Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 976: Are we caught in the middle again?

"Lingge has really changed a lot." Inside the stone house, Saint Xia Liya turned her head and said to Xino.

"Oh?" Xino cast an interested look, because she had no idea about Ling Ge's past, so she naturally didn't know what kind of change Saint Shallia was talking about. In fact, based on her impression of Ling Ge, if she said that the young man had the same personality from birth to now and had not changed at all, she would be willing to believe it.

The pebbles will certainly become smoother and smoother under the impact of the water, but the young man is also wrapped in a cold protective shell outside of himself, just like a hermit crab that is wary of the outside world.

"Linger said he only does what he can do, but if it were him in the past, I'm afraid he wouldn't even be willing to do what he can do."

Saint Charity said softly, and the scene of her first encounter with the young man in the town square of Linville City emerged in her mind: the Moryas' tents were colorful, balloons and bright ribbons covered the sky, funny clowns shuttled between the cages of black bears and tigers, and the Aden Mountain Carnival was about to begin, a scene of joy, but his eyes were out of tune with this world, full of indifference and alienation.

"At that time, he only cared about me and Metien." Saint Xia Liya did not deliberately lower her voice, not afraid of being heard by the young man, because this was the truth: "Besides, I'm afraid he didn't even care about Tianxin Church."

If it weren't for his adoptive father's will, he would never have wasted his time and money on those believers, not to mention that many of them were not devout and came only for bread and milk.

Xinuo considered his tone and said, "It sounds a bit like...playing it safe?"

She originally wanted to say selfish, but she felt that this description was not appropriate, because not everyone can be like the knights of the Gustave family, always with a sincere and enthusiastic heart. And it is well known that in this era polluted by money, power and steam, people who are keen on doing good things will not be rewarded. If social rules originally advocate selfishness, then naturally those who abide by the rules cannot be blamed.

"Cold, selfish, and self-protective... I don't think any of them are true." Saint Shallia shook her head and said, "It's just that someone drew a circle for him to isolate him from the world."

That person was Lingge’s father, Mr. Yang Ke.

Perhaps this was not his original intention, but he just hoped that after his death he would still have the power to protect the two children until they could be independent and face the storms of the outside world. However, Linger tried to build this protective shell into a permanent shelter, so he refused to break it, and instead constantly reinforced it with a cold tone, alienated eyes and a detached mentality.

Until the destined moment arrived, this closed world was broken like an egg by some strong and mysterious force. The blue-haired girl appeared in front of him, making the young man realize that some things cannot be changed by resistance.

He is actually a very fragile person, Saint Xia Liya sometimes thinks so, and then she finds it ridiculous. If Ling Ge is considered fragile, then probably no one in the world dares to say that they are strong enough.

She didn't know that it was some kind of omen, not just a momentary impulse.

"Do you think this change is good?" Xinuo suddenly asked, her eyes fixed on Lingge outside the house. The young man seemed to have not noticed the two girls' discussion about him. He was still standing on the cliff, silently enjoying the wind and gazing at the twilight of the mountains. As if to confirm something, she asked again: "Do you like the Lingge in the past or the Lingge now?"

Faced with such a blatant question, Saint Xia Liya did not blush, because she could tell that Xino's tone was very serious, so she also thought about it seriously. When she spoke again, she did not give a direct answer, but talked about something completely unrelated: "I heard from Metien that Lingge used to like to laugh very much. He looked very good when he laughed."

“Laugh…” Xino stared at the young man’s back and shook his head slowly: “To be honest, I can’t imagine such a scene.”

"So do you want to see it?"

"Hmm?" Xino chuckled: "Now that you put it that way, I'm quite looking forward to it."

Just like Alice said, everyone likes contrasts. For example, making the submissive Ieta suddenly become strong, making the naughty little bat and Shemi suddenly become good students like Medien, or making the usually cold Lingge smile?
"Given Ling's temperament, the contrast effect should be better, right?" The young knight said with emotion: "I kind of believe what Metien said. Maybe he will look good when he smiles?"

