Chapter 187 Homecoming
It was almost eight o'clock in the evening, and Delphinium carried two large plastic shopping bags and walked through the night back to the secret base. But when she found the key and opened the door of the house as usual, she suddenly felt that something was missing.
Behind the door was an empty entrance hall, and Lin Xiaolu did not come over.
In the past month, every time Kujue returned to the base, Lin Xiaolu would come out to greet him. Sometimes she was enthusiastic, sometimes she was calm, but she would always take the initiative to greet him. This slightly intimate behavior made Kujue a little embarrassed at first, but after a long time, she got used to this way of getting along.
But now it seems that today is an exception.
It was already late, and Lin Xiaolu should have finished her patrol. Moreover, Cuique heard a few days ago that she would have a half-day off today, so there was no reason for her not to be at the base. But the child did not come out to greet her, which made Cuique feel a little regretful.
This regretful mood did not last long, because she also knew that the child was an independent individual with his own things to do, and it was impossible for him to revolve around her all day long. It was normal for him to be busy and not answer the door. So she quickly returned to her normal state of mind, changed into slippers in an orderly manner, and walked into the living room with small steps.
What I saw was Xia Liang sitting alone on the sofa watching TV, and Bai Jingxuan, who was accompanying him in the living room instead of training in the basement.
"Have you had dinner yet?"
She bent down slightly, preparing to put the shopping bag aside: "I went to the supermarket before I came back and bought some more ingredients."
"Ah, you're back, young senior? We've already eaten."
Hearing the noise behind him, Xia Liang immediately sat up, ran out of the living room, and helped Cuique pick up the shopping bag: "Wow, it's so heavy! Let's put these things in the refrigerator first!"
"I want to help too!" Hearing her say this, Bai Jingxuan on the side quickly stepped between the two of them and grabbed the other shopping bag.
"There's no need to rush...but thank you anyway."
The two bags in her hand were snatched away one after another in an instant, and the heavy burden was instantly lifted, causing Cuique to blink a little helplessly: "By the way, where is Baimei?"
Then, she saw the two people in front of her pause at the same time.
"...My sister said before that she wanted to go home, so she left alone." Bai Jingxuan's voice sank subtly.
"We went out together this afternoon, but Xiaolu didn't come back with us because of something."
Xia Liang laughed awkwardly: "I wanted to persuade her, but... I just couldn't, haha."
"What happened?"
The two people's reactions made Kusanagi realize that there seemed to be something else going on, and she subconsciously wanted to raise her eyebrows. However, in order not to bring pressure to the children, she deliberately maintained a calm expression: "There is a study session scheduled tonight, why did she suddenly come home?"
"…Young senior."
"Um?"
"After listening to what I'm going to say next, you must stay calm." Putting down the plastic bag in his hand, Xia Liangping stretched out his hand, pressed it down, and made a gesture that probably expressed "calmness."
"Is it a serious matter? Is she in any danger?" Delphinium's expression tensed.
"No, it's not a dangerous thing. Life safety is definitely not a problem. But it's serious... it's indeed quite serious. How should I put it... well, we went out together for some reason this afternoon, and then decided to go out together, so we ended up going to the shopping mall near the Strategy Bureau."
Xia Liang forced himself to keep a smile on his face: "Then, in the evening, I saw Uncle Lin and Sister Hong together."
Because Bai Jingxuan was nearby, she chose a roundabout way of saying it, using a more objective statement, but Cuique could still understand the meaning of the sentence:
The scene of himself and Hong Si acting together was seen.
——"Mom! Dad is having an affair!"
Seeing Xia Liang tell the truth, Bai Jingxuan beside him also spoke up, but her understanding of the matter was obviously in another dimension: "That's why my sister wants to go back to her own home. She said she wants to confront Dad!"
Confrontation?
As soon as Bai Jingxuan said this word, and it was briefly transmitted in her brain, Cuiqiao's mind went blank for a moment.
It took her some effort to accept this fact. After she came to her senses, she first looked at Bai Jingxuan, and found that she could not find any useful information from the child's face, so she looked at Xia Liang again.
Xia Liang seemed to understand what she was thinking and nodded with a dry smile.
