"Ah—so this is the legendary paradise." Dreamsound held Shengsheng, her eyes half‑closed like sleepy petals.
"Mhm." The moment we stepped in, a creamy aroma rolled over like a warm breeze. The spring was pure ivory liquid, even its garnish petals white as frost.
Even the pool carried a white holy glow, like dawn caught in water.
I sank and was lost. This milk bath wasn’t like the old ones. Every pore drank its qi like thirsty sand, every cell sang with joy.
Dreamsound felt it too. With little Shengsheng in her arms, she was complete. The bath refined the heart; once submerged, my shy, naughty thoughts melted like sugar in hot tea. (>U<)
Body in hot spring, soft jade in my arms—what more could one ask?
But a stray cloud still crossed our clear sky.
Why is it like this? Xuanxiao watched us, cozy enough to doze, and felt a tiny thorn. Ugh, Sister Qing, we were on the same team just now...
It’s time to enjoy, yet I feel brighter than the chandelier overhead, a spotlight with no stage.
Shouldn’t it be me calling, “You came at just the right time,” right now? ( ๑ŏ ﹏ ŏ๑ )
It was supposed to be me... ah, I arrived late—fine then. She whimpered, tears like a light drizzle.
Xuanxiao had planned to bond in this pool, but the milk bath was too wicked, sweet as a trap. I’ll complain another day, she thought, stamping dust in her heart.
In the end, the bath did nothing. I drifted into a faint, like a leaf afloat, and that was that.
—
"Sister Qing, I’m here!" Xuanxiao slipped the door open and saw Qingyu Mengyin—Dreamsound—gazing fondly at Shengsheng’s sleeping face. Blue light shimmered on her left hand as she stroked those rosy cheeks.
"Shh." Dreamsound sent her a small frown, then kept caressing that soft, chubby face like kneading warm dough.
"Sister Qing... is she the one you’ve been waiting for?"
"...Mm. And next time, don’t say things like that."
"Oh... but she really looks so silly."
"I don’t mind. A little foolishness is good. At least she doesn’t have to think so much."
"Sister Qing, aren’t you going to tell her anything?"
"..."
"Alright, alright—I’ll go. Good night." Xuanxiao closed the door softly, like setting down a feather.
Why not tell her the reason? Because I don’t want to taste loss again. Dreamsound lowered her lids; when she opened them, gold lit her pupils, a sharp yet sorrowful aura like a falcon cut by rain.
As long as I keep... this life... it’s enough, like holding a lantern in fog.
Dreamsound slipped from her nightwear, lay down nearly bare, and pulled Shengsheng close. The girl’s warm breath drifted over her chest like summer wind. She stroked that small head and sank into sleep—this was her gentlest hour of the day.
...
"Mmm... morning already..." I rubbed my eyes. I’d fallen asleep in a bed, and even my clothes had been changed—must’ve been Dreamsound. Better her than Xuanxiao. Where’s that old granny Meng? I must’ve dozed off in the spring... Dreamsound probably carried me back, like a tide bearing driftwood.
"Little Shengsheng, you’re awake?" Dreamsound pushed in with breakfast, the door swinging like a breeze. She’d gone back to long sleeves and a short skirt. And no bread in her hands.
Nice. Simple fried eggs with milk and a few light fruits beat bread by a mile, like sun burning off stale fog.
I didn’t stand on ceremony. I grabbed the milk and drank—sweet, like a white river. Dream— you always get me.
"Glug... Dream... aren’t you eating?"
"Oh, I ate. Xuanxiao came at dawn to drag us to breakfast... but you were sleeping so sweetly, I let you be."
"...Thanks." I lowered my head, voice small as a moth.
I do have a bit of morning temper. But Dreamsound always lets me wake with the sun, soft with my moods.
Like today—I slept till 7:30... huh?
That damned mother dino—what time did she come yelling? Looking for trouble?! I’m gonna slap her butt with my heels, thunder on leather.
Across from me, Dreamsound covered her mouth and laughed, like she’d read my storm‑cloud thoughts. "We can’t blame Xuanxiao. She always wakes early."
"Even so, it’s still too..."
"Alright, no grumbling. Eat up. We’ve got lots of places to go later, the day opening like a map."
"Got it..."
I ate slowly, bite by bite. The fried egg was amazing. The whites had no char‑crust bite; the seasoning soaked in, and the yolk, lifted by spices, tasted like a warm sunrise. Savored slow, there was heat, salt, sweetness—each a note, balanced like a well‑tuned lute.
No wonder White Moon Pavilion’s chef. Such delicate work—I could eat three bowls.
"Since you’re full, let’s go. Don’t keep Xuanxiao waiting."
"Oh..." Truth be told, I wanted to ghost her like a cloud that never shows.
—
In White Moon Pavilion’s hall, Xuanxiao was deep in her game, eyes hooked to the screen like fish, oblivious to us.
"Xuanxiao‑jie... is she always like this?"
"...Pretty much."
"Hey archer, why’re you stealing my buff! Without buff how do I carry the tempo!"
"...Then let’s go on our own. Xuanxiao‑jie looks pretty happy."
"Mm..."
"Yo yo, mage, are you a girl? My support’s godlike!"
...
"Um, Dream... where are we going?" We’d been in the far north; then Dreamsound tugged me, and we blinked into the ocean, a place with no soulwater.
Ugh... the pressure pressed like a mountain, but I could take it.
Seeing Dreamsound already shifted to Merfolk, I copied her and turned into a little mermaid.
Ah—so comfy. The tightness in my chest loosened like knots in rain. Merfolk form suits the sea far better than human, by more than a little.
"Come on. Little Shengsheng, didn’t you want to know where the surviving Merfolk live? It’s ahead."
I peered along Dreamsound’s path. A modest settlement lay there, neither big nor small, yet its adornments outshone the hamlets back on the continent. Merfolk drifted through the lanes; smiles hung on their faces like lanterns. This place was nothing like that dead city.
"Back then, the disaster swallowed the famous cities. In contrast, these ancient small villages survived, like stones that held fast in a flood."
"They’ve lived here for generations. Even when the Empire flourished and the sea’s bounty could feed every Merfolk, give them ease, they never left—because this is home, a shell that fits the ear."