When Saint Xia Liya heard this, she turned her head and looked at her for a while. Just when Xino was confused and didn't know what she said wrong, she suddenly asked: "If you see Ling Ge's smile, will you be moved, Xino?"

"this--"

Xinuo was caught off guard by her and had no time to react. He felt that no matter how he answered at this time, it would be wrong. He could only blink his wine-red eyes and pretend to be confused: "What do you mean, Xiaoxia, I don't quite understand."

"That is to say," Saint Xia Liya seemed not to realize that she was playing dumb, and repeated it in a more concise and clear way: "Will you like Lingge?"

Now Xinuo couldn't pretend to be confused. Wouldn't that arouse more suspicion? She scratched her cheek and said helplessly: "Why do you think so?"

"Because you and Lingge seem to have a good understanding." Saint Xia Liya frowned slightly. She felt that the understanding between Lingge and Xino was almost catching up with the understanding between him and herself. But she knew Lingge the earliest, and Xino had only been in the team for a month, including the two months he lived in Xia Duoli Manor, which was not a long time. How could he have made such rapid progress?
Is it because they have a good relationship with each other?

"Well..." Xinuo wanted to say that it was because she and Lingge both had a mature adult mentality and were similar in how they treated others. This was a feeling that other young girls who had not lived in the secular world could not understand. But it would be a bit boastful to say this, and it might annoy Xiaoxia. So she changed her words when the words came to her lips: "Maybe it's because our ways of thinking are similar? Besides, cooperation does not mean that you have to like each other. You can also be good partners. Besides, I actually have no interest in the relationship between men and women now. I want to focus on fighting against the witch society. Before breaking the conspiracy of the witch society, I should not have any thoughts in this regard."

"Is this what they call ambition?" Saint Xia Liya thought: "Ling Ge seems to have said the same thing. You two really have a good understanding, Xino."

"Uh."

Is this a case of overdoing it?
Xino was speechless, but just thought to himself, how could anyone fall in love with Lingge just by seeing his smile? After all, he is just a human being, not some strange species. Even a flower fairy who is born with the power of charm does not have this ability, right?
I guess Xiao Xia is the only one who thinks so.

However, there are many simple-minded girls on Yunjingkong Island, such as Aovira and Yieta. If they heard Xiaoxia's theory, would they also believe it? If everyone believed in this setting, would it become a reality? This seems a bit too advanced for the girl knight.

Lingge, you are such a sinful man... although I know this is not your intention.

Countless thoughts irrelevant to the current topic flashed through Xino's mind, and they were about to escalate. Fortunately, Ling Ge appeared in time and interrupted her wandering thoughts.

"What are you talking about?"

He didn't know when he had stood at the door of the stone house, looking at the two girls with strange eyes. When he stood at the edge of the mountain, he could vaguely hear words like "laugh", "like", "understanding" and so on in the wind, but eavesdropping on other people's conversations was an immoral thing, so he didn't pay attention to it.

Was there some secret hidden in it that he didn't know about? Facing the young man's calm but scrutinizing gaze, Xinuo's mouth twitched slightly, and he felt that it seemed difficult to get away with this matter.

"Nothing." Saint Xia Liya said calmly, "We were just talking about our favorite foods. Xinuo said that her favorite dessert is the wine-stained hazelnut cake, a specialty dessert of Grindelwald Field. She would smile happily every time she eats it, and Brandi also likes to eat this dessert, so she thinks that there is indeed a tacit understanding between her and Brandi."

Oh my god, you can even make this up? You are invincible, Xiao Xia.

Xino couldn't help but glance sideways, then nodded repeatedly, and said seriously, "Yes, that's what we are talking about. By the way, if you want the wine-stained hazelnut cake to be soft and delicious, sweet with a hint of wine astringency, you must use the highest-grade wine, such as the Chardonnay wine brewed in our Gustave family's ancestral estate. Unfortunately, when you came, the wine in the estate was not yet ripe, so I couldn't let you taste this specialty. It's really a pity."

She had a look of regret on her face, and she acted so realistically that even Saint Shallia looked at her sideways: I was just saying it casually, is there really such a specialty dessert in Grindelwald Wilderness?