So, Cuiqiao understood what was going on: in Lin Xiaolu's understanding, although her father was busy with work, he would still return home every night, so she chose to wait for "her" at home.
This also means that I must go back now.
She took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. After a long silence, she said, "...I may need to leave for a while and may not come back tonight."
After saying this, she pointed at the plastic shopping bag in Xia Liang's hand and said, "I may have to trouble you to pack these things up and put them in the kitchen. Thank you for your hard work."
"Is mom angry?" Seeing her tense expression, Bai Jingxuan asked in a low voice, "Should we not talk about this?"
"You two are overthinking at such a young age. Things may not be that complicated."
Reaching out and rubbing her head, Delphinium slowed down her tone: "Don't take it too seriously. I'm not angry, and I'm not going to quarrel. I just do have some things to do."
"So, little senior, do you know what's going on?"
Xia Liang pretended to know nothing, but actually asked in a suggestive tone, "Uncle Lin and Sister Hong are together, and even go shopping together. Isn't it true that... their relationship has developed a bit?"
Delphinium couldn't help but glare at her.
"From my current position, the answer I give is unbelievable and meaningless, right?"
Finally, she sighed helplessly: "But the answer I can give is no."
Seeing that the two girls still looked unconvinced, she didn't want to continue to dwell on this topic, so she waved her hand: "Anyway, I can tell you with certainty: I, Chaoyan, and... Lin Yun have no intention of changing our relationship. Whether it's getting closer or more distant, this is not something we will consider at this stage."
"Will you come back tonight?"
Xia Liang put down the bag in his hand and smiled: "Is the study session tonight cancelled?"
"Cancelled, but I've put the assignment in my study."
Knowing what she was thinking, Cuique didn't want to waste time on the matter, so she walked towards the door without looking back: "Bai Mei has to do her own things and can't participate, so you can finish the corresponding exercises by yourself, and I will come back to correct them tomorrow."
"Eh? Do we have to do the questions even like this?" Xia Liang cried out in a mournful voice.
"After all, your mind seems a little restless."
After changing her shoes at the entrance, Kuizi glanced back at her and said, "Study hard. Children shouldn't interfere in adult matters."
Just like that, leaving behind Xia Liang's cry of "unfairness", Cuique walked out of the secret base, found an empty space with no one around, and took off directly into the air. She chose to fly back to her home to avoid wasting time on the road.
After traveling through the night sky for just a few minutes, Cuiqiao had already arrived near the apartment. And this time, in order to maintain her position as an ordinary person, she had to change back to Lin Yun's appearance and then take the elevator back obediently.
When the apartment is not used on weekdays, there will be a part-time worker to clean it on time, so even though Lin Yun seldom goes back recently, the house should be kept reasonably clean so that Lin Xiaolu will not notice anything wrong.
In the elevator, facing the reflection of the elevator door, he adjusted his clothes to make sure that he did not look tired. Then, he put on a nonchalant face and returned to his home naturally.
As soon as I entered the door, I saw a chair.
For some reason, this chair was placed directly in front of the living room door, facing the outside, and Lin Xiaolu was sitting on the chair, with a small blackboard standing next to her. She lowered her head, put on headphones, and stared at her phone intently.
Lin Yun took a quick glance and found that she was playing games.
“Ahem.”
Clearing his throat, he said, "Lulu, what are you doing?"
As soon as these words came out, Lin Xiaolu looked up. After seeing her father standing at the door and looking at her, she subconsciously wanted to turn off the game in her hand, but because of her uncoordinated movements in a hurry, her hand touched the volume button and directly turned the volume to the maximum.
The loud music accompanied by the shouts of the game characters suddenly came out from Lin Xiaolu's ears, and even standing in Lin Yun's position, he could hear it clearly.
Almost instinctively, Lin Xiaolu shrank her neck and quickly pulled off her earphones. After a long panic, she finally remembered where the volume button on her phone was. After turning off the sound, she turned off her phone, put it in her coat pocket, adjusted her sitting posture, restrained her expression and put on a serious face... Only then did she complete all the preparations and sit there properly again.
Lin Yun watched the whole process unfold in front of him, feeling both amused and annoyed, but he still tried to remain calm. He glanced at the small blackboard next to him and asked as if he saw nothing, "Why did you suddenly want to go home today?"
