually. Don't take it seriously." Chu Lian immediately denied it. Being a loli was fine for acting cute, but if she were labeled that among the girls, what authority would she have left?
"Oh, right. Chu Lian, in ancient times, it was normal to marry and have children at eleven or twelve. You and Xiu'er are already thirteen. Strictly speaking, that would make you older, unmarried girls."
"So the other party isn't wrong, nor is he necessarily a lolicon. You're just judging things using your own modern perspective." Liu Yanran, well-versed in various knowledge since childhood, immediately pointed out the flaw in Chu Lian's reasoning.
"Ah... I didn't think of that." Chu Lian instantly realized her mistake. Still, she didn't dwell on it.
After chatting comfortably with Liu Yanran for a while, Chu Lian finally straightened up. With a flick of her right hand, Cold Beauty appeared in her grasp.
Running the fingers of her left hand along the blade, feeling its sharpness, Chu Lian closed her eyes and said softly, "Yanran, you know... this blade really suits me."
"Of course it does. Because it originally belonged to you. Now that it's returned to your hands, it's simply a matter of returning it to its rightful owner. It's only natural that it suits you—if it didn't, that would be strange." Liu Yanran smiled faintly. How could she not know who this blade suited best?
"Right... where did you find it? There's a strange connection between me and this blade. If it had been out in the open, I should have been able to sense it. Even if it were hidden in a sealed room, it shouldn't have escaped my perception. Yet before you took it out, I had no idea it existed."
This was what puzzled Chu Lian. The more she used Cold Beauty, the more she could feel its extraordinary nature. That connection was definitely not something trivial.
"This? It's been here all along." As Liu Yanran spoke, she reached into the collar of her clothing, fished around for a moment, and pulled out a jade pendant tied with a red string.
The pendant was a piece of emerald-green jade, carved with a blooming flower. When Chu Lian leaned closer to look, she immediately recognized it—it was a "Poppy Flower."
"A storage space?" She had specifically mentioned that Cold Beauty had been stored inside this jade. If Chu Lian still couldn't figure it out, she might as well go reread the system's data from the beginning.
"That's right, a storage space. But right now, I can only take out Cold Beauty. I can't retrieve anything else. I also don't know how large it is, but I feel like it's at least as big as this house." Liu Yanran frowned slightly. It was clear she also wanted to understand what was inside, but although she possessed special abilities, she hadn't yet reached the Spirit level and couldn't properly use it.
"I see. If it was stored in there, then it's normal that I couldn't find it." A storage space was essentially like the dimensional space she used—both existed in a subspace.
Since both were in these special subspaces, it made sense. Even someone like Yukari Yakumo, a peak-level sage among boundary-manipulating youkai, couldn't detect her items—let alone Chu Lian.
"Mm. I've worn this jade since I was little, and only now do I realize it's actually a storage space inside." Liu Yanran felt a bit embarrassed. Such a precious treasure, and she had only uncovered a fraction of its secrets after all this time—it had truly been wasted.
"Maybe." Chu Lian lightly pressed her lips together. After saying that, she lay down, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought...