Alice in the Land of Steam

Unexpectedly, they found that this hug was actually useless. They looked at each other for a while, and soon let go of each other's hands, tacitly pretending that this thing had never happened. For some reason, Gloria's face was flushed in the moonlight, as if she was drunk. She waved and said goodbye to Lingge, and turned and ran away without waiting for the young man to reply. Because she ran too fast, she almost tripped over a stone. Fortunately, the gray-feathered falcon Xiaobai flew over from the forest in time, grabbed her owner's collar with his claws, and helped her maintain her balance.

The scene looked a little funny, and it reminded people of the way this bird used to catch fish under the sea when it was still living in its hometown, but this time the fish it caught was not only big, but its head was also not very useful. The girl turned her head and smiled foolishly at Linger, then grabbed the gray-feathered falcon, put it on her head, and ran away. Seeing her so energetic, Linger doubted whether she could fall asleep after returning to the hotel.

anyway.

Bai Ye’s problem has been solved, but there is still Alice.

And Alice... seems to be in the hotel?

The figure of the gray-haired girl became smaller and smaller in his sight until she became a speck of dust at the end of the forest. The young man thought for a moment and decided not to chase her. That would be too embarrassing. He decided to take a short rest before setting off again. On the one hand, it was to avoid that kind of embarrassing situation, and on the other hand, he wanted to think carefully about what method he should use to comfort and enlighten Alice.

Her situation is different from Bai Ye's, and her mental state is even more different. If she continues to use such a tough method, it will probably only backfire.

Is it a gradual process or a one-time solution?
Beat around the bush or get straight to the point?
Should I first find an excuse to cheer her up, or use this opportunity to make her face reality?

Direct or indirect, harsh or gentle, serious or light-hearted.

There are many ways, but Linger is not sure which one is the most effective. After all, he is not a psychologist, but a normal person who is sensitive to other people's emotions, can occasionally say some comforting words, but sometimes even he feels confused. If you have to say that there is something abnormal about him, it is probably because young people never show their confusion on their faces. Unlike most people, he is better at restraining himself.

Alice is obviously a counter-example. The word "restraint" never appears in her dictionary. What she thinks in her heart is reflected on her face. It was like this when she was cheerful and cheerful before, and it is also like this when she is withdrawn and depressed now. From this point of view, she and Lingge are simply two extremes. According to normal development, these two completely opposite people should not have any intersection, no in-depth understanding after the intersection, and no story after the in-depth understanding.

But the story just started from their meeting and has continued to this day.

It seems that fate is indeed the most magical thing. Saint Shallia created this story herself, but perhaps even she herself could not explain clearly how the story began? It seemed to be natural, but also as if someone was guiding it.

My thoughts are a little far away.

Ling Ge came to his senses and thought, "I was thinking about how to comfort and enlighten Alice, why did I think of such an ethereal place?" But when he looked up, the moonlight that was floating faintly just now had disappeared, and only the wind was blowing through the dense treetops like smoke. The night swept over the earth again, and the forest became quieter than before, and even the sound of insects could not be heard. He realized that it was already very late. If he didn't go back at this point, Alice might have fallen asleep.

In that case, don’t think too much and go back first.

This may be a revelation from somewhere, telling Lingge that it is useless to think too much. In this matter, there is only one method you can master, and that is to adapt to the situation.

……

The corner of the eaves of the Fairy Sleep Hotel can already be seen, it sticks out from the shadow of the sycamore tree, pointing to the dim lights on the street. The young man stopped under the street lamp and looked up. There was only a dim light left in the hall. Perhaps even the bartender who likes to stay up late has returned to her room to rest. The second floor is even darker. The windows in the corridor reflect a piece of condensed dew on the glass. The whole hotel is quiet, as if it has fallen asleep.

Am I late?
With this in mind, Lingge opened the door and walked into the hall. He deliberately lowered his footsteps when passing the rabbit hole to avoid disturbing the sleep of the residents. However, the old wooden floor was obviously not as quiet as he was. When the young man went upstairs, it made a creaking sound, faint and low, which made people feel noisy in such a quiet night.

When he walked up to the second floor, Linger seemed to have a premonition of something, and gradually slowed down his pace and stopped at the stairs. He turned and looked towards the corridor, and sure enough, he saw a familiar thin figure at the end of the dim corridor.

The person stood in front of the window, looking up at the night sky in a daze, not knowing what she was thinking. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice Ling's appearance. Or maybe she noticed it but didn't want to pay attention?
Linger came closer and asked, "What are you looking at, Alice?"

The girl still had her back to the young man and just shook her head gently: "Nothing, I just...can't sleep."

After saying this, she turned her attention to the scenery outside the window, as if there was some incredible secret hidden in the deep darkness, making people want to explore it. But Linger had just come back from outside, and he was sure that there was nothing worth paying attention to in this quiet night. When the stars and the moon disappeared, and the birds and animals were sleeping soundly in their nests, what did the girl in front of him want to see?

Linger walked closer again, and this distance was almost parallel to Alice. Fortunately, the window at the end of the corridor was large enough for the two to stand side by side. He lowered his head and saw the night wind blowing in from the window rippling the girl's golden hair, like plucking the shining strings of a guitar. At this moment, her profile looked somewhat peaceful and gentle. In the past, Linger felt that this was a temperament that was impossible to see in Alice, but the world is unpredictable and mortals are unpredictable.

