Mei Xue never knew that the steps in the games played by the girls in the orphanage had such a wonderful effect.
Xiaolian, who was dancing under the moonlight, looked as if her whole body was shrouded in a hazy aura, making her look dreamy.
The steps didn't seem to be much different from what Mei Xue had seen before, but at this moment, there was something in Xiaolian's dance steps that Mei Xue couldn't understand, but she instinctively knew that it was extraordinary.
That kind of dance steps seemed to be playing some kind of music, which was fascinating.
In particular, the touching feeling made Mei Xue stop for a long time under the moonlight, watching the petite elf dance.
She watched for more than ten days. In these ten days, Xiaolian's mastery of this kind of steps could be said to have advanced by leaps and bounds, no longer showing the initial jerkiness.
Now, as long as she participated in the game of hopscotch, she would inevitably become the center of everyone.
Under her leadership, the steps of the other girls in the orphanage also became more lively, which made the boys unable to help but be distracted from practicing martial arts, and they suffered a lot of innocent scolding.
Mei Xue could also understand that feeling. At the moment when she was about to leave the orphanage, she cherished this rare time more than usual.
In this way, as time went by, Xiaolian became the center of the entire orphanage, the little sister that all the girls loved and cared for.
Every day, when the sun had just risen, there would be girls gathering in front of the courtyard where Xiaolian lived, energetically calling her to get up.
"Xiaolian, it's starting!"
"Xiaolian, come out quickly!"
"Xiaolian, come and dance again."
At this time, Xiaolian, who was a little flustered, would run out of the courtyard with disheveled clothes. She didn't look like a rich young lady at all.
Mei Xue, who occasionally saw this scene, couldn't help but laugh, and then gave the flower that had just bloomed today to the lovable little elf.
No one said that Xiaolian would leave the orphanage in a few days.
Everyone knew about this, but no one would ask Xiaolian to stay, even if she became the center of the game of hopscotch.
This was because, in the end, Xiaolian and the girls in the orphanage didn't belong to the same world.
Xiaolian seemed to be vaguely aware of this, but she was still very happy to play hopscotch with everyone, and she never slacked off during the special training every night.
Just like that, the day of departure approached.
On the eve of Xiaolian's thirtieth day at the orphanage, which was also the day before she was to say goodbye to the girls at the orphanage and be taken away by the elders of her family, Mei Xue once again saw the elf dancing by herself under the moonlight.
Tonight, the moonlight was exceptionally bright, like a silver light sprinkling on the ground, illuminating the empty space like a small lake.
As for Little Lotus, she was the lotus that bloomed in the center of the lake. She was pure white and flawless, pure and innocent.
Her dance steps attracted countless fluorescent lights. These little lives danced along with her dance steps and whispered along with her as she turned around.
Today, there was a trace of sadness in Xiaolian. It was a lingering loneliness.
"Xiaolian." As someone who also had to say goodbye to everyone, Mei Xue could understand Xiaolian's feelings at the moment.
Even the trace of melancholy and longing in his heart was deeper than Xiaolian's.
This orphanage was where he grew up. In the past twelve years, he had left countless memories here.
The first confession, the first heartbreak. Some people came and left, and some people were still learning here, looking forward to tomorrow.
And he would also go out from here, set off to the truly vast world, spread his wings and fly high.
"Sister."
Xiaolian, who was spinning, danced in the air three times, and then landed lightly on the ground, showing Mei Xue her gorgeous steps.
The most difficult joints that had once caused her to sprain had now become as easy as breathing. This was the result of her hard training every night. In order to practice these difficult movements, she suffered more than she had ever suffered since she was born.
However, she didn't regret it, because for the first time, she found what she really wanted, the game that she liked.
Here, in this orphanage, she had finally found her true self, her own happy time.
Compared with this place, the courtyard of Shennong's lineage had everything, but there were no smiles, and there were no people playing together.
The Shennong clan, which was based on refining medicine, was very strict with the education of their clansmen, so strict that they were not allowed to play at all.
All this was for the glory of the Shennong branch.
Xiaolian didn't like that. She didn't hate refining medicine, and she liked to take care of those elixirs, but she couldn't accept the lifeless atmosphere in the family.
Even if they were refining medicine, why couldn't they be happier?
Xiaolian didn't understand why there was no smile on the faces of all the elders in the family.
They were always so busy that they didn't have time to take care of their children, and they were so busy that they couldn't see them even on her birthday.
They were like part of a huge mechanism, dedicated their lives to the Shennong clan, and even their marriage was decided by the family. What they should do from birth to death was decided by the family.
If Kennatsu-Ryūhime hadn't brought her to this orphanage this time, she would have thought that all the families were like this.
However, it was different here.
Here, everyone laughed, played games together, and had their own things to do.
The life here was not rich, but they all had hope in their eyes, and they had their own goals to strive for.
Although they lost a lot of things in their lives from the beginning, they were never bound to a certain path.
Even the girls who played hopscotch together, in addition to loving this game, also had their own hobbies. Some liked to make clothes, embroidery, and some liked to cook. Everyone was choosing their own life in their own way.
Although their goal was to be by Kennatsu-Ryūhime's side without exception, this was their goal from the bottom of their hearts, and it was not forced by anyone.
And the children born in the Shennong branch were required to embark on the road of refining medicine almost from birth.
Refining medicine, cultivating elixirs, and the one in a million genius who could become an alchemist, the whole family seemed to be dominated by some strong will, and they couldn't feel any freedom.
In the family records, Xiaolian only knew that there was an ancestor who broke this shackle, left the family, and made his own way.
Would she, like the other people in the family, be a part of this behemoth for a lifetime until she died?
The answer was too difficult for a nine-year-old child to come up with.