CH 66

Chapter 66: Unravelling (2)

Cheng Qingrong excitedly pulled Lin Xinyu aside and fired question after question at him about acupuncture points. Lin Xinyu answered them one by one and even pointed out their positions. Cheng Qingrong showed him two other medical books in surprise. He discovered that Lin Xinyu was very sensitive to patterns, and he remembered their every detail.

When he remembered how his son, Xiao Yuan, loved medicine, and read bounteous amounts of medical books when young, he inwardly thought to himself that the heavens had really sent this child to make up for Little Yuan’s absence. In his heart, he was even more fond of Lin Xinyu.

Lin Xin, however, compared to his cute daughter, was more like a grown up, and she even belonged to the gloomy category.

Lin Xinyu was Lin Xin’s reverse scale. As long as it was related to Lin Xinyu’s safety, she would explode, her entire body would be covered with thorns and she’d attack the assailant like an overprotective hen.

[T/N: a (dragon’s) “reverse scale” is semantically similar to ‘Never poke a sleeping dragon’.]

Facing Lin Xin, who was as composed as an adult, he did not care to continue lecturing her on the matters between the two children. He believed she understood already.

That night, Lin Xinyu could not sleep. He grabbed his blanket and went looking for Lin Xin’s room. Once there, he lied on her bed, opened his eyes and asked, “Lin Xin, are we going to stay here?”

Lin Xin’s heart skipped a beat. It occurred to her that Lin Xinyu, this kid, hasn’t been clear on whether or not he liked this place. As she wondered, Lin Xin cautiously probed, “You don’t like it here?”

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“I can’t say I like it, but I can’t say I hate it,” replied Lin Xinyu. After experiencing so much, no matter how bad the environment was, it was still better than his previous conditions. Furthermore, Lin Xin was accompanying him.

Lin Xin asked again, “Then what kind of place do you like?”

Lin Xinyu smiled, “I like it wherever you are.”

This child’s mouth is so sweet, Lin Xin’s heart floods with tenderness. She was the picture of a little kid surrounded by a warm blanket. Lin Xin wormed her way to the opposite side of the bed like a caterpillar and without Lin Xinyu’s knowledge, suddenly whispered in his ear, “Look, I’m here.”

Because the lights weren’t left on during the night, Lin Xinyu jumped, stunned for two seconds, then he chuckled and said, “Lin Xin, you’re so evil.”

Lin Xin laughed out loud and held his face, “This little grandpa is so naughty, Ms. Fool here’s to make this little grandpa smile.”

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Lin Xinyu also burst out in laughter. His voice was bright and clear, with a boyish heroic air to it.

Lin Xin happily declared, “In the future, you should always smile like that. How nice will it be if I’m always allowed to see it?”

Lin Xinyu asked, “You like it? You like it when I laugh like that?”

Lin Xin shook her head, “It’s not about me particularly liking it, it’s more about your happiness. The main thing is that you like it.”

Lin Xinyu thought about it and said, “Then I like it.” Next, he asked, “Lin Xin, do you not like it here?”

Lin Xin contemplates for a moment and says, “Xiaoyu, I have parents.” After saying this, she realizes that everyone has parents. Children in orphanages also have parents.

Lin Xinyu saw she was distracted and didn’t continue to press. Imagining she was grieving over being abandoned, he put his arm around her shoulders and pat her on the back to comfort her, soothing, “They’ve abandoned us, we don’t need them anymore. We don’t need them.”

Lin Xin rolled over, moving closer to the center of the bed. She told Lin Xinyu from a distance away, “They didn’t abandon me. They went somewhere else.” Lin Xin thought about her parents, the incident with Cheng Qingrong, and could not help but sadden, bursting into tears. Her tears wouldn’t stop. After the death of her parents in that world, many of the grievances and sorrows she had felt ever since that life overflowed, spilling down her cheeks.

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Lin Xin had never cried in front of Lin Xinyu before. He was so nervous, Lin Xinyu didn’t know what to do. He could only tightly hug her from behind and cry with her.

Lin Xin whimpered, “I have parents, how can I call others ‘father’ and ‘mother’?”

Lin Xinyu answered, “Then don’t call others ‘father’, ‘mother’.”

They had no shared experience, his words did not comfort her. Lin Xin opened her eyes and saw that the moonlight coming from outside the window slipped into the room. She inwardly thought: Here, at least the moon stayed the same. The sadness in her heart grew even stronger. She needed to relieve the bitterness of today, lest it completely overtake her.

“My parents loved each other very much. I don’t think there are any couples in the world who love each other more than they do. They chose to die together. If I hadn’t wanted to eat roast duck that day, they wouldn’t have gone out. If they didn’t go out, they wouldn’t have been in an accident. It’s my fault. That day, I should have told them, ‘Dad, mom, don’t go out. Just stay at home with me.’ It’s all my fault, all my fault…”

She repeated the last sentence in a low voice until exhaustion took over her, and fell asleep.

Lin Xinyu held her like this the whole night, and only when the sun was about to rise the next day, did he finally join Lin Xin.