FMLB Chapter 98

Chapter 98- Listening to the world

 

When He Ruge sang “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” using spiritual energy, he was very engaged, and the little bunny listened very attentively. However, from beginning to end, He Ruge didn’t hear the response he wanted. 

 

There was no childish voice saying “I like jellyfish the most” like in his memory. The little bunny on the bed seemed like an empty shell, hardly reacting to the outside world. It could eat and sleep by itself but couldn’t communicate with others.

 

Are you Ruanruan?

 

He Ruge looked at the little bunny on the bed and sighed softly. He turned off the live broadcast and, together with Shui Xirui, went to tidy up the cubs’ bedding. 

 

When they reached the bedding of Autumn Dream Valley, she suddenly asked, “Teacher Xiao He, what do stars look like?”

 

He Ruge froze, just like how Shui Xirui didn’t know how to describe the sea to Autumn Dream Valley. How could he describe stars to a blind child?

 

Autumn Dream Valley didn’t press for answers. She said understandingly, “Teacher Xiao He, good night.”

 

 As she said good night, Shui Xirui happened to turn off the lights, plunging the room into darkness. But Autumn Dream Valley lay on the bed, oblivious, curling herself into a sweet donut.

 

She was used to the darkness.

 

On their way to the teachers’ dormitory, Shui Xirui took He Ruge and couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher Xiao Shui, do you know how to describe the sea and the stars to Autumn Dream Valley?”

 

“If Dream Valley could see things, then I would tell her the sea is blue, like blue paint splashed on paper, and the stars are golden, like yellow paint sprayed on paper. Just like what I said to other kids in art class.” Shui Xirui paused. 

 

“But Dream Valley can’t see. Every time we have art class, Dream Valley feels out of place. If Dream Valley could distinguish colors, she could definitely paint beautiful pictures.”

 

Unintentionally, He Ruge kept repeating “able to distinguish colors.” Even when he reached his own teacher’s dormitory, this phrase continued to echo in his mind.

 

He turned on the light screen and saw over a dozen unread messages flashing. They were all messages from Jiji. Every time He Ruge faced a plot twist, he would discuss it with Jiji, and this time, he sent out his confusion as well.

 

Before he could check Jiji’s response, Xie Guican’s video call came through. 

 

He Ruge answered the call and the first thing he said was, “Guican, what in life represents pink?”

 

Although he didn’t know why He Ruge asked this question, Xie Guican thought seriously. He took out his strawberry-flavored nutrient solution, confirmed its pink color, and said, “Strawberries?”

 

“Do you think bananas represent yellow?”

 

Xie Guican fell silent for a moment, frowning uncertainly, “Maybe.”

 

“Then can you understand the phrase ‘draw stars with the color of bananas’?” 

 

In fact, He Ruge didn’t understand what he was saying either. The inspiration in his mind was like a tangled ball of thread. If he could straighten out these threads, perhaps he could weave beautiful artworks, but he didn’t know where to start with this mess of threads.

 

Xie Guican became increasingly confused as he listened. 

 

He directly asked, “Why are you asking me this question?”

 

“Because I want to describe stars to someone who can’t see.” 

 

He Ruge replied, “Guican, if I were blind, how would you describe stars to me?”

 

Xie Guican slowly straightened up, his relaxed posture turning into a serious one. His sharp brows furrowed tightly. He seemed to be contemplating a serious matter. 

 

“This is the sound of stars.” He played the song “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” that He Ruge sang during the broadcast.

 

Xie Guican raised his head, lifting the hand wearing the light brain ring and placing the bone-knuckled hand on the virtual light screen. His fingertip fell precisely on He Ruge’s cheek on the screen.

 

Leaning forward slowly, Xie Guican’s nose almost touched his hand, his nostrils slightly flaring as if sniffing something in the air. His sharp canine teeth were faintly visible. From He Ruge’s perspective on the video call, the man inside the call seemed like he would leap out of the screen at any moment. 

 

In that moment, He Ruge had an illusion—

 

Inside the screen was a beast, sniffing roses.

 

“This is the scent of stars.”

 

The silver-white eyelashes lifted, and the blue eyes stared at He Ruge firmly, looking at the light shining in He Ruge’s black eyes.

 

“This is the color of stars.”

 

Xie Guican looked at He Ruge, his expression dreamlike yet not dreamlike, his voice so light it seemed like a murmur in a dream. 

 

“You are my star.”

 

He Ruge looked at Xie Guican and thought, he suddenly understood how to express it.

 

For Autumn Dream Valley, she hadn’t plucked stars or seen starlight, couldn’t understand gold, but she knew what hope was. She hadn’t touched ocean waves or heard the sound of the sea, couldn’t understand blue, but she understood what acceptance was.

 

If she couldn’t understand hope and acceptance, it didn’t matter. He and Shui Xirui would teach her bit by bit. Just like how he had taught the little monsters what love was when they were children.

 

At that moment, Jiji also sent a long string of replies:

 

“Do you know Neil Harbisson? He is a congenital achromatopsia painter, and his works are known for their brilliant and harmonious colors. His life was changed by a new sensory device called eyeborg. The eyeborg device he wore can convert light waves into sound through a camera and computer software…”

 

Describing something doesn’t necessarily require sticking to colors, and describing a color doesn’t necessarily require using eyes to see.

 

Why couldn’t ears be used to listen?

