Chapter 65: Night Talk (Part 2)

"Other thoughts..."

Although she still felt hesitant, Lin Xiaolu subconsciously followed Cui Que's footsteps.

She began to try and analyze herself, thinking about whether there were other triggers for her low mood these past few days, and as she walked a short distance, an answer naturally emerged in her mind:

"Actually, when I first found out about these things, I felt a bit sorry for my dad."

Cui Que, walking beside her, suddenly tripped and nearly fell to the ground.

Lin Xiaolu hurriedly reached out to steady her: "What's wrong?"

"There seems to be a hole in the ground." Cui Que, having regained her footing, kept a straight face and feigned composure to show she was fine, taking advantage of the poor visibility at night to make up an excuse.

"Really?" Lin Xiaolu looked back in confusion, only to see the road under the silvery moonlight was perfectly flat, with no sign of the "hole" Cui Que spoke of.

But she didn't think much of it and didn't try to probe further, assuming she just hadn't seen it clearly, and turned back to continue following Cui Que.

"You and your father... has something happened between you before?" Walking on the quiet sidewalk, Cui Que asked this to change the subject.

The thought of asking this had been on her mind for a long time; she really wanted to know what the cold war with her father looked like from a daughter's perspective.

Lin Yun had always felt that the conflict between him and his daughter stemmed mainly from a lack of care and insufficient communication, so he had been trying to make up for this ever since Lin Xiaolu ran away from home. However, as he began to interact with his daughter in the identity of Cui Que and gradually understood some of his daughter's true thoughts, he discovered that the truth did not seem to be that way.

"Rather than saying something happened, it should be called a one-sided misunderstanding."

Lin Xiaolu followed closely behind Cui Que. "Back then, when my mother passed away, he hid the whereabouts of her remains on one hand, and was with other young women on the other. This made me think he didn't love Mom anymore and wanted to use this opportunity to abandon her and me to find other women."

"Later, we argued and I ran away from home, and many things became very strained, but I always felt it was his fault, so I never thought about forgiving or understanding him."

"Ha, thinking about it now, there might have been my own presumptuous judgment involved."

"Because he was very strict with me when I was little, strict to the point of being annoying, so when I felt he was wrong, even if I was asking him for his reasons on the surface, I didn't actually want to hear the answer; I had already judged in my heart that he was wrong."

The two walked along, slowly passing the Xizhao Bridge spanning the Xiting River. It was nearing midsummer, and in the sultry night, only the water surface still held traces of a cool breeze.

There was no traffic on the bridge at midnight, and Cui Que and Lin Xiaolu walked one after the other along the sidewalk, their crisp footsteps echoing on the bridge deck.

"...And now?" Regarding Lin Xiaolu's "self-reflection," Cui Que did not directly express her own opinion, but simply continued to ask.

If she were only "Cui Que," she could judge who was right or wrong from the perspective of an onlooker; but as a party to this parent-child cold war, she actually knew that in such a complex situation at the time, neither she nor Lin Xiaolu could be said to be right or wrong.

The original intention of both her and her daughter was to maintain the existence of this family, but it was because they knew different information: the daughter did not know her mother was a magical girl; and their identities and feelings were different: she, as a father, had failed to understand her daughter's suspicion and helplessness at that time. In the end, it turned into such a huge rift.

In terms of communicating with children, she as a parent should always be the one to take the initiative, but she hadn't realized that at the time.

On the other side, Lin Xiaolu continued: "Because he showed me photos of you and Mom before, I know now that he didn't want me to know the truth about Mom's death back then."

"After all, hearing him say it, Mom was actually a very strong magical girl, but she died in an unclear way. Facing an enemy capable of killing Mom, even if I knew the truth and developed hatred because of it, I probably wouldn't know what I could do."

"The result was that, just because I didn't know why Mom died, I always thought it was a simple accident and directed all my hostility and resentment toward him."

"He must have done it out of good intentions, but I responded to him like that..."

—"If you could properly tell your dad what you're thinking, he would probably be very happy, right?"

Cui Que suddenly spoke up: "Compared to telling me here, telling him directly would actually be more effective."

"Isn't it a bit too late to say such things now?" Lin Xiaolu looked troubled.

"It's not too late."

Cui Que shook her head, turned her face to the side, and stared blankly at the river under the bridge, leaving one wondering what she was thinking: "In matters of family relationships, no one can guarantee they won't make mistakes."

"You are a daughter for the first time, and your dad is a father for the first time. You are both novices in your own positions, so it's inevitable that all kinds of mistakes will occur. If this mistake is still within the realm of being forgivable, why not give each other another chance?"

"What's more, in this matter, your dad might have already stopped blaming you."

Regarding this, there was a certain indescribable emotion in her words, as if she had her own insights into it. Although it was vague, even the slow-witted Lin Xiaolu could feel a little bit of it.

So she looked at Cui Que in a daze and subconsciously asked: "Cui Que, do you... do you have children?"

Cui Que stopped and glanced at her sideways.

"Guess."

After dropping those two words, she continued to walk forward.

Lin Xiaolu hurriedly jogged to catch up.

For some reason, Cui Que didn't ask any more questions, and Lin Xiaolu just followed her all the way. The two walked to the middle of the bridge, arriving at the center of the Xiting River channel.

Lowering her eyes and glancing to the side, Lin Xiaolu's expression was somewhat complex.

Because she felt that since she had already decided to speak out about the doubts in her heart, there were some questions she shouldn't avoid.

But this matter was different from what she had said before; as a magical girl, her next words might truly make Cui Que feel disappointed.

It had nothing to do with her mother's identity, nor with the conflict with her father, but rather disappointment in Lin Xiaolu herself.

Although she kept asking Cui Que if she was disappointed in her, in truth, she didn't want Cui Que to dislike her at all.

If possible, she also hoped she could be like Xia Liang, always able to appear well-behaved and likable in front of others; always able to appropriately liven up the atmosphere and make others happy; and always be so excellent that she could make Cui Que feel satisfied with her as well.

But now, let alone those things, she seemed to have lost even the most basic qualities of a magical girl.

Because these past few days, she had gradually felt that she seemed to have lost the courage to fight.

Should she really say such a thing out loud? If she just didn't mention it, if she just pretended nothing was wrong, at least she could still be like this...

Thinking of this, Lin Xiaolu's train of thought stalled.

Because she suddenly saw Cui Que turn her head and look at her with those clear, azure eyes.

Under the moonlight, those eyes were like the purest sapphires, carrying a few glimmers of silver, and as if they could speak, they looked at her with encouraging emotions.

Lin Xiaolu pursed her lips, and then, gathering her courage, she opened her mouth.