On the way back to Weicheng, Meng Ziqiu curiously asked Xu Qian how he knew about the incident involving those college students.

Xu Qian had already switched back to his Wanhua Vest and was sipping a bottle of cheese-flavored yogurt. After hearing Meng Ziqiu's question, he thought for a moment before explaining that Marjorie had told him.

"...Wait, who is Marjorie?" Meng Ziqiu was taken aback.

"It's the one with the child at the village entrance."

“That old man? His name is Marjorie? His name is actually…” Meng Ziqiu paused, seemingly understanding. It didn't seem to be explicitly stated in the 'exchange' terms that it had to be between people of the same sex…

Xu Qian continued drinking his yogurt, and his memories gradually drifted back to yesterday...

Marjorie once lived a very happy life. Her tribe was powerful, and the monkey king was also very strong. If it weren't for human interference, she should have lived happily for the rest of her short twenty years.

Now, she calculated that she should be forty-three years old this year, as a human being.

As a monkey, she didn't understand what regret was. But when she became a human and saw herself in the well, she felt regret. She even thought that this feeling was brought to her by 'humans,' that it was humans' fault, not hers.

Marjorie still remembers that when she and her comrades reclaimed their homeland, they were not greeted with flowers befitting warriors, but with the constant fear in the eyes of their fellow warriors. She tried her best to tell her friends that she was Marjorie! She was Marjorie!

But the truth is, they are increasingly afraid of her as a 'human'.

Marjorie eventually left her home with her 'human' friends. Archie tried to comfort her, saying they could go out and live together, that he had become stronger, and that he could catch fish for her in the river. Marjorie forgot what he said, but her recollection was that it wasn't very nice.

As Archie had said, they gradually integrated into human memory and learned how to make their lives better.

Just when Marjorie thought her life would continue like this, Archie met a human girl from a village down the mountain and fell in love with her.

How could he possibly like a human?!

He can't!

Archie frantically sought out Marjorie, hoping she would keep it a secret. Marjorie verbally agreed, but secretly went to Lord Quincy and told him that Archie had betrayed them, that he was a traitor, and that traitors must be punished!

And then... Archie died. He hanged himself in the old house at the entrance of the village.

Lord Quincy had others bury him in a wasteland outside the village. Marjorie didn't go; she cried at home for a long time, until her voice became hoarse. She thought Archie would learn his lesson and come back, but he didn't, he didn't!

Marjorie was alone again, eating alone and catching fish alone.

Every time a fish escaped, she would soak in the river and throw a tantrum, crying as she did so. She was angry at why Archie had left her, and also angry at herself for reporting him.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs." Archie is truly gone forever and will never return.

Later, Marjorie gradually learned how to support herself, and she was able to live well on her own without Archie.

One day, while selling fish down the mountain, Marjorie saw the human girl that Archie liked. She looked even thinner than before, with legs thinner than her arms, messy hair, and a crazy appearance, but her belly was especially large.

Marjorie thought she must be pregnant. Could it be Archie's cub?

Marjorie didn't know.

In the days that followed, Marjorie kept thinking about the human girl. She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

Marjorie was so glad she had gone out that night. She had run down the mountain like a madwoman, wanting to ask if the other woman was indeed Archie's cub. But it was too late. The girl was being rejected by her family because she had given birth to a girl that night. The old woman had bought the girl from outsiders, hoping she would give her sick only son a grandson. But this was the second one, and it was another boy!

The girl's newborn child was taken to the other side of the bridge and abandoned by the old woman. It was springtime, and the mountains were freezing cold. Thinking that she could get rid of a burden in no time, the old woman was very glad that her home was close to the bridge.

Marjorie took the child home and named her Lulu. Archie said he liked the name very much; he had seen it in a book.

Marjorie treated Lulu as her own child. She had never been a mother, but she had seen many people raising young animals. First, Lulu needed a lot of milk, so Marjorie used all the money she earned from selling fish to buy a small goat. But a goat alone wasn't enough to raise a young goat. Lulu was often sick as a baby, perhaps because she caught a chill right after birth. Every time Lulu was sick, Marjorie felt terrible, but she didn't know what to do. Once, when Lulu was particularly ill, Marjorie was at her wit's end and could only take her child back to the monkey cave. She sought out Lord Anda, hoping he could help her.

Lord Adachi eventually helped her, and Lulu's health gradually improved, becoming no different from other healthy children.

Because of that trip back, Marjorie's relationship with the other side improved considerably. The young cubs, having heard that she had once been a warrior who helped them reclaim their homeland, would flock around her every time she returned. Marjorie was surrounded by them, but she knew that she was very happy at that time.

Lulu made many friends in the monkey cave, including a child named Tammy. Tammy lost his mother at a very young age and has survived only thanks to the care of Elder Anda. Tammy is much smaller than the average monkey. The elders of the tribe don't care about a half-dead cub; they are more concerned about the strong and lively cubs, who are the future of the tribe.

Marjorie doesn't mind Lulu and Tammy being friends. For Lulu, Tammy's 'gentle' personality is actually better; those monkey kids are too noisy and not good at all.

When Lulu got a little older, Marjorie entrusted Lulu to Tammy's care without worry. Meanwhile, she would take some fish down the mountain to sell. Every time she went down the mountain, Marjorie would subconsciously avoid White Village. She didn't want to run into that human girl, and she was also afraid of encountering her.

As for the reason, she couldn't say.

But that's sometimes how reality is; the more you don't want to encounter something, the more likely you are to.

Years later, Marjorie encountered the human girl at the foot of the mountain on her way back. By then, the girl had completely changed. She no longer had the fair and beautiful appearance she once had. Her numb eyes and gray hair seemed to tell the story of how much she had suffered over the years.

Marjorie didn't dare look at her and left silently, telling herself that Lulu was now her child, and only hers.

That winter, Marjorie heard that she had died, that she had died by the bridge.

The human girl whose name she didn't even know was dead.

...

When Marjorie got home, Lulu ran up to her and hugged her leg, sweetly calling out "Daddy!" Marjorie hugged Lulu and called out, "Lulu, Lulu..."

My Lulu, you'll always be mine.

Author's Note: Two chapters complete! The third chapter will be at 9 PM tonight!

Next, let me talk about this story. The protagonist is a character I've been thinking about for a long time, and I've also been designing his personality for a long time before I started writing. Regarding the "childishness" mentioned by readers, I think it might be because my writing skills are limited, and I still need to improve. But so far, I'm very satisfied with "Xu Qian." I hope to write a "kind" person, which may be more idealistic, but as a creator, I still hope to write what I like in a novel.

Thank you to all the lovely new subscribers!

***