Chapter 107
Lou Mi and Chi Lin went surfing together.
Xie Buyu, who had gone surfing with Lou Mi a few years ago, remembered Lou Mi’s initial clumsiness, fearlessly charging into the waves despite being a complete beginner.
After a few tumbles and mouthfuls of seawater, she was riding the waves like a pro.
Lou Mi was impressive, but Chi Lin was on another level.
Xie Buyu was demonstrating a technique when she saw a figure flash past her. It was Chi Lin.
Chi Lin even had the time to ask, “Sister Buyu, is this how you do it?”
Xie Buyu, stunned, was immediately wiped out by a wave.
Emerging from the water, she saw Chi Lin gliding effortlessly on the waves, with Lou Mi, whooping excitedly, right behind her.
Xie Buyu shook her head: “What a power couple…”
Chi Lin quickly fell in love with surfing, showing no signs of fatigue even after two hours.
Xie Buyu and Fu Tu, exhausted, collapsed on the beach, watching as Lou Mi and Chi Lin went for a ride on mini water planes.
The two soared into the sky, becoming tiny specks in the distance, alarming the instructor:
“They’re going too far! These ladies are fearless…”
If the mini planes had more powerful engines, they might have flown into space.
After the planes, they went diving.
Diving had become much easier with modern technology. After a brief lesson from the instructor, Chi Lin and Lou Mi dived into the water.
Chi Lin had dived before, but without any equipment, usually to escape or pursue someone.
This time, she was completely relaxed, diving for pure enjoyment, to experience a different world.
Lou Mi, wearing a full-face mask, swam ahead, holding Chi Lin’s hand and occasionally pointing out interesting fish.
They could communicate underwater through their masks.
Chi Lin was mesmerized by the underwater world.
As they descended, the light dimmed, and the scenery became even more surreal.
The breathtaking beauty filled Chi Lin with both excitement and a sense of awe.
Lou Mi, having played “Primeval Trails” and collected all the underwater creatures, could identify most of the fish they saw and explained them to Chi Lin.
Chi Lin, holding Lou Mi’s hand tightly, her smile evident even through the mask, was thoroughly enjoying herself.
When they finally returned to shore, Chi Lin was slightly tired.
They lay on the beach, watching the sunset. Lou Mi asked:
“Do you like this world?”
Chi Lin nodded: “It’s far more wonderful than I imagined.”
“Do you like this world, or do you like me?” Lou Mi pouted.
“Your Majesty gets jealous so easily…”
“I don’t care, think carefully before answering.”
Chi Lin didn’t hesitate. She caressed Lou Mi’s chin and kissed her:
“I like any world where Your Majesty is.”
The sea breeze picked up, but the heat of their kiss intensified.
***
Lin Xiaozhi had booked a beach barbecue that evening, as a thank you for Lou Mi, Xie Buyu, and Fu Tu.
Xie Buyu and Fu Tu went back to shower and change, while Lou Mi and Chi Lin relaxed in the hot spring before returning to their room.
They hadn’t seen Lin Xiaozhi and Wei Zhuoning all day. Lou Mi said to Chi Lin:
“Seeing Xiao Lin and Xiao Wei so lovey-dovey, I’m relieved.”
As they entered the elevator, wrapped in bath towels, Chi Lin said, exasperated:
“What goes on in Your Majesty’s mind sometimes?”
Lou Mi: “You, of course. How can you say you’re something ‘random’?”
Chi Lin, momentarily speechless, couldn’t retort.
Ancient people were truly lacking in this area.
Lou Mi, smug, continued to tease her until Chi Lin frowned, then she hugged her and kissed her cheek.
If they showered separately, it would have taken them half an hour.
But together, they lingered in the bathroom for over an hour, Lou Mi reluctant to let Chi Lin go.
If it weren’t for Chi Lin’s exhaustion and their dinner appointment, they might have stayed even longer.
“Tired?” Lou Mi, looking at Chi Lin’s flushed skin, kissed her forehead. “We should go, everyone is waiting.”
Lou Mi vowed to find a deserted island for their next vacation, just the two of them, with no other distractions.
As Chi Lin was getting out of the bathtub, Lou Mi noticed her slight unsteadiness and quickly helped her.
“Are you okay? What’s wrong? Did we stay in too long?”
Chi Lin, a martial arts expert, usually full of energy, was surprisingly weak.
