Chapter 26: The Question of Existence
Night Lan was currently snuggled up in White Paint, and it was like living in a vibrant mood ring. She could feel all of White Paint’s emotions bouncing around like hyperactive kittens, and she found herself easily influenced by them.
Suddenly, she felt her consciousness waver.
When she came to, the scenery had changed again.
White Paint had noticeably grown, now looking about ten years old and cuter than ever.
At that moment, White Paint was interacting with a little girl who had silver-gray hair, approximately six years old—must be White Paint’s little sister, White Fish.
Night Lan pondered, “Wow, White Fish is getting cuter by the day! And White Paint, you’re not doing too shabby yourself! Is this what they call a sisterly cuteness explosion?”
Honestly, she just wanted to dive down and squish White Fish’s chubby little cheeks while getting some snuggles from her adorable big sister. That sounded wonderfully comfortable!
Just daydreaming here.
Then Night Lan noticed that White Fish seemed to carry a piece of her own soul, much like the separation between Night Star and herself. It was giving her some serious double take vibes.
“Big sister, why isn’t Mom back yet?” White Fish asked, her voice as soft as freshly whipped cream.
White Paint gently patted her head, smiling, “Mommy has some things to take care of. Just hang in there.”
“Okay, I get it.” White Fish nodded nonchalantly, looking like she was taking it all in stride.
But Night Star, with her psychic vibe reading skills, sensed that White Fish was actually feeling super down and disappointed.
Wow, White Fish is already hiding her feelings at such a young age?
Just then, a flood of memories crashed into Night Lan’s mind, spilling secrets like a mischievous cat.
They were White Fish’s memories.
She had only seen her dad growing up and had never met her mom.
Even Dad wasn’t around much; he just popped in to check on her and then zoomed out again like a lightning bolt.
Most of her time was spent with her big sister.
But due to her physical frailty, White Fish couldn’t go to school like normal kids. Her dad had to hire people to teach her basic reading and common sense.
Now, aside from her social skills and health, White Fish didn’t seem that different from other kids her age.
Meanwhile, White Paint was feeling a little garden of gloom herself; she could tell White Fish was unhappy.
White Paint adored her little sister and had been over the moon when she learned they’d be getting a new little sibling.
She vowed she would make sure to keep White Fish smiling at all costs.
But now, no matter what she did, White Fish couldn’t seem to cheer up, and, naturally, that zapped White Paint’s happiness too.
Both sisters fell silent, and the atmosphere turned as heavy as a bag of bricks.
At this moment, White Fish couldn’t help but ask with a quivering voice, “Big sister, is it because Mom doesn’t like me that she hasn’t come to see me?”
Seeing the almost tearful expression on White Fish’s face, White Paint froze and quickly enveloped her in a hug.
“No, that’s not it. Mommy loves you so much! More than anyone else! She wishes she could see you, but…”
“Why not?”
“I… I don’t quite understand. But you have to believe me; she will come back to see you, I promise!”
“Really?”
“Yep, you just have to trust your big sister.”
“Got it…”
A little while later, White Paint left, leaving White Fish in the empty hospital room, staring off into space.
Night Star could feel her feelings.
Sadness, confusion, gloom…
“Dad said that Mom had to leave because of my illness. Does that mean Mom hates me and doesn’t come see me?”
White Fish pulled out four pieces of letter paper from a drawer.
These were letters from Mommy, containing a few simple lines.
Because of these letters, White Fish always held out hope that one day Mommy would come back and hug her.
But as time ticked by—tick-tock, tick-tock—hope started fading away.
“So it’s all my fault, huh…”
White Fish’s gaze lost its focus as she mumbled to herself, curling up in her blanket before drifting off to sleep.
“Ugh…”
Night Star’s expression was complicated.
She had that memory too.
Dad had said that Mommy was working hard to find a cure for White Fish’s illness, and that she’d come back as soon as she could find a solution.
But White Fish seemed to interpret that as Mom abandoning her, believing big sis was just telling her sweet lies.
Kids have a knack for twisting meanings around like they’re pretzels, don’t they?
And White Fish’s personality was all about hiding her thoughts, never asking too many questions.
And gradually, it evolved into the situation they were in now.
“That’s not how it is…”
Night Star wanted to tell White Fish that, but as soon as White Fish fell asleep, she too lost consciousness.
……
On Night Lan’s end.
After leaving the medical facility, White Paint took a ride in the opposite direction, traveling quite a distance before arriving at her destination.
This was another medical facility for the Night Watchers, far removed from where White Fish was.
White Paint passed through door after door until she finally stopped outside one room.
A familiar man was talking with some researchers, and White Paint listened in.
“Bai Yuan, Ye Qingya’s Stars are becoming more unstable, teetering on the edge of chaos. If we don’t find another solution soon, it’ll start evolving into Star Eclipses. We’ve noticed a significant connection between the Stars in White Fish and Ye Qingya, like a tumultuous blend of symbiosis and conflict. Ye Qingya’s unstable Stars might be caused by the early awakening of the Stars within White Fish; Ye Qingya could go berserk due to White Fish’s presence, while White Fish could face a decline in life due to Ye Qingya. Perhaps the only way to solve this is to remove one of them…”
Night Lan’s understanding clicked into place.
This was no longer just a matter of distance, but of existence itself.
Even if they were far apart, as long as they existed, they’d impact each other.
Bai Yuan’s eyes widened, disbelief dancing in their depths.
“You mean… make me choose to give one up?”
The researcher adjusted his glasses, his tone cool and calm, “This is just the worst-case scenario. Given White Fish’s waning vitality, she might not last until next month. Ye Qingya could spiral out of control at any moment. It’s best to find a solution before that happens.”
Time was running out.
Calling this situation urgent was like calling a fire hot—so accurate you could practically feel the heat.
The researcher turned to leave, leaving behind a pale-faced man, lost in thought, looking like a downtrodden ghost from afar.
White Paint stood nearby, absorbing every word, her pupils dilating.
“Are Mommy and my little sister… going to d*e?”
Her heart felt heavy.
She really wanted to cry.
What should she do?
White Paint longed to take action, but she felt utterly powerless.
In the end, all she seemed able to do was to take care of herself and not give her parents a reason to worry.
Bai Yuan stood there, dazed for a good while before finally taking a deep breath and slipping back into his usual demeanor, walking into the room where Ye Qingya was.
White Paint followed suit, sitting sweetly on a little stool by the door like an obedient puppy.
Night Star observed quietly as yet another wave of memory flooded into her mind.
This was White Paint’s memory.
Ye Qingya’s condition was getting worse, reflected in her increasingly unstable personality.
It was said that the unstable stars were the cause.
Night Star had heard Zero Meow mention that a person’s state could influence the state of the stars.
And conversely, unstable stars could also affect a person’s state.
Now that the stars were the ones going haywire, it was affecting Ye Qingya as the host.
It started with mental weakness, with her memory and reflexes taking a serious hit—she’d forget things and began to be sluggish in her reactions.
Then came the emotional rollercoaster; it wasn’t just mood swings, but an ongoing state of gloom—nothing could lift her spirits aside from moments with her husband or daughter.
And because of this, Bai Yuan had to be there for Ye Qingya, leaving him little time with White Fish.
White Paint was left juggling both sides, taking the responsibility of caring for her little sister well before her time.
Night Star found it all baffling.
“How can it be… so complicated?”
Suddenly, she felt that even if she were thrown into the thick of it, she wouldn’t be able to change a thing!
So why was she stuck inside White Fish and White Paint, just watching everything unfold?
Was this so she could feel the despair of the whole situation?
