Kuma and the Lost Month

“……”

Su Mu took a few more sips from the empty cup, her mind still reeling.

The scene of Saint Lily dissipating in her arms was too shocking.

Wait, no?

Just one month…

How did it come to this?

And from what was said, one of the main reasons was that Ruoruo had met with misfortune before?

Hmm…

Setting down the cup, Su Mu rubbed her temples.

Su Xiaoqian floated nearby, waiting until Su Mu’s emotions had calmed, then said, “Host, next I will tell you about the timeline of these four months, as simply and clearly as possible.”

“Okay, thank you, Xiaoqian.”

“April 1st, April Fool’s Day, images of Saint Lily turning into a villain ability user began circulating online.”

“The support for Su Mo hadn’t cooled down yet, and once released, it sparked another wave of sensation. Taking advantage of April Fool’s Day, people indulged in abuse, venting, and all kinds of disgusting derivative creations.”

“…” Su Mu frowned.

“Little Ruoruo, as a fan of Saint Lily, defended her and was doxxed and threatened.”

“What?”

“April 5th, Qingming Festival, the Bai sisters went out for the day. Little Ruoruo noticed someone following them. When she came back, she asked for your help.”

“In the following days, we protected Little Ruoruo, but nothing unusual happened, although the online storm intensified.”

“April 9th, Sunday, Little Ruoruo received notice that Yucai Middle School was reopening. To make up for nearly a month of missed classes, a two-week full-board intensive training plan at the Woodland Academy was initiated. It was said that due to the small area, first the middle school, then the high school, each taking one week.”

Su Mu pondered and nodded slightly.

“April 10th, Monday, Little Ruoruo took the school bus to the Woodland Academy on the outskirts.”

“April 14th, Friday, the Woodland Academy was invaded by a villain ability user, and the entire area was forcibly sealed off by the C-level super team ‘War Shadow’.”

“Forcibly sealed off?”

“Full area fire coverage, no survivors.”

“What?!” Su Mu stood up in agitation.

“According to official explanations, it was a villain ability user called ‘Shadow Snake’, who could change into anyone’s appearance with no way to identify them. It was extremely difficult to track them down, and if they were missed, the consequences would be endless.”

“’Shadow Snake’?” Su Mu frowned. She kept up with news about villains regularly, and had even recognized She Min. Who was this? And why only a codename?

“No real name?”

“It was said that since they could change identities at will, a fixed appearance and name were meaningless.”

“…” No, that was far-fetched.

“April 16th, Bai Ruoli disappeared.”

“What?!”

“April 17th, the official villain list was updated, and Villain Ability User No. 7 ‘Ember Lily’ was officially launched.”

“April 20th, to verify that Saint Lily was the villain ability user ‘Ember Lily’, a large amount of evidence appeared online, including Saint Lily and Su Mu smiling at each other, Saint Lily’s true form, her connection to Bai Ruoruo, Bai Ruoruo’s association with Su Mo, etc.”

“April 25th, Saint Lily appeared at the ‘Eye of True Sight’, injured someone, and fled.”

“April 26th, Dandelion died, and the ‘Lucky Garden’ team was severely injured.”

“April 27th, sightings of Saint Lily in various super teams caused heavy casualties.”

“April 28th, the C-level super team ‘War Shadow’ was completely wiped out.”

“April 29th, the final battle between Saint Lily and Frost Snow Sovereign ended in mutual destruction.”

“… So… theoretically… no, how did I not play any role?” Su Mu paced in agitation.

“Host, for some reason, we always arrive one step too late.” Su Xiaoqian sighed softly, letting the words fall.

“…”

****

“Huh? Big Log, you want to give me a gift? Why?” Today, little Ruoruo came over to play.

“No particular reason, I just want to repay Miss Bai and Little Ruoruo for taking care of me.” Su Mu carried a plush bear to her.

Ruoruo took the bear, blinked, looked at the pink bow, touched it with both hands, and immediately sank into the fluffy feel.

“Hehe~ So ticklish, kuma~”

“Huh?” Ruoruo blinked and fumbled again.

