I chuckled. “Our symbiotic flowers are responding to each other. You aren"t turning me into a water monster, are you?” I said jokingly. He panicked and immediately pulled back his hand. Then, he looked at me, anxiously. He actually believed it.
I looked at him playfully and asked, “Why are you panicking? What if I can turn you into a human?”
He was stunned. There was a glimpse of pain in his huge fish eyes as he gazed into my eyes affectionately. A droplet rolled down from his eyes. No one knows if that was a tear or water droplet.
I looked at him for a very long time. The flower patterns on the back of my hand were warm. I reached out to stroke his wet, slimy face. “Wait until Raffles is back. He will surely find ways to transform you into a human again. He reversed Lucifer into a human. Raffles can definitely do it.”
He looked at me in surprise. There was hope in his eyes. The water rolled down from his eyes, streaking his cheeks. It was warm—it was his tears.
I kept my distance from him because I was afraid of scaring him away with my urge to pursue the truth and verify my guesses. I knew Harry very well. He wouldn"t want me to know the truth if he had really turned into a water ghost. He would surely leave once I found out because he wouldn"t be able to face me as a water ghost. He wouldn"t be able to do it.
I wouldn"t let him leave me again. So, I treated him only as Ghostie, just… a water ghost who kept me company.
I smiled and patted his face. “I wonder what you would look like if you were a human. Would you be bald? Hahaha,” I said jokingly. But it actually felt like needles were piercing my heart. Harry, I have finally understood the pain you were going through back then when you were joking around me as a "friend."
Ghostie suddenly became depressed. He smacked my hand and turned away, signifying that he didn"t want to bother with me.
I smiled as I opened the jewelry box and took out the bracelet to put it on my wrist. I couldn"t help but look at the back of my hand. The symbiotic flower on my hand was colorless. It looked transparent, and it could turn into various colors. At least, I couldn"t tell then. It wasn"t like the one on Ghostie"s chest with gorgeous, visible patterns. It looked pretty nice on his green skin.
I took out the necklace and put it around Ghostie"s neck as I found the design overly grand. It complemented the flower patterns on his chest.
Ghostie grabbed the necklace and stared at me, as though he was questioning if I was being serious, making him wear women"s jewelry.
“Keep it safe for me. It is inconvenient for me to bring this big box around.” I flung the empty box away and began to take off my clothes.
Ghostie immediately covered his face, and there was a loud splash.
I chuckled. “Don"t pretend. You love seeing this. Anyway, I am wearing clothes underneath.” I turned around and took off my battle suit. I adjusted my vest, and I finally felt comfortable again.
I was done with disguising as a man. I had not worn any girl"s clothing in a very long time. I was back in Noah, and I wanted to be a girl again.
I picked a light blue floral dress and pinned my hair up with a colorful crystal pin. I turned around and spread my arms and asked Ghostie, “How do I look? Am I pretty?”
Ghostie put down his hands, uncovering his face. His expression was tender and loving as he gave me a thumbs-up.
I laughed and announced, “Let"s go and interrogate the Ghost Eclipsers.”
He looked surprised. He pointed at my clothes as though he was complaining that I was overdressed for interrogation.
Who said that one needed to dress up like police to interrogate prisoners? I didn"t bother. I was in Noah City, and I wanted to be myself. Plus, days like this wouldn"t last long. I would have to disguise as a man again after leaving Noah City.
I was in a great mood after I changed my clothes.
When Ghostie and I left the room, there was a boy standing in front of us. Suddenly, an egg flew at me out of nowhere. Just as I tried to catch it, a golden brown braid swished past my face. The egg exploded and turned into flower petals, falling in front of me.
I looked through the falling petals, and I saw Xiao Jing"s angry face. Her eyes were filled with hatred as she stared at me ferociously. She shouted at me, “Why are you not dead!? Hurry up and leave this place!” She turned and ran away after that.
I stood quietly behind the boy. I knew that Xiao Jing hated me. She hated me for causing Harry"s death.
“Why did Sis Xiao Jing treat you that way?” The boy turned around and asked. He blushed when he saw me. His eyes were dazzling in colors, like Mosie"s color-changing hair.
He panicked and took a step back. He looked at me excitedly and said, “Sis Luo Bing, I am Gru!” His lips were trembling out of excitement. He was about 16 years old and 170cm tall. He had comely features and a youthful vibe.
He smelled like flowers.
“Gru.” I remembered. He was the boy I had saved.
“You remember me!” Gru cheered happily. He was a little overwhelmed. He was wearing traditional 3-quarter trousers, and its wide-legged cutting made it look like a skort.
A clean young man with a tinge of floral fragrance...
“This is for you!” He suddenly lifted his hand, and a bouquet appeared in his hand. He blushed as he looked down bashfully. “Thank you for saving us and giving us a home.” He hung his head and puffed his cheeks as though it had taken him a lot of courage to say that.
I accepted the flowers and smiled, saying, “Thank you. It has been a while since someone gave me fresh flowers.” It wasn"t easy to get fresh flowers in this world. Those in Noah City back then were all artificial flowers.
“Bang!” Ghostie suddenly knocked on the gla.s.s again.
I frowned. He should know his limits!
Gru was younger than me! But he was only four years younger...
“Sis Luo Bing, I heard that you are leaving Noah City. Are you going for a war?” He looked at me with a burning gaze. I saw his desire to join the war.
I creased my eyebrows as I turned around and started walking.
“Sis Luo Bing!”
“War is not suitable for you...” I said while holding the flowers he had given me.
“Why not?!” He became anxious. “A water ghost can fight alongside you. Why can"t I? I was caught by the Ghost Eclipsers to work as a miner before! They killed my family. I hate them! I have to take revenge!”
I stopped and looked into his anxious eyes. “That is why you"re not suitable. The reason you want to join the war is that you want revenge. But, your family hoped for you to live a good life for them.”
Gru was stunned.
I turned and continued to walk. The hemline of my skirt fluttered as I walked.
“I don"t want to stay here just to make more children! Or do any house ch.o.r.es! It might be like this for the rest of my life!” Gru suddenly shouted behind me, “I want to be a man and fight a war!”
I stopped. Another boy has said something along the same line—it was Pelos.
Their lives shouldn"t be decided by someone else. I thought the war was dangerous for him. He was only 16. However, he didn"t want to stay back and do nothing. He didn"t want to regret one day when he missed out on any important moments in history.
He was just like Pelos. They wanted to live a meaningful life!