I'm on the Ark, and I start out as Gretchen.

"Yes, thank you so much for your help today, sister..." After hearing Lin Yuxia's words, Gretchen first thanked her with a slight smile, then gently tugged at her hand and said, "How about I treat you to lunch, sister?"

"Pfft, you little one? I'd rather treat you to a meal." Faced with Gretchen's childish words, Lin Yuxia couldn't help but pat her little head and tease her.

As they spent more time together, Miss Lin, who already had a good impression of Gretchen, grew to like this well-behaved and adorable little sister she had just met even more.

However, Lin Yuxia's growing fondness for Gretchen and her increased understanding of her also brought some worries. Especially after she roughly grasped the meaning of the colors Gretchen spoke of and her own characteristics…

The little girl's peculiar ability, combined with her naiveté, was, in Miss Lin's eyes, a complete "disaster." People are inherently naive and easily manipulated, and this trait only exacerbated the situation…

"???) Um, I'm serious!"

Seeing Lin Yuxia taking her words as a joke, Greta puffed out her cheeks and said seriously.

Honestly, if she didn't want to reveal her location in front of her, the little girl would have already handed over the money! But after this incident, she's learned her lesson; next time she goes on a long trip, she'll prepare a small bag to make it easier to retrieve things discreetly.

"Okay, okay, Gretchen is serious..."

Lin Yuxia, who was laughing and coaxing Gretchen, suddenly changed the subject after noticing a familiar figure in the Royal Guard Bureau lobby: "The person we've been waiting for has arrived. Let's go."

"Ah."

P.S.: Ah, I'm going back to my hometown to visit my ancestors' graves tomorrow! But I have some good news: I can finally get rid of that dog.

Chapter 71 Gretchen, who falls in love with every man she meets?

"So this is the child you were talking about, Lin Yuxia? So cute." After meeting Lin Yuxia in the hall, Swire smiled and looked at Gretchen, who was looking at her with innocent eyes.

If it weren't for the fact that it would be impolite, the little tiger would have even wanted to reach out and rub the cute little kid in front of him.

"..."

As Swire gazed at Gretchen, she was also observing the pleasing pale gold hue surrounding her.

To be honest, at this rate of liking each color she sees, the little girl thinks there's a pretty good chance she'll collect all the colors and complete the task today.

"It is quite cute, but isn't it inappropriate for us to stand here?" Lin Yuxia asked Shi Huaiya, noticing the curious glances coming from around them.

“Indeed, it’s not appropriate to have Miss Lin standing here with such a cute child. Let’s go to the office.” With that, Swire turned and led the way out of the Guard Bureau’s lobby, heading towards her office.

At the same time, she turned to Greta, who was holding Lin Yuxia's hand behind her, and said, "Let's get acquainted. My name is Swire, and I'm the police superintendent here. I'll help you contact your parents and get you home safely."

"Yes, it's nice to meet you, Sister Huaiya. As for my name... I'm called Gretchen, and I'm a painter." Upon hearing this, Gretchen nodded her little head slightly and then gave her standard introduction, although the last sentence was generally not believed by most people.

“Painter… So Gretchen is really good at painting. I didn’t expect that I would be helping a little painter this time.” As soon as Gretchen said this, Swire, who was walking in front, was slightly taken aback, and then couldn’t help but laugh.

Unlike the others, the little tiger did not refute or ignore the meaning behind the words, but instead praised them in accordance with the meaning.

As for why Swire did this, it's because... children's dreams must be protected.

Since this adorable little girl in front of me is confident enough to speak up, I'll naturally encourage and praise her. After all, who didn't have dreams when they were little?

Even now, Swire is still striving for the dream born from being rescued as a child, and for her current ideals, let alone her childhood.

"???) Hmm, Sister Huaiya actually believes what I said?"

After hearing Swire's words, Gretchen's large violet eyes flashed with surprise, and she asked a question.

