That night, after Jinx gave Isha a bath, the two of them, one big and one small, went to bed wearing nightgowns.
Jinx was lying on the innermost side of the bed, patting the mattress to signal Li Ke to get in.
Isha lay in the middle, leaning against Jinx, her legs stretched out, her toes twitching, staring at Li Ke with her Big Eyes.
Seeing this, Li Ke walked over with amusement, took off his shoes and got into bed. Li Ke pressed down the pillows, leaned against the wall, and began to tell Jinx and Isha about what he had encountered in Ionia.
At the same time, for the first time, Li Ke recounted his extraordinary adventures in the Soul Blossom Land to people in the Material Realm.
Jinx and Isha didn't know what a "Golden Finger" was, but they trusted Li Ke. Besides, there were always some strange things happening in Runeterra.
For example, right now, after listening to what Li Ke said, Jinx's eyes were very bright.
She squeezed against Isha and leaned closer to Li Ke, asking:
"Li Ke, help your Fox, is she Deity?"
"Yes, Ahri is a kind and Spirit of Salvation. She was the one who helped us kill the monster that day and protected my soul."
"So, are the wolf and sheep that helped you revive your soul also Deity? But Li Ke, wolves eat sheep."
"They aren't real sheep and wolves, they're just... conscious beings, Jinx."
"But wolves are meant to eat sheep. Even if they are sentient beings, they are still wolves and sheep, and they will follow this instinct."
"They are one, they are gods, not animals. Well, how should I put it, Jinx, Kindred, is not the name of the Kindred, but the name of both the wolf and the sheep. The Kindred is the kind side, and the Wolf Spirit is the cruel side. They were once one, and then for some reason, they split in two and became two spirits. But only when they are together can they be called Kindred."
"I understand, Li Ke. You said so much, but you didn't refute the fact that wolves eat sheep. So, can I assume that you don't actually know whether the wolf attacked the sheep or not, and you're just pretending to know?"
Jinx lay on her side, looking at Li Ke with a mischievous expression, and teased, "This is the 'know-it-all' you told me about, right? You said before that Silco always had to meddle in everything, like a 'know-it-all'."
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"Jinx, Isha seems sleepy."
"Eeya?" Isha, who was listening with great interest and whose eyes were wide open, tilted her head to look at Li Ke.
"You're sleepy," Li Ke said sternly. "Children need to go to bed early."
Isha blinked, understanding what Li Ke meant. Her brother was using her as a shield. But should she side with her brother or her sister?
Isha hadn't seen her brother for a year. Logically, she should like Li Ke more now, and side with Li Ke, since they hadn't seen each other for so long. But her sister had had a very difficult year; she had been in great pain.
But after her brother came back, her sister was different; she suddenly came back to life.
So, Isha decisively turned around, buried her little head in Jinx's chest, and started snoring.
"."
"Let's go to sleep too."
"Uh-huh."
Li Ke closed his eyes and lay on the bed. The comforting environment and familiar scent immediately lulled Li Ke into sleep. But in the middle of the night, half-asleep, Li Ke felt something slip into his arms. Without even opening his eyes, Li Ke smiled and knew who it was.
He turned around and hugged her, Li Ke held her as she fell asleep.
Isha got up early in the morning.
Children are full of energy, and Isha is the most energetic of all children, the queen of the kids. Plus, her mood yesterday was like a rollercoaster, with extreme highs and lows. So last night, while pretending to be asleep—or rather, pretending to be asleep— Isha actually fell asleep very soon after closing her eyes.
So, before the streetlights were even off, Isha stretched and got out of bed. Then, she realized she was sleeping on the very edge of the bed. A hint of confusion flashed in her eyes; Isha was a little puzzled.
Didn't she sleep between her brother and sister last night?!
Why are you here?
With that thought in mind, Isha turned her head and saw the two of them embracing.
Seeing this, Isha pursed her lips, got up and stood by the bed, grunted at the two of them, then carefully reached the bedside, got off the bed, put on her shoes, Isha ran back to her room.
"Congressman Silco, you should take a break."
Inside the council building in Zaun, the law enforcement officer arrived before dawn to relieve the previous night's guard. However, seeing the light on in the councilor's room, he assumed the previous officer had forgotten to turn it off, so he went inside.
As a result, the Sump enforcement officer met with Silco.
Silco didn't sleep all night, and Silco didn't even leave the parliament building all day yesterday, while Renata, who shared an office with him, clocked out and went home as soon as it was time to leave work.
