Chapter 16 A Morning with You A few nights later, white...
A few nights later, Bai'er was clamoring on the stone slab to be your tour guide for your trip to Ohm.
Danheng has been negotiating with Aglaia these past few days—although you have Bai'e as your guarantor, the ruler of this city-state is clearly a cautious person. Since you had nothing else to do, you agreed to Bai'e's request, only to wake up to a screen bombarded with 99+ messages.
You open your phone, and apart from a few messages from Danheng reminding you to eat breakfast, the rest are all from Bai E.
[What do you want to eat tomorrow morning? I'll go buy you breakfast.] 21:32
[Do you remember Wan Di? I hate to admit it... but he's a pretty good cook. Shall I go get some dessert? Do you still like banana pie?] 21:33
[...Or would you like to try what I made? I've practiced my cooking for ages! (Looking forward to chimera jpg.)] 21:33
Do you like earth creatures? Do you like small animals? We have something here called a "chimera," they're fluffy and very cute! How about we go see them tomorrow? ] 21:34
[I really want to introduce all my friends to you... They'll love you! Just like I loved you the first time I met you! (Chimera-like pouting emoji)] 21:35
...
[Oh, you're already asleep? Goodnight.] 21:42
You skimmed through the messages, sprang to your feet, threw on your coat, and rushed out the door, worried that he might be upset because you hadn't replied. So you quickly washed up, head down, and replied as you left.
I've already left...
Before you could finish typing, you saw Bai E's familiar figure—sleeping asleep in the chair in front of the door.
He was fast asleep, his head tilted to one side. His tall figure was pitifully curled up in the corner by your door, obediently turning half his face to the side, resting his head on his arm, making his chubby cheeks bulge slightly. His eyelashes were slightly damp from the steam in the bathtub.
Your private bathhouse is near the rest hall, where the residents of Ohma like to relax after their baths, eat some fruit, and drink some wine. To be honest, it's not very private.
But it was still early, and there weren't many people around. Some recognized Bai E, but considerately didn't bother him, each busy with their own things... drinking, chatting, eating. For a moment, all that could be heard were the whistling wind and the soothing sound of flowing water, blending together to create a relaxing white noise.
You walked over and stared at his unguarded appearance for a while, feeling a bit curious.
But just as you extend a finger to poke his face to see if he's as cute as he was when he was little, he suddenly opens his eyes, his gaze sharp and unwavering, and quickly grabs your hand in a defensive stance.
"...Ah." Bai E saw it was you and quickly let go of your hand, his eyes switching back to harmless mode in a second. He said apologetically, "Sorry, it was an instinctive reaction... I hope I didn't hurt you?"
You then remembered his 90-point strength rating and muscular physique... You were really fooled by his cute and harmless Samoyed appearance.
"I'm fine." You shook your head. "Why are you sleeping here? Have you been waiting long? Sorry, I went to bed too early last night and didn't see the message."
Bai E smiled, not directly answering your question, but changing the subject, "You guys just arrived and must be exhausted. It's my fault; I couldn't help sending you a lot of messages. Did I bother you? Have you had breakfast yet?"
When he saw you staring at his face, he was first puzzled, then realized something and laughed a little embarrassedly. The red marks on his face from being pressed against his skin were also pulled apart, making it look like a honey cake covered with cherry jam.
"Did you press on it while you were sleeping?"
Completely oblivious to the bias in his words, you said bluntly, "I want to touch it." Then you blinked innocently, "I want to touch Xiaobai's face."
—It looks like it's easy to pet.
"..." Bai E naturally wouldn't disagree. But after your hand touched his face, he sighed slightly and said, "Being told something cute by my partner always makes me feel a little strange."
You tugged at his cheek. Although his features were much more defined than when he was a child, and he no longer had the chubby baby face you had when you first met him, as soon as you met his gentle and indulgent blue eyes, you felt that nothing had changed in the past ten years. He was still the same Bai E from the Ai Li Mi Xie.
"Why?"
You tilted your head and saw him pretend to grimace and say it hurt, but actually he was secretly glancing at you out of the corner of his eye. He then tugged at you again without any politeness before letting go.
"Has Xiaobai never been told she's cute? Has she been praised by friends and teachers?"
He thought for a moment, "Only Teacher Tibo would say something like that. Other teachers..."
For some reason, he shuddered and hesitated, "Uh, as for my other teachers... they're not the type who's very good at praising others."
Just imagine, at that moment, Teacher Xia looks at him with a gentle expression and says something like, "Xiao Bai, you've made great progress in your studies"—that's terrifying enough, isn't it?
He doesn't want this kind of good fortune; let's leave it for Wan Di...