It's understandable that the little girl was making a fuss; she's been in this world for so long and has used this "standard introduction" countless times, but there are very few people who praise and affirm her like Swire did right from the start.

"Is there any need to be so surprised? Or do you, Gretchen, not even believe what you're saying?" Seeing Gretchen's surprised expression, Swire grinned.

He asked back with a hint of helplessness.

“Well, of course I believe what I say, it’s just that everyone I knew before didn’t quite believe me at first…” As she explained, Greta suddenly quickened her pace, took two steps forward, and gently tugged at Swire’s sleeve, saying:

"Sister Huaiya's colors are also very beautiful. May I use them to paint a picture for you?"

"Drawing for me is no problem."

Swire, whose sleeve was suddenly tugged, did not resist. Instead, she slowed her pace slightly, naturally took Gretsch's small hand, and asked with a curious expression, "But what about my color? Do you mean the color scheme of my outfit?"

"If you're curious about this, instead of asking Gretchen, Swire, you might as well ask me directly." Lin Yuxia raised an eyebrow at Swire, looking at the little girl in front of her who had suddenly changed her mind because of her friend (color).

"It seems you've gotten quite a bit out of Lin Yuxia. Tell me about it!" Swire, whose question had been interrupted, turned her curious gaze to Lin Yuxia, waiting for her to continue.

"Ah, that's a long story. Gretchen, would you mind if this person knew some things about you?"

"Well, it's not a secret..."

After obtaining the consent of the person involved, Lin Yuxia slowly began to explain to Swire the abilities or characteristics of Gretchen that she had previously understood and summarized.

……

the other side--

"..."

As Chen Huijie rushed towards the Guard Bureau, she continued to search her mind for any matching information.

However, after thinking about it again, she couldn't recall anyone she hadn't seen in a long time who would ask a little girl to deliver something to her...

Could it be someone she had saved or helped before? With this question in mind, Chen Huijie quickened her pace again.

----------------

Guard Bureau, Senior Superintendent's Office

"Little Greta, are you really not going to reveal any information before Chen Huijie arrives at that hotel?" Swire said helplessly, looking at Greta, who was sitting at her desk shaking her head and unwilling to reveal any information about her parents or the hotel.

"Even if you're not in a hurry to go home, your family must be worried about you being out alone for so long."

"Well, my sisters won't worry, because I'm very capable... Sister Huaiya, you don't need to worry about me, you can go and do your own thing first." After saying this earnestly to Swire, Greta turned to Lin Yuxia and said:

"Sister Yuxia, if you have something to do, you can leave first. I'll come find you later and treat you to a meal!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, the two, who couldn't discern any shrewdness from the seemingly weak, innocent, and adorable child before them, exchanged a glance and simultaneously formed a thought: They would give this little guy a good scolding when they met his parents later!

How could anyone let such a young and innocent little cutie go out alone without any concern?! That's incredibly irresponsible!

"I don't have much to do today, so I have plenty of time to spend with you and take you home." Lin Yuxia narrowed her eyes slightly before continuing:

"Besides, I also want to meet your elders, Gretchen!"

"..."

Swire, who had originally intended to say "Me too," glanced silently at the unfinished documents on her desk and quietly changed her mind, saying instead:

"Well, I can't be like Lin Yuxia... after all, I haven't finished my work for today, but I'll always be here. You can call me if you need anything."

"Once we've found out about your situation, little Gretchen, I'll be responsible for sending you back, and then I'll give your guardian a proper talking-to!"

“???) Well…that’s troublesome.”

P.S.: You were right! Yesterday I went back to my hometown to visit the graves and take the dog back, and because the dog was disobedient, it suddenly lunged backwards while I was going uphill, and I fell flat on my face. Since it was on a mountain, I hit a rock, and it hurt terribly. My leg is still swollen...

And then, Happy Lunar New Year's Eve, everyone!

Chapter 72 Gretchen: "...A defeated dragon?"

