Chapter 95 p1
Chi Lin lowered her head, silent.
Lou Mi knew she was heartbroken.
She imagined how she would feel if all her chat logs with Chi Lin were deleted, with no backups. She would probably cry for days.
But Chi Lin was injured and drenched; she couldn’t stay in the bathroom any longer. What was done was done; Lou Mi had to focus on what came next.
“Little Lin, come here.” Lou Mi carefully folded the damaged letters and gathered the other items, then returned to help Chi Lin. “Let’s go inside and change your clothes. Can you stand?”
“Mm…” Chi Lin wrapped her arms around Lou Mi’s neck and, with her help, stood up, slowly making her way to the sofa in the bedroom.
Lou Mi had already laid a blanket on the sofa and started to help Chi Lin out of her wet clothes.
“Sister,” Chi Lin whispered, “I can do it myself.”
“You’re injured, you can barely stand, don’t strain yourself. Or do you not want me to see?”
“No…”
“Then let me help. Sit down.”
Lou Mi sat beside Chi Lin and dried her hair, pinning it up with a clip so it wouldn’t get in the way.
She carefully unbuttoned Chi Lin’s shirt and helped her into a dry, comfortable pajama top.
Throughout the process, Lou Mi was attentive and gentle, her gaze fixed on Chi Lin’s face, avoiding looking elsewhere to spare her any embarrassment.
After changing her top, it was time for the pajama pants, which meant changing her underwear first.
“Take them off?”
“…I’ll do it myself.”
“Okay.”
Lou Mi left her to it and went to fetch a clean pair of underwear.
As she opened Chi Lin’s closet, she heard a rustling sound from the sofa.
Giving Chi Lin ample time, Lou Mi lingered in front of the closet, taking the opportunity to examine its contents.
Just as she imagined, it was clean and organized, every item neatly folded or hung, meticulous.
A faint fragrance lingered, not like perfume, but a blend of flowers and herbs.
“Where do you keep your underwear? In the drawer?” Lou Mi asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m opening it.”
“Okay.”
Her heart pounding with anticipation, Lou Mi carefully opened the drawer.
Just like Chi Lin’s outer appearance, her underwear was simple and elegant.
But some of the lace and frills were incredibly cute…
And the little flowers and hearts, a completely girlish style.
Lou Mi felt a bit dizzy from the cuteness and pinched herself to stay focused.
“I’ll just grab one.”
Chi Lin mumbled a response. Lou Mi turned around and saw that Chi Lin had pulled the blanket from the bed and covered herself with it.
Lou Mi wondered, was this Chi Lin’s usual modesty, or was it because she was back in her modern body, no longer Her Majesty, creating a distance between them?
In Dayuan, Chi Lin had embraced her so tightly…
“Thank you.” Chi Lin reached for the underwear.
“I’ll help you.” Lou Mi, feeling a twinge of annoyance, seeing how much effort every movement cost Chi Lin, insisted on helping her.
“Come on,” Lou Mi had Chi Lin lean against the armrest. “Lift your hips a little.”
Reaching under the blanket, Lou Mi knelt on the sofa, one leg supporting her weight.
She leaned forward, their faces close.
Chi Lin, having exhausted her remaining energy getting undressed and pulling the blanket over herself, struggled to lift her hips.
Lou Mi, seeing her struggle, took one side of the underwear, and they both lifted it together. Lou Mi placed her other hand under Chi Lin’s back, supporting her.
The entire process happened under the blanket, completely hidden.
Finally changed, Chi Lin was drenched in sweat.
As Lou Mi helped her with her pajama pants, she said worriedly, “Let’s go to the hospital, you’re injured, you need to get checked.”
Chi Lin shook her head and, after catching her breath, said, “It’s probably not related to this body, it’s the injuries from jumping off the cliff, they affected my soul. Modern medicine probably can’t detect soul injuries. If they could, that would be even more frightening.”
“But you can’t just endure it, I…” Lou Mi wanted to say she couldn’t bear to see her suffer, but the words caught in her throat.
Chi Lin, her attention partly focused on the pain, still noticed Lou Mi’s subtle change in behavior and expression, and she understood why Lou Mi was suddenly distant.
“I’m always like this.”
Lou Mi looked at her, confused.
“Even when we’re intimate, I’m still a bit… reserved.”
Lou Mi understood; Chi Lin was referring to her insistence on changing her own underwear.
Lou Mi realized how easily she was appeased, just these few words made her feel better.
She tried to persuade Chi Lin again, but Chi Lin refused to go to the hospital.
She was afraid the doctors would discover her unusual soul-body situation.
Lou Mi thought she was overthinking it: “Modern medicine might be advanced, but they can’t detect that. Don’t be stubborn, let’s go.”
“But this body has no external injuries, they’ll just take some scans. If they find something, I’ll be taken away, and if they don’t, it’s just a waste of time. I’ll be fine in a few days, don’t worry.”
