"If you want to take my life, then come at me. Dying at the hands of a little girl wouldn't be a bad way to go in this lifetime."

His voice was so deep and soft, his expression at that moment, so fragile and vulnerable.

Now, with a dagger in its sheath, resting lightly against Wang Xiaole's heart.

For Bai, this was her closest brush with success;

now, Wang Xiaole had no time to draw his sword, he was more vulnerable than ever before.

All she needed to do was quickly pull out the dagger and make that one decisive thrust forward, and it would all be over.

Never had Bai been so close to success;

never had her actions become so difficult.

Just when she had a chance at success, she found that her right hand holding the dagger was trembling slightly and not obeying her.

In fact, it was not just her right hand that was disobedient.

At that moment, Bai felt every part of her body resisting the act of stabbing the dagger out.

Why?

Why couldn’t she do it?

Bai's hand gradually drooped down, the time spent together, the meticulous care from the other side had softened her heart day by day.

With sincerity, even rocks can be split;

not to mention, Bai's heart was not as hard as a stone.

Seeing her hesitate, Wang Xiaole, out of instinct, flicked the dagger on the ground in front of him.

Then, without waiting for Bai to pick up the dagger, he embraced her once again.

Since they first met, whenever there was danger, he had always been there to protect her;

perhaps subconsciously, she had grown accustomed to his protection. Even when she fell asleep in his arms late at night, she felt like she was in the safest place in the world.

Bai leaned weakly against his arm, like a pale dying butterfly, hanging limp in the wind, sinking into the embrace of "Big Brother."

Those under the moonlight cannot escape the eternal sorrow.

After that day, Bai didn't leave because she couldn't.

The next day, in the courtyard, after being embraced, Bai fell ill;

it was not a pretense, the little girl didn't even know that in this world, one could fake being sick.

The first to discover Bai's illness was the person who cared most about her in this world.

That day, Wang Xiaole came to Bai's room, his room, and saw:

Bai was lying carefully on the side of the bed, using her cold and shivering hands to protect her chilled body.

Wang Xiaole quickly brought Charley over.

Powerless, Charley helped Bai sit up, letting her rest her small head on his shoulder, feeding her medicine spoon by spoon.

The medicine tasted bitter to the point of making one nauseous, Wang Xiaole pinched Bai's nose and had Charley give her a few sips;

however, Bai couldn't hold back the surge in her stomach, vomiting with a loud retch, soaking Wang Xiaole's clothes.

Wang Xiaole didn't mind, not even caring about himself, he first wiped the corners of Bai's mouth clean, then patted her back saying:

"Should I add some sugar? Or should I go downstairs first and bring you some snacks?

The vomiting just now might be because your stomach is empty;

Endure a few sips of the medicine first, and then I'll bring you some snacks to fill your stomach before you continue drinking slowly, okay?"

He was almost leaning close to Bai's ear, his voice soft and gentle, the warmth from his breath landing softly on her tender cheek, intimate and affectionate.

Bai felt exhausted and powerless, not even daring to resist, just leaning weakly against him, a bit embarrassed but still surrendering herself to him.

Wang Xiaole had not rested properly for several days in order to take care of Bai.

Every night, when Bai fell into a deep sleep, he would only cover himself with a thin blanket and then lay down on the table, pretending to rest reluctantly.

As a wandering knight, he had always been carefree and lived a free and unrestrained life without wealth or luxury.

But now, he was willingly punishing himself and confronting his own body and conscience.

One day, Bai woke up in the middle of the night feeling slightly less dizzy but getting colder by the minute;

She curled up in the blanket, shivering uncontrollably, letting out a faint sigh of discomfort.

Startled by the sound, Wang Xiaole opened the crystal for illumination and approached Bai, who lay alone in bed, asking with a bow,

"What's wrong?"

"......"

Bai did not respond, just shook her head slightly.

Since he didn't get an answer, Wang Xiaole reached into the blanket and immediately realized:

"Why is the fever back?"

Furrowing his brows, Wang Xiaole covered Bai with his own thin blanket.

Bai closed her eyes tightly, silently enduring the chilling waves one after another.

It was strange that just a few days ago she was spirited in the midst of battles, but now, as she was about to leave the "big brother" in front of her, she suddenly developed a high fever.

Perhaps Bai's body knew better than her spirit what it needed;

If the body indeed had another consciousness, then Bai somewhat felt:

Maybe it was this body that was preventing her from leaving!

