Back in her own dorm on the Dijiang, Jelperta sat at her desk with a very special letter in her hands.
She had traced the edge of the envelope so many times that the paper had begun to fuzz and fray.
Outside the window, the azure planet drifted quietly in the void.
"Staring at that letter again?"
Angelina walked in with two hot drinks—one in each hand—already changed into a fresh set of clothes. Jelperta looked up as Angelina sat down beside her.
"Here." Angelina slid a cup over. "You've been sitting forever. Drink something."
Jelperta accepted it, wrapped both hands around the warmth—
…and didn't drink.
Angelina watched her for a moment, then spoke softly.
"You want to send it?"
Jelperta's ears flushed a faint red.
"I… don't know."
"Don't know what?"
Jelperta lowered her head, looking at the envelope.
"I don't know what he'll think after reading it. I don't know if he'll find me strange. I don't know…"
She paused, throat tightening.
"I don't know if—because he doesn't want me to misunderstand—he'll start keeping distance from me."
Angelina fell silent, listening.
"He talks to me now," Jelperta continued, voice small. "He smiles at me. He remembers to bring me soda. If I send the letter… will he stop doing those things?"
Angelina didn't answer immediately.
Then she spoke in a gentle voice.
"Jelperta… you know, back on Terra… I wrote a letter too."
Jelperta looked up.
Angelina's gaze drifted far away, like it had slipped through time.
"I wrote it for the person who always waited for me in the corridor. I wrote and rewrote it—so long, so many pages."
Her smile was faint.
"But in the end… I never sent it."
"Why?" Jelperta asked.
"Because I was scared too." Angelina's voice was soft, almost amused at herself. "Scared that if I said it, I'd lose even what I already had."
Jelperta stared at her, stunned.
"Then… what happened later?"
"Later…" Angelina hesitated. "Later I realized… some words, if you never speak them, will always stay only in your heart. But if you say them—at least you won't regret it forever."
She looked at Jelperta.
"You can keep waiting. Wait for the 'right moment.' But that right moment… might never come."
Jelperta fell quiet.
She lowered her head and looked at the envelope again.
What did she write inside?
Nothing dramatic.
Just a girl's small, worth-recording moments on Talos-II.
How perfect the weather was on a delivery route.How different Angelina felt compared to her.How gentle Miss Eldera was.How Bai Ling looked, sitting on a rock drinking soda.
Everything was about people.
Ordinary things.
But when Jelperta remembered each detail, her lips always curved unconsciously into a smile.
She wanted to share those small things with someone.
When she came back to herself, several minutes had already passed.
The hot drink in her hands no longer steamed.
"Ange."
"Hm?" Angelina tilted her head.
"Thank you."
Angelina blinked, but Jelperta didn't explain. She only put the letter away, checked tomorrow's route, and obediently went to bed.
And this time—
She finished the drink.
Angelina didn't fully understand, but seeing Jelperta stop spiraling and actually drink made her relax. She also went to sleep.
One detail worth mentioning:
They were sleeping in the same bed now.
Jelperta arrived before the morning fog had fully dispersed.
This place was still dangerous. After all, it had suffered anchor-point attacks before; the terrain was badly damaged, and occasionally a few angels still wandered around.
But the greatest danger had long been resolved.
And the remaining risks…
To her, they weren't worth much.
She didn't really know why she came here.
Maybe it was "on the way."
Maybe it was because she wanted to.
She found a rock and sat down.
The fog thinned. Sunlight poured in, brightening everything, and the full silhouette of the Generational Cradle unfolded before her.
Countless Originium formations stacked like a mountain—at a glance, natural.
But anyone who knew even a little understood: it was the remains of an Originium world-tree.
Jelperta had a strong sense of space. In her mind, she could almost picture what the tree must have looked like—how huge, how prosperous this place once was.
She'd heard others say: Valley Four's origin was the world-tree itself.
She sat quietly on a piece of ore, looking like she was only watching scenery.
Wind brushed her face. The land was calm.