They had been physically active all day, and then Lou Mi’s enthusiastic… activities in the bathroom had taken their toll. Chi Lin felt slightly dizzy from the hot water, but seeing Lou Mi’s excitement, she hadn’t wanted to stop her.
Besides…
Chi Lin had noticed that her soul was affecting this body.
Her original body was strong and resilient, a formidable force on the battlefield.
She could ride for days without tiring, but after being intimate with Her Majesty, her energy would quickly deplete.
They had even discussed it before.
Her Majesty had said seriously, “It must be because Lin Jie’s love for me is so strong, one kiss from you is more powerful than a thousand soldiers.”
Remembering Her Majesty’s words, Chi Lin smiled.
Her Majesty’s unique logic, even across time and different bodies, remained the same.
As they reached the lobby, they ran into Xu Youyuan and her family.
Xu Youyuan and Shi Yue were talking and didn’t notice them at first, but Little Twelve suddenly stopped, her face flushed, her eyes fixed on someone.
“Ah,” Little Seven also stopped Xu Youyuan, pointing at Chi Lin. “Look, it’s Little Sister’s crush.”
“Shut up!” Twelve wanted to throw her diving mask at Seven’s face.
Seven, watching Lou Mi and Chi Lin’s affectionate embrace, said to Twelve:
“Your crush hasn’t even started, and it’s already over.”
Twelve stared at Chi Lin, frozen.
Chi Lin was smiling at Lou Mi, listening attentively to every word she said, her eyes crinkling with laughter.
And when Lou Mi frowned or pouted, Chi Lin’s expression would turn serious, and she would pull Lou Mi closer, talking and explaining until Lou Mi smiled again.
Twelve was mesmerized.
Xu Youyuan and Shi Yue also noticed their affectionate display.
They exchanged glances, and Shi Yue tapped Twelve’s head:
“See? Those two big sisters are so in love, just like me and your Big Mom. Forget about her, find someone else.”
Twelve blushed and looked down. Shi Yue, knowing her daughter well, expected a tantrum.
But Twelve remained silent and walked away.
Everyone was surprised.
“She’s really heartbroken,” Xu Youyuan whispered to Shi Yue.
Shi Yue nodded: “I understand.”
Xu Youyuan: “?”
“Years ago, when I heard you were getting married, I felt exactly like Little Twelve. My poor daughter, following in my footsteps.”
Xu Youyuan: “…”
Sensing danger, she quickly changed the subject.
Shi Yue: “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Do I dare? One word from me, and you’ll have a hundred ready.”
“A hundred? I haven’t even said anything yet, why are you so nervous?”
“…”
See, there’s the first one.
“Besides, I’m just telling the truth. The day you married your ex-wife wasn’t just your anniversary, it was also the anniversary of my first drink, my first time getting drunk, and my first time crying myself to sleep.”
“Crying yourself to sleep…” Xu Youyuan thought Shi Yue was exaggerating, but seeing the glint in her eyes, the lingering sadness, she didn’t tease her.
“It’s true.” Shi Yue sighed dramatically, reminiscing. “You have no idea how many tears I’ve shed for you.”
So, she was using this as an opportunity to flirt.
“Xu Youyuan, tell me, how can you not pamper me after all I’ve been through? Look at that young couple, so in love. When was the last time you looked at me like that?”
Xu Youyuan protested: “I always look at you, I respond to everything you say! You’re being unfair!”
“Really?” Shi Yue leaned against her. “I don’t think it’s sincere enough.”
“Then how can I be more sincere…”
“I’ll teach you tonight.”
Little Seven, her skin crawling from their PDA, couldn’t take it anymore.
She had endured this her entire life, her mothers’ constant displays of affection, but it still made her cringe.
She pulled away from Xu Youyuan and went after her sister.
“Where are you going? Come back!” Xu Youyuan, trying to support Shi Yue, who was practically clinging to her, called after Little Seven.
“Don’t worry, I’m going to find Twelve, we’ll stay in the hotel!” Little Seven said. “Just give us some space.”
Shi Yue also said, “Let them have some sister time. Little Twelve doesn’t want to see us right now. I was like that too when I was younger, always fighting with my sister, but I only shared my secrets with her, not my parents.”
“Fine…” Xu Youyuan was still worried. “Shouldn’t we check on them?”
Shi Yue kissed her: “They’re growing up, we can’t watch over them forever. When we’re gone, they’ll only have each other. They need to bond, to create shared memories.”
