About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

Ten minutes later, in a bar somewhere in Longmen——

"...I always feel that it is not quite what I expected."

Orson sat on the sofa and looked left and right. There were rocking sheep holding bottles of wine everywhere around him, and he seemed like a poor guy who didn't fit in.

"This is the bar where Xingxiong and I often come to relax after get off work. Their chicken wings and duck products are pretty good. Of course, the best thing is the draft beer - you look a little unwell, Orson?"

Chen, who was sitting opposite Orson, noticed Orson's awkward but polite smile while introducing the bar's products.

"Actually... I'm not very good at drinking, so I'm not used to bars and the like."

Orson scratched his head sheepishly. He always felt it was lame that a 1'" tall, imposing man like him couldn't drink.

"Is that so? Sorry. This is my fault. We can go to another store."

"No, no, I guess Sister Ghost has already gone to get some wine. I'll just have something else to drink. Wait a minute, I have to answer a call."

Orson waved his hand to indicate that they didn't need to worry about him, then got up and went outside to answer a phone call.

"I don't know how much you need, so I'll give you a shot first... huh?"

As soon as Orson left, Xingxiong came back holding several extra-large beer mugs.

"Orson's on the phone."

"Oh, so what did you and Brother Orson do today, Old Chen?"

Xingxiong asked casually, then raised his glass and started drinking.

"I asked him to pretend to be my boyfriend."

“Puff, puff, puff—!!!”

"Ahem...! Old Chen? Although I always feel that you are as outrageous as Officer Shi Huaiya in some aspects, this is too outrageous, isn't it?"

Xingxiong almost choked to death.

"Listen to me, Xingxiong. Although I nominally let Orson be my boyfriend, today we just ate together, went shopping together, looked at clothes together, and held hands together, that's all."

Chen explained seriously, and Xingxiong nodded beside him.

"I see, so you're a couple?"

"You understand a ghost... If you are wrong, then you are a ghost. Anyway, Orson and I are not a couple."

Chen retorted seriously.

"How are you feeling today, Old Chen?"

"Mood? Not bad, feeling pretty relaxed, and not bored most of the time."

"Hmm, hmmm--so this isn't just a date between a man and a woman?"

"..."

Xingxiong's question made Chen lose her confidence, and she began to think about what this was all about today.

After a brief thought, Chen raised his head and looked at Xingxiong.

"I feel like I did something really stupid today..."

"How would I know."

Star Bear shrugged.

"Sorry, I just got a call."

After a while, Orson returned to his seat.

"Those who are late will have to drink a glass first, Brother Orson~"

Xingxiong, a veteran of the winery, immediately started to make a fuss, while Orson smiled bitterly and waved his hands.

"I don't like beer..."

"Oh, you don't like beer, right? Here's one for you."

Xingxiong nodded to indicate "I understand" and then handed Orson a drink that looked bright red.

"Thank you. Is that strawberry juice? It smells great. I'll be more than welcome then—Bang!"

Orson took a deep gulp and then fainted at the speed of light. His speed of falling asleep was 0.1 seconds faster than Nobita Nobi.

"Orson!? What did you give him, Starbear?"

"48-proof cocktail, the latest strawberry-flavored style that young people like, what's wrong with that?"

Xingxiong looked innocent.

"...Forget it, let's wait until he wakes up."

Chen sighed as he looked at Orson, who was lying on the ground.

A few hours later——

"It's already half past twelve, Lao Chen, and he doesn't look like he's going to get up at all."

"Ugh"

Chen and Xingxiong looked at Orson who was moved to the sofa. He was still unconscious and made meaningless snoring sounds from his throat.

"Forget it, I'll just take him back."

Finally, Chen made a decision.

"Eh? Old Chen, the progress you two have made is a bit..."

"What are you thinking! I don't have his address information, so I can only drag him to my house first."

"Oh... then, you're busy first?"

Hearing Chen's response, Xingxiong's face quickly flashed with expressions of "surprise", "disbelief", "acceptance of reality", and "my child has finally grown up, I'm so relieved".

"So it's not what you think!"

Chen complained loudly, then dragged Orson out of the bar.

"If anyone sees you like this, it'll be all over the headlines tomorrow. So, let me give you a paragraph, Old Chen."

Xingxiong sighed that the young dragon in love was indeed mentally unstable, and took out the motorcycle key.

It was already 1:45 when Chen dragged Orson to his house, but Orson was still in Sleeping Beauty mode.

It's called a "home", but in fact it's just a house that Chen rented in an area near the Guard Bureau that's easy to commute to. Since he lives there alone and the room only serves as a sleeping and shower space, the room is much more spacious than ordinary accommodations.

"..."

After Chen dragged Orson to the only bed, he took the opportunity to look at the boy.

He doesn't have any obvious muscle mass, but his body can be considered "strong". However, no matter how you look at him, he still looks a little childish.

The most eye-catching thing was the radiating scar on his throat, which was usually hidden under the collar of his shirt. Therefore, Chen only noticed the wound when he unbuttoned Orson's clothes.

