Capítulo 978: Chapter 978: Sulking
In our family, having an extra person suddenly appear seems to have become quite a commonplace occurrence. As Lin Xue often jokes, we’re used to a certain unreliable fellow bringing home a new sister or daughter every now and then. With this, both Sayaka and Mercury Lamp feel quite stressed. However, this time, the new member of the family seems to carry quite a significant weight; even the family who has grown accustomed to such things finds Xiao Xue quite incredible.
This is not only because of Xiao Xue’s magical time-traveling origins but more importantly, her unique identity: she’s the only one among the daughters at home who has a blood relationship with the guardians.
This leads to a particularly cheeky little girl, like Lilina, making fun of the awkward situation for Lin Xue and me.
Her research topic is how a young couple, who has never shared a bed, suddenly adapts to the roles of standard parents and begins to learn how to care for a daughter. During this process, how should a couple who suddenly lost their two-person world handle their romantic relationship? If this research project can truly be completed, I think Lilina could easily apply for an award in ethics.
Little Baobao seems rather happy, even though she can’t articulate it. After all, I’m her dad, and we have Lady Shining to translate Little Baobao’s language in real-time, making it easy to understand the girl’s current thoughts. She understands her status as an older sister and welcomes the future sibling warmly, making her feel she’s become quite a remarkable person, someone who can eat three pieces of cake at each meal like an adult.
This makes me feel quite amused because, strictly speaking, Little Baobao is the earliest appearance among her group of sisters. Based on her “birthday” in the First Family, she should rightfully be considered the eldest sister. However, the girl’s intellectual development is so gradual and unhurried that sometimes I think there might be something wrong with her brain. She’s already three years old and can hardly utter a few complete sentences, reportedly due to a language module defect. Yet, at the same time, she can assemble a spaceship manufacturing line with her eyes closed, which to her is as easy and enjoyable as building a small house out of blocks. She also retains all the excellent qualities a three-year-old girl should have, like getting rice all over her face when eating, crying loudly when she wants something but can’t express it, and biting anything new she can see and fit in her mouth. Such traits have kept her being treated as the youngest in the family, so much so that Little Qijing, who isn’t even a year old yet, can pat Little Baobao’s head and pretend to be the big sister. It’s truly a tragedy.
Not to mention Mercury Lamp, who was already a complete big kid when she came into the family.
But now, it’s good that there’s finally someone who can earnestly call her “big sister.”
Xiao Xue is an eccentric and smart child, one who is very sensible regardless of which timeline she’s in. She feels she should regard Little Baobao as her sister, mainly because in the history she grew up in, “Sister Pao’er” was always there playing with her and being very kind, even though after Xiao Xue turned six, this sister was actually shorter than her…
Today is Xiao Xue’s second day in this home. The First Family, strengthened by various strange events over time, continues its routine life, even though there’s an extra person now. Xiao Xue has openly taken one of the empty rooms on the second floor next to mine, claiming that until the time she was born, her family lived in this big house, and her room was next to her dad’s. “At that time,” the outside city had changed, but this house was moved into Shadow City, which suggests perhaps sister and I have a bone-deep nostalgic nature.
It seems like just having another energetic and weird girl around. Apart from her origin, Xiao Xue is just like a normal girl. At first, I thought her arrival would upend everything, but I later realized she neither intends to nor can she influence the timeline. What we are experiencing isn’t in her memory, and to avoid some unforeseen troubles, she seems to have no intention to share future information with us. Of course, none of us have thought to ask. I sat focused on playing chess with Uncle Kenser, occasionally glancing at Little Baobao and Lilina and a bunch of Rose Maidens playing in the living room. Like a nervous parent reading the newspaper while watching their kids at five-second intervals. Lin Xue wasn’t wrong; some people are born caregivers. When a loli appears beside them, they can always find a feeding bottle and lollipop on their person. Either they’re suspicious uncles or natural caregivers.
Yet evidently, Miss Lin hasn’t developed the mindset of a nanny yet.
Xiao Xue habitually calls Lin Xue: “Mom, help me figure this out!” “Mom! What’s for lunch?” “Mom, I want to watch TV!”
Of course, every time she calls her like this, Lin Xue, who still behaves like a big kid, looks around innocently and awkwardly before clumsily interacting with her newly-descended daughter, while a circle of people around us mostly observes humorously. As for the culprit responsible for all of this, she only sticks her tongue out and claims she accidentally forgot her current timeline, before continuing what she’s doing.
I’m grateful Xiao Xue isn’t at an age that still requires nursing, otherwise, besides Sister Bing providing some sort of psychological tool comfort, there really wouldn’t be anyone in the family who could meet her demands.
