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

However, the situation inside the office after they pushed open the door was completely unexpected for the three of them.

"Lin Yuxia, what's going on?"

Seeing Lin Yuxia, who had somehow moved to a corner in the office and distanced herself from Gretchen, Swire's eyes flashed with a hint of doubt. Then, as if remembering something, she quickly said, "Wait, did this little one get tainted by you just now?"

"Mm." Lin Yuxia nodded when she met Swire's questioning gaze.

God knows what she felt when the little one next to her suddenly blurted out, "I can draw for you, and I can take you to see your sisters, but you'd better prove to me that it's worth it," while she was thinking about something.

Although this wasn't the first time Gretsch had been tainted by his own colors or had uttered strange words, was he really like this?

For a fleeting moment, Miss Lin began to doubt her own usual words and actions...

"Um……"

Having received Lin Yuxia's affirmative reply, Swire couldn't help but show curiosity on her face. She then quickly stepped forward to observe Gretchen's condition, hoping to glean some insight into her friend's state, or rather, her "color."

However, what no one noticed was that because of Swire's sudden approach, Greta, who had just successfully shed her Lin Yuxia color by creating distance, was quickly tainted by another color.

"..."

Listening to the interaction between Swire and Lin Yuxia, Chen looked confused. Clearly, she did not understand their riddle-like conversation.

However, she didn't pay too much attention to it.

"Little sister, are you looking for me?" Composing herself, Chen looked at Gretchen again and tried to speak in a gentle tone.

"Hmm... Fallen Dragon?"

P.S.: Something came up, so I'll make up for the missed update tomorrow.

Chapter 73 Chen's Mood Was Like a Rollercoaster

"Hmm... Fallen Dragon?"

The previously pleasant atmosphere in the office instantly fell into an eerie silence after Gretsch uttered that somewhat uncertain form of address…

"...?"

Upon hearing this familiar address, Chen's perfect expression cracked slightly. Veins bulged on her forehead, her fists clenched, and she looked at Swire with a leisurely gaze, awaiting her explanation.

"!"

Feeling her friend's gaze piercing her back, Swire's tail fur stood on end, and she quickly began to explain.

"Chen, don't look at me like that! I didn't teach Gretchen to call you that!"

"Heh, besides you, you char siu cat, who else would call me that?" Chen said irritably after hearing Swire's "excuse."

"You're the char siu! You piece of trash... Wait, could it be..." Swire, who had been unjustly blamed and was about to have a passionate argument with her friend, suddenly remembered something halfway through her rant, stopped talking, and looked behind her.

Then, unsurprisingly, the little tiger saw a glimpse of himself swearing on Gretchen's innocent face...

"..."

After figuring out what was going on, Swire fell into an eerie silence for a moment, then silently resolved to regulate her future words and actions.

After all, there are some things she can do without worry, but if she accidentally teaches children bad habits, that would be a real sin.

Just as Swire was figuring things out, Lin Yuxia, who had a slight understanding of the little girl's characteristics, and Hoshiguma, who was standing nearby, also roughly understood what had just happened. However, this little incident was a bit unfriendly to those who were completely unaware of the situation…

"?"

Chen looked at Swire, who had suddenly stopped cursing halfway through, and then at the knowing looks on the faces of the other two. A big question mark slowly appeared above his head.

At this moment, Officer Chen finally realized the importance of the information he had previously overlooked and the seriousness of the problem...

"Pfft, hahahaha."

Swire, pulling herself out of her thoughts and turning to explain the situation to Chen, couldn't help but laugh when she saw his somewhat bewildered expression. She said, "It's been so long since I've seen you make that face, you idiot dragon! It's hilarious!"

"Poetic elegance!"

Amidst Swire's laughter, Chen snapped out of his daze, his face turning completely dark.

"Old Chen, calm down! There are outsiders here!"

Just as Hoshiguma was stopping his old friend from bringing justice to another of his friends, Lin Yuxia, who had been silent all along, suddenly frowned and said, "Let's stop this farce for now."

"Tsk..."

Upon hearing this, Chen clicked his tongue in displeasure, stopped what he was doing, and turned his head away without saying another word.

Although she didn't really want to let Swire go at the moment, she really had no interest in, nor did she want to, play "internal strife" in front of Lin Yuxia and the children.

"Chen Huijie's situation was a bit complicated. Well, that nickname wasn't something Swire deliberately taught her. You can temporarily understand it as the child's unconscious imitation."

"As for the specifics, let Swire explain it to you in detail later." After stopping this little farce, Lin Yuxia walked over and explained to her friend.

"As for now, the primary goal is to find out who 'commissioned' Gretchen to come to you, and what they brought you?" Lin Yuxia paused slightly, then looked at Gretchen and said:

"Of course, if this matter is rather private, we can leave so you can talk to Chen Huijie alone."

