Chapter 19: Matching Rings

In the old apartment located in the Seventh District, three days after the incident.

Warm morning sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains. On the bed in the bedroom, Ling Ling was rarely not forcefully “booted up” by Lin Jiu’s icy little hands.

Although she had woken up naturally, her eyes were still hazy with moisture.

Ling Ling stared blankly at the ceiling for a few seconds, then slightly tilted her head.

The black-haired girl was curled up asleep beside her, azure-blue eyes tightly shut, long eyelashes casting faint shadows in the morning light.

Lin Jiu looked very peaceful when she slept—a world of difference from the vengeful demon-like figure she had been during the battle a few days ago.

Ling Ling looked at her little sister’s sleeping face, feeling an inexplicable sense of relief in her heart. Then she reached out and gently brushed aside the stray hairs on Lin Jiu’s forehead.

Then she did something she would never normally do—she lifted a corner of her own blanket and pulled Lin Jiu into her bed.

Lin Jiu’s eyes snapped open, azure-blue orbs filled with shock.

“…Sister?”

“I’m rewarding you today.” Ling Ling’s voice was flat, but the tips of her ears had begun to redden. “You can hug me while sleeping, and you can pinch my face, but… only today.”

Lin Jiu blinked.

Then, tears rapidly pooled in her eyes.

“Sister…”

“Don’t cry.”

“But…”

“If you cry, the reward is canceled.”

The tears miraculously vanished within three seconds.

Lin Jiu, like a kitten that had gotten a dried fish, burrowed entirely into Ling Ling’s bed, wrapped her arms around her sister’s slender waist, and buried her face in the crook of her neck.

Ling Ling could feel her little sister’s breath hitting the skin of her collarbone—it tickled a little.

Then a small hand reached up and gently pinched her cheek.

“…Soft,” Lin Jiu said, her voice tinged with undisguised happiness.

Ling Ling closed her eyes and let her ravage her face.

Under normal circumstances, she would have probably flicked her little sister’s forehead by now.

But today was different. Three days ago, she had watched with her own eyes as her little sister used her own body to help her fight the enemy and got seriously injured in the process.

As her older sister, she naturally couldn’t let her little sister down. So indulging her little sister’s wish today by letting her pinch her face for a while was no big deal.

Five minutes later.

“Sister… can I kiss you?”

“No.”

“Then can I pinch a little longer?”

“…As you wish.”

Another ten minutes passed.

Lin Jiu finally emerged from the bed, thoroughly satisfied, with a smile on her face as if her life was complete. She walked briskly to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Ling Ling was still lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, then reached up to touch her slightly reddened cheeks from being pinched.

“…What a loss,” she muttered softly.

But despite saying that, there was a hint of amusement in her crimson eyes.

After breakfast, Ling Ling sat at the small coffee table in the living room. In front of her were two objects.

Two crystals known as “Divine Relics.”

“Sister.” Lin Jiu walked out of the kitchen, drying her hands, and sat down beside her. “What does sister plan to do with these two crystals?”

“…Haven’t decided yet.”

Ling Ling picked up the smaller crystal and examined it carefully in her palm. The crystal pulsed rhythmically in her hand, as if responding to her.

Minerva’s words also surfaced in her mind: “Divine Relics have no fixed form. They are a mirror, reflecting the shape of the user’s consciousness.”

“It chose sister, huh…” Lin Jiu’s azure-blue eyes gazed quietly at the crystal.

“Is sister planning to use it?”

Ling Ling was silent for a few seconds.

“…I don’t know.”

That was the truth.

She didn’t know what form the Divine Relic would take, nor whether her current power could control it. If she couldn’t, what would be the consequences?

But one thing she was certain of: she couldn’t be the only one to possess something that supplemented combat strength like this.

She lifted her head, crimson eyes looking at Lin Jiu. “Xiao Jiu, the other one is for you.”

Lin Jiu blinked.

“But that AI said Divine Relics need a compatible person. I’m not compatible, am I?”

“We won’t know until we try.”