Lin Xiaolu said nothing, just sat on the chair and looked at him seriously.
"...What's wrong?" Lin Yun had no choice but to ask again patiently.
“I saw it!”
Lin Xiaolu suddenly said: "You were shopping with that woman!"
"See?"
Lin Yun pretended to know about this matter, and seemed to be really surprised and asked: "What are you talking about?"
"Don't hide it. I saw it with my own eyes. You were talking and laughing with that woman in the shopping mall near the Strategy Bureau!"
Lin Xiaolu pointed a finger at Lin Yun and shouted, "You can't have your feet on two boats!"
When she said this, she was serious and formal, with a fierce and aggressive tone, as if she was coming to call for punishment. If it was something else, it might really make people feel the atmosphere become solemn.
Unfortunately, what she said seemed to Lin Yun to be completely wild speculation. What was even more regrettable was that after she finished speaking, before Lin Yun could answer, Lin Xiaolu's stomach started to growl.
“Gurgle gurgle…”
In the entrance hall where there were only two people, the sound was particularly clear and harsh, and the source of the sound was so obvious that the finger that Lin Xiaolu had just stretched out suddenly bent down.
Looking at his daughter who was inexplicably in trouble, Lin Yun sighed helplessly: "It's already past eight o'clock, didn't you eat?"
"Don't, don't change the subject!"
With one hand back to cover her belly, Lin Xiaolu's ears felt hot: "I'm talking about your indecision!"
"Have you had lunch?" Lin Yun untied his tie and walked towards the restaurant.
Following Lin Yun's gaze, Lin Xiaolu subconsciously said, "I didn't eat much... No, that's not what I'm talking about!"
Lin Yun took off his suit jacket and put it on the back of a chair in the dining room: "We don't usually have fresh ingredients at home now, but I just bought some vegetables today. Do you want meat for dinner?"
"Eating meat...it's eight o'clock, forget it." Lin Xiaolu thought.
"It's only eight o'clock. It's good to gain some weight after eating."
As Lin Yun spoke, he took out two boxes for packaging meat and said, "It seems like you haven't grown much in this month."
"It's not what I want. My body doesn't grow on its own."
Lin Xiaolu muttered as she stood up from her chair and went to the kitchen: "No need to eat meat, I'm trying to lose weight recently."
"Losing weight? You only have a few pounds of flesh, you're as skinny as a sprout."
Lin Yun washed his hands and started to prepare the ingredients in the kitchen: "Besides, you are only fourteen years old, still growing up, how come you suddenly thought of losing weight?"
"I've been eating too much lately."
Lin Xiaolu followed him to the pool with a complicated expression: "I gained four pounds."
"How much?" Lin Yun turned around and looked at her.
"... Four pounds." Lin Xiaolu said this after a mental struggle, "The food in the secret base is too good."
After carefully looking at Lin Xiaolu, Lin Yun discovered that Lin Xiaolu's face had indeed become a little rounder during these days. However, because they were together day and night, this change was too slight, which led to this change being ignored before.
"It's okay, it's good to gain some weight."
After a brief thought, he picked up and released his hand from the food container, but he eventually tore open the packaging: "It's just growing, it's okay."
Even if he noticed this change, he didn't mind his daughter getting a little fatter. In fact, Kuizi also adhered to this principle when cooking in the secret base. From a father's perspective, his daughter's height development is obviously more important.
Lin Xiaolu opened her mouth slightly, probably realizing that she couldn't convince her father about this matter, so she took out a few boxes of instant food from the refrigerator beside her: "...I'll prepare the side dishes."
During the time in the secret base, she gradually got used to helping in the kitchen. Although she was still not very useful, she understood what she could do with her abilities, so there was no reason for her to be idle.
The father and daughter stood side by side at the kitchen stove. Lin Yun was preparing the meat in his hand while continuing to talk: "So, why did you put a chair at the door? And why did you have to sit there and play with your phone?"
“I’m not just sitting there playing with my phone.”
Lin Xiaolu immediately raised her head and retorted: "I was waiting for you there!"
"What are you waiting for me for?"
"I want to tell you that I see you are playing both sides, and I want to give you a warning!"