“???)……

Faced with Lin Yuxia's question, Gretchen did not answer, but instead looked up at Chen Huijie, silently asking for her opinion.

"...Gresh, tell me first who asked you to come?" After noticing the meaning in Gresh's gaze, Chen lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before speaking.

Although she had been back for a short while, Officer Chen was still completely confused about the whole situation and the child in front of her. To ensure that she wouldn't be as bewildered as before, she decided to gather more information before deciding whether to have her friend stay and observe.

However, Chen felt that even if he learned some information later, he probably wouldn't kick his friends out.

After all, she had no recollection or clue about the person who had asked a child to find her... It was probably someone she didn't know well or had only met once.

"Um...it's Tarua." Since the person involved had said so, Gretchen didn't beat around the bush and spoke seriously. However, she belatedly realized that the person might not understand, so she quickly added:

"Tarua is Talulah's older sister!"

"...?"

"!"

Gretchen's two short sentences successfully sent Chen's emotions on a rollercoaster, from calm to doubt, and finally to shock that made his pupils shrink uncontrollably!

"..."

After a long silence, Chen finally opened his mouth with difficulty and slowly said in a voice that had suddenly become somewhat dry, "Who did you say...?"

“???)?”

Upon hearing this, Gretchen blinked her beautiful eyes gently, her expression slightly puzzled, and said, "Sister Huijie doesn't remember herself..."

"Okay, stop."

However, before she could finish speaking, Chen suddenly realized what was happening, took two steps forward, and covered her mouth, stopping her from uttering the two words she was about to say.

"I know who it is, I haven't forgotten..."

At the same time, Chen Gang's thoughts were instantly shattered and thrown away by her own actions.

Let your friend stay and watch? No! Kick them out immediately!

If it's really like what Chen Xiang just said, then it wouldn't hurt to let their friends gather around and watch. After all, they seem to really like this little kid who came to see them.

But... if it involves herself, or that person... then she can only apologize to her friends! Get out!

Chen Huijie is not ready to involve her friends in anything related to Talulah... not to mention that these things are related to a deep-seated issue she has been carrying within her.

You should know that she hasn't even confided in her best friend and confidante about these things, these unresolved issues, and has kept them all bottled up inside...

"..."

After changing his mind, Chen covered the little girl's mouth while casting suggestive glances at the others present, the meaning of which was self-evident.

"Sigh, looks like there's no fun in this. Let's go. We can go out and talk to Hoshiguma about that mission."

"Ah."

"..."

After understanding Chen's meaning, the remaining three exchanged glances, then wisely decided not to linger and walked outside.

Chapter 74 Swire's Curiosity and Gretchen's Rejection

"boom……"

After the others left and the office door closed, Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief and released his hand from Greta's mouth.

"Sorry, I overreacted a bit."

"It's okay...???) Does Sister Huijie miss Tarua?" After hearing Chen's apology, Gretchen shook her head indifferently at first, then turned to ask the question she was curious about.

"..."

Faced with Gretchen's sudden "direct approach," Chen, who had finally snapped out of his daze that Talulah had asked someone to find him, was once again rendered speechless...

Recalling those distant, almost hazy memories from her childhood, a complex expression involuntarily appeared on her face…

Do you miss her? Do you miss your sister?

Chen Huijie felt that she did miss it, especially when she inexplicably returned to that mansion she didn't want to go back to and dug out that old photo, she felt particularly nostalgic and... unwilling.

"...What did she ask you to bring me?" After thinking about a series of things, Chen still chose to avoid the question and changed the subject somewhat awkwardly.

She hadn't even confirmed the truth of the whole affair yet, so she didn't want to reveal too much information or emotion. Besides, her pride wouldn't allow her to lose her composure in front of such a young child. Well… the previous farce doesn't count!

"Hmm, well... here you go."

With that, Gretchen put her hands behind her back, then took out a letter from her spatial storage and handed it to Chen.

Of course, Talulah gave the little girl more than just this one letter. However, the one she just gave was one that she had repeatedly instructed her to give to Chen first before giving the others.

As for what was inside, Gretchen hadn't seen it, but she guessed it was something like a "letter of introduction" proving her background was legitimate and that she was special.

"..."

Chen didn't think much of it when Gretsch magically produced the envelope from behind her back and handed it to him; he simply accepted it in silence.

Just as Officer Chen was about to open the "special envelope," Gretchen, who was sitting in the chair, suddenly spoke again: "This letter was given to you by Tarua first... She said that she could give you the rest slowly after you have read it."

"……besides?"

Upon hearing this, Chen, who was carefully opening the envelope, suddenly trembled and asked in surprise. Clearly, she hadn't expected that this unexpected "sister's letter" would arrive in more than one form…

"Yes, because Tarua misses Huijie so much. She wrote so many letters to you, but never sent them. I brought them all with me this time!"

After listening to Chen's words, Greta nodded her little head heavily and earnestly began to express Talulah's longing.