Author's Note: I recommend hearing Yurisa's cover of Kataomoi too to fit the mood of this chapter. I can't link two videos, so *shrug*.

Hearing her impassioned confession, again and again, Xue had already felt his mind going blank. 

It had to be a dream. 

It had to be. 

Even if the beautiful raven-haired woman insisted that it wasn’t. 

Even when he gingerly placed his hand over hers, that was caressing his cheek in a fond manner. 

How can someone as endearing as her reciprocate his feelings? 

Xue knew he didn’t deserve it. 

Due to his nature of distrust after what happened to him in the past, he became merciless and cold to almost everyone. 

He had hurt Cecil. 

He harboured malicious thoughts towards her. 

He had almost killed her when he was overcome with anger. 

Immersed in his self-degrading thoughts and guilt, he once again mumbled out words of disbelief as he heard Cecil bursting out fervently. 

“Xue, I like you.” 

“I really, really like you.” 

The next moment, he saw Cecil closing in and he felt a pair of soft lips on his. His hand on hers dropped limply to the side. 

“...”

“...” 

A moment passed, and Cecil had her eyes closed. There was no reaction from Xue making her eyes flutter open and she withdrew back. 

She was still blushing furiously, her fingers touching her lips as she glanced shyly at Xue. 

Why isn’t he doing anything? 

She observed Xue. 

His eyes were wide open and his entire being was still. 

It was as if Xue was a program that had encountered a system error. 

“...”

“You...you still don’t believe me?” Cecil questioned, flustered. 

Xue did not respond, only brushing his fingers across his lips as he blinked rapidly, staring at Cecil. 

“I…”

It was obvious how he did not believe what just happened. 

Cecil bit on her lower lip, somewhat frustrated. 

She had already spilled those loving words out countless times and taken the initiative to kiss him! 

Why won’t he believe me? Where did I go wrong? 

Ugh, fine! 

Since I’m already in this deep, let’s just go all out! 

She started to grow bold, not bothering how hot she felt anymore. 

“You clearly don’t believe me,” Cecil huffed, vexed. “I’ll do it again.” 

She grabbed Xue’s fingers that were on his lips and pulled it aside. The next second, she tiptoed and pressed her lips onto Xue once again, her eyes squeezing close.

Eventually, Xue realised this was all true and it wasn’t a dream. 

The realisation caused him to falter and stumble. 

Cecil had leaned onto him and the weight made Xue to stumble back even further, colliding against the wall behind him. In the quiet storage room, a small thudding sound was heard. 

Cecil had never kissed anyone, be it in this life or her previous life. Her previous boldness had dissipated and she was flustered, not knowing what to do. 

She really didn’t know what to do at all! 

All she could do was follow her instincts that urged her to move her lips. Hence, she started to move her soft lips clumsily and carefully, her head spinning. 

This was like a trigger for Xue, who was still frozen on the spot. 

It was as if the river that was originally blocked flowed once again, Xue had finally returned to his senses. 

He could see her eyes squeezed shut and he could feel how she moved timidly against his lips. Her familiar fragrance of flowers and herbs wafted past his nose as she gingerly raised her hands, placing them on his shoulders. 

The desire he held within him started to overflow. 

Instantly, Xue dug his hand into her hair, pushing her head closer as his lips moved gently against hers. 

He closed his eyes.

He had imagined this scenario a million times in his mind. 

Now that it really happened, it couldn’t be compared to anything else. 

Her lips were so soft.

So sweet. 

...and he wanted to drown in this moment even more. 

His kisses grew urgent, his other arm wrapping around her waist and pushing her even more closer, as if he wanted to meld their lips together. 

Cecil could sense his urgency, responding back fervently. 

They were clumsy and inexperienced, their teeths clashing against one another from time to time. However, the two of them only immersed themselves in the heated daze, their heads turning from left to right. 

Throwing her arms around his neck, Xue started to push forward and his arm tightened around her waist, Cecil staggered back step after step. 

She could feel something touching against her legs and the distinct sounds of objects clattering onto the ground. Although, she was too engrossed in kissing Xue and the intensity of kisses to even care about them. 

Just then, Cecil felt herself being lifted into the air by Xue. 

“Mmm--” 

Cecil emitted a surprised noise, her eyes burst open and she felt herself being placed on the table. 

Xue withdrew from the kiss, panting heavily as his eyes fluttered open. His arms dropped from her waist, resting beside her on the table. 

Cecil found herself panting heavily as well, her hair a tousled mess and her arms still around his neck. 

He gazed at her, enamoured and gentle. 

“Say…” he lowered his voice, still panting. “Say it again.” 

Cecil regained her breath, a smile adorning her face. 