“How can I not worry…”
Chi Lin smiled and caressed Lou Mi’s cheek: “I’m very strong, these minor injuries will heal after a good night’s sleep. Are you alright, though? Were you scared?”
“It was nothing.” Lou Mi smiled faintly.
She could no longer see Chi Lin as her “little sister.”
Chi Lin’s true form kept appearing in her mind; every time she saw the moles under Chi Lin’s eyes, she would remember her true appearance.
Around Chi Lin, she couldn’t help but feel a bit shy.
Lou Mi poured them two cups of tea. Chi Lin drank her tea while Lou Mi sat on the floor, spreading out the wet letters.
“Is there any way to save them?” Chi Lin asked, suddenly alert.
In her time, ink bleeding to this extent meant the letters were beyond saving.
But perhaps modern technology had a solution!
Lou Mi searched on her phone for a while, then, pursing her lips, said seriously:
“I wish I had better news, but from my experience, this kind of damage is irreversible. I’ll ask around and see if there’s a way to restore them. I know how important Her Majesty’s letters are to you, I’ll do my best to recover them.”
Chi Lin got off the sofa and sat beside her on the floor.
“Hey, what are you doing, don’t move.”
Chi Lin insisted on sitting with her and held her hand.
“You returning to Her Majesty’s body is the best proof, you are Her Majesty, you are the same person, I’ve found you. I only went to retrieve the letters to trigger your memories. Now that you remember, the letters… although it’s a pity, it’s not a big deal. Regaining your memories is what matters most.”
Chi Lin, despite her obvious heartbreak, comforted Lou Mi.
Lou Mi took a deep breath. She couldn’t hide it any longer.
“Little Lin, there’s something I have to tell you.”
Chi Lin looked at her, slightly nervous: “What is it?”
“In Dayuan, I did remember some things. But now… after returning, I don’t know why, but I’ve forgotten everything.”
“Everything?!”
“Yes.” Lou Mi looked at Chi Lin honestly. “I only remember that I remembered something, but the actual events are blurry, like these letters. I have some vague impressions, but I can’t recall any details.”
Chi Lin stared at her silently, speechless.
Seeing her disappointment, Lou Mi chuckled self-deprecatingly:
“You retained some memories when you switched bodies, maybe I just happened to have some connection to your Majesty, or maybe it was proximity? That’s why I entered her body. Perhaps I’m not your Majesty, not your wife, not the person you’re looking for.”
Lou Mi had always been confident, achieving almost everything she set her mind to.
Her smooth-sailing life had shaped her into who she was.
But after meeting Chi Lin, she finally understood that there was a kind of love she couldn’t overcome, a love that transcended lifetimes.
Who was Chi Lin’s past life lover? The Empress, the first female emperor.
How extraordinary must this Empress have been to rise from princess to emperor?
It wasn’t something achieved through mere words or gestures.
She must have been a decisive, intelligent, and charismatic leader, someone worth following to the death.
Even a multi-talented genius like Chi Lin was devoted to her, risking her life to travel through time for her. Her Majesty must have been exceptional.
Lou Mi probably couldn’t compare.
She had seen the devastation on Chi Lin’s face when the letters were ruined.
She had thought she could finally confirm her identity, only to forget everything again.
It was a crushing blow.
Perhaps this was fate.
After saying this, Lou Mi continued to spread out the letters.
“Should we try putting them in the fridge? I think I saw somewhere that it might help restore wrinkled paper. But the ink…” Lou Mi coughed. “We can try tracing the words. Hey, some of them are still legible. If you don’t mind my mediocre brush calligraphy, I can trace them for you? We can salvage whatever we can. I’m starving, do you want something to eat? I’ll make something. Oh, we can also ask your Mr. System if there’s a way to restore them. I’ve been spending too much time with you, I almost forgot about technology.”
Lou Mi, rambling and chuckling to herself, pulled her hand away from Chi Lin’s and stood up, heading towards the kitchen.
After taking a few steps, Chi Lin hugged her from behind.
Chi Lin was still unsteady, and her embrace made Lou Mi stumble.
Lou Mi said anxiously, “Don’t move, your injuries…”
Chi Lin’s embrace was tight, so tight that Lou Mi couldn’t turn around.
“Little Lin?”
Chi Lin buried her face in Lou Mi’s back, her arms wrapped tightly around her. After a long pause, she finally spoke, her voice choked with emotion:
“Don’t go.”
These two words, spoken with such vulnerability, almost brought tears to Lou Mi’s eyes.
“I’m not going, I’m just getting us something to eat, I…”
Chi Lin still wouldn’t let go. Lou Mi, losing her balance, stumbled, and they both fell onto the carpet.
“Are you alright?!” Lou Mi shielded Chi Lin, surprised by her recklessness, so unlike her usual cautious self.
Chi Lin, sitting on Lou Mi’s stomach, gripped her hands tightly, afraid she would leave, her eyes bloodshot.
“I love you,” Chi Lin said, looking into Lou Mi’s eyes, her voice filled with urgency and conviction. “No matter who you are.”
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