Surname

"Wait, Norman, you mean... no way? It really works!?" Young Ebson looked incredulous.

Norman, sitting opposite him, gave a confident smile. "Don't worry, Ebson, I'm very confident that once we succeed, the two of us brothers will definitely change the world!"

Upon hearing this, Ebson's face did not show joy, but rather a hint of concern. He hesitated for a long time before finally speaking tentatively, "But, you know about this..."

But Norman patted Ebson on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm here." Norman's voice sounded very reassuring.

Ebson looked up and saw Norman's gentle yet confident black eyes.

"By the way, how's things going with Liddy lately?" Norman teased, winking at Ebson.

Ebson blushed, but a look of disappointment flashed across his face. Liddy's words at the party had hurt him deeply, but he couldn't bring himself to say them to Norman. He could only manage a weak "No, nothing. I think I'll just forget about it."

Norman raised his eyebrows, stroked his chin, and said, "That shouldn't be the case. Didn't Liddy compliment you before? She said your blue eyes were beautiful. How about we try again?"

Ebson shook his head. "Forget it, there's no need."

Norman: "What? You don't believe me? Well then, I'm really going to get you, Ebson, I have to help you win over Liddy!"

But Norman, brimming with enthusiasm, completely failed to notice the utterly dejected look in Ebson's eyes. "But... she doesn't like me at all, Norman..."

On a night of torrential rain, Ebson stumbled into the street, his disheveled suit quickly soaked by the rain. He wandered aimlessly, letting the rain lash him, occasionally letting out hysterical laughter that sounded more like crying.

Reaching a dim streetlamp, Ebson reached out and grabbed it, his body heaving violently. In the dim light, dark liquid streamed from his tightly closed eyes.

"Doctor? Doctor? What's wrong?" The sudden voice pulled Ebson back to reality. He was a little stunned and looked down at his white coat and the syringe and sterile cotton ball he was holding.

Before him stood a thin, frail boy who seemed to be reluctant to leave his Laboratory. He was somewhat timid and hesitant, with a faint fear emanating from his dark eyes. Clearly, the claustrophobic Laboratory frightened the boy.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Laboratory, many other Eldia orphans, also from the Liberio Internment Zone, were watching this scene unfold.

Elusa, the girl who had been there the longest, softly reminded Ebson, "Doctor, are you spacing out?"

Ebson's pupils contracted slightly before he recovered, then he smiled gently at the boy in front of him and said, "Child, don't be nervous. It'll be quick, just a little blood for testing, as usual."

Although the boy was scared, he seemed to have thought of something, gritted his teeth, nodded, and stretched out his hand, which already had many needle marks.

The sharp needle pierced the skin easily. Ebson casually said to the boy, "By the way, kid, what did you just say? What's your name?"

"Yago, my name is Yago," the boy replied softly.

Ebson: "Yago? That's a good name. What's your last name?"

Upon hearing this, Ebson noticed that Yago's body stiffened, and his expression changed. Finally, he said with great difficulty, "I... I don't have a surname." The other children immediately looked at Yago with a hint of disdain. An orphan without a surname was looked down upon by the other orphans because it proved that he truly was the "bastard" they called him.

Ebson paused slightly. No surname? He looked at Yago, an ordinary, even somewhat thin boy, but judging from his appearance, he might grow into a handsome young man.

But what attracted Ebson most were Yago's deep, dark Black Eyes; they were very beautiful.

"Don't you have a surname? How about I give you one?" Ebson said with a smile.

Yago was startled; this was the first time someone had offered to give him a surname.

"Norman, your last name is Norman, and your given name is Yago Norman, how about that?" Ebson said softly.

Yago murmured, "Yago Norman? Norman? Norman... It sounds really nice." Yago's eyes lit up, and then he happily said, "Great! Thank you, Doctor, I really like this name!"

When the other children saw that Doctor Ebson had personally chosen a surname for Yago, several of them immediately showed envious glances, especially Elusa, whose eyes were filled with undisguised anger as she looked at Yago. This guy! Even she didn't get this kind of treatment!

Time flew by, and the day passed quickly. One by one, the orphans said goodbye to Ebson. As Doctor Ebson was packing up his equipment, he suddenly felt someone tug at him.

Turning around, he saw Yago looking somewhat embarrassed. Ebson crouched down, smiled gently, patted Yago's head, and asked, "What's wrong, Norman? Is something the matter?"

Yago hesitated for a long time before finally Courage to say, "Then, Doctor, you... you said before that there would be... there would be payment for helping you with your experiments..."

Yago lowered his head before he could finish speaking. Although he was prone to petty theft, he naturally held a Marley figure like Ebson in high esteem.

After hearing Yago's words, Ebson was stunned, seemingly not expecting Yago to say such a thing. After a while, Ebson reacted, took out a few bills from his pocket, and stuffed them into Yago's hand. "Of course, good children should be rewarded."

Yago was excited to see the money in his hand; it was more than he'd earned in three weeks working at Maddie-na's dessert shop! He could buy the latest strawberry cake! Annie would be so happy!

Yago happily thanked Ebson and then quickly left, his mind filled with the joy of having a surname to share with Annie. Oh, and he also had to bring Annie's favorite dessert. He could buy more this time and let Annie try the strawberry cake she had always wanted!

Little Yago's mind is now filled with the image of that cute girl with the bun hairstyle.

Ebson stood silently by the roadside, watching Yago's increasingly blurry figure, lost in thought.

(Muzi wants to apologize to everyone. I'm really sorry. The reason I've been absent these past two Muzi is because of exams. I really had no choice. It's the pain of being a medical student. Exams are on Muzi, and I had to skip them to study. Today's update is a way of echoing some of the foreshadowing in the previous content. I might need to ask for a day off Muzi. I hope you can understand this humble Muzi. ಥ_ಥ)