145: Chapter 145 Farewell Kiss

It was unknown how much time had passed when Xia Xi spoke up.

"Lu Cheng..."

The breeze on the lake was very light, carrying a hint of waterweed scent as it blew past.

Moonlight shattered on the lake's surface, shaken by the ripples into countless silver fragments.

Lu Cheng did not speak, but quietly listened to her.

He could feel Xia Xi's head, resting on his shoulder, move slightly, her eyelashes brushing against his sleeve.

Xia Xi said: "I..."

She paused for a moment, as if replaying the sentence in her mind.

"I won't be returning to Navigator Academy with you this time."

As her words fell, a fish leaped out of the water on the lake, splashing a small spray of water before falling back in.

Ripples spread out in circles, shattering the reflection of the moon and then piecing it back together.

Xia Xi didn't wait for Lu Cheng to respond and continued.

"Even if I enter Navigator Academy, it will be very difficult for me to keep up with your pace..."

Her voice was very soft, but it did not tremble.

She had probably thought about this sentence over and over in her heart; by the end, the sadness of saying it aloud had become very calm.

"I have already spoken to my father; after you leave this time, I will return to the Xia family to accept the Xia family's inheritance."

"Only in this way can I possibly keep up with you."

After saying this, she let out a breath, as if setting down a stone that had been weighing on her for a long time.

Lu Cheng did not speak.

He raised his hand and stroked Xia Xi's head.

His palm rested on her hair, and he could feel the softness of the strands and the warmth radiating from beneath.

"Are you silly? Why do you always keep thinking about catching up to me?"

His tone was the same as usual, carrying a bit of a devil-may-care attitude, as if he were talking about a trivial matter that didn't need any worrying.

Xia Xi shook her head.

The movement was slight, her nose brushing against Lu Cheng's sleeve.

She did not want to be like in her past life, where in the end, she couldn't do anything.

That sense of powerlessness, that despair of standing in the distance watching everything happen without even being able to reach out in time—she did not want to taste that again in this lifetime.

At least... she could stand by Lu Cheng's side when the end came.

Not as the one being protected, but as the one who could stand side-by-side with him.

"Alright~"

Xia Xi stood up.

She patted the non-existent dust off her dress with a crisp movement, not dwelling any further on the topic.

Her eyes were a bit red, but a smile was already hanging on her face.

That bright, slightly cunning smile was exactly the same as usual.

"It's already very late..."

She took a step back, the armrest of the wooden chair sliding past her fingertips.

"I'm going to slip away first..."

She looked at Lu Cheng.

The moonlight shone from behind her, outlining her silhouette with a silver edge.

A moment later.

She stepped forward and kissed his lips.

Lu Cheng's lips were a bit cold, likely due to the lake breeze blowing for too long.

Xia Xi's fingers gripped the fabric of his chest tightly, her knuckles turning white.

Then, a moment later.

Their lips parted.

Xia Xi stepped back half a pace, wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, and the smile on her face was even brighter than before.

She didn't know how long this separation would last... she would treat it as her final act of willfulness before leaving.

At least in this lifetime, Lu Cheng's first kiss was hers, hehe.

When this thought popped up, she almost laughed out loud.

Her eyes were still red, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

"I'm off!"

She turned around and quickened her pace.

The sound of her jogging came from the wooden boardwalk by the lake, one step after another, fading further and further away.

Lu Cheng sat on the wooden chair, watching her run into the light of the villa's side door.

That light swallowed her whole, and when the door closed, the beam of light on the grass shrank into a sliver and then vanished.

He touched his own lips.

The lingering scent remained... carrying a very faint sweetness; he couldn't tell if it was the taste of lip balm or something else.

This little girl...

Lu Cheng leaned back against the chair, looking up at the moon in the sky.

What a worry...

The moonlight illuminated the lake brightly, and the ripples that had been disturbed by Xia Xi earlier had already calmed down.

He stared at the reflection for a long time.

Then he reached out and scratched the back of his head twice.

"The Xia family... inheritance, huh."

The next morning, at the Rong City airship port.

Sunlight shone down from above the glass dome, making the floor of the boarding hall shine.

The broadcast played a notice about the upcoming departure; the female voice was mechanical and clear, echoing over and over in the empty hall.

Lu Cheng stood outside the ticket gate with his bag on his back, and Chu Xiuxiu stood beside him, clutching the corner of his clothes.

The little girl had changed into clean clothes, a white T-shirt and dark blue pants, her hair tied into two small braids, making her look much more energetic.

In her other hand, she clutched an unopened bag of biscuits that Chu Mu had stuffed into her hand that morning.

Qian Shuying stood half a step behind Lu Cheng, with a dark gray travel bag slung over her shoulder.

Su Wan leaned against a pillar with her arms crossed, her face expressionless, her sword stored in a slender sword case on her back.

Xia Xi indeed did not come this time.

Everyone bid farewell to Lu Cheng.

Xia Yunchi stood at the very front of the crowd seeing them off, wearing a dark blue uniform, the scars on his face already forming thin scabs.

He nodded at Lu Cheng without saying anything overly sentimental.

"Everything that I should give you, I have given." Xia Yunchi patted Lu Cheng's shoulder, the force neither light nor heavy, "Go back and cultivate well."

