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

"...Phew, Gretchen, are you thirsty?"

Upon hearing this, Chen paused for a moment, then exhaled a breath of stale air to calm himself down before asking a question that had absolutely nothing to do with the current situation.

However, while saying this, Chen temporarily put away the envelope and went to pour water for Gretchen.

“???)?”

Although Gretchen was somewhat puzzled by Chen's sudden action, she obediently sat there and watched his movements.

"Here, have some water." With that, Chen quickly placed the warm water he had prepared on the table next to Gretchen, and then continued, "Please give me some time and allow me to excuse myself for a moment."

"If you get bored later, you can call Swire and the others in to keep you company, but..."

"Could you please keep Talulah a secret from them for now?"

"Well, I can help keep it a secret... As for the question about excuses, Sister Huijie, you can stay here and watch. I'll go find Sister Huaiya and the others directly."

Without giving Chen a chance to say anything more, Greta picked up a glass of warm water and shuffled towards the office door.

After all, the little girl wasn't stupid. How could she not see that Chen was trying to appease her and then find a secluded "reading" space? Since that was the case, why bother with all that running around? She might as well just go outside and save herself the trouble.

Moreover, if Gretsch goes out at this time, she can also take the opportunity to find Hoshiguma and get her colors on her!

Then, after Hoshiguma finishes applying the stickers, come back and apply them to Chen Huijie again. The little girl's special mission is now complete, and she can immediately unlock the Gretchen Plus version!

"..."

Watching Gretchen leave quickly without giving him a chance to say anything, a hint of helplessness flashed in Chen's eyes. After keeping this small matter in mind, he nervously and excitedly took out the envelope again...

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

"boom……"

The sound of the office door opening and closing drew the attention of the three people standing in the corridor.

"Gresh, what brings you out? Did Chen kick you out?" After seeing who it was, Swire raised an eyebrow and said with a surprised expression.

Honestly, before looking over, she thought it would be Chen who came out this time. And not only her, the other two thought the same thing.

“I wanted to come out myself… I think Sister Huijie might need some private space.” Upon hearing this, Gretchen, who was walking in that direction, shook her head and explained.

“Private space, huh? Okay then.” Swire nodded slightly, then, as if remembering something, lowered her voice and asked Gray curiously:

"Speaking of which, Gretchen, what exactly did you bring to Old Chen? And the name Talulah... if I remember correctly, it should be the one I'm thinking of."

To be honest, when Chen heard the name Talulah in the movie, not only was he shocked, but Swire and Lin Yuxia were also somewhat surprised.

Because, in their childhood memories, there was also someone named Talulah... However, to this day, none of them know why their childhood friend suddenly left Lungmen...

"Ugh, I promised Sister Huijie before I left the office that I would keep Tarua's matter a secret for now, so I can't tell you." Gretchen thought about the agreement she had made in the office and then "cruelly" rejected Swire's gossip request.

"hateful……"

P.S.: I ended up writing until after 2 a.m. Tomorrow will be another sleepy day. Ugh, I really don't want to go back to my hometown to visit relatives...

Chapter 75 Talulah: "Overbearing" and "Bad-tempered"

"hateful……"

"Hmm..." Looking at Swire, who seemed a little annoyed because her curiosity hadn't been satisfied, Gretchen blinked her beautiful eyes gently and then changed the subject:

"Does Sister Huaiya know Tarua too?"

“Well, if the Talulah you’re talking about is the one I’m thinking of, then I do know her. And it’s not just me…” Swire paused here, then turned to look at Lin Yuxia behind her and continued, “Lin Yuxia also knows Talulah.”

“We played together when we were kids, but that was a long time ago. We haven’t seen her for many years.”

After Swire finished speaking, Lin Yuxia, who had been listening quietly, spoke up to add:

"That's right, back then, Talulah suddenly and inexplicably left Lungmen without our knowledge. Since then, the three of us have never seen her again."

"And if I remember correctly, Chen Huijie searched for Talulah for a long time after that."

"Um……"

After listening to their explanations, Gretchen nodded slightly, a hint of understanding flashing in her violet eyes.

Just as the little girl thought, Swire and Lin Yuxia really didn't know the real reason why Talulah "left" Lungmen.

Even Chen Huijie, her own sister, probably only knows that her older sister was taken away, but she probably doesn't know the specific details...

After all, if she really knew the truth, Chen Huijie wouldn't be treating her uncle Wei Yanwu so "gently" now.

"Speaking of which, Gresh, why do you call Talulah 'Ta...rua'?" Looking at Gresh, who was nodding obediently in front of her, Lin Yuxia asked with a strange expression, as if she had thought of something.

Honestly, if the little girl hadn't used the nickname "Tarua" in front of her from the beginning, but had simply called her Talulah, she would have recognized who had asked for help.

Why would we need to go to the Guard Bureau to find out who that "irresponsible" client was?

"???) Hmm... because you want to?"

Upon hearing this, Gretchen stroked her chin, pondered for a moment, and then spoke in an uncertain tone.

Lin Yuxia's question really stumped the little girl.

It's not that the name contains any secret, it's just that she can't talk to people in this world about the nicknames from the other world.

And don't laugh at me, big brother. If Gretsch remembers correctly, most of the people present have some kind of nickname or title similar to "Tarua"...

"This nickname is quite...unique, and Talulah actually agreed to let you call her that." Upon hearing this, Swire couldn't help but pat Gretchen's fluffy little head before withdrawing her hand and crossing her arms to complain.

It's not that the little tiger wanted to complain; the main reason was that she didn't expect the arrogant, bad-tempered guy in her memory would actually accept the child's... cute-sounding nickname, "Tarua."