Jelperta slowly lifted her head.
"…So this is what it feels like."
She didn't know how long she stayed like that.
Then footsteps sounded behind her.
And the sound was…
familiar.
The right foot landed a little heavier than the left.
Her heartbeat skipped.
"Jelperta."
She already knew who it was.
But when her name left his mouth, her mind still blanked for a split second.
She turned—
and saw Bai Ling standing not far away, a paper bag in his hand, warmth still rising from it.
"Mr. Bai Ling?" She stood, instinctively trying to greet him. "Why are you—"
"Angelina said you were here." Bai Ling walked closer. "I came to check on you. And I brought breakfast."
Jelperta froze.
"Ange… she…"
Before she could finish, Bai Ling handed her the bag and—without warning—closed the distance between them.
"She said you ran out alone and didn't eat."
Bai Ling's voice was calm. Too calm.
And because it was calm—because it sounded so natural—Jelperta's hands moved on their own.
She accepted the bag.
She lowered her eyes and peeked inside.
Warm milk.
Soft bread.
Still hot.
There was no protocol teleport point here.
Bringing hot breakfast all the way out here would have been a hassle.
Yet Bai Ling's expression didn't change. He casually scanned the surroundings, then sat down in a suitable spot.
"Why are you standing?" he said. "Sit."
Jelperta hesitated, then sat down beside him.
The two of them faced the Generational Cradle together.
Jelperta ate her warm breakfast obediently.
Bai Ling stayed beside her—quiet presence, steady as a shadow.
After a moment of silence, Bai Ling spoke.
"I heard you have a letter you don't know how to deliver."
Jelperta's hands tightened.
The milk packet she'd been holding nearly burst.
Even her form of address slipped.
"Y-you… how did you know…"
"Angelina told me a few days ago." Bai Ling's tone was level. "She said there's a letter you can't bring yourself to hand over. Today you ran off alone, so I was worried. I came to look for you."
Jelperta lowered her head.
She didn't know how to answer.
Her mind was entirely occupied by one sentence:
I was worried. I came to look for you.
Just hearing it made her heart pound.
But she forced herself to calm down, not daring to look at his face.
"I… I don't dare send it."
"Why?"
"Because…" She swallowed. "I'm afraid that if I send it, you won't talk to me anymore."
Bai Ling didn't speak.
So Jelperta kept talking, like she was confessing to the air.
"You talk to me now. You smile at me. You remember to bring me breakfast. I'm scared… scared you'll read it, think I'm strange… and start keeping distance."
She lifted her gaze toward the distance.
"I'd rather keep it like this. As long as I can see you. Talk to you. Sometimes sit here with you…"
Her voice trembled.
"That's enough."
Only after she finished did Bai Ling finally speak.
"Jelperta."
"Hm?"
"You're not the same as Angelina… but in some ways, you're very similar."
Jelperta blinked, confused.
Bai Ling still didn't look at her. He spoke quietly, almost to the ground.
"When you walk, you're slower than Angelina. When you see steps, you pause first, then move. When you're nervous, your footsteps get lighter."
He paused.
"And you never told me any of that. I noticed it myself."
Jelperta stared at him.
Then Bai Ling turned his head and met her eyes.
"So…" His voice was steady. "Do you think I would distance myself from someone I've been paying attention to… just because of a letter?"
Jelperta opened her mouth.
No words came.
Then Bai Ling raised a hand and gently ruffled her hair.
It was the first time he'd ever done that to her.
Jelperta dropped her head, blinking hard.
And in that tiny gap of courage, she reached into her pocket, pulled out the envelope, and offered it to him with both hands.
"Mr. Bai Ling… you have a letter."
Her voice sounded almost pitiful.
Soft enough to tug at a person's heart.
Bai Ling, for some reason, thought: No wonder people say it's not King Zhou's fault—foxes really are too tempting.
"Can I open it now?" he asked.
Jelperta nodded.
Right in front of her, Bai Ling broke the seal and unfolded the paper.
There wasn't much.