In Xiao Xue’s eyes, Lin Xue now and Lin Xue in the future are no different. A little time obviously isn’t enough to turn our youthful and beautiful Miss Prophet into an aunt with roughly identical dimensions all around. I can imagine, in a distant enough future, the scenes regularly seen on the streets of the Empire, moments like a group of young people who look like siblings walking together, from left to right covering more than a dozen generations of ancestor and descendant…
Thanks to the vastness of the Universe and its endless worlds, mostly due to the convenience of interstellar colonization technology, otherwise the life quota system and life renunciation act wouldn’t be enough to handle the population issue, despite low birth rates among high-level civilizations.
“Your turn.” I shifted my attention from Xiao Xue, glancing down at the chessboard. Actually, playing chess with Uncle Kenser doesn’t require much skill, despite his long life, his dignified appearance, his status as a Creator God or Light God in seven worlds, despite his knowledge of four ways to cook tomato and egg, these factors together still can’t change the fact he’s a terrible chess player. The result of my spaced-out moves for thirty seconds each is that I’ve already won six games.
“Very good, very good.” Kenser glanced at the board and nodded slightly, “You’ve won again.”
Okay, now it’s seven consecutive wins, but I didn’t feel much of a sense of achievement, a feeling of being lonely at the top slowly spreading. Perhaps I shouldn’t be playing chess with a lousy player; it just makes one lament the loneliness of invincibility. No one at home anymore wants to play with the chess pieces with me, even Mercury Lamp the same.
Mostly because everyone thinks playing Gobang is a pretty childish game.
Speaking of Mercury Lamp, where did that little girl go?
I threw down the chess pieces and looked around, not seeing the shadow of the little Gothic girl, while her sisters were fighting Little Baobao for the TV. Normally at this time, Mercury Lamp would have joined the group of little girls in their antics by now.
I got up to find the little doll, but found no one on the first floor or the second. Just as I was about to ask if anyone saw where Mercury Lamp went, a black feather suddenly floated down from outside the window at the end of the second-floor hallway. Looking up from the window, I saw a pair of little feet in princess shoes dangling from the railing above.
This big house actually has three floors. The first floor is a place for family activities, dining, and guest rooms; the second floor holds individual rooms, while the third floor has hardly ever been used and has always been treated as a place for storing clutter. Qianqian always has some odd ideas, which lead to her bringing back a bunch of inexplicable collectibles from equally odd places, including tentacles shed by Octopus Star People and stone bread baked with sand and dirt by Gongguk people. After getting bored of these things, she casually stacks them on the third floor. Anwina goes up to clean it about once a week, while other than Little Ghost Maid and Qianqian herself, the other family members seldom go to the third floor.
I waded through a pile of suspicious junk, finding the third floor to have no partition walls except for a few load-bearing columns, making it look like a warehouse. Such a bizarre house structure could only be modified by us. The tiny Rose Maiden sat at the end of the warehouse, perched on a small balcony extending out from the wall—an open-air balcony, extending less than a meter from the ground, bordered by a chest-height metal railing. The 92.3cm Gothic girl sat on the railing, holding onto the metal pillar beside her, looking into the distance, with her small legs swinging in the air, constantly kicking iron scraps from below onto the grass—well, it seems when modifying the house we forgot about this inconspicuous place, as the railing here is still made of iron and it’s rusted.
I approached from behind, suddenly pressing the little doll’s head: “What are you doing here? I thought you don’t like warehouses.”
Originally I intended to scare her, but I apparently underestimated Mercury Lamp’s alertness to the outside world and her familiarity with my aura. Mercury Lamp wasn’t startled at all but lazily shook her head: “I don’t like this environment, with so much discarded stuff piled together, it’s awful.”
“Not in a good mood?” I tried to lift the little one onto my shoulder. However, she stubbornly twisted away: “It’s not bad, I just want to find a quiet place.”
I glanced behind me at the warehouse filled with items Qianqian collected from various worlds, resembling the city dump in the South. Piles of waste from the Otherworld stacked together, with many showing traces of Qianqian’s casual graffiti modifications. I think only a poet or artist could find peace here. Honestly, this environment is definitely not conducive to relaxation, especially for Mercury Lamp: she’s not afraid of darkness or dirt, not even ghosts, but she has a peculiar dislike for garbage dumps and recycling centers, probably linked to her childhood environment, unlikely to change. Yet, in this situation, she insists on hiding alone on the third floor of the warehouse. Who would believe her if she says she’s feeling good?
“Why not play with your sisters? You were just so cheerful two days ago,” I again lifted Mercury Lamp from the railing. This time she didn’t resist. I casually brushed off the rust from her bottom: this kid runs around everywhere without minding the dirt. Is she evolving into a Naughty Kid? “Little Baobao was overjoyed. She finally has someone she can call sister. Aren’t you happy about it?”
