Chapter 16: The Angel’s Secret

“Flora, why don’t you let your wings out so we can see them?” Tiffany had clearly wanted to ask this for a long time.

She dared not approach Angelina, whose immense power made such familiarity impossible, but I, being far weaker, became her easy target.

“Alright,” I agreed reluctantly, seeing no harm in it, and thus I unsealed my hidden wings.

“They’re so soft, and they feel so warm!” Tiffany couldn’t stop herself, grabbing at the feathers, stroking them incessantly, even pressing her face against them and rubbing back and forth.

While her touching didn’t pose a major issue, feeling much like a normal skin contact, it still felt quite embarrassing to be subjected to such an intimate examination.

“Can I touch them too?” Sally asked, though her hands were already mischievously reaching out, moving up and down my wings.

I truly wanted to retort, ‘Isn’t there one right next to you? One with four wings, no less! Twice as many as mine, so why don’t you go bother her?’

Seeing this, the two boys also rushed over to join the commotion, each grabbing a handful of feathers.

In that instant, I could almost picture every single feather being plucked clean from my wings.

“Alright! That’s enough touching!” I quickly hid my wings again.

I simply couldn’t endure their cat-like assault any longer.

“And Angelina, you too, aren’t you an angel yourself?”

I stared at the four-winged angel who had also come over to join the fun, reminding her, but then I suddenly recalled the ambiguous moment between us before dinner, and my heart softened.

‘Ah… forget it,’ I thought.

‘After all, I’d taken advantage of her quite a bit before; consider it repayment.’

“I saw everyone else touching, so I couldn’t resist either,” Angelina said, her face beaming with a smile, devoid of any apology.

“It’s mainly because you’re just too adorable, Flora; you see, no one else comes looking for me.”

“Um…” Brook suddenly interjected, his face flushed and looking incredibly shy.

“Actu-actually, I think you’re very beautiful too, Angelina, both mature and sexy.

You’re just a different type from Flora, so…”

“Mature and sexy?” Angelina furrowed her brow slightly.

“Do you really think that?”

“Mm-hmm!” Both boys nodded in unison.

“We really need to discuss this issue properly.

Come with me!” With that, she dragged Amos and Brook into a room and slammed the door shut, leaving only the two girls and me staring at each other in utter bewilderment.

When they emerged again, Amos and Brook both appeared flushed.

“I still stand by my opinion!” Brook protested stubbornly to Angelina, seemingly still unyielding.

Angelina, however, wore an expression of helplessness, as if dealing with an incorrigible child, and offered no reply.

She then turned to Sally to inquire about room assignments.

Hearing her speak, I suddenly felt a wave of fatigue wash over me.

After such a prolonged and intense battle, exhaustion was only natural.

Upstairs, there were four rooms in total.

According to Sally’s arrangements, Angelina and I would each have a room, while the remaining two girls and two boys would share one room each.

I distinctly felt that I was being given special treatment, likely because they were accommodating us two angels.

However, I couldn’t think of a better solution at the moment.

Unless I were to share a room with someone, but sleeping with any of the girls felt like deliberately taking advantage of them.

Ultimately, I could only compromise.

“Flora, you’re always too polite with us.

Go and get some rest quickly.” Tiffany, with an inscrutable expression, pushed me towards the stairs.

The hallway on the second floor featured four rooms, two on each side, facing each other.

Opening the door to my room, my gaze immediately fell upon a neat, clean bed beside the window, surrounded by simple, practical furniture.

The entire room had no artificial lighting; the only source of illumination was the brilliant, silvery moonlight streaming in from outside the window.

“Who?” Suddenly, a girl’s shadow flickered at the corner of my eye, startling me.

For a moment, I thought it might be Sally or Tiffany hiding to scare me, but then I immediately realized that was impossible, as they had just been downstairs.

It was only then that I discovered it was a girl I had never seen before.

Long, watery blue hair framed a delicate, small, oval-shaped face, while slender eyebrows, both cute and innocent, accentuated a pair of equally deep blue eyes.

Below her exquisitely refined nose was a small, moist, full mouth.

Anyone who saw her would undoubtedly exclaim at her beauty.

“This is…” I stared blankly for a while, and it was only by the moonlight that I realized it was a mirror on a dressing table.

The girl’s hair, the same color as the strands falling across my chest, finally made me realize that I was looking at myself.

So, this is what I look like now… Truth be told, this was my first time seeing my appearance after transmigrating.

Although I had heard others constantly praise my cuteness before, it had never felt real.

Suddenly, I understood their attitude towards me.

Yet, stumbling upon my own reflection like this still made it impossible for me to accept it; it felt utterly bizarre, like seeing a beautiful portrait on the street, only to discover the next second that I was identical to her.

‘So, will I have to live like this from now on?’ I slumped onto the bed, feeling the softness of the bedding, the beautiful image in the mirror still indelible in my mind.

She was truly stunningly beautiful and adorable, but I wished that was the face of my girlfriend.

