The moment his fingertips finally touched the crystal flower, a faintly cool sensation spread along his fingertips.
The next second, the faint glow flowing over the petals suddenly surged. The crystal flower billowed and scattered like a star river breaking free of its restraints, instantly wrapping Fu Lin in a hazy yet scorching halo of light.
Fragmented images flashed before his eyes, so fast they were impossible to grasp, yet so clear they carved themselves into his mind.
Memories of the past and the present intertwined and collided, the warmth of time spent with his companions, the tender closeness with Fu Shi, the Kiana☆, and the solitude of fifty thousand years, all surging into his heart in overlapping waves.
"Mm!"
Fu Lin staggered and clutched his forehead. His whole body swayed, as if he were being dragged into the rift between two spacetime streams. His head throbbed heavily, even his breathing carrying a sluggish, painful weight.
"Elysia, what did you do to Fu Lin?!" A clear voice tinged with urgency came from outside his consciousness, instantly piercing the surrounding chaos.
Kiana☆ was holding a strawberry cake. The moment she stepped into the living room and saw the scene, she hurriedly set the cake down and rushed over.
Hearing Kiana☆'s voice, the haze in Fu Lin's mind cleared a little.
As his awareness gradually returned, he stumbled back a step. Just as his balance faltered, Kiana☆ stepped in and steadied him in time.
The crystal flower in his palm still rippled with a gentle glow, yet countless emotions churned in his eyes.
There was the shock and daze of memories regained, the relief of confusion finally unraveled, and mixed within it, an indescribable sense of melancholy.
Regret, guilt, and the lingering pain of having failed to protect his companions of the Previous Era.
In the blink of an eye, those chaotic memory fragments receded like a tide, slowly settling deep within his mind and returning to calm.
"Fu Lin, are you okay? Do you feel unwell anywhere?" Kiana☆ held tightly to his arm, lifting a hand to gently smooth his furrowed brow, trying to ease the pain in his eyes.
"What was that just now, you…" Fu Lin slowly came back to himself, lowering his gaze to the crystal flower in his palm as the surging emotions gradually settled.
He looked up at Kiana☆. The complexity and pain in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by a familiar gentleness.
He reached out and softly held her hand, his palm covering her slightly cool fingers. His voice was hoarse from the impact he'd just endured, yet steady, every word carrying a reassuring strength.
"I'm fine. Don't worry. I just… zoned out a little."
Kiana☆ looked at him. The tension in her heart finally eased by more than half, though she still couldn't help pouting.
"As long as you're okay…"
Fu Shi appeared at some point, grabbing Fu Lin's arm and shaking it. "Hey, something big definitely happened just now, didn't it? Spill it already, don't you dare hide it from me!"
Seeing her impatient expression, the last trace of melancholy in Fu Lin's eyes vanished completely.
He habitually reached out and rubbed Fu Shi's soft hair, a gentle smile curving at his lips as he spoke softly.
"Don't mess around. I'm really fine. I just remembered some things from a very, very long time ago. And I've already figured out a way to return to another world."
Kiana☆, "..."
She stared at the fleeting tenderness in Fu Lin's eyes as he looked at Fu Shi, and at the hand still rubbing Fu Shi's head. The jealousy in her heart instantly boiled over.
She reached out and smacked his hand away, then tugged Fu Shi to the side, squeezing herself right up next to Fu Lin. Arms crossed, she stared at him.
"Thinking about your day-to-day life with Fu Shi back in the Previous Era?"
As she spoke, she didn't forget to add viciously, "Let me tell you, right now, there can only be me and Fu Xing in your heart, no, that's not right, only me!"
Fu Shi stumbled from being yanked and immediately protested indignantly, "How can you be so selfish!"
The two girls instantly started arguing again over "exclusive rights to Fu Lin," completely forgetting that they'd just been worried about his condition.
Elysia covered her lips, her eyes shimmering with amused laughter.
"Hehe, how lively~"
Fu Lin looked at the two of them bickering endlessly, shaking his head helplessly with a wry smile.
But when his gaze landed on Elysia, he couldn't help lifting a hand to rub his brow, full of resignation.
Elysia lightly swayed her fingers. The afterglow of the crystal flower flowed through her hair as she curved her brows, cute yet sly.
"Oh my, don't look at me like that, Fu Lin~? Sleeping memories may awaken, but some things have already happened. They're not so easily washed away, you know."
"I've always only thought of you as a little sister." Fu Lin sighed helplessly, a mix of laughter and resignation in his eyes. "Your radiance is far too dazzling. I wouldn't dare harbor even the slightest irreverent thought."
Hearing this, Elysia dramatically clutched her chest, though her eyes were filled with irrepressible laughter. She drew out her words with a coquettish softness.
"Oh my~ So in Fu Lin's heart, I'm actually such a sacred existence?? Really, you're going to make me too shy to lift my head~?"
She tiptoed closer to Fu Lin, her soft lips brushing past his cheek as she lowered her voice, smiling slyly.
"Then when you think back to that time with me now, how does it feel?"
After speaking, she playfully stepped back, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, eyes curved into crescents.
The tips of Fu Lin's ears instantly flushed red. He turned his head away awkwardly, pressed his lips together, and stubbornly didn't respond, though he couldn't help muttering inwardly,
'It feels like your rabid fans would mince me into meat next second!'
Elysia's eyes glimmered when she caught sight of his reddened ears, her smile growing even brighter.
She deliberately leaned closer, gently tapping his burning ear with her fingertip.
"Fu Lin, are you shy? Your ears are so red they're about to drip blood~"
Just as Fu Lin stood there with crimson ear tips, at a loss for how to respond, two angry voices suddenly exploded at once.
"Elysia, stay away from Fu Lin! We're not done with what just happened!"
"Elysia, you jerk! Taking advantage of Fu Lin while we weren't looking!"
Kiana☆ and Fu Shi, astonishingly, had formed a united front, glaring at Elysia together.
The former had her hands on her hips, cheeks puffed up like an angry little pufferfish as she glared; the latter simply lunged over, grabbing Fu Lin's arm and pulling him behind her.
Seeing this, Elysia tilted her head.
"I was just whispering with Fu Lin."
"Whispering? Who knows if it was some shameless nonsense!" Kiana☆ stood with her hands on her hips, eyes wide.
No one here understood Fu Lin better than she did. That flushed ear tip and evasive gaze, identical to how he looked whenever she teased him.
Elysia must have said something flirtatious enough to make his heart race!
Hearing this, Elysia laughed even more, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.
"Oh? So you understand him very well~?"
Kiana☆ lifted her chin proudly, her expression full of confidence. "Of course I do!"
"All right, enough already." Fu Lin reached out and rubbed both girls' heads, stepping in to smooth things over. "If you keep arguing, Kiana☆, the cake you brought back is going to melt until it's inedible."
At that, Kiana☆ immediately shuffled a few steps toward the coffee table, cheeks still slightly puffed, clearly deciding to call a temporary truce and eat her strawberry cake first.
Fu Lin then looked at the still sulking Fu Shi, lightly flicked her forehead, and withdrew his gaze.
Elysia took the entire scene in, the smile on her face deepening.
"Fu Lin, look, don't you think the present is better than anything else?"
Fu Lin paused, turning his head to look at the figure enjoying cake, then at Fu Shi beside him, and finally at Elysia with her gentle smile.
He nodded softly, a warm, shallow smile lifting the corners of his lips. "Yes. Better than anything. Once everyone comes back in the future, that will be the truly perfect ending I'm hoping for."