Chương 10: Hug You

Su Yuqing slowly opened her eyes, her gaze, filled with a hint of confusion, falling on the figure that had suddenly stopped in front of her.

The small hand wearing a pearl-white glove had somehow slipped from her hair. Senior Xing Shuang was standing a step away, her pale pink hair gently swaying in the evening breeze, her amethyst eyes filled with unfathomable thoughts.

"Senior Xingshuang... what's wrong?" She unconsciously lowered her voice.

"Hmm?" Xing Shuang seemed to snap out of a daze, a perfectly timed smile appearing on her lips.

"It's nothing, let's continue."

She gracefully sat back on the swing, her skirt spreading out like flower petals, the chains making a soft creaking sound.

The father's remarriage was to the mother of his ex-girlfriend from a past life, and even more bizarrely, she inexplicably became a magical girl—this is indeed hard to explain as a coincidence.

But in any case, after seeing the woman who was about to become her stepmother, she felt much more at ease.

The future stepmother appears to be a very gentle and kind person, and judging from the two daughters she has with her, this behavior is not feigned.

At this moment, she genuinely wants to protect this new family that is about to be born, and ensuring the harmony of this blended family is the most important thing to her.

His gaze unconsciously fell on the girl beside him.

Su Yuqing—aside from her identity as a magical girl, this girl who was in love with him in his past life is now just an ordinary girl with her own hesitations and confusion, and apprehensive about the reorganization of her family.

As her future "older brother," guiding her to accept this relationship seemed to be an inescapable responsibility.

At least she knew that choosing her father as her remarriage partner was definitely not a mistake.

"Your words of comfort really helped," Su Yuqing said, her toes lightly tapping the sand.

"Now I feel... maybe it's not so scary after all."

"Are you really completely at ease?" Xing Shuang turned her head to the side, the swing chain making a slight sound. The setting sun cast a soft glow on her profile, but it made the complex emotions in her eyes even more unpredictable.

"Just a little bit." Su Yuqing looked up.

"After all, we're about to become family, and I haven't even met them yet."

"But..." her voice was soft yet firm, "I believe Mom won't make a hasty decision, and the other person is definitely not a frivolous person."

"And... even if they really have their flaws, as long as Mom and Xiaoye are happy, I'm fine with anything." Su Yuqing unconsciously rubbed the sand with her toes, but a serene smile appeared on her face.

Lin Che stared at Su Yuqing's profile, his expression complex, a dull pain rising in his chest.

That smile was all too familiar—like the self from a past life who always swallowed her grievances.

This thought, this determination, is exactly the same as his in his previous life, except that the sacrifices he made did not lead to a happy ending.

In their previous life, when they lived together, Su Yuqing never mentioned her family to him, neither her mother nor her sister, let alone met them. This was why he hadn't recognized them before.

Although he didn't know exactly what happened, he could sense that the reason she did this wasn't because she wasn't close to him, but because mentioning things about them would hurt her.

Just like from the time they met until they broke up, he never mentioned his father to her.

Now that the two are about to enter into a family as brother and sister, he feels that as the older brother, he has an extra heavy responsibility on his shoulders.

She didn't want to disappoint the other person, didn't want to hurt her family, didn't want the tragedy that had happened to her to be repeated, and didn't want to jeopardize the happiness of her future mother and sister... so she sacrificed herself.

He now has the ability to do all of this.

"Nothing will happen." Xing Shuang suddenly grabbed the swing chain, her voice so firm that Su Yuqing was taken aback.

"In that family, no one will have to wrong themselves."

"Is this... a blessing for me, senior?" Su Yuqing's eyes widened.

"It's a promise." Xing Shuang loosened the chain and gently touched Su Yuqing's forehead with her fingertips.

"If anyone makes you suffer..." She suddenly winked playfully, "I'll blast them away with a magic beam."

"Pfft—" Su Yuqing laughed out loud, then blushed.

"Senior is indeed the most reliable! I must become a magical girl like you!"

"You admire me this much after only meeting me twice?" Xing Shuang shook her head helplessly, but secretly lamented in her heart that playing the role of a perfect senior was still too much of a stretch.

But there's no way around it; you have to put on a good show.

Looking into Su Yuqing's sparkling eyes, she sighed softly, "Then you'd better work hard. Catching up with me won't be an easy thing."

"I definitely will!" Su Yuqing stood up, looking full of fighting spirit.