Ling Ling handed her the smaller crystal.

Lin Jiu took the crystal and held it in her palms. The crystal also began to pulse in her hand, but its frequency was different from the one in Ling Ling’s—faster, lighter, like a fawn bouncing.

“It’s moving,” Lin Jiu said, her eyes lighting up with curiosity as if she had discovered something fun.

“Mm.”

“Is it… singing?”

“…Singing?”

“Yeah. A very, very faint song, like a lullaby.”

Ling Ling looked at the crystal in her little sister’s palm, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly.

Minerva had once said that Xiao Jiu was the second successful individual created using her data, and their ability vibration frequencies were highly similar.

Since she could adapt to a Divine Relic, Xiao Jiu should be able to as well.

And now the question had its answer. The crystal was indeed responding to Xiao Jiu.

“Try it,” Ling Ling said calmly. “Use your ability to touch it.”

Lin Jiu nodded and carefully infused her Matter Reconstruction ability into the crystal.

In an instant, the crystal’s appearance changed.

The solid crystal turned into a liquid state. Silver-gray liquid flowed through Lin Jiu’s fingers but didn’t fall to the ground. Instead, it crept up the back of her hand, slowly wrapping around the ring finger of her left hand.

Lin Jiu’s eyes widened.

The liquid resolidified on her hand, but not back into its original crystal form. It became a ring.

A slender silver-white ring, with extremely delicate patterns on the band, like a work of art carved by a famous artist.

“…So beautiful,” Lin Jiu murmured.

Ling Ling looked down at the crystal in her own hand, then she also tried infusing her ability into it.

The crystal melted in her palm as well. Black liquid crept up her fingers, enveloping, solidifying, taking shape.

Soon, a jet-black ring appeared on the ring finger of her left hand.

The two sisters looked at the rings on each other’s hands, silent for a few seconds. Then Lin Jiu suddenly laughed.

“Sister, these are matching rings.”

“Hehe, my sister gave me a ring. This must be proof of my sister’s love for me!”

“…I told you, it’s a coincidence.”

“I gave my sister a ring, and she gave me one.” Lin Jiu extended her left hand, the silver-white ring shimmering softly in the morning light. “And it’s on the ring finger. Does sister know what wearing a ring on the ring finger means?”

“…Coincidence.”

Ling Ling looked expressionlessly at the ring on her own left hand. She couldn’t figure out why the crystal had automatically chosen the ring finger. The index, middle, or pinky would have been fine, but it had to be the ring finger.

Coincidence. It had to be coincidence!

“Hehe, my sister gave me a ring.” Lin Jiu cupped her cheeks with both hands, little hearts already popping up in her azure-blue eyes. “This must be proof of my sister’s love for me.”

“…I told you, it’s a coincidence.”

“Then why doesn’t sister take it off?”

Ling Ling looked down at the ring and tried to pull it off her finger.

The ring didn’t budge.

She tried again.

Still wouldn’t budge.

“I can’t get it off…”

“Then just wear it.” Lin Jiu tilted her head, a hint of triumph in her smile. “Anyway, I don’t plan on taking mine off either.”

Ling Ling looked at her little sister’s “plan successfully executed” expression and silently sighed in her heart.

Fine.

Let her do as she pleased.

“…Whatever you say.”

She expressionlessly shifted her gaze away from the ring, but her ears were already bright red from embarrassment.

Lin Jiu naturally noticed.

But she didn’t call her out on it. She just smiled happily at her sister’s red ears, feeling like a little deer was bouncing around in her heart.

Sister was so cute.

She wanted to pinch her again, but if she pinched her sister’s face now, she might get angry.

But she’d already pinched her face today, so that could wait until next time.

Ling Ling tried a few more times before finally giving up. She stared at the jet-black ring on her ring finger, a trace of helplessness flashing in her eyes.

She had a feeling.

This ring was probably going to stir up some unnecessary little storms in her everyday life from now on.

And as it turned out, Ling Ling’s premonitions were always accurate.

Especially when it came to troublesome matters.