Standing before the full-length mirror, Chu Lian gazed at the slender figure reflected within, a body that exuded a suffocating beauty. Frowning, she gently touched the very center of her chest, where a white rose had blossomed.
"Why is there a flower here? Before soaking in the hot spring, there clearly wasn't one—why now?" Half of her white bathrobe had slipped off, hanging from her arms. With her every movement it swayed, as though enchanted by her allure.
She bit her lip lightly. "A white rose… does it have some connection to that white rose halo before? Why did it bloom now? Was it because of that dream, or some strange coincidence? I can't stop thinking about it… I can't stop thinking about it…"
Murmuring to herself, she shook her head slowly and lowered her hands. The bathrobe slid from her shoulders to the floor, curling up like it couldn't bear to part with her.
Her delicate bare feet stepped toward the bed. She picked up a fur coat, a plain white undershirt, and a light green skirt. Moving back in front of the mirror, she gazed once more at the rose on her chest, and sighed softly…
The time was already half past eleven. There was still a while before their 1 p.m. gathering. Several girls sat gracefully on the lawn, enjoying the fresh spring scenery around them, their moods lifted.
After all, when they had been in Jiuzhaigou, that paradise of Huaxia, they hadn't been able to fully explore it due to various accidents. Not seeing the legendary beauty there had left them undeniably disappointed.
On their journey afterward, they had seen all kinds of sights—modern man-made structures, nature's masterpieces, ancient relics of history—varied and abundant. Yet regret lingered in their hearts.
Although the scenery here couldn't compare to Jiuzhaigou's pure splendor, after more than ten years of human transformation, it was breathtaking in its own way. Even though the season of cherry blossoms had passed, the beauty still stirred their hearts.
Amidst such scenery, it was already remarkable that the girls who had just come out of the hot springs weren't lying down for a nap. To be dazed and enchanted by the view was only natural.
As they chatted and laughed, one girl leaned against a withered cherry tree, softly humming with closed eyes. Suddenly, Inori opened her wine-red eyes and turned her head toward a certain direction.
A green shadow moved among the trees, a slender figure stepping into the cherry grove. With a glance over her shoulder, she seemed almost like an otherworldly being.
"Lian, you're here?" Without hesitation, Inori walked to her side and asked softly.
"Something unexpected happened, so I'm late. Sorry." Chu Lian nodded, explaining the reason for her tardiness. Without disturbing the others who hadn't noticed her arrival, she leapt lightly onto a cherry branch only a few centimeters thick, crossed her legs, and gazed at the chatting and playful girls below, lost in thought.
"What happened? Can you tell me?" After a slight pause, Inori hopped up to sit beside her, tilting her head curiously.
Chu Lian instinctively touched the place where the rose bloomed on her chest. Biting her lip, she finally spoke: "After I came back from the hot spring, I discovered a flower on my chest—a white rose."
"But I don't know how it came to bloom, nor what effect it might have on me. I only feel like I must have touched some kind of forbidden taboo, and this appeared."
Inori listened intently, then asked after some thought: "Before the rose appeared, did you do anything unusual? Or encounter something strange?"
Chu Lian thought carefully. The only thing she could recall was that sudden dream, and the phantom resembling Mana Ouma she had seen when she opened her eyes. Yet, for reasons she didn't understand, she instinctively avoided mentioning that figure, and instead described the dream in detail to Inori.
"It seemed like a projection of events in the future—White Crane, Black Sparrow, their master, the white-haired matriarch, Huaxia's Valkyrie, the Heaven's Chosen Girl, the princess, Kannazuki's shrine maiden, the Ten Thousand Shrines, that ominous giant sword wreathed in black flames… and twenty million people vanishing in an instant…"
Chu Lian sorted through all the details one by one, yet still found no answers. Leaving aside Black Sparrow and White Crane and their master and mistress, she didn't even know who Huaxia's Valkyrie and the Heaven's Chosen Girl were. Let alone the princess, Kannazuki's shrine maiden, or the Ten Thousand Shrines…
"Wait—the princess? Kannazuki's shrine maiden? The Ten Thousand Shrines… Why do I feel like these have a great deal to do with me?" As Chu Lian thought, she suddenly realized it. Why did these names feel so familiar?
