Ling Cage: Twelve Talismans? I have everything I need.

Chapter 135 Embarrassment
Upon opening the door, the sudden light made Bai Jingyu instinctively squint, allowing him to see the three people outside the door more clearly.

Bai Yuetian stood at the very front; this was the same person I had seen in the exhibition hall that day.

He had a smile on his face, a smile that reflected the image of Xiao Tian when he was a child, yet also belonged to a fully mature man.

Bai Yuekui stood a little further back, the light outlining her delicate profile.

Those clear eyes, inherited from Tereza, were quietly looking at him, their gaze complex, seemingly holding a thousand unspoken words, yet remaining silent.

She was more real than he saw in the videos, and even more... she stirred up a mix of emotions within him.

Yang Chen stood beside Bai Yuekui, his gaze calmly meeting Bai Jingyu's.

"Yo! Good evening." Bai Yuetian greeted first.

"Um, good evening, Yue Tian."

Bai Jingyu hadn't expected his first words to be like this, and he stammered in response to Bai Yuetian.

"Has ASH explained everything to you?" Bai Yuetian asked.

Bai Jingyu nodded stiffly.

The scene began to quiet down.

After a while.

"So you used to working in complete darkness?" Bai Yuetian broke the silence, looking at the dark office behind Bai Jingyu.

"Uh, no, I don't."

Bai Jingyu looked at ASH, who understood immediately and turned on all the lights.

"Uh... come in, come in." Bai Jingyu finally found his voice, though it was still a little hoarse.

He stepped aside to make way, his movements even appearing somewhat clumsy, completely lacking his usual composure.

Bai Yuetian stepped in first: "Wow, I never really realized before, but your office is quite big."

Seeing his overly familiar manner, Bai Jingyu was unsure how to react and could only subconsciously reply, "It's...it's alright."

Bai Yuekui and Yang Chen then walked in.

Bai Yuekui's gaze swept quickly across the office, finally landing on Bai Jingyu. His lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only gave a slight nod.

Bai Jingyu opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Yang Chen nodded politely to Bai Jingyu: "Mr. Bai."

Bai Jingyu nodded in response.

ASH's image floated quietly beside the desk, smiling as it watched the group meet.

A subtle silence fell over the office.

Bai Jingyu looked at the two "older adults" in front of him, opened his mouth, and countless questions swirled in his throat.

How are you doing? You must have suffered a lot. How did you get through these years? But I couldn't bring myself to ask any of those questions.

Finally, Bai Yuetian broke the deadlock. He casually walked to the sofa, sat down, and patted the seat next to him.

"Don't all stand, sit down. Dad, sit down too, don't just stare at us, it's creepy."

His natural "Dad" sent a jolt through Bai Jingyu, and his eyes even welled up with tears.

He took a deep breath, trying to suppress his surging emotions, and walked to sit down on the sofa opposite Bai Yuetian, though his posture was slightly stiff.

Bai Yuekui and Yang Chen also walked to the sofa and sat down. After Bai Yuekui sat down, Yang Chen sat on the other end, closer to her.

"ASH... told me everything." Bai Jingyu finally found his opening line, his voice low.

"Everything."

Bai Yuetian nodded: "Hmm, that sounds pretty outrageous, doesn't it? Parallel worlds, apocalyptic future and all that."

“Indeed…unbelievable.” Bai Jingyu’s gaze swept over Bai Yuetian and Bai Yuekui in turn, finally settling on his daughter’s face.

"Xiao Kui..."

Bai Yuekui raised his eyes and looked at him.

The father and daughter's eyes met in the air.

Bai Jingyu's throat bobbed, and a thousand words were condensed into one sentence: "...I'm sorry."

The future version of herself failed to protect Tereza, failed to provide her father with care, and left her to bear it all alone.

Bai Yuekui's hands, which were resting on her knees, twitched slightly. She remained silent for a few seconds before speaking softly.

"No, it's my dad who should apologize."

She was telling the truth, but the weight behind those three words made Bai Jingyu's heart clench once again.

"Xiao Kui."

Seeing this, Bai Yuetian immediately interjected to smooth things over: "Hey, hey, hey, stop, stop! Can't we stop being so serious right after meeting? We need to look forward, right, Orange?"

He nudged Yang Chen next to him with his elbow.

Yang Chen was poked by Bai Yuetian's elbow and immediately came to his senses, hurriedly responding with "uh-huh, ah-ah": "Ah, right, look forward, look forward."