“Haha~ No, no, Kuma is most ticklish, kuma~” The plush bear shivered humanly as Ruoruo’s little hand tickled it.

“Ah… Big Log, Big Log, it… it spoke?”

“Yes, because this is a smart plush bear!” Su Mu nodded calmly.

“Hello, Miss Ruoruo. Kuma is a bear-type childcare robot developed by Dr. Su Mu. My duty is to guard children’s healthy growth.” The bear introduced itself after apparently calming down.

“Hello, my name is Ruoruo.” Bai Ruoruo obediently interacted with the bear.

“…” Su Mu watched as the two little ones quickly got acquainted and started playing games, a harmonious scene.

But Dr. Su Mu? Was it okay to add such a setting arbitrarily? Only the system could produce something like this.

“Big Log.”

“?”

Eyes sparkling, “Little Kuma was made by Big Log, so is Big Log Little Kuma’s daddy?”

“?” Kuma tilted its head, then its beady eyes turned into wavy, tearful emoticons: “Daddy~”

“Uh…” Su Mu pinched her forehead. Suddenly becoming a parent, she found it funny and patted Kuma’s head.

“Mm, Kuma must protect Ruoruo well~”

“Got it! O(≧▽≦)O”

…

Bai Ruoli looked at Bai Ruoruo, who was carefully carrying the plush bear.

“Ruoruo~”

“Ah!” Bai Ruoruo was startled. “Sister, don’t jump out like that.”

“What do you mean ‘jump out’? That makes me sound like a monster?”

“Ha~ Haha… Sister, have you finished writing your novel?”

“Uh, I came out to get a glass of water. Speaking of which, Ruoruo…”

“Sister, you can’t do this. Everyone is waiting for your update. How can you have time to drink water?”

“…” Is that what my sister said? Bai Ruoli glanced over and saw Bai Ruoruo hiding something behind her back.

“Stop hiding. I saw everything.”

“Hide what? Sister, you stare at the computer all day, you must be nearsighted! You saw wrong, haha~”

“Stare~”

“Hello, Sister Ruoli. Kuma is Ruoruo’s friend!”

“Hey! Little Kuma, don’t suddenly pop out. I almost fooled Sister.”

“…” No, that possibility didn’t exist at all.

Bai Ruoli looked at the bear with a pink bow, tilted her head, and rubbed her eyes.

Was she still not awake?

…

“Hmm… So this is mechanical? Made by Mr. Su? It looks so exquisite!” Bai Ruoli crouched down and examined it carefully.

“Yeah, yeah! Little Kuma can play games with me, sing songs, and help with homework. Little Kuma is super amazing!”

“Kuma!” It puffed out its chest, proud.

“But ordinary plushies are fine. Little Kuma is like this, how can we accept such a precious gift?” Bai Ruoli pressed her forehead.

“Big Log said it’s a thank-you for the usual care,” Bai Ruoruo argued.

“But…”

“Sister Ruoli, don’t send Kuma away. Kuma’s mission is to protect Ruoruo. If Sister Ruoli doesn’t want me, I’ll be recycled by Dr. Su Mu and rebuilt. It’s so scary, kuma~” The bear looked at Bai Ruoli pitifully.

“Sister~ Little Kuma is so pitiful. Let her stay~” Bai Ruoruo joined in.

“I think Mr. Su probably wouldn’t…”

“Little Kuma~”

“Ruoruo~”

“I don’t want to be apart from you~”

“Kuma too~”

“Uh…” Bai Ruoli watched the one-person-one-bear putting on a dramatic display of love and parting, feeling rather helpless, and turned to leave.

“Sister, where are you going?”

“Downstairs, to find Mr. Su.”

“Kuma…” downcast.

“Sister is a big meanie, a useless waste, a big idiot! Little Kuma is way more useful than my useless sister!” Bai Ruoruo puffed out her cheeks.

“Uh…”

Finally, she could only sigh.

“Since we’re going to live together, I have to go find Mr. Su to learn the dos and don’ts, right?”

“Kuma!”

“I knew Sister was a good person!” (●’◡’●)

…

Hmph, fickle little thing.