New Family Member

"Big Sister~~~" As Chu Lian and Inori were talking, the door, which had been left unlocked after returning last night, was suddenly opened from the outside. Then, a figure flew several meters and pounced directly onto the bed, pressing Inori's half-sitting body onto the sheets and rubbing her face against Inori's soft chest with a satisfied expression.

"Good morning, Big Sister. Isn't it surprising to see me at the start of the day?" Chu Chu squinted her eyes like a cat, almost as if she had a tail wagging back and forth to express her joy.

"Wait, something's not right. Big Sister doesn't have such a big chest. Did it grow overnight?" After a while, Chu Chu finally noticed something was amiss. She slowly opened her eyes and immediately saw Chu Lian sitting by the bed with a face full of anger.

This startled her. Mechanically, she raised her head and saw Inori's beautiful, expressionless face. Inori was tilting her head and staring at her blankly.

The next moment, Chu Chu sprang up, jumped off the bed, and backed away, pointing at the two of them. "You... you... who are you? Why are you in Big Sister's bed? Did you... did you spend the night together? You must have done some enviable... no, detestable things, right?"

Her eyes welled up with tears as she continued speaking to herself, ignoring Chu Lian's strangely calm face and Inori's slightly furrowed brows. "I knew it... I knew it... If I'm not by Big Sister's side, many people will come to tempt her. You vixen! Boohoo..."

Her next sentence completely blackened Chu Lian's mood: "Big Sister's purity is gone, her first time isn't mine anymore. From now on, do I have to be with an impure Big Sister? Oh... as long as she does it with me every day... no, as long as she stays with me, I don't care if she's impure... Big Sister, we..."

Chu Chu originally wanted to say, "We can be together even if you are no longer pure. I will still love you, Big Sister..." but Chu Lian's punch prevented her from finishing her sentence.

In her darkened state, Chu Lian's combat power suddenly soared. With one punch, she sent Chu Chu flying out the door, crashing through the opposite room's door, knocking over a bunch of furniture, and finally embedding into the wardrobe.

Her body from the waist up was inside the wardrobe, with only her slender legs sticking out and swaying. Normally, a punch like that would either kill a person or leave them in excruciating pain or even with broken bones. However, Chu Chu seemed unscathed, moaning suggestively, "Ah~ Mmm~ Mmm-hmm~ Ah... Big Sister's loving punch... it's so nostalgic..."

Hearing this, Chu Lian clenched her fists, ready to deliver another punch. Fortunately, Inori's words stopped her, "Lian, is she your sister?"

Chu Lian turned around and gave Inori a gentle smile, replying, "Yes, she is my sister, Chu Chu. She has a peculiar personality, sorry for bothering you."

She first apologized to Inori for her sister's behavior. Regardless of the situation, Chu Chu was still her sister, and as an elder sister, she felt responsible for her actions. Moreover, given that the other party was someone as ethereal as Inori, she felt even more obligated to make amends.

"But, although she is my sister, she is quite immature and obsessive. Don't take her actions and words too seriously, and don't let her influence you." This was also the responsibility of a good elder sister—minimizing her sister's destructive impact by preparing others for her behavior from the start, thus avoiding many problems.

"She is interesting..." Inori, perceptive as she was, quickly understood the meaning behind Chu Lian's words and softly commented.

"I suppose so..." After thinking for a moment, Chu Lian had to admit that this description was indeed accurate for Chu Chu's personality and lifestyle. After a brief hesitation, she nodded.

"It's already daytime..." Inori lifted the quilt, walked to the window, and looked at the sun outside, speaking softly.

"Have you not seen it for a long time?" Chu Lian understood that she was reminiscing. This was both the hope after the darkness had passed and the excitement of seeing the sun again after wandering for an untold amount of time. Since she wasn't good at expressing her emotions, she ultimately used her body to feel its warmth.

"Yes..." Inori replied with a soft hum, extending her small hand as if trying to capture a ray of sunlight in her palm, to keep it as a memento.

Chu Lian, seeing her fair skin, which appeared even more translucent and crystal-like under the sunlight, became somewhat entranced.

When she was a student, it was after watching "Guilty Crown" that she truly began to immerse herself in the world of anime.

Like many others who liked or disliked it, she herself, while extremely fond of the anime, was also highly critical of some unnecessary plot arrangements. However, no matter how dissatisfied she was, there was one ethereal girl she could never complain about, forget, or harm.

That girl was now standing in front of her, Inori Yuzuriha. The girl who first captivated her not by her appearance, but by the song "Euterpe."

This girl, with her stunning introduction, had completely enraptured her heart. Even years later, after encountering numerous anime, Inori remained her favorite deep down.

Now, standing before her was a real, living Inori. Whether it was the system's intervention or a twist of fate, she felt deeply grateful. What could be more thrilling than seeing your favorite anime character come to life and stand before you?

Although this Inori was not exactly the same as the one from the "Guilty Crown" world—she had not fallen completely in love with Shu, experienced Gai's death, gone through the dark school days, or made the ultimate sacrifice—she was fundamentally similar yet distinct from the Inori in the story.

It was a subtle difference, but a real feeling she had. Reality, after all, was not a story. It was full of unpredictability, without predetermined plots or arrangements, only constant uncertainty and an unforeseeable future.