Lin Xiaolu said seriously: "I have to tell you as soon as you come back, so that it can have a deterrent effect!"
"...How did you come up with such a weird trick?" Lin Yun was a little speechless.
"I saw it on TV." Lin Xiaolu said confidently.
"Okay, let's just assume that's the case. Then what about the small blackboard? If I remember correctly, it was used for tutoring at home. Why was it moved to the door?"
Lin Yun soaked the meat in water and said, "If you don't want it, just throw it away. Don't leave it there like it's a piece of trash."
“That’s not trash.”
Lin Xiaolu was a little dissatisfied: "I originally wanted to write a slogan on it!"
"What slogan?"
"We are against slogans that try to play both sides and must criticize them severely!" Lin Xiaolu fiercely tore open the packaging of the instant food box.
"...Let's not talk about whether what you said is right or not. What about your slogan?" Lin Yun asked in surprise.
"I couldn't think of anything good, so I wiped it." Lin Xiaolu said sullenly.
"You won't write after you erase it?"
"No, I want to search online to see if there is anything good."
Lin Xiaolu looked at the box in her hand, her voice getting smaller and smaller: "I just couldn't find it after searching for a long time, and suddenly I remembered that I haven't completed the task of the game today."
"so?"
"Just, let's play with it." Lin Xiaolu looked away.
This finally explained what she was doing at the door, but compared to the laughter and tears at the door, after knowing the truth, Lin Yun felt even more worried: Did he give birth to a fool? "I'm not stupid!" Lin Xiaolu immediately retorted.
"I didn't say anything." Lin Yun glanced at her and continued to process the ingredients in his hands.
"You didn't say anything because you wanted to call me stupid!"
Lin Xiaolu was a little embarrassed and annoyed: "These are just accidents!"
"Okay, okay, it was all an accident." Lin Yun nodded in admission of defeat.
"So, that's not what I want to talk about! Don't change the subject! What I want to talk about is you going shopping with that woman!"
"Don't use such impolite terms as 'that woman'. Call her aunt or sister, or at least senior."
Lin Yun taught her, "After all, she is a senior in the magical girl industry, and she was born in Fangting City. You don't have to be so hostile to her."
"She's imitating my mother. How can I not be hostile to her?"
Lin Xiaolu glared: "And don't be partial to her! She imitated my mother's way of speaking before, don't tell me you didn't hear it!"
"…That's true, but her intentions are not bad."
"How do you know her intentions aren't bad? What if she acts so gentle in front of you because she likes you, but is actually a bad woman?"
Lin Xiaolu muttered, "Then the bad woman becomes my stepmother. She might say, 'Your mother stole my man, and now I want to take revenge on you.' Then she abuses me, doesn't give me food, makes me sweep the chimney in rags... or something like that."
"Where did you see this?" Lin Yun asked curiously.
"On TV." Lin Xiaolu argued.
From now on, I have to ask Xia Liang to help look after this girl. I can’t let her watch weird programs every day.
Lin Yun was thinking in his mind, but his face showed no emotion: "We don't have a chimney."
"Metaphor, metaphor!"
"Even if it's a metaphor, there's no such thing. I can assure you that she's not a bad person."
After a slight pause, Lin Yun said earnestly: "And I know what you mean. I miss your mother just like you, so I won't do anything to let her down."
"I said, I don't care if you find me a stepmother or not."
Lin Xiaolu was unhappy: "Your love life is your freedom, I'm just reminding you. But whether you plan to find a new one or not... you can't be indecisive."
"How am I indecisive?"
"How come you're not indecisive? You're clearly in a relationship with Delphinium!"
Lin Xiaolu reached out and grabbed the corner of Lin Yun's shirt: "Then you went shopping with that... Hong Siyu behind her back. Do you want to say that you don't have any extra thoughts?"
"Are you sure it's me you see?" Lin Yun tried to make a final struggle.
"Of course not, they all wear the same outfit! And Hong Siyu is the same, she even used her magical girl form to seduce you!"
Lin Xiaolu stared, "Men just like young girls, right? You're attracted to her when she becomes younger?"
"You kid, you really are..."
Throwing the meat onto the chopping board, Lin Yun pulled out a kitchen knife and gently scratched it: "First of all, I've already said that I won't do anything to let your mother down, so I don't plan to find a stepmother for you."
