It's getting dark.
At this time, their car was parked in the underground parking lot below the venue of the Star Board competition.
The venue was brightly lit, and even though the building materials were well soundproofed, one could still hear the faint cheers of the audience coming from inside.
The official competition was somewhat different from Kong Yu'an's previous performance.
There are certain scoring criteria for performance movements and technical difficulty, and there are also restrictions on landing posture and stability.
While ensuring technical scores, a certain level of viewing appeal must also be maintained.
In addition to individual competitions, there are also team competitions.
Anyway, it is difficult to play and the rules are very complicated.
Gu Mingyuan and Mu Le walked side by side on the tree-lined path outside the venue.
Mu Le looked up at the lights of the competition venue beside him. The colorful lights were very bright. Outside the competition venue were crisscrossed paths, with green plants of various shapes planted on both sides of the paths.
Between the venue and the main entrance, in the very center surrounded by paths and green plants, there is a fountain.
This is probably a fairly standard stadium layout, except that the stadium looks more technological than the ones on Earth, and the fountains seem a bit more advanced... the roads and greenery are the same.
Mu Le followed Gu Mingyuan for a walk here, and in a trance he felt like he had returned to Earth.
It’s a bit like a couple secretly dating on the school playground before evening self-study class…
Mu Le glanced at Gu Mingyuan secretly.
Gu Mingyuan happened to be looking at her too.
He stretched out his hand to Mu Le, subconsciously wanting to ask her if she wanted to be hugged.
After a pause, he remembered that the reason why he had nothing to do and was walking here with Mu Le was because he was afraid that Mu Le would have a bloated stomach after eating too much.
Gu Mingyuan wanted to laugh again.
He's been laughing more and more lately.
"Hand." He said to Mu Le, "Hold it and walk."
Mu Le happily stretched out his hand.
Gu Mingyuan led her for only four or five hundred meters, but Mu Le began to feel tired. She quietly raised her head to look at Gu Mingyuan again.
Gu Mingyuan's coat was draped over his hands, his tie was loosened, and one more button of his shirt was unbuttoned. He looked more relaxed than usual. The night softened his outline, even making him look a bit approachable.
If it weren’t for the majestic pair of dragon horns on its head.
If only she were taller, taller...
An ordinary couple, that's probably the case.
It's just that her appearance is a little bit unusual.
Mu Le imagined a lot of things, maybe because she was infected by the atmosphere, she suddenly stopped and pulled Gu Mingyuan's hand with a little force.
This amount of force was barely noticeable to Gu Mingyuan, but he stopped immediately, turned his head and looked at Mu Le seriously.
"Yuanyuan..." Mu Le hesitated.
Gu Mingyuan waited patiently.
She raised her head, looked into Gu Mingyuan's eyes, and said seriously: "I have something I want to tell you."
Gu Mingyuan nodded to her, as if encouraging her to speak out.
Mu Le no longer hesitated and said simply: "You know what? I'm not a child anymore."
Gu Mingyuan: “… Yeah.”
He subconsciously thought that it was human puberty that was causing the problem.
But Mu Le's expression was extremely serious, which made him take every word she said seriously.
"The life span of humans is roughly the same as that of orcs." Mu Le touched his heart and said frankly, "According to this calculation, I am already twenty..."
Mu Le slowly recalled his real age.
… To be honest, at first I was treated as a pet or a child, but later I hung out with elementary and middle school students every day.
After a long time, my mentality has really become younger.
She seldom felt that she was already in her twenties. In her mind, the days when she first entered college seemed just yesterday, and in the blink of an eye, many years had passed since she graduated.
all in all.
Whether it is the current mentality or the subconsciousness over the years...
When Mu Le was on Earth, he rarely felt that he was "old".
At this time, of course, I am unwilling to admit it.
So Mu Le cleared his throat and said vaguely: "... Well, I'm already in my twenties."
The “twenty-something” of twenty-one and twenty-nine is not the same.
Mu Le's words were vague, just a bit like a girl who doesn't want others to know her age.
Gu Mingyuan could probably tell what she meant. He touched Mu Le's face and asked in a low voice, "Are humans this small when they are in their twenties?"
"No." Mu Le wanted to cover his face, "This looks like I was about fifteen or sixteen years old."
Gu Mingyuan: “…”
Mu Le quickly said: "I will grow up soon!"
Gu Mingyuan's face gradually darkened, and he withdrew the hand that was touching her little face.
Mu Le choked and didn't know what to say for a moment.
She squeezed her hand a little awkwardly.
Gu Mingyuan stared at Mu Le's face, his gaze revealing a terrifying sharpness.
Mu Le was a little scared.
"… So, you are indeed growing rapidly." Gu Mingyuan said slowly.
His voice was a little hoarse, and Mu Le didn't react for a while.
She looked frightened. Gu Mingyuan lowered his eyes, his momentum gradually weakened, and his low and hoarse voice was very clear on this quiet path: "Will it continue like this?"
Mu Le's heart was beating fast. He didn't expect him to ask this question.
