"S-Sister Liu Ying, y-you are walking too fast! Are you alright?" Gina asked Liu Ying with a concerned face.
Liu Ying seemed not to hear Gina's words. She remained silent with a desolated expression. She seemed like she was about to cry.
She had been like that since she talked to Mu Quan. Gina knew that whatever that man told Liu Ying, it was not something good.
But unfortunately, she did not know what it was.
The honey-haired girl could only bite her lips as she looked at the pale face of her friend.
"… Sister Liu Ying… What happened?"
Liu Ying still did not reply. She did not even look at Gina. Right now, she could only think about the words of Mu Quan.
It was the first time she felt so close to revenge. She knew that if she accepted his offer, she had a high chance of avenging her family.
She could hear the voices of her family asking her to avenge them. She could see his gazes when they remained behind to give her the opportunity to escape. She could see their mutilated bodies as they were cut by the swords of their enemies.
That nightmarish night appeared in her mind clearly. Every second, every drop of blood, every scream of pain could be remembered distinctly, as though it would have happened yesterday.
Revenge. She had been dreaming about it for years.
But then, why…
Why could she not say yes?
Why when she thought about leaving Academy City and Bloed behind, did her heart hurt so much?
"… What should I do?" Liu Ying stopped walking and talked to herself. "Father, mother, what should I do?"
Involuntarily, tears escaped from her eyes. The pain that she had suppressed for years erupted, filling her heart with agony.
"… What should I do?" She could only ask herself that once and again.
But suddenly, she felt someone hugging her from behind.
Liu Ying was startled. She looked behind her only to see Gina hugging her tightly and looking straight into her eyes.
"… Gina."
"No matter what happens, we will always be here for you," Gina spoke without an ounce of lies.
Immediately, Liu Ying's remaining composure collapsed.
Hugging Gina back, Liu Ying started to cry. She cried bitterly, her tears rolling down her cheeks. For several minutes, she cried and cried.
She did not care for the people around them looking at her strangely.
She only wanted to vent out the sadness and confusion inside her.
…
Five minutes later, Liu Ying finally calmed down.
Her eyes were still red, but she had stopped crying. She and Gina then sat on a bench nearby as Gina got a jug of water from a nearby store.
"… Are you alright now, Sister Liu Ying?" Gina asked concerned.
Liu Ying nodded and smiled wryly. "Sorry for worrying you."
"It's alright. But what happened? Did that man tell something rude to you? Let's ask Sister Regina to beats him!"
Liu Ying smiled bitterly and patter Gina's head.
"Thank you, but it won't be necessary."
Gina nodded. However, her silver eyes were still looking at Liu Ying worriedly.
"… Sister Liu Ying, if you want, you can talk to me."
Liu Ying put on a hesitant expression.
The truth was that she wanted to confide in someone about her situation. She wanted to ask for advice.
And although she did not know if Gina could help her, she decided to trust her.
"… Gina, if you need to leave your loved ones to get what you want, what would you do?"
Gina was startled. She then frowned with a thoughtful look.
Eventually, she heaved a sigh and stared at Liu Ying with a gaze full of certainty.
"Sister Liu Ying, I don't know your situation, so I can only tell you what I think. No matter what happens, I will never leave my big sister or my hero. If I need to sacrifice my happiness or their happiness for something, then it's not worth it."
Liu Ying fell silent.
Gina was not sure if her reply had been useful, but she had spoken from the bottom of her heart. Fortunately, Liu Ying nodded a few seconds later and took a deep breath, putting on a determined expression.
"Thank you, little Gina. I know what to do."
Without waiting for Gina to reply, Liu Ying stood up and ran in the direction of the Machine Revolutio Tower, leaving a smiling-wryly Gina behind.
"… Good luck, Sister Liu Ying."
For some reason, Gina knew what choice Liu Ying was going to do.
…
Liu Ying ran to the Machine Revolutio Tower as quickly as she could.
Right now, she wanted to see him. She needed to see him. She yearned to listen to his calm voice and feel his warmth.
When she arrived at the tower, she walked straight to his lab. In the way, several members of the club looked at her strangely when they saw her state, but she did not pay them attention.
Just before reaching Bloed's lab, she met Regina. The Valkyrie frowned and was about to say something when she saw Liu Ying's red eyes and determined gaze.
"What happened?" Regina asked.
Liu Ying did not reply. Instead, she asked her for a favor.
"… Sister Regina, can you leave me alone with Bloed for today? Please."
Regina furrowed her brows, but when she saw Liu Ying's pleading gaze, her eyes softened.
"It was later than I expected."
With these words, the Valkyrie walked away.
Liu Ying smiled softly and bowed to her.
"Thank you."
Then, strengthening her determination, she took a deep breath and opened the door of Bloed's lab.
"Huh? Liu Ying? Wait, why are your eyes red? Were you cry–"
"Bloed."
Before Bloed could finish his words, Liu Ying jumped towards him and she pressed her lips against his.
Bloed was stunned and wondered if his girlfriend had drunk something strange. But when he saw the fragile expression on her face, he sighed.
He knew that something had happened.
Bloed did not ask her about it. He just hugged her waist tightly and responded to her kiss. That was what she wanted.
When their lips finally separated, Liu Ying looked at him with a shy expression.
"… Bloed, I love you."
Bloed became dazed.
At this moment, Liu Ying seemed so beautiful that he could not look away.
Soon, their lips met again.
But this time, it did not end in a single kiss.
Feeling the intense love of each other, the pair took off their clothes piece by piece and hugged each other as they moved to a nearby sofa.
Before long, the two of them were completely naked.
Soon, the sound of moans filled the lab.
By this point, Bloed had forgotten completely about his experiments.