A stark white light poured down from the ceiling, covering the children’s playground like a bug screen on a dining table.
In the sandbox area, Sun Changkong and Shang Xiaoqi were swinging.
The swing swayed up and down, matched by Sun Changkong’s fluctuating mood. Honestly! She was almost driven crazy by this guy with such a pronounced case of adolescence struggles!
Shang Xiaoqi hadn’t properly looked at her from the start, and the first things out of his mouth were, "Don’t come near me...I don’t want to form bonds with others," "Only the weak need bonds, the strong are solitary," and "After the betrayal of friendship, my heart is already riddled with wounds," and such phrases.
Despite feeling a hundred kinds of frustration and helplessness, as the leader of the Salvation Squad, appointed by their Mentor, Sun Changkong felt it was her responsibility to take care of the newcomer.
Right from when they entered the playground, she had voluntarily proposed to untie the newcomer’s heart knot, letting others play by themselves.
Having spoken such big words, she had been trying to use words to counsel for over ten minutes, yet Shang Xiaoqi still acted indifferently towards her, leaving Sun Changkong feeling seriously defeated.
Gradually, the inferiority complex of being a rural girl was once again ignited in her.
Both of them fell into a shared melancholy. The swing swings, but suddenly no one speaks.
"You... you don’t want to play with me because you see me as a rural kid, thinking I’m a wild child, don’t you?"
Sun Changkong mumbled softly, head drooping.
"So you do look down on me... just say it outright."
"Not at all," Shang Xiaoqi said, "I don’t look down on you."
"Wild children are inferior, only... only fit to eat grass with cows on the mountain, that’s definitely what you think."
Sun Changkong’s eyes welled up with tears, her mouth opened in grievance, small tiger-like teeth trembling, "No one wanted to play with me growing up, the moment I entered the village they’d throw stones at me."
"You’re right, but I myself don’t have many friends either... why are you crying, I... I shouldn’t have ignored you, please don’t cry, I’m sorry, I was wrong, I was wrong."
Shang Xiaoqi was at a loss for what to do.
By the end of the conversation, their roles suddenly reversed. Shang Xiaoqi raised his hand to gently pat Sun Changkong’s back, and Sun Changkong hugged her, crying loudly.
It felt absurd, like a psychologist counseling a patient, only to eventually break down in tears themselves and the patient patting their back saying, "It’s okay, it’s okay, it’ll pass."
Meanwhile, Filio sat obediently behind Mario, silently watching him play a shooting game.
Every time Mario scored a headshot on a zombie, Filio’s ears would perk up slightly;
When Mario said he was thirsty, Filio would quickly run to the water dispenser, fetch water with a plastic cup for him; Mario would then slow down drinking, allowing Filio to play the game console for a while as he leaned against the slide quietly watching.
Ji Minghuan and Kong Youling, on the other hand, stayed alone in the winding maze, sitting on the ground, writing and chatting by the dim light inside the maze. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel[f]ire.net
Kong Youling said, "The Mentor said, I can’t hear sound because it’s a side effect of my psychic ability."
Kong Youling nodded, "He said, to protect me, my ability not only blocked out other people’s thoughts but the outside sounds as well."
"If that’s true, no wonder hearing aids don’t work for you," Ji Minghuan murmured, "then it means... you can hear sounds now?"
"The Mentor helped me, as long as I’m close I can hear."
Kong Youling wrote in swift strokes with a pencil, holding the book up to show him, her white fringe gently swaying.
"I don’t believe it, unless you close your eyes right away and don’t peek at my lip reading," Ji Minghuan said.
The white-haired girl obediently closed her eyes.
Kong Youling opened her eyes, holding her small notebook with a slightly annoyed look at her, cheeks puffed a little.
"You really heard it clearly..." Ji Minghuan was stunned for a moment, slowly lowering his head, "I didn’t expect that old bastard to actually have a moment of conscience, unbelievable."
"For the first time without superpower, I heard your voice." Kong Youling said.
"Very nice to listen to."
"That’s not what I meant." Ji Minghuan sighed, "I meant, do you suddenly feel your previous world was so boring, so quiet, so stifling it could suffocate... a world with sound and a world without sound are completely different things."
Ji Minghuan had once entered Mu Long’s barrier and experienced the sensation of having his five senses stripped away.
Therefore, he knew how oppressive it was in such a silent world, speaking without even hearing oneself, almost suffocating.
However... perhaps just like people in the Box Garden World have never seen the sun in the morning or at noon, a girl who has never heard sound naturally wouldn’t find being in a soundless world unbearable.
"I don’t feel that way." Kong Youling suddenly said, "Since I can’t hear words, I can’t speak, when I touch you, it feels more real."
Kong Youling thought for a moment, suddenly took Ji Minghuan’s hand, slowly spread his fingers, and placed them on her pale face, then closed her eyes.
The two of them stayed quietly for a while, until Ji Minghuan came to his senses.
Finally, he turned his head, and pinched the cheek of the white-haired girl with a bit of baby fat: "Alright, I got it, no need for further examples."
Only then did Kong Youling let go of his hand, opened her eyes, and curiously observed his slightly flushed face.