Hello, Arknights

Chapter 418 Melantha's Thoughts

After returning and sitting for a short while, Ling Dengxian felt that he could take a few people to collect firewood and that the last few rooms at home only needed to be cleaned. He wanted Texas and Mostima to rest.

After instructing Skadi to keep an eye on the woman he was carrying back, who appeared to be the scepter and the object of his affections, he looked down at the small, fair hand that was clutching his sleeve and exchanged a silent glance with a certain Ying.

"Liz, we need to go up the mountain."

"Go."

"Liz, I need to carry firewood."

"Go."

"How about next time?"

"If you don't take me, I'll tell Shining you're not taking care of me." Nightingale didn't let go. The sun was shining brightly outside, and the grass and trees were bathed in golden sunlight. Ling glanced at them and felt a little more reassured.

But he still declined, saying, "Tomorrow, let's go for a walk in the nearby mountains together, and have an outdoor barbecue."

“…I still want to go. What if the weather is bad tomorrow?” Nightingale bit her lip, her eyes flickering. “I can walk by myself.”

“Sigh…” Ling Dengxian was thinking about how to persuade her when someone patted him on the back. He turned around and Fengdi winked at him: “Then take her with you. I’ll help you. Xiao Shuangye and Xiao Meilansha haven’t had much time to breathe either, so let’s pick a few of them to help.”

"Alright then." Ling Dengxian finally relented, ruffling Nightingale's hair. "But, no misbehaving." The latter glanced at Bagpipes as if reading his expression, then nodded with a relieved smile.

Upon hearing the suggestion to take action, Frostleaf, who was drying her wet hair, suddenly threw a ball of ice at his face: "Just finished showering."

However, Ling Dengxian eventually met Shuangye, who came down with Melansha. Although she had dissatisfaction on her face, it was directed at him, not at the weather.

"Are you still angry?" Ling Dengxian saw that she still had a stern face, so he carefully smiled and apologized: "It was my fault for not paying attention. I didn't mean to ignore you before. I'm sorry..."

“…Get out of here,” Shuangye said irritably, glancing at him. “Apologize after the fireplace is on fire.”

After saying that, he walked ahead alone, without waiting for him to ask if he could find the way, leaving Ling Dengxian and Melansha looking at each other.

"teacher……"

Ling Dengxian said helplessly, "I'm not a qualified teacher either. My teaching methods are not rigorous to begin with, and since I've been in Victoria for a while, I haven't done the most basic teaching training."

"Just call me by my name. This half-hearted relationship is really irresponsible to you."

Melantha stared at him blankly, her eyes trembling slightly, her eyelashes fluttering, and she lowered her head, only responding softly.

"Don't be like that," Ling Dengxian laughed awkwardly, as if he were bullying someone. "I'm more like your friend than your teacher, right? You can still ask me for practice sessions."

Melantha hesitated, her eyes holding a lot of unspoken words, but her temperament was like a rope, binding them all to the depths of her anxious eyes.

The noise coming from the doorway behind them caught their attention.

After greeting the horn, the bagpipes cheerfully carried Nightingale's wheelchair out the door and leaped into the courtyard. Nightingale peeked out from behind the door, and the bagpipes waved to her from inside. Nightingale let go of the door and carefully walked down the steps in front of the house. The bagpipes went forward to help her, but Nightingale hesitated for a moment and raised her hand to indicate that she should wait.

"I want to try it myself..."

Nightingale walked step by step toward the wheelchair. The distance wasn't a burden for her, but she subconsciously became cautious because of Bagpipe's careful manner toward her. After taking a few steps and basking in the sunlight, she couldn't help but smile with joy.

She was starting to not want to use a wheelchair anymore.

"Then let's go after Xiaoshuangye first. Xiaoxian, you need to have a good talk with Melansa, she seems to have something to say to you."

Bagpipes and Nightingale noticed their gaze, smiled at them, gave them some instructions, and then pushed Nightingale to chase after Frostleaf. It was clear that she had restrained herself, as the speed at which she pushed the wheelchair was relatively slow, but it was actually still a bit fast. However, based on Ling Dengxian's understanding of Liz, she was probably enjoying it and might even want to go a little faster.

Of course, he definitely wouldn't tell Bagpipe; it's better to stay safe.

However, the two of them heard the bagpipes's instructions. When they looked at Melantha again, the latter hesitated even more, lowered her gaze to his waist, her ears twitched slightly, and her tail unnaturally curled and loosened repeatedly.

Ling glanced into the distance; Bagpipe and Nightingale had already caught up with Frostleaf. He then patted Melantha's shoulder gently and said, "Let's go. The weather is nice today. I just came back from there and did a quick look around. There are quite a few places worth seeing. Let's talk about what we want to say along the way."

He didn't want to put pressure on Melantha. He had been busy these past few days, and although he had invited Melantha, he hadn't really paid much attention to her.

"Mm." Melantha nodded, and the two headed towards the direction of Windpipe and the others. She looked at Ling Dengxian's figure, then at Frostleaf who was walking away without turning back, and said:

"Also, um, teacher... I'm sorry, Ling Dengxian, regarding Operator Shuangye... Shuangye is indeed a bit angry, but..."

"She only started paying attention to the fireplace because she said you were afraid of the cold, but then you... made her seem a bit presumptuous. That's what she said..."

Upon hearing this, Ling Dengxian was taken aback. He then looked at Shuangye, who was with Feng Ye and the other two. It seemed that they had mentioned him in their conversation. She turned around and found him looking at her. She stared at him coldly for a moment before turning her head away from him in a huff.

"Teacher... Ling Dengxian, Operator Shuangye is much more cheerful than before. I think this has a lot to do with you... She also wants to care about you, but... Ah, I'm sorry! If you don't appreciate it... it will be a blow to her too..."

Ling Dengxian sighed in annoyance, realizing he had indeed gone too far. He then nodded and looked at Melantha: "Melansha, thank you. So if you also have any troubles, please tell me. I also know what I did wrong, and I don't want to repeat the same mistake."

"..." Melantha was silent for a moment, then bit her lip and shook her head: "No, now, it's nothing..."

"After all... it's no longer..."

Melantha tried to force a smile, but she couldn't. She wasn't good at hiding her emotions. With a heavy heart, Melantha quickened her pace and hurried forward.

Damn it, there must be something he didn't consider or did wrong... It's most likely the "teacher's" problem from earlier. Ling Dengxian rubbed his forehead. He thought about it for a moment and felt that there was nothing wrong with his expression.

That means there's a further reason. Melantha's initial low mood was due to the Crimson War... He understood what was going on, but he needed more objective information. He had indeed neglected his duties these past few days.

However, Frostleaf lives with Melantha, and Melantha understands Frostleaf's thoughts, so Frostleaf must also know some of Melantha's secrets.

So, going back to the point, how should he now appease Shuangye and get her to forgive him?

Ling suddenly felt a headache.