He raised his hand and gently covered Bai Yuekui's slightly curled hand. Bai Yuekui felt the warmth from the back of his hand, and his tense shoulders relaxed.

Seeing that the atmosphere had eased slightly, Bai Yuetian immediately adopted a accusatory expression and raised an eyebrow at Bai Jingyu.

"By the way, Dad, I heard from Ash that... you've issued a warrant for our arrest?"

"Huh?!" Bai Jingyu jumped up from the sofa, his face filled with panic and embarrassment.

"I... um... I'll have the police station cancel it right away! Immediately! Right now!"

He frantically turned to ASH's projection, speaking rapidly: "ASH! Contact Director Gray immediately and withdraw all internal arrest warrants for...for Yang Chen and Yue Tian! Say it was a misunderstanding, and destroy all the documents!"

“I’ve already communicated with them myself.” ASH’s voice remained gentle: “The arrest warrant has been withdrawn, and the relevant query records and facial recognition notes have been cleared.”

Bai Jingyu breathed a sigh of relief, somewhat afraid to look at Bai Yuetian's mocking gaze, and awkwardly sat back down on the sofa.

He muttered under his breath, "I...I didn't know what was going on."

Seeing this, Bai Yuetian chuckled and waved his hand, "Alright, alright, I'm not blaming you. We're unregistered residents in Jiuchuan, so ASH had to steal your money."

"Use as much as you like, any amount is fine," Bai Jingyu quickly replied.

"Just tell ASH what you need, or tell me and I'll arrange it."

The scene quieted down again.

Although ASH had informed Bai Jingyu, the sudden meeting left them unsure of where to begin their conversation.

Bai Yuetian scratched his head, just wanting to find another topic, such as asking if he and his sister were already asleep when they were little.

A crisp ringing sound suddenly broke the silence in the office.

It was Bai Jingyu's cell phone, which was on his desk, that was vibrating and lighting up.

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to it.

Bai Jingyu glanced at the caller ID, then subconsciously looked up at the three people on the other end, his eyes questioning.

"Why don't you answer the phone first?" Bai Yuetian said casually.

Bai Jingyu's Adam's apple bobbed: "It was... Theresa who called."

"Was that from your mother?"

Bai Yuetian and Bai Yuekui blurted out their words almost simultaneously, their voices both revealing the same surprise.

Bai Yuetian's playful expression vanished instantly, replaced by a complex look of bewilderment.

Bai Yuekui suddenly stood up, his gaze fixed on the flashing phone screen, as if he could see through it and hear that warm voice.

The phone rang persistently, as if urging them on.

Bai Jingyu answered the phone and pressed the speakerphone button.

"Hello? Jingyu, are you still not done?" Theresa's gentle voice immediately came from the speaker.

"You didn't come back for dinner either. Xiaotian and Xiaokui are asleep now. Xiaokui was holding the new picture book you gave her before she went to sleep."

Hearing this seemingly ordinary conversation, Bai Yuekui's fingertips tightened suddenly, digging into his palm.

Bai Yuetian swallowed unconsciously, his gaze lowered.

Bai Jingyu felt a slight pang in his heart as he watched their reactions.

He tried to make his voice sound normal: "Um... I'm still dealing with some issues here, so I might not be able to get back until later."

Theresa sighed softly on the other end of the phone: "Okay, no matter how important things are, you need to take care of your health and not stay up too late."

"Okay, I will," Bai Jingyu replied softly.

"You...you go to sleep first, you don't need to wait for me."

"Then don't overwork yourself. Finish your work early and get some rest," Teresa gently advised.

"……Um."

call ended.

Bai Jingyu looked at the brother and sister: "I haven't told Theresa about it yet."

Bai Yuetian said in a muffled voice, "Well, it's better that we didn't tell her. Yue Kui and I haven't figured out how to face our mother yet."

He walked toward Bai Jingyu's desk, where a photo frame was placed.

Bai Yuetian picked up the photo frame; the photo showed their family of four.

Bai Yuetian ran his thumb over Theresa in the photo, then turned to Bai Jingyu and asked.

"By the way, my mom just said you haven't had dinner yet?"

"I've already eaten." As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Jingyu's stomach started growling.

Since learning what happened in the central space, my emotions have been constantly pulled in different directions, and I'm really starving now.

"Alright, your stomach's growling." Bai Yuetian patted his shoulder.

"We haven't eaten either. Let's find a place to eat. It's your treat."

(End of this chapter)