"Big Sister, I want the throne. Only by sitting on it can I protect us and keep them from bullying Mother and you!"The child's cheeks were swollen and red, but in his eyes burned the fire of vengeance.
"Yun'er, it is Mother who has failed you. If I had a choice, I would only wish for your peace and safety in the next life... never again to be born into royalty."The frail, gentle woman looked at her with heartache in her eyes, tears streaming silently down her face.
Mother... Little Brother...
Startled, Mu Qingyun jolted awake. She sat up abruptly, her heart pounding. The faces from her dream still lingered vividly in her mind, unsettling her.
Only when the warm morning sunlight filtered in through the window did she exhale slowly, trying to calm her racing thoughts.
It had been a long time since she had dreamt of those people. This was the first time she had seen someone from her past life in a dream—those who had once mattered deeply to her.
Her mother's final words echoed in her mind, making her frown—then chuckle bitterly.
Never again to be born into royalty in the next life?How ironic. In this life, she was once again born the daughter of an emperor.
This era had neither polygamy nor large extended royal families, yet her father remained as cold-blooded as ever.
Knock knock knock—
The sharp sound of knocking on the wall rang out, crisp and clear, almost like it struck her heart. Snapping out of her thoughts, Mu Qingyun called, "Come in."
The door opened. Su stepped in with a bowl of soup in his hands.
"I heard some movement and guessed you must be awake."He smiled as he walked to her side and sat down.
"Eat something," he said, offering her the bowl.
Mu Qingyun reached out to take it. Her eyes flicked up to the glowing number above his head—it had increased by 20.
"Why...?"
Seeing where she was looking, Su explained calmly, "Kazelle and I went out to hunt virtual creatures this afternoon."
"I thought I told you both to rest. Why go out again?"She raised an eyebrow at him in confusion.
"We weren't that tired. And who knows what the next few days will bring. It felt safer to hunt early," he replied.
His reasoning made sense. She said nothing more and began eating slowly.
As the room fell silent again, her thoughts drifted back. The faces of Tan'er and the woman in royal robes from her dream resurfaced, refusing to leave her mind.
"Tch."She frowned in frustration. She really did not want to dwell on her past life—especially not those two.
"Are you all right? Does your head hurt?"Seeing her massaging her temples, Su frowned and instinctively reached out to press her temples gently.
A subtle warmth flowed from his fingertips into her head. Strangely, the moment that warmth touched her, the lingering images in her mind vanished entirely.
Something felt off.
She suddenly grabbed Su's hand and moved in close to examine it.
But no matter how she looked, it appeared to be a perfectly normal, warm hand.
"What is it?" Su's gaze dropped, and the moment she grabbed him, he had already withdrawn his light-based ability, even warming his hand with it.
"Nothing."She squeezed his hand, then rubbed her own temples.
She must have imagined it. The warmth must have come from his hand being warm and her head being cool.
"Let me massage it for you. You really seem unwell," Su said as he pulled his hand back and gently placed it over her temples.
It was warm—comfortably so. The pressure was soothing.
"All right, thank you."She closed her eyes and leaned back casually—right onto Su's lap.
In her past life, even as an emperor, she never let anyone get this close. No one dared touch her, much less massage her head.
She was far too guarded to allow that.
As she relaxed, Su activated his light ability once more. Warmth radiated from his fingers, relieving the fatigue in her body. It truly was comforting.
"Feels good."
With a content sigh, she shifted her position and fully nestled into Su's lap. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep again.
When she woke up next, it was early morning.
Feeling completely refreshed, Mu Qingyun opened her eyes. She felt like she was lying on something.
Looking back, she saw Su leaning against the wall, fast asleep.
Why had he not woken her?
Frowning slightly, she quickly sat up and shifted off his lap.
The sudden movement caused Su's legs to lose support, but he still did not wake.
"Su? Wake up. Go sleep in your room," she said as she nudged him gently. After a few pushes, he finally woke up.
Su blinked drowsily. Still half-asleep, he looked confused.
He looked down at her, frowning slightly. "What's wrong?"
"Go rest in your room for a bit," she said, grabbing his arm to help him up.
Su blinked again, seemingly processing the situation. He gave a vague reply and tried to get up by pushing off the floor.
But as he stood, a sharp numbness surged through his right leg, followed by a dull pain.
His leg, completely numb, could not support him. He stumbled and suddenly collapsed—right onto Mu Qingyun.
"Hey—!"
Caught off guard, she had no time to react before they both crashed to the floor.
"Ah—!"She gasped in pain as her tailbone hit the ground hard. Thankfully, Su's hand cradled the back of her head, sparing her from more serious injury.
"My leg's numb," Su muttered apologetically, lifting his head from her shoulder.
Their position was... awkward.
Mu Qingyun lay on the ground, Su on top of her. One hand braced on the floor, the other still behind her head.
[Oh my god, a single person like me just took a direct hit this early in the morning!][Aaaaah! What just happened?! What are they doing?!][Calm down, people. Last night Su gave Mu-ge a massage, she fell asleep on his lap. He got a leg cramp, that's all.][Ugh, I'm shipping this so hard.]
"Mu Qingyun, what's going on? What was that loud noise?"Kazelle's voice called from outside the door. The door creaked open, and the scene before him came into full view.
Kazelle: …
What... did he just walk in on?
Still lying down, Mu Qingyun craned her head to look back. From her position on the floor, Kazelle appeared upside-down.
Despite the inverted view, his expression—shocked and frozen—was perfectly clear.
"Don't just stand there gawking! Come help already!" she snapped."Su's leg went numb. Help me get him up!"
[Pfft! This love triangle is just too good.][Why does Kazelle always walk in at the worst possible moment?][These three are fated for emotional chaos. It's honestly too entertaining.]