Chapter 1721: NO.335: Latent Indication (Happy New Year!!)

NO. 335: Latent Indication (Happy New Year!!)

Let's look back on the past.

Go recall why you sought him out.

Because I was helped, I wanted to thank them, and their response also clearly remembered me, so I was happy.

Why keep clinging to them?

Because I needed help, I, still acting like a spoiled little princess, faced with various problems I couldn't handle, still thought about seeking help from others.

And that continuous effective help gradually cultivated a dependence.

So they will leave, right?

Leaving you, who only depends on them, only seeks their help, and constantly shares your own experiences as if they enjoy listening.

Do you still remember their teaching?

How to disguise yourself, how to amplify your charm—then think of them again, how skilled they are at this, making you think they truly like your clumsy and foolish demeanor?

They drifted away from you, and when you found him again, what did you do?

Show him what you've learned, and while he still wants to stay away from you, you cling to him, exhausting your thoughts to come up with the idea of becoming his sister, in this way striving for the right to stand by his side.

Thus you earned his praise, and you were smug about it, as if it were truly a brilliant idea, then you watched helplessly as the space beside him dwindled.

At the start of the competition, you had no eligibility to participate, and wanting to run for eligibility you had no name or support to join the qualifiers.

——This is another reward your idea brought you.

Only when the competition stalled would your idea let you become a brilliant breakthrough move, so they would bring you into the front lines. Then your performance would earn praise from your teammates, but you knew full well there were no teammates here for you.

You knew even better that they never regarded you as anything, let alone as an equal opponent.

Even if you were allowed to compete as an exception, you remained an ineligible participant.

As long as you're just a middle schooler, everyone will only see you as a rash kid whose judgment is clouded by dopamine, mistaking liking for love, letting you keep waiting.

Waiting for those people to fill every spot beside the trainers, leaving not even an inch of space.

So even months ago, Zhenjiling had already realized that the close position she had proudly gained was actually the biggest obstacle to her own attempt to go further.

Not only because of others' contempt, but also because that person, even if aware of these things, would still use the position you chose to placate and shrug you off.

You cannot prove yourself, and thus cannot earn his earnest attention and promise.

But you indeed cannot prove yourself unless you resort to extreme measures, the kind that should be all-or-nothing, do-or-die tactics.

——But that's too extreme.

Not only extreme, but also hard to see any chance of success.

If I were truly a descendant of the Lindun family, perhaps I wouldn't have to feel this bad? At least I could earn everyone's respect, regardless of whether they see me as an enemy on the same track, they should at least be willing to face me.

This is just a fantasy; Zhenjiling could not be a descendant of the Lindun family.

But even if you regret it, even if you want to go back to the beginning, what could you change?

You realize the core of all these problems is age, not anything else.

And you cannot change this situation.

You could have hoped for the future, but now your expectations for the future have been completely extinguished.

Even if, in the other person's words recalling ten years ago, she briefly put on a confident front, she couldn't escape the anxiety and doubt still lurking in her heart.

Moreover, she never truly broke free from the accumulated old and new pains, which never fully dissipated even in moments of joy.

Thus, when faced with the probing question from that childhood self from ten years ago, the only doubt she most wanted to voice was just this one.

Such a question she had never dared to ask in the past.

She said: 'How… should I address you?'

She wasn't afraid of doubt, only of receiving a definitive yet unfamiliar label.

For past gains, for those life‑changing gains, and for the sense of safety and joy she had unilaterally received from the other party, she kept giving.

Even if she couldn't find an opportunity, she wanted to create one; even with few channels, she kept seeking them.

Sometimes she felt that this was no longer like herself, yet she would think that the self she defined was also a shape shaped by Umastar's teachings, and thus she would throw herself back into that kind of giving.

She strove not to think of the worst possibility, and the further she went, the more deliberately she avoided it, yet in the end she still had to face reality today.

All her efforts were in vain; he fundamentally doesn't need that kind of effort from you—should this long self‑comforting journey just end like this?

——She ultimately needed an answer.

