Little Merlin squirmed in Mary’s arms, patting Mary’s chest gently with her small hands.
Mary understood immediately. As if handling fragile porcelain, she gently placed her hands under little Merlin’s armpits and carefully guided her feet to the ground, terrified that the reckless baby might fall.
Mahina knelt on the ground, her tears still refusing to stop. She didn’t care about her makeup anymore; she couldn’t control her tears anyway, and she felt so hideous regardless.
Black streaks snaked down her cheeks, making her look like a mess.
‘I must look absolutely hideous while crying. Showing my worst side to the person I love most… perhaps this is my punishment.’
However, a pair of chubby little hands suddenly entered her field of vision.
Little Merlin took short steps toward Mahina and reached out with a small hand that still smelled of chocolate, clumsily trying to wipe away the tear stains on Mahina’s face.
“Mmm… really…”
But the tears flowed too fast and too heavily; those tiny fingers couldn’t catch the bursting dam of sorrow.
Little Merlin seemed to get anxious, so she spread her five fingers and rubbed her palm haphazardly across Mahina’s face, trying to brush away those pesky droplets.
“Mmm, mmm, mmm…”
Mary silently moved to Merlin’s side and pulled out a pristine white handkerchief, meticulously wiping away the tear stains and mixed makeup dust that had stained little Merlin’s hand.
Mahina looked at the blurry little figure before her through tear-filled eyes, her voice raspy and broken.
“Why?”
“What?” Little Merlin paused, tilting her head, her large eyes filled with confusion.
“Don’t you hate me, Merlin? Why are you wiping away my tears…?”
Little Merlin answered in a childish voice:
“Hmm… I hate you… because you always bully me…”
Hearing this answer, Mahina lowered her head, biting her tongue to keep herself grounded.
“I’m sorry… Merlin… I’m sorry… It was me…”
Merlin watched Mahina quietly.
“But when I see Mahina crying, I feel like I should do something… Mahina really does look better when she smiles…”
“Okay… okay! I’ll try my best not to cry! From now on, I will only smile in front of you, Merlin. I’ll show you the Mahina who loves to smile…”
Mahina had already sworn in her heart that if Merlin told her to go east, she wouldn’t dare go west.
‘It’s just a smile… What’s so hard about smiling in front of my beloved Merlin?’
Mahina was confident that she would smile even more beautifully than she did when dealing with those superficial classmates.
Thus, the young woman smiled.
It was the kind of gentle, water-like smile a girl only showed to the one she loved. All her tenderness poured into her eyes, and the curve of her lips was written with a young girl’s adoration.
Her eyes crinkled into gentle crescents, brimming with a deep affection that seemed capable of drowning someone. In them, there was no world, no others—only the small figure before her.
It was absolutely not the hypocritical, stiff mask used in social circles. She was like a white lotus stubbornly blooming after a storm, carrying traces of shattered light, yet breathtakingly beautiful.
Even though her makeup was ruined from crying and her eyes were bloodshot, her smile captivated everyone present.
That single smile seemed to make even the surrounding sunlight pale in comparison.
Little Merlin, Mary, and the students who had stopped nearby were all moved by the girl’s poignantly beautiful expression, filled with pure love and a genuine smile.
People had never seen Mahina make such an expression. It was the look of someone laying their heart bare, pouring out the warmest, most vivid love without reservation.
Despite the ridiculous circumstances, the smile was so beautiful it made hearts tremble, even stirring a sense of greed in people who wanted to monopolize it.
Yet Mahina seemed hardly aware of it. She simply longed for the Merlin in her heart, and as she looked at little Merlin, she subconsciously poured out all the love within her.
Even little Merlin was mesmerized by Mahina’s smile, standing there dazed.
After a long while, Mahina realized her loss of composure and simply used a wet handkerchief to wipe away her makeup.
Mary also used her body to shield Mahina’s face from the onlookers, while skillfully and gently using a handkerchief to help wipe the remaining makeup from the corners of Mahina’s eyes.
Soon, the smeared eyeliner and foundation were completely removed.
A beautiful but pale young woman stood before Merlin once again.
“Haha, I didn’t want little Merlin to see me in such an embarrassing state…”
Mahina bent down, trying to meet little Merlin at eye level, showing the same smile as before.
‘Since Merlin likes my smile, I should smile more. Didn’t Merlin say before that it made her feel mistreated when I didn’t smile at her?’
Mahina would no longer even offer the fake smiles used for social interaction.
‘It’s very simple. From now on, my smiles will only belong to Merlin. Since Merlin doesn’t like me smiling at others, there’s no need to do it. They’re just a bunch of opportunists anyway…’
Mahina looked at little Merlin, her smile deepening. A faint blush appeared on her pale cheeks because of this pure love.
Coming to her senses, little Merlin yanked her hand back as if she had been electrocuted. Taking frantic little steps, she hid behind Mary once again, revealing only one watery blue eye as she stared at Mahina with both caution and grievance.
“But… you always bully me, and you left me all alone… I don’t like you… *sob*…”
Now, the roles of attacker and defender had swapped once more.
It was as if two hopeless crybabies were attacking each other.
Mahina had just wiped her tears and forced a smile, but now little Merlin looked like she was about to shatter. Tears pooled in her eyes, ready to overflow at any moment.
Seeing this, Mary immediately popped a chocolate into baby Merlin’s mouth.
“Mmm!”
The sobbing was blocked by sweetness.
Little Merlin was forced to close her mouth, holding the chocolate inside. Her cheeks puffed out as she chewed and chewed.
The aroma of chocolate filled her mouth, and little Merlin barely managed to stop the tears from falling, shifting all her focus to the taste on her tongue.
While tasting the chocolate, little Merlin said:
“I hate Mahina. Mahina is a meanie who always bullies me… I hate that lonely feeling when I’m waiting all by myself.”
Mahina’s voice trembled, but the curve of her lips stubbornly remained.
“I’m sorry…”
“Ugh… I don’t want to get hurt anymore…”
Little Merlin swallowed the chocolate, her voice growing smaller and smaller, carrying a whimper like an injured kitten.
“I’m scared of pain… Little Merlin is a very fragile child… Little Merlin doesn’t want to get hurt anymore… I don’t want to play with you…”
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