"Keep it up! Speaking of which, it's getting late, I'll head back now... What's with that expression?"

Xing Shuang glanced at the darkening sky and was about to make an excuse to leave when she saw the other person suddenly step forward, clasp her hands nervously in front of her chest, blush adorably, and look expectant in her eyes.

"So... since you've already patted my head, can I be a little more willful?"

"Huh?" Xing Shuang leaned back alertly, her lower back slamming against the swing frame with a "thud." The pain made her eyes twitch, but she tried to remain calm.

"Tell me first?"

"Can... can I hug you?" Su Yuqing took another step forward, sandwiching Xingshuang between herself and the swing, then lowered her head shyly.

"A hug... Huh?!" Xingshuang pushed against the swing's pedals and took another step back, the chains creaking under the strain.

"Such a strange request..."

"Because I wanted to say it when we first met last night! Your petite size is so cute!"

"Even though he's such a powerful senior, his calm expression is so cool!"

"He's willing to listen to my family troubles! He even pats my head to comfort me!"

"Such a strong yet gentle senior, I really can't help but want to hug him!"

"Senior... I mustered up all my courage to make this request, you'll forgive my stubbornness, right?"

Su Yuqing moved a little closer, and the two were now so close that they could hear each other's breathing.

"Don't use your courage on such strange things!"

Looking at the other person's face, which was now almost within reach, and smelling that pleasant and familiar scent emanating from them, Xing Shuang was somewhat confused.

"No, I can't agree to her! I need to find an excuse to leave quickly; if she keeps hugging me, it'll never end."

She remembered that the other person in her past life was the same way, completely powerless against small and cute things, and once they held them, they would not easily let go.

[Warning: One minute remains until the end of the punishment. The transformation will be deactivated soon.]

"What?!" Xing Shuang suddenly widened her eyes when she noticed the long-silent system notification. The bright red countdown at the edge of her vision was rapidly ticking away, and there was clearly not enough time for her to escape.

"No, no, no, no! I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die!" Xing Shuang screamed in her heart.

"If I were to revert to my original form in front of her, the consequences would be unimaginable. Forget about my sociological life; I'd probably not even be able to avoid the end of my biological life!"

Thinking of this, Xing Shuang gritted her teeth and made her decision.

Compared to being taken down by the other party, being used as a body pillow is more cost-effective.

"Senior Xingshuang... is it still no use?" Seeing that the other party did not respond for a long time, Su Yuqing's voice was obviously disappointed, and her eyes had begun to redden, like a little animal that had been abandoned.

"I promise you!" Xing Shuang practically shouted, her voice trembling slightly, "But you have to go to that vending machine over there and buy mango juice first! Now! Right now!"

"Just one bottle of mango juice is enough?" Su Yuqing's eyes lit up instantly.

"Can I subscribe for a month?"

"A yearly subscription is fine! Just hurry up and go now!" Xing Shuang looked at the bright red countdown in her field of vision and was so anxious that she almost cried.

"Yes, ma'am!" A flash of light appeared, and Su Yuqing instantly transformed, her emerald green figure rushing towards the vending machine in the distance like a shooting star.

"I'm... I'm saved." The moment she disappeared from sight, Xing Shuang's body was enveloped in a dazzling light. When the light dissipated, a handsome young man was kneeling on the ground.

"Huff... huff..."

Lin Che gasped for breath, his shirt soaked with cold sweat. He trembled as he grabbed the transformation device and, at the last second, transformed back into his Star Frost form.

[Speaking of which, this is the first time the host has voluntarily transformed into Starfrost.] The system's teasing voice rang in her ears.

"Shut... up...!" Xing Shuang struggled to her feet, using the swing frame for support.

"There won't be a next time!"

I'll wait and see.

"Senior! I'm back!" Yin Xue rushed back like a whirlwind, holding a mango juice in her hand. Seeing Xing Shuang, who was holding a swing and looked pale, she hurriedly squatted down: "Senior, are you alright?"

"N-nothing..." Xing Shuang struggled to stand up, her legs still trembling, but when she looked up, she met a pair of bright, sparkling eyes.

"Hehe... Senior... May I begin?" Yin Xue opened her arms, her skirt swaying gently with the movement, her face full of anticipation.

Xing Shuang took a deep breath, closed her eyes with a death-defying resolve, her fingertips trembling slightly beneath her pearl-white gloves.

"If you want a hug, hurry up."

The next second, she was pulled into a warm embrace that was almost suffocating.