About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

Talulah suddenly noticed that Black Snake, who usually liked to talk to himself in his head like an artificial idiot, hadn't said a word since he got up today for some reason.

Leave me alone, my daughter...

Even if Tallulah took the initiative to ask Black Snake, the other party only responded absentmindedly and then fell silent.

Seeing Black Snake's unusually high level of autism, Tallulah felt a little suspicious.

- Wasn't it just that they pulled her out to cover for him when they couldn't hold on any longer? Was it really necessary to turn it into this? Or was she planning some ulterior motive?

Yesterday, she was fully immersed in the process of making a baby with Chimera, and did not pay any attention to Talulah, the consciousness of Black Snake. She was completely unaware of the wonderful play that took place between Black Snake and Orson's consciousness, that is, the 'rest'. Naturally, she was a little confused about Black Snake's current high-intensity autistic state.

The only thing I can warn you is this, my daughter... be careful with pauses.

Black Snake warned Tallulah earnestly, but the latter became even more confused and had no idea what Black Snake was saying.

------

After breakfast, Tallulah began to pack the contents of the suitcase she brought with her, while Orson shyly dragged the bed sheets from the bedroom into the bathroom to wash them.

"Um...about what happened last night...I'm really sorry, Tallulah, and, uh, Miss Black Snake."

Orson's voice sounded slightly guilty and embarrassed.

"—"

Tallulah, who was sorting daily necessities in another bedroom, sighed after hearing this, and without any hesitation, she stood up and walked to Orson who was guarding the washing machine.

"Come with me Orson."

"Eh? Wait a minute, let me put the detergent first—rua!"

Orson was dragged out of the bathroom by Tallulah, all the way to the living room and pressed on the sofa.

"Listen up, Orson."

After holding Orson down, Tallulah stared into his eyes.

"You don't need to apologize for what happened yesterday. I'm actually feeling pretty... ahem!"

Tallulah, who almost said something extremely slutty, coughed twice to quickly brush it off.

"Anyway, you don't have to apologize. But I hope you can agree to a small request of mine, Orson."

Tallulah placed a hand on Orson's shoulder and gently stroked the boy's slightly thin collarbone. Under the seemingly delicate skin, she could actually feel the subtle scars on Orson's skin that were left at some unknown time.

"I hope you can learn to say no, Orson."

"reject……?"

"Well, just like yesterday, I hope you can learn to be willful and learn to say no, instead of blindly accommodating and adapting to the pace of others."

Tallulah's palm gradually moved from her shoulder to Orson's cheek. She stroked Orson gently and realized one thing at the same time, that is, the young man in front of her seemed to have never asked herself or anyone around her to do anything.

"I hope you can rely on me occasionally, instead of always being the one protecting us, Orson."

"I...I understand, Tallulah."

Staring at the golden dragon eyes in front of him, Orson nodded slightly, but soon his expression became a little conflicted.

"Well, that... Tallulah, actually, I previously... I previously promised Penguin Logistics and Lappland and the others, uh..."

"Haha, I know how difficult this request of mine is for you, a nice guy like you, but it doesn't matter, Orson, you just have to try to step aside. I won't interfere with your behavior, nor will I criticize your lifestyle, because-"

[Because my daughter believes that her relationship with you is special and will never be shaken, right?]

"That's right, that's...wait a minute, that's not what I meant, Black Snake!?"

Black Snake, who had been withdrawn until then, suddenly reappeared as a conscious being beside the two and interrupted them. Tallulah followed Black Snake's words until she realized something was amiss and hurriedly retorted.

It seems that the black snake has finally recovered from the state of growing mushrooms in the corner of the wall. It can be said that it is worthy of being a monster that has lived in Ursus for a thousand years. Its psychological adjustment ability is quite strong.

"Are you up to something again... Hmm, your posture seems a little strange, Black Snake?"

Talulah was talking to the black snake somewhat unhappily, but halfway through she discovered that the black snake's consciousness sitting next to her was in a sore back position, as if it had been hung in the air by something and twisted for a long time.

「You still don’t trust me, my daughter? This really makes me──huh!?」

"...?"

