Because no matter what, he could still remember that afternoon when he went alone to Lakeside Spring, when Bai Jingxuan talked nonstop, boasting and explaining everything to him, the emotions he read in the child's expression.
It was a sense of unease, but also one of anticipation.
And for that reason, Emerald Sparrow chose to respond to that expectation, to soothe the disquiet, to accept the title "Mom" and made the decision to guide the child.
Whether as a senior or a teacher, for the child's growth, Emerald Sparrow had no reason to betray that promise. From that moment on, no matter how facts might change, the promise would remain unchanged.
And for this, if there was a need to clarify everything, perhaps it was also necessary to come clean to Bai Jingxuan completely.
In the first place, he had no reason to hide his identity from Bai Jingxuan; as long as he could make sure the child wouldn't slip up, then revealing the unity between the identities of Lin Yun and Emerald Sparrow would undoubtedly be more conducive to guiding the child's growth from the sidelines.
For Bai Jingxuan, after all, 'Lin Yun' was a dispensable identity, and even now, it was just a "dad" called out because of a misunderstanding, it actually wasn't...
Bai Jingxuan's voice interrupted his thoughts.
He looked somewhat startled as he turned to look aside, seeing Bai Jingxuan sitting curled up in the seat, clutching her fingers tightly, and with a somewhat anxious look on her face as she looked at him:
"If possible, I still hope I can keep calling you dad. Because no matter what, I also want... just a little bit more from the people I care about."
Just a little bit more.
That phrase made the words Lin Yun was about to say shrink back.
He looked at Bai Jingxuan, his expression, which had been stern, once again softened. He reached out his hand and ruffled her hair again, sighing, not knowing quite what he was lamenting.
"Just a little bit more... I understand," he said.
Then, under Bai Jingxuan's somewhat puzzled gaze, he spoke, "Get out of the car, we've arrived, someone is here to pick you up."
At his words, Bai Jingxuan looked out the window and realized that the surroundings had become quite familiar; they were clearly near the secret base's neighborhood. The snow-covered streets looked slightly different from what she saw on a daily basis, which is why she hadn't recognized it at once.
And in the snowy scenes outside the car window, there seemed to be a familiar figure waiting.
It was Emerald Sparrow.
Bai Jingxuan could confirm this at a glance.
All her previous confusion disappeared in this moment. She reached for the car door handle and was about to get out, but then turned back to look at Lin Yun as if expecting something.
"I really do have something, I can't go," he said, shaking his head.
Lin Yun leaned back a bit to assert his decision, "Go back and celebrate your birthday with your sister and mom, dad has brought you this far, Xiaoxuan."
The first part of his sentence made Bai Jingxuan's expression dim slightly, but the latter part brightened her up again. It was like a real-life face-changing act.
She got out of the car and took a few steps toward the direction of Emerald Sparrow, but before she reached the figure, she turned to look at the car again. Seeing Lin Yun sitting in the car, smiling and watching her, she smiled back, waved, and then continued walking towards Emerald Sparrow.
Her pace grew faster and more hurried, and eventually she broke into a trot, and then just like that, she ran into Emerald Sparrow's embrace.
Perhaps, she didn't notice that after she left, the figure of "Lin Yun" in the car behind her scattered into a mass of blue Magic Power Lines.
Perhaps, she didn't notice that the hand holding hers seemed to still retain the warmth from touching her head not long ago.
These were things that a child celebrating her birthday need not focus on, things that might as well not exist.
On the snow-fluttering depths of winter night, she hugged Emerald Sparrow under the stark streetlights, lifted her head, opened her mouth, but was silent for a long time. It wasn't until Emerald Sparrow also took her hand that her eyes shone even brighter and finally, with a smile, she spoke again:
And this time, this call would never change.