She had thought about this before, but she had always been a person who took things one step at a time. Until that day came, no matter how much she worried, it would be useless.
And that day isn’t too far away.
We can wait until something happens before we deal with it.
"… Probably not." Mu Le whispered to Gu Mingyuan.
Gu Mingyuan repeated her words: "Should?"
Mu Le: “…”
She lowered her head obediently, as if ready to be scolded at any time.
—And I feel wronged.
Gu Mingyuan sighed very softly.
He bent down and held Mu Le in his arms, stroking her head slowly with one hand, his voice becoming gentler: "I'm not blaming you."
Mu Le's body was stiff and he didn't dare to move.
"...Lele." Gu Mingyuan called her name in a low voice.
Before he could say anything, he suddenly heard a loud noise coming from near the competition venue not far away.
Mu Le and Gu Mingyuan's conversation was interrupted.
She turned her head from Gu Mingyuan's arms and looked towards the competition venue not far away.
It seemed that the third game had ended. The audience left the venue one after another, and the contestants also walked out of the exit in groups.
The contestants and cheerleaders from each school wore the same uniform and gathered in groups, so you could tell from a distance which school they were from.
Mu Le also saw her classmates at a glance.
The courage I had just to confess my identity was gone in an instant.
Mu Le felt ashamed when he thought that he was already in his twenties but still stayed with a group of kids to attend classes, eat, and play games.
Fortunately, Gu Mingyuan didn’t seem to have thought of this yet.
In Gu Mingyuan's mind, she has always been a human child. Even if he now knows that she is an adult woman, his consciousness will not change so quickly.
Mu Le grabbed Gu Mingyuan's arm and whispered, "Let's continue talking about this when we get home, okay?"
She didn't want her classmates to know yet.
After all, the fact that she is a human being... is still a secret for now.
Gu Mingyuan did not answer.
His expression was still serious and solemn. Before meeting her classmates, he had fastened his tie again and buttoned his shirt.
The evening was cool.
Before Mu Le joined his classmates, he put his coat on Mu Le.
The students were all very happy, and everyone was talking to each other, sharing their joy of victory with Mu Le.
As the biggest contributor, Kong Yu'an was surrounded by everyone, accepting everyone's praise with a smile.
In fact, at this moment, among them.
The ones who are most worried are probably Mu Le and Kong Yu'an.
After it's completely over.
Gu Mingyuan drove Kong Yu'an back to the hospital.
He had been waiting here for so long because of this matter.
Lan Mo has been working non-stop lately and couldn't take it anymore, so he went home to rest.
The person who took his place on the night shift that day was his sister Lan Lian.
As a rag doll, Lan Lian's appearance is completely worthy of her bloodline.
She has hair and ears that are the same soft color as blue ink, and her deep blue eyes are like a beautiful lake filled with sparkling stars.
Lanlian has a good figure and walks with an elegant gait, with a big, fluffy and soft tail swaying behind her.
"Don't worry." She said to Kong Yu'an with a smile, "Your brother is fine now. He is resting now and will probably wake up tomorrow morning."
Kong Yu'an breathed a sigh of relief.
Mu Le on the side also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Do you want to go see him?" Lan Lian asked.
Kong Yu'an shook his head. "It's good that he's alright. I won't disturb him to rest. I'll come back when he wakes up."
"Okay." Lan Lian held the laptop in her hand and looked at the information on the screen while saying to Kong Yu'an, "I have prepared all the information you asked Xiao Mo to find for you before. Are you sure you want to see it?"
Kong Yu'an nodded heavily.
Mu Le asked in confusion: "What information?"
"Gene defects and sudden regression..." Kong Yu'an said, "all similar diseases."
Lan Lian clicked the light screen: "I sent it to you."
She sighed and added, "There are too few cases like this. I have looked for all the ones I could find."
Kong Yu'an turned on the computer to receive the file: "Thank you."
After Lan Lian finished telling them about this, she turned her gaze to Gu Mingyuan and said, "I have also found the information you asked me to find before... Well, Yuan Xi is just a scientific researcher, how can we expect him to do an investigation?"
She raised her chin towards Gu Mingyuan and said, "I sent it to you. Remember to check it."
Gu Mingyuan nodded.
Mu Le looked at him: "..."
She really wanted to ask Gu Mingyuan what information he had looked up!
But when I asked Kong Yu'an, I didn't feel anything. It was like asking casually, just like asking my own younger brother.
However, looking at Gu Mingyuan...
I always feel like I’ll be told in response “Children shouldn’t interfere in adult matters.”
Thinking about his serious confession today, which was met with Gu Mingyuan's gloomy expression... Mu Le didn't even dare to feel wronged.
After all, it was true that Gu Mingyuan was so good to her.
After all, she was bought home by Gu Mingyuan as a human cub. It was a completely counterfeit and shoddy product that defrauded consumers.
With this feeling in mind, Mu Le got into Gu Mingyuan's car again.
It’s hard to imagine that they were still sitting in this car eating noodles together just an hour ago.
Mu Le sat in the passenger seat with his legs tucked in again, looking pitiful as if he had been bullied by someone.