"Don't you plan to find a stepmother?"
Lin Xiaolu blinked, thought for a while, and then showed a somewhat horrified expression: "You plan to be irresponsible and abandon me...ah!"
"You are so young, what do you know?"
Unable to resist, he patted his daughter on the head. Then, Lin Yun retracted his hand and held the kitchen knife again: "Don't talk like the people in TV dramas. There aren't so many messy things in reality."
"...That's nothing." Rubbing her forehead, Lin Xiaolu said sullenly, "You and Cuique already have feelings for each other, are you planning to leave her alone like this?"
"That's the next best thing."
Lin Yun sighed: "Who told you that Cuique and I are in love and planning to get married?"
"……mousse."
When Lin Xiaolu gave this answer, Lin Yun almost choked on his own saliva. It took him a long time to adjust his breathing, but he still forced himself to pretend to be calm: "Who is that?"
"Bad guy." Lin Xiaolu glanced at him, "The one from the night of the Full Moon Festival."
"……oh."
Knowing that he shouldn't comment on this, Lin Yun pretended to be calm and continued, "So? A bad guy told you, and you believed it?"
"She told Delphinium that! And the evidence is clear!"
Lin Xiaolu's voice became louder: "That night, Cuique originally said she would not return to Fangting City, but she came back suddenly. Didn't you inform her?"
"Where did you hear this?"
"I saw it myself. You were not in the room that night!" Lin Xiaolu said righteously.
I see.
Lin Yun suddenly realized.
It was not until this moment that he solved the mystery that had lasted for a month and knew where he had gone wrong.
Because he left in a hurry on the night of the Full Moon Festival without considering the possibility of his whereabouts being exposed, and Moss also talked nonsense based on her own subjective conjectures at the time, Lin Xiaolu was completely led astray.
Thinking about it this way, when I was fighting with Moss, I didn't want to reveal any unnecessary information, so I didn't explain it clearly, which became a disguised "tacit consent" in the eyes of the children. Many coincidences came together to lead to the current misunderstanding.
So, do I need to explain myself clearly? And how far should I explain myself?
Lin Yun was thinking in his mind and was speechless for a moment.
It would undoubtedly be very embarrassing for Lin Xiaolu to continue to lead Bai Jingxuan in this misunderstanding. Especially recently, Bai Jingxuan called Cuique "Mom" every day. Although she recognized her, every time she called her, Cuique would feel a headache.
But it must be said that this seems to be an explanation to cover up the identity issues between Lin Yun and Cui Que. The vague connections and contradictions between the two identities of Lin Yun and Cui Que in many things can be dealt with with this explanation.
However, if he really admitted this explanation in person, it would only make it more difficult for him to confess his identity to Lin Xiaolu.
Lin Yun was weighing the pros and cons in his mind for half a minute. Just when Lin Xiaolu thought that he had said something wrong, he spoke again:
"You're right. It was me who called her back that day."
"real?"
Lin Xiaolu immediately raised the corner of her mouth: "I told you, as expected, you and Cuique..."
"But it's not because I have any relationship with her."
Lin Yun narrowed his eyes slightly: "The real connection between her and me is actually you."
"...Me?" Lin Xiaolu was stunned.
"Yes, the reason I was able to contact her is because I am your father, and she is your senior, and happens to be a friend of your mother."
Lin Yun nodded: "She didn't come back because of me, but to protect you and all of you."
"Then, then why do you know so much about magic..." Lin Xiaolu whispered.
"Because I am actually from the Strategy Bureau."
Lin Yun made up his mind expressionlessly, and finally decided to lay out the truth: "I have been an insider of the Strategy Bureau for a long time, and now I have returned to work in the Strategy Bureau."
However, he slightly modified the facts, concealing the fact that he was "airdropped" and instead using the statement made by Golden Green Cat's Eye when he created a false resume for him.
This fact was obviously heavy enough for Lin Xiaolu to forget to speak for a moment.
"You...are from the Strategy Bureau?"
Half a day later, she finally spoke up, "How is this possible? I went to your unit when I was a kid, and it wasn't the Strategy Bureau at all..."
