SDIWD - Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Hua Mu was very angry!

The past was one thing, but she never expected that even in a deserted place like this, another creature would try to steal Bai Zhen from her.

The bottlenose dolphin escorted the two of them all the way to the shore, lingering by the coastline, looking reluctant to part.

"Hmph!"

Hua Mu jumped off the raft and walked onto the beach without looking back.

"Miss!"

Bai Zhen secured the raft and hurriedly chased after her.

"What?" Hua Mu shot her an annoyed glare. "Go be all lovey-dovey with your good little dolphin girl. What are you calling me for?"

Bai Zhen looked at her, confused. "Miss, you… are you angry?"

Good grief, she could actually tell she was angry.

"Why would I be angry? Who would I be angry at?"

Uh, besides the Young Lady, she was the only other person on this island, so naturally, the anger was directed at her.

As for why she was angry…

Bai Zhen reflected on her own attitude and said cautiously, "Are you still thinking about that incident?"

Hua Mu wanted to say no, but in truth, that was exactly what she was bothered by. Being jealous of a dolphin sounded utterly absurd; what truly unsettled her was Bai Zhen's nonchalance.

"Then let me ask you, if I were the one who forgot an experience we shared, would you care?"

Hua Mu spun around, glaring at her huffily.

The Sentinel's handsome face seemed to be plated in a layer of brilliance under the sun, making her deep, dark eyes look even more like jewels. Hua Mu sometimes wondered if those eyes were just naturally affectionate-looking, and everything she thought she saw was merely an illusion.

Bai Zhen gazed at her for a long time without speaking. Just as Hua Mu thought she would brush it off with silence again, the Sentinel finally said slowly, "Miss, what if it wasn't a 'what if'?"

"What did you say?"

Hua Mu's thoughts were in a jumble, and for a moment, she didn't understand what she meant.

"I mean, what if that hypothetical were real?"

"Are you trying to say that I'm the one who misremembered?"

Bai Zhen shook her head. "I'm not talking about that incident… Do you remember? You asked me when I developed feelings for you, and I answered that it was a very long time ago… Although you've forgotten, I met you twelve years ago when you ran away from home."

Twelve years ago, she was only six—she had indeed run away from home when she was six, but after she returned, she came down with a high fever, and her memory of it became a bit hazy. As she grew older, her impression of that time faded even more.

Hua Mu stared at Bai Zhen in shock, but the first thing that came to her mind wasn't her own memory loss at all.

"I was only six back then!"

Although she knew her charm was irresistible, being only six was… a little too young, wasn't it?

Bai Zhen clearly didn't understand what she meant and nodded. "Yes, you were only six when I met you. You were a very straightforward, kind, innocent, and lovely little girl."

What's that supposed to mean? She was still very straightforward, kind, innocent, and lovely now.

"Y-You mean you knew me before? And you've always remembered me?"

Of course Bai Zhen wouldn't forget. "I've always kept it in my heart."

Hua Mu immediately stamped her foot. "Then why, when I asked if I'd met you before, did you say it was my imagination!"

It was perfectly normal not to remember things from when she was six. She didn't remember, so couldn't Bai Zhen have just told her?

"You asked?"

But since Bai Zhen didn't remember the events of six years ago, she naturally had no memory of Hua Mu asking her that, nor did she know that Hua Mu might have retained a vague impression of her.

"You!"

Hua Mu's leg didn't even hurt anymore. She leaped into Bai Zhen's arms—Bai Zhen hurriedly caught her—and her little fists rained down on Bai Zhen's body.

"You kept it all bottled up! You should have just kept it to yourself forever! Why say it now!"

Naturally, it didn't hurt at all.

Bai Zhen held Hua Mu in her arms like a child, and listening to her exasperated voice, she inexplicably felt a little more relaxed.

"Although you no longer remember what happened back then… your status and mine are different. Meeting as children was already like a miracle; I shouldn't have dared to hope for more."

Can you not be so formal? All this talk about miracles and not daring to hope… she was about to wither away from waiting!

Just how reserved was this person? She had clearly fallen for her charms so long ago, yet she had put on an act for so long. During the five years she served as her guard, only in moments of crisis could Hua Mu see the anxiety and care in the Sentinel's eyes, and it would vanish in an instant, like an illusion.

"Then… did you save me back then because you l-liked me?"

Although Hua Mu's reaction gave Bai Zhen a bit more confidence about her actions back then, a part of her heart was still uneasy.

"Did I really not offend you back then?"

Even now, she didn't have that kind of confidence. That single, wonderful experience from before was something she savored endlessly.

"No, you didn't, you… you probably held back a lot."

Just like now.

Forget about offending or not. She was young back then, but it was different now. Couldn't they hurry up and make up for lost time?

Bai Zhen looked very happy, even unconsciously spinning around once while holding Hua Mu.

"So it really didn't leave you with any bad memories?"

On the contrary, Bai Zhen was the only good memory she had from that time.

"Is that what you're worried about? If that's the case, how could I have l-li…"

Liked you afterward?

Hua Mu, her face bright red, looked at Bai Zhen, embarrassed by the confession that had almost slipped out.

