Lin Luo had never encountered such a vexing girl. Though Meng Meng was difficult too, at least she wasn't so extreme; speak to her nicely and she was quite manageable, despite the occasional necessary, albeit embarrassing, antics. But this girl... comparing the situation to a scholar meeting a soldier—where reason is useless—was an understatement. He couldn't even get a word in edgewise!

When you spoke to her, she would completely ignore you, just staring with those large, dark eyes until you were forced to look away. You couldn't tell if she was bold or timid. A lollipop, however, was an easy way to get her attention. But if you dared to touch her, she would burst into tears. Crying, throwing fits, threatening self-harm—her mastery of tears was legendary.

In short, Lin Luo retreated in defeat.

"You're really useless," seeing his dejected look, Kaguya certainly wouldn't miss a chance to scorn him.

Lin Luo shot her a look. "You probably aren't much better yourself."

"Who says? Hand it over!" Kaguya immediately held out her hand.

"What?"

"The lollipop!" Kaguya declared righteously. "I'll show you how it’s done. Hmph, a mere little girl, I’ll have her wrapped around my finger in no time."

"It's best not to be so certain. In my opinion, this girl is quite tough to deal with," Lin Luo said, though he still handed the lollipop to Kaguya.

"Your failure doesn't mean I will fail." Kaguya was dismissive. After taking the lollipop, she immediately launched her offensive toward the little girl opposite them. "Little sister..."

Five minutes later.

Kaguya leaned back against the mattress, staring blankly at the sky, wearing an expression of complete, worn-out apathy.

In those five minutes, she had thrown everything she had at the girl—tricks, cajoling, threats, and intimidation—but her score was even worse than Lin Luo’s. Besides having five lollipops snatched away by the little girl, she gained absolutely nothing.

A magnificent rout!

"You understand my suffering now, don't you?" Lin Luo patted Kaguya's shoulder with a show of comfort, though inside, he was rolling with laughter.

Kaguya said weakly, "Are you happy now?"

"Not at all," Lin Luo lied through his teeth.

Kaguya glanced sideways at him, a look of profound sorrow on her face. "Go ahead and laugh if you need to, but before you do, I have to remind you: we have both failed. Getting her identity out of her is now impossible."

"Uh!" At those words, Lin Luo froze. He had almost forgotten that their objective wasn't a competition over who could sweet-talk a child better. It was about extracting her secret!

Thinking of this, Lin Luo slumped again.

"Sigh." With a heavy breath, Lin Luo looked up at the sky, his spirit flagging, and suggested, "Let's just discuss the possibility of why that girl fell from the sky."

"What's there to discuss?" Kaguya tilted her head, looking utterly uninterested.

"It's boring, and we still have a while before we reach the Sky City."

"Oh... then I guess her wings must have broken, and that's why she fell."

"She's a person. Where would she get wings?"

"They broke, so of course you can't see them. Besides, how else could she fly so high?"

"That logic isn't scientific. We can fly higher without wings."

"She's so small."

"Size isn't the issue; the ability to fly is."

"Then tell me how she flew up there?"

"Er... let's switch perspectives then, and discuss how she could fly so high without wings."

"With this much time, I’d rather sleep and rest."

The two idle souls engaged in utterly pointless banter, while the little girl across from them continued to nibble on a lollipop, observing them with her dark, wide eyes. The timid look was gone, and she now seemed genuinely interested in them.

After an unknown amount of time, just as the girl finished her sixth lollipop, there was a sudden thud, and the cloud-bed, which had been gliding gently, stopped mid-air.

Simultaneously, an extremely strained voice rang out. "What are you two doing?!"

Lin Luo snapped his head over and saw Tohsaka Rin standing on the edge of the opposite bed platform, glaring at him with an expressionless face.

"Uh..." Lin Luo was stunned into silence, unsure what to say.

At that moment, the little girl, who had been hiding under the layer of cloud like a blanket, suddenly threw off her 'covering' and stood up. She then deftly climbed onto Tohsaka Rin's body from the platform edge, wrapped her arms around Rin’s neck, and called out affectionately, "Mama."

Huh?!

Hearing the word 'Mama,' Lin Luo felt like he had been struck by lightning.

After a long moment, he managed to react. He looked first at the little girl clinging to Tohsaka Rin, then at Tohsaka Rin's face, which now held a gentle smile, and finally pointed at the girl and asked Tohsaka Rin, "That... is your daughter?"

Tohsaka Rin was gentle when looking at the little girl, but the moment her gaze settled on Lin Luo, her face hardened instantly. "Didn't you hear what she just said?"

Such authority, truly immense authority.

In that instant, Lin Luo felt the overwhelming aura of majesty radiating from Tohsaka Rin, and involuntarily felt a pang of guilt, scratching his head and chuckling dryly, "Hehe, so she really is your daughter. Actually, you see..."

