"Yi, is he up there?" Ororo whispered, pressing the communication device to her ear. She seemed afraid that even a slightly louder sound would disturb the fellow above.
Ororo was now wearing the X-Men standard uniform, standing in front of a somewhat dilapidated monastery. Beside her was Jean Grey, also fully armed. However, besides these two, there was no one else here. In other words, Zhou Yi was not here.
"Yes, he's up there. Sleeping on the roof beam. I'm sure he must have been with a circus before, to be able to hang himself in mid-air just with his tail." Zhou Yi's bored voice came through the communication device, while he himself sat on a sofa, holding a bag of popcorn. Beside him were a pair of girls, who looked about six or seven years old, giggling around him while watching a cartoon on TV.
Clearly, he had been abandoned. Ororo had forcefully kept Zhou Yi behind, using the excuse that the school needed someone to ensure the students' safety. And Zhou Yi's fate, after dinner, was to accompany a group of children watching boring cartoons. It was indeed a torment for him.
"Good, we'll catch him." Ororo cut off the conversation and walked directly into the monastery. Zhou Yi could only wordlessly pull out a handful of popcorn and directly put it into the mouths of the two drooling children beside him.
"Be careful, Little fellows. If you bite my finger, I'm sure it'll be you who hurts!"
At Zhou Yi's words, which were more playful than threatening, the two almost identical Little fellows exchanged glances and immediately burst into giggles. In a short time, they had almost figured out Zhou Yi's personality. They had no fear of this uncle who always played with them.
"Alright, it seems my words are not as effective as my actions. Have you thought about how to accept your punishment? The Devil King of Tickles is coming." To assert his authority, and also to play with the children, Zhou Yi directly used a trick he used on Charisse when he was little: tickling armpits. This trick was very effective, especially against mischievous children.
The two Little fellows immediately twisted into two **flowers** on the sofa. Of course, the inherent noisy laughter of children was certainly indispensable.
"I say, pal, can't you make these two Little fellows quiet for a bit? I'm going crazy from the noise!" Logan, sitting on another sofa, complained unhappily. Having a Beast-like sensitive hearing didn't seem to be a good thing at this moment.
"Alright, alright. Uncle Logan has spoken, Children. I'll let you off the hook for now. Whoever takes a bath first, the slower one will have to accept the Devil King's punishment later!"
"Oh my God, no!" The twin girls hugged each other and shouted. They were clearly afraid of Zhou Yi's methods.
"Then hurry up! If you're slow, the Devil King will follow you too!"
The two girls exchanged glances, directly transforming into two surging streams of Water that flew into mid-air, then quickly rushed out of the living room. Fortunately, this was a Mutant school; otherwise, if someone saw two streams of Water wearing clothes flying around, they would surely have nightmares.
"You shouldn't let them take a bath. They always like to run through the pipes to other rooms to scare people. And their abilities don't require bathing."
The speaker was a small boy wearing glasses. He was Alex, the youngest Child. But unlike his age, he was very smart and introverted. While other Children played, he always liked to sit alone and watch an old television.
And his way of watching TV was also peculiar; he never used his hands. With just a blink of his eyelids, the TV would switch to another program.
Electronic device control, that was his ability. However, perhaps due to his age, his ability was currently only useful for old-fashioned machinery.
"Sorry, Child. I didn't know these two Little fellows had this bad habit. But at least one thing is certain, they won't be able to scare you today." Zhou Yi cleaned up the popcorn scattered all over him; this was the price of taking care of Children.
"Uh-huh!" Alex's mood was visibly better after hearing this. This could be seen from the speed at which he changed programs. It was incredibly fast; except for someone like him with a magical connection to electronic devices, others would certainly not tolerate such speed.
At the very least, Logan couldn't stand it. Shaking his head, which was dizzy from the rapid flickering, he stood up and suggested to Zhou Yi.
"Shall we find something to drink? Sitting here watching Children is too boring."
"That's a good idea." Zhou Yi also stood up. He first patted Alex's little head, reminding him not to play too late, then followed Logan's footsteps. Guided by his keen sense of smell, Logan led him directly towards the kitchen.
"Do you like Children very much? Then why don't you get married and have your own?"
Logan didn't remain silent along the way, but asked as if chatting.
"I'm not particularly opposed to marriage, but... with whom? That's a big problem."
