As she stood at the doorway, Chu Lian and Li Xiu'er both turned their gazes toward her. Seeing who it was, they both froze for a moment.
Bang... Seeing them looking at her, the girl immediately turned her head, slammed the door shut, and left, leaving the two girls staring at each other in bewilderment.
"She... should be fine, right?" Although their relationship had just been exposed, Li Xiu'er had already let go of all reservations in front of Chu Lian, so she didn't pay it much mind.
Moreover, the other party hadn't seen her completely naked—only her back. The lower halves of their bodies were still hidden beneath the covers, making it practically impossible to see anything.
"She should be fine... probably..." Chu Lian couldn't be certain either, but thinking about it now, there likely wasn't any problem. After all, someone as calm as her wasn't the type to be easily shaken.
"Forget it, don't worry about her. Sigh... Xiu'er, what matters most right now is that you stay home and recover properly. And when you go to class, be careful too—don't overexert yourself. Your diet, your rest, all of it needs attention, got it?"
Shaking her head, Chu Lian pushed aside the matter of being seen with Li Xiu'er and looked down at her as she began to instruct her seriously.
"Yes, yes, I'll listen to everything you say." She was basking in Chu Lian's care, and the feeling was like the everyday interactions of a married couple.
As the wife, she enjoyed her partner's concern for her well-being, while she herself accepted it gently and obediently. That feeling was simply wonderful.
"Alright, let's go eat first. It's almost noon. Mom's been out busy for so long—there should be quite a feast waiting for us."
Chu Lian held her for a while longer, savoring that complicated sense of regained closeness. Only after the clock passed eleven did she speak again.
"Mm." Though reluctant to part from her, Li Xiu'er also felt a bit hungry. Ever since returning home last night, she hadn't eaten anything at all.
Not to mention the time her soul had left her body—it must have consumed a great deal of energy and vitality.
If she didn't replenish herself properly, she wouldn't be able to fully recover before her ability awakened.
When vital energy is weak, the body becomes frail. When the body is frail, the spirit becomes unstable. When the spirit is unstable, one cannot bridge heaven and earth, nor draw upon spiritual power. Even a genius of eternal caliber would only meet ruin under such conditions.
"What are you mumbling about, Chu Lian?" While changing clothes and worrying about not having suitable underwear, Li Xiu'er heard the mysterious words from behind and turned to ask.
"Ahem... I just felt like saying it, that's all. It's nothing, don't overthink it." What else could Chu Lian say? That she was just spouting nonsense on a whim? Even she wouldn't believe that explanation, so she could only brush it off vaguely.
Hearing this, Li Xiu'er didn't pursue the matter further. Instead, she looked at the clothes in front of her helplessly. "Ah... Chu Chu's clothes are a bit too big for me. I can't really wear them—especially the underwear..."
Her own clothes had already been torn apart, making them impossible to wear. But what troubled her was that Chu Chu's clothes were slightly too large.
Although Chu Chu wasn't as tall as her, her chest was larger. That difference alone made their clothing sizes incompatible.
Moreover, for body types like theirs, properly fitting clothes usually had to be found in large shopping malls or specialty stores. Those sizes were almost always tailored for the individual who bought them.
Especially for someone like Chu Chu, whose development was quite... extraordinary.
Trying to find something that fit here was basically wishful thinking.
"Idiot, don't you have a bedroom here? You can just throw on something first and go there to grab your own clothes." Chu Lian held her forehead. Her own clothes had also been torn apart, but she had suitable outfits stored in her dimensional space, so she wasn't worried.
However, she faced the same issue as Li Xiu'er with Chu Chu's clothes—her chest was flat like a tablet, while Li Xiu'er's was already like a ripe apple. Li Xiu'er could technically wear her clothes, but it would definitely feel awkward.
"I thought of that too, but there's only some nightgowns and underwear there—no bras. I didn't expect to move in so soon, so I wasn't prepared." Li Xiu'er's voice carried a hint of regret, clearly troubled by the situation.
