Into The Sea

A burst of bright laughter echoed in the wind.

The radiantly beautiful woman covered her lips with her hand, her eyes curving into a smile. Her dark hair, cascading down, gradually faded to a silvery hue under the moonlight. “It wasn’t so hard to get you to say it, was it?”

Meng Changge froze, staring at her in a daze.

After laughing, Lan Yuan clasped her hands behind her back and strolled towards her. “If I’m not mistaken, Senior Sister Meng, are you upset because I might like someone else?”

Meng Changge stiffened, her uneasy gaze shifting to the woman now standing before her. Those otherworldly blue eyes were filled with mischief, and the corners of her rosy lips were slightly upturned, exuding a sense of triumph.

Why was she reacting like this?

She had prepared herself for Lan Yuan to be angry, disgusted, or, at best, surprised and embarrassed.

The mermaid narrowed her eyes and took another step forward. “Hmm?”

The sudden proximity of that beautiful face was too overwhelming Meng Changge’s heart raced, and she instinctively stepped back, only to bump into her red horse. “Lan Yuan…”

“What is it?”

Meng Changge’s face flushed. “You’re… too close.”

Lan Yuan was speechless.

Some people were truly hopeless.

But just as she was about to lose her temper, Meng Changge whispered, “If you get too close, my body feels… strange.”

Lan Yuan paused. “Why?”

“Because… my heart beats too fast.” Meng Changge bit her lip, the flush at the corner of her eyes even more captivating than before. “If you get any closer, my eyes will start to feel hot, like they’re about to tear up. And just to be clear, it’s not because I want to cry.”

Lan Yuan frowned at her for a long moment, then said hesitantly, “I don’t quite understand. What are you trying to say? What does this mean?”

“What I mean is, when you get too close to me, my body starts acting up,” Meng Changge said softly. “Maybe it’s because… I like you too much.”

“…”

It took Lan Yuan a moment to process what she had just heard. Her eyes widened in shock. “Wait, what did you say?”

“I said, I like you.” Meng Changge mustered her courage and took her hand, pressing it against her burning cheek. “I like you so much that I don’t even know why I’ve become like this.”

Plop—

A tear fell.

Yet the woman’s face remained calm, only her eyes red and watery. “See? It’s like I can’t control it anymore.”

The scene was utterly bizarre.

Even though she had finally gotten the confession she wanted, Lan Yuan couldn’t help but feel both amused and exasperated. In the end, she looked at the woman who was crying without a hint of emotion on her face and burst into laughter. “Then what should I do? Should I leave?”

Meng Changge quickly grabbed her hand. “No, no, don’t leave. What about you? You still haven’t said… who the person you like is…”

“Haven’t you figured it out yet?” Lan Yuan’s eyes curved into a smile. “Who else could I possibly like? All these years, the only one who’s been constantly around me is you.”

“So… it’s because I’m always around you…”

“Who can say for sure?” Lan Yuan interrupted her. “Can you even explain when or why you started liking me?”

“Of course, I can.”

Lan Yuan was taken aback. She hadn’t expected such a straightforward answer and couldn’t help but feel curious. “So, when was it?”

“Twenty years ago,” Meng Changge said with a smile. “That time we went to the Nightmare Forest together and accidentally found Shanye.”

Lan Yuan hummed. “What does that have to do with you liking me?”

“It has everything to do with it,” the woman recalled fondly. “On the way back to Shiling City, people from Penglai were relentlessly pursuing us. At one point, we were almost cornered, but you told me to take them and go ahead while you stayed behind to hold them off. You could have just left us—we weren’t that close, and besides, we’re humans, and you’re a demon…”

“Is that it?” Lan Yuan said indifferently. “You were important to Lan Wu, so of course I wouldn’t abandon you. Besides, since I was young, my teachers taught me that as a princess, I could never hide behind my subjects…”

Meng Changge couldn’t help but smile. “Are we your subjects too?”

Lan Yuan glanced at her sideways. “As a strong person, I cannot stand behind the weak.”

Meng Changge laughed again.

“What are you laughing at?”

“This is why I fell for you,” Meng Changge sighed softly.

“How could I not like you when you’re like this?”

Lan Yuan pursed her lips, turning her head away awkwardly. After a moment, she murmured, “I remember… you came back that time.”

“Yes,” Meng Changge nodded, a little embarrassed. “Though by the time I got back, you were already out of danger.”

Lan Yuan hummed. “Actually, apart from Lan Wu, that was the first time someone came back for me.”

Meng Changge was stunned, looking at her in surprise.

“My subjects respect me, adore me, and trust me. Whether as a princess or as the Sea Empress, it is my responsibility to lead and protect them so that I don’t fail their expectations.” Lan Yuan said softly, “In their eyes, I am the strongest leader, so they trust me with their backs. But they wouldn’t come back for me, because I am powerful.”

With that, she raised an eyebrow. “So, when I saw you come back for me after escaping, I was… intrigued.”

Meng Changge’s eyes lit up. “So, you started liking me back then too…”

“No,” Lan Yuan cut her off without hesitation. “I’m not that easy to win over.”

Meng Changge choked, then cautiously asked, “Then… do you like me now?”

“Obviously.”

Meng Changge let out a sigh of relief, her eyes darting nervously toward Lan Yuan. Her awkward expression soon caught Lan Yuan’s attention. “What is it?”

The woman hesitated. “I… can I… could I…”

Lan Yuan laughed, stepping forward and planting a fleeting kiss on her chin. “If you want a kiss, you’ll have to bend down a little.”

Meng Changge blinked, but before she could smile, another tear fell. She frowned in annoyance, muttering, “What do I do? It’s happening again.”

“Then let’s try a few more times,” Lan Yuan said, amused, as she gently wiped away the tear. “Maybe once you get used to it, it’ll stop.”