Douluo Continent: God Descends

Chapter 12 Writing a Novel

In Cocolia's office on the second floor of the Tianhai Orphanage, the soul-guided air conditioner was running at a low speed, keeping out the heat from outside the window and leaving only a comfortable coolness.

Sitting in his office chair, Lu Xingchen was focused on operating his computer screen, his fingertips tapping out a light rhythm on the keyboard.

The screen displayed a webpage entry for "writers".

Suddenly, a series of light footsteps approached from afar, and the next second, a pink-haired little girl rushed over like a whirlwind and landed steadily in his arms.

It was Rosalia. She was wearing the orphanage's uniform light blue dress, with bits of grass still stuck to the hem from playing outdoors. Like an energetic little pink animal, she wriggled restlessly in Lu Xingchen's arms, her ahoge (cowlick) swaying gently with her movements.

"Brother Xingchen, aren't we going down to play?"

Rosalia tilted her little face up, her clear eyes full of anticipation, her voice as soft and sweet as freshly baked cotton candy, "It seems very lively outside! I just passed by the yard and heard lots of children laughing."

"Idiot!" A clear, childish voice came from the doorway as soon as the words were spoken.

Lilia walked in, her short blue hair neatly combed, and she was also wearing a light blue dress, but the hem of the dress was clean, creating a stark contrast with her sister.

She walked to the desk, looked up at Rosalia in her arms, and said in a flat tone with a hint of helplessness: "Silly Rosalia, Star Brother doesn't want to go down because he doesn't want to be discovered by those bad guys."

"Bad guy?" Rosalia blinked, clearly not following her sister's train of thought.

Lilia sighed softly, as if accommodating her sister's slowness, and patiently explained, "Have you forgotten that a couple of years ago, many strange aunties came here to visit, and their eyes lit up when they saw Brother Xingchen?"

"They surrounded Xingchen, saying they wanted to take him away and be his mother. If Xingchen hadn't immediately gone to Cocolia's mother for help, he might have really been captured."

"what!"

Rosalia suddenly realized, her little face instantly fell, and her originally bright eyes were now filled with worry.

She reached out her small hand and tightly gripped Lu Xingchen's clothes, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force. She looked up at him, her voice trembling slightly, "Brother Xingchen, you won't abandon me and Lilia, right? You can't go with those aunties, we still want to play hide-and-seek together in the yard."

Looking at the two nervous little ones in his arms, Lu Xingchen felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

He gently put down the mouse, freeing his hands to tenderly stroke their little heads, his fingertips touching their soft hair, bringing a delicate touch.

Don't worry.

His voice was gentle yet firm, as reassuring as the afternoon sun. "I've already talked to Cocolia's mother about this. She said that as long as I don't want to be adopted, I can stay in the orphanage with you all until I'm an adult."

The incident Lilia was talking about happened when Lu Xingchen was three years old.

At that time, Cocolia brought several people from the community who were interested in sponsoring the orphanage to visit. When several of the women saw Lu Xingchen, who was as delicate as a porcelain doll and had clear eyes, they were instantly filled with maternal love and immediately offered to adopt him. They even took out snacks and toys that they had prepared in advance, trying to coax him to nod.

However, Lu Xingchen possessed a mature soul, so he was particularly resistant to the idea of ​​adopting "strangers as parents." When no one was paying attention, he quietly ran to Cocolia's side, tugged at her clothes, and whispered, "I don't want to be adopted."

Cocolia always valued the children's wishes, and even though Lu Xingchen was only three years old at the time and couldn't express himself clearly, she listened attentively.

Afterwards, she specifically contacted those who wanted to adopt Lu Xingchen, politely declined their requests, and privately told Lu Xingchen that no one could force him to leave if he didn't want to.

"Lilia, you're pushing too hard!"

Just then, Rosalia's disgruntled voice broke the brief silence. She turned slightly to the side, trying to push her younger sister away, "You're pressing down on Xingchen's arm. Get out of here, or Xingchen will feel uncomfortable."

Lilia frowned, then retorted defiantly, "You idiot Rosalia, it's clearly because you're too fat! You're taking up most of Starbringer's embrace, I just wanted to get a little closer."

"What did you say?"

Rosalia instantly bristled, her little face turning bright red like a provoked little rabbit. "I'm not fat! You're the one who's too thin, that's why I look fat! You even stole the carrot from my bowl yesterday, and now you dare to say that to me!"

"I was helping you eat the things you don't like, otherwise Cocolia's mom would say you're a picky eater."

"I'm not picky about food! You're just trying to steal my food!"

The two little heads, which had been quietly nestled in Lu Xingchen's arms, suddenly started arguing, filling the small office with their clashing voices, which rose and fell like two quarreling little sparrows.

Lu Xingchen looked helplessly at the two sisters arguing in his arms, feeling both annoyed and amused. He reached out and gently tapped their little heads, making a soft "thump-thump" sound.

"Alright, you two, stop fooling around."

His tone carried an undeniable seriousness, yet remained gentle: "I have things to do today, you two should sit quietly on the sofa."

"Either read a book or play with your building blocks, and stop making noise. Otherwise, I'll get angry and won't take you to play in the yard this afternoon."

"All right……"

Rosalia and Lilia exchanged a glance, then obediently released their grip on Lu Xingchen's clothes. At the same time, they covered their heads where they had been hit, their little faces full of "wronged" expressions, but they dared not say another word.

They knew that although Lu Xingchen was usually gentle, once he got really angry, he would definitely do what he said.

The two of them slipped off Lu Xingchen's arms one after the other and slowly walked toward the sofa in the corner of the office.

A soft beige blanket was spread on the sofa, with several children's picture books and a plastic box containing building blocks on it.

They climbed onto the sofa and sat obediently. Although they would occasionally glare at each other, they didn't start arguing anymore. They just secretly glanced at Lu Xingchen at the desk from time to time.

Looking at their obedient appearance, Lu Xingchen shook his head helplessly and turned his attention back to the computer screen.

The screen prominently displayed the title of a novel: "After Being Expelled from My Home with Half-Level Innate Soul Power, My Genius Cousin Falls for Me."