Chapter 889: Colorful People
"Since you've helped me so many times... I'll be merciful today," White Snake said.
"What?"
"Today, you don't have to join my 'Mutual Aid Society.' I'm willing to listen to your sad story and try to enlighten you. When we're done, I'll give you a book as a gift, and you can return it to me the next day," White Snake said. "Come in, brat."
The feeling White Snake gave me was also strange.
He was a 'Zodiac' who had killed countless people, yet I couldn't sense any malice from him either.
I was about to follow him in when a few 'Participants' approached from not far away. They didn't seem to be playing White Snake's game for the first time.
"Earth Serpent!" a fat, middle-aged man called out. "I swear I won't accept this! This time, no matter what, I won't show any expression! Come on, come on! What book do you want me to read this time?!"
Earth Serpent pulled me forward, turned his head, and said irritably, "Scram, scram, scram. I'm busy with my sister right now. Don't have time for you guys."
"Huh?"
Before the few people outside could say anything, Earth Serpent turned back and slammed the door shut heavily.
"This..." I said, a bit disconcerted. "Isn't that not good? You said you were open for business..."
"Brat, didn't I tell you?" White Snake shook his head. "You and that sister of yours have helped me many times. This game venue was partly built thanks to you, so I'm being merciful to help you out. Sit down."
Hearing this, my face fell for a moment, then I found a chair and sat down.
"Why are you all by yourself?" White Snake asked again. "Where's that romance master?"
The moment he finished speaking, Earth Serpent's expression changed.
I kept my head down, unable to answer anything.
"Wait..." White Snake slowly widened his eyes. "You said you broke up with your 'best friend'?! No way?! What are you two brats planning to do?!"
"I..." I said hoarsely, "I don't know either. I only know that our paths are different, we each have our own choices... No... And Jiang Ruoxue does whatever she wants, so..."
I shook my head, deciding not to make my words sound so nice.
This was my fault, I had to admit it.
So I could only speak the truth from the bottom of my heart: "I've let her down. She helped me countless times without asking for anything in return, yet the first time she made a request of me, I rejected her..."
"Dammit..." White Snake cursed under his breath. "You two don't seem like foolish people. Can't you just get along?"
I smiled bitterly and shook my head, hating my own uselessness.
"And she actually does whatever she wants... Hiss..." White Snake nodded after listening. "I should learn that attitude toward life..."
"Learn it...?"
"No, sister... I mean, you need to talk to her properly!"
I stared into White Snake's eyes, feeling a bit strange.
He was tall, and his voice sounded male, but he gave me the feeling of a very gentle older sister.
"There's nothing left to say..." I lowered my head again and gave a bitter smile. "I've been isolated since I was a child; I deserve it. You probably won't believe this, but even the organization I built is an 'isolating' type... I've long been used to being abandoned. I'm afraid you wouldn't understand that feeling."
"No... I do understand quite well..." Earth Serpent also gave a bitter smile after hearing my words. "I've been treated like a monster by everyone since I was young. Boys and girls alike didn't want to get close to me. But they didn't know that some things aren't up to me—they're destined by heaven."
"What...?"
"I know that feeling all too well, sister." White Snake smiled at me with relief. "Most people in this world will harbor malice toward me the moment they see me. They'll mock me, give me insulting nicknames, and occasionally hit me a few times. Anyone who gets close to me gets cursed along with me. Even the parents who gave birth to me and raised me have no sense of recognition toward me. But I just didn't want to be a boy—is that wrong? Maybe my existence... can only bring them sorrow."
I never imagined that someone with White Snake's personality could have had experiences similar to mine.
At that moment, he didn't feel like a monster to me, but a flesh-and-blood human being.
"Brat, I was probably worse off than you during my school days, huh?" White Snake continued. "Even though those classmates might have just been joking casually, those words have stayed with me to this day. Whether it was 'sissy' or 'freak,' just a few words were enough to make me cry myself to sleep at night. Thinking about it carefully, 'being isolated' was actually the best case scenario. I don't need kindness from the people of this world; as long as there's no malice, I'm content."
White Snake lowered his head and rubbed his hands together. That simple gesture revealed a deep sadness to me.
White Snake and I were like two solitary flowers in the world, watered by sorrow and growing into thorny shapes.
But to be honest... White Snake really isn't suited to organize things like a 'Mutual Aid Society.'
He's too emotional, easily stirred by other people's stories into recalling his own sadness.
And after hearing his words... I really became even sadder!
Heavens, can this broken organization of his really help people overcome their sadness?
Isn't it just creating more sadness?
"But brat..." White Snake changed his tone, looked up at me, and his expression seemed completely relieved. "Even lonely monsters like you and me... we can also meet people who love us."
"What...?"
"In this world, there will be people willing to help us break out of our loneliness, to turn us into better people. They'll make up for what's missing in our lives, all by themselves." White Snake said. "We've been passive our whole lives. It's time to take the initiative for ourselves."
After hearing his words, the sadness in my heart began to dissipate.
"Whether it's a lover or a friend, it's the same for us." White Snake smiled at me. "People willing to get close to monsters like us... what else could they be but angels? If you meet an angel and don't fight for them, are you going to let them run away?"
"You're right..."
I thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. I realized that all these years, I had never even taken the initiative to look for Jiang Ruoxue.
I was too passive.
Why don't I take the initiative to find her?
That day, Jiang Ruoxue had used so much 'Karma'; she was probably on edge, mentally confused.
Why did I have to anger her at that very moment?
If only I had spoken to her nicely! Why did I have to insist on my own principles?
"Thank you... White Snake, I understand now!"
"Dammit... that's great..." White Snake muttered softly. "After all this time, I've finally managed to comfort someone..."
"What did you say?"
"Nothing, nothing, nothing." White Snake shook his head. "Brat, if you're not sad anymore, get away from me. When you go out, see if those 'Participants' are still around. I'm in a bad mood, and I'll kill a few people later to vent."
Uh... okay, I almost forgot he was still a 'Zodiac.'
Seeing that I hadn't left after a long time, he blinked in confusion: "What's wrong, brat? Need another session?"
"Aren't you going to give me a book as a gift?" I said. "You said I could return it to you the next day."
"You brat, you won't let even the slightest loss go, will you?"
White Snake casually pulled a book from behind him—one that seemed hardly ever read and covered in dust.
"Take this, go play with it." He pursed his lips irritably. "Remember to return it to me tomorrow."
I took it and looked. It was an "Advanced Plant Atlas."
Oh well, something is better than nothing.
I stood up, walked to the door, turned to look at him, and smiled: "Wouldn't it be boring if the world only had men and women?"
"What?"
"I think Goddess Nuwa thought about that when she created us," I said. "It takes colorful humans to build a colorful world, right?"
"Brat, you... you..." White Snake looked like he was about to lose his temper, but after a few seconds, tears started to fall. "You damn brat deserve to die..."
"I'm leaving!"
Holding the "Advanced Plant Atlas," I walked out of Earth Serpent's venue with a smile on my face.
Perhaps I was the first person to walk out of here smiling in all this time.