"Because I was just a non-staff member before, and I registered to assist your mother's actions."
Since he had already started to lie, Lin Yun simply said something nonsense: "Later, the director of the Strategy Bureau had problems, and my qualifications happened to be sufficient, so I returned to the Strategy Bureau a few days ago, and now I am the current director."
"...Director?"
This word obviously made Lin Xiaolu even more confused, because she had never seen such a high-ranking official in her life.
"Dad, are you the director of the Strategy Bureau?"
Then she let out a deafening scream.
"Keep your voice down, do you want the neighbors to hear you?" Lin Yun quickly covered her mouth with his hand, "This is not something you can just tell anyone!"
"But, isn't it... the Director of the Strategy Bureau?"
Lin Xiaolu said dazedly, "I am actually the son of an official?"
"No, you are not. Our family has no rights. I am just me, and you are just you."
Lin Yun knocked on the chopping board: "And I think you have to understand that compared to the position in the Strategy Bureau, the identity of a magical girl is actually more important..."
——"So that's why you know I'm a magical girl?" However, Lin Xiaolu interrupted him first.
"That's right." Lin Yun simply followed this logic and continued, "I'm from the Yi Ce Bureau, so Hong Siyu came to me first and told me about everything related to you."
"So, that's why you never care about what I do?"
"Yes, because even the secret base you are living in now is provided by our Strategy Bureau."
"In the first few days, I thought I was hiding my actions from you, but you actually knew everything I was doing?" Lin Xiaolu had a complicated expression.
"It's not really that clear, but I know you're fighting for this city."
Lin Yun was vague: "I don't have such a strong desire to control you. I won't always pay attention to what you are doing."
"But you are the director now, why is our family still so poor?"
Lin Xiaolu was a little confused: "Shouldn't it be possible to drive a luxury car and live in a villa just by accepting a small bribe?"
"Your father is an honest official and does not accept bribes."
Unable to resist, he patted his daughter on the head again and taught her, "I'm using my power to pay special attention to your news and give your activities the green light. How could I possibly do something like accepting bribes?"
“…So that’s how it is.”
Lin Xiaolu suddenly sighed: "I thought..."
"What did you think it was?" Lin Yun looked at her sideways.
"I thought you and Delphinium were in a relationship, so Delphinium told you all these things."
For some reason, after a brief moment of shock, Lin Xiaolu seemed a little disappointed: "So it's because you are in the Yi Ce Bureau."
"Rather, it is precisely because I am in the Strategy Bureau that I have come into contact with your senior Cuique and Hongsi."
After cutting the ingredients, Lin Yun lit the stove and started adding oil to the pot: "Including what you saw this afternoon, that was indeed me, but it wasn't because I was flirting with anyone, but because I was accompanying Hong Siyu to choose clothes."
"Isn't choosing clothes considered flirting?" Lin Xiaolu's eyes widened.
"Workplace attire, don't let your imagination run wild, just normal conversation with friends."
Lin Yun looked away with a guilty look on his face: "Anyway, there is no other meaning in this."
"So that woman is really Hong Siyu, not her daughter or niece or something?" Lin Xiaolu asked.
"Yes, that is indeed her."
Lin Yun nodded; "You can ask her or Delphinium for the specific reason, but this is indeed what she looked like after regaining her magical girl power."
Lin Xiaolu felt inexplicably relieved.
"That's good. I've thought about the worst case scenario before. What if that's your illegitimate daughter?"
She patted her chest and said, "If a sister appeared out of nowhere, I don't know how I would get along with her."
Lin Yun raised his hand, and Lin Xiaolu subconsciously dodged to the side, but found that she was not hit on the forehead, but instead a palm was spread out in front of her.
"Salt." Lin Yun said concisely.
"Oh." Lin Xiaolu then realized that she was still helping in the kitchen and picked up the bag of salt from the shelf nearby.
"In short, the relationship between me and Kumizuki, and Hongsiyou, is not what you think."
Taking the bag of salt, Lin Yun used a spoon to gently compare it and sprinkled it into the pot. He concluded: "These are all work needs. In fact, whether it is me or Kuroko, many things are considered for your sake, so don't guess blindly."
"But……"
Lin Xiaolu hesitated again: "If you two really have nothing to do with each other, why would Cuique consider me?"
