“Then you have to close your eyes first.”
Miao Bai’s palm covered Meng Bai’s eyelids, the cool touch brushing across her face.
Meng Bai drew in a deep breath. The unknown filled her with tension.
“Wait, what… what are we doing now?”
“Don’t speak yet.”
Soon, Miao Bai’s palm grew warm, and Meng Bai’s eyes began to burn. Even with them closed, it felt as if a mist hung before her vision.
She didn’t dare open her eyes. She didn’t dare speak. She trusted everything to Miao Bai’s lead.
“Walking through the sky—”
Miao Bai’s voice slipped past her eardrums…
A dizzying sense of losing control swept over Meng Bai. Her body felt light and ethereal, as if she’d become a cloud drifting in the heavens. The instant her feet left the ground, she itched to peek and see what was happening.
“Hold still. Don’t open them.”
“Oh.” Meng Bai panted with nerves.
“Relax.”
Meng Bai couldn’t relax. Every muscle in her body was strung tight. This was too strange—this feeling was utterly bizarre.
The next second, a firm force shoved against her back. Her center of gravity lurched forward, and in just two or three seconds, her feet touched solid ground again.
“You can open your eyes now.”
Meng Bai blinked her eyes open. The sight before her was utterly dreamlike.
She was outside the house.
In those few brief seconds, Miao Bai had lifted her into the air, carried her straight through the wall, and pushed her out.
“This—” Meng Bai sucked in a sharp breath. Her palms were clammy with cold sweat from the tension. She patted herself down—everything was still there. “Incredible. Did I just… phase through a wall?”
Miao Bai nodded. “That’s one way to put it.”
“Ah? This—” Meng Bai fumbled for words.
Any attempt to describe it fell flat. It felt like a dream, so Meng Bai secretly pinched her own arm—hard.
The pain was real enough.
Seeing her fall silent, Miao Bai asked, “Scared?”
“A little.” Meng Bai shook her head right after. “Not like that. It’s just… I’ve never seen anything like this before. I never imagined I’d fly one day—or pass through walls.”
Up until now, she’d believed the world’s substance was solid and objective.
But that certainty had just crumbled in an instant.
Still not entirely convinced, Meng Bai reached out and prodded Miao Bai’s arm with a finger.
“Ow. Definitely not a dream.”
Uncertain, she spun in place to confirm. Yes—she was truly outside the house.
“I-I-I—” Meng Bai scratched her head, then exhaled steadily. “Right. I should’ve been prepared for something like this.”
It had all started the day she met Miao Bai.
Everything had changed from then on.
Yes, from the moment she’d accepted Miao Bai, she should have seen this coming.
So even though it felt unbelievable now—even alien and frightening—Meng Bai wasn’t one to shrink back. This was Miao Bai.
This was a part of her.
The two of them stood outside for a little longer until Meng Bai had fully steadied herself.
“So, what’s next?” She turned to Miao Bai, her eyes alight with anticipation. “You said we’re going somewhere beyond the Small Town.”
“That’s right.” Miao Bai met her gaze, amusement shimmering in her eyes. “But first—are you afraid of heights?”
“How high?”
“Higher than you can imagine.” Miao Bai teased her competitive streak on purpose. “We can skip it if you’re scared, though.”
“I’m not scared!” Meng Bai clenched her teeth, though inwardly she wasn’t so sure. “Not if you’re with me.”
“Then close your eyes.”
Obediently, Meng Bai shut her eyes again. This time, though, she was mentally prepared.
Where was Miao Bai taking her?
As her feet lifted off the ground once more, Meng Bai seized Miao Bai’s hand in a death grip.
She heard the whisper of wind through her hair, like a soft song brushing kisses against her tender ears.
She caught the fresh, grassy scent of open fields.
She seemed to graze the leaves of some passing tree.
Upward, ever upward, carrying the faint aroma of dusk wildflowers after burning.
“Miao—Miao Bai—”
“Hm?”
“I want to open my eyes.”
“Go ahead.”
Meng Bai opened her eyes slowly. As her vision sharpened, the world unfolded into a vast, sprawling map.
Even the drab little Small Town looked vivid and full of life.
Dark green fields, squat houses, twisting paths, sparkling ponds—all laid out like a watercolor painting. It all shrank away rapidly, dwindling to the size of her palm.
Meng Bai’s grip on Miao Bai’s hand tightened. Fear gripped her; she was too terrified to even blink.
“Relax.”
The vertigo was overwhelming—nothing but void beneath her feet. Cowardice won out in the end. “Wuwuwu, Miao Bai, hold on tight! I’m so scared I’ll fall!”
A drop from this height would splatter her like ground meat.
A soft snort escaped Miao Bai, a smile finally breaking across her face. “But I have to let go now.”
“No!!! What happens to me if you let go?! I’ll die!!!” Meng Bai latched onto Miao Bai’s arm with desperate ferocity.
Miao Bai was her lifeline.
“It’s okay.”
“Not okay, not okay! Hug you—let me hug you!” Meng Bai flailed at empty air, her feet kicking uselessly.
The scenery was lost on her. All she cared about was clinging to Miao Bai.
It was as if holding Miao Bai meant holding onto life itself.
Her mind locked onto that single thought: grip Miao Bai, or die.
Somehow, she found Miao Bai’s other hand. She pressed herself close, wrapping her arms around Miao Bai’s waist in a vise. Survival instinct surged as she burrowed into Miao Bai’s embrace, hooking her hands around her neck. Their bodies met in seamless, clinging contact.
