Hei Lin's thoughts were cold and rational:
"Hmph. There's no point agonizing over these details."
"Whether she's Na'er's sister or a split-off body, what does it matter?"
"Remember our goal!"
"Strength is the foundation!"
"Once you're strong enough to see through everything, the truth will naturally reveal itself."
"Eat your food!"
Bai Lin suppressed the turmoil in his heart and gave Gu Yue a gentle smile.
"Thank you."
Then he continued focusing on the food before him, no longer dwelling on it.
Under Hei Lin's near-ruthless rational influence, he had also learned to temporarily seal away his doubts and focus on the goal before him—
Growing stronger.
However, from Xie Xie's perspective not far away, the scene was anything but pleasant.
He watched Bai Lin and Gu Yue sitting together. One offered food naturally, the other accepted it calmly. The atmosphere between them was inexplicably harmonious, as though they had known each other for ages.
Unable to hold back, Xie Xie carried his tray over and asked probingly,
"Hey, you two..."
"Did you know each other before?"
Gu Yue lifted her eyes and gave Xie Xie an indifferent glance, her voice cool and calm.
"No."
Bai Lin swallowed his food and shook his head gently as well.
"No."
"..." Xie Xie was left speechless by their perfectly synchronized denial. He looked at Gu Yue's composed expression, then at Bai Lin's sincere face, then at himself, and suddenly felt like an unnecessary third wheel.
He gave an annoyed "Tch," turned away with his tray, and plopped down beside Zhou Changxi and Yun Xiao, who had also been watching. Unable to help himself, he muttered under his breath,
"Pretending!"
"Keep pretending!"
"If you didn't know each other, could you be that natural?"
"I bet Gu Yue came here for Wulin!"
"She started