"I can see that!" Logan paused. "Ororo and Jean both like you, and even Rogue. But I warn you, it's best to stay away from Rogue, or don't blame my claws for being impolite."
"Rogue! Are you crazy?" Zhou Yi immediately lowered his voice and whispered, completely surprised by what Logan said. In a way, he really scared him. "She's still a Child, how could you have such a thought?"
"Damn it, how do I know why I have such a thought? It's my feeling. Anyway, promise me, you absolutely cannot lay a hand on Rogue, do you understand?" Logan was a bit exasperated; he didn't want to have such thoughts either. But in this regard, his innate intuition was terrifyingly sensitive.
"I swear, I definitely won't." Zhou Yi vowed. "I'm almost ten years older than them. Besides, I'm completely uninterested in these Little Girls. But what about you, Logan! You're so concerned about Rogue, do you have any other intentions?"
He said this purely out of mischief, because anyone with eyes could see that Logan's feelings for Rogue were entirely paternal.
"**You! You damned bastard, do you know what nonsense you're talking about?" Logan almost bared his claws. But he still managed to control his temper. "I tell you, I treat Rogue like my own daughter. Don't bring your filthy thoughts into this; it's disgusting."
"Alright, alright. But Logan, since you have such thoughts, why don't you have a Child of your own? I think you're quite popular with women, finding someone willing to have Children with you shouldn't be a problem!"
"Child?" A look of confusion suddenly appeared on Logan's face, a look that had been frequent since he returned from Paris.
"If I had a Child, he would be about the same age as Rogue now. Unfortunately, I don't have that luck."
A desolate expression appeared on his face, the kind of expression seen on lonely old men. But for Logan, this expression on him was not unexpected. He had lived for centuries, and although his body was still in its perfect youthful state, his Soul had long withered.
"Don't be like that, pal. That expression of yours really makes me uncomfortable!" Zhou Yi looked at Logan's face and couldn't help but pat his shoulder, saying. He really couldn't stand this look, which probably had something to do with his personality. He was a sunny and cheerful person, and such people naturally disliked this gloomy feeling.
"You don't understand, pal! Victor told me some things. Many years ago, I had a wife, a beautiful wife." Logan shook his head and smiled bitterly, revealing his past secret to Zhou Yi. "I can sometimes recall a woman, though I was never sure before. But when Victor told me, I was certain. She was my wife."
"Alright, you had a wife. That's good news! Then what?" Zhou Yi, whose curiosity was piqued, quickly asked. The love history of Wolverine Logan, that title alone was attractive enough. "Victor told me she died. Died right in front of me!"
Zhou Yi immediately sobered, the smile vanishing from his face.
"I'm sorry, Logan. I brought up a painful memory."
"You don't understand, that's not the most heartbreaking thing." Logan pointed to his head. "Do you know the earliest thing I can remember? It's waking up in a pile of rubble, with a woman's corpse beside me. The funny thing is, I had no idea who she was?"
"Now that I think about it, she should be the one Victor told me about, my wife!"
As he spoke, a deep, bitter smile appeared on his face. And as he smiled, tears fell from the corners of his eyes. This was a very natural thing, something he couldn't even control himself. His memory might not contain the existence of that woman, but her imprint was deeply etched in his Soul. He was crying, entirely from the sorrow deep within his Soul.
For him, losing a loved one was no longer the most painful thing. Because even if you lose a loved one, it means that your loved one lives forever in your memory. But Logan, he lost his loved one while also forgetting the existence of the one he loved in his memory. This was an unspeakable sorrow; the Soul was crying, but never knew why it was crying. Not knowing why one is sad, this is the true essence of pain.
Zhou Yi had never experienced this feeling, but he could sense how much of an ordeal this feeling was for a person's heart. And what was even more agonizing was that he was immortal. This blank memory would forever torment him. Like a curse, Logan would forever be trapped in pain.
Zhou Yi, who didn't know how to comfort him, could only silently pat his shoulder.
"Perhaps at this moment, getting drunk is the best decision. I can accompany you, really. As a friend!"
"Thanks, pal." A hint of a touched smile appeared on Logan's face. "You really don't have to share this with me, I'm sorry. I made you feel uncomfortable."
"No, I should thank you. You made me realize something." Zhou Yi thought for a moment and concluded. "Can a person's love transcend everything? I didn't believe it before, but now I do."
"You really sound like someone who studies life philosophy."
"I think so too!"
The two men, exchanging words, quietly stepped into the night.