Chapter 374 – Your family’s plum blossom is lost again (50)
Mu Ci had originally been contemplating how to question the little girl about what exactly Zhou Zhuo was to her, but at that moment, he was stunned. He lowered his gaze to look into her eyes.
Her eyes were clear, as if she were simply asking a question.
Was he really not going to say anything? Did he think it was okay?
He hadn’t explained anything. Was he thinking how much Wang Shi had told her, or thinking about what he should say?
After everything that had happened that morning, after learning his true identity, after realizing that he was the only one who had sensed something was wrong and had started searching for her so early—she didn’t believe for a second that Mu Ci would simply accept that she had only gone out to buy things.
Or did he think there was no need to explain? No need to talk about the lab, the artificial humans… or the fact that he had no emotions?
Was saying nothing really enough? If he had no emotions, then why did he keep drawing her in? Why did he do things that made people misunderstand?
Yan Luo’s hand, which was pressed against Mu Ci’s chest, unconsciously tightened.
Her voice was so soft, so gentle, so sweet—yet it made Mu Ci’s body stiffen slightly.
He looked at her expression, but she had already lowered her head, hiding her thoughts from him.
She exerted a little force, trying to break free from Mu Ci’s embrace.
Mu Ci pressed his lips together stubbornly, unwilling to let go.
When she couldn’t struggle free no matter what, Yan Luo eventually grew tired and let her hands drop slowly.
“I understand now.”
Since nothing had ever begun, then it didn’t matter. Her gaze lowered slightly, her voice carrying a hint of dejection. It sounded as though she was speaking to herself, yet at the same time, it felt like a declaration as she lifted her head to look at him. A faint smile played at her lips, but her eyes were dim.
“You will always just be my Xiao Gege.”
Just a brother, nothing more. That would never change.
But that wasn’t true. It shouldn’t be like this…
Mu Ci clenched his teeth.
If he was just her brother, then did that mean she wanted to be with that bastard Zhou Zhuo instead?
—You are mine…
His hands tightened, gripping so hard as if he wanted to hold onto something that was slipping away. A silent protest—why must you be taken away from me?
But the little girl gave him no response.
Mu Ci had never experienced this kind of reaction from Yan Luo before, and for the first time, panic set in.
All he could think about was holding her even tighter, yet beyond that, he had no idea what to do.
How was he supposed to handle this?
What could he do to make sure that he was the only one in her eyes?
Would locking her away, trapping her in his arms… be enough?
His mind raced.
In the end, all he could do was force out a dry, uncertain voice, like a stubborn child, lost and helpless.
“Luoluo… what do you want to know?”
Yan Luo didn’t respond. She lowered her head again, refusing to look at him.
The two of them were so close, their breaths practically intertwined, and yet, they felt so far apart.
So far that Mu Ci had no idea what she was thinking at that moment.
Determined, he lifted a hand and gently raised her chin, lowering his head so their eyes met. He stared into her gaze, unwilling to let her escape.
—What do you want to know? What have you already figured out?
For the first time, Mu Ci felt utterly helpless. He wanted to tell her everything, to lay it all bare.
But he couldn’t.
The lab, the artificial humans, the underground empire…
No matter which truth he revealed, it would all be too horrifying.
And how was he supposed to tell his little girl…
That the Xiao Gege she had always depended on and trusted was nothing more than a research subject in a lab? That he wasn’t even designed to have emotions?
That the only difference between a machine and a human was the capacity for feelings?
And in the end, he was just a special kind of machine—one with flesh and blood, but nothing more.