The night grew darker, and unconsciously, the bright moon had also climbed into the night sky. Through the mottled leaves, it scattered shards of shimmering light on the ground.
This ranch wasn't very big, it was more like a paradise that had been built specifically for Little Griseo. When all became quiet, the insects hidden in the grass began to rustle and play their music.
The evening breeze brushed against the wooden planks of the swing, making the branches make a rustling sound. Kiana stopped the swaying swing and gently sat down. In the distance, Griseo had already put down her easel and instead embraced her more convenient drawing pad. She looked at the starry sky, her pen tip making a rustling sound on the rough draft paper.
Seeing that the girl hadn't noticed her, Kiana quietly tiptoed, sitting on the swing as she swayed with the evening breeze, like a child who had not yet grown up. A happy smile was on her face.
The swing rocked faster and faster, the smile on the girl's face getting more and more brilliant, like a joyful bird, about to spread her wings and fly high. But her eyes suddenly caught sight of the boy leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Her face turned red, and the swing slowly stopped.
"I was just curious, definitely not because I wanted to play!" Kiana was a bit embarrassed at being caught playing on a child's toy. Having just celebrated her 18th birthday not long ago, she was fully an adult in all aspects, but she was playing on a swing like a child.
With a slight smile, Ren wrapped his bandaged arm around his neck, and strolled over to the swing.
The girl understood what he meant. She moved to the side, and the two sat together on the narrow swing, creaking as they swung in the wind.
"Oh right, here." Suddenly remembering something, Kiana took out Ren's broken phone and handed it to him.
But Ren shook his head, not taking it.
"Keep this phone with you for now. After wandering around for so long, have you ever thought of calling your family?"
"Family…" The word suddenly and unexpectedly entered Kiana's mind. She mumbled quietly, and then looked up at the night sky.
"I've almost forgotten what family is like. When I was just twelve years old, my father abandoned me and left."
"I don't know where he went, or why he's hiding from me. But from that time on, I kept telling myself, Kiana, you're not a child anymore, you should live on your own."
"Later, as I grew up day by day, I never heard from him again, and now, his face has even become somewhat blurry." The girl showed a bitter smile. She unconsciously fiddled with the hair accessory in her hair, an orange and white star accessory. "During the time when I lived alone, I was lucky to meet a lot of friends. I was like a bad kid back then, clumsy and lazy, expecting that one day my father would come back for me after seeing how hopeless I was. But my father didn't come back. Instead, they were willing to tolerate me, and help me slowly come out of the darkness."
"That time, it was the happiest time of my life."
Quietly listening to the girl's monologue, they both looked up at the distance, two pairs of eyes reflecting the same starry sky.
"But later, some accidents happened. I did things to them that I can't make up for, I committed unforgivable sins."
"I chose to run away, and didn't even have the courage to apologize to them face-to-face. I didn't dare to look them in the eye, afraid of seeing the hatred in their eyes."
"I ran away like a cowardly child. I thought I had grown up, I was supposed to have grown up…"
The two snuggled together on the narrow swing, the story deep within the girl's heart slowly pouring out.
"What about your mother?" Ren asked softly.
"I don't know... I don't know." Confusion, pain, sadness, complex emotions constantly washed away Kiana's memories.
When she was little, the stories told by her father, Ziegfried, were the best way for her to understand the world. At that time, she didn't understand what the word mother meant, she was just listening as Ziegfried described, over and over again, the person he loved so deeply – Cecilia Shaniat.
The man tirelessly described every detail of his time with Cecilia. Based on these, Kiana had gradually pieced together a perfect feminine figure in her mind.
She was Schicksal's top Valkyrie, she was the pride of the battlefield, she was the perfect family member, she was the mother of the girl named 'Kiana Kaslana'.
But, was the name Kiana Kaslana really her own?
"My father told me that my mother had turned into a star in the sky. As long as I look at the stars when I miss her, she will be looking at me too."
The stars filled the sky, which one belonged to her?
Kiana quietly turned her head, looking at the boy, and found that he was looking at the stars very seriously.