"Mama." Before Lin Luo could finish, the little girl called out sweetly again, drawing Tohsaka Rin's attention. She then pointed a finger at Lin Luo, her face filled with grievance, and pouted, "Bad man... bullied."

Hey!

Lin Luo was instantly dumbfounded.

Children have some limitations in verbal expression and can’t always convey their thoughts clearly, but those four words, paired with her aggrieved expression, carried the clear subtext: Mom, this person is a bad guy, and he bullied me!

Indeed, no one understands a child better than their mother. Seeing the little girl's look of distress, Tohsaka Rin's eyebrows immediately knitted together, and she glared at Lin Luo, asking in a low voice, "You bullied her?"

"No, no, absolutely not!" Lin Luo waved his hands repeatedly. He was wrongly accused! When had he ever bullied this girl? If anything, he had been the one tormented by her!

"If you didn't, then why did Xiao Lian say that? You must have scared her!" Tohsaka Rin looked at her child for a moment, and her anger rose again. "Bastard! You still dare say no! Look at her eyes—they’re swollen from crying! Explain yourself carefully!"

Tears streamed down Lin Luo's face. How was he supposed to explain this?

Lin Luo was speechless for a moment and instinctively began to search for help. His gaze drifted toward Kaguya, but the moment he saw her, his heart sank... Kaguya, who had been chatting with him moments ago, was now sprawled out with her long hair loose, rubbing her sleep-crusted eyes, looking as if she had just woken up. When she saw the gazes of Lin Luo and Tohsaka Rin fall on her, she merely tilted her head, wearing an expression of utter bewilderment, "What happened?"

Lin Luo nearly collapsed. The shift in attitude was too fast!

"What, is there something difficult to explain?" Tohsaka Rin glared back at Lin Luo.

"I really didn't bully her," Lin Luo felt like crying; he was more wronged than Dou E.

"Hmph, I knew you wouldn't dare explain. I'll ask her myself." Tohsaka Rin snorted angrily, but when she turned to her daughter, her tone became enviably soft. "Xiao Lian, tell Mama, how did that bad man bully you? Mama will stand up for you."

The little girl wiped her eyes, her vision blurred by tears, and pouted as she said, "Bad man... scared me... lollipop... didn't give me... and grabbed me... wuwuwu..."

Seeing her start to cry again, Lin Luo felt the urge to weep loudly himself. The reality was nothing like that!

"What do you have to say now?" Tohsaka Rin stared sternly at Lin Luo.

Lin Luo’s face was streaming tears. What could he say? Could he tell her that her daughter was lying? While the facts were indeed different from her narrative, based on the child's subjective judgment, her words weren't entirely an exaggeration. Not giving her the lollipop was a fact, and trying to grab her was also a fact. Since the first two points were true, the accusations of 'bad man' and 'scared' were inescapable.

Lin Luo knew he had no ground left to appeal.

"Hmph!" Seeing that he had essentially confessed, Tohsaka Rin glared at him, then her gaze fell upon the cloud-bed, and she let out a cold laugh. "Never mind a grown man shamelessly bullying a child, this bed is quite... intimate, isn't it?"

This was truly one problem after another.

Lin Luo quickly glanced at Kaguya beside him and, seeing her completely detached demeanor, knew this charge would land squarely on him again. He could only tell the truth: "About this bed, the story is actually like this... On the way here, this bed was a car. As we were driving, that little girl... oh, your daughter suddenly fell from the sky. Since I saw it, I couldn't just let her crash, right? So, to ensure her landing was safer, I turned the car into a bed. You know how it is with children; they are less likely to be scared falling onto something soft."

"Do you take me for an idiot?" Tohsaka Rin continued her cold smile. "If you offered any other excuse, I might have believed it. But saying my daughter fell from the sky? That excuse is utterly idiotic!"

"Utterly idiotic, utterly idiotic, hehehe," the little girl, sitting in Tohsaka Rin's lap, pointed at Lin Luo and burst into happy laughter.

"..." Lin Luo didn't die of stupidity, but he was nearly infuriated to death. "I'm telling the truth!"

"The truth, your head! Xiao Lian has always been very well-behaved. She doesn't run around, cause trouble for people, or go to dangerous places alone. Saying she fell from the sky is complete nonsense!"

"Then tell me how she got here? It's not like I snatched her from the Sky City, is it?"

"Well, that..."

This question was crucial, and Tohsaka Rin was momentarily stumped, instinctively looking down at the child in her arms.

For a second, all three gazes focused on the little girl. The one who had been laughing cheerfully suddenly froze, and then...

"Waaaaaah!!!!"

Tears streamed from the little girl's eyes, and she began to cry loudly.

Damn it!

Lin Luo nearly knelt. That crying was timed too perfectly!