"Don't worry, Uncle Xia." Lu Cheng grinned, "Next time I come back, I'll bring you some specialties from Navigator Academy."

"What kind of specialties could that place have? It's all just training equipment." Xia Yunchi scoffed.

Commander Ji Yunlan stood behind Xia Yunchi and nodded slightly toward Lu Cheng.

She had changed her combat uniform, and the wound on her shoulder had been treated, though her complexion was still a bit pale.

Her gaze upon Lu Cheng was complex; her lips moved, but in the end, she said nothing.

Chu Mu stood to the side.

She was wearing a dark gray jacket today, her hair pulled back, her expression as cold and indifferent as usual.

She glanced at Xia Yunchi, then at Lu Cheng, before resting her gaze on Chu Xiuxiu.

"Xiuxiu." Chu Mu bent down, reaching out to rub her head, "When you get there, you must listen to Brother Lu, okay~"

Chu Xiuxiu nodded vigorously.

Chu Mu straightened up and looked at Lu Cheng.

The mother and son looked at each other for two seconds.

"I'm off." Lu Cheng said.

"Mm." Chu Mu nodded, "Remember to send messages regularly."

"I know."

The airship's departure broadcast sounded for the last time.

Lu Cheng turned around and waved to the people seeing them off.

Chu Xiuxiu imitated his gesture and waved as well, her movements a bit stiff.

"Let's go."

The mechanical sound of the boarding ramp retracting came from outside, and the airship slowly rose into the sky.

Outside the window, Rong City grew smaller and smaller, finally shrinking into a tiny dot on a map.

Lu Cheng leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes.

Chu Xiuxiu sat beside him, opening the snack bag Chu Mu had given her; the sweet and sour scent of plums wafted out from the paper bag, drifting around the seats.

Along the way, Chu Xiuxiu was very interested in everything around her.

She pressed her face against the porthole, watching the cloud layers outside, golden light reflecting in her eyes.

When the airship passed through the clouds, she let out a "Wow," then turned back to tug at Lu Cheng's sleeve.

"Brother Lu Cheng, look! The clouds are below!"

"Mm, it's an airship, so the clouds are naturally below." Lu Cheng opened one eye.

"But shouldn't the clouds be above?"

"Aren't you above the clouds right now?"

Chu Xiuxiu thought about it, seemingly finding it very reasonable, and turned back to continue watching the clouds outside the window.

Qian Shuying sat opposite them, watching the conversation between the two, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

A few hours later, the airship landed at the Navigator Academy airship port.

When the boarding ramp was lowered, a familiar atmosphere rushed toward them.

The concentration of Source Power above the academy was much higher than outside; with every breath, one could feel those cool and lively energy particles in the air.

Lu Cheng walked down the ramp, stepping onto the academy's ground paved with gray stone bricks.

He was back.

He led the three of them toward the villa area.

Students on the road saw him and greeted him one after another; Lu Cheng was already a famous figure in the entire academy... it was just that the news of him killing a War General Realm expert hadn't spread yet.

When they returned to the villa, the door lock recognized Lu Cheng's terminal and popped open with a beep.

The moment he pushed the door open, the light in the living room poured in from the floor-to-ceiling windows, gilding the sofa and coffee table with a layer of warm afternoon gold.

Everything and the furnishings were exactly the same as when he left.

But this time.

There was no Xia Xi at home.

There were no shoes of hers at the entrance, no cushions she had tossed aside on the sofa, and no sound of her giggling when caught stealing snacks in the kitchen.

It suddenly felt much colder and emptier.

Chu Xiuxiu stood at the doorway, curiously peeking inside.

Qian Shuying placed her travel bag at the entrance, changed into slippers, and walked in.

Lu Cheng stood in the middle of the living room, looking around; the house had suddenly become much quieter...

Qian Shuying belonged to the type of person who didn't talk much.

She walked to the kitchen, poured two glasses of water, handed one to Chu Xiuxiu, and placed the other on the coffee table.

Then she walked over to Lu Cheng and stood there for a while.

She could feel the change in Lu Cheng's mood, leaned beside him, and asked:

"What's wrong? Xia Xi isn't here, so you've started missing her?"

Lu Cheng nodded, not denying it: "A bit, I suppose... it's a bit too quiet."

Qian Shuying was silent for two seconds.

Then she suddenly leaned over, getting close to Lu Cheng.

The distance between the two of them instantly shortened to only a few centimeters, close enough to feel each other's breath.

Qian Shuying raised her eyes to look at him, her gaze carrying a hint of probing, and something else that was hard to define.

"Then... what if I step in to replace her for now?"

Lu Cheng was stunned for a moment.

Qian Shuying looked at his expression and covered her mouth, laughing.

The laughter was very soft, but the joy spilled out from her eyes, completely lighting up her usually expressionless face.

"Just kidding..."

She straightened up, took a step back, bent down to pick up the travel bag she had left at the entrance, and walked toward the stairs.

"I'll go put my luggage away first."

Her steps were steady, and her tone was natural.

When she stepped onto the first stair, her lips moved almost imperceptibly. She murmured in a voice only she could hear.

"I am who I am; I will not be a replacement..."