Chapter 3 The loneliness of the lonely is something you've always wanted to experience...
Actually, you've always wanted to try out that [Tutorial] button.
Although Little White's current strength of 15 points is more than enough for him to roam freely in the village, and even the geese can't peck at him, only making a hoarse "quack-quack-quack" sound of frustration behind him, there is still a long way to go before he reaches your training goal.
[Teaching] also requires spending Star Qiong. Five Star Qiong are needed for one teaching session, which randomly increases the attack points within the range of 1-3.
But here's the problem: you don't know how to wield a sword.
Every time you learn to use a new weapon, it's because you've been glanced at by the Star God. You inexplicably learn it the moment you pick it up. Now you've learned to use a baseball bat, a fire spear, a hat... but not the one-handed sword that Bai E needs to learn.
The other team can use a one-handed sword right from the start, so why can't we here?
"And I only have two skill slots!" you muttered, trying to bargain with the game system. "This is so unfair...!"
It seems there was no customer service for this game before its public beta launch. You searched all over the internet but couldn't find the official platform... Where did Silver Wolf get this game from?
Seeing that there was no way to get feedback, you frustratedly fiddled with the login screen, but accidentally clicked on a small window.
[Learning skills across weapon classes requires 160 Star Qiong per attempt^^]
—This is robbery!
The more you look at that innocent smiling emoji in the system notification, the angrier you get. Why does it seem so smug? Is it doing it on purpose?
Besides, you just finished feeding Xiao Bai'e, and Xing Qiong is gone. As if sensing your low spirits, Bai'e hesitated and looked at you several times, wanting to speak several times, but ultimately didn't say anything.
He cheered himself on in his heart.
"Since I've already done it, I have to give it to her... She'll be so happy!" he muttered to himself, sweat beading on his forehead. "What if she doesn't like it... If she doesn't like it... No, no, she'll definitely like it!"
Then he mustered his courage, "...I...I have a gift I want to give you—!"
You were somewhat surprised. You hadn't expected the game program to have a system that provided feedback to players, and it even knew to proactively send you gifts.
...What's with this inexplicable sense of relief?
With tears in your eyes, you stretched out a finger and gently rubbed it against Xiao Bai'e's cheek. Bai'e's already flushed cheeks turned even redder. He leaned back a little, but still couldn't escape the touch of your finger. Your finger was practically half the size of his face to him, and the smooth feel of your fingertip made his head steam.
"Wait...it's so itchy..."
He let you rub his cheeks against his like a hamster, until his face was so red you could fry an egg on it, but he didn't put up any resistance.
Only after you satisfiedly withdrew your finger did he take out two things from behind his back:
Two wreaths. One wreath is in full bloom, the other is in its twilight.
The one on the left is clearly made by a novice; it's crooked and messy, with the flower buds barely fitting properly onto the grass stems, and there's no regard for color coordination.
The one on the right is much more exquisite, with pink and white flowers strung together, and adorned with pale pink crystal butterflies. The dangling crystal chains sway back and forth, making a pleasant, crisp sound in the air.
Bai E seemed to notice the huge difference as well. He lowered his eyes, somewhat embarrassed, and gave an awkward smile.
"This one on the right was given to you by Xi Lian. I told her about you, and she's very curious about you."
“The one on the left is mine.” Bai E scratched the back of his head. “…It’s my first time making one, and it looks terrible, haha.”
But he couldn't keep up the cheerful act any longer, and the single strand of hair on his head drooped down in disappointment. "Ugh... It's still so ugly... No, no, I'll go find Xi Lian to learn from her next time, and then I'll make a perfect one for you!"
Your heart almost melted into a light, floating cloud. You couldn't contain your laughter, and after silently screaming under the covers for a long time, you finally emerged with your hair all messy, coughed a few times, and pretended you weren't charmed at all.
How can he be so cute?
Since you couldn't actually wear the wreath, you held up another finger, and Behe pretended to put both wreaths on your finger.
Thank you. I like it very much.
You feel that you are a mature adult now and cannot act too recklessly, so even if a thousand screams of "So cute!" flash through your mind, the words you type out are only faint.
You let out a cool "humph." That's just how cool it is.
*
Bai Er noticed that you always seem to be very busy.
