Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1163 Would it be better to be a little selfish?

Sunset.

The sky was reflecting the sunset glow, and the orange-red cloud shadows extended from the sea of ​​trees on Yunjingkong Island to the other side of the Ansers Mountains. Looking further into the sky, one or two sparse stars could already be seen, blinking and flashing faintly. If it were in the Evernight Forest, this little starlight would not be enough to push through the crown of the Cursed Death Tree and illuminate the ash-covered land below. But in the flower fields of Yunjingkong Island, the sky was unobstructed, like a gradually changing curtain, from clear light blue to dull dark blue, and then to deep and magnificent dark purple. The changes in light and dark between heaven and earth, and the transition from day to night, could be seen at a glance.

Lingge sat on a tree stump, quietly watching the sun sink into the sea of ​​trees. The light of the sunset faded like a tide, and the night surged with it, changing in an unpredictable way, like a thrilling painting. The area near the flower field was gradually shrouded in darkness, but some strange luminous plants and small flying insects brought precious light. After nightfall, the creatures on the sky island also ushered in a rare quiet time. Often at this time, the primrose field in front of the windmill tower house became a place for them to entertain themselves.

Not far away, a stone guard finished a day's work and was quietly resting against a ridge. A few shy flower fairies hid behind its rock body, looking over here and discussing something in a low voice from time to time. There was also a naughty forest fairy who was climbing up by grabbing the moss growing in the cracks of the stone, as if he was using the body of the stone guard as a playground for rock climbing.

Suddenly, the sleeping girl moved her eyelids slightly and made an ambiguous sound like a dream talk. The noise scared the flower fairies so much that they all shrank back behind the stone fairy guards with a cry of "Ah". The forest fairy who was trying to climb up was startled and lost his grip and fell down, right in front of the flower fairies. They surrounded him and laughed at him. Then there was another round of fighting and laughter.

When Lingge lowered his head, Yieta also slowly opened her eyes and woke up from her sleep. Her eyes were a little dazed at first, and she couldn't tell the difference between reality and dreams. After several minutes, she gradually became clear and her eyes refocused on the young man's face. Without thinking, she blurted out naturally: "Good morning, Lingge."

The young man couldn't help laughing and shook his head: "It's already evening, Yieta."

"Really?" The girl blinked her eyes. Perhaps because she had just woken up from a dream, she looked dazed. "Good evening, Lingge? I seem to have slept for a long time. Have you been waiting for me here?"

"After all, we have already made an agreement." Lingge was referring to the agreement that Yieta made with him before she fell asleep.

"Yes, we have already agreed that you will always stay with me!" Miss Angel's face suddenly showed a relieved expression and she breathed a long sigh of relief.

Her thoughts were so easy to guess, or rather, there was no need to guess at all. Everything was on her face, which made the young man laugh. However, for some people, innocence and simplicity are not flaws, but precious qualities, so he did not really laugh out loud. He just looked up at the sky and asked, "It's late now. I guess the landlady has already prepared dinner for today. Do you want to go back to the hotel with me, Ieta?"

"Well--"

The girl was obviously worried. Linger also knew what she was worried about, but he didn't point it out. He just said, "Everyone is worried about you, Yieta. How about showing up to make them feel at ease? Besides, Miss Shelia is already very tired from work every day, and she has to deliver meals to you. Why don't you be more sensible and let her run less? I think she should be very grateful to you, right?"

This is nonsense.

After all, what kind of job does a bartender have? It's nothing more than standing behind the bar every day to mix water, racking her brains to name new works, promoting her masterpieces everywhere, and helping her elder sister to discipline the restless Mr. Rabbit and the potted band in the hotel. As for other things, they are not within her scope of concern, and no one expects her to take the initiative to do anything.

Using this excuse to convince Yieta feels like playing a tacit game: You know I'm talking nonsense, and I know you know I'm talking nonsense, but I still want to say it. Why? Because you need an excuse, right? Not an excuse for others to convince you, but an excuse for yourself to convince yourself.

