Chapter 55: The Kindred Souls’ Embrace and a Viral Kiss

The Ferris wheel descended slowly, and the city lights beneath them swirled like a continuous river of brilliance. Inside the cabin, however, the air seemed to congeal, leaving only Xia Yue’s bewildered whisper about ‘liking’ to echo softly, alongside an unprecedented, ice-shattering helplessness in her eyes.

Jin watched her—this honor student magical girl who always appeared calm, composed, and utterly in control—now vulnerable as a lost child.

Xia Yue’s monologue about ‘excellence,’ ‘duty,’ and ‘the optimal solution’ acted like an unexpected mirror, reflecting certain things Jin herself had deliberately ignored deep within her own heart.

Her hand, resting on the back of Xia Yue’s, could clearly feel the coolness and subtle tremble of the other girl’s skin. Taking a deep breath, Jin resolved to no longer conceal the secret that even she found terrifying.

“Xia Yue…” Jin’s voice was soft, imbued with a newfound, resolute calm. “You asked why I’m such a ‘strange’ person… The truth is, I don’t know either.”

Xia Yue lifted her gaze, her ice-blue pupils still clouded with confusion, yet now imbued with a focused attentiveness.

“I…” Jin paused, seemingly weighing her words. Her gaze drifted, as if piercing through the cabin to some distant, ethereal point. “I have no memories from before. At least, not what you’d consider ‘normal,’ complete memories.”

Xia Yue’s brow subtly furrowed.

“My memory seems to have begun two years ago, the moment I awoke in this city.” Jin’s lips twisted into a bitter arc. “Everything before that is a blank. Not blurry, but utterly… void.”

She felt Xia Yue’s hand stir faintly.

“Every time I try to remember, to force myself to touch that blankness…” Jin’s voice carried a hint of imperceptible fear. “I don’t get images or sounds. All I get is… a violent headache, and a feeling… a feeling like I’m being torn apart, drowned. It’s incredibly complex—there’s regret, sorrow, anger, and so many other things I can’t quite name… but all of it is excruciatingly painful, terrifying.”

She lifted her head, meeting Xia Yue’s eyes directly. Those eyes, usually timid and evasive, were now filled with raw honesty and… a deep-seated fear.

“I don’t know who I was before. I don’t know if I’m… like Violette said, a ‘traitor,’ a ‘fire stealer’?” Her voice trembled slightly. “I don’t even know if I’m some… infamous, murderous evil witch from history? I don’t know… anything.”

“I know only one thing.” Her tone became exceptionally firm—a belief, like a lifeline, the only thing she could cling to amidst the void and terror. “I have to live. At all costs, I will hide myself and survive.”

“So,” a self-deprecating, almost sorrowful smile touched Jin’s lips, “I started ‘acting.’ Playing an ordinary high school girl, a physically weak, average student, a bit clumsy, occasionally boy-crazy… ‘Jin Kazami.’ I observed others, imitated their expressions, their tones, their reactions. I learned how to smile naturally, how to cry to evoke pity, how to act cute without being annoying… I coated myself in layer after layer of ‘protective coloration’.”

She looked at Xia Yue, her gaze complex.

“Just like you use ‘excellence,’ ‘calmness,’ and ‘efficiency’ as your armor, I also use ‘ordinariness,’ ‘weakness,’ and even… ‘clumsiness’ as my disguise. We both… arm ourselves in ways we believe are safe, striving to… survive in this not-so-safe world.”

“Until just now, hearing you say those things…” Jin’s voice softened, imbued with a sudden realization and a strange resonance. “I realized how similar we are.”

“Both afraid.”

“Both wrapping our true selves—the confused, the bewildered—in a hard shell.”

Silence, deep and profound, descended upon the cabin once Jin’s words faded. Only the faint hum of machinery and the distant background noise of the city outside remained.

Xia Yue watched Jin unmoving, her ice-blue eyes swirling with an unprecedented, violent storm of emotions. Shock, understanding, sympathy, resonance… countless complex feelings intertwined and collided within her gaze.

