Just when Anaxagoras almost burst into anger at the table because of Hyacine's "sole-fan theory"...
In a corner, Castorice sat there quietly by herself, head lowered, staring at her own reflection in the cup.
"Castorice, are you feeling unwell?" Tribios noticing Castorice sitting with her head lowered, approached her and softly asked.
Castorice raised her head. Reflected in those delicate eyes was a calmness like dead water. She shook her head and said calmly, "No, I'm just a little tired."
Tribios wanted to say something, but being considerate, she didn't push. She simply nodded and said, "I forgot that you only recently returned to Okhema. In that case, you should go rest!"
But Castorice shook her head. "It's fine."
With Tribios's understanding of Castorice, she knew that forcing her wouldn't work.
This beautiful girl with a fragile and icy exterior had her own stubbornness in certain matters.
Tribios turned her head away in distress, sighing quietly. Among everyone in the Okhema Theater, the one who troubled Tribios the most was Castorice.
Compared to the others, Castorice was a bit special. She was somewhat withdrawn and often couldn't blend into everyone's fun in the theater.
Most of the time, she just stayed in a corner alone, silently watching everyone.
And before she was accepted by Aglaea, Castorice's background and past had always been deeply hidden.
After joining the theater, every now and then she would disappear for a period of time, then return again.
When everyone asked where she went, all they got was Castorice's silence.
For example, during the recent period when Okhema Theater was thriving because of I was once in Arcadia and the Heart of the Spring, Castorice was in one of her long mysterious absences.
She only returned in the last couple of days. From the surface alone, she seemed like someone who lacked belonging in Okhema.
However, Tribios didn't think so. Though she had never truly entered Castorice's heart, Tribios could feel that Castorice cared deeply about everything in the theater, and everyone.
Like just now, she could've gone straight back to rest.
But instead, she insisted on sitting and accompanied everyone in her own special way, even if she stayed in a corner without saying a word.
Most nights were like this too.
You'd never see Castorice showing much joy, but she always waited until the meal was over and everyone had safely returned to their rooms before she left last.
"Clearly she cares so much about everyone, so why... why doesn't she want to build connections with them?"
Tribios couldn't understand this at all.
But she didn't dwell on it. As long as she knew Castorice was a good girl, that was enough.
Besides, everyone in Okhema fully accepted and respected Castorice's unusual behaviour.
...
The small impromptu party lasted until late at night.
After everyone cleaned up the dining hall, they said their goodbyes and returned to their rooms.
Tribios and Castorice were the last two to leave.
"Castorice, rest early."
"Okay. You too." After watching Tribios return to her room and close the door, Castorice walked toward the end of the corridor.
The corridor was long, with the rooms of each member on both sides.
Aglaea, Phainon, Tribios, Hyacine...
Castorice glanced over each nameplate one by one, walking all the way to the end.
The corridor was long, with twelve rooms on each side, twenty-four in total.
Naturally, Okhema's members couldn't fill them all. From the staircase onward, the occupied rooms only went up to the sixth one. The rooms beyond that were all empty.
And behind the wall at the end of the corridor, there was still one more room, the twenty-fifth "room."
That was Castorice's room.
Arriving at the door, Castorice pushed it open.
What came into view was a small, one could even say cramped room.
Aside from a bed, a wardrobe, and a dressing table, the tiny space could barely hold anything else.
On the wall to Castorice's left was another door leading to an equally narrow bathroom.
This room was originally used for storage, but after Castorice joined the theater, she insisted on taking it.
This matter remained an unsolved mystery in everyone's mind even now.
"Because it's secluded... I won't form connections with everyone."
"In that case, I won't affect anyone..."
Castorice pressed her lips lightly, emotions tumbling in her heart.
But she quickly adjusted her mood. After taking a simple shower, she stood before the wardrobe.
On her face that rarely showed expression, a gentle and expectant smile bloomed.
Opening the wardrobe, she pulled out from behind the clothes a huge, fluffy pink teddy bear.
The moment she saw the bear. Castorice hugged it tightly, burying her entire body into its fur.
"So comfortable. Hugging feels so good."
She murmured softly, eyes closing as a serene and sweet smile curved her lips.
For some time, Castorice lay on the bed hugging the teddy bear, rolling around lightly.
Occasionally, adorable little whimpers slipped from her lips.
If Tribios saw her like this, she would definitely be shocked. After all, everyone in Okhema Theater believed Castorice was a cold and untouchable ice beauty.
After enjoying her time with the teddy bear for quite a while, Castorice finally lay down comfortably, still hugging the bear tightly against her chest.
She blinked, suddenly thinking of the consultant who appeared in the chat today.
"That consultant seemed very professional."
"Maybe I can ask him for advice."
Castorice unlocked her phone.
The lock screen was a group photo of everyone in Okhema Theatre. She stood at the very edge, wearing an adorable, well-behaved smile.
Though no matter how you looked, it seemed somewhat awkward.
Because everyone else looked very close, for example, Mydeimos and Phainon were smiling at the camera, each with an arm around the other's back.
Only Castorice knew that the two were elbowing each other behind their backs.
Their smile for the photo was entirely forced. The amusing memory made Castorice's lips curl.
Below them, Tribios, Hyacine, and Aglaea were holding hands.
Oh right, Cipher, looking resentful, was crouched under Aglaea, with Aglaea's other hand on her ear.
If she remembered correctly, that was the day Cipher got caught again after secretly doing something bad.
Castorice's smile grew even softer. But as she kept looking, her gaze slowly returned to herself.