With this in mind, she felt a bit relieved. Perhaps this Inori was not exactly the same as the one in her memory, but they were both lovable, and that was enough.

"Can I live here?" Inori suddenly asked Chu Lian, turning around.

A bit taken aback but unable to suppress her inner joy, Chu Lian's eyebrows lifted, and she smiled, "You're very welcome to. The second floor has bedrooms, apart from those for me, Chu Chu, my sister Chu Kei, and my brother Chu Ren, there are a few empty rooms. It's no problem at all."

"Would it be a bother to you?" Inori, though wanting to stay, considered if it would inconvenience others.

"No problem at all, as long as you like, you can stay as long as you want." The answer came not from Chu Lian, but from her mother, who, hearing the noise upstairs and knowing that Chu Chu was at her daily antics again, had come up. She had been standing outside for a while, listening to their conversation before speaking up.

"Thank you, Mom..." While Inori was still a bit dazed, Chu Lian had already pounced to her mother's side, hugging her waist and rubbing against her happily.

"Thank you..." Inori slightly bowed to Li Mingxue in gratitude. Although her face still showed no expression, Chu Lian could feel that she was happy.

Perhaps Inori's decision to live here was just a whim, but who could say that it wasn't her deepest desire at that moment? After wandering for so long, being the only one to wake up among all the sleeping souls, gazing into the infinite abyss of space, the loneliness and solitude could drive a normal person mad quickly.

If she didn't yet understand these emotions and was somewhat lacking in the experience of madness, unable to comprehend the kind of soul-crushing pain that could reach the deepest parts of one's mind, she might have appeared utterly broken.

This situation could be seen as both fortunate and unfortunate. The endless time and lonely space hadn't driven her insane, but it had worn away most of her past memories, hiding them deep within her mind. What remained were daily knowledge and the awareness that Eve had deliberately transmitted to her.

Last night's questions from Chu Lian had unintentionally triggered those painful memories that Inori wanted to forget, causing her temporary memory recovery, which overwhelmed her and led to her fainting.

Her desire to stay here was partly a craving for peace and quiet and partly because Chu Lian was the first person she saw upon waking both times. In this unfamiliar world, this environment made her develop a sense of reliance on the girl who was much younger than her.

Although Chu Lian wasn't clear about all these details, it didn't stop her from guessing the thoughts of this transparent-hearted girl.

Besides, she was truly worried about Inori being alone outside, for if anything unpredictable happened, there would be no room for regret.

She didn't want to do things she would regret later, so she had to take preventive measures in advance, not giving any chance for such possible futures to occur.

"I am Lian'er's mother, Li Mingxue. You can call me Aunt Mingxue or Madam, as you prefer." Li Mingxue walked over, gently patting Inori's head with a smile.

Unlike other women who care about how others address them, Li Mingxue was much more laid-back in this regard. She didn't mind being addressed with terms that might suggest age; instead, she felt proud. As long as others acknowledged her as a mother and a wife, she could proudly speak of her husband, her children, her Chu Lian.

What surprised Chu Lian was that her mother didn't seem to care about Inori's background, nor did she find her naturally grown pink hair suspicious. Her enthusiasm for Inori's joining the family was even greater than Chu Lian's, as if welcoming another girl into the family.

"Family? Oh, so Mom wants to treat her as a daughter? But given her situation, getting her to call Mom might take a very long time. But since Mom likes it, let her be..." Chu Lian thought, smiling as she watched this scene.

Thus, the girl who had traveled through time and space to this world last night became a new member of this family. Despite her peculiar features—pink hair, an often expressionless exquisite face, a slender figure, and that sexy outfit—none of it stopped others from liking her.

Well, except for the last point. In this family, no one could dress like that outside. As Li Mingxue would say: "My daughters can wear whatever they want at home; it's their freedom. But they absolutely cannot show it to others. They belong only to me, unless you can marry one of them."

Hmm, this meant that Chu Lian wouldn't be able to dress provocatively for concerts anymore. Of course, showing off her legs—those were art. Black stockings, white stockings, transparent stockings, red stockings, purple stockings, garter belts—so long as it wasn't too revealing, she could wear them out.

Such attractive yet modest outfits should be seen by others to make them envious.

Even Chu Chu, once she understood Inori's personality, unintentionally wanted to get close to her. If Chu Lian hadn't stopped her, she would probably be secretly taking advantage of Inori by now. Despite being a level max Chu Lian obsessive, her intense yuri soul still drove her to want to take advantage of pretty girls.

Watching her mother and Inori chatting on the sofa, Chu Lian turned around, opened the door, and looked at the distant sky, feeling her life becoming more interesting and beautiful.

Ayase, can you see? See this situation? I miss you so much, please come back soon...

She closed the door casually, not noticing Inori's gaze fixed on her back, nor Chu Chu, who wanted to pounce on her but ended up hitting the door.

Walking down the road, she looked at the scenery around her and couldn't help but start singing:

[Blooming wildflower]

[I beg you, please tell me]

[Why do people fight and hurt each other?]

[Valiantly blooming flower]

[What can you see]

[From your field?]

[Why can't people forgive each other?]

——"Euterpe", Egoist