What had this young man been through? Although he still retained a humility and kindness that was rare in this era, deep down he also revealed the icy coldness that only someone "stained with blood" could exude.

Chen stared at Orson silently, and at this moment she suddenly noticed that the boy in the dream had encountered something, his brows were tightly furrowed, and even his body was tense.

"Well, uh...at a time like this..."

Chen was a little confused. This was the first time he brought someone else into his home, so naturally he had no idea what to do if someone else had a nightmare.

After hesitating for a moment, Chen contacted Xingxiong again.

"Yawn... What did you say, Lao Chen? 'Someone completely unrelated to you is having a nightmare.' What should you do then? It's simple."

The Xingxiong on the other end of the phone, who seemed to have been woken up, slowly made a suggestion.

"First, hold his hand."

"Ah."

Chen followed instructions and took Orson's hand.

"After that, lie down on the bed."

"Ah."

Chen climbed onto the bed, careful not to whip Orson's cheek with his tail.

"Finally, hug him from behind."

"Um"

Chen pressed against Orson from behind, holding him with both hands and interlocking his fingers.

"……Um?"

Officer Chen, a senior superintendent of the Longmen Guard Bureau, who has extensive experience in handling cases and can make bad guys nowhere to hide, finally noticed something was wrong after a few minutes.

21. Warm home, bitter north

Life in the North is, in some ways, more brutal and difficult than fighting in war.

After all, "death" on the battlefield is only a moment, and no matter how unbearable the pain is, it will not become a long-term torture.

But in the North, "death" is a continuous concept.

A man who was unable to move his arms due to hunger and eventually died of thirst at home.

A woman, her limbs frozen by the cold, curled up in a ball and buried in the snow.

Because of the worsening of the mineral disease, the child was deprived of the ability to breathe and heartbeat, and was expelled and could only wait for death slowly in an unknown corner.

……

On the battlefield, death is a split-second decision. But in the North, death is a chronic poison that slowly clings to you every day, impossible to shake off.

After all, compared to a bullet piercing your head, the roulette wheel where you have to choose one out of six and wait for your fate to be decided is more suffocating.

And life in the North—to put it bluntly—is like pointing a revolver at your brain and pulling the trigger day after day.

"You're back, Orson? Do you want to eat first and shower first today, or... Orson? Are you okay?"

On an ordinary day, Orson opened the door and returned to the room. While repeating what he had done today, he watched the girl in front of him with long brown hair and a blue hooded coat showing off.

"Well... a family in the village died of coal poisoning last night, and I was just helping to deal with the aftermath."

Orson responded with a somewhat depressed expression.

"Although they said they were dealing with the funeral, they were actually just dividing up the family's inheritance... No one wanted to expend the energy to erect a tombstone, but everyone was desperately trying to get a piece of clothing or a bite of food."

Orson lowered his head and spoke with some helplessness and anger, while the girl who called herself "Doctor" smiled bitterly and sighed, walked to Orson and gently rubbed the boy's head with her hand.

"You've done well, Orson. The situation in the North is becoming increasingly dire. I won't be so high-handed as to demand you maintain your kindness. You still recognize the fragility and preciousness of life, which is already invaluable in this frozen land."

"...I know, Doctor. But, but..."

Orson wanted to say something, but in the end he buried his head in the doctor's arms and sobbed softly.

-------

Orson has been living with the girl who calls herself "Doctor" for almost a year. He has gradually accepted and fallen in love with this girl who always speaks incomprehensible words but seems to know everything and is always optimistic and positive.

Orson once thought, if he had not met the doctor, would he have become one of the other numb villagers in the village who just lived and waited for death?

The encounter with the Doctor not only made Orson realize that there are all kinds of beautiful, interesting and dangerous countries and city-states outside the North, but also made him understand how great and difficult it is to remain kind.

Although the days were generally peaceful and harmonious, after a while, Orson vaguely noticed that something was wrong with the doctor.

The doctor's physical condition was gradually deteriorating - although she never told Orson about it, Orson could feel it clearly.

She was still so energetic, and she kept saying unrealistic fantasies such as "In the future, everyone in the world will be connected by the Internet", "Everyone can settle down in one place and never move", "Delicious food will be delivered to your door with just one phone call", etc. From time to time, she would show off to Orson where she had been and which big boss she was on good terms with.

But even so, the doctor's "sleep" time was getting longer and longer. She often stimulated herself in ways that she thought would not attract Orson's attention, in order to prevent herself from passing out in daily life.

It had been a long time since the doctor suddenly jumped over and hugged him in his arms and rubbed him hard. Instead, Orson often saw the doctor sitting quietly by the window, as if the endless white snow outside reflected a scenery that made people unable to take their eyes off it.

Orson doesn't like this kind of doctor.

But when faced with Orson's questioning, the doctor would just rub Orson's bear ears and laugh to get rid of it.

Orson could only find the problem by himself. After a period of getting along and learning, Orson soon noticed the sophisticated equipment called [Fusion Transcription Module] that arrived in the village with the doctor.