SDIWD - Chapter 88
Chapter 88
"You want me to call you sister?" Hua Mu's face was a picture of disbelief.
Although she was indeed a few years younger than Bai Zhen, who asks their lover to call them sister? That was just too weird!
Bai Zhen seemed very shy, so she didn't notice the turbulent storm in the Young Lady's mind.
"If you would…"
Of course she wouldn't! She had no desire to call the person she liked "sister." It was too… too stimulating!
"Do you… have a sister?"
Hua Mu decided to ask, just in case.
Bai Zhen answered honestly, "I'm an orphan… But, Qinqin calls me sister."
Wait, who was Qinqin? Why did that sound so intimate? How come she had never heard of this person before?!
Hua Mu's expression darkened.
"And 'Qinqin' is?"
The Young Lady had asked this question before, and Bai Zhen couldn't help but reveal a nostalgic expression as a similar scene unfolded once again.
"She's the old woman's granddaughter. She's the same age as you."
So what did you remember that made you smile so sweetly?
Hua Mu's face grew even stormier.
This blockhead called someone else "Qinqin," but wouldn't call her "Mumu"!
"Oh…"
Hua Mu was clearly unhappy, but Bai Zhen was still looking at her expectantly, seemingly waiting for her to say "sister."
"What are you looking at? Hurry up and help me change my dressing!"
"Ah… oh, okay."
Bai Zhen froze for a moment before quickly reacting, carrying Hua Mu over to change her dressing. However, the atmosphere afterward felt a little off. Even after the dressing was changed and Bai Zhen was about to return to her work, Hua Mu still had a sour look on her face.
No matter how dense she was, the Sentinel knew she must have said something wrong to upset the Young Lady.
"Miss…"
"What?"
Hua Mu answered coldly, her eyes fixed on the documents open in her hands. She had started looking through these things occasionally, partly out of boredom and partly out of curiosity—though at this moment, not a single word was registering.
"Are you unhappy?"
Well, at least she noticed.
"Why would you say that?"
Because usually, when she was about to leave, the Young Lady would pretend to casually kiss her.
"Um…" Bai Zhen stammered, a little afraid to say it, her eyes darting toward Hua Mu's face.
The tsunami would be over by the time this woman finally spoke!
"Then do you know why I'm angry?"
"Is it because I wanted you to call me sis-sister?" That was the only possibility Bai Zhen could think of.
She was just feeling a little nostalgic, so she wanted to hear the Young Lady call her that again. But for the Young Lady, it must have been very strange.
No, calling her sister wasn't the problem… in fact, under certain circumstances, it might be nice. But what was the deal with that "Qinqin"? She wanted a "Qinqin" too!
Seeing Bai Zhen's dejected expression, Hua Mu's heart softened a little.
"Come here!"
Bai Zhen immediately squatted beside her, her face full of anticipation.
Placing a hand on Bai Zhen's chest, Hua Mu asked, "Why do you call someone else 'Qinqin' but refuse to call me that? Do you like her more?"
If this Sentinel dared to lie, she would beat her to a pulp.
Bai Zhen didn't answer right away. She looked down at the hand Hua Mu had pressed against her chest, seeming a little distracted.
"I'm asking you a question!"
If she lied, her heart would surely beat faster. A genius like her couldn't possibly be fooled!
The Sentinel's face was already bright red. "Miss, your hand…"
"Ahem, I'm just checking your heartbeat. Don't even think about trying to fool me."
"But that's the right side…"
Hua Mu was so embarrassed she almost couldn't continue the interrogation. No wonder all she felt was softness and no heartbeat!
"I-I knew that, of course!" She shifted her hand, finding she still couldn't feel much. "It's only because your chest is so big that I got it wrong!"
Left side, right side, what's the difference!
Not only had she been taken advantage of, but she was also being blamed for it. The Sentinel's heart rate had long since surpassed its average speed.
"Mmm…"
Seeing Bai Zhen so flustered she didn't dare move, despite her obvious embarrassment, Hua Mu's anger dissipated without her even realizing it.
"Y-your heart is beating so fast. Are you hiding something…?"
Bai Zhen quickly shook her head and stammered, "Qinqin is the sister I watched being born. Sh-she's my family… Qinqin is her nickname, I'm just used to calling her that… Miss, my feelings for her and for you… are n-not the same… My heart is racing because of you…"
Ah, that was what she liked about this woman. Even though she was dense and unromantic, she was never vague when it came to expressing her feelings.
"Not the same" was good. She liked "not the same." She liked being special to Bai Zhen.
"How are they n-not the same?"
It felt so good to the touch that she had forgotten to count the heartbeats.
Bai Zhen stared blankly at Hua Mu's face.
How were they not the same? And when had she realized it, when had she started to suppress it?
She wanted to kiss the Young Lady, to hold her, to possess her, to be with her forever.
Although the Sentinel didn't answer, her infatuated gaze was enough for Hua Mu to understand her meaning.
Stop being jealous over nothing and just kiss her. This adorably pitiful, dense Sentinel is just too cute!
Suppressing her own thunderous heartbeat, Hua Mu slowly lowered her head. Bai Zhen dazedly tilted her face up to meet her.
It was just a light kiss, landing on her lips.
But it was wonderful, and it made Hua Mu's heart flutter.
Bai Zhen unsteadily straightened up and wrapped her arms tightly around Hua Mu's body.
The Young Lady was jealous over her. This fact sent a thrill through the Sentinel. Closer, more intimate, and… deeper.