She knew what Xue meant. 

“I like you.” 

Xue felt something tickling in his stomach, warmth spreading across his chest as he heard those words. He leaned in, resting his forehead against hers and his lips curved into an affectionate smile

“Again.”
 
“I like every part of you.” 

“...again.” 

“I like all of you.” 

Xue widened his smile with each answer. 

He was in utter bliss. 

“I like you too, Cecil.” 

“I know.” 

“I like you so much.”

“Mhmm.” 

“You...you are mine now, right? I can call you mine, right?” 

Cecil moved one of her hands from his neck to caress his cheek. “Yes, I am yours.”

Xue could not contain his happiness, rushing in to embrace her as he buried his face between her neck and shoulder. 

“You are mine.” 

“Yes.” 

“My Cecil Lan.” 

She laughed heartily.

Her laughter sounded like the most beautiful melody in the world. 

He inhaled deeply, enjoying her familiar scent and one of his arms curled around her waist again. Lifting his head up, his nose was almost touching hers as his breath fanned her face. 

“Can I kiss you again?” 

In response, Cecil pecked his lips with a smile. 

“You don’t need to ask--mmph.” 

Xue did not wait for her to finish the sentence, dragging her closer with his arm and crashing his lips onto hers.

This time, Xue did not hesitate to hold back, kissing her passionately. He suckled and nibbled at her lips gently, occasionally darting his tongue out to lick her lips. 

Cecil was caught off guard, unable to respond back as passionately. She felt a shiver all the way down to her toes, feeling herself growing dizzy. 

Her hands instinctively moved from his neck to his head, her fingers running and combing it through his hair. 

Xue felt the same shiver all the way down his toes. 

The two of them clearly had no experience in kissing and had never once kissed, but they simply followed their instincts. 

Their breaths mingled, both growing slightly dizzy from the heated kiss. However, they continued on with their eyes closed. 

In the quiet storage room, the ambiguous kissing sounds filled the air. 

A long moment passed and they finally separated for a second, panting heavily with half-lidded eyes. The two of them proceeded to lean in for another kissing session. 

“What did the captain say to take?” 

Someone hollered outside the door. 

There was incoherent shouting in response. 

The couple burst their eyes open, stiffening. Cecil glanced to the door while Xue glanced around, his eyes fixed on the cupboards full of boxes filled with tools. 

“Xue--” 

The handsome ash-blonde haired man only grabbed her hand, dragging her down from the table. He flashed her a wolfish smirk, guiding her to the cupboards. 

Cecil felt her heart skipping her beat and she followed Xue in a daze. 

The door slammed open a few seconds later, the light from outside streaming in. 

“Jeez, what a mess,” they clicked their tongue. “Why are all the tools on the ground? Tch.”

“Oi! We gotta hurry!” 

“Yeah, yeah! I found it, don’t worry!” 

The person walked in, his eyes on the tools on the ground. He bent down, picking one of them up and throwing it into the air as he caught it, shutting the door behind him. 

Whereas, behind the cupboards, Xue and Cecil were engaged in another kissing session. Once the man left, they grew bolder. 

The ambiguous sounds of kissing filled the air once again. 

***

Hana stared at the pills in her palm, smiling to herself. 

No more bitter taste! 

She retrieved the canteen she always carried around with her, uncapping it...only to realise it was sealed too tightly. 

She frowned, trying to unscrew the cap several times until she was panting slightly. All of a sudden, the canteen was snatched from her hands and she gasped quietly. 

It was K’xug. 

He uncapped the canteen in an instant, handing it to her. 

“So strong!” Hana beamed. 

K’xug pointed to the pills on her palms, nodding at her. 

Hana swallowed down the pills with water immediately, utterly relieved that she did not have to go through the misery of bitter medicine now. 

“Hehe, no more bitterness!” 

Hana hopped happily from left to right. 

K’xug smiled the adorable sight of her rejoicing for no bitter medicine, lifting his hand to pat her head. 

Hana paused, glancing up at him. 

At that moment, he noticed how her plump lips were glistening from the water and he immediately recalled the scene where Kiyae, the drunk kissing monster, stole her lips away. 

K’xug felt uncomfortable, knowing exactly what this feeling was. 

I shouldn’t feel this way. 

...but I can’t help it. 

How frustrating.

K’xug gazed at Hana, sighing. 

“Hmm? What’s wrong, K’xug?” Hana tilted her head when she noticed the troubled look on his face. 

“...” 

“What is it? You thirsty?” Hana smiled, shoving her canteen towards K’xug. 

K’xug paused. 

He glanced down, his different-coloured eyes fixed on the spot where Hana drank from. Without thinking, he reached his hand out and grabbed onto the canteen. 

