It took Ming'er a moment to digest the sudden appearance of Yang Lin, then her beautiful eyebrows joined in a frown, confused.
"Why are you here?" She parted her lips, asking. She didn't ask about why he was stained in blood, or point out any of the questions she had in mind. She still could not comprehend the sharp contrast between the weak, fragile boy she found once hunted by animals in the forest, and this person in front of her right now.
"Because I owe you this life of mine," Yang Lin answered as if a matter of fact. Then, he proceeded to take a seat crossed-legged in front of her. She didn't buy his excuse, she could see a hint of nervousness in his eyes, even Grandma Mo's eyes flashed as she smiled and thought, he's not a good liar after all, or perhaps it's only Ming'er that he can't lie to?
She shook her head; youngsters.
At the moment, Yang Lin was worried. When the woman told him his mother died, he was skeptical about it, but it was true after all. Then, she also warned him about falling in love with this girl, was she speaking the truth? Was she lying? He didn't know. However, he would gamble it and see how it goes.
The pair sat motionlessly for a dozen breaths of time before they heard faint footsteps. It was a group of other orphans, two girls, and three boys, they also wore light gym outfits for field practice, but they gave off an aura of arrogance.
Taking a look their way, Yang Lin could roughly guess what they want, they must be here to bully Ming'er, could they be stronger than her too?
"Hey friend," said the young man one step ahead of the group. He had fair skin, red locks of hair, and similarly crimson eyes. He was almost as tall as Yang Lin currently, making him a head taller than Ming'er and the other two girls.
Surprised, Yang Lin cast a glance at this handsome figure. Yang Lin's perplexed look amused the young man, causing the latter to smile even brighter.
"Come joins us over there, friend. Trust me, you don't want to be around a prostitute figure." The young man said with ridicule, his gaze of disdain swept past Ming'er, but she simply closed her eyes and returned to her meditation.
"Prostitute?" Yang Lin's eyebrows shot up, his curious gaze scanned Ming'er, then returned to the young man in front. Seeing Yang Lin's look, the man said, "Yes, a prostitute." He also nodded, as if he spoke some facts.
One of the girls behind him took a step forward, with a charming smile complementing her tanned skin, large eyes, she said, "Our big brother has a crude tongue, don't mind him, friend. What he meant to say is, Ming'er is a valid candidate to be adopted into the City Lord's Mansion of Plight Canyon Region! How amazing is that?" The girl chuckled lightly, though ridicule could be seen all over her face.
Yang Lin sighed, then he slowly stood up, stretching. He spoke softly and said, "And? How does that make one a prostitute?" He asked while stretching, his behavior confused the rest.
Still, the girl chuckled and said, "The Young City Lord has a weird habit. His wife, she can't get pregnant, and he was probably influenced by the alien civilizations and their whole concubine and polygamous lifestyle, but that lifestyle is frowned upon by our native civilizations."
She then cast a glance at Ming'er, saying, "Although we are trained soldiers of war, some of us are lucky enough to be adopted as 'breeding' tools for such figures of renowned pantheons. Ming'er happens to be one of the lucky ones! Living the happy Mansion life. On the surface, she will be the City Lord's adopted daughter, but under the covers…" The girl then stopped, a smile tracing her lips.
She cast a glance at Yang Lin's handsome face, she had to admit she was quite jealous of why he was providing attention towards such a girl when she was around, she didn't think she fell short on beauty compared with Ming'er. Anyway, she knew that no boy would get involved with a woman fated to be someone's plaything.
By the side, Ming'er remained silent, focusing on her meditation.
She long accepted this fate, and her only way to rewrite this destiny is via shedding blood on the field of the war of nations. She had three years ahead, that's plenty of time, she hoped.
Feeling Yang Lin's gaze, she felt a little anxious. He was the only male around her age who did not know of such fate, albeit he was a year younger, he at least did not look at her with pity or disgust. She knew he liked her, anyone with a sane mind could read the signs. Now, though, he matured a little.
Though his eyes carried the same gentleness, he wasn't exaggeratingly shy, or blooming red all over his face from merely eye contact. She knew he was looking, but she was afraid to open her eyes and glance at him, she wasn't lacking more people looking down at her with pity.
She had a feeling that if she glanced at him again, made that eye contact, she would lose something. It was different with the orphanage kids, they've never looked at her as anything more than a tool for breeding, even thugs outside had the same heart.
But he was different, until this moment. Now that he knew, he would be like them.
"What do you say, friend, you coming?" The young man asked again, pressing down his urge to laugh and rejoice as he gazed feverishly at Yang Lin. If what he said was true, and she saved his life, how would she feel when the same person she rescued looked at her like a whore?