Kiana's tickling skills were superb. Shu had no idea why Kiana was so accomplished in this particular area.
Her fingers landed precisely on his ticklish spots, and Shu's defenses crumbled instantly. He writhed wildly on the bed, laughing so hard he couldn't catch his breath.
To make matters worse, that breath was tightly blocked by Kiana's hand, forcing his laughter to convert into a series of muffled, indistinct whimpers.
Even though Kiana seemed to deliberately leave a small gap for him to breathe, she appeared to have forgotten that a person howling with laughter has no ability to breathe anyway.
Mouth covered = unable to beg for mercy.
Uncontrollable laughter = unable to breathe.
But the hateful Kiana showed not a single ounce of pity.
She simply moved the hand covering Shu's mouth and employed a two-pronged attack, striking from both the left and the right!
Shu was like a flipped fish, thrashing desperately beneath Kiana, letting out shrill laughter.
"Hahahaha—help—hahahaha—save me—hahahaha—"
And this sound only excited Kiana more, making her tickle with even greater vigor.
While tickling, she continuously fired off unsavory exclamations.
"That's for tickling me! That's for trying to run! That's for lifting my leg!"
"I—hahahaha—I didn't—hahahaha—"
"Didn't you? I saw everything!"
"That—that was—hahahaha—self-defense—hahahaha—"
"Self-defense? Am I some kind of monster?"
"You—hahahaha—you're not—but—but—hahahaha—let me go first—hahahaha—"
Kiana thought about it and decided this was a rare opportunity.
"Nope."
She kept tickling.
Shu's laughter had devolved into wailing.
Tears pricked the corners of his eyes. He laughed until his whole body went limp, losing even the strength to struggle.
Finally, he lay paralyzed on the bed, limbs spread wide, eyes vacant, two streaks of clear tears running down his face, only able to gasp for air.
Kiana finally stopped.
She looked at Shu's thoroughly "broken" appearance and nodded with satisfaction.
"Mhm, now we're even."
She nimbly got off Shu, pulling up the waistband of her shorts, which had slipped down a bit from all the commotion.
Her long white hair draped messily over her shoulders, bearing a slight natural curl from constantly being tied in braids.
Her clothes were wrinkled from sleeping in them all night, but she exuded an aura brimming with energy.
So refreshing!
She sat cross-legged on the bed and stretched luxuriously.
Arms raised above her head, back arched backwards, her whole body stretching into a graceful curve.
"Ah—that feels good!"
Then she hopped off the bed and ran barefoot to the window with a pitter-patter.
She grabbed the curtains.
And forcefully threw them open—
Sunlight instantly flooded in.
Golden, warm, bright... carrying the unique, fresh scent of early morning.
It was a sunlight this bedroom hadn't seen in nearly a full year.
The glare forced Shu to close his eyes.
It really had been too long since he had seen such bright light.
He somewhat helplessly raised a hand, trying to block the unreasonable sunlight. He felt as if the rays were piercing his thin eyelids, threatening to burn an indelible mark onto his retinas.
It took several seconds before he slowly adjusted and tentatively tried to open his eyes.
And the sunlight had a shape.
Kiana stood in front of the window, her back to the light.
The sun shone in from behind her, coating her in a golden silhouette.
Her long, naturally pure white hair was dyed a sacred gold by the light, the strands fluttering gently in the breeze.
She wore a smile on her face, completely different from her earlier devilish grin.
Her smile was warm and sunny.
It was a smile warmer than the sun itself.
She looked at him, her eyes curved into two crescents.
"Good morning, Shu!"
Her voice was clear and full of vitality.
Carrying a sound that hadn't echoed in this room for a very, very long time.
The wind chime Shu had hung by the window, finally reunited with the wind—regardless of whether it wanted to be or not—let out a string of melodious chiming at this moment.
Sunlight and wind burst into the bedroom, sweeping away the stale air.
Shu froze.
He looked at her.
He looked at her smiling face illuminated by the sun.
All the awkwardness from a moment ago, all the panic, all the unease... in this instant, was suddenly melted away by the sunlight, swept up by the breeze, and tossed into the trash bin.
The corners of Shu's mouth slowly curved up.
A relieved smile.
He closed his eyes and let out a long breath.
A sense of peace he had never felt before welled up in his heart.
"Yeah... good morning..."
His voice was very soft, carrying a huskiness from his recent laughter, but it was incredibly gentle.
Then he opened his eyes, ready to welcome this beautiful morning—
"Let's see what Shu should wear today!"
Click—
Shu, who had just been indulging in the quiet beauty of life, practically bolted upright like a dying man suddenly springing out of bed, every hair on his body standing on end as he looked toward the source of the sound.
Kiana, at some unknown point, had moved to stand in front of the wardrobe.
Her hands were still in the posture of pulling the doors open.
Her eyes were staring straight inside the wardrobe.
Her pupils—
Lost all their highlights.
And right in front of her were the very things Shu thought he had hidden perfectly, the things he believed Kiana would never, ever discover.
A whole wardrobe full of Kiana.
Various kinds of Kiana.
Shu's pupils also lost all their highlights.
In that exact moment, both their brains exploded with the screaming of a marmot.
How could I forget about this?!
Both of them were waiting for death at this moment. Shu was waiting for Kiana to trample his dignity ruthlessly with the look one reserves for a pervert, while Kiana was waiting for Shu to let out a sharp screech and kick her out of the house.
But neither of them experienced the scenario they imagined.
In this silent standoff, Kiana slowly closed the wardrobe doors, her movements so stiff it looked like she had just tamed her own limbs.
"Ah, Shu, I'm, going, to wash up, now—you, get changed, then, come out."
Kiana didn't dare turn around. A mechanical broadcast flowed from her mouth as she moved her newly tamed legs, waddling like a penguin over to the bedroom door. Then she pulled the door open, instantly switching from clunky routine to full sprint, and fled the scene.
"Shu, I'll wait for you in the living room!" The rapid sound of footsteps suddenly faded away, rushing into the bathroom.
And the person left in the room had completely shattered.
Crumbling into fine dust, inch by inch, starting from the shoulders.
Of course, that was just how he felt.
In reality, he merely slid slowly off the bed and slumped onto the floor.
Maybe I should reconsider the idea of leaving Earth to live elsewhere... let's deduce the rocket motion equations this time...
Meanwhile, on the other side, in front of the bathroom mirror, Kiana covered her face with both hands, continuously letting out a high-pitched whine like a boiling kettle.
Only she knew just how blazing hot her face currently was.