"You seem to be in a bad mood lately." Luo’er stood behind her, asking with concern.
In the distance, another gunshot reverberated. Baiyue lowered her head, remaining silent for a long time before slowly speaking, "Regarding the events of that night, I’m sorry for my rash actions..."
Baiyue was referring to that night, when her unauthorized gunfire disturbed the Beastman, forcing Luo’er’s assault team to attack.
"I already know about it, let’s discuss it in a meeting when we get back," Luo’er replied, although he had only guessed. Hu Daoke had taken all the blame, but he wasn’t good at lying, so it was impossible for him to fool Luo’er.
Baiyue closed her mouth again, falling into silence. She quietly watched the slowly flowing water, feeling as if her thoughts were flowing along with the current.
"You must now understand why I always wear a hat," Baiyue finally said after a long silence.
"Yes," Luo’er nodded. He had already roughly guessed Baiyue’s identity, but when she lifted her cloak’s hood, he was still surprised.
"I..." Baiyue started, then paused, her gaze lowered. After a long silence, she suddenly squatted down and sat on the river bank.
Luo’er walked up to her, sitting beside her and gently asked, "Is there something on your mind that you’d like to share with me?"
Baiyue’s long eyelashes fluttered as she lifted her head, glanced at Luo’er with a gloomy look, then lowered her head again, biting her lip. Suddenly, she took out a bamboo cup from her bosom, uncorked it, and poured the liquid inside into her mouth.
"Cough, cough, cough," Baiyue covered her mouth with a frown, coughing violently. Luo’er could smell a strong scent of alcohol.
"Are you okay?" Luo’er asked, at a loss, as he watched her pour more liquor into her mouth from the bamboo cup.
In a short while, her otherwise pale face had turned rosy, and her gaze at Luo’er had become blurred.
"You’re drunk," Luo’er said, reaching out to take the cup from her hands.
Baiyue leaned against his shoulder and said faintly, "I want to talk to you."
"Alright, go ahead!" Luo’er let her lean on him while he corked the bamboo cup again to stop her from drinking more.
"I..." Baiyue started, tears falling uncontrollably, "I’ve always faced prejudice since I was a child; there’s never been anyone who truly cared about me..."
Luo’er remained silent, quietly listening to her confessions.
"Because of my ears, and my teeth, everyone has always laughed at me since I was a child. Those... those human hybrids... once, someone wanted to be my friend, he didn’t reject my appearance, but... even he ultimately chose to leave me because of the stares from other people. I was just a child, yet I had to endure the agony that doesn’t belong to my age."
Without saying a word, Luo’er reached out and patted her head gently, providing some comfort. Encouraged, she continued speaking.
"I hated my ears, hated my appearance. Why did the Academy give birth to me? I wanted to cut off my ears more than once, but I always couldn’t bring myself to do it. Because... it would really hurt..."
As Baiyue spoke, she gradually pulled off her hood. Perhaps due to being covered for a long time, her bunny ears drooped listlessly. But Luo’er could clearly see a scar on one of her ears where fur no longer grew.
Luo’er quietly looked at her rabbit ears, then reached out and stroked them. Baiyue tried to avoid his touch but didn’t move in the end, allowing him to touch her.
"I’m glad you didn’t cut them off, they’re so cute!" Luo’er said gently, a warm smile lighting up his face.
"Cute?" Baiyue asked softly.
"Yes," Luo’er nodded earnestly. He rubbed her ears, their soft fur felt excellent, though a bit smelly. Baiyue likely didn’t wash her hair often as she tried her best to hide her ears due to her own insecurities.
"Sorry, I..." Realizing she hadn’t washed her hair in a long time, Baiyue panicked and tried to pull Luo’er’s hand away, fearing her flaws would disgust him.
"It’s okay," Luo’er said gently, stroking her hair, "When we have time, I can wash your hair for you."
"Okay," Baiyue stared blankly at him, forgetting to close her mouth. Luo’er could clearly see her adorable rabbit teeth.
Suddenly remembering, she hurriedly covered her mouth with her hands, but Luo’er pulled them away. He put his hand on her cheek and spoke earnestly, "Did you know, not only are your ears cute, but your teeth are adorable as well."
Baiyue silently looked at him, the hot tears once again uncontrollably trickling down her cheeks.