Lingge winked at the girl who was still resting her head on his thigh, as if hinting at something. This action, which was very inconsistent with his usual image and even a little naughty, made Yieta laugh out loud, and the sound of puffing spread to the depths of the flower field, causing the little fairies who were playing hide-and-seek around the stone guards to turn their heads and look around curiously, wanting to know what interesting things had happened over there that made the owner of this flower field laugh so happily.

Fortunately, although they were not familiar with worldly affairs, they could vaguely sense that this was an important moment and they could not just go over and disturb her. What if they angered Yieta and she would not allow them to play in the flower field in the future? So they quickly retracted their gazes and continued to play with laughter. The stone guard did not move either, just sitting there stupidly, allowing the naughty fairies to play around him and chirp. Although there were not many people, it was as if there were hundreds of sparrows quarreling in the flower field at the same time.

"Then I'll-"

Yieta put aside all her worries and was about to say, "Then I'll go back to the Fairy Inn with you to have dinner," but she suddenly remembered something and paused.

"What's wrong?" Ling asked puzzledly.

"Nothing." Yieta's eyes curved as she giggled. To use an inappropriate description, her expression at the moment was just as cunning as a little fox who succeeded in stealing a chicken. It always made Ling Ge feel familiar: "It's not impossible for me to go back with you, but I have a condition, you have to agree to it!"

"What conditions?"

"You agree first, then I'll talk."

"Then I promise you." Ling Ge said without hesitation: "Can you tell me now?"

Yieta widened her eyes slightly and looked at the young man in surprise, as if she had not expected that he would agree so easily. If she had known earlier, she should not have stated just one condition, but multiple conditions!
Just kidding.

Yieta quietly stuck out her tongue, and then whispered, "Then carry me back?"

"Hmm?" Ling Ge didn't react for a moment: "What do you mean?"

"That is to say... use the same posture you used to carry me out of the room... hold me... and walk back..." Miss Angel's cheeks were so red that they could rival the sunset glow that had not yet faded in the sky. She stammered and her eyes kept moving to the sides, not daring to face the young man's gaze: "No, I don't mean anything else, it's just that I slept too deeply just now and haven't recovered yet... that's all... So, don't think too much, okay? How about it, okay?"

Her tone was filled with anticipation and trepidation, but Ling Ge didn't care: "It's okay, but..."

"But what?" Yieta immediately raised her head and looked at the young man nervously. Her expression seemed as if she would try her best to solve any difficulties Lingge had. No one knew where the motivation came from. If she was so proactive at ordinary times, would Xiaoxia, her sister, and the proprietress and bartender, her long-term guardians, be so worried?

"But the journey is a bit long, and it might not be comfortable to keep doing it this way." Lingge suggested: "Why not carry it on your back?"

After hearing this, Yieta shook her head repeatedly: "No, I have to carry him!"

She insisted on her own opinion, and even sounded a bit like a spoiled child. Although Ling Ge didn't know why she was so insistent, it was just a trivial matter. Since the girl didn't care, he didn't have to force her to change her mind, so he nodded and agreed.

He first supported Yieta and helped her sit up from the tree stump, and then carefully patted off the primrose petals on the corners of the girl's clothes and skirt. They were probably blown by the wind when she was sleeping and accidentally stuck to her. Then he put one hand around her back and the other hand supported her knees. With a little force, he picked up the fragile girl. Although Yieta was shy this time, she did not close her eyes to escape reality. Instead, she boldly reached out and took the initiative to hold the young man's neck, and gently leaned her head on his shoulder, like a baby bird returning to the nest, revealing a relieved and comfortable expression.

"Hold on tight." Lingge gave a simple instruction, then carried her towards the Fairy Sleep Inn. When they passed by the stone fairy guard, the little fairies who were playing seemed to have seen an extremely strange sight. They stopped fighting and lay on the big stone fairy's rocky head, watching the scene with great interest. Some of them who were more familiar with human culture even started a discussion on the spot.