The little doll immediately widened her eyes at this side, wanting to say something but hesitated, eventually turning away awkwardly: “What does that have to do with me? Anyway, she’s your biological daughter…”
Just as I thought, the only possible reason for this little one’s sulkiness must be Xiao Xue.
I chuckled, lifted Mercury Lamp before me high up as if displaying a lightweight artifact in the sunlight. She instinctively resisted being lifted high, thinking it was undignified. But this time, she unusually quiet, only pinching my wrist symbolically. I placed her on my shoulder with a smile: “Afraid that I might abandon you?”
“No,” Mercury Lamp hesitated for a split second, then grasped at my hair, “I’m not that stupid.”
“Then you’re worried that our family will stop caring for you, and Lin Xue and I will focus our attention on our real biological daughter. Hmm, you fear you’ll become Cinderella.”
Mercury Lamp was notably silent for several seconds before muttering: “What does that have to do with me? That’s your own business. I… I just…”
“Come on, what are you really feeling?” I tilted my head and pinched the little doll’s cheek, “What do you think your identity is at home?”
“So annoying! So annoying! I don’t know! Why are you talking so much! Why so many words! Why so many words!”
“By the way, when will you call me Dad?” I sighed leisurely; this little one’s anxiety is understandable, worrying about being abandoned again. She’s been discarded once, and deeply affected by it, followed by misunderstandings that led to Zhenhong “betraying” her. These heart-wrenching experiences could easily form an anti-social mindset. Her cold shell hides a really sensitive heart. She dislikes interacting with strangers, avoids expressing too much emotion, and has no interest in “troublesome activities,” all to prevent potential future harm. But after spending time together, the family has melted that shell, making Mercury Lamp a typical child who can get along with family members, although still a bit reclusive, which is just a personality trait.
And now, Chen Xiaoxue’s appearance likely gives her a sense of crisis once more.
Although she doesn’t say it, deep down Little Light knows her vague position in the family — a child, ordinary, protected by adults. She has a dad who may or may not be considered a dad, plus many who could or could not be moms. Everyone calls her “girl” or “Little Light,” and countless people in Shadow City greet her as Princess. For Mercury Lamp, these things have shifted from initial resistance and denial to later discomfort and non-acceptance, and now, to quiet acknowledgment, establishing her subconscious identity as a “daughter.” However, Xiao Xue’s unique presence truly makes her feel endangered.
Yet from her behavior, she hasn’t worried about being tossed out; it’s just a sense that Xiao Xue’s arrival might turn her from a Little Princess into Cinderella. Perhaps I should reassess my methods; how did such a smart Chairman Shui become so childish under my guidance?
Mercury Lamp grew increasingly embarrassed by my words. Although she tacitly accepts the current situation, she stubbornly refuses to call me Dad, even keeping “Fool” in front of my name until now. So, she pulled at my hair aggressively: “What are you talking about! What are you saying! What are you saying!”
Chaos ensued again, Mercury Lamp shedding a bunch of feathers. Minutes later, calm returned, and I noticed a shift from cloudiness to clear skies on the little doll’s face: this is the method I devised over time — playing rough is more effective than talking; once she’s tired of messing around, she calms down.
“Alright now,” I poked the clockwork controller on the little doll’s back while she lay on my arm gasping, making her giggle, “Silly girl, Xiao Xue called you Sister Lamp right when she met you; don’t you think about that? How can your relationship distance itself in the future?”
Mercury Lamp’s expression turned strange, looking to the sky for a while before suddenly exclaiming in frustration: “Why didn’t you remind me earlier!”
I: “…”
How would I know this simpleton didn’t think of it from the start!
“I don’t care; you’re responsible,” The little doll’s mood finally brightened as she actively climbed onto my shoulder’s Imperial Throne, tugging on her “adoptive father’s” hair with a dignified tone, “You said so, not to abandon or ignore me. You have to treat us equally; otherwise… I’ll run away from home!”
I pondered, finding it hard to understand: “Where to? The whole world is mine; wherever you run, it’s just from the south room to the north room to me…”
“You’re just cheating!” The doll girl’s rage surged instantly, “Are you even listening to me properly!”
“Alright, alright, after all, I’m your dad.”
The doll girl fell silent, seemingly torn for quite some time, before hesitantly tweaking my ear: “Well, I might decide when to call you… Dad, based on my mood.”
This time it was my turn to be amazed.
But before I could further tease the little doll, already close to annoyance, Qianqian’s loud voice suddenly came from the second floor: “Ah Jun! Ah Jun! We have a guest! A big guest!” (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian () to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)