The Afterglow of Sunset, Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves, the Weather is Lovely Today

Hu Yuying noticed their gazes and instinctively covered the marks left by Brother Long's kisses and nibbles. "If you keep staring, I'll put my clothes back on."

"Wait, wait—Yuying, your body seems... different somehow."

"I noticed it too. Oh my god, it really is different..." Li Qingxue also seemed astonished.

Hu Yuying was puzzled.

"Different?"

She glanced down at herself. "No, it's the same."

She genuinely couldn't spot any changes. If anything, the only difference was that she was no longer a girl but a woman now—but could such a change really be visible to the naked eye?

Hu Yuying found it hard to believe, so she assumed Qingxue and Wanning were just teasing her again.

"Yuying, stand up straight."

Once she did, the difference became even more apparent.

Seeing their stunned expressions, which didn’t seem like a joke, she quickly asked what exactly had changed about her body.

After she asked, Li Qingxue and Lin Wanning stood directly in front of her and gestured for her to look down.

At first, she didn’t see anything.

But soon, realization dawned on her—and it felt almost magical.

When Li Qingxue and Lin Wanning stood straight with their legs together, there wasn’t the slightest gap between them.

But when Hu Yuying did the same, her thighs didn’t quite meet at the top...

"You see it now, don’t you? Before, you were just like us—completely closed. But now you’ve changed. I guess that’s the difference between a girl and a woman," Li Qingxue teased with a grin.

"Say another word, and I’ll tickle you senseless!" Hu Yuying’s face burned as she lunged playfully at Li Qingxue.

After being with a man, and hearing Qingxue say such things, her mind couldn’t help but wander back to those moments with Brother Long.

She was starting to feel... strange.

At this point, Hu Yuying had to admit—she was a bad girl too. Sure, she worried about Brother Long, but part of her reluctance was just an excuse. The truth was, she wanted it just as much.

The thought alone made her flush with embarrassment.

Innocence and desire were separated by the thinnest of lines.

Cross that line, and even the purest girl could become a little... naughty.

That’s exactly what had happened to Hu Yuying. Once, she was just a simple girl whose thoughts revolved around studying and Brother Long. Now, her mind was filled with the way he looked at her when he wanted her—those eyes impossible to resist, making her willingly surrender to him, letting him devour her bit by bit... because she loved being his.

"Okay, okay, dear sister, I’ll stop! Have mercy!"

Seeing Li Qingxue beg for forgiveness, Hu Yuying recalled something Brother Long had once told her: "You love to play but can’t handle the consequences."

That described Qingxue perfectly—always teasing but crumbling the moment things turned against her.

Hu Yuying wasn’t a girl anymore. She was a woman now, and watching Li Qingxue squirm under her grasp, she couldn’t help but smirk triumphantly.

Age-wise, the three of them were practically the same. But when it came to who had become a woman first? They really should be calling her "big sister" now.

Soaking in the bathtub, Li Qingxue cupped water in her hands and let it trickle down her body. Softly, she murmured, "I hope we can all get married together someday. A joint wedding would be so beautiful."

"I’ll follow Brother Long’s lead," Hu Yuying whispered, biting her lip.

If Brother Long said he’d marry her, she’d marry him.

She had already decided—he was the one for her, now and forever.

"Long Aotian might seem reliable, but deep down, he’s just a big, oblivious straight guy. If you don’t speak up, he’ll overthink it and assume you’re not ready. So you’ve got to drop him some hints."

Li Qingxue’s tone was calm as she said this, but a faint, resigned smile lingered in her eyes.

That summer—their most beautiful encounter, their most beautiful season.

But she had been too slow to realize her own feelings. By the time she understood her heart, everything had already become... complicated.

Still, Li Qingxue would never deny how wonderful those days had been. Even now, the memories remained sweet.

Back then, she and Long Aotian had been so innocent. In less than a year, everything had grown, changed, become something entirely new.

Her gaze drifted to Hu Yuying, lying beside her.

If anyone had changed the most, it was her.

A person truly could be shaped by another.

If Hu Yuying had never met Long Aotian, what kind of person would she be now?

Thankfully, she had met him.

Someone as gentle as her—why should she ever have been mistreated?

Only someone as good as him would go to such lengths to protect her...

"You’re being silly," Hu Yuying giggled, lightly pinching Li Qingxue’s cheek as she caught her staring blankly.

Fate was strange. Fate was mysterious.

But in the end, they were happy. Things were good between them.

Everything had been peaceful—until someone (who even started it?) suddenly asked, "Yuying, tell us—what’s it like, you know... doing it?"

And just like that, the mood shifted.

What was it like? She couldn’t describe it. Brother Long had forbidden her from sharing details.

"It’s... kind of magical," was all Hu Yuying could say after some thought.

But Qingxue and Wanning wouldn’t let it go, so with a sigh, Hu Yuying gave each of their backsides a light smack.

The strange, tingling sensation made them shiver.

"It’s something like that... but about ten times more intense."

"You’ll understand once you find someone worth giving yourselves to."

"And when that day comes, I’m going to tease you both mercilessly!"

"No way! x2" Li Qingxue and Lin Wanning protested in unison.

Lin Wanning rose from the bath, standing under the shower stream. Her long black hair clung to her body, making her look breathtakingly beautiful. "We’ll see. I’m... a little greedy, honestly."

Unloved by her parents—she had endured it for so long, it didn’t even hurt anymore.

But in this world, there had to be something worth holding onto, something to make life worth living.

Even if what she clung to wasn’t exactly... honorable.

If she had never known sunlight, she could have endured the darkness forever.

If they had never met Long Aotian, maybe their lives would have taken a different, equally fascinating path.

But why did he have to be so... good?

His small, unconscious acts of kindness—so simple, yet something so few people could manage.

That’s why, in the most tender years of youth, when you still know nothing of the world...

You should never meet someone who leaves you breathless, someone unforgettable.

Because if you do...

The regret will haunt you forever.

After their bath, the three girls parted ways.

The weather was lovely that day—golden sunset, autumn breeze, falling leaves...