"I know, this is called a princess hug!"

"Oh, I understand. It turns out that you have to be a princess to be hugged like this!"

"No, this has nothing to do with whether they are princesses or not! Olvera and Lorena are both princesses! Lingge has never hugged them like this!"

"Lululu! I don't believe it! It must be like this! Otherwise why would it be called a princess hug!"

"Oh, you are just like what Alice said, you like to argue! Let me, a senior know-it-all in the human world, tell you that the princess hug is an intimate gesture that only lovers do. Do you understand?"

"Wow! Yieta and Lingge are lovers! Big news, big news! I'm going to tell Shemy right away!"

"Bah, you can't tell Shemy! If she knows, everyone will know!"

"What's wrong with that?"

"You won't understand at first glance!"

"I think you like it, like it... that is, how do I say it, right! You just like to show off!"

"What did you say?"

"Just say it!"

……

As they talked, they started to quarrel. What a lively bunch of little guys. Lingge didn't care about the discussion of these little fairies, but Yieta listened carefully. When she heard that Olvera and Lorena had never been hugged by Lingge like this, she couldn't help but feel a little proud. When she heard that one of the fairies guessed that she and Lingge were lovers, she was startled again. She quickly turned back to look at the young man's face and found that his reaction was very normal. It seemed that he just regarded it as a child's joke and was indifferent. She was relieved immediately. But the complicated thing was that she was actually a little disappointed.

He could obviously refute it.

Even if I refute it, it's better than this indifferent attitude, right?

She thought to herself, lowering her head in grievance, feeling quite uncomfortable. But it was this lowering of her head that made her notice a strange detail, that is, Ling'er's movements did not seem to be very smooth. Every time he walked a distance, his footsteps would pause slightly, as if he needed a little time to buffer. Could it be because he was too heavy? Yieta thought so at first, but soon shook her head to deny this guess, and remembered another thing.

I seemed to have slept for the whole afternoon with my head resting on Lingge's thigh.

His legs should be numb, right?

But he agreed to his willful request without hesitation.

Thinking of this, the grievance in her heart suddenly disappeared. Yieta raised her head and stared at the young man's serious and focused face. No matter how dark it was or how long the night was, he always looked at the road ahead. As long as he was still moving forward, everyone would feel very relieved. But did anyone notice how heavy the burden on him was? Just like herself, wasn't she only concerned with her willful thoughts, but never cared about his feelings.

Young people always say that they are rational, indifferent and realistic, but now, everyone knows that it is just a lie.

Even so, Yieta occasionally wished it were true.

"Ling Ge." The girl suddenly spoke, and when the young man gave her a puzzled look, she asked in a low voice: "Why did you agree to it without even asking about my conditions? Aren't you afraid that I will make some requests that will embarrass you?"

"Will you do that, Yieta?"

"Of course I won't, but, but..." Yieta's lips stammered, not knowing how to express her complicated, bitter, and even somewhat contradictory feelings. Finally, she simply lowered her head and stopped looking at him, but said as if talking to herself: "You have to learn to be a little selfish."

"Does Yieta want me to be a selfish person?"

“It’s better to be a little selfish sometimes.”

Don't always comfort others, don't always accommodate others, don't always consider others' feelings. It's not bad to be more selfish and let everyone comfort you, let everyone accommodate you, and let everyone consider your feelings, right? If it were me, if it were me, I would definitely be willing to be the one to comfort you, accommodate you, and consider you!

and so--

Before Yieta could finish her words, the young man suddenly stopped. At the end of the street was a corner of a house shaded by branches and leaves, and a warm firelight illuminating the night. The faint aroma of food wafted in the wind, as well as familiar sounds of talking and laughing, all of which made people feel as if they were in another world and they were stunned.

Ling Ge lowered his head and smiled softly at the girl in his arms: "We're here."

Give me some meow