Walnut used me to boost her sales performance.

"How pretentious."

Although it sounded sentimental, the soldiers still took off their clothes, leaving only their underpants, and put the rest of their clothes to dry by the stove.

Seeing that he was shirtless, Jiang Bai tossed him a jacket and couldn't help but complain, "You Fools are so stingy, don't you even prepare extra clothes for me?"

He was seen wearing this outfit in Mondstadt, and he was still wearing it in Inazuma.

How much do they like this outfit?

The skirmisher put on his coat and glanced at him expressionlessly.

"I am a doll, I don't need to change clothes."

"What????"

Jiang Bai felt like he was hallucinating.

"what do you?"

Jiang Bai's unexpected reaction infuriated the soldiers, and their voices became shrill.

"I'm a doll, didn't you hear me?!"

For him, who wanted to become human, admitting his doll identity was not a simple matter.

It's like laying bare your inner self to show others; even the slightest hurt can leave your already sensitive heart scarred once more.

"Oh, a doll..." Jiang Bai was only slightly surprised, but quickly accepted it.

The fact that he accepted it so quickly made the stragglers a little unhappy.

Aren't you afraid? Don't you think I'm a monster? Don't you see me as an outsider?

Jiang Bai looked at him strangely, "Why do you have so many strange ideas? A doll is a doll, it's not like it's something unacceptable."

Scattered soldiers: "..."

Nagatoshi glanced at the stragglers, completely failing to see how this strange man resembled a puppet.

However, it was immediately obvious that she was difficult to get along with.

Seeing the straggler's distress, Jiang Bai offered words of comfort: "I have a friend named Abedo, who is a life form created by alchemy and is not human in essence."

"So what if you're not human? Why are you so fixated on the identity of 'human'? Just because you're a 'puppet' doesn't mean I should change my attitude towards you and treat you like a monster or an alien."

Upon hearing Jiang Bai's words, Sanbing couldn't help but think of Danyu, whom he had met at the Borrowed View Pavilion.

Back then, they were just like Jiang Bai is now, and they didn't have any different opinions about his puppet identity.

However, Danyu, whom he once regarded as the best person in the world, deceived and betrayed him.

In the end, all that was left was a filthy mess.

Seeing that the stragglers had suddenly fallen silent and seemed emotionally unstable, Jiang Bai waved his hand in front of their eyes and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

The soldier closed his eyes, pulling himself out of his memory. "It's nothing."

He looked at the puzzled Jiang Bai and remained silent for a long time.

He didn't know why he had come here, or why they had revealed their identities to him.

Perhaps it's because I crave recognition too much, or because I'm too lonely.

The fact that someone who knows his identity as a member of the Fools still treats him as a friend is like a safe haven on a rainy day, making him irresistibly want to take shelter from the storm.

Just as Jiang Bai once said, he was both yearning and running away.

Because of the fear of being hurt again, they refused all approach.

He couldn't help but feel a little self-deprecating, so he covered his face.

"Really nothing?" Jiang Bai couldn't tell from his expression that nothing was wrong.

"Mind your own business!"

"Look at what you're saying! How can concern between friends be considered meddling?"

Seeing that Jiang Bai was relentless, the soldier could only say, "...I was just thinking about some things from the past."

Can you tell me?

Jiang Bai was genuinely curious about this guy's past.

What exactly happened to create his current awkward personality?

How exactly did a puppet become the sixth executive officer of the Fools?

"No."

"All right……"

Chapter 451 Your Mother Abandoned You

The scattered soldiers didn't want to talk, and Jiang Bai couldn't do anything about it.

The two chatted about this and that for a while, and then Changci brought over the prepared food and sat down awkwardly to the side.

Jiang Bai set out bowls and chopsticks, inviting the scattered soldiers, "Eat whatever you like, don't be shy."

The soldier touched his chopsticks briefly, but since the child had made the food, he didn't offer any comment.

He looked at the child eating nervously and asked, "Where are you from? Why are you following him?"

“I’m from Hikimura. Brother Jiang Bai promised to take me away from here…” For some reason, Nagatsu was a little afraid of this brother.

Perhaps it was because of the cold look in his eyes, but in any case, Nagatsu felt that this was not an easy person to get along with.

“His father is missing, and his mother went to Xumi. This island is too dangerous, so I took him away from here,” Jiang Bai explained.

The soldier's eyes flickered with emotion as he looked at Changci. "Your mother abandoned you?"

"No way! Mom went to Xumi to get treatment! Besides, it's dangerous for Mom to stay in the village!"

Changci looked at him stubbornly, clearly dissatisfied with his words.

The stragglers looked at him with pity. "How naive. If she hadn't abandoned you, why didn't she take you with her?"

"Mom will never abandon me! I will find Mom!"

