Baishu’s mind was filled with two words: it’s over.
This was because the lily in the hands of the Goddess of Hope was emitting a faint golden light, clearly resonating.
In other words, Baicha had resonated with the statue.
And as fate would have it, Baicha was also three years old.
Baishu had been pestered to death by a group of old fuddy-duddies when the previous three-year-old was around, and now there was another one. Baishu could already foresee the barrage of criticism he would face.
Bai Qingyuan was also shocked. She knew her daughter’s chuunibyo personality of acting cool in front of strangers; sweet desserts? Not a chance.
And now.
Freya: “Oh my, Chacha, you’ve got cake on your lips. Here, here.”
Baicha wiped the corner of her mouth and instinctively stuck out her tongue to lick it. She looked a bit slow-witted, which made Freya like her even more. Freya reached out, wiped away the chocolate smudge from Baicha’s lips, and licked it again.
“It’s sweet, isn’t it?” Freya said with a grin.
Were they getting along so well? She was even allowing someone to be so close to her? Bai Qingyuan blinked, slightly bewildered.
Ye Feng was also confused. The way the little girl named Freya looked at Baicha seemed so familiar.
The world was not limited to dragons as the only source of power. Some flexibly utilized various technologies, some modified genes through surgery to awaken potential, and even spiritual cultivation and connection with the divine were gradually being explored. Every country had these talents, who were usually recruited by the state.
After all, following the powerful figures meant having meat; if the country had meat, you’d have soup. No worries about social security, a leisurely iron rice bowl. Once their abilities were put to good use, they would definitely have no shortage of food, drink, and good treatment.
Of course, there was another path. For those with drive, joining an organization as bounty hunters was also an excellent choice, with the Balance Beam being the top-tier option.
The Balance Beam had dedicated training camps. As long as one could gain the statue’s approval, they would soar to great heights. The statues were real, and their power was real. This was no less significant than resonating with dragons.
The statues were the backbone of the Balance Beam. Now, not only had two statues been claimed by two three-year-old toddlers, but Freya was, after all, affiliated with the Balance Beam, while Baicha was from China’s Shadow.
She wasn’t from the Balance Beam!
Before long, the hall was filled with people. A group stood below the hall, staring at each other. The two little girls on top of the statues looked at the crowd below the hall, utterly confused.
“Ye Feng, how could you let your daughter resonate with our statue?” someone immediately exploded. It was none other than the resonance user of the Goddess of Hope.
Oh no, the former one, now.
“Stop shouting.” Baicha jumped down from the statue, not forgetting to drag Freya along. She said with a proud expression, “You placed the statues in the hall yourselves. I didn’t do it on purpose.”
That was because no one expected a three-year-old child to be chosen! And to snatch two at once! Everyone silently complained in their hearts.
However, in the end, the matter was naturally dropped.
Ye Feng, having been the world number one for nearly ten years, and Bai Qingyuan, the world number one support, were not to be trifled with. Strength meant having a say, and no one wanted to get beaten up for no reason.
However, they couldn’t just take advantage of others for free. To prevent Baishu from looking too bad, Baicha directly joined the Balance Beam.
“Chacha, do you want to join the Balance Beam? If you don’t, we won’t go,” Bai Qingyuan said, her heart aching for her daughter. She knew her daughter had proposed joining the Balance Beam voluntarily to make things less difficult for them. Training at the age of three seemed a bit early, and Bai Qingyuan didn’t want her youngest daughter to suffer this hardship.
“It’s okay, Mom. It’s bound to happen sooner or later,” Baicha said, sipping the freshly brewed milk with a serious expression. “Brother doesn’t like fighting, so he’ll probably only become a civil official in the future.”
The elder son would handle external affairs, and the younger daughter would handle internal matters. This was likely overheard by Baicha when they discussed matters privately. It was remarkable that Baicha had this concept at such a young age.
Bai Qingyuan still felt sorry for her daughter. In fact, she disliked the Bai family’s stance, but as the only remaining daughter of the Bai family, she had no choice. However, when it came to her younger daughter, Bai Qingyuan was full of worries.
“Does Chacha like fighting?” Ye Feng asked, picking up his daughter and walking.
“Hmm… Either is fine.” Baicha thought carefully for a moment. “I don’t dislike it.”
To be precise, she didn’t have anything she particularly liked, nor anything she particularly disliked. Cartoons, picture books, music, building blocks… she felt they were all fine, all enjoyable, not disliked, but not something she particularly loved either.
She seemed to have this “either is fine” attitude towards everything.
“Then, do you like Freya?” Ye Feng asked tentatively after some thought.
Freya?
Baicha thought for a long time before realizing Ye Feng was referring to the little girl who was like a pink rabbit.
“Her eyes are very beautiful, they’re pink,” Baicha said, her tone unchanged. However, Ye Feng was surprised.
He knew his daughter. He had tested her carefully. Baicha would remember a person by first noting their appearance, but she never carefully observed a person’s face and eyes.
From a certain perspective, this might be a good thing, as looking at someone for more than three to five seconds could easily lead to emotional interference with judgment. This might be innate combat talent. Although Bai Qingyuan felt sorry for her daughter, Ye Feng was well aware of Baicha’s future responsibilities as a member of the Bai family.
But this time, Baicha remembered someone’s eyes.
This meant his daughter had looked at Freya for a long time, long enough to remember her face and her eyes.
Perhaps he was overthinking it. Regardless, from then on, Baicha frequently went to the Balance Beam’s training grounds for training, and each time, Freya would accompany her.
The two combat prodigies improved rapidly together. Freya defeated Aquarius, ranked sixth, at the age of ten, and Virgo, ranked second, at the age of twelve, becoming the youngest top three in the Balance Beam.
