"It's because when my mom and you both liked my dad, you chose to step back, right?"
Lin Xiaolu, for some reason wiping the corner of her eye, spoke with a slight choke in her voice, "I have completely figured it out, the past events, between you, my mom, and my dad, I understand them all."
"Emerald Sparrow, you and my mom were once teammates, and both childhood friends with my dad, but eventually, there was a divergence in your feelings. Because you were too gentle, you probably chose to step back, right?"
"You sacrificed your own emotions, so you chose to go to the Magic Kingdom. And because my mom passed away, you wanted to return to the city you once lived in to protect it."
"Also, that's why you've never married, you've remained single, even though you're already at that age, and still... Really, you've had it tough."
"Although there's still a slight, unjustified bitterness in my heart, I feel that I shouldn't obstruct you from choosing your own happiness. I should be supporting you!"
By the end, she didn't know why but felt moved as she grasped Emerald Sparrow's hand, speaking with deep emotion, "So, don't worry about what I think! Freely pursue your own happiness!"
Watching Lin Xiaolu holding her hand, Emerald Sparrow felt her vision blur a bit.
What exactly was the girl talking about? What was she trying to convey? The person she mentioned, did she sound familiar?
Her mind was filled with a chaos of thoughts, but she knew it wasn't time to concede defeat, the more critical the moment, the more she needed to stay calm, to allow rumors to die at the hands of the wise.
So, what should she explain? What reason could she find to bypass Lin Xiaolu's peculiar logic and make her believe again that "Lin Yun" and "Emerald Sparrow" had no emotional entanglement?
In an instant, Emerald Sparrow stirred up a brainstorm all by herself, quickly searching for suitable solutions and reasons.
—"Xiaolu, this isn't the way to do it, the junior you're talking about, she's not resisting revealing this emotional relationship to you."
But before Emerald Sparrow could think of a new excuse, Xia Liang suddenly spoke up.
Her face carried an understanding smile, like a pure cherub, "If you ask me, she just isn't ready, not yet prepared to accept the role of 'mom'. She's not ready to accept a daughter like you."
"Accept me... as her daughter?"
As if discovering a new world, Lin Xiaolu echoed Xia Liang's words, "Is there a problem with that?"
"Of course, there's a problem."
With her hands behind her back and a bright smile on her face, Xia Liang said, "So you see, you have to make her feel that being your mom isn't such a bad thing, and it won't be a burden to her."
Lin Xiaolu was stunned.
She understood what Xia Liang was trying to say.
She looked anew at Emerald Sparrow standing blankly before her, unconsciously opening her mouth but only felt her throat go dry in that moment.
Her lips pressed together, then parted again, her canine teeth gently tapping as she moved. Then, from her mouth came a sound that was neither a flat nor a curling initial.
Just like that, seizing on the moment, she called out a word she herself could hardly believe.
Bai Jingxuan, seeming to realize something, trotted to Emerald Sparrow's side and called out the same.
The two girls, one older and one younger, grouped around Emerald Sparrow, calling out the same word one after another.
Caught between them, Emerald Sparrow remained silent, letting them repeat the most common word in human language like children who have just learned to speak.
She didn't look at Lin Xiaolu, Xia Liang, or Bai Jingxuan. Her gaze was fixed straight ahead into the void, as if seeing the vast galaxy, as if gazing upon an endless abyss.
Leaving nothing but emptiness behind.