Lucifer said nothing, suddenly falling silent. Bai Cha didn't know what she had said wrong and could only remain quiet as well.
In the afternoon, the rain stopped, and the sun peeked out again, warm and comforting. The grass, just drenched by the rain, released a pleasant scent under the sun's embrace.
Lucifer couldn't find Bai Cha in the house. Opening the door, he discovered her sitting on a swing. She was dressed lightly in just a dress, sitting quietly like an exquisite puppet. Lucifer frowned, feeling a pang of heartache. He walked over and draped a piece of clothing over Bai Cha.
"Be careful not to catch a chill, my master."
Lucifer's voice was soft, a gentle whisper carried away by the wind.
"Lucifer." Bai Cha turned her head to look at him. Her eyes were red, instantly making Lucifer flustered. But before Lucifer could speak, Bai Cha's next words froze him.
"Lucifer, you know, don't you."
Lucifer: "..."
"I saw you crying in the kitchen just now." Bai Cha stared at Lucifer's expression. Lucifer remained silent, but from his eyes, Bai Cha learned all she wanted to know.
"Did Gong Yuechen tell you?"
Lucifer: "..."
"Is that so? He really does love to meddle..."
Lucifer: "..."
"But, when did you realize my condition was worsening?" Ignoring Lucifer's silence, Bai Cha continued, "Is it because I'm getting sleepier? Or perhaps I've been a bit weak lately."
Lucifer remained silent, not out of unwillingness to speak. He thought he had prepared himself mentally, but when Bai Cha brought it up herself, it felt as if a switch had been flipped in his heart. An overwhelming wave of pain washed over him, rendering him speechless for a moment.
He was, in fact, afraid. Afraid that the person before him would truly vanish like smoke.
"Last time I spoke to you, when I wasn't facing you, you didn't respond. So I guessed you were lip-reading me." Lucifer said, "And at that time, you kept touching your throat when you spoke. I surmised it was because your hearing had significantly decreased, and you needed to use the vibrations of your vocal cords to confirm the accuracy of your pronunciation."
"Just because of that?" Bai Cha mused thoughtfully.
It seemed her condition had deteriorated to the point where she overlooked too many details. Those close to her could easily notice her abnormalities.
Take for instance, that meeting where she drank the poison in the water. While Lucifer wasn't paying attention, Bai Cha privately asked the elder, how he had figured out she had willingly drunk that cup of poison.
"How did you think to have my water cup checked?"
Bai Cha had asked at the time, "You don't trust the security of the Light Faction that much?"
"It has nothing to do with them. It's just that you never drink water offered by someone you don't trust. You generally wouldn't touch pre-prepared water like this," the elder recalled seriously after a long period of contemplation. "Besides, you love to tease Gong Yuechen. You should have been happy for him to serve you tea and water, yet you refused. It's because he always tastes things before handing them to you, and you feared accidentally harming him."
"That obvious?" Bai Cha was surprised.
"Not obvious," the elder shook his head. "I was just guessing."
And as it turned out, his guess was correct.
It seemed this time too, Lucifer had figured it out due to some small detail.
"My asking about your post-meal feelings today was just a habit, but I was distracted just now," Lucifer continued, his eyes lowered. "I accidentally called sweet peppers chili peppers."
Bai Cha: "..."
This was no longer just a matter of taste. It meant her sense of smell had also gone awry at some point. She couldn't taste anything, and now she couldn't even distinguish between sweet peppers and chili peppers.
Sweet peppers, how could they be spicy?
"I'm sorry." Bai Cha lowered her head, feeling a little guilty. She seemed to have been causing him worry all along.
"Why do you always apologize?"
However, when he asked that, Bai Cha was left speechless.
She had never considered this question.
"At least, in my understanding, you haven't wronged anyone. Nor does anyone have the right to accept an apology from someone who has spent ten years protecting them, starting from the age of eight." Lucifer looked at Bai Cha, word by word, as if afraid she wouldn't see his lips. "You haven't done anything wrong to anyone, yet you keep apologizing, to satisfy others."
Bai Cha had nothing to say and couldn't refute him. Influenced by this mindset since childhood, it had become a habit.
"Lucifer," Bai Cha said softly after a long pause, finally letting go of all her pride.
"Lucifer, get me a wheelchair."
After holding on for so long, she finally compromised, compromising with her body and with fate.
She had finally explored the entire island. Before, she and Lucifer had only visited two-thirds of it. Later, due to her worsening condition and significantly decreased stamina, she had stayed in that small house to avoid suspicion.
And now, pushed by Lucifer, slowly, she had finally seen all the island's scenery.
"Lucifer, why?"
They were at a small cliff. The rocky peak plunged vertically downwards. If it were the dry season, it would be very dangerous. But now, it seemed due to the high tide, the sea had overflowed, like a bowl filled with water. Bai Cha remembered that the seawater here had been less than half full last time, but now it was full.
Bai Cha didn't know what she was asking. Lucifer didn't know either and didn't answer. Perhaps there were too many questions, and neither of them knew where to begin.
"What is this?" Bai Cha felt her hand being gently opened, and a necklace was placed in it. The necklace looked simple and elegant, but a single gemstone on it shimmered brilliantly under the moonlight.
It was semi-transparent, milky white. As the gem turned, faint blue iridescence could be seen. It looked like a fine stone, and though it seemed familiar, Bai Cha couldn't recall anything.