"Yue’er, be honest with everyone. I think they will accept you and like you," Luo’er said softly.
"Okay," with a choked voice, Baiyue nodded. Her body involuntarily fell forward and she ended up in his arms.
"Don’t close yourself off anymore out of inferiority, everyone actually really likes you, but you have always failed to respond to their goodwill."
"I’m sorry..." In Luo’er’s embrace, Baiyue let out a stifled cry.
"It’s okay, from now on be honest with everyone, and accept their goodwill. We will accept you unconditionally." Luo’er gently comforted her.
At this moment, Baiyue was no longer able to hold back, and she burst into tears in Luo’er’s embrace, pouring out years of pent-up grievances.
She didn’t know how long she had cried until Luo’er’s chest was somewhat wet from her tears. Only then did she stop crying and nestled in his embrace, sobbing quietly.
"Luo’er." Baiyue suddenly called out to him.
"What’s wrong?" Luo’er gently responded.
"You, you’re just as gentle as when we were little." Baiyue softly said.
"When we were little?" Luo’er was taken aback, and suddenly remembered what Cheng Ziang had once said, which was to say that he and Baiyue had indeed known each other since childhood.
"Don’t you remember," Baiyue looked up at him, then said, "back then you were also very adorable, very gentle."
Luo’er blinked, suddenly, he remembered. He was probably in his mid-teens back then, but because he was part-elf, he still looked very young.
That day, a stranger had come to the academy. Amidst the crowd, Luo’er saw the stranger. He was a tall, Caucasian-looking man, probably in his thirties or forties. Different from the white people Luo’er had seen, he had distinct Slavic features.
Next to him was a tiny girl, not even as high as an adult’s knee, with two big rabbit ears on her head. She timidly hid behind the man’s thigh, looking alarmed at the people around her.
At that time, it was Wang Xu who was responsible for receiving them. He was conversing with the man using a guttural language, occasionally glancing at Luo’er. The man was nodding approvingly as he looked at Luo’er.
After their conversation ended, the man reluctantly handed the girl over to the staff of the academy. Deprived of her primary Enjoy reading on NovelHub - your free online novel platform.
Wang Xu said something to the man, then called Luo’er over and handed the girl to him.
At that time, Luo’er was stunned, looking at the sniveling little girl in front of him not knowing what to say. After some hesitation, he reached out hesitantly and touched her soft rabbit ears, which were drooping at the time.
Luo’er suddenly remembered, finally filling the gaps in his memory. He and Baiyue had indeed met before, when they were young. And at that time, her, that man...
With this thought, Luo’er suddenly pushed Baiyue away, then grabbed her shoulders and asked, "Yue’er, do you remember anything from the past?"
Baiyue shook her head, and at the end, said, "I only remember you."
Luo’er was taken aback, then came back to his senses and looked at her solemnly, "Baiyue, you might, you might not have been born in the lab."
"What do you mean?" Baiyue looked at him, her face showing a surprised expression.
"That man, do you remember him?" Luo’er asked earnestly, "He had a high nose, with a narrow bridge. Thin lips, straight jawline, and a head of soft, light-colored hair. Built tall and large, but quite pale complexion."
Baiyue lowered her head, trying hard to remember. Although it wasn’t clear, she did seem to remember the man.
"That man is very likely to be your father!" Luo’er said seriously.
Baiyue looked shocked, she even shook her head in disbelief. She had always believed that her birth itself was a mistake, and after learning about the Origin Project, she hated those who bred her. Therefore, when Luo’er told her that she had a father, she simply couldn’t believe her own ears.
"Where, where is he?" Baiyue clung tightly to Luo’er, tremblingly asked.
"I don’t know, but there is someone who would." Luo’er stroke her hair, and then solemnly said, "I promise you, I will help you get to the bottom of this."
"Thank you, thank you for your enduring gentleness." Baiyue looked into Luo’er’s eyes, captivated by the warmth she saw there, unable to look away at the warm sunshine in his eyes.
"From today on, you don’t need to wear a hood any more. You can show your face openly to others. Of course, if you’re shy, you can still wear it. But, don’t hide from everyone in the team any more."
"Okay!" Baiyue felt as if a cold block of ice deep down in her heart was slowly thawing.