The fact that it was my own face filled me with an inexplicable sense of helplessness.

****

Just as my entire consciousness was on the verge of drifting into a hazy stupor, I suddenly heard the faint creak of the door, as if someone had entered from outside.

“Who is it?”

Pushing myself up and opening my blurry eyes, my muddled mind vaguely recalled that I had forgotten to close the door earlier, likely due to the earlier shock.

Then, I saw a figure slowly walk to the foot of the bed, sit down, and pull me into their embrace.

“Oh, what’s wrong with you?

You’ve fallen asleep on the bed without even closing the door.” It was that familiar, pleasant voice.

I struggled to open my eyes wider, finally making out the beautiful, captivating face illuminated by the moonlight.

“Angelina?”

“Of course, it’s me.” The other person responded very gently, then, looking at my face, she suddenly noticed something and frowned slightly.

“You seem a little unhappy.

What’s wrong? Is it because of your amnesia?”

By now, she was no longer wearing the armor she had on when we first met, but a very loose nightgown.

“No… it’s not that.” How could I tell her that I was actually feeling melancholic because I had just seen my own reflection?

I vaguely replied, “I just seemed to recall something sad.”

“Oh, didn’t you have amnesia?

So, remembering things from before, does that mean you’re getting better?” Angelina asked, a little surprised.

‘Damn, I accidentally let it slip in my daze,’ I thought, instantly becoming more alert.

I quickly tried to salvage the situation, “Actually, I haven’t remembered anything specific.

It’s just a sudden, inexplicable feeling of sadness.

Perhaps it’s a case of being moved by the scene, truly connected to some forgotten things from my past.”

From a certain perspective, my words weren’t entirely a lie.

“So that’s it… indeed, having no memories of the past is inherently a very sad thing,” Angelina said with a slight sigh upon hearing my explanation.

‘Thankfully, I managed to bluff my way through without being exposed.’

“Then, would you like me to stay and keep you company?”

However, upon hearing those words, my heart almost leaped out of my chest.

‘Are angels in other worlds really this open-minded?’

Truthfully, who wouldn’t want a beautiful, enchanting angel to stay and sleep beside them?

Even if I no longer possessed the ‘tools for the job,’ sharing a bed with a beauty was ultimately a delightful prospect.

Yet, from the perspective of my usual moral consciousness, taking advantage of someone’s sympathy in their moment of vulnerability felt utterly unethical.

For a moment, I truly didn’t know how to respond.

“Haha, Flora, you’re truly adorable.” Seeing my flustered expression, Angelina chuckled softly, as if she had discovered something amusing.

Then, she swiftly kissed my cheek, sat up, and rose from the bed.

“You truly make one want to understand you more.”

I was suddenly a little overwhelmed, feeling as though the other party was further expressing her intentions.

However, I also had a constant feeling of being molded in her palm.

‘Is this what they call the aura of an older, sophisticated woman?’

But then, looking at it from another angle, as an angel, she might well be several thousand years old, practically a spirit.

Tiffany had once thought the same about me, yet I was actually only in my early twenties, so it seemed quite normal for me to be outmatched.

‘Speaking of which, a few thousand years old would make her an old hag, wouldn’t it?

Am I being ‘eaten by an old cow’?

If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be a huge loss?’

My mood swung wildly, fluctuating up and down, and all of it was observed by the other party.

“What are you thinking about?” Angelina noticed the expressions on my face, seemingly finding them quite amusing.

She leaned down, bringing her head closer, and stared intently into my eyes, the wings on her back playfully fluttering with her mood.

“N-nothing…”

Glancing at the magnificent peaks revealed beneath her nightgown, tantalizingly visible, I couldn’t help but swallow, my mind once again going blank.

I was truly speechless with her.

‘Why does she always enjoy seeing me flustered?’ I suddenly realized that the other party might not be as simple as I had imagined, and many crucial pieces of the puzzle suddenly clicked into place.

“Could it be that you saying you didn’t know how to return to the Angelic Realm of Emmana was just an excuse?

And your real objective… was me?”

The Angelina before me now felt like a cunning hunter, and I might have been targeted from our very first meeting.

“Ah?” Angelina froze, seemingly not expecting me to ask such a question, and immediately began to explain in a flustered manner.

“It can’t be called an excuse; I truly don’t know how to return, so I can only temporarily remain in the human world.”

She certainly didn’t seem to be lying, yet I still felt that something was amiss.

“Then, what do you think of the human world?”

A sudden flash of inspiration made me want to hear this senior angel’s perspective.

Unlike Tiffany and the others, who viewed it from a human angle, angels were a different kind of being.

Her insights should be more objective and very helpful for me to understand this world.

Another underlying intention was to find a topic to dispel the awkward atmosphere from before.

“It feels pretty ordinary, I guess.” Angelina pondered for a moment, seemingly finding it difficult to answer, finally giving a neutral response:

“Mainly, it’s just too boring when there’s nothing to do.

If only I had a phone.”