She had always tried to analyze Jin rationally, to comprehend this ‘anomaly’ that disturbed her composure. She had calculated countless possibilities, yet never once considered that the truth could be so… heavy, and so… similar.

Beneath their seemingly disparate exteriors, lay souls equally restless, equally searching for the meaning of their own existence.

Her ‘optimal solution,’ her suppressed ‘unnecessary emotions,’ her confused ‘loss of control’… in this moment, all seemed to find a vague, yet profoundly real, outlet.

Not a mistake.

Not a deviation that needed correcting.

But… a resonance between two lost souls, instinctively drawn to and recognizing each other in the darkness.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she withdrew the hand Jin had covered.

Then, under Jin’s somewhat startled and crestfallen gaze, she opened her arms. With an almost clumsy, yet undeniably forceful gesture, she pulled the girl—who was also wrapped in thick disguise, yet inwardly desolate and fearful—tightly, tightly into her embrace.

Jin’s body stiffened instantly, then softened.

Xia Yue rested her chin gently on Jin’s shoulder, closing her eyes. She felt the fragility and slight trembling of the body in her arms, and the unfamiliar, fierce rhythm of her own heart, usually so steady, now pounding in her chest.

The icy shell shattered in that embrace, melting into a warm, bittersweet current that flowed through her entire being.

She finally understood.

Understood why she was uncontrollably drawn to this ‘underachiever in every aspect.’

Not because of any quantifiable data, not because of any rational judgment.

Simply because…

They were kindred spirits.

Kindred spirits who, in boundless solitude and disguise, had finally sensed each other’s presence.

“…Mm.” Xia Yue whispered, almost inaudibly, tightening her embrace even further.

****

The Ferris wheel came to a steady halt at the ground, and the cabin door opened once more.

But this time, neither of the embracing figures moved.

The world outside remained boisterous, and the path ahead was still shrouded in mist and threats.

Yet, in this small, secluded space, two souls, stripped of all pretense, embraced each other for the first time, truly and without barriers.

They also embraced the real, fragile self, hidden beneath a hard shell, yet still striving to live.

The Ferris wheel cabin door slowly opened, and the clamor of people and cheerful music from outside surged in like a tide, instantly filling the previously secluded, quiet space.

Xia Yue released the embrace almost simultaneously, her body subtly pulling back.

However, just as Jin expected everything to return to normal, for the familiar, cold Xia Yue to reappear, she was stunned.

Xia Yue’s face no longer held its usual, instrument-like calm, nor the vulnerability and confusion from when she dropped her disguise.

In her ice-blue eyes, the shattered ice had melted, transforming into a pool of spring water shimmering with gentle starlight.

Her lips curved slightly upward, forming a clear, genuine smile, tinged with shyness, but more so with relief and warmth.

It wasn’t an imitation, not a calculated optimal expression, but a natural, heartfelt emanation.

She looked at Jin, her gaze soft, with an unprecedented, almost drowning intensity.

Then, as Jin still watched, somewhat dazed, Xia Yue leaned in slightly, one hand gently cupping Jin’s cheek. Her fingertips carried a hint of coolness, yet her touch was as light as a feather.

A kiss, like a butterfly alighting on a petal, tentative and precious, yet unmistakably tender, gently landed on Jin’s lips.

Very light, very brief.

Yet it was like a warm current, instantly piercing through all of Jin’s thoughts.

Jin’s mind went blank for a moment, then an indescribable warmth surged from her heart, engulfing her previous apprehension, unease, and all complex emotions.

She didn’t flinch, didn’t show surprise, but simply closed her eyes obediently, savoring that brief moment of tenderness, and then, with equally gentle strength, softly embraced Xia Yue back.

At this moment, words were unnecessary.

Beneath the Ferris wheel, people came and went, lights sparkled. No one noticed the subtle yet significant change that occurred in front of the ordinary cabin that had just reached the ground.