Nagatoshi picked up his bowl, walked to the corner, and sat down, not wanting to talk to this nasty fellow.

Jiang Bai was speechless. This guy Sanbing was already annoying enough with his words, but why did he talk like that to a child?

How can you say such things to a child?!

Jiang Bai picked up a piece of meat and stuffed it into his bowl, saying, "Eat your food properly!"

The soldier rolled his eyes at him and ate in silence.

After eating for a while, he couldn't resist looking at the child in the corner.

"I said, if, if your mother abandoned you, what would you do?"

Jiang Bai looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Are you trying to get over this topic?"

Why are you so fixated on the word "abandon"? Could it be that you've been abandoned before?

The soldiers remained silent, waiting for Changci's reaction.

Perhaps today had stirred up too many memories for him, and the little kid in front of him, who had no parents to take care of him, reminded him of his own past, so much so that he couldn't help but want to hear how the child would answer.

Seeing that the stragglers were determined to get an answer, Nagatsu thought for a moment and said:

“Then I will go find my mother and ask her why she abandoned me.”

What's the point of getting an answer? It doesn't change the fact that I was abandoned.

Changci asked him seriously, "But what if it's a misunderstanding? Am I supposed to hate my mother for the rest of my life because of unknown reasons?"

The soldier remained silent for a long time after receiving this answer. Just when Jiang Bai thought he wouldn't ask again, he heard him ask once more:

"What if you get the answer, and it's not a misunderstanding?"

"Then I will live a good life on my own."

Seeing the stragglers fixated on this topic, and relying on Jiang Bai's presence, Changci deliberately asked a question in return:

"Brother, were you ever abandoned?"

The soldier gave him a cold look, which made Changci shrink back and eat silently.

Jiang Bai glanced at the stragglers who had been hit where it hurt; it seemed this guy had indeed been abandoned.

But who was the one who abandoned him?

Is he his creator?

And why did you abandon him?

Jiang Bai blocked his view of Chang Ci, "Don't bully children! What's the point of a five-hundred-year-old like you bullying a child?"

The stragglers stared at him expressionlessly.

How is it bullying a child if you just glance at this kid a few times?

If you're afraid because of this, then you're being rather useless.

After finishing his meal, Changci packed his things and crawled into the sleeping bag Jiang Bai had given him. He was so exhausted from the day that as soon as he put his head on the pillow, he was overcome with sleepiness and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Jiang Bai yawned and looked at the stragglers who still hadn't left: "I'm going to rest. Do you want to rest here?"

The stragglers sat in front of the still-burning stove, thinking, "I'll leave as soon as my clothes are dry."

"If the rain doesn't stop tonight, you can stay here and rest. Remember to close the door for me if you leave." Jiang Bai yawned and crawled into his sleeping bag.

He wasn't worried that the stragglers would attack him while he was asleep; if he had such a plan, he wouldn't have waited until today.

The soldier glanced at Jiang Bai, who had his eyes closed and was completely unguarded, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Last time at Wangshu Inn, I didn't know his true identity, which was understandable. Now that I know his identity, I'm still so unguarded towards him.

Being treated this way, he felt both pleased and disappointed.

"Are you really that unguarded with me? What if I'm on a mission to attack you?"

Jiang Bai said simply and directly, "I believe you."

The stragglers froze, turning their faces away.

He felt unworthy of such a friend and such trust.

He picked up his already dried clothes, put them on, and then pushed open the door and left.

"Hey, it's still raining outside? You're already leaving?"

Jiang Bai climbed out of his sleeping bag and looked out the window.

Outside the window, it was pitch black. After walking for a while, the stragglers gradually blended into the darkness. He walked in the rain, and the wind and rain soaked his clothes again.

Jiang Bai: "?"

Is there something wrong with him?

What's the point of drying it?

He's at least 500 years old, how come he's not even as good as the 12-year-old Nagatsu?

"That's really pathetic..."

What do you mean by rebellious teenager? More like a brat!

Keli is more sensible than him and knows how to take care of her health.

Even if a doll doesn't catch a cold, you can't treat it like this!

Jiang Bai grabbed a straw raincoat hanging nearby and threw it out the window. The raincoat hit the stragglers on the head, making them stagger.

He turned around and heard Jiang Bai's cursing coming from inside:

"At five hundred years old, how can you still be as willful as a child? Can't you even bring an umbrella and wear a raincoat when you go out in the rain? That straw hat of yours won't keep out the rain at all! It's so annoying to look at!"

He had raised Qiqi, Keli, and Nagatsu, but none of them were as sensible as this five-hundred-year-old child.

He has a lot of bad habits; it's infuriating just looking at him.

The icy rain fell on his body, and the chill spread from his clothes to his whole body. The soldier looked at the irritable Jiang Bai and wanted to say something sarcastic as usual, telling him that he didn't need this kind of thing.