Two and a half hours later, after finishing the lavish meal where “Nicole Treats, Zhezhe Pays”, Fu Hua and the cereal siblings walked leisurely back to the video store.
Fu Hua was lying on Little Eighteen’s exclusive chair.
Moonlight spilled obliquely through the shop window, casting a warm golden hue over her grayish-white hair.
Her azure eyes grew even clearer and brighter in the soft light, and a gentle, serene aura surrounded her, presenting a picture of absolute peace and tranquility.
“Fu Hua”
Wise’s voice came from behind, carrying his usual steady composure.
His gaze fell upon her profile as she attentively tidied up, softening a bit.
“Hmm?”
She raised her head, her eyes behind her red-framed glasses blinking gently.
The corners of her eyes curved with a docile arc, devoid of any aloofness, leaving only complete serenity.
“What’s wrong?
Is there anything you need my help with?”
Wise pushed up his glasses, weighing his words, when Belle already poked her head out from the second floor and spoke up eagerly for him.
“Big Brother actually wanted to ask how long you’ve been in New Eridu?”
Fu Hua pondered for a moment and answered truthfully, “Just a month ago, the day we first met.” Her tone was even, carrying unreserved candor toward the siblings before her.
“Whoa, meeting you in this vast sea of people is truly miraculous fate… Say, have you processed your residence permit yet?”
“Ah…?”
This remark caused Fu Hua’s brain to fall into a buffering state.
Having time-traveled here, she was dropped directly into an alleyway by the system, with only her Xunyu combat outfit and a case of shadow knight armor on her.
Identification cards, residence permits, Hollow entry passes, and other such documents were completely nonexistent.
In the decade before her time travel, she had long been accustomed to wandering alone.
These items hadn’t been mentioned to her for a long time, and being asked now made her suddenly remember the rules of this unfamiliar metropolis.
“…No.”
She did not hide it and calmly admitted it.
There was not a shred of embarrassment between her brows, only the openness of telling the truth.
Belle walked down the stairs briskly, akimbo with an understanding look on her face.
“I knew it!
You came here all alone with nothing to your name, how could you possibly know you need to process these documents?”
“So Big Brother and I decided that you should go get it sorted out tomorrow first.
Otherwise, if the Public Security Bureau catches you, it’ll be a huge hassle.”
Wise nodded in agreement, his tone firm.
“Hua, you should head to the Lumina Square Public Security branch tomorrow and get your citizen ID and residence permit sorted out together.”
Fu Hua nodded obediently, then recalled tomorrow’s matters.
“Then tomorrow when you accompany Nicole and the others to explore the Hollow, the shop…” Her tone carried a trace of guilt, as if she was reluctant to delay the siblings’ work because of her own affairs.
“Don’t worry~ After I link with Eous, Big Brother can handle things alone!
Worst case, we close for a day!
Anyway, I’m the boss!
If I say it’s a holiday, it’s a holiday!”
Belle patted her chest in assurance, her eyes curved into crescents, filled with enthusiasm.
“You’re unfamiliar with the place, and going out to do anything without documents is inconvenient.
Getting your documents sorted out first is the most important thing.”
Wise added from the side,
“You can just go to the Lumina Square branch opposite the pedestrian zone and handle it at the household registration window; it’s very simple.
Since you’re a newcomer without materials, just bring the employment certificate from Random Play.
I’ll issue one for you tonight.”
Using the video store’s employment certificate to process documents meant that Wise was willing to vouch for her with the video store’s reputation.
This trust weighed heavily as a thousand mountains.
A trace of soft warmth rippled within Fu Hua’s clear blue eyes.
Few people in this world would extend a helping hand to others without counting gains and losses and doing all they could.
Phaethon ah, no wonder they are called succubi; such gentleness and sincerity are indeed hard not to be moved by.
She looked at the faint dark circles under Wise’s eyes, her tone unconsciously taking on a bit of elder-like care as she earnestly exhorted him in the tone of the Immortal.
“Thank you, Wise.
Last night, you stayed up all night to verify the deep-dive data, and now your eyes are tinged with fatigue.
You must rest early tonight and avoid overworking yourself like this again.”
Wise touched his eye bags, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curling into a faint smile.
His usually steady brows and eyes softened a bit, silently noting it down in his heart.
“And you, Belle, recently you…”
Belle stepped forward, cupping Fu Hua’s cheeks in both hands and gently kneading them.
Caught off guard, Fu Hua’s cheeks were squeezed round, her azure eyes looking dazed through her glasses, resembling a little chick whose face was being pinched.
“Got it!
Mother Bird~”
“You, oh you, stop always thinking about not troubling others.” Belle laughed as she kneaded again and again, her tone full of intimacy.
“You’re our family now, helping you is only natural!
Did you remember that?”
Fu Hua’s lips were squeezed into a pout, her voice muffled, yet she still didn’t forget to care for the other person.
“…I remember.”
“That’s right, Belle, Wise, you two have been staying up late recently.
I’ve cooked some warm millet porridge in the kitchen, remember to drink it.
Millet porridge is very effective for calming the mind, aiding sleep, and protecting the spleen and stomach.”
Looking at the meticulous, considerate girl before her who kept everyone else in mind, Belle felt a warmth in her heart, where soreness and warmth intertwined.
She gently kneaded Fu Hua’s soft cheeks once more before turning and heading upstairs with full joy.
Fu Hua raised a hand to touch her rubbed-red cheeks; her fingertips still retained the warmth of Belle’s palms, and the warmth spread from her fingertips to the bottom of her heart.
She turned and walked into the kitchen to reheat the porridge.
After dishing it out with a side of refreshing pickles, she first served it to Belle on the second floor, then softly went downstairs to remind Wise to drink the porridge while it was hot.
Watching the moved expressions of the siblings as they accepted the porridge, Fu Hua’s brows and eyes were gentle, a faint smile lingering at the corners of her lips, and her heart was filled with piecemeal yet solid warmth.
[Interstellar Big Bully: Such a gentle lady must be a good person, right?
(*／ω＼*)]
[Zhao Camera: Mother Bird is so gentle!!!
The cereal siblings are so understanding too!]
[Galactic Baseballer: Whoa!
Mama Mama Mama!!!!]
Deep in the quiet of the night, on the small bed in the “bird’s nest”, Fu Hua listened to the footsteps downstairs, knowing the siblings were still busy with Inter-Knot commissions.
“Being unable to follow them tomorrow to face Dulahan, I somehow feel a bit uneasy.”
She closed her eyes and sank into the system space, giving a soft command,
“System, redeem two small, concealed danger sensing devices.”
She was never good at expressing direct care, but she was accustomed to silently guarding those around her through actions, unwilling to let this hard-won warmth fall into danger.
[Received!
Consumed 40 Popularity Points to redeem “Bell of Protection” × 2.
When the wearer encounters life-threatening danger, it sends an early warning to the bound person and temporarily enhances vitality.]
[Remaining Popularity Points: 350]
Two silver metal pieces the size of fingernails surfaced in her palm, thin and weightless, with a cool touch.
Fu Hua walked softly down to the second floor, her movements as light as drifting clouds in the dark night.
Seeing Belle immersed in the Hollow immersion and Wise intently staring at the data screen, neither of them noticed the movement outside the door.
With a flick of her fingertips, the two metal pieces silently dropped into Belle’s pocket and the inside of Wise’s collar, placed in secretive yet close-fitting spots.
After confirming they were secure, she quietly retreated without disturbing them in the slightest, silently returning to her room.