Gu Mingyuan didn't look at her.
He turned on the computer and received the file sent to him by Lan Lian.
A few minutes later.
Before the car arrived home.
Gu Mingyuan slowly breathed a sigh of relief, turned off the computer, and turned to look at the human in the passenger seat.
Mu Le was already hugging her legs and was about to cry.
"Le Le?" Gu Mingyuan called her.
When Mu Le heard his voice, he raised his head listlessly and looked at him with particular grievance: "I don't want you to be unhappy."
Gu Mingyuan: “…?”
Mu Le rubbed his eyes: "If the fact that I am not a child but an adult makes you unhappy... you can just tell me directly."
She knew that Gu Mingyuan was actually a gentle person.
So even if she was not what he imagined, he would not blame her.
"… What are you thinking about?" Gu Mingyuan pulled her hand away from rubbing her eyes, "I'm not unhappy."
Mu Le: "You do. It's written all over your face."
Gu Mingyuan: “…”
The kid spoke as if he knew a lot about him.
It's not certain who knows who better.
Gu Mingyuan reluctantly opened his computer screen to show her, and his voice was slightly coaxing: "Take a look at this, huh?"
Mu Le was attracted by his voice and couldn't help but look up to read the words on the screen -
This is a survey report about human beings.
It records the experience of a human who suddenly appeared on a planet about seven hundred and twenty years ago.
It was a male human.
After arriving at the planet, he appeared in the northern country which was very far away from the empire.
He was adopted by the Winter Bear family in the North.
There are too many unfamiliar words in this document, and Mu Le finds it a bit difficult to understand.
Fortunately, Booker immediately received the distress signal and came out to help her translate.
"Winter Bear" is actually the polar bear on Earth.
They kindly took in the human who suddenly appeared in the North Country.
The human was only about three years old at first, but in just one month, he grew to be around twenty years old.
Twenty years later, this human finally learned some interstellar language with difficulty.
He told Winter Bear about his experiences and left many records about humans.
Many of the ancient books that can be found in the empire today were passed down from the northern country at that time.
It makes sense even if it is incomplete or has disorganized content.
Mu Le was very shocked.
The most shocking thing was that she learned it fluently in just two weeks and even felt that she could pass the level 6 test of interstellar language...but the other party had actually studied it for twenty years.
It seems like he has learned it very poorly.
Perhaps sensing her shock, Booker proudly explained to her: "Languages are not that easy to learn, especially when there is no teacher or translator. You have to guess the meaning of all the words. How can you learn?"
Mu Le: “…” There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with saying this.
"According to the ancient books we have read, humans will travel through time every once in a while." Booker said to Mu Le, "'Travel through time', it's hard to find a similar expression in interstellar language."
Mule knew what Booker meant.
Unless, like her, you happen to encounter a demon that lives in the book...
Otherwise, it would take humans a long time to even learn interstellar language.
Thinking about it this way, the Earthling who picked up Wei Xingchen must have lived to be over seventy years old.
There were no particularly big obstacles in her communication with Wei Xingchen.
Although Wei Xingchen was just a child at the time, she was able to tell stories to children, which showed that she had mastered a certain vocabulary.
This is something I learned through decades of life experience.
Mu Le touched his nose and finally realized how much he cheated by having Booker.
Gu Mingyuan saw that she had finished reading the contents of the document and retracted his light screen.
"I am unhappy because I am afraid..."
When Gu Mingyuan mentioned the word "fear", he felt it was unfamiliar.
He chuckled very lightly, and the smile was so fleeting that Mu Le didn't have time to take a closer look.
Gu Mingyuan reached out and touched Mu Le's head, and said in a gentle voice: "Don't worry now, you will live a long time."
Based on the few human data that Lan Lian helped to find.
After this child reaches the age of twenty, this rapid growth phenomenon will stop and he will maintain the same growth rate as most orcs after they reach adulthood.
They can grow old together.
She can accompany him for a long, long time.
Mu Le looked at Gu Mingyuan a little dully and whispered, "You looked angry just now... Are you worried that I will die soon?"
Gu Mingyuan frowned.
He didn't like hearing her say the word "die".
"Then, then..." Mu Le said, "Can I understand that you want to be with me forever?"
Gu Mingyuan's brows relaxed again.
He lowered his head and approached Mu Le, his eyes entwined with hers: "Well. Don't you want to?"
Mu Le threw herself into his arms moved.
"Wow." She made an exaggerated cry, "Yuanyuan is such a good dragon, who wouldn't want one!"
Gu Mingyuan patted her on the back.
Mu Le looked up at him, not sure if it was because she really wanted to cry or because of the fake crying just now, but her eyes were filled with tears, sparkling.
"Then." She asked Gu Mingyuan again, "Can I touch your horns?"
Gu Mingyuan: “…”
The author has something to say: Lele has roughly guessed what touching the corner means.
So this question seems to be probing, but in reality it is an attempt to run the wheel over Yuan Yuan's face (?)
There is also a short second update! Still around 5 o'clock~