Hua Manman still insisted on her choice.
Seeing this, the Main God could only fulfill its promise and send her back to ancient times.
Hua Manman could clearly feel her body growing lighter.
As if she could float away at any moment.
She looked down and discovered her body was actually turning transparent, bit by bit.
However, the pedestrians on the street had no reaction, completely oblivious to the strangeness happening to her.
It was as if they existed in two different dimensions.
Hua Manman could see them, but they couldn’t see Hua Manman.
The surrounding clamor gradually faded away.
Hua Manman looked at her increasingly transparent hands, lost in thought.
"So the so-called ’opportunity’ is that no one in this world needs me anymore?"
"You’re not wrong to think of it that way," the Main God replied. "As long as you still have ties to this world, you cannot leave."
Now, those people who had been tied to Manman all had their own lives.
They still loved Manman, but that love was no longer the most important part of their lives.
The Main God asked, "Don’t you feel angry?
You were clearly the one who was hurt the most, yet in the end, they still needed you to go to the trouble of healing them.
And once you finally helped them walk out of the darkness, they found new people or things to love even more.
Everything you did just ended up benefiting others."
Hua Manman chuckled.
"This is fine, too.
In the future, they’ll live their lives, and I’ll live mine.
We’ll each be well, without disturbing the other."
"You’re very magnanimous," the system said.
"If I weren’t," Hua Manman retorted, "your manipulative words would have angered me to death long ago."
The system chuckled softly.
’This woman seems foolish, but she’s actually very smart.’
’She knows exactly what she wants and won’t be swayed by external factors.’
When Hua Manman’s body became completely transparent, her entire being vanished from this world.
Someone walked right through the spot where she had just been standing, completely unimpeded.
In the rental apartment where Manman had lived, it was as if an eraser had wiped away every trace of her existence, leaving it perfectly clean.
As if no one had ever lived there at all.
In a remote mountainous region, Hua Yusen, carrying a pack, emerged from the forest. His phone finally had a signal.
His phone was flooded with messages, among them a notification from his bank about a recent transfer.
But Hua Yusen couldn’t find out who had sent him the money, no matter how he tried.
He vaguely remembered that he needed to call someone to tell them he was safe, but he couldn’t recall who that person was.
It was as if a part of his memory had vanished into thin air.
「In the hospital.」
A nurse placed a fruit basket on the bedside table and said with a smile,
"Mrs. Wang, someone asked me to give this fruit basket to you."
Song Yixian curiously asked who had sent it.
However, the nurse couldn’t recall the person’s appearance at all, only vaguely remembering it was a young woman.
After the nurse left, Song Yixian was still looking at the fruit basket.
Wang Shiye asked gently, "Do you want to eat some fruit?"
Song Yixian said, "I’m wondering who sent this basket. My parents have passed away, and my other relatives don’t live here. Who could it be?"
"Maybe it was one of your colleagues from the kindergarten," Wang Shiye replied.
Song Yixian had a feeling it wasn’t a colleague.
But she couldn’t think of who else it could be.
She took out her phone, planning to check WeChat, hoping she might find the person there.
Previously, Song Yixian had pinned Manman’s WeChat contact to the top so she would see her messages immediately.
But now, Hua Manman was gone from her WeChat contacts.
Not just from WeChat, but from her phone’s address book as well.
Song Yixian stared blankly at her phone and mumbled,
"I feel like someone is missing from my WeChat."
Wang Shiye asked, "Who’s missing?"
"I don’t know," Song Yixian replied.
She could vaguely remember that she seemed to have forgotten someone.
But she didn’t know who it was she had forgotten.
She just felt an emptiness in her heart, as if she had lost a precious treasure.
It was an indescribable feeling of sorrow.
...
「Inside the Prince Zhao Mansion.」
Li Xun deliberately slipped away from his attendants.
He secretly went to Bright Moon Pavilion.
Bright Moon Pavilion was built by the water. Standing on the second floor, one had a panoramic view of the lotus pond below.
At this moment, no one else was in Bright Moon Pavilion, only Li Xun.
He moved over a small stool, stepped on it, and used it to climb onto the railing.
He sat on the railing and looked down.
Below was the deep lotus pond.
The slightest mistake, and he would fall.
Li Xun was terrified.
He clutched the Lotus Jade Pendant hanging on his chest and whispered to encourage himself.
"It’s okay, don’t be afraid. Mother will appear soon. She’ll protect me."
The last time his mother appeared was precisely when he had accidentally fallen into a lake.
He didn’t know if it was because of the lake water or because he was in grave danger.
In any case, he had to try it for himself.
As long as he could see his mother again, he would do anything!
Li Xun steeled himself, let go of the railing, and pushed off with his feet.
His entire body plunged straight down!
WHOOSH! The wind whistled past his ears.
He couldn’t help but squeeze his eyes shut, his entire body rigid with tension.
The Lotus Jade Pendant hanging on his chest began to glow.
And then.
Hua Manman appeared out of thin air.
Seeing Li Xun still falling, her heart nearly stopped. Without a second thought, she pulled him into a tight embrace.
Then, she used Qinggong, forcibly changed direction, and landed steadily on the shore of the pond, still holding Li Xun.
Hua Manman set him on the ground and was about to scold her son when he suddenly burst into tears and threw himself into her arms.
"Mother!"
Hua Manman’s heart softened, and she swallowed the reprimand that was on the tip of her tongue.
She placed her hand gently on her son’s head and soothed him in a soft voice.
"Don’t cry, Mother is here."
In the distance, someone was calling Li Xun’s name.
The voice was very familiar.
The moment Hua Manman heard it, she knew it was Li Ji.
She immediately raised her head and looked toward the sound.
As the sun set, Li Ji strode toward them, bathed in the orange glow of the twilight.
As the distance between them closed, his face grew clearer.
It had been a long time. His features hadn’t changed much, but his appearance had grown even more intense and striking. He was like a fine wine, aged for years—his aura was overpowering, yet intoxicating enough to make one lose themselves completely.
Hua Manman stared at him in a daze.
She wanted to call out to him, but her throat seemed to be blocked, unable to make a sound.
In the blink of an eye, Li Ji was standing before them.
He opened his mouth and immediately began to scold disapprovingly.
"Gou Dan, why did you sneak out by yourself? If you keep being this disobedient, you’d better believe I’ll spank you!"
Hearing this, Li Xun hugged his mother even tighter and whimpered.
"Mother, look, Father is going to hit me! Father is so mean, WAHHH!"
Li Ji frowned. He wanted to tell his son to stop talking nonsense. What mother? It was clearly just the two of them, father and son.
But he soon noticed his son’s posture.
Li Xun’s arms were raised, and his upper body was leaning forward, as if he were hugging someone.
A sudden guess popped into Li Ji’s mind.
He looked at the empty air in front of him, struggled to open his mouth, and spoke in a low, hoarse voice.
"Manman, is that you?"