"That's troublesome." Chu Lian looked at her hesitating figure, lips curving slightly.
She had plenty of suitable clothes in her system, but she deliberately chose not to take them out, just to watch the girl struggle.
It could be called a bit of her bad taste. Of course, what she really wanted was to see Li Xiu'er come and plead with her—that would definitely be interesting.
"Chu Lian~" As expected, after thinking for a moment, Li Xiu'er remembered how Chu Lian had casually pulled out a pile of clothes before and immediately realized she was being teased.
She turned around and ran over, not caring at all that her body was completely exposed under the sunlight. Grabbing Chu Lian's hand, she swayed it as she pleaded.
"Alright, alright, stop shaking." Chu Lian felt a little dizzy from the motion, but seeing her like this, she stopped teasing her.
With a casual motion, she selected a set of suitable everyday clothes from her system and spent about thirty thousand Integrity Points to exchange for them.
Underwear, panties, stockings, shoes, skirts, accessories—everything was included. It was practically like a mobile shopping mall.
At this point, what Chu Lian found most remarkable was just how convenient Integrity Points were. Almost all ordinary, non-powered items could be purchased with them.
Of course, once spent, she had to "lose integrity" again to replenish them. Otherwise, failing to repay would result in massive compensation that could bankrupt her instantly.
But compared to the convenience, that price was still worth it.
She wasn't too worried about Integrity Points anymore. The series of fanservice photos she had released earlier hadn't even been fully circulated yet.
Even if the photos themselves didn't show much, the combination of cuteness and white stockings was simply too tempting. Once released, the Integrity Points she lost were still being recovered even now.
It had already been seven or eight days, and through this steady recovery, she had accumulated nearly fifteen million Integrity Points in total.
Although more than half had gone toward repaying previous losses and debts, she still retained over a million.
Combined with the recent recovery, she now had nearly five million Integrity Points again. So even after losing a lot, she no longer worried—she could spend as she pleased.
"What's wrong?" Seeing Li Xiu'er staring blankly at the pile of clothes she had taken out, Chu Lian leaned closer and asked.
"It's just... a bit surprising. I didn't expect you to be able to pull out so many clothes at once, Chu Lian. Looks like traveling with you means I won't need to bring any clothes in the future." Now that she had let go of her reservations, Li Xiu'er no longer hid her dependence on Chu Lian.
Just as Chu Lian had thought, Li Xiu'er was indeed the most reliant among the girls. However, this reliance was more in terms of daily life—mentally, she wasn't overly dependent on Chu Lian.
That made Chu Lian both a little pleased and slightly troubled. After all, her body was still too small. While it could make others rely on her, that was more due to their personalities.
As for reaching the point where others could rely on her completely as a person... who knew how long that would take? Perhaps growing up was the only way.
Still, the current situation wasn't bad. Being relied upon felt good, but it also came with pressure. Before she was ready, it was better not to burden herself with too much of it.
"It's nothing much. Clothes like these aren't particularly valuable, so taking out a lot at once isn't a problem. But if I overdo it, even I won't be able to handle the cost." Chu Lian waved her hand as she searched through the pile for something suitable for herself.
"Sakurakouji Luna's white dress... this one looks great. I didn't think of it before—now's the perfect time to wear it." Chu Lian held up a well-fitted short dress against herself and nodded in satisfaction.
She then jumped off the bed, picked up her underwear, and began to dress. Looking at her reflection in the wardrobe mirror, she suddenly bit her lower lip, her face flushing red.
One slender leg lifted as she took a pair of white lace stockings and slowly slid them on, starting from her delicate toes. They traced along her smooth skin, over her slim calves, past her knees, and finally settled on her perfectly proportioned thighs—beautifully outlining her legs while radiating a fatal allure that made it impossible to look away.
At that moment, without realizing it, Chu Lian had turned off the passive charm boost from Orchid in the Valley, allowing her natural allure to surge to an astonishing level.
If not for Li Xiu'er already being accustomed to Chu Lian's charm, anyone else would have been overwhelmed to the point of a nosebleed.
