Re-birth: The Beginning after the End-Chapter 188: TELL ME EVERYTHING

The sudden explosion of relieved sobbing in her consciousness made her head throb. Little Firefly's emotions crashed through their bond like waves breaking against rocks.

I'm ok, please don't cry...Li Hua coaxed, pressing her fingers against her temples. Massive headache.

Suddenly, she felt warm calloused hands press against her forehead. A cooling sensation spread from the point of contact, washing away the pain like tide erasing footprints from sand. The touch was gentle but sure, carrying years of practice in its certainty.

She turned her head, already knowing who she would find but her breath still caught at the sight. Mo Xing sat beside her bed, shadows under his eyes suggesting he hadn't left for quite some time. His usual playful smile was absent, replaced by something more genuine—relief, concern, and something else she wasn't ready to name mixing in his golden gaze.

"Welcome back, Little Tempest," he murmured, his fingers still cool against her skin.

"Mo...Xing." Her voice was raspy from disuse, the simple act of speaking feeling like grinding glass in her throat. Questions tumbled through her mind—how long had she been unconscious? Why was he still here? What was that silver liquid? But forming words felt like trying to catch mist with her bare hands.

She tried to push herself up, but her arms trembled with the effort. Before she could fall back, his hand slipped behind her shoulders, supporting her with that same gentle strength that had pulled her back from the void. The proximity made her pulse skip traitorously, a reaction her weakened state couldn't hide.

"Don't try to move yet," he murmured, his voice carrying none of its usual teasing lilt. "You're still healing."

Without thinking about the implications, she let her head rest against his shoulder. His body tensed at the unexpected display of vulnerability—caught off guard by such a simple gesture—before gradually softening, as if accepting this new, delicate thing growing between them.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know my limit," she whispered, her eyes meeting his. The usual walls between them felt thinner somehow, weakened by her brush with dissolution and his desperate rescue.

His free hand moved to brush a strand of hair from her face, the gesture so tender it made her breath catch. "Little Tempest," he murmured, and she could hear the echo of fear still lingering in his voice, "you nearly scattered yourself across realities. I thought—" He stopped, his fingers trembling slightly against her cheek. The great and mysterious Mo Xing, actually showing vulnerability.

Without thinking, she leaned into his touch, seeking comfort she wouldn't normally allow herself to need. "I know," she said softly. "I felt you pulling me back together."

His other arm tightened around her shoulders, drawing her closer as if to reassure himself she was really there. For once, she didn't resist the proximity. After nearly losing herself in the void, his solid presence felt like an anchor to reality.

They stayed like that for a moment, the silence between them heavy with unspoken words. His thumb traced gentle circles on her cheek, each touch carrying equal parts comfort and possession. The scent of night-blooming flowers and pine enveloped her, and she found herself unconsciously matching her breathing to his steady rhythm.

"How long?" she finally asked, her voice still rough but stronger.

"Five days," he answered, his tone suggesting he'd counted every hour. His golden eyes studied her face with an intensity that made her want to look away, but she held his gaze. "The elixir helped stabilize your soul, but..."

Her brow furrowed as she cut in. "What kind of elixir was that?" Her tone carried equal parts curiosity and suspicion.

He hesitated, his gaze momentarily shifting away from hers. "Something I created. It binds fractured souls." The careful way he chose his words suggested there was more to it than he was willing to reveal. "Also...You kept calling out in your sleep."

Her heart stuttered. Had she spoken of the visions? Of the shadow's cryptic words? Of that other Mo Xing she'd glimpsed in her dreams? But before she could press him further, he pulled her closer, until her head rested against his chest, effectively ending the line of questioning.

"I've never been so afraid," he whispered into her hair. The words held none of his usual playful command—just raw honesty that made her chest ache.

"But...you don't know anything about me." She whispered. "Why do you care so much?"

"Then tell me about yourself, Little Tempest." His voice carried that dangerous warmth again, but now it held something else—an invitation, a challenge, perhaps even a plea. "Tell me your likes, your dislikes, your past, your dreams..." His fingers traced along her jaw, tilting her face up to meet his gaze. "I want to know everything about you."

The intensity in his golden eyes made her pulse stutter. There was something almost desperate in the way he looked at her, as if he was searching for something—or someone—in her features. It reminded her of her shadow's knowing smile.

His thumb brushed across her bottom lip, and she realized with a start that she'd been biting it again. "Though I already know some things," he murmured, his smile turning softer. "Like this nervous habit of yours, and how you only do it around me."

He paused, and something vulnerable flickered across his features. "Also, I meant it when I said your soul calls to me." His voice dropped lower, intimate. "Since I've met you, I've been seeing memories—not ones I've experienced myself, but..." He hesitated, as if wrestling with something he couldn't quite understand. "They feel real. Like echoes of moments I should remember but can't. And in every one of them, there's you."

His confession hung in the air between them, heavy with implications that made her think of her own strange dreams, of a man in black robes commanding darkness, of laughter in a field of night-blooming flowers.

"Ok." She whispered, and for once she let her usual guardedness slip away. "And you'll do the same? Tell me your likes, your dislikes, your past, your goals?"

She saw the conflict in his eyes, watched as he wrestled with centuries of carefully kept secrets. But before he could respond, she offered him the same escape she needed for herself.

"Slowly of course, little by little."

He smiled and nodded, "Ok."

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