Perhaps today's night view was just very beautiful.
…
Griseo had left at some point. Now, there was only the two of them on the prairie. Even the sounds of the insects had gradually faded. Only the evening breeze tirelessly brushed against their hair, trying to carry their stories far away.
"Sometimes, I'm quite envious of you. Although your father has become a bit unreasonable, your mother is really a perfect mother." After telling her story, Kiana showed a smile. "The food she makes is very delicious. You probably haven't noticed it, but every time she looks at you, a look of happiness comes over her face. I think, that's what it means to be a mother, truly spoiling her child."
"Have you ever thought of making up with your father? As long as you're with your family, you can get through any difficulty."
As long as her family was by her side, her life would not get any worse.
In her heart, the girl held such a belief.
"Yeah, I will."
He smiled, as usual, the warm and gentle smile seeming to infect the girl by his side as well. After completely pouring out her heart to the person by her side, her accumulated emotions seemed to have vanished without a trace.
Together with the boy by her side, they swung on the swing, higher and higher, the stars filling the sky almost within their reach.
…
"I don't have many rooms here, you two will have to stay in the same room for now." After clearing out an empty room, the uncle handed two pillows to Ren.
The girl's face flushed red. Even though she had long been used to a wandering life and wasn't too picky about her lodgings, this was the first time she would be staying in the same room as a boy.
"Okay, thank you, Uncle."
After thanking him, Ren consciously laid out the extra quilt on the ground. He patted the bed, and said to Kiana, "Please sleep in the bed tonight."
"Uh, actually it's fine if we share. Any, anyway you can definitely… not beat me." The girl seemed to have found a reason for her words, she muttered softly, "And, you definitely won't do anything disrespectful, right...?"
Looking at the conflicted girl, Ren smiled, not intending to insist on sharing the bed.
"Okay, it's time to sleep. You must be very tired too." He laid down on his makeshift bed first, and quietly fell asleep. His sleeping posture was very standard, lying flat on his back, as still as a corpse.
"Okay." Seeing that Ren had said so, Kiana naturally couldn't bring herself to insist that they share the bed, so she turned off the bedside lamp and fell asleep fully dressed, following his example.
…
Late at night, Kiana, who was sleeping soundly, vaguely heard a knocking sound. Her eyebrows furrowed tightly, could it be that there was something wrong with Ren's uncle's family?
She didn't move, quietly waiting, waiting for the malice in the night to arrive. It was only when the rustling sound of Ren getting up rang out that he opened the door and walked out.
Her heart suddenly felt a little empty. If, if Ren was really just deceiving her, and he wanted to do bad things to her, then how should she interact with him?
Thinking of this, she also got up, quietly went to the door of the bedroom, and quietly eavesdropped on the sounds coming from the living room.
"Little Ren, is that girl that came with you really your girlfriend?"
"Uh, why are you asking?" His lie having been exposed, the boy's voice sounded a little nervous.
"Take a look at this photo. Someone said that she's the reason that's plunging this world into chaos, and this photo was taken in ARC City… She, she looks kind of familiar."
"…" Silence.
"Uncle, you're wrong, she's not… I'll take her away tomorrow, you don't have to worry."
The moment she heard the word photo, Kiana's heart trembled. Now the whole of Schicksal was searching for her, if her trail was captured on camera, then it was very likely that they would soon launch a siege.
The living room was silent. Kiana returned to the bed, but her mind was constantly replaying what she had heard.
Coincidentally, Ren's phone was still here. She turned on the phone, and began searching for the latest gossip in ARC City.
She quickly found the photo. According to the location in the photo, it seemed to be from when the two of them crossed the checkpoint in the daytime. Most of her face had been exposed, and Ren's identity also seemed to have caused groundless speculation amongst the netizens.
By the time she refreshed again, the photo was as if it had been deleted. Her heart sank. To block the news in such a short time, it was likely that this photo had already been shown to Otto.
Click.
The sound of the door being opened rang out. Kiana quickly closed her eyes. It was only after Ren's breathing had gradually returned to normal that the girl made up her mind.