Xu Youyuan, an only child, sighed: “It’s nice to have siblings.”
Little Seven followed her sister, who was trailing Lou Mi and Chi Lin towards the hotel’s private beach.
It was a barbecue area, and Seven, having been interested in hotel management and having studied the hotel’s layout, knew about it.
Lou Mi and Chi Lin entered, but Twelve, without a reservation, was stopped at the entrance.
Seven took out her phone, logged into the hotel’s internal system, hacked the reservation system, and, pulling Twelve with her, approached the entrance again. The AI scanned their faces and let them through.
“Why are you following me? To laugh at me?” Twelve asked.
“You’re welcome, you couldn’t have gotten in without me.”
Twelve was about to retort when Seven shushed her, pulling her towards the bushes, hiding and watching Chi Lin.
When Chi Lin and Lou Mi arrived, Xie Buyu, Fu Tu, Lin Xiaozhi, and Wei Zhuoning were already there.
No one commented on their late arrival, but Xie Buyu looked at them with a suggestive smirk:
“Well, well, a shower that lasted over an hour, our Sister Mi is truly something.”
Lou Mi, holding a skewer of chicken wings, pointed the sharp end at Xie Buyu:
“Say that again, and you’ll taste my fiery chicken wings.”
“Bring it on, I’ll eat as many as you can throw at me!”
Lou Mi and Xie Buyu’s bickering made everyone laugh.
As Xie Buyu used her cleavage to catch a chicken wing Lou Mi tossed at her, Wei Zhuoning choked on her cola, coughing and sputtering. Lin Xiaozhi quickly patted her back.
Xie Buyu, pointing to the slightly reddened skin on her chest, complained:
“There are minors present! Have some decency! Look, it’s all red!”
Lou Mi: “I’ll give you another one, so it’s symmetrical.”
Lou Mi’s aim, both in the game and in real life, was impeccable. Xie Buyu, not daring to risk another chicken wing to the chest, ran away.
Chi Lin laughed, clapping when Lou Mi had the upper hand, and stepping in to defend her when she was being bullied.
Although they were just playing around, Chi Lin’s protectiveness of Lou Mi was clear.
Even in jest, she never sided against Lou Mi.
Little Twelve observed everything.
Little Seven, glancing back at her sister, handed her a handkerchief.
Five minutes later, she looked back again; the handkerchief was soaked.
“Sigh.” Seven wiped her sister’s tears with her sleeve.
“That’s HighTowerMiyuki, you know,” Seven said. “The captain of Nine Heavens. I heard your Young Master Lin joined the team because of her. They’re very close, they often interact online.”
Twelve nodded: “I know.”
“So…” Seven traced patterns in the sand with her finger, struggling to find the right words. She was usually quick-witted, but now, she was at a loss.
“So, I’ll just cry for a bit.” Twelve hugged her knees. “Don’t tell Mom and Big Mom.”
“Okay,” Seven said. “It’s our little secret.”
After a moment of silence, Twelve asked, “Can I lean on your shoulder?”
Seven immediately sat up straight, like a knight protecting a princess: “Come here!”
Twelve leaned against her, still watching Chi Lin.
“She looks happy,” Twelve said. “Being with the person you love must be wonderful.”
“Of course, look at our moms, they’ve been married for so many years, and they’re still so affectionate, they must be very happy.”
“Yeah,” Twelve said, “the happiness I can’t give her, if she can find it with someone else, that’s good too…”
Seven: “…”
Twelve: “Are you laughing?”
Seven: “No, no, I’m not.”
Twelve sat up abruptly: “You’re definitely laughing!”
Seven held her hand: “I’m sorry, Little Sister, don’t be angry. I just think you’re adorable.”
“You’re laughing at me!” Twelve trembled with anger.
“Well, yes, you’re being silly, trying to act all deep and mature.” Seven, surprisingly, told the truth.
Twelve felt like her head was about to explode. She stood up and walked away.
Seven quickly followed: “Are you angry?”
“Go away!”
“Good.”
“??”
“If you’re angry, you won’t cry anymore.”
“…So you were deliberately trying to make me angry?”
Seven held her hand, and they stood by the pool. Seven said:
“If you’re still upset, you can hit me, I won’t run away. Or you can push me into the pool, that should make you feel better.”
The twins had been bickering their entire lives, a daily ritual.
Seven was especially skilled at annoying her sister.
