On the Ark.

Right now, Liz was changing clothes in her room. Since she'd been in bed for a day and a night, Fleur had already changed her into pajamas, which were definitely not suitable for going out in. So Lin Ye stood at the door waiting for her, and then, seeing Shining return, the two of them stood like door gods on either side.

Shining looked up at the ceiling and suddenly said, "It's really nice."

"Hmm?" Lin Ye turned to look at her. "What's so good?"

“Liz now,” Shining said softly, “do you know what she was like when she first came to Rhodes Island?”

Lin Ye thought for a moment and said, "It's pretty bad, isn't it? Just like when I first met her?"

“No, it’s much more than that,” Shining said. “You know what Liz likes most, don’t you?”

"Pineapple Bun."

"Yes, she really likes the pineapple buns in the cafeteria." Shining turned to look at Lin Ye. "Do you know why the cafeteria only serves pineapple buns in the morning?"

Lin Ye was taken aback.

Oh yes, he really hadn't thought about that. Logically speaking, given Shining and Nearl's status on Rhodes Island, getting the cafeteria to prepare the same food all day shouldn't be difficult. If it were him, since Nightingale loves pineapple buns so much, he might as well have the cafeteria prepare them all day long; it might even be beneficial for Nightingale's treatment.

So Lin Ye shook his head: "I don't know."

“Because Liz’s condition was really bad back then. When you first met her, she only had mental problems, but her physical condition had stabilized. But it was different then. Liz’s mind and body had reached their limits.” Shining said softly, “Even if Dr. Kal’tsit and I took turns staying by Liz’s side, we couldn’t guarantee that she would live to see the next dawn.”

Lin Ye was stunned.

“Back then, we couldn’t have done it on our own,” Shining said. “If Liz had given up, not even God could have saved her. But at that time, Liz didn’t even remember who she was, so it was even more impossible for us to persuade her to persevere. Fortunately, one day we accidentally discovered that Liz really liked desserts and was particularly fascinated by a dessert called pineapple bun. Perhaps it was because her past had no sweetness at all.”

Lin Ye guessed something: "You mean..."

“Yes, Liz survived her toughest time with desserts, or rather, that pineapple bun,” Shining said softly. “We couldn’t persuade Liz to hold on until the next day every night, but we told her that she could only have the pineapple bun every morning when the sun rose. So after that, Liz always managed to hold on until the next day so she could have the pineapple bun for breakfast, until Dr. Kal'tsit and I completely brought her condition under control. Isn’t it ridiculous? This child, Liz, could grit her teeth and survive just by eating desserts.”

Lin Ye was at a loss for words; his throat felt dry. "Liz... is amazing."

“I would say she was very strong,” Shining said. “But even the strongest person needs something to hold onto. Back then, Liz couldn’t remember all of our names, only that the cafeteria served pineapple buns for breakfast, and that pineapple buns were half price on Wednesdays and buy-one-get-one-free on Fridays.”

This unexpected turn of events caught Lin Ye off guard. He grinned and laughed out loud: "Really?"

At that moment, the door opened, and Nightingale looked at Lin Ye and Flash standing in front of the door, tilting her head: "What are you talking about?"

Lin Ye asked, "Is the cafeteria serving pineapple buns tonight?"

"Really? Then I won't watch you practice your sword."

Shining said, "He's lying to you, the cafeteria is already closed."

"Then I'll go watch Pineapple Bun practice his swordplay."

Lin Ye sighed: "You're being a little too real."

Shining smiled, then walked up to Nightingale and helped her adjust her hat: "Come back soon, Liz."

"Does Shining allow me to go out at night?" Nightingale asked Shining.

"Of course, you can do whatever you want."

The nightingale nodded thoughtfully.

"Then, Dr. Lin Ye, Liz is in your care." Shining pushed Nightingale next to Lin Ye.

Lin Ye scratched his head, unsure of what to say. Should he say, "Thank you, Auntie, I'll take good care of your daughter"? That would be too strange.

Fortunately, Nightingale broke the awkward silence by asking Lin Ye in a low voice, "Pineapple Bun, is the cafeteria really closed?"

"...It's really closed, so are you coming with me or not?"

“Go!” Nightingale nodded decisively.

So Lin Ye brought Nightingale to the training ground.

Inside the training ground, Yato was already waiting. When Yato saw Nightingale, he showed a surprised expression.

"Uh, she insisted on coming along," Lin Ye said to Ye Dao, a little embarrassed. "Is it okay? She'll just watch from the side; she won't bother me."

Although Yato was somewhat surprised, he still nodded: "It doesn't matter."

Lin Ye then led Nightingale to the side.

The nightingale asked, "Can you beat her?"

"Of course we can't beat them."

"why?"

"My swordsmanship is not good enough."

Nightingale thought for a moment and asked, "Don't you have enough swords?"

Lin Ye gritted his teeth: "Yes, I don't have enough swords."

"Keep it up, Pineapple Bun," Nightingale encouraged Lin Ye. "You're the best."

Lin Ye: "..."

If it hadn't been Nightingale who said those words, Lin Ye would have been certain that the other person was insulting him. However, since it was Nightingale who spoke, he could only grit his teeth and bear it, thinking to himself, "Children say the darndest things, children say the darndest things."

I'm still so annoyed.

With Nightingale watching from the side, Lin Ye returned to Night Blade's side and then drew his sword.