She’d never dreamed her first such intimate touch with Miao Bai would happen here—in the sky.
Amid the howling wind, beneath the deepening night.
Her ear pressed to Miao Bai’s chest, her own heartbeat thundering as high as the moon.
Miao Bai smelled so good, felt so warm and safe. Only in her arms did the fear recede.
Miao Bai didn’t push her away. She let Meng Bai hold on.
“Let me cling for a bit longer, or I’ll be scared.”
Miao Bai patted her shoulder gently, soothing her like a frightened child. “Relax. Truth is, you could float on your own without me.”
“No, no, no—I don’t believe it! I’m scared! Don’t let go!” Her hold only tightened.
“Trust me.” Miao Bai gave her shoulder another light pat. “Weren’t you the one who just said you weren’t afraid?”
“That doesn’t count from earlier.” Meng Bai burrowed a little deeper into Miao Bai’s embrace, her cheek unconsciously pressing against Miao Bai’s neck.
The side of her face brushed gently against Miao Bai’s neck once more.
This was probably the first time Meng Bai had any real awareness of Miao Bai’s skin.
The smooth texture, a faint and delicate fragrance drifting into her nostrils—it smelled wonderful.
Meng Bai suddenly realized how peculiar this sensation was.
She rarely had physical contact with anyone else, yet now she felt restless without it. After clinging for a moment, she grew a bit embarrassed.
She shifted away slightly and asked softly, “Where are we going?”
“You’ll find out soon enough once we arrive.” Miao Bai’s clear, resonant voice glided past her ear. “Are you sure you don’t want to try flying on your own?”
“Mm, let’s give it a try.” Meng Bai seemed to be gradually growing accustomed to this sense of losing control. She tentatively released one hand, testing her balance.
It was manageable, well within tolerable limits.
Then she let go with the other hand too.
Cautiously, in the instant she fully detached from Miao Bai’s body, Meng Bai discovered—
Nothing happened.
She floated steadily in the sky.
The vast expanse of night resembled a enormous deep-blue swimming pool. The only difference was that this pool held no water, only clouds.
But everything felt utterly free.
Free enough that a gentle kick of her legs sent her drifting upward, and a simple stretch of her hand let her seize a cloud.
“I think I grabbed a cloud!!!” Even if it looked like she was grasping at thin air.
Uncontainable delight bloomed across Meng Bai’s face. She looked down at Miao Bai and saw her staring back without blinking.
“How do I get down?”
“Push upward with your palm.”
“Oh!” Meng Bai followed Miao Bai’s instructions, and sure enough, she descended smoothly.
How fun.
Meng Bai swore this was the most fascinating experience of her life so far. It would have been such a shame if she’d never met Miao Bai.
The words burst out of her irrepressibly: “Miao Bai, you’re a goddess!”
The wind lifted Miao Bai’s hair, a few stray strands framing her clean and beautiful features. Beneath the night sky, the cool aura radiating from Miao Bai seemed to thicken, distant and untouchable.
“I’m not a goddess.”
Those words bridged the gap between them once more.
“You are.” Meng Bai stared at her, her gaze entranced. She extended her hand, her palm clenched into a fist. “Here, for you.”
“What?”
“The cloud I just picked.”
Miao Bai paused for a moment, then opened her palm. Their palms touched.
Warmth met coolness, their temperatures mingling.
“Hold on tight, or it’ll slip away.”
Amused, Miao Bai smiled. “Mm, I’ve got it.”
Meng Bai pulled her hand back, but her eyes stayed fixed on Miao Bai.
She wondered what manner of wondrous being had brought this person into her otherwise dull and monotonous days.
“Miao Bai, when we head back later, I’ll pick stars for you.”
Miao Bai’s lips curved upward. “Stars are awfully high up.”
“No worries. If they’re high, I’ll go even higher to get them for you.”
The wind whistled past their ears, and Miao Bai fell silent.
The somber night had only the moon for company.
After a while, Meng Bai drifted closer to Miao Bai and struck up conversation. “Miao Bai, this is odd—I’m starting to feel hungry. Does flying take that much energy?”
“Perhaps you simply didn’t eat enough at dinner. What would you like?”
“Anything’s fine.” Meng Bai pointed toward the ground. “It’s so bright down there.”
A broad avenue stretched out below, lined with dazzling streetlights and steaming food stalls—a scene a thousand times more vibrant than the Small Town.
“That’s the city. You’ll head to places like that when you start university—lit up all night, bustling like nowhere else, full of everything imaginable and beyond. New wonders every single day.”
Joy flickered in Meng Bai’s eyes, only to fade as a thought struck her. She turned to Miao Bai. “And you? After I go to university, will you stay in the Small Town forever?”
“I’m not sure.” Miao Bai’s reply was vague; she swiftly changed the subject. “Is there anything you’ve never tried eating?”
Meng Bai smiled, a touch of embarrassment in her expression. “Can I say I’ve barely eaten anything at all? The best thing I’ve ever had is braised pork.”
Miao Bai nodded, her lips quirking up as if pleased with the answer. “I know.”
“Then why ask?” Meng Bai noticed how Miao Bai loved posing questions whose answers she already knew.
“Of course I had to ask. I’ll get you every one of them later.”
Meng Bai’s heart gave a heavy thud, her voice uncertain. “Every one? What do you mean?”
“Every one means—” Miao Bai reached out and took her hand, guiding her in a gentle descent toward the city. “Everything you’ve never tried, everything you want—we’ll eat it all.”
