When he returned home, the little shrine maiden was still asleep. She must have been exhausted from crying last night. Su Ze gently laid her on the bed.
Su Ze sat in the living room checking messages. Being with the innocent girl was always comfortable.
Seeing her made all his stress seem to disappear.
Su Ze often recalled moments with her: how she would stare blankly at the ceiling after meals, her timidity, how she always wanted to hold his hand, her complete obedience to him, and how she cried all night for him.
But separation was inevitable.
Because he was only her guarantor. Her real family member, according to the information from the Forerunner, was Uesugi Chigenki, who was being cared for by Meng Xingyao ten kilometers away in District Six.
Su Ze called Meng Xingyao.
In high school, Meng Xingyao was like a caring big sister to him, and they had a very good relationship.
District Six.
When Meng Xingyao opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a girl's beautiful face. The orange-haired girl was bending down like an angel, her clearly defined pink lips seemingly about to kiss her forehead.
Although Meng Xingyao immediately closed her eyes to receive the angel's kiss, to her disappointment, the angel only placed a cool towel on her forehead.
"You're awake?" The angel removed the towel, speaking softly like friends discussing national affairs in an eight-person dorm room at night.
"Yes." Meng Xingyao held her confused head as she sat up, slight disappointment in her eyes.
"Wait!" Uesugi Chigenki tried to stop her, but it was too late.
As the blanket slipped down, both of them froze in place.
"..."
The air grew silent for a moment.
Meng Xingyao looked at her own unclothed body, stunned for a while, then looked up at the still dazed Uesugi Chigenki:
"Give me your household registration."
"Come with me to the civil affairs bureau tomorrow."
"You need to take responsibility for this."
"..."
Three consecutive hits.
All critical strikes.
Uesugi Chigenki was completely bewildered.
"...You! You should be the one taking responsibility!"
"...No... no! Who needs to take responsibility? You were the one who fainted naked in the bathroom, I just carried you back, I didn't do anything!"
Uesugi Chigenki's CPU was about to overload as she struggled to explain.
Meng Xingyao stretched out her hand between them. Uesugi Chigenki finally calmed down. After a moment, Meng Xingyao gathered her thoughts and looked up at her:
"Fine, I'll take responsibility."
"Give me your household registration."
"Come with me to the civil affairs bureau tomorrow."
"..."
Uesugi Chigenki, whose brain was slightly sharper than her amnesiac sister's, hadn't yet processed the difference between the first three sentences and the last three.
Meng Xingyao stood up casually to get dressed, and as she passed the girl, she said:
"Your silence means consent. Come with me to the civil affairs bureau tomorrow."
Just as Uesugi Chigenki was about to object, Meng Xingyao added, "Today works too, there's still time."
After getting dressed, Meng Xingyao felt something was off. She turned around to find the orange-haired girl in shrine maiden attire curled up in a corner where sunlight couldn't reach, head buried in her knees, hugging her legs, crying almost inaudibly.
A sense of guilt welled up in Meng Xingyao's heart.
No way? Did she make her cry?
Really? She's crying already?
Meng Xingyao awkwardly approached the girl. "Um..."
Before she could speak, the little shrine maiden lifted her head, tears streaking her face. "Go away, or I'll hit you."
Meng Xingyao was stunned - even her anger was adorable!
But she didn't dare get closer, because after the porridge incident, she knew that the little shrine maiden's warnings, despite lacking any intimidation and being rather delicate, were genuine.
One more step and she might end up with a black eye.
Meng Xingyao crouched down, cupping her face in her hands, looking at her troubled:
"I was just joking."
"You don't need to take responsibility, okay?"
Uesugi Chigenki stared at her, tears glistening in her angry eyes, "You Chinese people are all bad! You're the worst of them all, always bullying me. I told you I didn't do anything bad to you, but you still want me to take responsibility!"
"I... I'm not bad," Meng Xingyao hesitated to defend herself, "Is there anything you want to do to me now? You don't have to take responsibility either."
"..." Uesugi Chigenki was stunned for a long while, wondering what material this person was made of to be so shameless.
"Yes, there is," Uesugi Chigenki said. "Beat you up."
Though it was meant as sarcasm, Meng Xingyao stood up and closed her eyes, "Go ahead."
This action made the innocent girl bury her head in her knees again and start crying.
"...I'm letting you hit me, why are you still crying?" Meng Xingyao was completely confused. Were women always this complicated?
Just then, the phone on the bed rang. Meng Xingyao looked at the little shrine maiden for a while, sighed, and went to answer it.
"Good afternoon, sister." Su Ze's slightly melancholic voice came through.
Meng Xingyao looked at Uesugi Chigenki and smiled, "Uesugi Akizuki is with you, right?"
Although neither had contacted each other after finding the sisters, both were well-informed through the Forerunner's news website.
Hearing this, Uesugi Chigenki, who had been crying in frustration, immediately lifted her head, got up, and ran to Meng Xingyao's side, hastily wiping her tears.
"How... how is my sister? Is she safe? Has she eaten enough? If not, could you please feed her? I'll pay you back."
Both Su Ze and Meng Xingyao couldn't help but smile at these words.
Su Ze said with a smile, "She's eaten, eaten very well, and you don't need to pay. Thank you for defending China against the Blood Moon. When would you like to see your sister? I'll bring her to you."
Uesugi Chigenki realized that apart from the woman in front of her who often bullied her, other Chinese people seemed quite nice.
Whether it was Zhou Zijie who took her to the rest room, or this person who found her sister, they were polite, clear about right and wrong, considerate, and kind.
None of these qualities could be found in Meng Xingyao.
"I, I want to see her now."
"..." Su Ze was silent for a moment before asking, "After you find your sister, do you have somewhere to go?"
"Yes, yes, we came to China to find our mother. Our itinerary has been reported to the Chinese government with Meng Xingyao's help."
"After you bring my sister, Chinese Executors will take over our case."
Even as she said this, Uesugi Chigenki still didn't give Meng Xingyao a friendly look.
"Alright, I'll bring her over now." Su Ze hung up the phone and went to the bedroom, where the innocent girl was sleeping soundly. She turned over, hugging the pillow, her wine-red hair scattered across her cheeks, yet unable to hide her inherent beauty.
Su Ze watched quietly for a while, looking at this girl who had cried for him, smiled for him, yet was destined to be apart from him.
Seeming to sense something, Uesugi Akizuki woke from her deep sleep, her amber eyes quietly meeting Su Ze's gaze.
Perhaps their time together had been the most enjoyable, but nature is full of partings. Having no destiny together wasn't a regret, after all, they had met.
"Shall I take you back to that girl? She's your sister," Su Ze said.
Uesugi Akizuki paused for a moment, then nodded, immediately getting out of bed to put on her shoes, promptly taking Su Ze's hand, her eyes as clear and moving as a pond.