Black Snake pretended to be deep and said the riddle to the man when he suddenly made a sound like a cat's tail being stepped on. At the same time, he jumped up as if he had been electrocuted and suddenly hid behind a chair.

"Ah...um, I'm sorry, Miss Black Snake."

Orson, who seemed to know that he was the instigator, rubbed his hair embarrassedly, and at the same time retracted the pause that was spreading outward from the shadow and was sprinkling detergent into the washing machine.

As a "millennium virgin" in a sense, Black Snake had a solid and complete negative-distance entanglement contact with Orson's consciousness projection, that is, Pause, late last night.

And in the end, he even got a real "body" to take over Tallulah's job.

After all this trouble, not only did Black Snake's waist get hurt, but Black Snake, who had always been at ease and seemed to have everything under control, also became a little hesitant when facing Orson.

[Smart people don't show off their memories, Orson... You know what I mean.]

Black Snake glanced at Orson, using this method to warn the dwarf not to tell Tallulah that he was almost ruined by the Rest.

"...I don't understand. Anyway, what are your plans for today, Orson?"

Talulah glanced at Black Snake and Orson, frowned, and decided to ignore what happened between the two of them for the time being.

"Well, I'm going to the Guard Bureau today because there's a dinner party tomorrow. I promised Officer Chen that I would help her find possible clues about the Sicilian Gang at the dinner party. Do you want to go with me, Tallulah?"

"Hui Jie..."

Hearing the name that she had missed so much, Tallulah, who was at Longmen at the time, felt a little hesitant and worried. She once again felt a little hesitant about the upcoming meeting between the sisters.

"Um...Is Huijie okay?"

After a brief hesitation, Tallulah decided to first learn about Chen's situation from Orson.

"Well, Officer Chen is fine, she just really enjoys the intense work and can be quite stubborn at times. Lately, she's been smiling more often."

Orson responded with a smile, and upon hearing that her sister was fine, Tallulah's expression relaxed a lot.

[This doesn't sound right... Hey, stupid shorty, Huijie doesn't really have a boyfriend in Longmen, right?]

Black Snake felt something was wrong from Orson's reaction and description. She supported her cheek with one hand and looked at Orson and asked.

"Yes, although Officer Chen is often invited by some male colleagues, she has never had any interactions with anyone, and now almost no one bothers Officer Chen anymore."

[So now there won't be any more rumors about Huijie and that guy in the newspapers?]

"This... uh... well..."

Orson blinked. If he remembered correctly, he had seen Officer Chen's third-rate scandal on his way to move, and he was the male protagonist...

[…So, after you came to Longmen, have you ever held Huijie's hand and walked around the streets?]

"Have"

Let's eat together.

"There are also"

【Let’s go to an entertainment venue together? 】

“There should be some.”

[Does Huijie often give you an unguarded smile?]

"Officer Chen does smile at me occasionally. I wish she were that approachable normally."

Have you ever been to her office?

"I've been there a few times. Officer Chen always makes me worry about her health when she's working..."

Have you ever been to her house?

"Well, Officer Chen's house needs to be cleaned up again!"

[Appraisal completed, your sister was given away for nothing.]

Orson became addicted to housekeeping and wanted to go to Chen Huijie's house again to completely clean it, while Black Snake looked at Tallulah with certainty and told her the result of his analysis.

"...Uh, um, Tallulah?"

Orson seemed to notice something was wrong and looked at Tallulah beside him.

"Orson, can you sit here and let me rub your shoulders?"

Tallulah smiled and clenched her fists, making them creak.

"Well, that... please allow me to refuse, ow!?"

Although she had told Orson before to "say no more often", Tallulah taught Orson a vivid lesson: there are some things that you can't say no to even if you want to.

On this day, everyone, including Black Snake, grew a lot, which is cause for celebration.

77. The intersection of the old and new eras (referring to the Great Battle)

"I told you specifically, Orson! I asked you to come here to pretend to be in love with Huijie, but in fact, to prevent her from being seduced by some weird guy - but how come Huijie still fell for you...!"

In the room, Tallulah grabbed Orson's shoulders and shook him while asking the boy if he was deliberately causing trouble to treat his low blood pressure.