He looked out the window like Alice. The forest was quiet and foggy. The fog would condense in the early morning and turn into dew on the branches and leaves. No one would notice its existence except those who couldn't sleep late at night.

Alice said nothing, and Lingge didn't say anything either. He knew that it would be useless for him to say anything at this time. Unless Alice took the initiative to bring up the topic, the conversation could continue. As for whether Alice would speak, he was not worried. Although the girl had been autistic and silent recently, the young man was sure that her nature had not changed much, and competing in patience had never been her strong point.

The corridor was so quiet that only the breathing of the two people could be heard. Although there was no clock, Lingge seemed to hear the ticking of the second hand, like a timer, silently recording the time of the game. But the fact proved that Lingge had never lost in seeing through people's hearts, so Alice was the first one to lose her temper.

"Aren't you going to bed?" She glanced at Ling Ge: "Gloria has gone to bed."

"Oh?" Ling Ge asked curiously, "Did you see her?"

"Of course, I'm not blind." Alice said casually, "She seemed very happy when she came back, and she even apologized to me on behalf of Bai Ye."

"Then how did you answer?"

"I said it's okay, I didn't take it to heart, and--" The girl's voice was a little low: "What Bai Ye said actually makes sense. I must have disappointed everyone, right?"

The young man was slightly surprised. He didn't expect her to say such a thing. Self-reflection is often the first step to get over a knot in one's heart. Could it be that Alice didn't need anyone's guidance at all and could wake up on her own?
"Don't think I'm stupid."

Alice saw through the young man's thoughts at a glance and curled her lips: "There are many things that I am just too lazy to think about, but it doesn't mean I can't think of them."

"I don't deny that you're lazy." Ling Ge thought for a moment, "So you've become diligent now?"

But Alice ignored his little joke and sighed to herself: "When I was in the Holy Temple of Heaven, I was unwilling to accept those past memories and boasted a lot. I must have disappointed Themis in the Heaven, right? When Xino wanted to go to the battle, I stopped her with a ridiculous reason. She must have been disappointed at that time, right? After returning to Mirror Star, I locked myself in the room for so long and ignored Xiaoxia and everyone's concern. They must have been disappointed in me. There are many, many examples. It was not until now that I realized that I have been doing disappointing things..."

She leaned forward slightly, resting her hands on the window frame, looking up quietly at the night sky without stars or moon. Should the expression on her face be described as relief or regret?

"But it doesn't matter. From today on, they won't be disappointed anymore." The girl suddenly said.

Ling Ge said, "Oh," and asked, "Because you decided to cheer up?"

"I don't know what it means to cheer up, but, I guess that's it." She smiled, but her smile made people feel a little bitter: "I won't be obsessed with those disappointing things anymore. Themis in the celestial world is gone, but life is so unpredictable that we can't always be immersed in sadness; the game console is broken, there is nothing we can do about it, maybe it's a better choice to just leave it there. Anyway, even if it is repaired, it won't make much sense."

After that, she straightened up and stretched, as if a huge stone in her heart had been put down, and she relaxed completely: "Oh, thinking about it this way, I suddenly feel a lot more relaxed. As expected, I used to like to dwell on trivial matters too much, no wonder I always disappointed everyone."

Linger looked at the girl with a complicated look, and he finally realized that this was not cheering up, but self-degradation. Did she think that she let everyone down because she was too obsessed with the sadness of Themis's departure and too obsessed with repairing the game console? If she let go of this sadness and openly admitted that the game console was broken and could not be repaired, could she return to her old self and stop disappointing everyone?
I always say that I used to be too picky, but I don't know that this is the real way to be picky. Just like Bai Ye, he always says that he is not picky, but in fact every word, every action and even every thing he does is interpreting the meaning of these words. These two people may be unexpectedly similar?
"I don't think so."

After a moment's hesitation, the young man had to point out her mistake: "If you do this, I don't think Saint Shalia and the others will be happy. On the contrary, they will be even more disappointed."

"Why?" Alice looked at Linge strangely. She really didn't understand: "Didn't I do what everyone expected? Why are they still disappointed in me?"

"Perhaps it's because you have too superficial an understanding of the words expectation and disappointment." The young man said, "You should think carefully about their real expectations and real disappointment, and then understand them with your emotions."

"That's so complicated, or are humans just such complicated creatures?"

As a young queen, or at least once a young queen, Alice was qualified to express such sentiments. In the old world called Eden, she tried to understand the emotions of mortals, but ultimately ended up in a disastrous defeat, failing to complete the great and sacred mission given by the goddess. Lingge was sure that it was not Alice's fault, even though she seemed to be repeating the same mistakes.

"I don't understand, Ling Ge." The girl lowered her head and said disappointedly, "I really don't understand..."

Linger looked at her quietly. He didn't know why, but he could empathize with her feelings. Many years ago, the young man was also alienated from the world and could not understand human emotions. Happiness and happiness were all false. Even pain and sadness abandoned him. He followed an invisible army to conquer the stubborn loneliness on the heights of his soul. But at a certain moment, they all returned, allowing the boy who had just entered the human world for the first time to learn the power of smiling and crying. It was as if their smiles also appeared on the boy's face at the same time, and tears flowed into his eyes.

What did Mr. Yang Ke and Metien do at that time?
The young man thought for a moment, then suddenly reached out and grabbed Alice's wrist. When she looked at him in astonishment, he said in an unquestionable tone, "Okay, come with me."

"W-where?"

"your room."

"Eh!?" (End of this chapter)