Unable to fall asleep, Wang Xiaole sat by Bai's side, tucking her in tightly with the blanket, fearing any cold draught might seep through.

But Bai still felt cold, the deep chill from within causing every pore on her body to open up, as if being pricked by tiny ice needles, creating a cold, tingling sensation.

Bai could endure it, she believed she could endure it.

When did the day break?

Has the day truly dawned?

As her consciousness slowly returned, Bai felt like a long time had passed;

Before she fully woke up, footsteps had echoed by her bedside;

Soft, comforting voices, heavy and familiar, lingered in her dreams, guiding her towards peace and tranquility.

Bai squinted and opened her eyes, finding darkness still lingering around her.

The man with the deep, dark eyes in front of her appeared, the light reflecting from them bright like stars, with a hint of hesitant and anxious gaze;

At some point, he suddenly spoke:

"I'm sorry!"

Wang Xiaole quickly took off his clothes and slid under the quilt.

In that moment, Bai felt a bit nervous, though she still didn't speak, her hands trembling.

To this day, Bai still didn't understand the differences between men and women, let alone the taboos;

But even without knowing, she felt embarrassed in this moment.

Embarrassed—a feeling she was experiencing for the first time, directed only at the person before her!

Wang Xiaole let out a light hum from his nose, then immediately wrapped his arms around Bai, holding her tightly.

The warmth enveloped Bai from head to toe;

Her face pressed against the neck of her "big brother," bodies intertwined, her legs gently held between his, even feeling the warmth emanating from his breath on the top of her head.

He didn't really do anything, just carefully letting the warmth of his body spread out as much as possible, passing it on to Bai.

His body's scent was not gentle and floral, nor as intense and hot as before, but had a different kind of clear and mellow richness, with a hint of a boyish aroma.

Bai sighed, burying her head in his neck, shaking under the warm surroundings, still shivering from the cold that pervaded her body, her heavy eyelids gradually getting heavier.

This was a restful sleep for Bai.

When she woke up again, she no longer felt the chill, only the warm embrace in front of her, still surrounding her in the closest and most intimate way possible.

Bai opened her eyes and saw a pair of incredibly clear and bright eyes, gazing at her with the purest and gentlest tenderness;

Wang Xiaole smiled warmly at her awakening, elegant and gentle smile lines forming around his eyes.

Glancing over, Bai noticed the sun had moved to near her pillow by now, probably mid-morning.

Wang Xiaole felt overwhelming joy in his heart and on his face upon seeing Bai awake.

Softly, he told her not to get out of bed while he quickly headed to the kitchen to prepare something delicious for her.

"Xiaole..."

As he reached the entrance to the room, he suddenly looked up and saw Charley right in front of him.

When did Charley arrive at the doorway?

Wang Xiaole pondered, perhaps she woke up very early today.

What he was completely unaware of was:

Just like how he anxiously kept watch over Bai throughout the night;

The previous night, Charley also stood silently at the doorway, watching over him, a clueless soul, all night long.

"Aren't you going to catch up on your beauty sleep?"

Wang Xiaole casually smiled at Charley before preparing to enter the kitchen.

"Xiaole!"

Charley called out for the second time, not just with words but also grabbing onto Wang Xiaole's sleeve.

"What's the matter?"

Though Wang Xiaole asked, he didn't receive any response.

Faintly, Wang Xiaole sensed something but didn't speak up about it;

He just continued to smile, pretending not to notice.

While still smiling, he raised his hand and placed it on top of Charley's, slightly twitching his fingers.

Shortly after, Wang Xiaole slowly and firmly withdrew his hand from Charley's.

As that extended hand dropped, a bitter smile crept onto Charley's lips, tinged with either sorrow or self-mockery;

Charley gazed up at the ceiling, their long lashes fluttering, lost in thought, before finally speaking alone:

"Truly... such an annoying sense of defeat!"

The weather was hot, yet sometimes very cold.

Since that day, Bai's body had gradually started to recover.

At first, Wang Xiaole was feeling very happy, but four or five days later, he couldn't find any happiness at all.

On that day, Bai left.

On the day before she left, Wang Xiaole slept well after a long time, but when he woke up the next day, he found that the tiny figure had disappeared.

Even though it was still in the season of summer, Wang Xiaole suddenly shivered as if he had caught a cold.

He looked out the window and realized that it was raining;

It was pouring heavily, hitting hard on the roof and making it impossible for him to keep his eyes open as he leaned out of the window.