Mostly ordinary daily notes.
"…The weather was nice today, delivering letters felt comfortable…""…Miss Eldera is very gentle. She handles things neatly…""…Angelina is a little noisy, but she's really amazing…""…Mr. Bai Ling always feels independent no matter where he is. It's strangely attractive… If I could watch him like this every day, that would be good…"
Bai Ling finished reading, folded the letter carefully, and slipped it into his pocket.
"For me," he said, "it's written very well."
Jelperta lifted her head, eyes shining. "R-really?"
"Yes." Bai Ling gave her the affirmation—then added, "But there's one part that's wrong."
"What part?"
Bai Ling repeated her line calmly.
"'If I could watch him like this every day, that would be good.'"
Then he looked at her.
"You already can. You don't need a letter to tell me that."
Jelperta froze.
Sunlight spilled across him, turning his outline gold.
And for some reason—
today's sunlight felt especially beautiful.
Outside Workers' Home, Angelina was waiting. When she saw them, she waved with a bright smile.
"Back already!"
Jelperta walked up, took Angelina's hand, pulled her close, and whispered by her ear.
"…Thank you. Today."
Angelina blinked. "Thank you for what?"
"For… telling him to come find me."
"No problem."
Angelina leaned in too, whispering with a grin.
"So—did you deliver it?"
Jelperta nodded.
"What did he say?"
"He said… I wrote well."
Angelina raised a brow, suspicious. "Just that?"
Jelperta's face heated instantly.
She didn't even have to be interrogated—she folded on her own.
Angelina watched her expression and laughed softly, satisfied.
"Yeah. I figured."
Not far away, Bai Ling stood watching them.
Eldera had arrived at some point as well, quietly standing beside him.
"Senior."
"Hm?"
"Miss Jelperta looks very happy," Eldera said softly. "Senior looks happy too."
Bai Ling didn't answer.
But the smile at the corner of his lips refused to go away.
Jelperta sat at her desk again, staring at the blue planet outside the window, a smile she couldn't suppress lingering on her face.
Angelina walked in—again holding a hot drink.
Seeing Jelperta's foolish grin, she couldn't resist teasing.
"Jelperta."
"Hm?"
"Happy now?"
This time Jelperta answered without even a second of hesitation.
"Happy."
"Good," Angelina said with a satisfied nod.
Jelperta seemed to realize how silly she looked, so she forced her expression to settle, then spoke softly.
"Angelina."
"Hm?"
"Do you think… there will be many opportunities like today?"
"What opportunities?"
"…Watching scenery with him," Jelperta whispered. "Talking to him. Being with him…"
Angelina's expression shifted—just slightly—like she'd remembered something.
Then she smoothed it away.
"You can try more." Her tone turned light again. "After all… there are already quite a few girls around Mr. Bai Ling now."
Jelperta nodded.
She looked out the window again, smiling faintly.
Not bright.
Not loud.
But full of quiet satisfaction.
Bai Ling didn't know why he came here.
Or why he felt like he was waiting for something.
But after a while, footsteps sounded behind him.
Not just one set.
He turned around.
Eldera stood in the morning fog.
And behind her were Angelina and Jelperta—one grinning openly, the other wearing a small, gentle smile.
Jelperta held a paper bag.
"Mr. Bai Ling," she said, stepping forward. "Breakfast."
Bai Ling took it and looked at her.
Jelperta didn't avoid his gaze this time.
She only smiled.
The four of them found a good place to sit together, facing the Generational Cradle, eating breakfast as the fog slowly lifted.
When the sunlight finally poured down, Bai Ling heard Jelperta's voice.
"Mr. Bai Ling."
"Hm?"
"Today's sunlight is really good too."
Bai Ling turned to look at her.
In the sun, Jelperta's eyes shone like little treasures.
His reply came quietly.
"Mm. It's very good."
....
My Patreon : patreon/RuneA
If you want to read the novel in advance, you can subscribe for early access. I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length. If you're following a particular series, please wait your turn a little
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it