### Chapter 25: The Past
One evening, Night Lan returned home.
She had just come back from White Fish’s place.
Ever since she made a talkative friend like White Fish, the floodgates opened, and White Fish just wouldn’t stop chatting about all sorts of topics.
As for Night Lan, the certified chat-inept, she spent the whole time nodding along, mostly offering a few casual responses here and there.
Even so, White Fish was relentless in her enthusiasm.
In response, Night Lan thought a simple smile was more than enough.
Before leaving, Night Lan had also asked White Fish about her parents, but that was a dead-end—not much useful information came from it.
White Fish hadn’t seen her mother since childhood, and even her father was a rare sight.
She had also been in a coma for several years.
When she woke up, her sister told her that their parents had passed away.
Hearing this news, Night Lan felt there were definitely some hidden secrets lurking in there.
Her intuition was strong.
She really wanted to help White Fish, but had no idea where to start.
“So annoying…”
She wanted to investigate some stuff but had no channels to do so.
As a novice recently joined Night Watcher, she felt completely powerless.
If only she had a super awesome hacker friend.
In this age of digital networks, a good cyber whiz can fish out whatever information they’d like from the comfort of their couch.
Even the most confidential info wouldn’t stand a chance.
That’s a million times better than any search engine!
Of course, if you went too far, you might just draw a whole horde of angry people, especially the Night Watchers.
The effects of Stars are wonderfully bizarre; if someone were to breach the Night Watcher’s network system, they could probably get exposed in no time at all.
“As expected, I must still work hard.”
Night Lan’s instinct told her that the answers to White Fish’s issues were tied to her parents. Perhaps knowing the truth was all it would take to solve it.
“But how do I find that out…?”
Night Lan was lying in bed next to Night Star, both staring blankly at the ceiling, deep in thought, and just kind of shutting down.
The two pillows on the bed—one was hers, the other was also hers—felt oddly pitiful.
As time passed, sleepiness crept in.
“If I were a Wish Machine, I’d really wish to help White Fish…”
Night Lan and Night Star shut their eyes.
In the next instant, time and space tumbled out of sync, and the two little lolis in the room were swallowed by darkness.
……
Night Star opened her eyes, feeling a bit dazed, not quite sure what was happening.
The next second, she heard the sound of a baby crying, like a cheer for new life entering the world.
“Look, Qingya, this girl looks so much like you, she’s so beautiful.”
It was a man’s voice, warm and gentle, and the emotion behind it made Night Star’s heart swell a little, her eyes surprisingly moistening.
“She looks so much like White Paint. No wonder they’re sisters. I hope this child can grow up healthy and happy.”
The woman said this, and she must be Qingya, and her voice was just as soft.
Night Star felt as if she was being cradled in warm arms, an experience she had never had before, almost like something she had long been missing.
“Let’s give her a name, how about White Fish? I hope she can live freely like a fish, unhindered by any suffering.” Dad said happily, sounding like a giddy schoolboy.
“White Fish? Then this little one will be called White Fish from now on, little fishy~” Mom agreed.
Hearing that name, Night Star began to grasp what was happening.
Could it be that these two people were White Fish’s parents?
And judging by their conversation, it seemed like it was just after White Fish was born.
What on earth was going on?
Night Star wanted to speak but found herself utterly speechless.
It felt like she was merely a soul inhabiting White Fish’s body, more of an observer than a participant.
So, was she just stuck watching the show unfold?
“Ugh…”
But before Night Star could wallow in her confusing thoughts, chaos erupted.
The man’s voice suddenly turned frantic and tense.
“Qingya! Qingya! What’s wrong? Wake up!”
Night Star suddenly felt a wave of discomfort, her expression becoming serious.
From what she had gathered earlier, there were already signs of instability with the woman’s Star.
As soon as she noticed this, Night Star felt dizzy and lost consciousness.
Time passed, and before long, Night Lan opened her eyes.
“What the heck is going on?”
Just as this question popped into her mind, she realized she was now inhabiting someone else’s body.
It was a small child with silvery-gray hair, resembling White Fish a bit, but upon closer inspection, she looked more like White Paint.
“I get it! This is little White Paint, isn’t it?”
Wait, White Paint looked to be around four years old, still sporting that quintessential toddler cuteness.
She seemed to have been waiting outside when Mom gave birth to White Fish.
Then the woman’s Star started going haywire.
A few Night Watchers rushed in to stabilize her, preventing her from completely turning into a Star Eclipse.
Little White Paint was just a kid, stuck waiting outside.
“Is Mom okay…?”
At that moment, White Paint overheard the Night Watchers talking, but she didn’t understand.
“Yea Qingya’s Star has reached a critical stage. It’s influencing the newborn. Normally, a newborn wouldn’t awaken a Star, but Qingya’s Star almost losing control forced the baby’s Star to awaken too. Now both mother and child share the same type of Star, one on the brink of chaos, the other will be affected. Although Qingya’s Star is barely stable now, if they remain together, the baby’s Star will grow uncontrollably, and she won’t be able to control it. At that point, it would lead to a catastrophic soul collapse.”
That’s what one of the researchers said.
“So, to keep both mother and child safe, it’d be best to separate them immediately. Ideally, they shouldn’t meet again until a solution is found.”
Young White Paint didn’t understand all that, but Night Lan, having some bits of common sense, got it.
She recalled Zero Meow saying that Night Watchers’ offspring were a very special group.
Their parents and children might have connected Stars.
But children rarely awaken their Stars in childhood, usually during their teenage years when they might be better able to control them.
Another problem arises when a person awakens their Star at an age when it can’t be controlled—they’re more likely to experience chaos.
Even if they don’t lose control, being close to parents with the same Star can lead to disastrous outcomes.
That’s exactly what was happening with infant White Fish and her mother right now.
They would likely be forced apart soon.
Sure enough, once they stabilized Qingya, she looked utterly heartbroken upon hearing the news, leaning against her husband’s chest and crying.
This made Night Lan’s heart sting a little.
Parents being forced away from their children always leads to heartbreak, doesn’t it?
The more love one invests, the greater the sorrow, and the more reluctant they feel to let go.
That must be it, right?
Then, Dad took Mom out of the room, trying not to disturb White Fish.
And nearby, there were Night Watchers with healing Stars keeping watch over White Fish, pulling her back from the brink of despair.
“Waaaah————”
The baby’s cries echoed once again.
Confused little White Paint followed her parents out of the place.
Qingya was taken somewhere else for a health check.
Little White Paint stayed close behind, allowing Night Lan to witness everything unfolding.
“Your Star has entered a critical phase. It could explode at any moment. I strongly advise you not to use your Star powers anymore. Otherwise, this level of a Star Eclipse is something we Night Watchers have no way to handle.”
No way to handle? So the only option left would be to let the vessel perish.
“So, does that mean I can’t be a Night Watcher anymore?” Mom asked, her voice trembling.
“Correct. Please rest well.”
In that moment, White Paint caught a glimpse of her mother’s despondent expression.
Even if she didn’t quite grasp what it meant, her heart sank with a wave of sadness.
“Mom…”
Night Lan found herself swept up in that emotion, feeling a gentle twinge of sorrow.
