Chapter 287 The Right to Choose
Tu Yao rushed out, and the two of them had already run back and forth several times.
The big dog was just one step away from Xu Bai, and it looked like it was about to pounce on him!
"Wolf Fang!"
The big dog's ears twitched, and it immediately turned its head, twisted its whole body, pounced on the ground, and then happily ran back to Tu Yao's side.
Xu Bai's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.
Cheng Sangsang finally realized what was happening and quickly ran over to help the person up.
Xu Bai wiped away his sweat and belatedly breathed a sigh of relief: "Luckily, I've gotten used to being chased by it over the years, so I can barely keep up for a while."
Seeing Tu Yao approach, he almost burst into tears again: "Big sister, thank goodness for you!"
Tu Yao pulled the dog back, which was clearly about to rush forward, feeling rather embarrassed.
"Are you alright?"
"It's a dog that I'm fostering here. Its name is Wolf Fang. I don't know how it suddenly rushed out."
"It's alright, it's alright, it's my own fault. If I hadn't spoken ill of my uncle, it wouldn't have..."
Halfway through his speech, Xu Bai suddenly realized something and froze.
They looked at each other, equally stunned.
...Foster care?
...Didn't his uncle acknowledge his older sister as his father?
Nan Ke and Lin Yue got out of the car and walked over with Tu Chaoxi. Upon hearing this, the three of them froze instantly.
Nan Ke's eyes flickered, and he immediately interrupted Cheng Sangsang, who was about to ask a question with a puzzled expression.
"...Was it fostered by your friend?"
Tu Yao turned her head. "You haven't left yet?"
He shook his head again: "I don't know him. He's not available lately, so he asked me to take care of him for a while."
After thinking for a moment, Tu Yao recounted in detail how she took over the Wolf Fang attack.
The more Xu Bai and Cheng Sangsang listened, the stranger their expressions became.
Upon hearing that a cell phone was also given as a reward, Xu Bai finally couldn't help but give a knowing look.
Good heavens, how can my uncle be so two-faced? He keeps saying he won't come, but behind my back he's sending me a dog and a cell phone.
Cheng Sangsang exclaimed in amazement: ...Not only that, if it had been any later, Tu Xiaomao might have been rolling in money by now.
On the other side, Tu Chaoxi's face grew darker and darker as he listened, staring menacingly at the dog leaning against Tu Yao, feeling a surge of anger that was hard to suppress.
It's really weird. How could my house be robbed four years ago? And it's still like this four years later!
He's useless too. Four years ago, he couldn't detect anything under his nose, and four years later he's still as oblivious as an idiot!
The group of people had different expressions. Tu Yao tentatively asked, "What's wrong?"
Nan Ke was the first to come to her senses. "Where are you planning to go?"
"Wolf Fang has a lot of energy; I was originally going to take it for a run."
But now... Tu Yao glanced at the dog, which was panting heavily with its tongue sticking out.
It shouldn't be necessary now.
Tu Yao looked at Xu Bai again, and after confirming that he was indeed alright, asked, "Did you come to see me? Then I'll take Langya out to play again tonight."
Xu Bai looked conflicted, hesitating whether to acknowledge Langya as his father, when Cheng Sangsang pulled him back.
"...Oh, we missed you, so we came to see you. Now that we've seen you, we're leaving."
Tu Yao: ?
So fast?
Tu Yao blinked and nodded, "That's right, it's enough to just see him if you want to."
"Then I've seen you all too."
Cheng Sangsang looked at her and suddenly couldn't say a word.
She always enjoyed listening to Tu Xiaomao talk, because every word he said made her feel liked and valued.
It seems that amnesia has no effect on Tu Xiaomao; she is still the same person she always was.
Cheng Sangsang couldn't help but sniffle: "Tu Xiaomao, I'll come see you again tomorrow!"
"Come the day after tomorrow, and the day after that too!"
Tu Yao laughed: "Then I'll wait for you tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the day after that."
"Then I'll go back now."
She pointed at Wolf Fang: "Wolf Fang is tired from running and needs to drink water."
Cheng Sangsang nodded emphatically: "Okay!"
Watching her lead the dog into the orphanage, Xu Bai finally couldn't hold back any longer and whispered to Cheng Sangsang:
"What does my uncle mean by this? When did he find out my older sister was back? If he knew, why didn't he come to see her?"
"You ask me how I know? Do you think I'm that smart?"
"If I don't ask you, who else should I ask?"
"Don't bother me."
Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, someone asked, "Is your uncle in Hong Kong?"
Xu Bai quickly turned around and saw three faces with identical stern expressions.