K’xug gulped down the water in the canteen.

“Drink all you want! I can always refill--” 

Hana halted her words abruptly as her expression went stiff. Her eyes were focused on the spot where K’xug drank from, blinking rapidly as she looked away. 

Th-that’s…

That’s the spot where I drank from. 

Hana had read many scenes like that in romance novels and she felt her cheeks growing warm. 

She sneaked a glance at K’xug, his face was indifferent and she looked away, exhaling heavily. 

I’m overthinking! 

Mhmm! Mhmm! 

Just overthinking!

K’xug covered the canteen with the cap, handing it back to Hana. 

Meanwhile, K’xug was sighing to himself how petty and greedy he was. Even if it was an indirect kiss, he still felt pleased. 

Hana accepted her canteen back, unable to meet the eyes of the copper brown-haired man standing beside her. 

K’xug gazed down at her, regarding her fondly. 

I assumed it was a simple infatuation I would get over quickly. 

In the past. 

Even now. 

It had to be an infatuation. 

K’xug sighed to himself.

It isn’t. 

It never was a simple infatuation. 

He smiled in resignation. 

At that moment, the ship finally started to move and a breeze passed by, carrying the smell of the seawater. The sound of the light waves crashing against the ship could be heard. 

Hana felt her hair tickling her face and she closed her eyes, tugging her hair behind her ear while the other hand swept the hair away from her face. 

K’xug leaned down at that moment, tugging her hair behind her other ear. His fingers brushed against her ear lightly. 

Hana snapped her eyes open, her head swivelling towards K’xug. 

“That’s…” Hana rubbed at her ear as she spoke in a flustered manner. “Th-that’s ti-ticklish.” 

K’xug recoiled his hand back in alarm, his eyes wide in panic. He quickly flashed her a nervous, apologetic smile. 

The beautiful red-haired woman only smiled back shakily, turning away as she stared out at the sea. 

K’xug did the same, scratching his head.

The two stood side to side, the boat swaying and causing their shoulders to brush slightly. They flinched but made no movements to move further apart, stubbornly keeping their eyes on the horizon. 

If one looked closer, the two had a red tint on their cheeks. 

***

The two of them did not know how much time had passed. 

Cecil snuggled close to Xue, her arms around his neck as her eyes were closed. 

Xue trailed down from her lips to her jaw and her chin, softly pecking them and he tugged at the collar of her kimono, leaning in to peck at her neck too. 

He extended his arm out to rest onto the cupboard to support himself. Alas, in his daze, he had completely forgotten that it was a cupboard filled with boxes of tools. 

The extra weight, along with the ship swaying, caused a row of boxes and tools to collide. It created a domino effect and one row of the cupboard came crashing down onto the ground, the clattering noises startling the couple badly. 

Cecil and Xue widened their eyes, exchanging shocked glances.

“...” 

“...”

A second later, they giggled together. 

Xue wrapped his arms around Cecil, embracing her as he inhaled her scent again. Cecil reciprocated his hug, playing with the ends of his ash blonde hair. 

“Ugh.” 

Xue groaned in her embrace. 

Cecil paused. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Xue withdrew back, appearing exasperated but his gaze was still affectionate on Cecil. 

“They are noisy.” 

“Who?” Cecil tilted her head and recognition flitted past her eyes. “The rest of them inside you?” 

“Yeah, annoying and excited,” Xue grimaced and he mumbled to himself. “Should have blocked them out earlier…” 

The soul fragments were currently creating a huge chaos inside his mind, and the reason behind the chaos was completely obvious. 

Cecil continued to play with the ends of Xue’s hair. 

“What are they so excited about?” 

Xue blinked his eyes at Cecil before he smirked.

“Just like how we share the same soul,” Xue explained, his tone teasing. “We share the same eyes.”  

Cecil stared at Xue blankly. 

“...”

“...!” 

She gasped, a tinge of red on her face. 

“Th-this entire time--” she stuttered out in disbelief. “They witnessed it all?! Everything?!” 

“We feel it all too.” 

Cecil covered her face with her hands, the blush spreading to her ears. 

Xue laughed at her embarrassment. 

“Stop laughing,” she grumbled out, glaring at Xue through the gaps of her fingers. “You are always teasing me.” 

Xue reached out, peeling her hand away from her face and kissing her cheek and her forehead indulgently. 

“Who cares,” he grinned toothily, pinching strands of her black hair with his fingers. “In the end, we are the same person.” 

Seeing this rare carefree image of Xue, along with the words she never expected him to say, Cecil was floored. 

Xue had truly changed a lot. 