"Hmm, why would you disagree?"

After hearing Swire's complaints, Greta tilted her head up curiously and asked.

Faced with Gretchen's persistent questioning, Swire crossed her arms and instinctively replied, "Why would that arrogant, bad-tempered guy agree to this..."

Before she could finish speaking, her voice grew softer and softer until it finally disappeared into the eye contact with the little girl.

"Hmm... I think I know why Talulah agreed."

“???)?”

Upon hearing this, Gretchen, who had been quietly waiting for Swire's answer and wanted to learn more about Tarua from her childhood, had a big question mark appear on her little head.

What just happened? How did you suddenly come to this conclusion?

"Of course it's because you're so cute, little Gretchen! Looking at it this way, it's not like there's no chance that guy won't compromise!" Swire couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips as she looked at Gretchen's adorable puzzled expression and said with a smile.

"After all, although she's arrogant and has a bad temper, she's the kind of person who would stand in front of us when something happens. It's not hard to understand why she would compromise on a title because a child is cute."

“???)……

After hearing Swire's words, Gretchen, though she had never seen or could not imagine what the arrogant and bad-tempered Talulah was like, had to admit that someone was close to the truth.

The reason the nickname "Tarua" was retained is entirely due to the fact that Tarua was initially very anxious about Alina's situation and didn't correct her, plus the fact that when she later realized she wanted to correct it, the little girl repeatedly managed to get away with it by being cute.

"By the way, is Sister Huaiya not going to continue working? If I'm disturbing you, I'll go and be alone for a while..."

Suddenly as if remembering something, Gretchen, who was holding a water glass in her arms, quickly said something.

Others might not know, but the little girl was well aware of the workload these senior superintendents carried each day. If possible, she didn't want to disrupt their work because of her. Although, it seemed that it might already be having some impact...

"It's alright, little sister. Swire and I have finished what we needed to talk about for now. It's almost noon, so it's fine to take a short break."

This time, it wasn't Swire who answered Gretchen's question, but Hoshiguma, who had been quietly listening from the side.

Because she hadn't known Chen Huijie and the others since childhood, and didn't know who Talulah was, she didn't join the conversation from the beginning.

"Hmm, is that so... Then I'll treat my sisters to lunch, would you like to come?" Upon hearing this, Greta realized that it was already quite late. She lowered her eyes slightly and thought for a moment before suddenly speaking.

Gretsch's words did not elicit agreement from the group; instead, they drew three puzzled and helpless glances.

"Let's not even talk about how you're not going to have to treat us, Gretchen. Besides, the top priority right now should be getting you home." Swire paused slightly, glanced at the closed office door, and continued:

"Speaking of which, what exactly is Chen doing in there? I'm in a hurry to help Gretchen find the address."

“Old Chen doesn’t seem like the type to ‘waste time’ in the office. Let me guess, he’s probably been reading letters or something like that for so long, right?” Hoshiguma said thoughtfully, looking at the only person present who knew the answer.

Chapter 76 Chen Huijie: "So, love can transfer, right?"

"Hmm... Hoshiguma-neechan is amazing." After noticing Hoshiguma's gaze, Gretchen nodded slightly, subtly confirming her opinion.

This doesn't count as her breaking the agreement, since the situation was something she guessed herself.

"Haha, these are just normal guesses, nothing special." After being praised by the cute child, Hoshiguma scratched his head a little shyly and said.

“No, Hoshiguma-neechan is really amazing, and the colors are beautiful too.” Upon hearing this, Gretchen gently shook her little head and said earnestly.

"So, can I use your colors to paint a picture for you, sister?"

"Well... I don't really care. As long as you don't feel like you're wasting your time, do whatever makes you happy." With that, Hoshiguma took two steps forward, hesitated, and then reached out to pat Gretchen's head reassuringly.

Although she didn't think there was anything good about her character or "color," she didn't care since the child wanted to.

After all, it's just a painting; whether it's good or bad doesn't matter to Hoshiguma.

They're both gifts from a lovely child, so there's no difference. But now she has to think about what kind of return gift to prepare.

“……???)!”

Gretchen had never been averse to or resistant to being patted on the head, but this time, the moment Hoshiguma's hand touched her head, she was stunned, and even the way she looked at him became strange.

Just now, a long-lost voice rang in her mind again, severely stimulating her nerves.

[Ding! Raiden Mei is being unlocked, current progress 1%]

"What... are you not used to it? I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous." Seeing Gretchen suddenly staring straight at him because of his touch, Hoshiguma quickly withdrew her hand and apologized.

Clearly, she attributed all of the little guy's "abnormalities" to his unfamiliarity with her touch and head patting.

"Hmm, I'm not not used to it! It's just that I suddenly feel like you've become a little dazzling..." Gretsch looked at the hand that had been removed from her little head, a hint of regret flashing in her eyes, and then she quickly explained.

After explaining, the little girl didn't forget to look into Hoshiguma's eyes with her beautiful, sparkling eyes.

"Sparkling?"

Upon hearing this, Hoshiguma subconsciously looked down at her clothes, but after a quick glance, she couldn't find anything wrong with them. Instead, as time passed, she became somewhat embarrassed by Gretsch's starry gaze.

"OK……"

Gretchen nodded seriously, then took two steps forward to Hoshiguma, reached out and gently embraced her, letting herself be immersed in her reassuring colors.

Although the colors of Hoshiguma don't feel as heavy as mudstone to the little girl, they still give her a sense of security.

Meanwhile, the unlocking process, which had just stopped due to the disconnection, was reconnected.