Chapter 126: Nightfall and Childhood
The night hung heavy over the world.
From outside the Orphanage, the dim glow of a streetlamp filtered through the side window set in the hallway wall. The corridor was hushed and still, its daytime clamor long since vanished, replaced by a tranquility that seemed to nestle deep into one’s bones.
Little Red Riding Hood walked slowly through that corridor, passing one Door after another. She paused at each, peering through the observation window to ensure everything within was in order. Only then would she continue.
The Guardian on duty during the first half of the night was required to complete two patrols. The second half Guardian needed to make three, continuing until dawn broke and night finally retreated.
Footsteps echoed from ahead. Little Red Riding Hood looked up and spotted a petite figure drawing near under the cover of darkness—a short-haired girl, even smaller than herself by about two years. It was the girl who had spoken to her during dinner.
“Snow White?” Little Red Riding Hood was mildly surprised. “It’s not your night—why aren’t you asleep?”
“Couldn’t sleep. Just went for a walk,” the frail girl with cropped hair replied casually. “Then I remembered you were patrolling the East Building tonight, so I thought I’d come say hi.”
“Mm.” Little Red Riding Hood nodded, not probing further. She simply walked on in silence with Snow White by her side.
According to the Fairy Tale Organization’s rules, all children under fourteen or those who hadn’t yet Awakened had to be in bed by ten. But Snow White was already a Guardian within the Organization. She knew her responsibilities, and Little Red Riding Hood saw no reason to press.
“You don’t sleep much anymore, do you?” Snow White suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
Little Red Riding Hood offered only a quiet hum.
“As adulthood nears, sleep becomes fleeting. Sometimes two or three hours is all you need. But those few hours? They become dangerous. Safe dreams fade, and the chance of entering a Fairy Tale in your sleep nears one hundred percent. Every night becomes a trial.”
Snow White’s voice was soft. “I heard the King say you didn’t have this problem last month—it only started recently.”
“My birthday’s next month. This is normal,” Little Red Riding Hood replied evenly.
Snow White pressed her lips together, then murmured, “Are you scared?”
“A little. But it’s okay. My Wolf is with me,” she said, locking eyes with the girl beside her. “But what about you? Why bring this up out of nowhere? This isn’t like you.”
The corridor fell silent once more. Several moments passed before Snow White finally spoke.
“The new child today—did you notice her?”
“Yeah. She kept to herself, seemed nervous. The handoff team said she came from a public Orphanage in the North District. Been having nightmares and… caused some anomalous phenomena. That’s why the Special Affairs Bureau transferred her here. Is something wrong with her?”
“Matchstick was with her today,” Snow White said. “She told me… the child couldn’t clearly recall her dreams, but when reading storybooks, she reacted badly to anything involving Wolves. She rejected both images and text.”
Little Red Riding Hood stopped walking.
But only for a second. Then she resumed as if nothing had happened.
Snow White continued beside her. After a long stretch of silence, she added, “That child… might be the new Little Red Riding Hood.”
“Then take good care of her,” Little Red Riding Hood said seriously. “The same way I cared for you.”
Snow White immediately scowled in defiance. “You’re only two and a half years older than me!”
“And I’ve been your Guardian for two and a half years,” Little Red Riding Hood shot her a glance. “You should really eat more. You’re still as skinny as last year. If this keeps up, no kid’s going to listen to you.”
“I do eat. I just don’t gain weight—what am I supposed to do about that?”
They chatted like this, lightheartedly, just like any other day. But then, without any cue, both girls fell into an unexpected silence.
Snow White was the first to speak again: “The Organization’s had more than one adult before. Don’t be afraid. Like the King—converted to Human years, he’s over forty. And the Cinderella before last? She even made it past her twenty-sixth birthday. It’s not that strange for two Little Red Riding Hoods to exist at the same time.”
Little Red Riding Hood listened quietly. She’d thought about all of this herself in recent days. Dr. Lin had told her the same things. Even she had tried to reassure herself.
But what more could be said?
Every Fairy Tale nearing adulthood had heard these words before.
And yet, despite believing herself ready, something inside Little Red Riding Hood stirred at Snow White’s comfort—a thought, uninvited and strange.
