V2: Chapter 156: Are We Really Going Back to the Beach?
"Uh..."
Gladys dodged behind Laura, looking nervously at Liang Lin.
Carol, on the other hand, toddled towards her mother, raising her little hands for a hug. "Mama, Mama, we were having a snowball fight! It was so much fun! Mama, play with me! Play with me!"
In an instant, Liang Lin's anger vanished, replaced by a gentle smile. She reached out and straightened Carol's collar.
"It's so cold, dress warmly. Be careful not to catch a cold, or you won't be able to play in the snow this winter."
"Mmm!"
Carol nodded vigorously, then sniffed a few times and grinned foolishly at Liang Lin.
"Look, your nose is running. You must have caught a cold, right?"
Liang Lin took out a handkerchief and pinched Carol's nose. The little one squirmed in her arms.
Gladys and Laura finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Liang Lin wasn't really angry about the snowball hitting her face; it was just her personality.
That's right, normally, even from a distance, Liang Lin looked angry. This woman always acted like someone owed her a fortune.
"You can play with them. Just make sure you don't get hurt or catch a cold," Liang Lin said, putting Carol's coat back on the ground after adjusting it. "I have other things to discuss with Liang Di. You three continue playing, but keep an eye on Carol."
"Okay, okay," Gladys replied meekly.
Liang Lin stopped in her tracks.
She turned back, frowning, and looked at Gladys.
Gladys, who had already emerged from behind Laura, turned back once more, revealing only her eyes, looking pitifully at Liang Lin.
Liang Lin: "..."
Confused, she stopped walking, turned around, and went straight to Laura.
Laura wasn't particularly afraid of Liang Lin; in fact, she found Liang Lin's fierceness reassuring. Liang Lin always gave the impression of being kind to her subordinates but ruthless to her enemies.
"Gladys, are you afraid of me?" Liang Lin, being straightforward, asked directly.
This question made Gladys shudder again. She quickly and frantically shook her head, stammering, "No, not afraid."
How could she not be afraid?
The beating Liang Lin gave her back then had left her with psychological trauma. Now, just seeing Liang Lin made her tremble involuntarily; the beating had triggered a physical reaction.
“Tell the truth, don’t lie.” Liang Lin said sternly. “If you’re really not afraid of me, come out from behind Laura.”
Gladys struggled internally, but finally, she meekly stepped out from behind Laura.
“Why do you always act like this? Like I’ve bullied you. I clearly haven’t done anything to you!”
Liang Lin was furious, but then she found it a little funny.
“Cough, I’m not going to hit you. Don’t hide behind others when you see me in the future, making it seem like I’m some kind of scary person. Okay, I’ll talk about this when I get back. I’m leaving. You two keep an eye on Carol.”
With that, she strode away again.
“Phew~”
Seeing Liang Lin leave, Gladys finally breathed a sigh of relief, collapsing onto the snow with a thud.
Laura, puzzled, asked, "Why are you so afraid of Miss Liang Lin? She just looks a little fierce; she hasn't really done anything wrong to us."
Gladys gave Laura a smile that looked more like a grimace.
"Why do you think I was afraid of her just now?"
"Huh?" Laura asked, scratching her head.
"Because that snowball that hit her face was thrown by me!" Gladys's voice was almost tearful. "I was afraid she'd find out and stuff a whole bucket of snow into my clothes!"
Laura: "...."
"Hm, then it's normal for you to be a little afraid of her."
Carol, four years old, didn't understand them and laughed heartily, continuing to grab snowballs and throw them at Laura and Gladys.
"I want to play! I want to play! I want to have a snowball fight! Play with me! Play with me!" Carol wiggled her little legs, leaving a trail of tiny footprints in the snow, making a "crunch, crunch" sound.
Gladys looked around and, finding that Liang Lin was indeed gone, sprang to her feet, full of energy once again, completely forgetting the pain of her earlier injury.
"Okay, I'll play with you!"
"I won't hold back this time!"
"You can't bully us adults just because you're little!"
Laura: "?"
What nonsense is Gladys spouting? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?
Everyone else says not to bully younger people just because you're older, but in her mouth, it's become that younger people can't bully older people?
Being around an idiot for too long makes me feel like I'm becoming an idiot myself.
On the other side.
“Doris hasn’t been making any moves lately. She’s been strangely quiet,” Liang Lin said.
Liang Di and Liang Lin sat on the sofa, chatting idly about business. Both held teacups, and snacks were laid out on the table.
“Hmm, if she’s not causing trouble, it means she’s up to something much worse,” Liang Di agreed. “It’s either targeting me, the King, or perhaps she’s plotting something to kill two birds with one stone.”
“Can you guess?”
“I can’t.” Liang Di shook her head and gave a wry smile. “I’m not a prophet, and no magician can predict the future. If someone could, all the magicians in the Magic Tower, including Octaville, would have to worship that guy.”
“I think we should act quickly. Although I’ve been trying to figure out what Doris is up to, after months of investigation, I’ve found nothing.”
