I raised stunning young ladies, but they all wanted to possess me.

Gu Yan looked up, about to explain something, but saw that she was smiling.

It wasn't the usual faint smile that barely curves the corners of the mouth before disappearing, but a genuine, heartfelt smile that made even the eyes crinkle into crescent moons.

Moonlight shone on her exquisitely sculpted profile, reflecting sparse starlight and his slightly disheveled coughing posture in her deep brown pupils.

She was laughing at him, but there was no mockery in that smile, only pure joy.

It's like a flower that shouldn't belong to this season suddenly blooming on this land that has been ravaged by war for several months.

Looking at her smile, Gu Yan swallowed back the explanation she had prepared.

Oh well, getting a slap in the face for a laugh from her is worth it.

After coming down from Tokyo Tower, Gu Yan escorted Yuzuru back to the command post.

She still had the final details of the evacuation plan to be finalized. Before leaving, she quickly pinched his fingers at the corner of the corridor, then casually pushed open the door and went into the conference room.

Gu Yan walked back along the underground corridor of the fortress. When she reached the entrance of the officers' apartment area, she saw Pei Youyi standing in front of the vending machine at the end of the corridor.

She changed back into that moon-white cheongsam, with a light gray cardigan draped over it, and her hair was still loosely tied back with that jade hairpin.

She bent down and took out two cans of hot coffee from the retrieval slot. She turned around and saw Gu Yan, paused for a moment, and then smiled.

"Just got back from outside?"

Gu Yan nodded.

Pei Youyi didn't ask him where he went or who he was with. She simply walked up to him and placed one of the cans of hot coffee into his palm.

Her fingers paused when they touched his palm, then withdrew, pulled the tab on her coffee can, and leaned against the corridor wall, sipping it slowly.

"During the meeting just now, everyone was looking at Ms. Chiyomiya."

"She nodded, and everyone began discussing the details of the evacuation."

No one asked her even once, "Are you alright?"

"She is the chief priestess of the Sakura Kingdom and the supreme commander of the Eastern War Zone. Nobody thinks she needs to be asked this question."

She turned to look at Gu Yan.

"But you took her out."

"Her ears were still a little red when she came back, so she must have been laughing."

"In all the time I've known her, I've never seen her smile outside of meetings."

"You did the right thing."

Gu Yan held the still-warm can of coffee and remained silent for a while.

"She grew up here. The Chiyomiya family's ancestral home, spiritual spring, and sealing array are all in Kyoto."

"She nodded, and that was it."

Pei Youyi listened quietly and said that some things cannot be measured by land.

"What that child cares about now is probably not that piece of land anymore."

After saying that, she carried her coffee and walked towards the other end of the corridor. Her high heels made a crisp and even sound on the alloy floor. She paused when she reached the corner, without looking back.

"I'll stay by your side during the retreat."

"No matter what happens, this time I won't leave you alone behind."

Gu Yan returned to his room and found Lin Jinyu leaning against the door frame.

She changed her combat uniform into that oversized white shirt, her long golden hair cascading over her shoulders, the ends slightly curled, still carrying the dampness of not being completely dry after her shower.

She saw him walk over from the other end of the corridor, and without saying a word, she simply moved aside to make room for him to open the door.

He opened the door and let Lin Jinyu go in and sit down first, but she didn't go to the bedside. Instead, she went to the window and opened it.

Outside, the city lights are about to be abandoned: scattered convenience store signs, stone lanterns at the entrance of shrines, and windows in residential areas still lit up, like a galaxy gradually fading away.

"Kyoto is really beautiful."

"Whenever I come to Japan on a mission, I always take the opportunity to spend a few days here."

"There's a wagashi (Japanese sweets) shop in the old streets of Kyoto; their matcha cake is especially delicious."

"You said before that you liked to eat it, so when I first came here, I bought a piece and put it on your bedside table. But you said it was too sweet and only ate half of it."

I ate the other half myself later.

"Actually, it tastes very good, and it's not sweet."

She leaned on the windowsill, turned her head to look at Gu Yan, and smiled slightly, a hint of longing that only she knew.

"I was thinking that after the Black Tide recedes, I'll open a superpower training camp here, specifically to teach those little girls who have just awakened their superpowers how to control flames."

"Then every day after get off work I'll buy a matcha cake and bring it home to eat with you."

"You'll sit on the sofa and blow-dry my hair, tell me I'm a few minutes late again today, and I'll say it's because the line at the cake shop was too long."

"But now that Kyoto is gone, that wagashi (Japanese sweets) shop will probably be gone too."

"If it weren't for Kuroshio, I probably would already have a child with Xiaoyan."

Gu Yan coughed again, not from choking on saliva, but from being struck in the heart by the words "you have a child with Xiao Yan".

She turned her head and buried her face in his shoulder, her voice so soft it was as if she were afraid of waking something.

"Actually, I knew that the Kuroshio Current would definitely come, Kyoto would be destroyed, and there would be more battles to be fought at sea."

"But I dream occasionally."

"There was no Black Tide in my dream, you were always by my side, and I didn't wait that long."

Gu Yan didn't know what to say for a moment.

She was just leaning on the windowsill saying how beautiful Kyoto was, how delicious the matcha cake was, and how she wanted to open a special abilities training camp in Kyoto, and the next second the topic jumped to having children.

He hadn't yet recovered from the words "had a child with Xiao Yan" and was about to speak when he looked up.

Then he saw that Lin Jinyu's fingers had already gripped the top button of the white shirt, which was still barely holding on.

"Jinyu, you."

"We're retreating tomorrow anyway."

"The sea will be very busy; you'll have to defend the lines, fight calamities, and argue with commanders from various countries."

Tonight might be the last time I'm alone with you.

Her voice was soft, but she didn't hesitate as she unbuttoned her clothes.

The white shirt slipped off her shoulders and bunched up around her ankles.

She straddled his lap, cupped his face in her hands, and looked into his eyes with her golden pupils very close.

She said this time she wanted to be on top, whereas in the past he always took the lead, which she felt was unfair.

Then she lowered her head, pressed her lips to his collarbone, and gently bit him.

In the latter half of the night, she lay on his chest, her fingers tracing circles on the faint red marks below his collarbone.

Her breathing was not yet fully steady, her long golden hair was scattered on his shoulders, and a few strands of hair at the ends were damp with sweat, sticking to his skin and feeling cool.

She suddenly spoke, her voice so soft it was as if she were talking to herself.

"Actually, I used to be very scared."

"I'm even more afraid after being with you."

"I'm afraid you might suddenly disappear again one day."

"They said the Kuroshio might win, and the fifth line of defense might not hold. I thought to myself, it doesn't matter, I'll be wherever you are."

"This time I'll stay by your side and not go anywhere else."