69: Chapter 62 Family? IF Route

(Note before reading: The content of this chapter is the escape branch plot of Chapter 62 and is not part of the main storyline. In short, everyone just reads it for fun.)

The early morning in Sky Dome City was very quiet.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the small apartment's curtains, drawing thin lines of light across the floor.

Kaiwen had been awake for a while.

At this moment, she was leaning against the kitchen counter, watching the white porridge boiling in the pot.

It had already been the fourth day since coming to Sky Dome City.

This small apartment was found by Kiana, hidden deep within an inconspicuous old alleyway. Downstairs was a secondhand bookstore with its door half-open year-round, and the surrounding residents were all old tenants who didn't ask much about their neighbors' backgrounds.

It was quiet, but also very safe.

The two of them used false names and lived through a strange daily routine.

Kaiwen was responsible for all household matters, while Kiana was responsible for external exploration and purchasing supplies.

Kaiwen wasn't quite sure why Kiana used such a strange description to describe going shopping and buying groceries, but as long as she was happy, it was fine.

The bedroom door was pushed open with a creak.

Kiana walked out in slippers, her white hair messy, her eyes not yet fully open, carrying an aura of laziness about her entire person.

She walked to the kitchen door, leaned against the doorframe, and narrowed her eyes as she looked at Kaiwen's back.

Kaiwen was placing the freshly pickled cucumbers into a dish, and feeling the gaze from behind, she turned back to take a look.

"Awake? The porridge is almost ready, go wash your face first."

Kiana let out a soft hum and turned to go to the bathroom.

After the sound of water rang for a while, she sauntered back, her hair still dripping water, casually pulling a towel to drape over her neck.

"Is there anything you need me to do?"

"Chop those scallions."

Actually, Kaiwen originally didn't want Kiana to enter the kitchen at all, but she couldn't resist how this Kiana would even act spoiled towards her just to get in. Faced with such a Kiana, Kaiwen truly couldn't harden her heart to refuse.

Kiana walked up to the cutting board, picked up the kitchen knife, and began clumsily chopping the scallions.

She chopped them very thickly, varying in size, forming a sharp contrast with the neatly cut side dishes Kaiwen had prepared.

Kaiwen glanced at the scallions she had chopped, chuckled softly, and then reached out to pull the cutting board in front of herself, re-chopping those unevenly sized scallion segments in just two or three cuts.

Kiana stood right beside her watching, but her face was visibly turning red to the naked eye.

When eating, the two sat facing each other at the small table.

Kaiwen arranged the porridge and side dishes, and Kiana picked up her bowl and began eating immediately, at a very fast pace.

Kaiwen reached out and pushed a dish of pickled radishes in front of Kiana.

"Eat slower, no one is snatching it from you."

Kiana looked up at her, and her speed slowed down just a tiny bit.

But it really only slowed down just a tiny bit.

Kaiwen sighed and said nothing more.

Over these past four days, she increasingly clearly sensed that some changes were taking place in Kiana.

On the first day of arriving in Sky Dome City, Kiana was still her old self, giving off somewhat of a sharp-tongued yet soft-hearted vibe.

She would leave the only bed for Kaiwen to sleep in and go sleep on the sofa herself.

What Kaiwen found strange was that clearly, back when they were in Changkong City, they had even shared the same bed, so why did things become so distant after coming here?

But starting from the second day, that cold and hard shell seemed to be pried open bit by bit by something.

On the second night, Kaiwen was sitting by the window reading a book. Kiana walked over, said nothing, and sat directly beside her.

Then her entire body leaned toward Kaiwen's side, and her head rested just like that on Kaiwen's shoulder.

Kaiwen's hand, which was turning the book page, stopped.

"……What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm tired."

Kiana's tone was extremely natural, as if leaning on Kaiwen's shoulder was the most natural thing in the world.

Kaiwen did not push her away.

The third day was even more excessive.

While Kaiwen was washing dishes in the kitchen, Kiana walked over from behind, wrapped her hands around Kaiwen's waist from both sides, pressed her entire body against her, and rested her chin in the crook of Kaiwen's shoulder.

The bowl in Kaiwen's hand almost dropped into the sink.

"……Kiana?"

"Mm."

"What are you doing?"

"Give me a hug."

Kiana's muffled voice came from behind her shoulder, her breath falling against the side of Kaiwen's neck, tickling softly.

Kaiwen could feel the person behind her burying her face deeper into her hair.

Sniffing her scent.

Kaiwen's heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

But she didn't move.

Her hands braced against the edge of the sink, her fingertips tightening slightly.

Kiana hugged her for about ten seconds, then let go, and walked back to the living room nonchalantly, curling up on the sofa as if nothing had happened.

Kaiwen stood in place, looking at the bubbles in the sink, taking quite a while to regulate her breathing.

[You and your family have a really good relationship.]

Kallen's voice drifted from the depths of her mind.

Kaiwen did not answer.

[I'm saying, you two have a really good relationship.]

"……That's just her personality," Kaiwen said in her heart.

[Oh. Well let me tell you, I've lived for so long, and I've never seen any family members hug like that.]

Kaiwen chose not to respond anymore.

By the fourth day, which was today.

After breakfast in the morning, Kiana helped Kaiwen clear the bowls and chopsticks into the sink.

Kaiwen stood by the window wiping the table, and Kiana walked up beside her, also looking out the window.

On the streets of Sky Dome City, early-rising pedestrians walked past in twos and threes, and the sunlight illuminated the brick walls of the old alleyway warmly.

Kiana suddenly reached out and grabbed Kaiwen's wrist.

Kaiwen lowered her head to take a look.

Kiana's fingers hooked over her wrist bone, neither tight nor loose, with her fingertips resting against her pulse.

"What is it?"

Kiana did not answer.

Her gaze fell upon Kaiwen's profile, holding something in her blue eyes that Kaiwen had never seen before.

That was a gaze carrying a bit of bitterness and unwillingness.

It was as if she were looking at someone she wanted to get close to, yet felt she had no qualification to approach.

Kaiwen did not pull back her wrist.

The two of them stood like that by the window, their wrists connected, remaining silent for a very long time.

In the end, it was Kiana who let go first.

She turned around, her back facing Kaiwen, her voice very soft.

"Kaiwen."

"Hm?"

"……Let's go out for a walk together."

"Mm, alright."

[Kaiwen.]

Kallen spoke up again.

This time, there was a trace of seriousness in her tone.

[The way that child looks at you is a bit strange.]

Kaiwen fell silent.

She knew.

Of course she knew.

She wasn't made of wood; how could she possibly not know?