"Moonstone," Lucifer's voice was soft, truly as gentle and pure as the moonlight on this night. Bai Cha turned back, her breath catching. She was momentarily mesmerized.
His face was like jade, his bearing like that of a gentleman adorned with orchids and jade.
"A gentleman of virtue, as if carved and polished, as if ground and smoothed."
For some reason, Bai Cha thought of this phrase, which became more hazy under the bright moon. Bai Cha wanted to say something, but a numbness and chill shot up from the soles of her feet, causing her to shiver involuntarily.
The necklace slipped, falling into the water with a splash, sending ripples across the surface. Bai Cha's heart also felt hollow. Instinctively, Bai Cha moved to retrieve it, but Lucifer was faster, pushing her back into the wheelchair.
Larger ripples spread across the sea. Before Bai Cha could even stop him, she saw Lucifer disappear from her sight.
The moonlight was cold, but Bai Cha suddenly panicked. A moment of blankness left her unsure of what to do.
In this instant, Bai Cha suddenly felt Lucifer was very far away. In this instant, Bai Cha could not imagine a world without Lucifer. In this instant, Bai Cha suddenly remembered.
She remembered the meaning of the blue diamond and the moonstone.
Lucifer surfaced from the water, his hand tightly gripping the necklace. The weather had already turned cold, entering winter, and the seawater was even colder. Lucifer was not a sea dragon. Even with his extreme physical fitness, after being soaked in seawater and then hit by the night wind, he shivered from the cold.
The moonlight outlined his hair. Some moonlight slid down his strands, falling onto a pair of knees.
Lucifer froze. He clung to the edge of the cliff, his lower body still submerged in water. When he looked up, he saw Bai Cha kneeling before him.
No, she seemed to have fallen. It appeared Bai Cha had gotten up from the wheelchair but, lacking strength, could only kneel on the ground.
"Master, quickly sit up properly. The ground is cold." Lucifer was anxious. The stones by the cliff were not smooth, and with Bai Cha's current weakened condition, getting injured would be bad.
However, a pair of cold little hands touched his face. His cheek, splashed with seawater, felt cold in the wind, but Bai Cha's hands were even colder. Bai Cha cupped Lucifer's face. In this moment, Lucifer couldn't think.
Pure, enchanting, gentle, graceful... Lucifer couldn't describe it. It seemed all beautiful words, though contradictory, could be perfectly embodied in Bai Cha, captivating his heart.
Lucifer's Adam's apple bobbed. The seawater was cold, but his heart beat faster and faster, making him feel a little warm. He saw an unprecedented light in Bai Cha's eyes, like the dawn mist melting under sunlight, with gold piercing through from afar, arriving from heaven to earth.
"Master...?"
Lucifer hesitated, his heart pounding wildly. A strong premonition made him dizzy. He felt the atmosphere was perfect, as if something was about to escape his lips. He desperately suppressed the emotions in his heart, almost unable to hold back.
Until his beloved suddenly spoke, like a celestial melody.
"Lucifer, do you like me."
The moonlight was clear and cold, the sea calm.
All sounds faded, leaving only heartbeats.
One, two, no longer able to be at peace.
"Hoo... Master, you truly are... you always make me helpless." Lucifer smiled gently. This was perhaps the first time he hadn't suppressed his emotions in front of Bai Cha, revealing his most doting expression.
"Yes, my master, I adore you."
Yes, my master.
Bai Cha didn't know how many times she had heard this sentence. As if suddenly enlightened, countless scenes flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern.
It seemed that since meeting him, he had occupied most of her life. Whether at home or at work, whether on missions or resting, it was as if she could see him whenever she turned around. He was always waiting behind her, softly calling her master, gentle and lingering.
"Is that so..."
This was the second time Lucifer had seen Bai Cha cry. The last time was an overflow of suddenly awakened emotions, but this time, there were more complex feelings. It seemed something had suddenly sprouted in Bai Cha's heart. Tears fell onto Lucifer's cheek, carrying the warmth of the moonlight as they slid down, searing Lucifer's heart.
It was a divine sound, unmatched even by the brilliance of a falling star.
"I think I do too, Lucifer."
"...Master?" Lucifer felt his heart seemed to have stopped. All sounds faded. A flame burned in his heart, overpowering the coldness of the sea, making him intoxicated.
"Master, you, you..." Lucifer felt a little dizzy, somewhat dazed. The biting seawater finally brought him back to his senses.
His body, wet with water, felt heavy. With a surge of effort, Lucifer finally reached the shore. His black tailcoat was soaked through, and his white shirt clung to his fit and well-proportioned muscles, making him seem even hotter against the backdrop of the seawater.
"I thought you only liked Miss Freya." Lucifer's heart pounded wildly, making him feel a bit lightheaded. As soon as the words left his mouth, Lucifer regretted it. This was perhaps the first time he had said something so inappropriate.
"I don't know either." Bai Cha knelt on the ground, her hand on her chest, bewildered. "She's gone."
Perhaps she was still too cold. Because the deceased was gone, she liked others. Even now, she didn't like to linger on meaningless things. Freya would surely be angry if she knew.
She liked Freya very much. Whatever good things Freya wanted, she would give to her. But she seemed to like Lucifer very much too, liking that he was always by her side, making her feel secure.
She didn't understand the difference between the two. Those emotions and feelings were too similar. Bai Cha couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she tried.