The Creatures that We Are

Can had woken up at six in the morning.

To be more precise, she didn’t get much sleep the night before. Under Hong Xiaoxiao’s egging, she had finally mustered the courage to ask Captain out to a movie tonight. With Nainai’s Shapeshifter and the Nine Scions’ lack of missions recently, it wasn’t an unreasonable invitation.

Can had planned it all out in her head. Once Captain woke up on the sofa, she would make two cups of coffee and give him one. They would chat, and she would naturally bring up going to a movie together at night.

If Captain said yes, she would give him the tickets she had bought beforehand. If he said no, she would pretend that she had merely made the invitation on the spur of the moment.

Finally, Captain woke up. She rushed to the kitchen to make coffee. When she was going to bring the coffee back to the living room, though, she saw Fresh Snow and Captain sitting side by side chatting happily.

Gao Yang reached out to gently brush off the snow on her hair, and he readily agreed when she made an invitation to spend the night of Christmas Eve alone with Gao Yang.

Can happened to witness the moment.

That was right. Fresh Snow was pretty like a porcelain doll. Before, she had seemed like a child, but when they met again this time, she looked and held herself like a young woman at the right age for new love.

Were Can a man, she would pick Fresh Snow even if she somehow went blind for a second and didn’t pick Qing Ling.

She would never have her turn. She didn't have a pretty face, and she didn’t have a nice body. She wasn’t particularly strong. There was nothing special about her personality. She was neither cute nor attractive in the way women were.

Can, you silly girl. Why did you think that Captain wouldn’t receive any invitation on Christmas Eve? That you’ll get lucky once?

Can mocked herself silently and retreated into the kitchen.

When she turned around, Hong Xiaoxiao was staring at her. She looked more heartbroken than Can was as Can’s inexperienced dating advisor for the invitation.

Eyes red and lips curved down in sadness, she looked ready to burst into tears. “Can…”

“Oh boy!” Can lowered the coffee cups quickly to comfort her. “Don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I’m fine, haha. Really. Don’t be so dramatic every time…”

“But…but you finally mustered the courage to ask out…”

“Hush! Stop talking about it…” Can muffled Hong Xiaoxiao. “Let’s pretend that nothing happened. Nothing happened…”

“Who did you ask out?” Gao Yang suddenly appeared outside the kitchen.

“Ahhh!”

“Kyaaa!!”

Caught off guard, Can and Hong Xiaoxiao screamed at the same time.

Whoosh. Lithe Snake followed the screams in two seconds, having been patrolling on the rooftop. He popped his head through the window in the kitchen while hanging upside down. “What happened?”

“Ahhh!”

“Kyaaa!”

Can and Hong Xiaoxiao whirled around, surprised again.

“It’s fine,” Gao Yang said to Lithe Snake. “I’m asking Can something.”

Lithe Snake’s head quickly disappeared from the window.

“Cap…Captain…” Can smiled, partly out of curiosity and partly to cover up her embarrassment. “You need something?”

“Are you going on a date with someone tonight?” Gao Yang had caught only pieces of what Hong Xiaoxiao said.

“No, nonono!” Can waved her hand quickly. “I don’t have a date.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Hong Xiaoxiao smiles weakly. “Can doesn’t have any date, nah!”

“That so?” Gao Yang smiled a little. “That’s good. I’m asking for your time today.”

“Huh?” Can thought she had heard him wrong. “Captain, aren’t you…”

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing!” Can shut her mouth. She wasn’t stupid. Captain must have an unplanned mission to complete. “Sure. I’m free anytime.”

“That’s good.” Gao Yang waved her over. “Come. Let’s go shopping. I’m buying you a holiday gift.”

“Shopping? Gift?” Can gaped. It felt like Christmas had fallen on her lap in a pretty package. “What gift?”

“You’ll know once we’re there.” Gao Yang didn’t give her a direct answer. “It’s something you’ve always wanted.”

…

Western Suburban Park, Xijing District, half past ten at night.

It had been snowing the whole day, pelting the city in a hazy white. Under the fluffy falling snow, a car made a turn into the front entrance of the Western Suburban Park, leaving tire tracks on the white snow.

There were three people in the car. Goldthread was driving. Little Tian took the passenger seat. Chen Ying was in the back. She didn’t let her nervousness show on her face.

Goldthread was anxious too. Once the car entered the park, he slowed down and said, “Are we really doing this, Chen Ying?”

“Yeah.” Chen Ying sounded determined. “It was clear from the way the Qilin Guild used us that they were losing sight of the bottom line. The teeth will feel cold once the lips are gone. Should the Nine Scions get wiped out, the Hundred Rivers Union will be the next target.”

“Did Madam Li order the Rune Circuit exchange with the Nine Scions?” Goldthread asked.

“Madam Li believes that it isn’t a bad thing to the Union for the Nine Scions to get stronger.” Chen Ying said that instead of giving a direct answer.

Goldthread tightened his grip around the driving wheel, saying worriedly, “It’s too risky. If the Qilin Guild knows…”

“So they must not know.” Chen Ying glanced at Little Tian. “Are we clear?”

“No one’s following us.” Little Tian focused with his eyes closed, his level 6 Sensory pushed to the max.

“Good.”

Goldthread was still worried. He asked, “Why don’t we bring Colorless and Liao Liao this time?”

If the Nine Scions weren’t here to borrow a Rune Circuit but to grab it or pull some other malicious tricks, having two more team leaders with them would be safer.

Chen Ying sighed. “Colorless is still on the suspect list for Dust, and Liao Liao is a newly appointed leader. We are the only ones Madam Li can trust now.”

“I understand.” Goldthread stopped asking. He drove the car into a path surrounded by trees.

“I heard from Colorless that Canary from her team wrote you a love letter?” Chen Ying started a small talk to ease the tension.

“Yes,” Goldthread admitted.

“That’s unexpected.” Chen Ying chuckled. “What do you think about it?”

“I’m still considering it.”

“Do men play hard to get, too?” Chen Ying was surprised.

“No.” Goldthread sighed. “I’m considering how I should reject her so that she won’t be too heartbroken about it.”

“You don’t like her?”

Goldthread was silent for a few seconds. Then he said, “I don’t know. I’ve never considered love.”

“Why?”

“People like me?” Goldthread laughed self-deprecatingly, his voice hoarse. “We don’t deserve love.”

“Don’t say that about yourself.”

“Chen Ying.” Goldthread looked ahead, his sunglasses reflecting the snowy path lit by the street lamps. “Do you find my look cool, too?”

Chen Ying didn’t say anything.

“If you ever see my burns, if you see the rotten wounds leaking pus, you’ll throw up your last dinner.”

“Love isn’t about a rush of feeling. Even in the Mist World, love is about everyday life, the mundane things.”

“How long can you take if you wake up every day to an ugly and repulsive monster?”

“Once the passion fades, what’s left are responsibility, exhaustion, guilt, pity… Then you regret and ask yourself, ‘Why did I pick a man like him? Why must I torture myself with a life like a monk? I could’ve picked someone better.’”

“The fire didn’t kill me, but I could be easily killed by the pity and sympathy of the person I love.”

“Then I’d rather not have loved at all.”

Chen Ying was surprised. It was her first time hearing so much from Goldthread, and they were words he had spoken from the bottom of his heart; some could even consider his confession melodramatic.

The thought must have been buried deep in his heart for a while.

Chen Ying almost apologized, regretful for bringing up such a topic, but she stopped herself. There would be nothing more offensive to him than the words “I’m sorry.”

Thankfully, Little Tian interrupted the conversation. He opened his large bright eyes. “I found them. There are two of them.”

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