Chapter 49: Chapter Forty-Nine: Change

I've changed my plans

'Cause I... I'm in love

With my future...

In the living room, the secondhand vinyl player spun, gently tearing open a rift in time.

Thus, the melodies of the old era seeped in, dancing lightly within the small room.

Lucy softly sang along with the fluttering musical notes.

In the past, she had been a young woman weighed down by melancholy.

She always scorned chasing trends, stubbornly pinning herself to the torrent of time, silently watching the ebb and flow of the world.

She gently shed her thick sportswear and tight athletic pants, stretching languidly toward the moon.

She was Aphrodite, and also Venus; she was destined to bloom above the clouds, radiating splendor above all beings.

Her athletic, graceful body resembled a swift cheetah; the marks of cybernetic augmentation blended with the contours of muscular definition, quietly subdued beneath her porcelain skin.

Like a red spider lily blooming at the end of the Yellow Springs, she quietly accompanied the solitary, chilly spirits, condensing human desire and beauty beyond life and death.

Before her white body, the moonlight dimmed into obscurity.

"Oh come on, we're just going together—remember that outfit we bought last time? Just wear that one. If you don't come... don't blame me for knocking on your door!" The girl's lark-like chatter echoed in her ear; Lucy sighed softly.

Following Hita's wishes, Lucy took out from her closet the matching suit they had bought together.

After finding the Sun, she had grown increasingly curious about this girl named Hita.

Hita's wisdom and sensitivity always hid beneath her carefree demeanor and angelic face.

This silver-haired girl, so perceptive and attuned to the heart, had reached out at once to the lonely audience below, her face always wearing a gentle smile.

How could anyone refuse her?

Lucy shook her head in mild annoyance, slowly pulling on the sleek black trousers after slipping into the pure white shirt.

Before the mirror, she carefully fastened each button, unable to suppress the smile tugging at her lips.

She was fully aware of her own transformation.

Perhaps there was some painful discomfort, but as long as the Sun still shone, she would no longer fear the dark.

Lucy hummed happily, pulling on a thick, ink-black overcoat over her shirt, then tying a dark tie around her neck.

The woman in the mirror seemed to have draped the cold night itself around her, her smile now appearing even colder and more alluring.

This outfit unexpectedly suited her innate, unique aura.

Lucy nodded in satisfaction, lightly stroking her chin, unable to help imagining what the gentle, kind-hearted silver-haired girl would look like wearing the same outfit.

She had finally begun to feel curiosity toward this world.

A powerful desire to know would bloom for the first time on this barren soil.

A good beginning.

"Good evening, Lucy!"

Lucy opened the door; greeted by the girl's warm smile and affectionate embrace.

She was like a child who would never grow up.

"Good evening, Hita," she whispered.

"Shall we go?"

"Yes."

Hita gripped Lucy's hand tightly.

They walked forward in step, strides bold and swift.

Their movements were exaggerated, like actors on a comedy stage.

Utterly ridiculous.

But Lucy did not dislike the feeling.

With the aid of moonlight, she saw Hita's attire clearly.

Though dressed identically, their auras were utterly different.

Hita was summer mint, offering refreshing coolness.

Lucy was winter ice, bringing piercing cold.

Yet each had her own beauty.

"How's my taste? Pretty good, right?" While waiting for the elevator, Hita spun around Lucy, showing off.

"Mm." Lucy nodded helplessly; to stop the girl from spinning and making her dizzy, she had to reach out and hug her.

"Hehe." Hita grinned mischievously, burying her head deep in Lucy's arms.

The two girls were similar in height, but their physical development still differed.

Perhaps due to the age gap.

"Don't worry, Hita still has plenty of room to grow," Lucy said with a mischievous tone, her words carrying hidden meaning.

"Hey! I'm only a few years younger than you—don't get cocky!"

"So you admit I'm older?" Lucy's voice trembled slightly with suppressed laughter, "Call me sister."

"Pfft! Not a chance! With Yahweh's help, I'll grow bigger for sure!" Hita rubbed against Lucy's chest, the soft, pillow-like sensation making her both love and hate it.

"Natural growth is best—forcing it won't work..."

"Really?"

"Pfft... I'm kidding."

"You finally smiled?"

"This method of making me laugh was interesting—do it again next time," Lucy said, gently ruffling Hita's hair, sincerely thanking her.

When the hard ice begins to crack, melting is not far off.

"Hmph, I'm not doing this for you." Xida turned her head away, pouting.

"Ugh, that's so disgusting." Lucy pretended to be repulsed and dry-heaved once.

"I think Yahweh quite likes it, though?"

"What does he do that he doesn't like?"

"That's true."

"Foolish women in love, tsk tsk..."

Lucy shook her head, took Xida's hand proactively, and walked into the elevator that had just arrived.

"Heh heh, Lucy, if you mock me now, be careful you don't end up like this yourself later."

"End up like what?"

Inside the elevator, an advertisement for "Big Steel Cannon" was playing; they chatted intermittently, yet felt no boredom at all.

"Becoming anxious about gains and losses, always worrying that this isn't good or that isn't good, always fearing he might leave one day..."

"Then I'd rather stay single." Lucy pouted, stretched her neck, and gently rubbed Xida's tender, flawless cheek.

"I didn't mean that..."

"I understand your kindness, Xida..." She gently grasped the girl's somewhat cold little hand, "Change must happen step by step, slowly, right?"

"Oh." Xida mumbled a response, lying still in Lucy's broad embrace, motionless.

"By the way, how did that feel?" To change the subject and also out of curiosity, Lucy couldn't help but ask.

Due to years of Escape experience, she had almost never had any contact with men.

"Just... like the head was about to melt, legs tightening uncontrollably, ten toes wanting to curl up to the sky... a warmth never felt before, from bottom to top, as if piercing the whole person... that kind of feeling..."

"Sounds a bit terrifying." Lucy frowned, still finding it hard to imagine.

"Hee hee..." Xida blushed, offering no further explanation.

Some things, once experienced, truly become addictive.

"You seem to be enjoying it quite a bit?"

"Lucy would know if she tried it..."

"I don't want to!"

They laughed and played happily, like biological sisters, utterly intimate.