The reason he compromised with Nightingale tonight was because Yato said they would be practicing basic skills today. Although it would be a bit tedious, at least he wouldn't get a severe beating from Yato. Since that was the case, he didn't need to worry about losing face in front of Nightingale.

"What are we practicing today?" Lin Ye asked Ye Dao.

Yato glanced at Lin Ye, then looked up at Nightingale beside him. After a moment's thought, he drew his sword: "Attack me."

This posture immediately stunned Lin Ye.

What the heck? Aren't we going to practice the basics? This isn't what we agreed on! Does he only feel happy when he gets beaten up in front of Nightingale?

Lin Ye's lips twitched, but there was nothing he could do, after all, Yato was his teacher.

"Alright." Lin Ye nodded, took a deep breath, and gripped his sword tightly with both hands. "Here I come."

Prepared to be beaten, Lin Ye attacked Night Blade.

Then he was surprised to find that Yato's movements had slowed down.

Having been beaten for several days in a row, Lin Ye clearly felt this. In the past, Yato could easily subdue Lin Ye within three moves without even having to be serious. But today was different. Lin Ye and Yato fought for a full ten minutes, and in the end, Lin Ye even discovered an opening.

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Ye still attacked the opening.

Then the sword's edge pressed against Yato's shoulder.

Lin Ye looked at Ye Dao in surprise.

Yato calmly lowered his sword: "I lost."

“But…” Lin Ye was about to speak.

Yato pressed down on Lin Ye's shoulder and whispered, "Just this once, be a hero in front of that child."

He followed, then turned and left.

Lin Ye stood there for a long time, until finally Nightingale came to his side.

"Pineapple bun," Nightingale said to Lin Ye, "Wow, that's amazing."

Author's BB:

I went to the notary office today... I spent half the day queuing, and it was already evening when I got home, but I still managed to get my share for today. Tomorrow, or rather this afternoon, I have to go again. Headache.

Also, I've been wondering what kind of plot you guys want to see. Is this okay? I don't know if this counts as filler; the plot doesn't seem to be progressing much, but it's still difficult to write. However, the focus going forward should be on resolving Nightingale's issues. I've thought about Nightingale for a long time. Some say her archetype is Mashiro, others say it's Erii…emm, maybe both. But in my heart, she's a child, and one who will eventually grow up.

Ramblings in the dead of night.

Leave

I just got home and I'm so tired. I'll skip the day and adjust my schedule. I have to go out again tomorrow afternoon, so I'll set an alarm to get up and start writing in the morning.

One hundred characters ...

Chapter 108 Seeing the Light, Seeing You

"Pineapple bun, that's amazing." Nightingale said to Lin Ye, her words full of seriousness, without a trace of teasing, as if she really thought so.

This left Lin Ye somewhat bewildered. He had never expected the seemingly rigid Yato to pull this stunt, and he had already prepared himself to be beaten up.

"Well, it wasn't anything special." Lin Ye avoided Nightingale's gaze guiltily and muttered, "Night Blade just went easy on me."

"What did you say?" Nightingale didn't hear the second half of Lin Ye's sentence.

Lin Ye took a deep breath and shook his head: "It's nothing. I've finished practicing my sword. Let me take you back."

"I don't want to go back," Nightingale shook her head.

"So what do you want to do?"

"do not know."

Lin Ye thought to himself, "What a troublesome devil."

"Then let's take a walk around here," Lin Ye said. "Let's take a walk around the training ground."

The nightingale nodded.

Anyone who's ever been a student knows that in the evenings, the school's sports field is always filled with couples walking hand-in-hand, whispering sweet nothings. Lin Ye was incredibly envious back then, thinking that if he could one day find a girl who would walk with him on the track late at night, he would recite all the non-mainstream love lines he'd read online, watching her bury her face in his chest, moved to tears. However, while his idea was beautiful, the reality was that Lin Ye lived to the point of sudden death without ever finding such a girl. He also couldn't stay out too long each night, having to rush home early to feed his cat and clean up after it.

The only consolation was that, although he had never met a girl like that, his little female cat at home still liked him quite a bit. Whenever he came home, she would come up to him, meow, and lick his fingers, making him feel that it wasn't a big deal even if he couldn't find a girlfriend.

Ah, it seems I've gone off on a tangent again.

Lin Ye has finally met a girl who can run with him on the track at night. Although she is not human, she is not much different from her.

Lin Ye thought he would be excited, or perhaps want to tell Nightingale the non-mainstream love quotes he had collected years ago, but in reality, nothing happened. He simply felt like he was back in his childhood, having found his first cat and walking it in the yard—that was the feeling. Why was he like this? Lin Ye wasn't quite sure. Compared to those vague thoughts, he was thinking more about Nightingale's illness. Even though he was with Nightingale, he kept thinking about the little girl who had been trapped in the dungeon for so long, and then pondering what he should do. A person's brain capacity is limited, but when Lin Ye's mind was filled with these kinds of thoughts, it was difficult to accommodate anything else.

"I want to eat a pineapple bun," Nightingale suddenly said.

"I already said there's nothing tonight, the cafeteria is closed."

"When will it be available?"

"Tomorrow morning," Lin Ye said, "I'll take you out for breakfast tomorrow morning. You'll definitely wake up this time. I'll go to sleep as soon as I get back."

Having stood Nightingale up several times, Lin Ye told himself this time that even if he didn't sleep tonight, he would knock on Nightingale's door early tomorrow morning.