She suddenly recalled her phone call with Yu Sheng earlier that day, and the things he’d told her.
“Maybe…” she murmured, softly breaking the silence.
Snow White, straining to steer the conversation toward something lighthearted, almost didn’t catch Little Red Riding Hood’s quiet voice. It was only after several more sentences of searching small talk that she blinked in realization. “Huh? What did you just say?”
Little Red Riding Hood steadied herself and looked Snow White directly in the eyes. “Maybe things… won’t be that bad. I mean—maybe something good might happen.”
Snow White looked a bit stunned. But she noticed something—something quietly radiant flickering in the calm depths of Little Red Riding Hood’s eyes, something different from these long, bleak days.
She didn’t understand what it meant, but instinctively nodded. “Well… it’s good you’re thinking that way.”
“I’ve invited a friend over tomorrow,” Little Red Riding Hood said seriously. “To the Orphanage.”
“Ah? Ah?!” Snow White’s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly recovered. “Oh, well that’s fine—but wow, you’re actually inviting someone over? I thought only Long Haired Girl ever did that sort of thing. Is it someone from school? You’re still based in the East Building, right?”
“He’s an adult.”
Snow White froze.
“He’ll arrive around noon,” Little Red Riding Hood continued. “To avoid the most unstable times in the morning and evening. He… knows some of my background. And since there are no classes tomorrow, I thought I’d show him around the Orphanage.”
“…You should’ve said something during dinner,” Snow White finally managed after a long pause, a touch of frustration in her voice. “Now we’ll have to make arrangements in the morning. Some of the unstable kids will need to be moved to the West Wing—”
“No need,” Little Red Riding Hood shook her head. “He’s a Spirit Realm Detective. We’ve worked together before, and he knows about the Fairy Tale matters. I mentioned him to you once—his name is Yu Sheng.”
“…The one who eats Entities raw?!”
Little Red Riding Hood nodded. “Yes, the one who eats Entities raw—but to be fair, he usually cooks them first.”
Snow White fell silent, as if her mind short-circuited.
Little Red Riding Hood simply kept walking.
It took several seconds before Snow White snapped out of it and hurried to catch up, trailing her with a barrage of questions:
“How does he know about the Fairy Tale incidents? You told him? But you hardly ever talk about this stuff with outsiders!”
“Is he just here to visit the Orphanage?”
“You’re not thinking of involving him, are you? That’s way too dangerous…”
“Does Dr. Lin know? Maybe you should run this by Dr. Lin?”
Snow White pelted her with questions as they walked, but Little Red Riding Hood answered only vaguely, and soon enough, Snow White gave up. She just stared at the girl beside her. After a long while, she muttered one final line:
“We don’t have many rules here… but you should remember. The ones who tried to help us before… they all ended up dead.”
This time, Little Red Riding Hood finally stopped walking. She looked Snow White in the eyes and replied seriously, “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”
Snow White pressed her lips together and said no more. Together, the two turned their gaze forward.
Unnoticed, they had already passed the residential quarters and the canteen. Ahead stood a large room—the Activity Room.
The lights inside were still on.
“They left the lights on again,” Snow White muttered with a frown. “Do they think electricity grows on trees?”
Little Red Riding Hood pushed open the door to the Activity Room and peeked inside.
This was where the younger Cursed Children played and received lessons. The spacious hall was divided into sections. The northeast corner had old, worn desks and chairs; the northwest held a small bookshelf crammed with picture books and indoor toys. Near the door stood a blackboard, still covered with scribbles from the Cursed Children. Along its frame were little paper notes—wish cards the children had written during class today with Teacher Su.
The cards held all sorts of wishes: a slice of cake, a new toy, new clothes, a day out, a whole day of cartoons.
The words were often sprinkled with phonetics, or replaced entirely with crude drawings.
Children’s wishes—and their ways of expressing them—truly were strange and wonderful.
Little Red Riding Hood chuckled quietly. But just then, she caught something in the corner of her eye—a paper slip had been pulled down and wedged into the corner of a nearby supply bin.
She reached out, carefully retrieved and smoothed it.
It read:
“I want to grow up.”
“The lights are off now,” Snow White’s voice called from behind her.
With a soft click, darkness swallowed the wish.