In the original novel, he only sank deeper and deeper, growing gloomy day by day. There was no way that the Xue from the original novel would smile or speak like this. 

All of a sudden, there was a beeping noise from inside her mind. 

[ Congratulations! You have unlocked another achievement! ] 

[ Achievement “100!” unlocked!
You have 17 achievements remaining! ]

[ Previous impression points: 88
Remaining impression points: 100
Xue is happy. ]

“What a relief.” 

“I...I am happy too.” 

[ … ]

[ There is no need to shower me with the sentimental emotions as well~ ]

“...” 

Cecil had the tiniest clue that AI500 was slightly miffed at her. It was as if...it was forcibly fed with something it detested. 

However, she did not care. 

Right now, she had completed one of her personal goals. 

She wanted to make Xue happy...and she did. 

Cecil focused her mind back on Xue, and she realised he had been watching her quietly the entire time.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” 

“Because you are beautiful.” 

He smiled gently, his voice tender. 

Cecil was taken aback. 

It was a very cliche line, but it still made her heart skip a beat. 

Xue stroked her cheeks lovingly, admiring how smooth her skin was under his fingers and he reached down, entwining his hand with hers. 

“I can’t believe you are mine.” 

Cecil smiled bashfully, leaning in as she pecked Xue on the cheek. “Believe it, I am yours.” 

Xue brought her hand to his lips, kissing it with a smile. 

“I am yours too, Cecil.” 

Cecil giggled. 

If anyone witnessed their saccharine moments, they would no doubt want to puke blood. However, to the couple themselves, this was bliss. 

At that moment, there was a violent impact that shook the entire ship. Xue curled his arm around her waist and clutched at her head, preventing her from knocking against the cupboards. 

Cecil gasped, stumbling forward.

Xue balanced them both, his mind completely alert. 

“I think...something’s happening outside.” 

Xue nodded. 

The two of them hurriedly left the storage room. 

***

Haru and Kiyae who were still covered in recovering from their injuries and covered in bandages glared out at the sea. 

Yun was shouting out commands to the other crewmates, everyone rushing up and down the ship. 

Ryo wielded his halberd, his earrings glinting in the light and he grinned. 

Hana swung her bow out, a worried look on her face. K’xug stood beside her, his eyes narrowed and he appeared troubled. 

Just ahead of them at the sea, there were three ships blocking their way. 

Xue and Cecil burst out to the upper deck of the ship, witnessing the same exact scene. They earned weird looks from everyone due to their tousled hair and slightly swollen lips. Among them, Kiyae and Yun gradually wore a knowing look in their eyes. 

However, none of them dwelled on the couple any longer. 

It was because those three ships were clearly not their allies. 

In addition to that, Xue and K’xug could sense the presence of light and dark magic.

“Be careful,” Xue warned, whipping out his spear. “They have those same dangerous weapons on the ships.” 

“It has to be something Ephert set up,” Haru sighed, turning around and looking at the entire team. “We have to be careful.” 

“Aye, captain.” Kiyae winked.

“I wanna try fighting against those weapons again!” Ryo spoke eagerly.

“Take those down with those weapons first,” Yun adjusted his glasses. “With how strange it is, there is no way Ephert would be able to distribute the weapons to everyone on the ship.” 

“These damn injuries,” Haru cursed to himself, feeling sore all over. “I can’t fight well now.”

K’xug looked down at Hana, concerned. 

“I’ll be fine, K’xug!” Hana beamed. 

Xue tightened his hold on Cecil’s hands, frowning. 

“You and K’xug are the only ones who can get rid of them completely,” Cecil furrowed her eyebrows. “Even if you are strong, be careful.”

“I should be saying that to you.” 

“Alright, alright.” Cecil smiled helplessly. “I’ll be fine.” 

“We can’t let them destroy this ship,” Haru hollered, grinning at his teammates. “So destroy them all!” 

***

《 start 》

I am happy. 

Terribly happy. 

When was the last time I ever felt this way? 

However, happiness is fleeting. 

Especially for someone like me. 

...but...with you...

With you here, I want to hope happiness isn’t fleeting. 

Only you with you.

My...Cecil Lan. 

You are truly mine. 

《 stop 》

***

Author's Note: The process of writing this chapter is staring into space for the millionth time.

See, when I write, I put myself into the mindset of the character and the situation. Being in a situation where it is *cough* a make-out session *cough* with a hot guy is so strange.

I've been a single potato for my whole life, okay. And probably for the rest of my life too.

The only thing I'll be kissing in my entire life is my soft pillow.

I guess the hot guy is my pillow now. Uh--that sounded incredibly wrong, but I digress! Many more kissing scenes will come, since couples in honeymoon phases are...well...loving.  Yep.