Conquer the other worlds with abandon, they've fallen in love with me!

"Arya," Lin Yu said.

"Um."

"Look at me."

Arya raised her eyes, her eyes filled with even more tears, and fine water droplets clung to her eyelashes.

Lin Yu raised his hand and gently pressed his thumb against the corner of her eye, wiping away the tears that hadn't yet fallen.

"I bought you a dress and gave you medicine, not because I wanted you to repay me."

"Then why?"

Her voice trembled slightly. It wasn't a sobbing tone [temporarily revised], but rather the kind of trembling that came from desperately trying to hold back tears, her throat feeling tight.

She stared at Lin Yu, her eyes filled with confusion, unease, and a kind of panic she couldn't quite explain—a fear of hearing the answer, yet also a fear of not hearing it at all.

Lin Yu didn't rush to answer.

He removed his thumb from the corner of her eye and pressed his entire palm against her cheek. His palm was warm, not the lingering warmth of someone who had just soaked in a hot spring, but a warmth that emanated from his very bones, a warmth that belonged to him.

Arya's face was small in his palm, and one hand could cover most of it.

"Because I want to," Lin Yu said.

Three words. The tone was flat, as casual as saying "I've eaten today."

Arya paused for a moment.

"You needed a dress, so I bought it for you. You weren't feeling well, so I gave you medication." He gently rubbed his thumb against her cheekbone. "What reason do you need?"

"But..." Arya bit her lip, "You're always like this, doing everything for me, and I don't do anything for you..."

"Who said you didn't do anything?"

Lin Yu interrupted her. Not fiercely, but naturally, as if catching a cup she hadn't held properly.

"Who let me lie on my pillow all night without moving? Who poured me water this morning? Who picked all the cilantro out of my lunch at noon?"

Arya opened her mouth.

She wanted to say, "Those are all small things," and "Compared to what you've done, they're nothing." But Lin Yu's eyes told her that he didn't think they were small things.

"You think those things are nothing?" He seemed to see right through her.

Arya didn't say anything.

"Then what counts?" Lin Yu asked. "Does it have to involve bloodshed? Does it have to be a complete sacrifice?"

His tone was still so flat, but every word was like a small pebble, thrown into her heart one by one, creating ripples.

Arya finally couldn't hold back her tears, and one fell.

Lin Yu caught it with his thumb. The tear landed on his fingertip, warm, but was quickly dried by the warmth of his palm.

"I'm good to you because you are you," Lin Yu said. "Not because you'll repay me, nor because you deserve it. It's just because you're standing there that I want to do this."

He paused, as if considering whether or not to say what he was about to say.

He finally spoke up.

"You don't owe me anything. Do you hear me?"

Arya's nose stung terribly, and her throat felt like it was blocked by something. She wanted to say "I heard you," but the syllable was stuck in her throat. She could only nod forcefully, and tears welled up in her eyes, landing on Lin Yu's wrist.

Lin Yu removed his hand from her face and instead took her hand in his. His fingers slipped between hers, clasping tightly, palm to palm, leaving no gap.

"And also," he glanced down at their clasped hands, "if there's anything you want in the future, just tell me. Don't wait for me to guess."

Arya sniffed, her voice muffled: "...What if you don't agree?"

How do you know I won't agree if you don't tell me?

"What if?"

Lin Yu looked up at her, and finally couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.

"Then give it a try."

Arya was speechless at his words. What kind of answer was that? But her heart was beating irrationally fast, and her fingers involuntarily gripped his hand, tightening even more than he had.

Someone was playing music outside the window, far away, and she couldn't make out the melody. Only the drumbeats came through, like the metronome of her heartbeat.

"Lin Yu."

"Um."

"Don't be so nice to me in the future."

Why?

"I'm afraid that if I get used to it, I won't be able to leave."

Lin Yu tightened his grip on her hand.

"Then don't leave."

Arya shed another tear.

This time, Lin Yu didn't wipe her face. He simply pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head, one arm around her waist, and the other hand still intertwined with hers.

"Fool," he said, his voice coming down from above her head, muffled and resonant with his chest.

Arya buried her face in his chest, inhaling his clean scent mixed with the steam of the hot spring, tears streaming down her face. Yet, the corners of her mouth curved upwards, almost obscuring her eyes.

She cried for a while, then gradually stopped.

Lin Yu's shirt was slightly damp from her crying, clinging to his chest and feeling a bit cool. He didn't say anything or move, just held her there, his chin resting on the top of her head, his breathing slow and steady.

After a long while, Arya's muffled voice came from his chest.

"...Lin Yu."

"Um."

I'm hungry.

Lin Yu paused for a moment.

"Didn't you just say you were going to repay me?"

Arya lifted her face from his chest, her nose and eyes red, with tears still clinging to her eyelashes, yet she smiled triumphantly.

"You said you didn't need to repay me. You said it yourself."

Lin Yu looked at that face that was both crying and laughing, and remained silent for two seconds.

"...Let's go eat."