But that person.

That person, who had taken on the form of a small child, gazing at her, instead produced the most cunning reply.

"How would you like to address me?"

A counter‑question.

Counterquestions have always been an overly crafty reply, pushing the question onto the other person; in this evasive maneuver that feigns helplessness, they regain initiative, and this was a key point of dialogue that Zhenjiling focused on in her past training.

In the past she could produce several different ways of turning a counterquestion into a conversation, and could even sidestep the issue entirely while talking, waiting for a chance to pull the problem back to the start of the dialogue.

But now she merely remains silent in place.

This counterquestion holds a tremendous allure, making her yearn to answer.

But she fears that her answer won't be accepted by them; this counterquestion feels like an ultimatum from the other party—not only asking for her answer, but also threatening to abandon her outright if it doesn't meet expectations… She still remembers, she remembers when that account went dark, and no matter how many messages she sent, there was no reply.

Such times often dampen her pillow in dreams, are dried by a roommate whose face is cold but heart warm, are disturbed by the anticipation of meeting again, yet even after the utmost happiness of that pattern, that pain lingers like a shadow, resurfacing unnoticed, deeper and sharper, cutting through every barrier she has forged in her heart.

To escape that sharp memory, she has exerted herself fully, and now she feels she is standing at the very edge of that memory.

It also makes the response that ought to come naturally feel like a lump in her throat, almost rendering her speechless.

"You don't need to put too much pressure on yourself; I just want an answer," at that moment the child gazing at her spoke, his tone still calm, even a bit cold, "I can also guarantee that whatever answer you give will not affect anything right now."

"…Your guarantee… does it hold weight?"

"It is fully effective; I am still Aomo Lindun now, and whether it's me or the Aomo Lindun you know, we both hope your answer comes from your heart."

"... my inner feelings."

The grey-haired horse girl's eyes were filled with doubt, as she pondered these words and actually couldn't reach a conclusion in a moment.

That previously unusually sluggish state of thought seemed to catch up with her again, filling her mind with hazy thoughts.

Meanwhile, the child was extraordinarily patient; his perpetually indifferent gaze, at this moment, instead became an embodiment of reassurance.

Yes, your inner feelings. He said.

If you have no clue, you might as well think of your original self, your earliest self.

Even before knowing me, even from the time of your earliest memories.

At that time, you already had a goal, didn't you?

The Miss Champion of the kindergarten's cutest girl selection contest.

Before you encountered Umastar for the second time, what kind of person did you want to become?

That is, of course... Her tone stalled, then her eyes focused, "The cutest girl!"

It never changed at all!

Even when she encountered Umastar again, all of her questions directed at the other party revolved around how to put this into practice.

Well then...

He had no intention of asking about trivial details; seemingly accepting the other's suddenly spirited response, the boy raised his hand.

Just like a coincidence, a salty fishy sea breeze suddenly arrived, sweeping up countless fallen petals.

Let's return to the previous topic again; how would you like to address me?

Older brother.

In the midst of the fallen petals, the grey-haired girl who answered crisply twitched her ears, gazing at the indifferent child, and there she perceived a higher silhouette.

Ka Lian Jiang still wants to be the girl who can act cute toward her older brother.

Won't you regret it?

When the older brother no longer allows me to be like that, Ka Lian will probably start to regret it.

Without waiting for the child to speak, she shifted her tone: 'But that would also mean that Ka Lian Jiang's cuteness can no longer be shaken by the older brother.'

Then remember your answer.

He raised his hand and snatched the cherry blossom that should have drifted onto his shoulder; the boy flicked his finger, sending the petal into the black mist, yet it fell at a relatively slow speed before Zhen Jiling's eyes, sticking to her nose tip.

I think that my teenage self was just like my young adult self—always worrying about you while also full of anticipation for your future.

Set aside those unnecessary inner struggles and doubts, be your ideal self; since you've also reached my standard, I can grant you a secret.

A secret?

Just like the stars, Aomo Lindun regards each of you as a shining star, and he has always been striving toward that starlight.