“A phone?”

I looked at her, utterly bewildered, and a sudden sensation like a bucket of cold water being poured over me, from head to toe, washed over me.

A word that shouldn’t have appeared had just come from her mouth.

“Oh, it’s a communication tool from where I come from.

It has many functions, and you can also use it to pass the time.”

Seeing my expression, she assumed I didn’t know what a phone was and thoughtfully explained it.

‘So she’s a transmigrator too?’

My suspicion grew… No! This could no longer be called suspicion; I could almost certainly confirm it!

In truth, there was no need for coded phrases like “Heavenly King covers Earth Tiger” to prove her identity.

“Are you a transmigrator?”

I directly asked her in Chinese.

“Uh… you…” Angelina, who had been smiling moments before, instantly underwent a drastic change in expression upon hearing my question.

She hesitated for several seconds, then, in disbelief, retorted in Chinese, “Could it be… could it be that you’re also a transmigrator?”

She admitted it! In that instant, I felt as though the entire world had been turned upside down, a feeling of utter cataclysm!

At the same time, many more crucial questions surfaced in my mind.

“So, when did you transmigrate? Where were you before you transmigrated, and at what point in time?”

Silently acknowledging my own transmigration, I rapidly fired off three critical questions.

“Just about three days ago… I was singing at a KTV, attending an evening classmate reunion.”

Angelina swayed slightly, seemingly unable to suppress the shock she felt inside, then took a few steps back to lean on a nearby piece of furniture as she responded.

My heart also skipped a beat upon hearing this.

‘So, everyone really had the same experience?’

‘This means we all transmigrated during that classmate reunion, and the other person is very likely one of my high school classmates.

Who exactly is she?’

‘Ruan Ting? Mu Xueyan? Yu Yunshi? Or… Xu Qianran?’

I recalled the names of the high school female classmates I could still remember, but after so long since graduation, I was no longer familiar with them and couldn’t grasp any clues.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind: ‘Why must I only search among the girls? Why couldn’t it be a boy? After all, I am now a perfect real-life example!’

At this, I felt my face turn even paler.

After all, Angelina and I had just been acting quite intimately.

And what did she say she was doing before transmigrating? Singing?

I began to recall everything that happened in the KTV room when I transmigrated.

At that time, there was only one person singing.

“Are you Ren Yunkong?”

In that moment, I genuinely wished my judgment was wrong.

“You… how did you know…” Angelina’s entire face instantly turned stark white, her expression one of a secret utterly exposed.

“It really is you!”

The very thing I wished wouldn’t happen had finally come to pass.

I practically forced those words out of my mouth with all my strength.

Reviewing all my experiences with her since we met in this world, I suddenly realized that many questionable behaviors on her part now made sense.

Before, I hadn’t considered this possibility, so I had paid no attention to them.

For instance, when Sally first asked for her name, later when Amos asked her why she wasn’t returning to Emmana, and also last night before dinner at the restaurant…

“You were doing that on purpose back then, weren’t you?”

I finally understood, glaring at him through gritted teeth as I asked.

“What was I doing on purpose?” Angelina looked at me blankly, momentarily unsure of what exactly I was referring to.

“Yesterday, before dinner at the restaurant, you inexplicably leaned in close to me!

Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten!” I reminded him irritably.

“Ah? That moment!” He instantly reacted, hastily explaining, “Listen to me!

I truly thought you had amnesia back then, and I was just showing concern for you…”

But he immediately noticed that my attitude also seemed somewhat off.

His expression changed again and again, looking as uncomfortable as if he had accidentally swallowed a fly.

“Could it be… you’re also…”

“Hmph, you finally figured it out.”

I let out a cold, disdainful snort.

If I had originally been a girl, given his prowess in the dating scene, even if he knew my identity, his reaction probably wouldn’t have been so extreme.

The only explanation was that I, like him, used to be a boy.

With this, everything made sense: his skilled flirtatious techniques, his almost magical maneuvers, which I had seen him employ on countless girls since high school.

I never imagined they would one day be used on me.

“No wonder I thought the girls in this world were so proactive!”

We both uttered that sentence almost simultaneously.

“I treated you as a brother, and you tried to hit on me!” I couldn’t help but furiously denounce him, finally suppressing the urge to cleave him into eight hundred pieces.

Upon closer consideration, how long had we even known each other in this world—we first met in the evening, and it had only been a few hours until bedtime…

“And you even launched a night raid!”

What was even more outrageous was that he almost succeeded!

Recalling the fact that he had secretly sneaked into my room, my composure utterly shattered.

Never in my life had I felt so humiliated.

“Brother…” Angelina stood stunned, her expression shifting between light and shadow for a long time, only now finally grasping my true identity.

“You’re Mu Feng!”

“Heh, glad you still remember.

I thought you’d already been completely lost in the embrace of beauties!” I scoffed sarcastically.

Then, I suddenly realized that the object of this ‘embrace of beauties’ was apparently me.

This was simply too chaotic!