Chapter 204: Night Scenery With You.
After Sunnie was done comforting everyone that evening, she had gone to a corner to stay alone for the meantime.
Sunnie walked through the night scenery alone, both hands behind her as she admired the night scene before her. She couldn’t help but think as she made her way around, reflecting on what had happened earlier and how much it had affected her.
She guessed she had merged so much with the original host that her experiences also felt like her own. Or maybe it was because of similar issues she had faced in the real world at the hands of others. She couldn’t tell, but she found herself emotionally affected by it. As though she was the one who everything physically happened to and as though she was the original body and all.
Sunnie thought about it while she walked and finally came to the waterside. She stood close to the water, arms folded as she stared into it.
The night was calm, the moonlight reflecting over the water while its gentle ripples soothed the atmosphere. Sunnie admired it quietly while standing there.
"Can’t sleep?"
Suddenly, Sunnie heard someone say. She turned to see Zayn standing at a distance. She hadn’t noticed him when she arrived, but he was just standing there, also staring into the water.
"You... what are you doing here...?" Sunnie asked, surprised.
Zayn didn’t look in her direction. He stood there staring into the waters as though they held answers to his problems.
For a while, neither of them said anything. They stood there, staring into the waters before Sunnie casually said, "You don’t talk much." She turned and stared at him. "I guess I don’t know much about you."
Zayn scoffed as he said, "Why? What do you want to do with anything about it?"
Sunnie smiled. "Nothing. I was just curious. I mean, even the eagle talks a lot, so one way or another I know a thing or two about him. But you..."
Zayn was quiet for a while and then smiled. Sunnie stared at him, surprised. It wasn’t the first time she had seen him smiling, but it was the first time she had seen him smile like this.
And for the first time, Sunnie actually saw that attractive and appealing side to him—the side that wasn’t cold and ruthless, just friendly and loveable.
"What do you want to know?" Zayn asked as he stared at her. The two of them stood there, looking at each other.
Sunnie smiled. "A lot. A lot that I don’t even know what to ask." She sighed as she stared into the stream. "I don’t even know where to start."
Zayn stared at her with a soft smile. "Are you okay?"
Sunnie hesitated, digesting the question as she smiled to herself. "Am I okay? I guess I am... I guess I am..."
Zayn hesitated and then said, "You were too busy comforting everyone that you forgot to comfort yourself too." He smiled. "Isn’t that quite sad?"
Sunnie hesitated as she let herself think through his words. She smiled softly as she thought about it again—he was right. She had been so busy comforting others that she had forgotten she needed it too. "Does it matter?" she sighed. "I should be okay."
"Well, you don’t look okay," Zayn said. "And it’s okay to accept that."
Sunnie was quiet, her smile slowly lingering through her lips as she stared into the sky.
"Thanks," Sunnie suddenly said. His words were subtle, yet Sunnie felt a stream of comfort in them—the comfort of someone recognizing her at that very moment. She felt grateful.
"No need for that."
She stared at him. "That’s strange. You don’t seem like the type to comfort someone."
He scoffed as he said, "Why do you say that?"
She shrugged. "Nothing. Just saying." She added as the two of them smiled.
Their soft laughter drifted into the soft night, echoing as they stood there before the stream.
"Next time, you should consider letting the wild beasts chase them and even harm them," Zayn said with a smile as he stared at her.
"What?" She smiled.
Zayn nodded. "It’s good for the health. Watching them suffer and get chased by beasts. It improves the mood."
Sunnie smiled as she shook her head. "Is that so? I guess you’re one with wild thoughts after all."
"As long as you’re okay," Zayn said, staring at her. "You can do anything to them, and we’ll always back you up."
She smiled at his words.
[Ding!]
[Zayn’s affection level has improved!]
[60%]
Sunnie smiled more as she stared at him. At that moment, she got curious to know more about Zayn—the one who was always quiet and unpredictable. Her only mate whom she didn’t think she knew much about.
He had shown such an unexpected side that she was curious to know more of him. And so Sunnie found herself asking, "And what about you?"
Zayn raised an eyebrow. "I haven’t heard anything about your past... about what you went through or anything... so I guess I’m just curious."
Zayn smiled as he stared into the moon. "Well, don’t get curious. It’s not something fun to talk about, so why discuss it?"
Sunnie nodded. "I guess so..." She smiled.
"If you’re that curious, maybe you could try going to ask Karl. He should have something to tell you," Zayn said.
Sunnie rolled her eyes. "That rascal. He’s always looking for a fight. I doubt he’ll even want to say anything at all. How annoying, he’s just so frustrating and all... I can’t even with him." Sunnie found herself blabbing nonstop and roasting Karl.
Zayn simply listened while smiling as she kept roasting him. And she wasn’t going to stop with the roasting if someone hadn’t fallen from the tree at the side.
Zayn and Sunnie paused as they turned to see Karl on the ground. He had fallen from the tree at the side and landed hard on his back.