Zane slowly opened his eyes. The silver-white moon hung at the edge of the sky, looking down over the land. It seemed that suffering had completely left this city, which had long endured the invasion of afterimages, on this very night.
As his consciousness returned, his memories gradually followed. Zane suddenly sprang up from the ground.
"Why did you hit me again!?"
Facing Zane's questioning, Rover just crossed her arms. Her soft chest rose and fell as she got angry, but she had no intention of answering him.
If she could, Rover even felt the urge to pry open Zane's head and see what was actually inside.
Just a short while ago, she had clearly made something like a confession…
She had clearly dressed up like this just for him, yet he completely ignored it…
She had clearly expressed her feelings so directly, yet he…
'And this idiot…'
Before Rover could finish scolding Zane in her heart, she suddenly felt her small hand being held by a warm hand.
Her heart trembled for a moment. Looking closely, the idiot she had just been thinking about was holding her hand.
Looking at the slightly shy girl in front of him, there seemed to be a hint of a smile hidden in his handsome eyes. Holding her hand, he slowly walked along the road they had come from.
"You're really beautiful today…" Zane paused. He felt the tips of his ears heating up in a way that was hard to ignore.
At this moment, it was as if his words had slipped out of his control. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get them out.
Zane barely managed to control his facial muscles, trying not to let them completely collapse from too much tension.
"How should I put it… thank you…"
The night breeze gently brushed their hair, and the bright moonlight lit up this world that now had only the two of them.
He knew Rover had come here just for him. There was a line in a poem that said it well, the hardest thing to bear is a beauty's kindness, and the turning of her eyes is the most captivating.
Hearing Zane's words, a bright smile suddenly appeared on Rover's face.
Under her smile, even the moon in the sky seemed to lose some of its glow.
"As a thank you, are you willing to… wander with me?"
After going through all this, she had learned from the Shorekeeper about her mission... travel, and then find a way to save the world from the laments.
That meant she couldn't stay in one place for too long.
Facing Rover's slightly expectant gaze, Zane showed a smile full of mischief.
"Well… I'll have to think about it…"
But seeing the fleeting disappointment on Rover's pretty face, Zane quickly changed his words, "Working for you is fine, but you have to provide food and lodging, and also pay my social insurance and housing fund, then weekends off, paid annual leave, overtime paid triple…"
Zane kept counting his conditions one by one on his fingers, not realizing that Rover beside him was getting closer and closer.
At that moment, a soft warmth brushed past his lips, like a feather lightly grazing them, stirring something inside him again and again.
Zane's words seemed to get blocked by something and stopped abruptly. That faint, sweet fragrance seemed to linger by his lips, leaving him unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
"You… you…"
Zane widened his eyes. The girl in front of him smiled sweetly, a faint blush spreading across her fair face, making people feel an irresistible urge to taste it deeply.
"Is this enough?"
Rover blinked her clear, beautiful eyes. Her sweet, soft voice carried a hint of playful triumph.
Although she had long been able to guess Zane's choice, not hearing him agree out loud still made her a little uneasy.
"Is it… enough…?" Zane unconsciously raised his hand to his lips and murmured.
Clearly, Rover's sudden move had completely overloaded his brain. Right now his head was buzzing, all his brain cells mobilized, trying to recreate that lingering moment.
Looking at the dazed Zane, Rover giggled. Her little face became even more flushed from happiness.
"Idiot~"
The girl let out a soft, teasing complaint, then slipped into his arms again, standing on tiptoe to lightly peck his lips once more. The shallow kiss left a deep mark in his heart.
The night grew deeper. Even the moon seemed shy at this moment, hiding behind dark clouds, leaving only a pitch-black yet peaceful night.
"Will you dance with me?"
Hearing Rover's invitation, Zane finally came back to his senses. He lowered his head and looked at the smiling girl in his arms. He was about to agree, but hesitated.
"But I don't know how…"
Before Zane could finish, Rover had already taken his hand and started spinning.
Tap~ Tap~ Tap~
The sound of her high heels landing on the ground was like a series of pleasant drumbeats, guiding Zane's slightly clumsy steps.
"Left foot, left foot, right foot, now turn... right."
Looking at the girl in his arms, whose eyes seemed to overflow with gentleness, Zane unconsciously tightened his arm around her slender waist, as if he wanted to pull her into his body.
Sensing his small movement, Rover's pretty face flushed even more. A strange feeling spread slowly from where his hand touched her, flowing along her spine and into her limbs.
"Hmm~ hmm~ hmm…"
Rover hummed a light, cheerful melody. She had just learned this tune from the Shorekeeper.
Many years ago, he had done the same, humming softly as he pulled her away from complicated matters, leading the clumsy her to dance under the sunrise of the Black Shore.
Many years later, just like that year, she patiently guided him, who had lost everything from the past, dancing under the moonlight of Jinzhou.
At this moment, just like that moment.
As the dance ended, a firework suddenly shot into the sky, bursting above Jinzhou City. Countless colorful sparks scattered like celestial flowers falling, illuminating the entire city in a dreamlike glow.
Amid this brilliant display of fireworks, the girl dancing before him seemed even more radiant, breathtakingly beautiful.
Looking at the beauty in his arms, who seemed to glow with light, Zane couldn't help but lose himself.
How many times his heart had stirred today, he had already lost count. But he knew that their story had only just begun tonight.
Rover lifted her head and looked at the boy in front of her. A sly smile appeared in her golden eyes. Suddenly, she raised her hand and hooked it around his neck, leaning close to his face.
Her warm breath brushed against his cheek.
"The moon is beautiful tonight."
Zane looked at Rover, then at the sky.
"But there's no moon right now?"
"…" (▼ヘ▼#)
The next second, Zane felt the world spin. Then he was thrown to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw.
"Why are you hitting me again? I didn't say anything wrong this time. There really isn't a moon in the sky right now." , Zane stiffened his neck and protested loudly.
Objective facts don't change based on someone's will. If there's no moon, then there's no moon.
But what answered his protest was Rover's increasingly fierce little fists.
Rover said nothing, only kept swinging her fists.
Today, Jinzhou was very peaceful.