"Hey, it's half past eight. Because clocks and watches are very expensive things, I only know that there is one in the city lord's mansion, and I heard that it is very big and bulky, but I have never seen it, so I don't know how to use it. Can you teach me?"

"Uh, okay. Ling Yue thought back to the appearance of the ancient silver pocket watch he had seen at the beginning, the dial seemed to be not much different from an ordinary mechanical watch, the same 12 scales and 60 minutes, the same 3 hands, the difference was only a strange weight.

"There should be a round dial on the front with three hands, the thinnest and longest is called the second hand, the shortest and thickest is the hour hand, and the minute hand is in between. Looking at the dial, there are 12 large divisions and 60 small divisions, starting from the top scale, the hour hand passes every 1 large division, and the minute and second hands are calculated according to the small division. There are 24 hours in a day, and the hour hand has to turn twice to count as a whole day, and each hour is 60 minutes, so the minute hand turns once and the hour hand goes 1 large division, while the second hand rotates 1 time, and the minute hand only travels 1 small division. Do you understand that?"

Ai Xue thought for a while: "So that's the case, I probably understand, but where is the top, is this place with protrusions?"

[Protrusion? It seems to be a place to wear a watch bracelet, but I didn't see the corresponding watch chain at the beginning]

"Well, there should be a hole there that can be strung with a rope and worn around the neck. After all, Ling Yue had never used a pocket watch, so naturally he didn't know that the bracelet of the pocket watch was not used like this......

"Then I'll give it a try, now it'...... 8:35:42?"

"Well, that's right. ”

"I must show off to my brother in the future. ”

“......”

"By the way, since you're using it to keep track of time, you might as well call it a 'timepiece' so that it won't be confused with those bulky clocks. Ai Xue looked up at Ning Yue, who was dark blue outside the window, "It's better to call it 'Moon Timepiece'." ”

"It's a pity that my brother will leave again tomorrow morning. Ai Xue seemed to remember something, "Although we can spend a night together every two days, I feel that I am getting farther and farther away from my brother. ”

"Can you talk to me?"

Seeing Ai Xue like this, how could Ling Yue have the idea of refusing. Since Ai Xue is willing to open her heart, she must be a qualified listener.

"I think we must be able to become friends, and maybe I can help you with something. Ling Yue said responsibly.

"Now my brother has to go to the guard every day during the day, and he only comes back once every two days, and while earning living expenses, he seems to be learning swordsmanship from Brother Duren. In order to ease my brother's burden, I often go to the Capusons to work, and everyone takes good care of me, and I am very grateful to everyone. It's not lonely, but it's sometimes lonely. My brother hasn't just been coming home late, and it seems that he is hiding something from me. Whenever I used the money I earned to buy something he liked to eat, he always said that I was extravagant and wasteful. I feel like he's saving money in secret......"

"......" A qualified listener will not interrupt someone at an inappropriate moment.

"Everyone was a kid when I was a child, and so was my brother, and so did everyone in the tavern. But in fact, I'm not young, 14 years old, and I'm going to be 15 soon, but I was born a little later than my brother, and we're twins.

"But now he is a soldier of the city guard, a qualified adult in the eyes of others, who will work outside for a living, and will carry this family because of responsibility. I tried my best too, but it didn't seem to work. ”

Ai Xue's eyes were filled with tears.

"Actually, my brother wasn't like this before, all because of the incident two years ago...... My siblings and I have lived in this border town since we were born, and our parents love us very much, and our favorite thing is to listen to their stories, teach us to write, and be taken to the forest by our father, listen to the birds sing, catch bugs, and sometimes hit rabbits and other small animals, and then bring them back to roast and eat. My mother's cooking has always tasted so unique, and I still can't learn it......"

Ling Yue listened quietly to Ai Xue's narration, he (she?) had already foreseen that a warm story would probably always have a sad ending.

“...... When I woke up that day, my brother and I didn't see our parents. When we saw the note on the table that said 'Don't go to us', we thought it was a surprise that Mom and Dad were going to give us, because tomorrow was my brother and me's birthday, and they must have prepared a birthday present for us......"

Although he guessed the approximate ending, Ling Yue was still shocked.

“...... We waited hungry all day, but we didn't wait, and my brother comforted me and told me that my parents would definitely come home on our birthday. The next day, my brother told me to stay at home and go to the forest to find my parents. I wanted to follow along, but because of his words, I had to stay at home obediently, 'If Mom and Dad come back and can't see us, they will be very anxious,' and after touching my head, I walked towards the forest......

"I don't know how long it took for me to start worrying about my brother. I walked to the entrance of the forest by the light of the blue moon, and saw my brother. The fierce moon that had just risen took a terrifying picture of his brother's face, and his body was covered with wounds. I don't know where I got the strength or how I got my brother to move home. After bandaging my brother's wounds, it looks like I've fainted too......"

Ai Xue wiped her tears with her sleeve, and the more she spoke, the more excited she became.

"Then we got help from Aunt Capuson, and we finally didn't have to go hungry. But the elder brother sat at home all day and did not say a word until three days later......

"'This Ai Xue is not cute at all, I still like to smile the most?' my brother cheered up again as before. It's a fact that my parents are missing, but we don't want to talk about it to each other. The elder brother, who almost died in the mouth of a level 1 demonic beast, joined the city guard, and while trying to make himself stronger, he became the family's financial source. I go to the tavern from time to time to work for my brother to share some of the burden, and at the same time, I hope to be able to make dishes that taste like my mother's, and I want to be strong.

"We lived in the cottage that our parents left us, using the furniture they used to use, and feeling their breath, and we lived like this for two years. As much as I missed them, no one could listen to me, and I think my brother should be the same. I really want to go back to the old days and live that carefree life. But I'm not a child anymore, and reality doesn't allow me to be so willful......

"Thank you for listening to me so much. ”

Before I knew it, the pink moon had risen into the night sky, and its light mixed with the faint blue light of the moon penetrated the small window of the wooden house and sprinkled on the crystal teardrops. Tears fell in front of Ling Yue's eyes, as if they were dripping on the realm of time, causing ripples......

It seemed that a pair of gentle hands wiped away her tears, and Ai Xue heard a familiar and unfamiliar voice:

"I will always guard you......"

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