Baicha, on the other hand, did not challenge anyone. She simply trained quietly and quickly befriended everyone in the Balance Beam. Even TV shows and gossip that Baicha wasn't interested in became fun through playing with everyone. Freya, meanwhile, shared interesting things with Baicha every day.
How beautiful the rainbow was after the rain, which star was the brightest in the night sky, who challenged her and was repelled by her arrow today, how tiring it was to receive documents just now, what games they played a few days ago where the art was great but the planning was terrible…
Freya was full of enthusiasm for everything, and her attitude towards Baicha was almost fervent. She seemed to have an endless supply of happiness to share, and Baicha also seemed to have endless patience to listen to her talk about everything in the world.
When Baicha was seven years old, Freya was no longer Baicha’s match.
Freya said, “Chacha, you be the powerful one from now on, and I’ll be your prettiest accessory, okay?”
When Baicha was nine years old, it was Baicha’s first mission. Due to lack of experience, she almost fell into a crisis. It was Freya who, using the Balance Beam’s name to feign authority, helped Baicha escape.
Freya said, “Chacha, see how powerful I am? I tricked everyone!”
When Baicha was ten years old, Baicha’s mother, Bai Qingyuan, fell into a crisis due to incorrect intelligence. Ye Feng was tied up and couldn’t arrive in time. Bai Qingyuan voluntarily sacrificed herself to protect innocent people and her daughter. Seeing the hypocrite arrive late, Baicha desperately wanted to kill him.
Freya stopped Baicha, but then shot and killed those people herself, using the Balance Beam’s name to draw all the hatred onto herself.
Freya said, “My Chacha must be well. I will do what Chacha’s position does not allow.”
When Baicha was eleven years old, the relationship between the Bai family and the Balance Beam had become strained. Baicha trained desperately to prepare for the worst possible outcome. Freya helped Baicha summarize her findings while also fighting against all opposition to retain Baicha’s position in the Balance Beam.
Freya said, “Because I like Chacha the most, it’s only natural for me to stay by Chacha’s side.”
Thus, on Baicha’s twelfth birthday, Baicha came out of the training grounds to see Freya preparing a large cake for her, along with a large bouquet of pink crystal flowers.
That was the first time Baicha had seen Freya with such a serious expression. Freya said, “Chacha, I love you, not like. I swear by the name of the Goddess of Love to give you the most fervent love in the world.”
That day, Baicha had caused a scene in the Balance Beam, destroying half of their statues. Freya was severely injured and sent to Mo Yuntian by Baicha for treatment. Still not fully recovered, Freya dragged her wounded body and desperately rushed to Baicha’s side.
She said, “I’m afraid I won’t have another chance to say it.”
It turned out that this fearless little sprite also had moments of fear. However, the blows from too many ups and downs had made Baicha seem numb, unable to shed tears or smile.
“I’m sorry,” Baicha apologized hastily and left the training grounds, leaving Freya standing there for an unknown amount of time.
That night, Ye Feng was confirmed dead.
The next morning, Baicha, carrying the family emblem, rushed to the capital and announced her succession to the Bai family.
Afterward, Freya’s cohesiveness led to her gaining increasing power within the Balance Beam. Less than two years after Baicha took charge of the Bai family and quelled the Shadow, she directly disappeared.
During that period, Baicha’s human experimentation concluded, and she led the charge to destroy all data. The moment Baicha returned to the Bai family, which she hadn’t visited in a long time, she froze in place.
The vast Bai family mansion was decorated everywhere with pink crystal flowers, gaudy and more exaggerated than KTV disco lights. Much of it was dusty. On the staircase in the center of the living room sat a familiar, pink figure, waiting for who knows how many days and nights.
At that moment, Baicha thought she was dreaming until the pink sprite pounced on her as if they had just met.
“Chacha, I found you again,” Freya nestled in Baicha’s neck, laughing happily. She seemed to be smiling all the time. Only when Baicha rejected her confession did Freya rarely show a look of disappointment and sadness.
“Aren’t you happy to see me? Want a loving hug? A kiss is okay too,” Freya nuzzled against Baicha’s body. At that time, Meng Qinghuan, who was responsible for escorting Baicha back, was greatly startled by this scene.
God knew that the relationship between two pivotal figures from two almost opposing organizations could be so intimate. If word got out, it would cause a huge stir.
“Chacha found me again. Chacha always finds me, right?” Freya’s eyes lit up like a chatterbox upon seeing Baicha, talking endlessly.
Baicha didn’t push her away, nor did she ask her to get up as she had the first time.
Baicha remembered how they often played hide-and-seek when they were little. No matter where Freya hid, she could always find Freya’s hiding spot by following the clues. She had been training since childhood, so she naturally had an advantage in this regard, but Freya didn’t care at all.
“See? It’s always easy for Chacha to find me, right?” Freya tilted her head up, smiling like a kitten, her eyes narrowed. Her long, silk-like pink hair sparkled in the sunlight. Baicha hadn’t seen such a bright color in a long time.
By then, even Bai Ze had already died, yet Baicha fell into a slumber in Freya’s embrace without any defenses.
She was too tired. The pressure of public opinion and her superiors, the pressure of training, the torment of human experimentation. Finally, enveloped by Freya’s aura, she lost consciousness.
That was also the first time Meng Qinghuan saw the Goddess of Love with a cold, murderous glint in her eyes. This whimsical little sprite, who always smiled on screen and at various meetings, warned him with a sharp killing intent.
Don’t get close to her. Do not approach her until I confirm your loyalty to Chacha.
No one!