Except for… a tourist who happened to raise their phone, adjusting the angle to capture the Ferris wheel’s night view.

“Click.”

A faint shutter sound, lost in the surrounding din.

Minutes later, on Seio Academy’s internal forum and several local social platforms, a post with a photo quietly appeared and quickly gained likes and shares.

The photo’s composition was somewhat coincidental: a dazzling Ferris wheel and blurred light trails in the background, but the focus perfectly captured the two girls embracing and kissing in front of the cabin door.

Although the pixel quality wasn’t extremely high, Xia Yue’s distinctive blue hair and cool profile, along with Jin’s familiar slender back and partial profile, were enough for those who knew them to recognize them at a glance.

The title was even more provocative:

[Shock! Seio’s Ice Queen Senior Xia Yue and a Mysterious Girl Share a Romantic Kiss at the Top of the Ferris Wheel! Is This an Official Announcement?!]

Accompanying text: –Aaaah, I witnessed it firsthand! Just now! Under the Ferris wheel! Senior Xia Yue was smiling so gently! The other girl was super cute too! They hugged and kissed! I’m done for! [Heart][Heart][Heart]–

The comment section immediately exploded.

–What the hell?! Really?! Senior Xia Yue?! The student council president?!–

–The other one is… Jin? The one often with Senior Lin Wan?–

–Case closed! So Senior Xia Yue likes this type?!–

–KSWL! Ice Queen x Soft Girl! What a divine couple!–

–Photographer, you’re my god! What an angle!–

–@LinWanV @YuNiannianV Come see! Your Jin-baby has been kidnapped!–

–Don’t randomly @ people upstairs, what if they fight…–

–Am I the only one who thinks this scene is beautiful? The lighting and atmosphere are perfect!–

…

When Jin was almost simultaneously bombarded by frantic messages from Lin Wan and Yu Niannian, clicked the link, and saw the viral photo, she flushed crimson from head to toe, like a cooked shrimp.

“Ah—!!!” She let out a short wail, instantly covering her face with her hands, wishing she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

‘What… what was this?! A public social death?! She and Xia Yue… kissed… and it was photographed and uploaded online?! Now the whole school, no, probably the whole circle, knew!’

‘This was absolutely her darkest history since her reincarnation! No exceptions!’

She secretly peeked at Xia Yue through her fingers.

Xia Yue had clearly received the news too; she was looking down at her phone screen, her face devoid of embarrassment. Instead… the gentle curve of her lips seemed to deepen? She even extended a fingertip, gently zoomed in on the photo, and examined it carefully.

Then, under Jin’s horrified gaze, Xia Yue looked up at her, her ice-blue eyes filled with clear amusement and a hint of… cunning?

“It’s quite a good shot,” Xia Yue commented calmly, as if discussing an ordinary landscape photo.

Jin: “!!!”

‘Good?! What was good about it?! This was clearly a public execution!’

Seeing Jin on the verge of dying from shame and indignation, the amusement in Xia Yue’s eyes grew stronger.

She put away her phone, naturally took Jin’s hand (a gesture that drew hushed gasps and more phone clicks from around them), and spoke in a quiet but undeniably frank tone:

“Let’s go.” She paused, then added, as if stating the most natural fact: “Anyway, there will probably be many more such things in the future.”

Jin: “…”

She looked at Xia Yue’s composed profile, her eyes still brimming with laughter, and felt the countless curious, envious, or excited gazes around them, and the continuous new message notifications on her phone…

‘It was over.’

‘Her ‘ordinary’ high school girl life was seemingly gone forever.’

‘And her dark history… had accumulated another entry.’

But…

The hand Xia Yue held tightly conveyed a firm and warm strength.

It seemed… it wasn’t so hard to accept after all?

At least, the other protagonist of this ‘dark history’ was someone she was willing to face all future unknowns with.

Jin, blushing, lowered her head, but quietly, she interlaced her fingers and squeezed Xia Yue’s hand back.

‘So what if it was social death?’

‘Anyway, she had her by her side.’