Heart-to-Heart

"Isn't that wrong?" Huo Yutong had clearly come prepared. "I heard Teacher Wang Yan say that you were angry because I was insulted, so you attacked him, right?"

"...Yeah."

His clumsy lie had been exposed by a casual remark, and Tang Wulin immediately felt embarrassed.

Huo Yutong could not help but laugh.

"Why are you making that face? You should be proud."

She had only learned the full story after Wang Yan spoke to her at noon.

Today, she had specifically asked Tang Ya to prepare thirty extra fish for her, all so she could express her gratitude to Tang Wulin.

Ever since she was young, she had always been the one bullied.

Other than her mother, no one had ever helped her. Tang Wulin was the first person her age to extend a hand to her when she had been alone and helpless.

So although she did not show it on the surface, she was actually extremely happy right now.

Resting her chin in her hands, she asked:

"I heard Teacher say you went looking for him because you thought I cared about him. Do you want to know why I care about him?"

Tang Wulin nodded.

"Then let me tell you my story."

Huo Yutong looked up at the star-filled sky, her gaze wistful as she sank into her memories.

"My real name actually isn't Huo Yutong. My original surname was Dai. I am Duke White Tiger's biological daughter..."

Over the following stretch of time, Tang Wulin gradually came to understand Huo Yutong's past through her account.

Before his eyes, the image of a girl born in the Duke's Mansion took shape: oppressed and relentlessly bullied by the Duchess, with even the mother she could only depend on each other with left bedridden after beatings. In the end, she could only leave home alone to seek a way to take revenge.

As the story came to an end, that girl's figure overlapped with the petite young girl before him.

After the story was over, Tang Wulin fell silent.

He had grown up in a happy family. Although his family was not particularly well-off, and he had learned not long ago that his parents had gone missing, his childhood had generally been happy.

But Huo Yutong was different. By her account, her life had been steeped in darkness until only recently, when she had finally found a sliver of light.

He could hardly imagine what such a life was like, but fortunately, he could feel the emotions hidden in Huo Yutong's words.

When she spoke of her mother, her voice was filled with tenderness. When she spoke of the servants who had bullied her and her mother, her tone turned icy. When she mentioned the Duchess and Dai Huabin, the darkness that seeped from her seemed ready to devour someone...

After hearing it all, Tang Wulin finally understood why Huo Yutong gnashed her teeth whenever Scumbag was mentioned.

It was not because she had been hurt by Scumbag, but because she was Scumbag's daughter.

Perhaps whenever she saw Scumbag, she thought of that scumbag father of hers, who did not even know he had a ten-year-old daughter.

After a long silence, Tang Wulin asked:

"Then what do you plan to do from now on?"

Huo Yutong answered without hesitation:

"I will utterly wipe out Duke White Tiger's bloodline and make them disappear completely from this continent."

"But you aren't strong enough yet. You can't do that alone."

Tang Wulin's tone was deeply sorrowful.

He said this not only because Huo Yutong's talent was poor.

More importantly, he was someone from ten thousand years in the future. He knew how the future unfolded.

Even though he was only nine, he knew that besides the Sun Moon Federation, the Star Luo Empire had also endured. And the one who became emperor was precisely a descendant of Duke White Tiger.

Judging from Huo Yutong's attitude, she did not seem like someone who would give up on revenge. Then there was only one conclusion: she had lost to reality, and her revenge had failed.

"I'll do it even if I can't." Huo Yutong said firmly, "Even if I die, as long as I can tear off a piece of flesh from the Duke's Mansion, I'll be satisfied."

She had sworn before her mother's grave to take revenge on the Duke's Mansion. Whether she succeeded or failed, as long as she was alive, she would never give it up.

The viciousness in Huo Yutong's words made Tang Wulin fall silent again.

Ever since they had met, his impression of Huo Yutong had always been that of a gentle, hardworking Sister who was always considerate of others. He had never imagined she could speak in such a tone.

Thinking about it carefully, the two of them did not understand each other at all. They both knew very little about one another.

Yet under such circumstances, she had been willing to tell him about her past. That trust was incredibly precious.

At the very least, he had to let her know how it ended.

With that thought, Tang Wulin made up his mind and said:

"Sister Yutong, what I'm about to say may sound unbelievable, but please believe me. There isn't a single lie in what I'm saying."

Then, he told Huo Yutong about his own past as well.

Since Huo Yutong had told him about herself, he should return the trust in kind.

In truth, the need to keep his past secret was far less urgent than it was for Huo Yutong.

Even if Huo Yutong told others about him, she would most likely be dismissed as spouting nonsense. But if he told others about Huo Yutong, the Duke's Mansion might send someone to assassinate her within days.

After all, there were very few people who would believe Tang Wulin had arrived in this era from ten thousand years in the future through the Time-Space Turbulence. But as long as the people involved conducted an investigation, they could confirm that Huo Yutong's words were true.

"..."

This time, it was Huo Yutong's turn to stare blankly after hearing the story.

It was not that she did not want to believe Tang Wulin. What he had said was simply far too fantastical.

Time Travel, and across ten thousand years at that, along with the matter of the Golden Dragon King seal—it all made her feel as though she were listening to a novel.

If anyone else had told her this, she would only have thought they were joking and laughed it off.

But seeing Tang Wulin's serious expression, she knew there was not a single false word in what he said.

This child was not someone who would talk nonsense at a time like this.

After struggling to digest Tang Wulin's words, Huo Yutong took a deep breath and said:

"Wulin, don't ever tell anyone besides me what you just said. Of course, I won't tell anyone either."

What Tang Wulin had said was simply too significant. If she were not speaking for more than just herself, she might even have told him about Tian Meng.

Fortunately, only she knew, with perhaps one silkworm as well. As long as she kept silent, no one would learn of it.

"Got it. I'll keep Sister Yutong's secrets too."

Tang Wulin nodded seriously.

"You don't need to call me Sister Yutong anymore. I'm only two years older than you anyway." Huo Yutong gave a bitter smile and gently shook her head. "From now on, we're Companions who keep each other's secrets. Just call me Yutong."

"Okay, Yutong."

Beneath the brilliant river of stars, Tang Wulin felt that the distance between himself and Huo Yutong had grown a little smaller once more.

Author's Note

Lady Huo's current favorability toward the characters introduced so far

Dai Huabin: -95 (utterly loathed; only not -100 because the Duchess is even more hated)

Zhou Sichen: 5 (a rather interesting classmate, Tang Wulin's friend)

Xiao Xiao: 15 (a roommate she had only known for a few days and barely interacted with)

Wang Yan: 20 (a Teacher who treated people gently)

Beibei, Tang Ya: 50 (benefactors who gave her a new home, though she had not known them long)

Tang Wulin: 75 (his personality was highly compatible with Lady Huo's; he helped her beat up Dai Huabin and was the only one who knew about her past)

The generally low favorability was because they had not known each other long—at most, less than ten days. Also, the passing line was 0 rather than 60; as long as the favorability was positive, it meant she had a good impression of them.

By the way, after rereading the original work, I found that Tang Wulin really was the protagonist of the first three parts whose emotional growth was closest to normal.

Tang San was a transmigrator and basically had no emotional growth. Lao Huo was a complete blockhead early on, while his later emotional shift was far too abrupt—his brother instantly became his girlfriend. Only Tang Wulin had a detailed progression, from an innocent little virgin to a master of romance: blushing at the sight of Senior Sister when he was nine, being teased by Mu Xi until he could not talk back at all, and later handling girls' affection with ease.