You always appear in that wheat field at the village entrance, but not all the time. Bai E rushes there whenever he has time. He's naturally happy to see you, but when he doesn't see you, he just sits quietly on the swing reading or daydreaming.
When he's lost in thought, he'll wonder, "When are you coming?"
It didn't matter before he met you in person, but now that he has, he can't help but think of you.
The wheat tips shimmered in the field, their golden light fleeting before being swallowed by the wind. For a moment, he thought it was you, and looked up in surprise, then paused, stunned.
The white clouds in the sky are shaped like cute little dogs. The dogs have drooping ears, lie down with their heads resting on their front paws, and their eyes are fixed on the sky—and beyond the sky, on the world further away.
Six-year-old Xiaobai'er tasted the flavor of "longing" for the first time.
In his view, it was as if someone he had longed for for a long time had finally come to his side, and he felt a little nervous and a little excited.
But people are busy, and dogs can't keep bothering them.
...In all honesty, it's just that time flows differently inside and outside the game. You thought you were using up all your free time to log in, but to Bai E, all you left him with was your back view.
Xi Lian sat down beside him and asked, "Have the flower wreaths been delivered?"
Bai Er nodded, "Mm."
Xi Lian was puzzled. She looked at the two wreaths of flowers around Bai E, which were slightly withered but completely untouched. "But..."
But the wreath is right here; it was never delivered to you.
Bai Er gestured, "She doesn't have a physical form, so I put it on her finger."
Oh, it's on my finger... Huh?
Xi Lian's expression went blank.
"Uh, um..." She paused to find the right words, "Wearing it on your finger, it seems to have another meaning, right?"
Bai E was bewildered and asked, "What do you mean?"
...It seems he simply finds it convenient. Well, he's still so young, he probably just admires it and doesn't mean anything else.
Xi Lian sighed.
"Really, don't do that to girls again."
*
Without Xingqiong, you grab your baseball bat and head out to clear out the treasure chests on the map to earn some "milk money" for Xiaobai'er.
On March 7th, he excitedly declared that he wanted to go with you. Although Danheng didn't understand, he couldn't refuse you and was dragged onto this pirate ship as well.
The streets of Pinocchio are bustling with traffic at night. You stand in the middle, arm in arm with March 7, laughing and joking as you walk, the two of you staggering along, while Danheng walks on the far left, constantly on guard against passing vehicles.
The streetlights scattered along the main road resembled dancing points of light, giving an unexpected sense of insignificance when viewed from above. The loud calls of vendors, the hurried pace of passersby, the swaying drunkards, the sounds of the wind and traffic, mingled with the warm body heat of those around you, unconsciously made you relax.
The sleeve that Danheng accidentally brushed against still carried the chill of the night.
He frowned. "Why are your hands so cold? Don't set the air conditioning so low in the room."
Before you could even answer, March 7th couldn't help but tease you with a laugh.
"Don't let Teacher Danheng's appearance fool you; he never smiles," she said. "He's actually very happy to be going out with us, isn't he, the cold-faced little dragon?"
"March, if you keep talking like that, you'd better go to sleep with your eyes open tonight," you kindly reminded her.
Dan Heng sighed helplessly, "...What exactly are we going out to do?"
"To earn money for baby formula!" you said. "I don't have Xingqiong anymore, and my child keeps crying that he's hungry."
On March 7th, she pretended to wipe away tears, actively cooperating with your performance, "Poor little raccoon, only two years old and already having to struggle for a living..."
As the only "normal" person in the team who didn't engage in abstract discussions, Danheng's lips twitched, but he ultimately didn't voice his complaints.
...
The three of you ran around the map several times, and jumped up and down to catch several lone origami birds. You were so tired that you kept asking to stop and rest for a while.
My phone beeped.
It's the Black Tower.
[To measure a simulated universe.]
You then remembered that you hadn't yet completed your simulated universe rewards for the week. But you were too exhausted to do anything else, so you could only tuck the baseball bat under your arm and weakly reply to her.
[Come tomorrow.]
[Automatic reply: Hello, I'm currently unavailable and won't be able to contact you for a while.]
Your eyes idly darted around, but out of the corner of your eye you caught a glimpse of a cold glint flashing in the corner.
One... um? A king was sitting there looking melancholy.