Liang Di looked worried.
“I’m afraid if we delay any longer, that old man, the King, will really force me to get engaged to Gael. Although I could compromise for a while, but....”
She looked at her sister beside her, her eyes filled with fervent love, and placed her hand on the back of her sister's.
"I don't want anyone to misunderstand that I'm with someone else. That would make me feel unfaithful, disgusted with myself. In this life, I only want a relationship with Sister Liang Lin, even if it's always in secret, I'm willing."
This guy, she's spouting those cheesy lovey-dovey words again.
"Hmm, you're right." Liang Lin didn't pretend to be magnanimous. She cared about this too; she couldn't be magnanimous. For her wife to have any scandals with other men was worse than death for her.
Although, in public, Liang Di and Liang Lin still didn't have any relationship. They hadn't crossed that final line. Liang Lin remained reserved, proud, awkward, and stubborn.
"Mmm~"
"I only want to be with Sister Liang Lin forever, even if it's just as sisters, for a lifetime, I'd be happy." Liang Di leaned affectionately on Liang Lin's shoulder, like a kitten.
Inside the palace.
"Your Majesty!"
A spy rushed into the palace, this time without even knocking, pushing open the door to Doris's room. Fortunately, Doris was having afternoon tea.
She looked at the spy with displeasure, but before she could reprimand him, the spy spoke first.
"We found it! We found it! We found it! Hahahaha!" The spy laughed maniacally, looking like he had gone mad.
Doris's words of reprimand caught in her throat and were swallowed back down. She too became overjoyed, slamming her hand on the table, causing the cookies on her plate to spill onto the table.
"Really?!"
"Really!" the spy shouted excitedly.
But then, his tone changed.
"However..."
"However what? Speak plainly. Finding it is good news. The rest can be easily solved."
As the spy's tone softened, Doris also became slightly calmer.
“However, it seems that person wasn't keen on coming with us. Although we found them, it was only a fleeting glimpse.” The spy's face suddenly turned grim, his body trembling slightly. He slowly hugged his arms.
“I heard His whispers, a voice that didn't belong to this world. Even now, thinking back on it, it's terrifying.”
“I couldn't see His face. I felt like I was in a dark, gloomy world. If I hadn't taken out what you gave me in time, I'm afraid I would have fallen into the illusion He created and never been able to escape. It was too terrifying, absolutely too terrifying.”
He really didn't want to experience it a second time.
Just a fleeting glimpse?
Doris frowned and said sharply, "What do you mean? You only saw Him once and then let Him go?"
"No, no, no, of course I didn't let Him go," the traitor waved his hands repeatedly. "It's just that after meeting Him once, He wasn't very willing. He said that you, Your Majesty, have to go there in person, and then He'll consider whether He agrees."
Doris fell silent and sat back down in her chair.
She really didn't want to go back to that place, really didn't want to go to the world outside the city walls again. Now, even seeing the sea filled her with an indescribable fear; she was terrified that an ugly tentacle would crawl out of the ocean.
"Do I really have to go there in person?"
"Yes, He said definitely."
The spy looked puzzled.
"I don't know why He knows you, why He can call you by your name so accurately." Doris clenched her sleeves and gave a cold laugh.
Of course they recognized me.
After all, it was they who had made her queen, to help them resolve the issue of the city walls. If she dared to have any disloyalty, she would be killed by them in their dreams. In truth, they were already very dissatisfied with her. She had dragged her feet for almost twenty-two years without tearing down the walls or taking all the tentacle monsters out.
Doris didn't want to go back. She feared that if she returned, she would never be able to return to this beautiful world with her son.
"Hmm, I understand. You go back first. Don't go looking for them for now. Give me some time; I need to think about a plan."
"Yes."
The traitor is gone.
What plan? She was clearly afraid, clearly thinking of other ways.
Doris grabbed her hair in frustration, her former queenly demeanor gone, utterly dejected, leaning back in her chair, her eyes blankly staring at the ceiling.
Why did fate treat me this way?
Sometimes, she envied Liang Di, having the Magic Tower and the Langwendi family behind her, supporting her. But what about her? Behind her, there was only an endless abyss, only a vast ocean.
"Gael..."
At this moment, she could only silently recite the name of her beloved son, trying to encourage herself.
"What should I do? Do I really have to go back to that place? Won't they punish me? The task they gave me, I haven't completed for so long, I..."
Tears streamed down Doris's face, tears of fear.
Really, should I go back?
"Mother?!"
Gael rushed in, bursting through the door. As soon as he entered, he saw his mother frantically wiping away tears. He ran over, grabbed her shoulders, and checked her over carefully. Finding Doris unharmed, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Mother, I saw a dark figure flash past your doorway! It scared me to death! I thought it was an assassin!" Gael patted his chest. "You were in your room, were you alright?"
Doris wiped away all her tears.
"Nothing happened, silly child, you must have seen wrong."
Gael thought for a moment; he wasn't sure if he'd imagined it.
But why was Doris crying?
"Mother, why are you crying?"
Author's Note
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