 

He Ruge wanted to sing all his experiences of colors and things into songs, singing the world he saw to Autumn Dream Valley every night.

 

Singing with spiritual energy had the best effect, although the spiritual energy he had received from Xie Guican during their farewell, delivered through their lips and breath, had been depleted during tonight’s rendition of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

 

But in these days, the faith absorbed during the live broadcast has turned into new energy. The energy consumed by singing and the absorbed faith barely maintained a balance between income and expenditure.

 

Because the energy crystals placed in the space button would accelerate the flow of energy, Xie Guican did not take the energy crystals out of the storage room.

 

He Ruge once again felt poverty. Poverty might be late, but it never failed to show up.

 

At seven o’clock the next morning, He Ruge and Shui Xirui gathered together to discuss today’s classes. This morning’s classes were music and art. He Ruge shared his inspiration from last night with Shui Xirui, who strongly agreed and extended a series of ideas for class, such as providing various flavored pigments for art class, with pink being strawberry-flavored, deep red being rose-flavored, and bright red being chili-flavored…

 

“Perhaps we can also add an experiential class where each cub’s eyes are blindfolded, experiencing the dark world together.”

 

After the discussion, it was already eight o’clock. He Ruge and Shui Xirui went to wake up the cubs. During the transformation period from beast form to human form, cubs needed sufficient sleep. Most cubs should ideally sleep for twelve hours during this period, and the closer they were to transformation, the more sleep they needed.

 

It took several attempts to wake up the little bunny and Autumn Dream Valley. “It looks like they’re about to transform.” 

 

Shui Xirui explained to He Ruge, touching the bewildered little bunny and snake cub. 

 

“Cubs about to transform tend to be very sleepy. Soft and Dream Valley are also at the age of transformation.”

 

Looking at the little bunny and snake cub that could be held in his palm, when He Ruge thought that they would soon become small balls with three heads, he couldn’t help but ask, “Will they have rabbit ears and rabbit tails after they become human?”

 

“At the beginning of the transformation, some of the characteristics of the beast form won’t completely disappear. But this period won’t last too long, it will pass soon. Teacher Xiao He, you don’t need to worry.” Shui Xirui reassured.

 

He Ruge: “…”

 

No, not only do I not worry, but I also look forward to it very much.

 

In the morning, after the cubs finished eating, they went to the playground for exercises. The big playground was filled with cubs from the western hemisphere, flying in the sky, crawling on the ground, bald, fluffy, you name it. 

 

He Ruge even saw a baby elephant cub in Class 2 on land. The little elephant was covered in all kinds of fluff.

 

He Ruge looked at the tallest cub in Class 1, Xiong Xin Hao. Compared to the little black bear and the baby elephant, Xiong Xin Hao was about the same height, but not as big in size.

 

A magpie from Class 2 flew onto the elephant’s head, arrogantly mocking the naughty duo from Class 1, “The fat clumsy bird can’t fly, haha!”

 

The two mocked ground chickens lost their momentum. The two naughty chickens in the class were typical bullies, but they were scared by the tall and fierce Xiong Xin Hao standing on the elephant’s head, looking at them with their necks shrinking, too scared to speak, completely lacking the arrogance they had when they bullied the little black bear yesterday.

 

He Ruge couldn’t help but smile. In order to avoid being remembered by cubs from other classes, he wore a mask today. 

 

The eyes not covered by the mask curved into a smile. He Ruge walked to Xiong Xin Hao’s side and whispered to him, “Xin Hao, would you like to help those two naughty chickens?”

 

Xiong Xin Hao was a good child who didn’t hold grudges. He nodded seriously.

 

“Hold those two naughty chickens in your arms, just like you did yesterday, and then walk up to the elephant. Say to the magpie on the elephant’s head—”

 

“Don’t give my friends nicknames!” 

 

He Ruge took off his mask, put on a stern face, and made a fierce look, demonstrating to Xiong Xin Hao, “Your expression should be as fierce as mine, got it?”

 

Xiong Xin Hao couldn’t keep up with the rhythm, staring blankly at He Ruge. He Ruge had to pinch his cheeks and pull out a ferocious expression, teaching Xiong Xin Hao’s facial muscles to remember this fierce look.

 

Although he didn’t quite understand why he had to pretend to be fierce, Xiong Xin Hao, who had always been obedient, tried his best to make a fierce expression. When Shui Xirui saw it on the side, she couldn’t help but be startled, let alone the naughty duo who were afraid of being strong and bullying the weak.

 

When the naughty duo saw the tall and fierce Xiong Xin Hao suddenly appear, they wished they could shrink their necks like the ground chickens. Trembling, they were picked up by Xiong Xin Hao. The two naughty chickens looked as if they were facing death.

 

However, Xiong Xin Hao didn’t “beat up the chickens” as they expected, but walked up to the magpie with the two naughty chickens in his arms. In a loud voice, he said, “Don’t—give—my—friends—nicknames!”

 

It was a bit difficult for Xiong Xin Hao to say such a long sentence in one breath, and although it was somewhat stuttered, his loud voice and imposing manner were not inferior at all. The ferocious expression frightened the magpie from Class 2.

 

The naughty duo looked at each other.

 

Naughty Chicken No. 1 blushed and said, “Who, who’s your friend!”

 

Naughty Chicken No. 2 muttered, “Fine, I’ll reluctantly treat you as a friend.”