Lin Xiaolu, however, didn't answer her.
Now it was Emerald Sparrow's turn to doubt herself.
She questioned her own heart, as she had already tried hard to control the tone of her voice, making herself seem less fierce as possible. Knowing before on the way to Silver Screen Mountain, when she discovered Lin Xiaolu appeared in the team with Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan, she had almost run out of breath.
Back at the Abnormal Strategy Bureau, she, as Lin Yun, had exhorted Lin Xiaolu countless times, telling these juniors not to come to the battlefield on their own, and at that time, Lin Xiaolu had agreed verbally, looking obedient. Yet, in less than half an hour, not only did this girl go against the agreement secretly, but she also brought all her teammates along?
Given Emerald Sparrow's mood at the time, the fact that she didn't go straight up to Lin Xiaolu and smack her on the head was a testament to her extraordinary self-control.
With the great enemy before them and time of the essence, if not dealt with promptly, Fangting City could have faced a catastrophe, so Emerald Sparrow didn't say much and chose to contain her fury, pretending to be unaware. Just because she hadn't exploded then, it didn't mean the matter was over.
If it were some minor day-to-day issue, maybe it could be lightly skipped over. But with a matter concerning life and death, she really couldn't gloss over it. This time it might have been alright with no serious mishaps since the Claw Mark's Kite unexpectedly didn't target the juniors deliberately, but what if there's a next time? What would happen if Lin Xiaolu kept disobeying , and something really did go wrong?
Therefore, when Emerald Sparrow came here, she had already resolved to do more than scold; at the very least, she had to give her daughter a good talking-to, to make her realize the mistake of her actions.
Considering they had just been through a major battle with the enemy and everyone was exhausted, her own words and deeds should not be too harsh, so she had deliberated over her choice of words, using only mild terms like "not understanding" or "shouldn't" in an effort to minimize the other's defensiveness.
But unexpectedly to Emerald Sparrow, even though she spoke so softly, Lin Xiaolu still showed a quite depressed attitude, even more upset than she had anticipated.
Where had she gone wrong? Were her words really that heavy?
"I didn't mean to criticize or blame you, I just genuinely don't understand," she said.
After much thought, she could only soften her tone again, trying to dissolve in her words the scant blame they contained: "After all, I too was worried, because the enemy this time was really strong, and going to fight them would be very dangerous."
"...But I won," Lin Xiaolu said in a low voice, her head hung down at some point.
"Hmm?" Emerald Sparrow was caught off guard by such an answer and immediately conjectured subconsciously—was this her being defiant?
But quickly, she discerned from the tone that it was not entirely the case.
And standing opposite her was her own daughter, with whom she had had a cold war for two years. During that time, Lin Yun had seen her daughter throw tantrums countless times: When she was angry, she always looked people straight in the eye defiantly, never bowing her head voluntarily.
So, what exactly did that sentence mean?
Emerald Sparrow was still subconsciously analyzing the meaning of Lin Xiaolu's words, but in the next moment, Lin Xiaolu had already abruptly lifted her head, with a much calmer expression on her face.
"Um...you are right," she said, looking at the floor, her voice steady: "I also know I didn't handle this well, I should not have gone back on my word, so after this incident, I was planning to apologize to him. If something happens again, I won't go into battle on my own."
Emerald Sparrow wasn't sure why the other's attitude changed so swiftly, managing only an aimless huff before regathering her thoughts and responding tentatively, "If you say so, then it should be fine, right?"
Was everything really fine then? Why had she used a question? Even Emerald Sparrow herself wasn't quite clear.
"Yes, I will send him a message later, and then I'll apologize to him in person," Lin Xiaolu went on to say: "Thanks for the reminder."
To cut off someone's words, leaving them with nothing more to say.
Lin Xiaolu had just done that, leaving Emerald Sparrow unsure of what to say next.
With an incredibly proper attitude and quite correct speech, what else could Emerald Sparrow say? Offering comfort would seem presumptuous, and discipline would appear harsh. Was this the time to change the subject?
"Um, Emerald Sparrow," Lin Xiaolu seemed to have more to say: "I really couldn't accept what happened during the Full Moon Festival."
"...The Full Moon Festival?"
"Yes, back then, facing 'Moth,' although I mustered the courage to fight, being too weak meant that I knew I was of no use at all," Lin Xiaolu recounted calmly, her words unexpectedly devoid of excess emotion: "Just easily knocked down, defeated, the enemy didn't even take me seriously, they were just toying with me."
Emerald Sparrow was left speechless.
Lin Xiaolu had once again left her no room to speak. On such a subject, she could neither agree nor deny; both seemed inappropriate.
To agree would be like to pointing out directly that Lin Xiaolu was "useless"; to deny would be almost like willfully turning a blind eye, lacking any persuasive power.
Without a word from Emerald Sparrow, the room was filled with Lin Xiaolu's voice once more: "Even so, because I was there, I became a weakness that woman exploited, causing you to get hurt; I know all this."