What Comes After

Although Nightless Sky Fire Apricot's words at first glance sounded sarcastic, in reality...

She was genuinely grateful to Nightless Sky Yong Lian.

After all, a coming-of-age ceremony filled with sweet cakes, upbeat music, pink bubbles, and colorful ribbons, culminating in a stunningly beautiful and glamorous entrance in a flowing gown down the red carpet, shining like a dazzling jewel, before taking a final bow amidst laughter and cheers—a perfect Birthday Banquet that fills the headlines of the City That Never Sleeps's newspapers with your beautiful photos, the envy of countless City That Never Sleeps Noble, and the admiration of all eligible young men...

Just thinking about it makes Nightless Sky Fire Apricot feel nauseous!

Even without Lin Yu, she had still carefully planned her escape that day.

So...

For Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, seeing news headlines like "Bloodstained Birthday Party" the next day was indeed a better outcome.

Nightless Sky Yong Lian could hear the sincerity in her daughter's words, so she couldn't help but sigh again.

"So... in this respect, you and I are of the same ilk—it seems you inherited the most of my innate sense of humor."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot raised an eyebrow. "Aren't these the 'cruel,' 'cold-blooded,' and 'psychopathic' parts... Mother, so you call this 'a sense of humor'?"

"At my age, I still habitually use nicer terms to describe myself," said Nightless Sky Yong Lian, then added, "Your statement isn't entirely wrong, but these are essential conditions for becoming a 'Chosen of God'."

"I wish Huo Le had inherited this trait too."

"Nightless Sky Yong Lian sighed again."

"But Sister Huo Le is no less impressive. She inherited your 'desire for control' and 'madness.' Oh, and she's actually quite good at 'managing people.'"

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot.

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have chosen her as the successor to the Family Head. Although she herself doesn't think so, she is indeed the best candidate for the Family Head —especially after me. The Nightless Sky Family also needs a slightly more benevolent leader to maintain the status quo," Nightless Sky Yong Lian glanced at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, "But you were so eager to speak well of your sister just now... are you still clinging to the illusion that I might put the 'Chosen of God' position back on her at the last minute?"

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot's expression changed slightly, and she shook her head. "You're really good at judging people, Mother... To be honest, I think it wouldn't be so bad for me to just be the 'Creator,' right?"

"However, I didn't really think I'd suddenly have my Chosen of God's status revoked... it's just..."

Nightless Sky Yong Lian looked at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot: "But?"

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot said cautiously, "I'm afraid that you might suddenly have a change of heart and pass the responsibility of 'Family Head' to me after a few words."

Nightless Sky Yong Lian chuckled, "Hehehe, you... you're dreaming!"

Then, Nightless Sky Yong Lian suddenly fell into a deep thought and revealed a thoughtful expression.

"However, your words have reminded me... it seems this isn't an option that can't be considered..."

Hearing the serious tone of Nightless Sky Yong Lian's voice, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot instantly turned pale and began to breathe rapidly.

She opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

Nightless Sky Yong Lian glanced at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot's appearance, she couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hahaha... My dear daughter, you're really quite afraid of becoming the Family Head —how amusing! In my generation, everyone wanted to kill each other just to become the Family Head!"

Seeing her mother laughing, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot realized that she had been tricked and that it was just a joke played by Nightless Sky Yong Lian.

She gave a helpless twitch of her lips.

"Disharmony among children is often due to the parents' lack of virtue... The Previous Generation Family Head was far inferior to you."

Nightless Sky Yong Lian slowly suppressed her laughter and said softly, "I like hearing that..."

"So, you have changed the atmosphere of the Nightless Sky Family to some extent," Nightless Sky Fire Apricot said, rubbing her temples. "Except for that blockhead Nightless Sky Huo Shu, the rest of us get along quite well."

Nightless Sky Yong Lian nodded. "Huo Le isn't as ruthless as I am. Even if she becomes the Family Head, she probably won't do anything to Huo Shu."

"However, as the 'Chosen of God,' you should also keep a close eye on the Huo Shu... Don't let him do too many foolish things after Huo Le takes the stage—at least don't let him escalate the situation to the point where even Huo Le has to deal with it severely."

After thinking for a moment, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot pouted and said, "I'll try my best... After all, he's my older Older Brother with the same biological father, although I don't know why there's such a big difference between us."

"Mother, you're good in every way, except you always choose partners who aren't quite right in the head... Look at Huo Shu, you've ruined him terribly, he inherited my father's stupid brain."

Then, she looked at Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, her gaze softening slightly. "Your father isn't stupid; he's Alchemy genius from a small family... well, but when it comes to interpersonal relationships, he's not exactly clever; he's not good at that."

"However, I quite like him too."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot was somewhat surprised. "Wow, you two really have feelings for each other... I thought our fathers' marriages with you were purely for political reasons, and that you and Huo Le's father were the real lovers?"