Orson's behavior is like asking someone to buy a drink, "Just don't buy Red Scream," but the guy happens to come back with a box of Red Scream.

"I-I-I really haven't thought about this kind of thing! Besides, Officer Chen and I are just colleagues... Officer Chen is not what Black Snake said!"

Orson explained frantically, trying to clear himself of suspicion before Tallulah turned him into obsidian.

[You know nothing about the relationship between colleagues]

Black Snake complained mercilessly and pointedly, and Tallulah beside him nodded in agreement.

Just as Black Snake said, Orson was hopelessly dull when it came to relationships between opposite sexes. Neither Tallulah nor Black Snake believed that he could really distinguish the so-called relationship between colleagues.

"Anyway, Orsen, how far has your relationship with Huijie progressed? It can't be that you've even... done that, right?"

Tallulah stared at Orson and asked with some difficulty.

"No, no! There might be some misunderstandings between Officer Chen and me at most. It's definitely not what you think, Tallulah..."

Orsen quickly explained that there was really no relationship between him and Chen Huijie. There might be some gossip, but it was just gossip. The closest he and Chen had ever been was when she threw him onto her bed after he got drunk.

"Haha... Looks like there really isn't any. So, I'm just feeling a bit fond of her right now..."

Seeing that Orson's tone did not show the kind of disguise that could be exposed in an instant, Tallulah felt a little relieved and accepted the relationship between Orson and Huijie for the time being.

After all, because of his genius operation (referring to letting a "troublemaker" like Orson come to the gantry alone), two dogs have already rushed onto the track, and there is a fallen angel next to them ready to move, and a pure RGB angel is buying tickets.

If I let my sister overtake me again... I will probably be locked up in a small room and criticized for three days and three nights by Frost Star Alina, Natalia, Kal'tsit and Casimir.

"At least Huijie hasn't been seduced by some weird guy, so that's a good thing. You know, when Huijie was little, she always liked to follow me around. I was always afraid that she would be seduced by some strong and scumbag guy when she grew up... Now it seems that she has changed a lot."

Tallulah sighed softly. She had actually noticed during her previous phone conversation with Chen Huijie that everyone had changed a lot in the years since she followed Black Snake and left Longmen, and Chen Huijie was no exception.

"So...will you go see Officer Chen, Tallulah?"

Orson asked Tallulah, and Tallulah looked away slightly with a subtle expression.

"I will. Although I know very well that everything has happened to Huijie, my old friend, Uncle Wei Yanwu, and even the entire Longmen, we still have to face our past."

Tallulah's tone was resolute. Over a decade ago, she had been abducted from this city by the Black Snake, or perhaps, rather, she had 'voluntarily' followed the Black Snake away. No matter what she had experienced in Ursus, the North, or Che City since then, Longmen remained her 'roots', a part of history she could not escape.

Even though Tallulah said this, she still felt a little scared. Although she had been struggling to survive in the North Territory, the thought of "returning to Longmen and meeting Huijie again" had been her motivation, after going through so much and finally arriving at Longmen, Tallulah knew that she could no longer simply walk up to Chen Huijie and hold her hand as she had in the past.

Her identity in Ursus, her identity as Draco, the Black Snake living in her body, her identity as the leader of the Integration Movement... everything was silently telling Tallulah that she was no longer the fighter who could act freely, the little girl who could hold Chen Huijie's hand and walk through the streets of Longmen.

"It's okay, Tallulah."

"—Orson?"

As Tallulah looked down at her palm, which was larger and rougher than hers, Orson's hand suddenly gripped hers tightly.

"Don't worry or be afraid, Tallulah. No matter how the past has changed, I will never leave your side, even if all of Terra is turned upside down."

"…Yeah, I know, Orson."

Seeing the boy in front of her making a vow without any pretense, Talulah smiled, and the fire dragon gently pinched Orson's soft but reassuring palm.

"I haven't seen this guy in a while, but his words seem more boyfriend-like than before... Is it because he's been spending more time with Huijie? Or maybe it's because of those two Lupers?"

Black Snake watched Orson and Tallulah being affectionate with each other, and had some awkward thoughts in his mind.