On the other side of the temporary shelter—
"Talulah—how did you do that just now?!" Chen Qianyu asked, still wide-eyed.
After organizing the remaining medicine, she stared at Talulah—the same Talulah who had just somehow gotten all the kids to obediently go back where they belonged—with pure disbelief.
"…Kids are easy to coax," Talulah said. "Except the ones who are born idiots."
She watched the children disperse, a softness in her gaze. The sharp, overbearing authority she'd shown before was gone, replaced by something almost ordinary—like the big sister next door.
Maybe that really was her original nature.
Before she and Chen Hui-jie were separated, she'd only been an ordinary older sister.
Fate simply didn't allow it to stay that way.
Her adoptive father, Koschei, was scum—a selfish, rotten man who cared for no one but himself. He raised her, and he taught her endless schemes and dirty tricks—how to lie, how to manipulate, how to trample others and call it "survival."
And her younger sister…
Talulah only knew she was in Lungmen—alive. Beyond that, she knew nothing.
"I always feel like Talulah-jie is really a very good big sister," Chen Qianyu said.
"Is that so?"
"Yes! You really, really look like an older sister!"
"…"If she'd truly been a qualified sister… then back then, she should've chosen not to follow Koschei away from Lungmen. She should've stayed by her sister's side.
But there weren't any "ifs."
She had made her choice.
After so much work, they finally had a short stretch of rest.
Once Chen Qianyu confirmed there was no one else around, she sat right on top of a pile of goods. The posture wasn't exactly elegant—but it looked incredibly comfortable.
Talulah adjusted her clothes a little, then sat down beside her.
Without Bai Ling nearby, this "clever and capable" Draco suddenly felt… mostly just capable. Like a strong but slightly airheaded kid—much more approachable.
After relaxing for a while, Chen Qianyu spoke again.
"Talulah-jie."
"What is it?" Talulah turned immediately, the good weather clearly putting her in a better mood. She tightened her waist slightly to sit up straight, scratched at her hair, like she was thinking.
"…I can't really explain it," Chen Qianyu said carefully, "but I always feel like you look a lot like someone I saw a long, long time ago. I was really small back then. I only saw her once. I don't even know her name."
"Someone who looks like me?" Talulah smiled, listening like it was just a story, not taking it too seriously.
"There are things I usually wouldn't tell anyone… but Talulah-jie feels special, so I want to tell you."
"I'm listening," Talulah said. "And I won't tell anyone."
"Mm."
"My family… I heard our ancestors came from Terra. And it seems there was someone very important back then. Near the end of her life, she passed a sword to an elder in our family."
Chen Qianyu paused and studied Talulah seriously, like she was trying to match her face to a vague silhouette in memory.
"That figure I saw at the time… she looked kind of like you… but… more mature… um… maybe I should say, much older?"
"…"Talulah turned her head away.
For a moment she didn't know how to describe what she was feeling.
She knew this wasn't her era.
Chen Qianyu was a descendant of the Chen family—no blood relation to her. And yet, there was only one person Talulah could imagine sharing that kind of resemblance.
But it made no sense. It was impossible.
Even a dragon couldn't live for hundreds of years.
Yet the way Chen Qianyu spoke—so cautious, so precise—didn't sound like something she'd fabricated.
And the moment Talulah thought: what if her sister is still alive—a suffocating pressure gripped her.
If someone survived from Terra all the way to "now"… was that even a good thing?
How much had she endured?How much hardship?How much pain?
Had she already learned the truth of her origins? What kind of ending had "future her" met?
Seeing Talulah fall into deep silence, Chen Qianyu lifted her head carefully and called out in a small voice:
"…Talulah-jie?"
That gentle call dragged Talulah back from her thoughts.
"I'm fine," Talulah said. "It's just… I truly didn't expect something like this."
Before Chen Qianyu could say more, Perlica arrived with two bags of bread and several bottles of drinks, her ear-feathers twitching slightly.
"You two—eat something?"
She might've been "delivering," but her eyes were clearly fixed on the food the whole time.
"After working this long, I'm starving!" Chen Qianyu said.
"By the way—have you seen the Administrator?"
"They probably went to rest," Chen Qianyu replied. "The Administrator hasn't had a proper rest in a long time."
As she spoke, Chen Qianyu took the bread from Perlica and immediately started eating with big bites. Talulah, by contrast, moved with far more refinement.
One hand supported the bread; the other hovered in front of her chest to catch crumbs before they fell on her clothes.
Perlica noticed those details.
Those natural aristocratic mannerisms weren't something you could erase quickly.
Before Bai Ling summoned her, Talulah's background clearly hadn't been ordinary… yet Perlica still couldn't find any trace of her in Originium-space records. That made no sense.
"…Right," Perlica said. "Bai Ling already contacted me through the Hub. If you want to go to the Dijiang later, you can go anytime, Miss Talulah."
"Mm."
After hearing so many unexpected things, Talulah oddly didn't feel as urgent anymore.
One thing at a time.
Eventually, everything could be finished.
....
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