"Even if it was an arranged marriage, I had the right to choose who I liked back then, okay?" Nightless Sky Yong Lian said softly. "Don't underestimate me. If those old fogies in the family really dared to send over someone I dislike, I would really turn on them."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot, resting her chin on her hand, asked, "Hey... what do you like most about my dad?"

Looking at the curious gaze of Nightless Sky Fire Apricot Nightless Sky Yong Lian, she sighed and said, "Can't you ask something else?"

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot shook her head. "No, Mother... This is the closest we've come to a 'mother-daughter late-night chat' tonight—we've talked for ages about Chosen of God, inheritance, and family affairs. Let me hear a bit about 'Mom and Dad's romance'!"

For the first time Nightless Sky Yong Lian showed a shifty look in her eyes; her expression was more vivid than ever before, and she breathed softly through her nose.

"Decades have passed, how could I possibly remember..."

Although the words sounded rather old-fashioned, but...

Even older people often seem youthful when talking about their past romances.

Moreover, Nightless Sky Yong Lian currently appears to be a young girl based solely on her appearance.

Therefore, she is more like a mother being asked by her daughter about her past love story, while her demeanor makes her seem like a young girl in love being questioned by her best friend about the progress of her relationship.

After a long while, Nightless Sky Yong Lian crossed her arms and placed them on her chest...

"His red hair... I guess."

The Family Head muttered under his breath.

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot was taken aback for a moment, then said, "So it's about appearance? I thought you were going to talk about some personality trait—how superficial, Mother!"

"And if I remember correctly, Huo Le's father, the one from the Saint Orchid Family... also has red hair, right?"

Nightless Sky Yong Lian pursed her lips. "Yes..."

"Red-haired fetish! Although I really want to know some of your love stories from back then, and I want to know about you as a 'person' or a 'girl,'" Nightless Sky Fire Apricot rubbed her head, "Wow... the first thing I find out is my mother's 'fetish,' which is definitely a bit too much for me!"

Then, she saw the fiery red strands of hair flowing from between her fingers, and then looked helplessly at Nightless Sky Yong Lian.

"I'm saying, Mother... you didn't decide to pass the 'Chosen of God' position to me only after I stopped dyeing my hair black, did you?"

Nightless Sky Yong Lian sighed, "How could you think that... It must be because your Alchemy Talent has been exposed, okay?"

"It's just that the timing of the two events coincided... Your way of expressing 'self' is all too easy to understand. Since you no longer need to pretend to have your talents within the 'family,' you've stopped dyeing your hair black and simply turned it back to its less sociable red color compared to your brothers and sisters, right?"

After hearing Nightless Sky Yong Lian said, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot had no choice but to admit it...

My mother's analysis was actually quite accurate.

However, Nightless Sky Fire Apricot will certainly not admit it.

"I was just too lazy to keep dyeing it black!"

Nightless Sky Yong Lian sighed, "If you want to understand your father, I must say something... in this respect, you're actually quite like him."

"The more you talk about it, the more my father sounds like a guy who's good for nothing except for his nice hair color and high Alchemy Talent. He's socially inept, has no emotional intelligence, and is stubborn," muttered Nightless Sky Fire Apricot. "Oh my god... the ultimate Nightless Sky Huo Shu."

Nightless Sky Yong Lian, Eirei thought to herself and said, "Although you haven't met him that often, it's still a bit much for you to speak of your biological father like that."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot nodded. "Indeed, I shouldn't have called him a 'stubborn'... I should say 'obstinate'."

Nightless Sky Yong Lian shook her head. "No, 'stubborn' is quite accurate. I meant the second half of the sentence—'the ultimate version of Nightless Sky Huo Shu,' that's a bit too much."

"Seriously?"

Upon hearing this Nightless Sky Fire Apricot looked at Nightless Sky Yong Lian and noticed that her mother's gaze was very serious.

A moment later, the mother and daughter laughed at the same time.

"Hahahaha... Sorry, sorry--I apologize to my father--but Mother, you also have to apologize to Huo Shu, right?"

"Um, I'm sorry, Huo Shu... after all, he's my child too, I shouldn't have said that."

Both mother and daughter clasped their hands together and spoke sincerely towards the distance.

Then, Nightless Sky Yong Lian suppressed her smile.

"Alright... whether we're just chatting or whatever, it's almost time, Fire Apricot."

"I... should set off."

Nightless Sky Fire Apricot looked at Nightless Sky Yong Lian and blinked.

"Where are you going? I thought you just needed to wait for Arthur to come back!"

Nightless Sky Yong Lian shook her head.

"The handover between the Family Head and the Chosen of God is never that simple..."

"Before handing over the Nightless Sky Family and the Truth Company to you and Huo Le, I still have many things and many people to deal with."