At that moment, Castorice made a certain decision. She opened the group chat, found the consultant's profile, typed her message, and sent it.
...
On the other side at MiHoYo, it was morning.
Xia Wen was in his office, handling today's reports.
Hearing the notification sound of his phone, he stretched lazily and picked it up.
"Castorice?"
Xia Wen raised an eyebrow.
Yesterday, the group members all said they wanted to seek his advice.
He had even looked forward to it for quite a while, but in the end not a single person actually came to ask.
Sure enough, group members are all big pigeons.
But he didn't expect Castorice to really message him.
Yesterday in the group, Castorice had posted only a single message.
She seemed quite shy. He didn't know what she wanted from him today, reaching out of her own accord.
Xia Wen clicked on the message notification.
...
Castorice: Hello, Mr. Consultant, may I ask if you are free now?
...
His fingers moved across the screen and he quickly replied: I'm free.
Less than a minute later, Castorice's message came again.
...
Castorice: Sorry to bother you, but may I… consult you on some rather personal questions?
Consultant: Go ahead. My service scope includes solving various complicated problems. Many of my clients consult me regarding personal problems.
...
On the other side, Castorice…
She let out a breath of relief.
The consultant's reply was fast and professional, and even carried a sense of encouragement.
This made Castorice feel much more at ease. She bit her lip, then carefully edited her message.
Those beautiful eyes, as she typed, flickered between genuine confusion and faint, barely noticeable sorrow.
...
Castorice: It's like this… I have a friend who seems to be constantly entangled by "misfortune."
Castorice: Anything she treasures, whether flowers, plants, small animals… or even more important relationships, might be lost because of some indescribable force. She has gradually become afraid of getting close to others, and even more afraid that others might be hurt because of her.
Castorice: For a person like this… how should she live with herself? Must she stay in the shadows forever?
...
After sending the message, Castorice felt like all her strength had been drained. She stared at the screen, longing for a response but also afraid of receiving one she couldn't accept.
But some emotions had simply been bottled up far too long.
She needed someone, someone unconnected, a complete stranger, yet reliable, to listen.
Meanwhile, Xia Wen looked at Castorice's long string of messages and fell into deep thought.
"This should be… an ordinary modern world, right?"
"Misfortune? Is that even real?"
His first reaction was to confirm whether he was still living in a real modern world.
After all, what Castorice said felt a bit beyond normal.
But then he remembered some things.
When Firefly first came to MiHoYo, she also had her game disease symptoms.
And Ruan Mei's work just happened to be in the biological field.
Only then was Firefly treated properly.
In short, after these game characters appear in reality, some subtle displacements from their original settings occur.
Thinking this way, the "misfortune" Castorice mentioned might very well be real.
Connecting it with Castorice's experiences in the game, Xia Wen couldn't imagine what kind of absurd things she might be encountering right now.
Still, what she needed now was strong emotional support.
Xia Wen's mind spun rapidly.
What Castorice needed was not cheap comfort, those empty words that sound nice but lack any persuasive power.
Although he didn't know exactly what she was going through, what he did know was that she sought him out because his messages in the group sounded very professional.
So what she needed was a "professional," "rational" response.
With this in mind, he gradually formed an idea.
Within moments, he sent a few messages.
...
Consultant: A very interesting consultation. First of all, so-called "misfortune", is from the perspective of statistics, the continuous occurrence of low-probability events does indeed happen.
Consultant: But your friend's thinking is more like the personification of inner fear, a psychological behaviour, similar to catastrophic thinking.
Consultant: Secondly, the key is your friend's behaviour. In essence, it is a type of avoidance behaviour. In the short term, it can ease anxiety, but in the long run, it reinforces the mistaken belief that "I really have misfortune."
Consultant: This behavior itself can become a factor worsening psychological distress.
Consultant: So my suggestion is that your friend needs to establish new, positive experiences as soon as possible. Simply put, instead of waiting for misfortune to disappear, she must weaken its influence on her life through active habits or changes.
...
Castorice held her phone, reading this string of messages.
This cold, professional, rational response unexpectedly made her feel a sense of trust rise in her heart.
This consultant truly was professional.
Just as she was about to reply, another message arrived.
...
Consultant: If possible, please tell your friend this:
Consultant: Don't cling to hiding in the shadows. What she needs to do is become light herself. When she is bright enough to warm others, the darkness she fears will naturally be dispelled.
Consultant: Moving toward the light, becoming the light, is far more meaningful than hiding in some empty shadow.
...
"Become… the light?" Castorice stared at the message in a daze, repeating the words as if savouring them.
This was the first time she had ever heard such an answer.
She had never thought about it this way before. These words indeed eased some of the pressure in her heart.
She took a breath. And began typing.
...
Castorice: Thank you, Mr. Consultant. Your words… I will relay them honestly to my friend. I believe she will feel a bit lighter too.
Consultant: Being able to help you is my honor.
...
The conversation ended there.
Castorice set down her phone and looked up at the ceiling, feeling somewhat relieved.
This consultant really wasn't ordinary. Those feelings that had been pressing on her chest were, surprisingly, eased within just a few sentences.
Perhaps… she could bother this professional a little more in the future.
That night, Castorice slept exceptionally well.
She even had a dream.
In the dream, she smiled as she tightly embraced a blurry figure.
That sense of touch and warmth was definitely not like a teddy bear, soft and furry but without warmth.
In bed, Castorice was immersed in the dream. Even in her sleep, the corners of her lips lifted slightly as she curled into her blanket, murmuring: "Hug… hug."