“Swire, I have another one here…”

Just as Swire and the others were having a friendly conversation in the office, the office door was pushed open from the outside, and at the same time a mature and cheerful female voice came in. However, the voice stopped abruptly after the owner of the voice saw the scene in the office.

"...?"

After pausing her words and actions, Hoshiguma cast a questioning glance at her friend in the office, as if asking what was going on.

"...Excuse me, I'll be back in a bit." Noticing her friend's gaze, Swire didn't rush over but turned back to Lin Yuxia and the other woman first.

"Okay, you go ahead and do your work. I'll stay with Greta here." After hearing Swire's words, Lin Yuxia nodded seriously.

In her opinion, Swire's choice at this moment was quite correct. If her friend were to choose to stay here and play with the children and temporarily give up her work, she would feel that her friend was neglecting her duties.

"Well, Sister Huaiya, go ahead and do your work. Gretchen will be obedient and won't cause any trouble..." Hearing their conversation, Gretchen gently blinked her beautiful eyes.

With bright eyes and an obedient expression, she spoke.

"Ok!"

After hearing their replies, Swire smiled at them before turning and walking toward Hoshiguma, who looked completely bewildered at the door.

"What's going on? If I'm not mistaken, that person is..." Hoshiguma asked in a low voice as Swire walked over.

"It's a long story, let's go outside and talk." With that, Swire gently nudged Hoshiguma and gave her a wink.

Swire didn't intend to hide the current situation in the office, but it was clear that the office doorway wasn't a suitable place to talk.

"it is good."

……

Just after the two superintendents left the office, Lin Yuxia withdrew her gaze from Gretchen, which she had been staring at out of curiosity, and said with a somewhat strange expression, "You haven't fallen for that superintendent's colors again, have you?"

"If I remember correctly, you said before that you were only coming to Lungmen for a few days, and that you wouldn't have enough time to draw for other people, right?"

Before witnessing the familiar interaction between the little one and Swire, Lin Yuxia certainly wouldn't have asked such a question. But after seeing it…

Ms. Lin genuinely doubts that Gretchen would give each person she thinks has a beautiful "color" a copy of her work...

"Hmm, that lady's color is also very pretty... it makes me feel safe standing behind her." Faced with Lin Yuxia's sudden question, Greta nodded her little head and answered truthfully.

"I don't have enough time to draw these few days... but it's okay, if it's really too much, I'll go back and draw some more, and then mail it over later. I've already memorized everyone's colors."

"Alright... whatever makes you happy." After hearing Gretchen's explanation, Lin Yuxia shook her head helplessly and stopped asking questions, instead falling into deep thought.

As for what he was thinking about, he was naturally thinking about the little girl next to him. Especially since she had previously deduced that "color" was "personality" or "characteristics," and he hadn't refuted it.

To be honest, Miss Lin was quite curious about Gretchen's standards for "colors," and whether she had any particular preferences. Also, she wondered what these so-called "colors" looked like in her eyes.

Lin Yuxia had asked Gretchen these questions before, but unfortunately she didn't get any useful information that could be used to speculate.

……

Just as the four people were chatting in pairs, a figure in dark blue arrived on this floor in the elevator. Before the figure even reached the office door, it spotted two friends whispering to each other not far away.

"What are you doing? And where are Lin Yuxia and that child?" Chen, who had just returned from outside, didn't hold back his questions and stepped forward to ask.

"Hey, our busy man is back."

Upon hearing this, Swire turned her head toward the source of the sound and continued, "I was explaining the situation to Hoshiguma and we chatted about work. As for Lin Yuxia and Gretchen, they're in the office."

"Okay, I understand." Chen nodded gently, then turned and pushed open the door to see what was going on in the office.

Meanwhile, the two, who had almost finished their conversation, exchanged a glance and then followed in unison. They were actually quite curious about who would send a little girl to bring something for their friend.

……