"…Because she is your predecessor."
After thinking for a while, Lin Yun answered, "The relationship between the seniors and juniors of magical girls will last for ten years if there is no change. The comradeship for such a long time is often better than that of relatives and friends."
This answer should not actually be given by him, because the matter concerns the magical girl, and he should not show too much understanding. Even if he confessed the fact that he now works in the Strategy Bureau, "magical girl" is the main dividing line between his identity and that of Delphinium, and he should avoid it.
However, tonight, things have come to this point, and making things clear and clearing up misunderstandings is the most important thing. That's why Lin Yun chose to speak out after thinking about it.
Of course, this is just a superficial reason. Although it sounds reasonable and seems to make some sense, it is actually not very convincing.
It can be seen from Lin Xiaolu's expression that she is not very satisfied with this answer.
In fact, Lin Xiaolu was not unaware of Delphinium's previous preference for her. Rather, it was because Bai Jingxuan had taken Delphinium's attention away during these days that she gradually realized that she had been favored before.
However, even though Delphinium had repeatedly explained the source of this preference, she didn't think it was because of her.
In her subconscious, she still felt that this preference came from the influence of her parents. Perhaps it was the influence of her mother as a teammate, and also because of the unusual relationship between Kuroko and her father.
But now, his father told him very frankly that it was not because of these things, and there was no romantic relationship between him and Delphinium.
This not only meant that her previous guesses were all wrong, but also that she had spoken out all these wrong guesses, even directly in front of Delphinium herself, and even shamelessly started calling her "Mom"...
If she really was thinking in the wrong direction, Lin Xiaolu couldn't help but curl her toes just thinking about it.
But, she thought, if these are all wrong, what is the real answer?
The preference she felt was not an illusion, and her father and Kusanagi both denied that there was a deeper connection between them. Which side should she believe? Was it because there was another answer besides these two opposing facts? She was destined not to get any other answer from Lin Yun, so after finishing dinner and helping to deal with the dishes, Lin Xiaolu fell into deep thought alone.
She thought about taking a shower, thought about brushing her teeth, thought about changing her clothes, and thought about lying down on the bed.
Then she thought about it and opened her phone, clicked on the game on her phone, and found the game character named "Shucao" who was probably based on her mother.
“When I asked Delphinium, she also said it was because of me.”
Recalling the conversation one night in the summer, Lin Xiaolu murmured, "What's so special about me? I don't have good talent, my personality is not good, I'm not as cute as Xia Liang and the others, and I'm even starting to lose to her in academics..."
"Mom, what is the relationship between you and Delphinium?"
"If it really has nothing to do with my father, then what was the reason for the dream that night? Why did I dream of Delphinium holding my childhood self?"
The virtual character on the screen could not answer her questions.
No matter how many times Lin Xiaolu clicked on the game character's voice, she could only hear some irrelevant greetings and battle-related shouts.
Amid her increasingly confused thoughts, she finally gave up thinking about this problem and started playing other game levels instead.
In recent days, her attention has finally gradually shifted away from "Akebono" and turned to other characters in the game, and began to train other magical girls.
In the process of developing the game character, the character's personal story will occasionally be triggered, symbolizing that the character in the game has developed a deeper friendship with the "fairy" played by the player.
Just like that, Lin Xiaolu casually clicked on the personal story of a game character and flipped through it quickly. Just when she felt that the story was quite boring and wanted to fast forward, she was suddenly attracted by a part of the plot.
The reason is that there was a misunderstanding between the two magical girls in the story. One of them mistakenly thought that the other had a homosexual fetish, so there was a ridiculous conversation.
The slight teasing and jokes about homosexuality are not very important to the plot. They are just mixed into the story as a simple seasoning, but in Lin Xiaolu's eyes, they seem to have become the only key to the door lock.
It was such a completely insignificant plot, but it suddenly opened up all her thoughts, allowing her to connect all her questions together in that instant and get a completely new answer.
Yes, why didn’t I think of it before.
She stared at the screen blankly, thinking about the new answer, and the excitement in her heart could not be calmed for a long time.
——Why can’t the one Delphinium likes be my mother?
10,000 words to make up for yesterday's meow (end of this chapter)
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