"Could it be that these are things that will happen in the future, in a world changed because of my arrival? But six years later is far too long… giving me a prophecy now is useless, isn't it?" Indeed, she really couldn't make sense of it.
Was she supposed to go tell the Neon people now: "Six years later you'll all be doomed. Tokyo's twenty million people will die in an instant, so hurry and prepare yourselves."
Even if she could say it, the shame would be unbearable. And even if she did say it, others might not believe her. So she could only eliminate that possibility.
Then what was the reason?
The more she thought, the more tangled it became. The confusion grew until she couldn't help but lightly tap her own forehead a few times. "What is all this… just how chaotic will the world's future be?"
Beside her, Inori—who had been deep in thought—was startled by her movements. Turning her head, she happened to see Chu Lian raising her hand again to knock her forehead. Quickly reaching out to stop her, she asked: "Lian, what's wrong?"
"I just can't figure these things out. So complicated, so troublesome. Before, when I didn't think about it, it just seemed baffling. Now that I want to understand, with so few clues and so little information, I can't reach any conclusion." With a sigh, Chu Lian lowered her hand, her tone tinged with self-mockery.
"That's not true, Lian. You're amazing. In fact, you've already found the most important point." Inori wasn't speaking idly. Though she had deduced even less than Chu Lian, she had seen the essence of the matter.
"The most important point?" Chu Lian bowed her head, frowning in thought.
"Yes, that one point…" Inori didn't specify, only repeated the phrase.
"The most important point…" Chu Lian's fingers moved unconsciously, the corner of her skirt fluttering in the wind, setting off her beauty like a blooming lotus.
"Have you realized it?" Inori tilted her head, her slender hand holding the cherry branch, her voice soft with expectation.
"I understand now…" Raising her head, Chu Lian's eyes shone brightly. Clearly, she now knew what she had to do, and how to deal with it.
Even though the key point had been her own thought, without Inori's reminder she might have taken a long time to notice it. It was thanks to Inori that she avoided wasting meaningless time, and could prepare for the future a little earlier.
When feelings ran so deep, and when the two already shared such a bond of understanding and affection, Chu Lian didn't think too much. She simply turned and softly pressed her lips to Inori's.
When she pulled back, Inori touched her lips with her small hand and murmured: "Such a sweet taste…"
Only then did Chu Lian realize she had been a bit impulsive. But after so many kisses, she was no longer shy about it. She stole a glance below at the girls, relieved to see they still hadn't noticed.
Yet what she didn't see was the white rose at her chest blooming slightly wider. Just a little, but it radiated a breathtaking beauty. Though it vanished in an instant, it was still stunning beyond compare.
Unfortunately, no one saw it—except the girl slumbering deep within her soul, and Ayase, who was staring upward from within the Punishment Space.
"The white rose has bloomed. The restraints and suppressions on us are slowly disappearing." Ayase's sweat-soaked face was flushed, yet her tone carried an inexplicable note as she spoke.
Immediately, a surge of power rushed through the chains binding her, as though enraged. Its force was fiercer than usual, striking with greater strength.
"Ah, is that anger out of shame, or fear? Or perhaps both? But don't worry—soon, very soon, you won't be able to threaten us ever again. Even if I'm punished like this now, what does it matter?"
Ayase's voice was still as lazy and alluring as ever. Yet because of the pain coursing through her body, it carried an extra husky note, one that tugged irresistibly at the heart.
"Lian'er, perhaps in less than ten days I'll be able to get out of here. I've had enough of this place…"
"I miss your body, warm as embers…"
"I miss your skin, like the finest silk…"
"I want to fall asleep breathing in your fragrance…"
"I love your tsundere side, your scheming side, and your occasional innocence…"
"I love even more the look on your face when you stand before countless people, like the most brilliant performer of all…"
"I think I can't live without you anymore. I think I've begun to depend on you…"
"Even if you still don't understand what this feeling is, I won't give up…"
"Because sooner or later, you'll know, you'll understand, you'll remember, you'll engrave this feeling in your heart…"
Murmuring softly, Ayase closed her eyes, no longer gazing upward.
Heaven may be above me, hell may be dark—but so what? If you are waiting for me, that is the best kind of longing. As long as you're there, I'll never fear being forgotten…
Whether it was the blooming of the white rose or the sudden outpouring of her emotions, in this moment her heart was like the gentlest love song.