"..."

Lingge looked at Saint Xia Liya on the left, and at Xino on the right, and fell silent.

These two people seemed to have forgotten that every time he arrived in a new area, Ling would check relevant information in advance to understand the geographical features, city conditions, customs and habits of the area, so he can tell you with certainty that there is no such dessert called Wine-Stained Hazelnut Cake in Grindelwald Wilds. There is a similar dessert in Fontainebleau, the capital of White City, but it is called Wine-Stained Hazelnut Cake.

Sure enough, there is something hidden from me.

However, Lingge did not think of exposing them. Judging from the reactions of the two girls, the secret seemed inconvenient for outsiders to know. Anyone who tried to reveal it would pay a heavy price... Curiosity would kill Alice, but he was not Alice, so he decided not to do such a thing.

He changed the subject and said, "Since everything is fine, let's get to work."

The surveying and mapping of the star map has not been completed yet. Although the general idea has been formed, only some data calculations and formula substitutions are left. However, that is a tedious process. Ling estimated that it would take at least another week to get the results.

"Work? Lingge, when you use this term, it always makes me feel like I'm actually a hired worker in the vineyard responsible for pruning and fertilizing, rather than doing one of the most exciting undertakings in the history of human astronomy and mathematics, although -" Xino said self-deprecatingly: "They are actually all manual labor, that's about it."

"Then you should be glad you're not in Linville City."

Lingge replied expressionlessly: "For people living in that city, the word 'work' is much more cruel than working in a vineyard."

Xino was stunned for a moment before he realized what this meant. As everyone knows, Linville is an industrial city, and its nickname "Heartbroken City" has even spread to distant foreign countries and is well known. Buried under the ruins of the suburbs are not only the remains of the princes and nobles during the Hundred Years' War, but also the innocent souls devoured by steam and boilers.

"This is not very funny." She muttered, "Could this be the hell joke that Alice told? Lingge, tell some ordinary jokes next time, don't hurt my conscience again."

"I'll pay attention."

Lingge replied, then walked past the two people into the house. Manuscript papers and books were piled on the stone table, waiting for someone to pick up the pen.

Saint Shallia stared at Ling'er's back, then looked at Xino who was smiling bitterly and shaking his head, and thought to herself, these two people really have a tacit understanding, and her feeling was not wrong.

We have only known each other for a little over a month, maybe we will get along better in the future?
Thinking of this, she felt a little melancholy.

Ugh.

At this moment, Ling Ge suddenly stopped and looked back, his eyes falling on Saint Xia Liya, as if he heard her sigh just now. But in fact, Saint Xia Liya was sure that she sighed in her heart and absolutely did not make any sound, so facing his attention, she just blinked blankly: "What's wrong, Ling Ge?"

"Nothing, I just suddenly thought of a question." Linger said: "Since you were discussing your favorite foods just now, Xinuo said she likes wine-stained hazelnut cake, then what about you, Saint Xia Liya, what do you like?"

"Hmm?" Saint Xia Liya didn't expect him to ask such a question. She blinked again. In addition to being confused, she was also a little surprised: "Why does Ling Ge want to know this?"

"No particular reason." The young man said without hesitation, as if the answer was already hidden in his mind: "I just wanted to ask."

"Oh." Saint Xia Liya nodded thoughtfully, then her eyes curved and a faint smile appeared on her face. Her joy came from the heart, and anyone could see it: "I don't know my favorite food yet, maybe I will have one in the future; but there is one food that left the deepest impression on me, and that is carrot stewed with beef."

"Beef stew with carrots?"

"Yes, it was that day... the dish that Xiao Yang and I ate at Tianxin Church. It seemed to be made by you, Lingge." Saint Xia Liya said softly: "With you, Metien, and Alice."

After a long silence, Lingge nodded gently: "Yes."

He said nothing more and turned away.

Saint Xia Liya no longer had the feeling of loss she had just now. Looking at the young man's back, she felt fulfilled and safe in her heart, as if she was invincible.

"..."

Xino looked at this scene and scratched his cheek in confusion: I seem to be caught in the middle again?

Give me some meow