374: Chapter 375 The First Day After Xiaoya Left

The first day after Little Girl left, the New Homeland was unusually quiet.

It wasn't the kind of quiet born of sadness, but the kind where it 'felt like something was missing.' When people met on the road, their greetings were a few decibels lower than usual; the rainbow potatoes in the cafeteria tasted the same, yet they seemed less sweet when chewed; even the Sparkling Little Umbrellas—those silver-blue saplings—were wilting, their leaves drooping as if waiting for someone to return and water them.

Madam Liu woke up in the morning and habitually walked to the door of Little Girl's room. She reached out to knock and wake her up, but her hand stopped halfway and she slowly lowered it.

The room was empty. The bed was neatly made; the small blue quilt she had dyed with wildflowers was folded into a small square, and there was still a small indentation on the pillow—the shape pressed out by Little Girl's head.

She stood at the door for a long time, then gently closed it and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

rainbow potato porridge was simmering in the pot, bubbling with steam. She served two bowls, one for herself and one placed opposite—that was Little Girl's spot.

After taking a sip, tears fell into the bowl.

“This child...” She wiped her eyes, “She promised she would come back.”

Zhao Iron Pillar went to the blacksmith shop early in the morning.

It wasn't because there was work to do, but because he couldn't sleep.

He squatted at the entrance, staring blankly at the giant scissors, the 'treasure of the shop' that was taller than a person.

Little Li walked over carrying two bowls of porridge and handed him one: “Master, eat something.”

Zhao Iron Pillar took it, took a sip, and frowned: “Who cooked this porridge?”

“Auntie Liu cooked it and asked me to bring a bowl to you.”

Zhao Iron Pillar fell silent for a few seconds and took another sip.

“Without Little Girl noisily hanging around, this porridge has no flavor.”

Little Li didn't know what to say, so he squatted beside him and drank the porridge together.

In the distance, the Sparkling Little Umbrellas drooped their leaves, swaying gently in the morning breeze.

Wen Youyi went to the technology center in the morning.

Senior Brother Zhang was adjusting the echo telescope. Seeing him enter, he said without looking back, “She has been gone for twelve double-hours.”

“I know.”

“There's no signal over there,” Senior Brother Zhang pushed up his glasses. “It's not that I can't receive it, it's that over there... there might not even be a concept of a 'signal.' I've tried seventeen different frequencies, and all of them were like stones sinking into the ocean.”

“She promised she would return.”

“I know,” Senior Brother Zhang finally turned his head, “but 'promising' and 'being able to' are two different things.”

Wen Youyi fell silent.

He walked to the window and looked at the silver-blue forest in the distance.

tiny brighty stood at the very edge, its branches stretching toward the direction Little Girl had left, as if waiting for something.

“She will come back,” he said.

His tone was soft, but firm.

Lin Jiang didn't go to the cemetery today.

She went to the small hillside next to the technology center—the place where Chan used to watch the sunrise.

She stood there, watching the sun slowly rise, dyeing the entire New Homeland gold.

“Master,” she said softly, “that child is gone. She went to another dimension.”

The wind blew gently, swirling up a few fallen leaves.

“Tell me, if I had gone to that world with you back then, what would it be like now?”

There was no answer.

She stood for a long time until the sun had fully risen.

Yun Zhi uncharacteristically did not practice her sword today.

She sat at the doorway of her small cabin, holding one of Little Girl's sketchbooks—it was something Little Girl had left behind, filled with all sorts of strange drawings: trees with smiling faces, flying rainbow potatoes, herself holding Bright Fur Ball, and a few crooked stick figures labeled 'Uncle Wen,' 'Uncle Iron Pillar,' 'Master Yun,' 'Mother'...

The drawings were very ugly.

But she looked at them for a long time.

Aila and Luo Chen were on duty on the hope.

They were supposedly on duty, but they were actually flipping through archives.

“Are there any records of 'Dimension Travelers' in the Sky Patrol ancient texts?” Aila flipped through a thick electronic book.

“There are,” Luo Chen said without looking up, “but they're all legends. They say some people can 'see' other worlds, are chosen by the gods, taken to learn, and then return to teach their tribes. I always thought it was just mythology.”

“It seems now it wasn't mythology.”

Luo Chen was silent for a few seconds, then said, “That child really was chosen.”

Aila didn't speak, just continued flipping through the book.

She remembered what Little Girl was like when she first met her—back then, Little Girl was only three years old, holding Bright Fur Ball, looking up at her and asking, 'Auntie, why are your eyes blue?'

At that time, she thought she was just an ordinary, curious child.

Thinking back now, perhaps that child 'saw' much more than they thought.

In the evening, Wen Youyi went to the edge of the forest.

tiny brighty was still there, its branches stretching toward the direction Little Girl had left.

He walked over and sat down beside the small tree.

“Are you waiting for her too?” he asked.

The branches swayed gently, as if nodding.

“She will come back.”

The branches swayed again, as if asking 'how do you know.'

Wen Youyi thought for a moment and said:

“Because she promised.”

“The things she promises, she always does.”

tiny brighty was silent for a while, then its branches slowly retracted and rested on his shoulder.

As if comforting him.

Wen Youyi was stunned for a moment, then he smiled.

“You've learned how to comfort people too?”

The branches swayed, as if saying 'learned it from her.'

Night fell.

The lights of the New Homeland lit up one by one, illuminating the entire city with warmth and brightness.

The silver-blue flame atop the Memorial Tower burned quietly, like someone keeping watch.

Madam Liu sat in Little Girl's room, stroking the small blue quilt.

Soft footsteps came from the doorway.

She looked up and saw Wen Youyi standing at the door, holding a bowl of hot porridge.

“Auntie Liu, eat something.”

Madam Liu took it and took a sip.

“Council Speaker Wen,” she suddenly asked, “do you think Little Girl can get enough to eat over there?”

“She can.”

“Can she sleep well?”

“She can.”

“Can she... miss us?”

Wen Youyi was silent for a few seconds, then said:

“She can.”

“She is definitely missing us.”

Madam Liu nodded and took another sip of porridge.

Tears fell again, but she didn't wipe them away.

In the distance, in the forest, tiny brighty swayed gently in the night wind.

On its branches, at some unknown point, a tiny, silver-blue flower bud had emerged.

It was its first time blooming.

(End of Chapter)