At that moment, watching everyone leave, watching those young figures gradually disappear into the crowd and the bustling lights of the nighttime shopping district, Gou Qi held Gou Yu's arm beside her.
Her eyes were a little distant, and she spoke softly with a gentle smile.
"Xiao Yu, these friends of yours really are such wonderful children."
The winter night was faintly cool. People came and went along Pedestrian Street, and golden warm light spilled from the windows of the restaurants lining the road. When he heard his mother say that, Gou Yu's side profile, lit by the glow, paused slightly. Then his eyes curved in a faint smile as he spoke too.
"The captain and Brother Meng have helped me a lot, and so have the others at The Cabin... Everyone is a really good person."
When he said this, his soft voice carried a smile tinged with memory.
"Thanks to them, these past six months have been the happiest days of my life."
Hearing him say that, Gou Qi's gaze turned gentle and complicated as she stroked his head.
She had recovered and returned home, seen her son again, and also met the friends he had always hoped she would one day meet, confirming that they truly were all exceptionally good people.
This child's life before had been far too hard. The life in which he had been raised as a tool in that family was like a cage that never saw the light.
But now he had these friends. He had a completely new life, as though fate had finally given him the compensation it owed him.
After seeing his current life with her own eyes, Gou Qi felt as if some place in her heart had finally eased.
At that moment, she turned and walked in