The Sentinel finally seemed to relax. "Then, can you tell me what happened back then?"

Of course, there was no reason she couldn't.

She had buried this matter in her heart for many years with no one to confide in. Although it was a bit of a shame that Bai Zhen didn't remember it, that wasn't a huge problem now.

"Then you have to tell me about what happened twelve years ago, too. How did I meet you? What happened between us? Did you like me back then? I was only six, you know? Are you some kind of pervert?"

Of course, there were things she didn't remember, and she wanted to get those memories back too.

Bai Zhen was bombarded by Hua Mu's relentless questions and was at a loss for a moment, especially at the last one… She really wasn't a pervert.

"Miss, I-I only thought of you as a little sister back then…"

Tsk, thought of her as a little sister and still did that to her… and she dared to say she wasn't a pervert!

Hua Mu poked the muscle on Bai Zhen's shoulder. "You don't still think of me as a little sister now, do you?"

"Uh…"

The Sentinel looked at the petite girl in her arms, whose short hair made her look a bit childish, and felt inexplicably stumped by the question.

"You are indeed younger than me…"

"Pervert," Hua Mu said, a hint of smugness and mischief in her voice. "And you even had me call you Big Sister Bai Zhen."

The Sentinel grew even more flustered. "You d-did call me that back then…"

"So you really did like me back then, didn't you?"

Bai Zhen couldn't deny it. No matter what kind of "like" it was back then, it was the foundation of her love for Hua Mu today.

"Miss…"

She was afraid Hua Mu would misunderstand, and her eyes turned red with anxiety, leaving her tongue-tied.

So cute, this Sentinel, so cute.

Hua Mu couldn't resist the fluttering in her heart. She wrapped her arms around Bai Zhen's shoulders, suddenly leaned in, and breathed into her ear from an impossibly close distance.

"I don't think I've seen Hati in a long time."

The warm, moist breath touched the shell of Bai Zhen's ear, and the tingling sensation nearly paralyzed half her body.

"Miss, I-I think we should keep moving."

"But I'm tired."

"I can carry you on my back."

Bai Zhen's throat was dry, her chest was burning, and her hands holding Hua Mu didn't know where to rest.

"But that would be bumpy, and my leg would hurt."

"Then you should rest for a bit. I'll go check the surroundings."

Bai Zhen could sense that Hua Mu was being coquettish. This was a rare occurrence—she wasn't injured or sick, yet the Young Lady was suddenly acting spoiled with her.

Her heart couldn't take it.

"You're going to leave me all alone?"

"Then I'll s-stay with you."

"You have to tell me the stories from before…"

"O-Okay."

Bai Zhen didn't dare to disobey. Holding the precious Young Lady, she quickly cleared a spot for them to rest. Hua Mu clung to her, refusing to let go, her hands roaming and taking liberties, making Bai Zhen's heart feel as if it had been licked by Luna.

"Miss…"

"What is it?"

"Your hands…"

Hua Mu became shameless and said brazenly, "What about my hands? Am I not allowed to touch you?"

It wasn't unrequited love; this Sentinel liked her too—and had for so many years. What was wrong with touching her own Sentinel? Who else was supposed to touch such nice muscles if not her?

"N-No, that's not it…"

The northern side was much better than the southern side. To say the two of them had come here to inspect the disaster situation was less believable than saying they were on vacation.

Blue sky with thin clouds, turquoise water and white sand, warm sunlight, and a gentle sea breeze. A canvas was spread out under the shade of a tree, and Hua Mu leaned against Bai Zhen, listening to her talk about the past, feeling an incredible sense of wonder.

It seemed vaguely familiar, yet also not. Was that really her? She sounded like a little angel. Was that how she appeared in Bai Zhen's eyes?

So cute, so kind, so pure—no, she wasn't pure at all. She was all grown up now; she had no need for purity!

Under Hua Mu's constant harassment, Bai Zhen spoke intermittently, finally managing to get to the part about the elevator. Hua Mu had faced countless assassination attempts since she was a child—if not a hundred, then at least eighty—so she wasn't at all curious about those people.

"So you've been saving me ever since we first met?"

Bai Zhen smiled shyly. "It wasn't like that. You were the one who saved me."

"Bai Zhen." Hua Mu suddenly rolled over and sat on the Sentinel's firm abdomen, leaning down to look at her with a serious expression.

"M-Miss…"

"I don't mind you calling me Miss, but can you please stop using formal language? Not the formal 'you,' but the familiar 'you'… We're equals, right?"

They were equals. If there was any inequality at all, it was that she, who had always been protected by Bai Zhen, had less standing.

Bai Zhen stared blankly at her face, swallowing unconsciously.

So cute, this Sentinel.

Hua Mu couldn't help but lovingly stroke her cheek with her fingers.

The one who was truly cute, kind, and incomparably pure was this person, who, relying on her incredibly strong self-control, had ignored Hua Mu's desires time and time again.

"Bai Zhen, I want to see Hati."

He hadn't been out in so long. That must mean she couldn't let him out, right?

How long had she been holding back?

Although she was cute when she was holding back, Hua Mu couldn't endure it any longer. After pouring their hearts out to each other, it would be a waste of this beautiful day not to do something.

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