Chu Lian, who rarely took the initiative to seduce others, was unexpectedly skilled when she did so—so captivating that it was impossible to avert one's gaze. As expected of someone whose acting skills were nearing the hall-of-fame level (S).
"Mm..." Li Xiu'er looked at Chu Lian, then at herself, and sighed in resignation. Although her figure was temporarily better than Chu Lian's, when it came to charm and allure, she was far inferior.
Of course, this didn't mean her appearance was worse. Rather, it was the difference in aura and the subtle, captivating quality in one's gestures—it wasn't even close.
After all, she was a shy and quiet girl, while Chu Lian was someone who actively displayed her cuteness, her fanservice, and her seductive side.
In short, what should have been a quick outfit change was dragged out by the interactions between the two girls. By the time they were both dressed, the clock had already reached 11:20.
"Phew... I hope Mom hasn't started eating yet." Chu Lian let out a sigh of relief. This matter was finally over.
The reason she had spent nearly as much time here as she had with all the other girls combined was because she was worried that Li Xiu'er might overthink things or do something foolish.
Now, it seemed that there was no issue. All that remained was for her to slowly recover her physical and mental condition.
But... had she truly made up her mind? To sever ties with the past and stand here as a new Li Xiu'er?
"Hm? Chu Lian?" Noticing something off in Chu Lian's gaze, Li Xiu'er turned to look at her. Catching the trace of concern in her eyes, she trembled slightly, then lowered the clothes she was adjusting and looked out the window.
After a moment, she finally spoke. "Are you worried that I haven't adjusted yet?"
"It all happened too suddenly. I'm afraid this kind of change might crush you." In Chu Lian's heart, ten Li families still couldn't compare to a single Li Xiu'er. But she couldn't be sure—was a person more important, or an entire family?
"When I was sent to Nether City, I had already given up. I had no expectations left for the Li family, nor did I hope they would treat me well. At that time, I thought that if I couldn't die, then I would just live there quietly... and occasionally think of you, think of all of you."
Li Xiu'er walked to the window and looked at the garden below. Butterflies fluttered freely there—that was what freedom felt like.
"But your arrival changed everything. If the first half of my life was spent barely surviving in the Li family, like a torch that could be extinguished by the slightest breeze... and entering Nether City was like becoming a torch that had already gone cold and would never burn again..."
"Then now, I am a torch that has reignited—one that will offer its light to those it cares about. As long as they don't abandon me, as long as they rely on me, then I will give everything for them, forever."
"So right now, to me, you are the most important person in the world—more important than even myself. Do you understand, Chu Lian?" Li Xiu'er placed a hand over her chest, lowering her head. Though her voice was soft, the firmness within it moved Chu Lian deeply.
This was the same girl as before—the one who had felt inferior due to her family and circumstances, who had shut herself off, who had been shy even in simple interactions.
But she had grown. The devastation of losing her family had made her truly understand the cruelty of the world, and it had also taught her how she should live.
Just as she said, the Li Xiu'er of the past had been like a torch easily extinguished by the wind. But Chu Lian knew that the current Li Xiu'er was far more than that.
Perhaps her light was still faint now, but once her talent fully awakened—once she mastered the Innate Spiritual Body—she would become like the blazing sun in the sky, like the stars in the night, dazzling beyond compare.
None of the girls around her were the kind who couldn't shine on their own.
They hadn't shone before not because they lacked the ability, but because the time had not yet come.
"I believe you can do it." What she meant wasn't just what Li Xiu'er believed she could achieve, but everything Chu Lian believed she was capable of as well.
Become a sun—and with your brilliance, show those in the Li family that losing you was their greatest mistake.
To discard the radiance of the sun for the faint glow of a firefly... the Li family, your downfall was never without reason.
"Let's go. That's enough talk—we should eat first." Chu Lian walked over and took Li Xiu'er's hand, no longer dwelling on the topic.
"Mm..." Before leaving with Chu Lian, Li Xiu'er cast one last deep gaze at the sky.
That was the freest place of all...