She would never work overtime for that bastard!
She leaves work on time and won't work unless she's urged – that's Renata!
She's always been the one giving orders, and now she's being bossed around every day. It's no wonder she's so unhappy.
Silco sat in his office, spending the entire evening quietly staring at a graffiti-covered mug on his desk, reaching out to touch the cracks and paint.
Hearing the officer's gentle reminder, Silco raised his head and squinted his eyes.
His eyes were bloodshot. He shook his head and said, "I'm fine. You just need to keep watch."
"Yes, Councilor Silco." The Sump enforcement officer nodded, then stood outside the door, guarding his post.
Forty Zaun the Sump take turns guarding the council building every day, preventing the theft of internal documents and protecting the safety of councilors.
Slumped backward, Silco glanced at the time; it was already 6:30 in the morning.
Has more than ten hours already passed?
With a sigh, Silco stood up, picked up his coat, put it on, and walked out of the office.
"Do you need me to escort you?"
"No need, I can do it myself."
Early in the morning, many people in Zaun were already up. In the Hope Community, various breakfast stalls had been set up, and customers had sat down at tables to enjoy their hot food.
Broth, roast meat, bread, mushroom soup
Under Renata's policies, Zaunite are now able to earn money, and with more money in their pockets, their diets have naturally improved, which has also boosted Zaun's current food culture.
Back in Zaun, if you wanted to eat, you could basically only go to a tavern to order something, or eat something cheap at a market stall. Restaurants simply didn't exist in Zaun.
In terms of food culture, Zaun is far inferior to Piltover.
But things are different now. Many Zaunite have started setting up stalls, bringing out their "family tradition" skills. Forget about whether the food in Piltover is as good as it is; just tell me, can you even find this kind of thing in Piltover? Hmm? Say something!
Muddy Frog, steamed chicken with grass, scorpion mushroom soup—do you even have these things in Piltover?
The answer is clearly no.
Silco pulled his collar tighter, head down, his bangs obscuring his vision, and walked along the streets of Hope Community toward his home.
He was now too exhausted to think about anything, because Silco realized that he wasn't as strong or cold-blooded as he had thought.
Ultimately, yesterday afternoon's events were merely a facade; his desire to maintain a respectable image made him appear calmer and more composed Vander, but in reality, his situation was no better than Vander's.
My mood was extremely bad. My mind was a jumbled mess, filled with random thoughts, and I almost lost control of my emotions several times.
The smell of cooking Muddy Frog filled the air, and Silco frowned. In the past, he might have bought one and brought it to Jinx.
He knew Jinx had no appetite, but as long as he brought it over, Jinx would eat it, even though Silco thought it didn't taste good, Jinx liked it very much.
But now, there's no point in Silco stopping.
Walking straight ahead, Silco left the stall, but after walking ten meters, in the quiet morning air, he suddenly heard a somewhat familiar voice.
"Don't get food all over your mouth. And stop putting any more on my plate. I really don't like this stuff; the texture is so weird."
The voice was filled with helplessness, but also carried a hint of indulgence.
Silco stopped in his tracks; the voice sounded very familiar to him.
"Okay, I'll eat it myself then."
Then, a voice more familiar to Silco rang out.
Upon hearing the sound, Silco turned around abruptly and looked at the stall selling cooked Muddy Frog, his eyes anxiously searching for something. Then, he froze on the spot.
Silco saw two figures sitting on small stools with their backs to him.
Both figures were very thin, one with black hair and the other with blue hair.
He took a deep breath and stepped forward, standing behind the two figures.
As they got closer, the expression on Silco's face became increasingly strange, a mixture of joy, horror, confusion, and fear.
Finally, Silco stood behind the young man, reached out, and patted the black-haired youth on the back.
The other person turned around, revealing a face that Silco recognized all too well, and beside him stood Jinx, who had caused chaos throughout Zaun yesterday, with everyone searching for her.
Her mouth was covered in oil from eating.
"Hey, Uncle, good morning."
"You're here for work so early? That's great, you're very motivated."
"Silco, have you eaten? If not, let's eat together. Li Ke doesn't like this food, and I ordered too much; I don't think he can finish it all by himself."
The dead person came back to life, raised their hand, and smiled to greet him.
The person who had left returned and patted the stool, inviting him to sit down and eat.
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"Li Ke, you'd better give me a reasonable explanation." Silco glared at Li Ke, his Riot Games hardening.