Other people’s older sisters were caring and protective.
Hers? Only knew how to bully her.
Twelve thought they would never get along.
To Twelve, her sister was a demon, a demon with an angel’s face!
And now, this demon was offering herself as a punching bag…
“Why would I hit you? You didn’t make me angry.” Twelve, slightly touched, blushed, her voice softening.
“It wasn’t me?” Seven hugged her. “Okay, I wasn’t laughing at you, I really thought you were cute. I didn’t realize I had such an adorable little sister, why didn’t I notice before?”
Twelve couldn’t remember her sister ever hugging her like this, her heart had never pounded this hard.
Seven wiped away her tears:
“Let’s go back, I’ll buy you ice cream.”
“Okay!”
Twelve, holding her sister’s hand, felt safe and secure, forgetting all about her “first love,” forgetting why she had come here, only thinking about the ice cream.
Hearing the door open, Xu Youyuan almost kicked Shi Yue out of bed, but Shi Yue quickly grabbed her leg.
“Don’t be so paranoid, we’re legally married, what are you nervous about? And I locked the door, those little devils can’t get in.”
Just then, they heard a click, the sound of the lock being disengaged.
Xu Youyuan’s face turned green, and Shi Yue, with a swift 180-degree turn, dove under the covers.
Little Seven peeked in, seeing Xu Youyuan pretending to sleep. Shi Yue glared at her:
“What are you doing?!”
“Sorry to disturb you, but can you unlock the parental controls? I want to buy some ebooks.”
Shi Yue’s eyes narrowed: “You can write virus programs, and you need me to unlock the parental controls?”
Seven, realizing her mistake: “You’re right, Mommy. Carry on.”
As Seven closed the door, Xu Youyuan, almost suffocating under the covers, threw them off:
“Sometimes, I can’t tell if they’re geniuses or idiots.”
“Geniuses like me,” Shi Yue said. “Idiots like you.”
Xu Youyuan was about to retaliate when the door opened again, and Little Twelve asked:
“I bought ice cream, do you want some?”
Xu Youyuan and Shi Yue both dove back under the covers and yelled, “No!”
Little Twelve: “…”
The beach barbecue, with its accompanying drinks, had everyone slightly tipsy and chatty.
Xie Buyu was particularly interested in Lin Xiaozhi and Wei Zhuoning’s relationship. She had tried to pry information from Lin Xiaozhi, but she was tight-lipped.
Wei Zhuoning, however, was easier to tease, readily spilling the details of their relationship history.
“So you two have been flirting since middle school.” Xie Buyu looked at the stars and sighed. “Kids these days are so precocious, I was still playing with mud back then.”
Wei Zhuoning, embarrassed by sharing her and Lin Xiaozhi’s story for the first time, glanced at Lin Xiaozhi, who was scrolling through her phone with a blank expression, occasionally showing something to Chi Lin.
Their expressions grew serious, and Wei Zhuoning couldn’t help but ask:
“What are you looking at?”
Lin Xiaozhi said, “Apparently, there was another country in history where a woman was emperor.”
“Really?”
“Yes, after Lin’s Danzhou opera documentary aired, some netizens found traces of a country called ‘Yuan.’ It even caught the attention of some historians, who confirmed its existence.” Lin Xiaozhi patted Chi Lin’s arm. “Lin, you’re a hero!”
Lou Mi, hearing this, looked at Chi Lin in surprise.
Chi Lin, still looking at Lin Xiaozhi’s phone, didn’t respond immediately.
Wei Zhuoning: “That’s serious.”
“Leave the serious stuff to the scholars.” Lin Xiaozhi grinned mischievously. “Come here, I’ll show you something you’ll like.”
Wei Zhuoning, confused, leaned closer and her eyes widened.
Wow.
Empress x Princess CP, Empress x Empress Dowager CP, Empress x Palace Maid CP…
Fanfiction already? These authors were fast!
And “Empress as the dominant one” was definitely Wei Zhuoning’s favorite trope.
She scrolled through Lin Xiaozhi’s phone, her excitement growing, already imagining writing her own story.
“This is amazing…” Wei Zhuoning blushed. “Empress and Princess is such a great pairing!”
As Lin Xiaozhi and Wei Zhuoning gushed over the fanfiction, Chi Lin leaned in:
“Isn’t Empress and Minister a good pairing too?”
“??”
“Or Empress and General?”
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