It was Nan Ke who asked him the question, and her eyes were noticeably gentler, yet it still sent a chill down his spine.
"...Yes, I've been recuperating at the old house."
"I want to see him."
...
At the orphanage, Tu Yao filled a large basin with water for Langya, let it run around, and bask in the sun for a while. The big dog was visibly thirsty.
No matter how thirsty it was, it still moved slowly and deliberately as it approached the basin, drinking with great restraint.
Tu Yao looked at it thoughtfully, and after a while, asked softly:
"...Is your master like you?"
Even if you're in a hurry, you'll still appear calm and unhurried.
Wolf Fang looked up, its round eyes staring at him with a puzzled expression.
Tu Yao smiled and ruffled its hair: "Drink up!"
...
The next morning, Tu Chaoxi, Nan Ke, and Lin Yue arrived in Gangcheng once again after four years.
The fishy sea breeze hit her face, making Tu Chaoxi almost instinctively want to escape as soon as she got off the helicopter.
He disliked this place so much that he hadn't set foot here in years, and he was even prepared never to return.
Tu Chaoxi was restless the whole way, but when he saw the unusually thin young man in front of him, his irritability suddenly disappeared and turned into a feeling of disappointment and annoyance.
He immediately cursed in a low voice, "What happened to you? How did you get so thin?!"
"Nan Ke and Lin Yue have asked you all these years, what did you say? Didn't you say it was a relapse of your old illness, a minor problem?"
Xu Chi raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"...Teacher Tu, why are you still so soft-hearted?"
Four years ago, Tu Chaoxi scolded him and left Gangcheng without looking back. In recent years, he has had almost no direct contact with him.
Naturally, no explicit "reconciliation" was reached.
We're all adults, and we all understand that this resentment is irrational and inappropriate.
However, the hurdle of Tu Yao's disappearance remains between them, and everyone needs time to heal.
There was never an opportunity to meet, nor was there a suitable chance for "reconciliation".
However, it doesn't seem to stop Tu Chaoxi from scolding him mercilessly, just like she scolded Tu Xiaomao, Lin Yue, and Nan Ke, as soon as they met.
Tu Xiaomao's family are all very interesting people.
Tu Chaoxi said irritably, "I'm too lazy to argue with you."
He cut to the chase: "Tell me, did you already know Tu Xiaomao was back?"
"So you already knew why she came back?"
"Did the Heavenly Dao approach you? What did it say to you?"
The three questions were all ones that Tu Chaoxi had been holding back all the way.
After seeing Wolf Fang yesterday, Nan Ke wasn't the only one who was perceptive.
"Don't play games with me. We haven't even found a chance to lavish money on Tu Xiaomao yet, and you've already sent him a dog and a cell phone!"
"Is this outrageous?!"
Tu Chaoxi lowered her eyes, her smile widening, and her pale face regained some color.
A few seconds later, he looked up again and said calmly, "Teacher Tu, I didn't mean to deny it."
“Even if you don’t come looking for me this time, I will come looking for you.”
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the three people in front of them immediately darkened.
Nan Ke confirmed: "...So it's true? Tu Yao only appeared here after the two worlds merged."
"What if... the fusion doesn't go smoothly?"
Nan Ke's breathing was slightly unsteady, but he tried to remain calm as he said, "The two worlds will eventually return to their original positions."
"yes."
The study fell completely silent.
Tu Chaoxi's face instantly paled a shade lower.
“I…” Xu Chi’s fingertips trembled slightly, then he cupped them together and continued, “That Heavenly Dao can only do this much.”
"He can facilitate the merging of two worlds, but he cannot interfere with the final outcome of the merging."
In other words, no one knows what the final outcome will be.
Having successfully obtained the answer, the three of them almost simultaneously lost their balance.
After an unknown amount of time, Tu Chaoxi looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, and asked softly, "...Then can I keep her here?"
"I can't control how the world merges or separates."
Tu Chaoxi stammered, "Even if the fusion doesn't go smoothly, as long as Tu Yao stays here, that's fine, right?"
"She is Tu Yao, she originally belonged to this world..."
“But Teacher Tu.” Xu Chi met his urgent gaze, his voice slightly hoarse:
"She has the right to choose."
The intense gaze suddenly became blurred, and Tu Chaoxi opened her mouth, but suddenly couldn't utter a sound.
The study returned to quiet.
Birds flew past the window.
Xu Chi watched it land quietly on the windowsill and then fly away nimbly.
She never had a choice before.
Whether she was sent to another world at the age of five or bound to a life progress bar at the age of eighteen, it was all of her own free will.
But in essence, it was also something she had no choice but to do.
"If it really comes to that this time, can we hand over the right to choose to her?"
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