Shichen didn't take things any further and pulled away from Elaina just like that.
Elaina was still frozen, stuck in place with her eyes wide open, Shichen's face reflected in her pupils.
Seeing her like that, Shichen couldn't help laughing.
"Why do you look so dumbfounded?"
"I… you…" Elaina finally snapped out of it, sat up straight at once, and turned away.
Her mind started racing as she tried to recall how it had felt just now, but it was like… nothing had registered?
It had happened way too suddenly. She hadn't even had the chance to savor it.
What a waste!
"Why did you suddenly…" Elaina asked, trailing off.
"You didn't like it?" Shichen asked back.
"That's not the issue…" Elaina said, conflicted.
"Then did you like it?" Shichen pressed.
"I can only say… I didn't hate it." Elaina thought for a moment before answering.
"Then there's no problem."
"How is that 'no problem' at all?!" Elaina glared at him, puffing up angrily.
"How can something like that… kissing and all… be fine just because there's 'no problem'?"
"Then guess why I wanted to kiss you." Shichen looked into her eyes as he asked.
"How… how would I know…" Elaina was too embarrassed to look at him directly, her gaze drifting away.
"Then don't you know what a kiss means?" Shichen continued.
"W-what does it mean?" Elaina finally looked at him, a quiet expectation in her eyes.
"Who kisses someone for no reason?"
"You… you mean?"
"Still pretending to be clueless?" Shichen raised a hand, gently cupping her soft cheek as he smiled at her.
"I… if you don't say it, how would I know?" Elaina pressed her lips together, holding back the smile that wanted to rise.
"Fine. Since you want to hear it, I'll say it plainly. I…"
As he spoke, Shichen leaned in until they were face to face.
"I like you."
"Mmph…" Excitement burst through Elaina, though she managed to keep her expression under control.
"Y-you… why do you like me? We haven't even… properly spent time together. Wasn't I just bothering you all the time?"
"I never found you bothersome."
"R-really?" Elaina looked at him with wide eyes.
"Why would I lie to you?"
"Well…"
"I really do like you. You may not know this, but I liked you even before we met."
"That's impossible." Elaina laughed.
There was no way she'd believe something like that so easily.
She didn't know Shichen's full situation, so of course she couldn't believe someone could like a person before even meeting them.
And that wasn't an unreasonable thought. Before meeting her, Shichen had already known of her.
You can't like someone you don't know or understand.
Even love at first sight at least requires seeing the person once.
As for online romance—even if two people haven't met in person, constant chatting and getting used to each other's way of speaking still counts as a kind of familiarity.
Come to think of it, Elaina and Shichen's situation was pretty similar to that.
They barely met in person and mainly talked through telepathy.
That wasn't so different from chatting online, and the rare times they did see each other were almost like video calls.
And today… was basically their first "real" date.
"Don't believe me? I actually know quite a lot about you," Shichen said.
"You know about me?"
"Yeah. You became a witch in a year, earned the title of the Ashen Witch, traveled everywhere, witnessed all kinds of sorrow and parting, and kept moving forward through it all… I've seen all of that."
"You really… know about my past?" Elaina stared at him in disbelief.
She had never told him those things.
"Exactly. Otherwise, why do you think I was so good to you from the start? It's because I really did like you before we ever met."
"You…" Elaina stared at him blankly, her heartbeat speeding up.
So all this time, the way he'd indulged her, looked after her, stayed with her—it hadn't been because of duty or responsibility.
It was simply because he liked her.
At that moment, her heart felt unbearably light.
She was sure of her feelings now.
She liked him too.
Even though they hadn't spent much time together in person, even though they'd barely met face to face, they had talked from morning until night—his voice there at the end of every day and the beginning of every morning.
That was constant companionship.
No one else could have done that.
It was like being accompanied soul to soul.
Elaina had already grown unable to do without that feeling.
She had never been in love before and didn't understand what love was supposed to feel like, but maybe that was exactly why she fell so fast—she had adapted to Shichen's presence, grown used to it, and become unable to let go.
No one had ever treated her better than he had.
And he treated her so well because he liked her.
Liking someone was normal. It was human nature.
Sometimes it was love at first sight. Sometimes it was affection that grew over time.
Elaina had never interacted with a man like this before, but she knew it hadn't been love at first sight.
What they had was something that had built up over time.
A real feeling.
"Elaina, do you like me?" Shichen asked.
"I…"
"Is that silence your answer?"
"N-not at all!" Elaina denied it, blushing hard.
"So you don't like me?" Shichen looked hurt.
"It's not that I don't like you either," Elaina said quickly, denying that too.
"Then what is it?"
"I-I mean… maybe a little? We haven't known each other that long. How could it happen that fast…" Elaina lowered her head, unable to look at him.
Her face was bright red now.
Partly from embarrassment, partly from awkwardness.
Because she was lying.
"Just a little?"
"A little is enough… We've got all the time in the world, don't we? You can just make me like you more…" Elaina's voice got quieter and quieter.
"So that means I'm allowed to pursue you, right?"
"Mmph… yeah…" Elaina nodded faintly.
"Got it. I'll make you like me even more," Shichen said.
"Then you should work har—mmph!"
The moment Elaina looked up, Shichen kissed her again.
This time it was only a light taste before he pulled back, smiling as he said,
"Since you like me at least a little, then something like this should be fine now, right?"
"I… you…" Elaina's thoughts dissolved into chaos.
"Should I take that as a yes?"
"I…"
Before she could say anything else, he kissed her again.
This time it wasn't a quick touch. He slipped past her defenses, found her tongue, and tangled with it.
Elaina felt like her mind had exploded.
It was too intense, too much, and she had no idea what to do.
But she didn't push him away.
Instead, helplessly, and then instinctively, she closed her eyes.
She was already sinking under the weight of Shichen's practiced skill.
She liked him too, and kissing was supposed to deepen feelings and make both people happy.
There was no way she wouldn't get swept away by it.
By the time the movie ended, Elaina was still dazed, sitting there blankly in her seat.
Her soul had practically left her body.
Shichen smiled and waved a hand in front of her eyes.
"The movie's over. We should go."
"Hm?" Elaina blinked and looked at him blankly.
"Heh, time to wake up." Shichen reached over and rubbed her head.
"This is…?"
"The movie theater. We were watching a movie just now."
"Were we… actually watching a movie?"
"Not really… Still replaying everything?"
"I'm not!" Elaina denied it immediately.
"Then let's go. We're the only two left."
Shichen held out his hand.
"Oh."
Elaina took it, let him pull her to her feet, and followed him out.
"Come to think of it… what movie did we watch? I think I forgot."
"It's fine. I don't remember much either. Probably a tragedy."
"A tragedy?"
"The leads probably didn't end up together."
"Then it's a good thing I wasn't paying attention."