I'm not a drama god

The moment his mother spoke, Li Lai's heart clenched.

He hadn't seen his mother this close or spoken to her in a long time... He thought he could bravely take this step and have a good talk with his mother before leaving, but when he saw the shallow wrinkles on his mother's face, he hesitated for a moment.

Does he really want his mother to see him like this... a fugitive who wanders around, doesn't even dare to go home, and whose wanted posters are plastered everywhere?

Even if he puts everything aside and talks to his mother, what would he say?

Li Lai opened his mouth, remained silent for a long time, and couldn't utter a single word as Li Lai... He couldn't even say, "Mother... I miss you so much."

He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something, but finally, as if he had made up his mind, he forced an awkward smile onto his lips:

"Hello, ma'am..."

"I'm the product manager at the repair shop next door. We recently developed a mechanical bionic leg to help disabled people walk, and it's still in the testing phase... We hope you can try out our product. Don't worry, it's free."

As he continued speaking, Li Laide's tone became more and more natural, as if he were truly an experienced product manager:

"If you encounter any problems during the trial period, you can go to the repair shop at any time to report to our boss... I am busy with work and may often travel to other places for business, but my boss will help you fix it."

"Oh, right, there's some good news. As feedback from our first batch of users, you can continue to use this bionic leg; we won't take it back."

After speaking, Li Laide calmly crossed his fingers in front of his chest, looked at his mother, and showed a professional and bright smile.

A gentle breeze rustled through the courtyard filled with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers.

The woman stared at him blankly.

A moment later, a warm, rough hand gently stroked Lilaide's cheek...

"You're leaving, aren't you... my child?" A complex emotion, difficult to describe, flickered in the woman's eyes.

Li Laide was shocked and stood frozen in place.

The woman gently embraced Lee Ryder, resting her face against him, and two streams of tears finally flowed uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes…

“You were on the other side of the road, reading the newspaper all morning, but you didn’t even turn a single page… How could Mom not know it was you? How could Mom not recognize you?”

The woman's murmurs reached Lilaide's ears.

These words struck Lee Ryder like a thunderbolt. He stared blankly at his mother, who was sobbing uncontrollably in her wheelchair, frozen in place like a statue...

A moment later, he finally reached out with trembling hands and hugged his mother as well... He slowly closed his eyes, and the high wall of self-protection that had been built in his heart, with countless barbs growing out of it, collapsed at that moment.

He took a deep breath and finally whispered those two words:

"……Mother."

……

Chen Ling didn't hear what Li Lai De and her mother said.

Li Shangfeng and his sister were busy at the factory, but he didn't go to see them.

He walked alone along the street, the hem of his brown coat fluttering gently in the sunlight. Even though he didn't stand out in the crowd, he always exuded a faint sense of detachment... as if he were a traveler who didn't belong here.

Only a group of ghosts, who also did not belong to this world, followed behind him, laughing and frolicking.

"Brother, I want to eat cake!"

A crisp voice reached Chen Ling's ears, and Chen Ling, who was immersed in her memories, was startled and subconsciously turned around to look.

A young brother and sister stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass of a street-side cake shop, gazing at the tempting little cakes displayed in the window, unable to tear themselves away. They were ordinary children, residents of this street.

"It's not a holiday or a birthday today, why are we eating cake?"

"So what! I just want to eat it!"

"Okay, okay... then, let's go in and pick a small one."

The brother finally took his sister's hand and walked into the cake shop, where they carefully selected cakes.

Chen Ling slowly walked to the shop window where they had just stood, looking at the dazzling array of expensive cakes inside, and for a moment he felt a little dazed... He seemed to have returned to the past, seeing the cold wind and snow, the dim candles, the cheap cakes, and the opera-robed boy with eyes as bright as stars.

Two completely different worlds, two fragmented memories, left Chen Ling with an indescribable loneliness and melancholy. He hadn't felt this way in a long time; perhaps his recent conversation with Li Laide had brought back some memories, making him somewhat sensitive?

The noisy Twilight Society members behind him fell silent. They could sense the sorrow emanating from the Red King, and for a moment they looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Want to buy one?" Chu Muyun walked to Chen Ling's side, his tone somewhat complicated. "Consider it... the end of the story."

Of all the members, only Chu Muyun had witnessed that history. He knew the source of Chen Ling's sorrow and felt a pang of sympathy for her. After all, in this world, many members of the Twilight Society had the opportunity to make up for their regrets, but who would make up for Chen Ling's?

In this world, he doesn't even exist.

"...No."

Chen Ling shook her head. "It's not time to end things yet... I will go back to Frost Street, but not now."

He glanced one last time at the dazzling array of cakes in the shop window, then calmly turned and walked back.

……

Chen Ling returned to the vicinity of the hut, where a boy was already waiting for him in the deserted alleyway.

Lush green branches snaked their way up the walls on both sides of the alley, reaching towards the sky. Sunlight filtered through the swaying trees, casting dappled shadows on the boy's pristine white silk-trimmed shirt.

Li Lai's eyes were still a little red, as if he had just cried. When he saw Chen Ling arrive, he immediately pretended to be nonchalant and glanced away.

"Did you say goodbye?" Chen Ling asked softly.

"……Um."

Li Laid nodded obediently.

For some reason, he could sense a faint sense of detachment and sorrow emanating from Chen Ling. He didn't know what had happened to Chen Ling, but this feeling only made Chen Ling's temperament more mysterious and special... even inspiring a sense of awe.

"We should go back now," Chen Ling said slowly.

Li Shangfeng's matter has been resolved, and the Alchemy Society has been eradicated. Chen Ling has completed the two most important tasks in Chengtian Realm, so there is naturally no need for her to stay here any longer.

As for Li Shangfeng and his sister, Chen Ling has already repaired most of the dilapidated factory, and with Li Shangfeng's skills, the rest will be easy to fix. They will continue to live here... As for the future, that's a matter for a few years later.

“Go back where?” Li Lai asked.

“Back to… the ancient collection of opera troupes.” Chen Ling paused for a moment.

“That’s the headquarters of the Twilight Society, it’s my home… and it will be yours in the future.”