—Yes, melancholy.
Its limbs are so strong and beautiful, its body so majestic, and its iron-cast body is reflecting the light of the street lamps... But the bucket itself is leaning against the corner, the lid tilted, full of the vicissitudes and melancholy of its life.
"So handsome," you couldn't help but exclaim.
March 7th: ?
Danheng: ...
As it drew near, the can hadn't even shifted its tilted angle. You wondered if it, like other riddle cans, would ask some cryptic philosophical questions, and you thought you might as well ask Danheng if all else failed, but it spoke quickly—
"I'm so lonely," it said.
You crouch down and comfort her, saying, "Who isn't lonely in this world?"
It shook its head—though it didn't actually have a head, it just swayed its body a few times, which looked rather comical.
"You're human, you wouldn't understand the sadness of a trash can. We trash cans are born without brothers or sisters, we've never received the love and companionship of a family..."
Its voice trembled with emotion, "Why did the trash can even exist...? I can't even share the trash in it with anyone."
You didn't know how to answer for a moment, because you were also born on a space station. After more than a year of travel, the memories of the space station were still vivid in your mind.
You see the Black Tower, the passing research teams, and the strange objects radiating light all around, but no one stops for you. Kafka loves you, you've always known that, and she's truly gone to great lengths to allow you to live so carefree on the Star Train, with the energy to joke around and cause harmless little mishaps.
The universe is so vast, and so many people pass by every day. Will the starry sky remember your insignificance?
...only occasionally, just a few times...
You might also feel a little lonely.
What are you whispering about?
Just then, March 7th came over and asked curiously:
"Is there anything we can't hear?"
You turn around. You see a pink-haired girl blinking at you. Not far away, Dan Heng is leaning against the wall, his gaze aimlessly fixed on the distance. But as soon as he senses your gaze, he looks back, his eyebrows slightly raised, revealing a questioning look.
The two of them had been fooling around with you all night, their clothes were a little damp with sweat, and March 7's hair was disheveled. Dan Heng moved his neck to relax his muscles.
A car sped by from the roadside, neon lights falling into their eyes, turning the world into a riot of colors.
"...A trash can can't decide its own birth," you said, "but it can decide its own family."
Your partners are like family. No matter how insignificant or ordinary you are, no matter how bad Himeko's coffee is—there will always be someone on the Starry Sky Train who leaves a dim light on for you.
So what if we're just dust? Aren't we all just tiny specks of dust in this vast universe? Even if we're in different places, you know that there's a similarly tiny speck of dust who cares about you, and that's enough.
And besides the Star Train... in a small village in Onfaros, at this very moment, a little white-haired boy is sitting on a swing, thinking of you. In his eyes, regardless of other calamities or hardships, regardless of the village's harvest or future fate, at least in this moment of longing, you are his whole world.
The trash can seemed lost in thought.
A paper bird flew over and landed on its bucket lid, pressing the already tilted lid down a little, and complained softly:
"So that's where you came from, chirp! I've been looking for you for ages, and I was really looking forward to hearing your stories about finding great trash in other dumpsters, chirp!"
"Wow!" It shook its wings, glanced down at the trash in the bucket, and exclaimed, "There's a bottle of Soleil in there! I love Soleil the most! Drink this bottle of Soleil~ Sweet dreams will come quickly~ Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp~"
The trash can handed you dozens of star-shaped pendants, then turned and walked away with the origami bird.
Danheng picked up the bag of snacks you bought beside him, and on March 7th, he continued to walk back arm in arm with you in this awkward posture.
"Is it over? Hey—we haven't had enough fun yet—"
"In March, I haven't told you yet, but your hair is messy."
"W-What! I've been wearing this outfit the whole way...! Waaah, how embarrassing! Why didn't you and Teacher Danheng remind me?!"
"Teacher Danheng is probably too busy to take care of himself. It's so hot and he's wearing so many clothes. If he doesn't sweat, who will?"
"...I don't feel hot. Also, that's no excuse for you to keep the air conditioning so low at night."
"Why are you so mean to us raccoons... Raccoons have a lot of fur, so it's reasonable that they get hot easily, right?"
"It makes perfect sense, so much so, absolutely perfect."
"...Where exactly is it reasonable?"
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