After playing around for a while, you finally started walking towards the market outside.
You only realized it later, frowning and pondering.
Wait a minute... just now, did he go around in circles and get you hooked?
*
Today is the first day he and his partner officially go out alone. Bai E can't wait to introduce her to everyone!
So, taking advantage of his morning energy, after practicing his sword and taking a bath, he hurriedly rushed to your private bathhouse. Danheng had just left, and you were still asleep. He stood at the door for a while, and there was complete silence inside.
He probably won't wake up anytime soon. Bai E took out the stone tablet and reviewed last night's chat history again. Apart from the series of messages he sent, the topmost message was a few greetings from after you and he became friends. He looked at it over and over again, unable to get enough of it.
He couldn't help but smile, his muscles seemed to have a mind of their own, even though he tried hard to restrain himself and tell himself: No, no, Bai'er, you have to be more reserved. Your partner has just arrived in Onphalos. What if you scare her by being too enthusiastic?
But a smile slipped from his mind's control and appeared in his eyes first. How strange, why couldn't he control his own body?
He sat down at the table next to him. The lounge was completely silent. Time passed by, and Bai E began to have wild thoughts. Could it be that your appearance was just a dream?
He meant that it was all too beautiful to be real. He had been prepared to wait for you until you were an old man, but then, on an ordinary night, right after he had saved a life, you appeared before him like a miracle performed by Eurysthenes.
You asked him why he recognized you so quickly... It's actually quite easy to explain; it's simply a sense of destiny. Just like when your luminous body first appeared in the Eri's Secret Pavilion, six-year-old Bai Er recognized his hero at first glance.
It's just that seeing you gives me a different feeling. Before my mind even has a chance to process it, my body already instinctively wants to hug you.
Bai E truly loves the feeling of hugging—warm, close, and gentle, like a crackling fireplace on a winter night. Holding you in his arms, watching the little whorl on top of your few stray hairs, watching your adorable, puzzled look as you raise your eyes, his heart feels like it's being filled with air, almost floating away.
As he pondered, he began to fidget. An unnatural smile curved his lips as he thought deeper and deeper into the matter, growing increasingly silent... Steam rose from the bathtub, mingling with the sweet aroma of fermented rice in the air, making his mind drowsy.
He drifted off to sleep.
"Have you been waiting long?" You did ask that, just as I expected.
Bai E didn't want you to worry or feel burdened—waiting for you was entirely his own decision and his own choice, and he shouldn't shift the responsibility onto you, who knew nothing about it. Besides, even if it was just this small thing of waiting for you, just imagining the moment you appeared was enough to make him feel satisfied and happy, and the waiting time wasn't so unbearable.
He changed the subject, using his usual and skillful rhetoric to dispel your doubts.
...Thank you, Master Anaxagoras. Being a good student isn't just about classroom performance, right?
*
Bai Er seems much more unfathomable than before. If it weren't for the many riddle-makers you've encountered during your years of train travel (especially Pinocchio), you wouldn't have realized he was leading the conversation.
After realizing that he was deliberately circumventing you, and then looking at the marks on his face that clearly showed he had been sleeping for a while, you quickly understood the reason behind it all, and felt both touched and amused.
Since he intends to keep it from you, you should go along with him and pretend you don't know.
The marble market was bustling with people. Fruit and vegetable stalls displayed bright red pomegranates, bright red apples, and plump grapes that looked like amethysts. Bai'er brought you a golden honey cake for breakfast. When you took a bite, the honey flowed down and poured into your mouth, making your throat feel sweet.
Unlike Jinren Lane, this place has a less lively atmosphere. There are no vendors hawking their wares, and no cooking smoke. However, as is the case with food streets all over the world, everyone likes to chat while eating.
"Hahaha, you can't catch me! Hehehe—"
These are children running and playing.
"What? Fifty Liheng coins? You're robbing me! What nonsense! I'll give you my whole wallet, do you want it?"
This is a street vendor and buyer engaged in a passionate debate.
"Alas, it's a pity my chimera doesn't eat big fish. I caught a fish as thick as my waist yesterday, but it wouldn't eat it. Sigh."
This is, uh, this is a fisherman who seems to have gone a little crazy from despair.
"Hey, Grey, what are you looking at?"
You turn your head and see a cute girl with pink hair in pigtails, looking at you and Bai'er with a teasing expression. Behind her is a chubby Pegasus with small, flapping wings and bright black, beady eyes staring unblinkingly at you... a doll?
"Hearing that you were injured, Lord Bai'e was extremely worried and summoned me here."
—This is Sunshine, Rainbow, and Little White Horse.
A note from the author:
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