In fact, to suppress her binding heat, she hadn't let Hati out for over half a month. While she couldn't be completely certain that it was Hua Mu's Guide-hormone that gave her the ability to control her binding heat, she did feel she was better able to cope with the agitation that came from being unable to bond.
It wasn't that her desire had lessened, but that her tolerance had increased. Although the difference was hard to put into words, Bai Zhen had her own way of judging.
The most direct evidence was that intimate contact with Hua Mu still felt incomparably comforting.
Every day… no, every moment, she longed to bond with the Young Lady, longed for a physical and spiritual resonance with her.
But if she did something like that now, how would she be any different from a beast?
Hua Mu unconsciously caressed the Sentinel's back and shoulders, hooking her arm around her neck and pulling her onto the lounge chair. Bai Zhen carefully lay down beside her, lovingly stroking her ear-length hair.
With short hair, the Young Lady looked more docile and innocent, with a touch of clean-cut, heroic spirit.
"Bai Zhen…"
Hua Mu loved it when the Sentinel stroked her hair like this. It made her feel safe and loved.
"Hm?"
"Take a nap with me."
"Okay."
Hua Mu touched the ends of Bai Zhen's hair, which now reached her neck, and said dreamily, "Your hair has gotten so long."
"I'll cut it later."
"I don't think I've ever seen you with long hair. Why don't you grow it out?"
"But it would be a little inconvenient."
The Sentinel had always been a pragmatist. Besides, since the Young Lady had cut hers, how could she keep hers long?
"It won't be inconvenient. Your hair is so nice, it gets perfectly clean with just a soap pod."
Bai Zhen was still a bit hesitant. "But…"
She subconsciously stroked the ends of Hua Mu's hair, a hint of melancholy in her brow.
Hua Mu still remembered her moist eyes and red nose when she had cut her own hair with her own hands.
It was just a haircut; she was being too dramatic.
"I want to see you with long hair. I think it would look beautiful," the Young Lady said, her voice soft and not at all stingy with praise, a hint of a wheedle in her tone. "Besides, cutting hair as long as mine can be useful. It's a waste to cut yours when it's this short."
Whether it was the first reason or the second, Bai Zhen was finally persuaded.
"Well… okay." But she still lacked confidence. "If you don't think it looks good, I'll cut it again."
How could it not look good? Bai Zhen's features were deep and well-defined, her dark pupils bottomless, as if they could pull a person in.
Hua Mu found it strange that Bai Zhen was always so lacking in confidence. In the empire, men and women, young and old, even cats—anyone with eyes would say she was beautiful.
In fact, her popularity had once been so high that she became a front-page headline, forcing Hua Mu to hide her away for a good six months until the buzz died down.
"Bai Zhen, were you always bullied at the Tower?"
That was the only possibility Hua Mu could think of. Perhaps her classmates were jealous of her beauty and strength, so they constantly made snide remarks and attacked her, making her unaware of her own looks.
Bai Zhen looked baffled. "Why would you think that? Of course not. I got along very well with my colleagues…"
Right, from what she'd said before, it didn't seem like she had any unpleasant relationships.
"Then why are you always, always…" Hua Mu frowned, unsure how to phrase it.
To say the Sentinel had low self-esteem didn't seem quite right; she just occasionally appeared to lack confidence in front of her. If this lack of confidence was due to her feelings of adoration, Hua Mu would certainly be happy, but it didn't seem to be just that.
"So modest about your looks? Are you really that unaware?" Hua Mu herself couldn't comprehend being unaware of one's own beauty. After all… she thought she was super good-looking, super pretty.
Besides her aunt and her mother, she didn't think anyone was more beautiful than her!
And the Sentinel… the Sentinel was hers. Together, they were a peerless beauty, a match made in heaven—their future child would surely be the cutest in the entire universe, bar none!
Bai Zhen looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"
This dense goose was driving her crazy. "Has no one ever pursued you? Has no one ever told you that you're beautiful?"
Actually, no.
Life and rules at the Tower were different from the outside world. Here, strength was valued far more than appearance. Moreover, Bai Zhen's status as the top student and a female Sentinel meant that people couldn't simply offer a compliment like "beautiful" without it seeming shallow or frivolous.
But if the Sentinel had spent a little more time on the forums, she would have easily discovered that even in a circle so focused on strength, a beautiful face could still become a topic of conversation.
Hua Mu made no secret of the fact that she was a sucker for a pretty face. She just loved Bai Zhen's face so much!
"I don't really remember, but we rarely discussed appearances. And as for being beautiful…" Bai Zhen stole a glance at Hua Mu and said shyly, "You're the beautiful one… A girl should look like you to be considered beautiful."
This wasn't the first time Hua Mu had heard such a sentiment from Bai Zhen. She suddenly wanted to know, what exactly was a "beautiful girl" supposed to look like?
Fair-skinned, delicate, and gentle? Or elegant, proper, and well-read?
"As I see it, beautiful is beautiful. It has nothing to do with being a boy or a girl."
Definitions of beauty certainly varied, and so-called universal values were more a matter of herd mentality.
In public, she maintained the image of a pure noble lady, playing the part of a young miss who was elegant and knew nothing of the secular world. She accepted praise and accolades, hailed as the top candidate for the empire's most beautiful woman after the Queen.
Her confidence was, of course, well-founded.
But must a girl be a delicate, clinging vine, pure and adorable?
Why couldn't being strong and tall be a girl's beauty? Why couldn't reading smutty books be a girl's beauty!
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