Kids' toys?

Mr. Azik's tone was filled with distress.

He had always felt his life was strange, lacking memories from his early years, and had assumed something had happened to him or that he had been abandoned by his parents.

But after seeing Lynch just now, a portion of his memory returned; he had once been the great-grandfather of Lynch, and by the time he left, Joshua had already been in his teens.

Lynch looked so much like Joshua that he had mistaken him for Joshua at first glance, only realizing after recalling that decades had passed since then, which prompted him to ask Lynch about his relationship to Joshua.

He hadn't expected that Joshua had already passed away, leaving behind only this poor child.

He remembered Lynch's grandfather—his own son—who hadn't started working until he was nearly thirty, and even then, he had only taken over the business he had left behind; that boy had spent almost every day of his life looking for ways to amuse himself, so he never imagined Lynch would be in such a miserable state now.

"He is still just a small child!"

Mr. Azik said again, his heart aching.

Instructor Skuton, standing nearby, twitched the corner of his mouth.

He had thought earlier that Lynch was trying to cozy up to his old friend, but now he realized it was his old friend who had lost his mind.

The boy was already in his twenties; there was no reason to use such a tone reserved for a small child.

"Azik, you're getting a bit too worked up."

Instructor Skuton reminded his old friend, but the man only looked even more heartbroken.

"What do you mean 'worked up'? Look at what he's wearing, he doesn't even have a walking stick, and he's out there doing odd jobs for others—I can't even imagine what kind of life he's been living!"

Mr. Azik was on the verge of tears.

Instructor Skuton tried to see things from his old friend's perspective.

It made sense; a dear friend he hadn't seen in years had passed away, leaving a child to struggle for survival, so it was natural to have a bit of a biased filter.

But...

Could he please stop talking? People were coming and going, and it was really easy for them to be mistaken for lunatics.

"Let's go! Let's go inside and talk, quickly!"

Instructor Skuton grabbed Lynch and Mr. Azik, one in each hand, and pulled them toward his house.

Ignoring Mr. Azik's sighing and lamenting, he shot a sympathetic look at Lynch.

If he were Lynch, he would definitely be feeling very awkward right now.

"He wasn't like this before; he must be feeling guilty toward you now."

Lynch nodded, putting on an understanding expression.

"I know, it's nothing. Mr. Azik is just a bit sad. I really shouldn't have told him such cruel things so quickly; he must be blaming himself."

His tone was gentle, and his display of empathy made Instructor Skuton even more satisfied with this student of his.

Before, he had only been trying to curry favor because Lynch could talk to the principal, but now, he felt they had grown much closer.

"Come on, you two chat here. I won't let anyone disturb you. Oh, and go stay in that room for a while later."

Instructor Skuton pointed to the small room at the very back and winked at Lynch.

Lynch nodded in understanding, signaling that it was no problem.

After Instructor Skuton left, Lynch turned to Mr. Azik, who had finally regained his composure.

"I was a bit too emotional just now, it must have made you feel awkward, right?"

Mr. Azik offered an embarrassed smile, and Lynch quickly waved his hands.

He believed that if Mr. Azik's true identity were revealed, there would be plenty of people willing to let Mr. Azik get emotional over them.

"I understand how you feel. It was my own lack of maturity; I should have waited before telling you such tragic news..."

Lynch began to reflect on his own actions, but before he could finish, Mr. Azik interrupted him.

"What does that have to do with you? This must be painful for you, too!"

Lynch quickly insisted that he wasn't sad.

The original owner of the body could barely remember his father's face, let alone Lynch, an outsider.

"Nonsense, you must be sad!"

Mr. Azik delivered the final verdict, and after a moment of hesitation, Lynch nodded heavily.

Fine!

Since Mr. Azik felt he should be sad, he would be sad for a little while.

Lynch observed two minutes of silence for the Mr. Joshua he had never met, then put on a sorrowful smile.

"Yes, you are right. I am indeed very sad. I lost him when I was very young, and I don't even know what kind of person he really was. Could you tell me some things about him?"

Mr. Azik sat up straight, carefully selecting and recounting the stories he could recall from his memories.

Lynch listened attentively, though he found it all a bit strange as he listened.

These stories didn't seem like the actions of an adult; they sounded more like the antics of a young child.

If the original owner's father had remained like that into adulthood, surely no one would have been willing to marry him.

Therefore, in the eyes of Mr. Azik, he had seen the original owner's father when he was a child—at the very least, as a teenager or a young man—but he had never seen him in his adulthood.

A thought emerged in Lynch's mind: since Mr. Azik was an immortal, was it possible that the original owner's father was actually a relative of this gentleman?

Thinking of the closeness Mr. Azik showed him, as well as the things he had said in moments of excitement, Lynch actually felt it was quite possible.

Did this mean that in the future, when he encountered danger, he could rightfully call on Mr. Azik for help?

Lynch was excited inside, but on the surface, he continued to listen earnestly to Mr. Azik's account, until Mr. Azik looked at him and asked hesitantly, "I've noticed that you don't seem to be an ordinary person anymore—you're just different from ordinary people, and you've become entangled in some kind of trouble."

Trouble?

What kind of trouble?

Lynch hurriedly looked toward Mr. Azik.

"Can you tell specifically what kind of trouble it is?"

"I cannot see it very specifically, but the feeling you give me is very similar to the feeling I get from a student of my colleague. I truly hope you have no connection to him; in my eyes, he is a bit troublesome."

Lynch: ...

He probably knew who Mr. Azik was talking about—it must be that guy named Klein!

Then he was indeed entangled in trouble.

"Don't worry, if anything happens, just come to me. I feel that I can resolve anything."

Mr. Azik smiled gently, his expression full of confidence.

Lynch felt reassured all of a sudden.

A big shot!

He was offering his thigh for him to hug!

"Thank you, I really haven't felt like someone valued me this much in a long time!"

Lynch revealed a moved expression, looking quite emotional.

He actually had a bit of a need right now, and he didn't know if the big shot would be willing to give him some Beyonder items to use. Since their relationship was so close, if he were to ask...

Just as Lynch was about to shamelessly ask, he heard Mr. Azik's voice ring out again.

"Speaking of help, I must give you a good item. This is something that has accompanied me for many years."

Lynch immediately sat up straight.

What kind of item?

A gift from an angel surely couldn't be simple, right?

He saw Mr. Azik take out a pen, and then say in a lighthearted tone, "You just said you wanted to take the university entrance exam. I didn't know how to help you, so I thought of this. It can make you persist in picking up a pen to write every day.

It will also explain the mistakes in what you write, and it will even tell you bedtime stories.

Its most useful point is that it can supervise you while you write words. If you don't write well, it will even spray ink on your face. It's both fun and convenient, and you never need to change the ink. For a child like you, it really is a good toy."

Lynch: ...