Mom's Anniversary 18

"Because he's most likely 'Mom's' husband." Lu Mi took out the photograph he carried with him again. "Look, a square face."

He continued explaining, "These past few days, I've been wondering whether this game, and the instance's plot, might be trying to convey something. Do you still remember the Ghost Infant's puzzle?"

"Yes. The picture of Fuxi and Nuwa."

"Right. In the myth, after the end of the world, this brother and sister gave rise to humanity's descendants. But before that, Nuwa had created humans alone. In patriarchal society, people realized that reproduction required both men and women, and Nuwa could only retreat to the right side, holding the moon rather than the sun."

Ning Zhuangzhuang asked, "Do you think it's trying to hint at something?"

Lu Mi nodded. "The letters show that 'Mom' was abused by her husband, and their child's eyes were scalded blind."

He put the photograph into Ning Zhuangzhuang's hands. "Zhuangzhuang, if you had to pick a side, would you choose 'Mom' or her husband?"

There was still some time before noon. Lu Mi returned to his room on the second floor and dug out some glue to try to piece the Buddha Jade back together.

It could only protect me once, but if I restore it to something close to its original appearance, it should be fine, right?

Rumble-

Dark clouds churned outside the window, and soon the torrential rain began again.

Lu Mi set down his nearly finished handiwork and got up to stretch, only to bump headfirst into a solid chest.

At some point, Roman had silently appeared behind him.

"What are you doing here?" Remembering what had happened last night, Lu Mi irritably stepped around him and walked to the window.

Roman's voice had lost its teasing edge. Instead, there was a trace of caution:

"There's something I want to give you."

Lu Mi leaned out to close the window, cold rain spattering his face. "What?"

Roman came over and stood beside him at the window.

From here, they could look across the garden and see an open stretch of land beyond the perimeter wall. A few hundred meters farther out lay an endless, gray forest.

"This."

Lu Mi felt something soft and fuzzy being pushed into his arms.

He looked down. It was a pale green sweater.

He fell silent for a moment, then scoffed. "I don't want it."

Giving a gift meant forming a bond. But their paths would never cross again after this, so why leave himself something that would only make him sad?

Roman apparently hadn't expected to be rejected. Displeasure crept over him, and his voice turned cold. "If that little shorty gave you something, you'd probably accept it with delight and treasure it for the rest of your life."

"Who are you calling a little shorty?"

"That Ning girl." Roman looked out the window, failing to notice Lu Mi's expression growing uglier beside him. "She isn't actually brave, but she insists on acting like she is. She says she'll look after a newcomer like you, but a lot of the time, she only survives because she relies on you..."

The sweater was flung straight into his face. Lu Mi said, "What a joke. After scratching you yesterday, I actually thought about apologizing and explaining why I was angry."

"Now it looks like there's no need. Once this instance is over, whether I live or die, I'll never have to see you again."

Roman pulled the sweater off his face, his eyes gradually turning icy. Seeing Lu Mi pick up the Buddha Jade and head out, he forced himself to speak. "I won't let you die."

"What does it matter whether I live or die?" Lu Mi slammed the door. His voice was muffled from inside the room. "I'm not the only cat in the world."

The downpour grew heavier and heavier.

Roman stood by the window for a long time, his expression dark. He kept the sweater clenched tightly in his hands.

How could a kitten be so disobedient?

As noon approached, Ning Zhuangzhuang came downstairs, unsteady on her feet and pale around the lips.

Lu Mi asked what was wrong. She sank into the sofa and merely said softly that she had just woken up from a nap and was still a little groggy.

"Mom" had finished working in the kitchen and was carrying dishes into the dining room.

Just then, a knock sounded at the front door.

"Children, go open the door." "Mom's" face lit up with joy.

Xu Zhi said, "Why don't you get the door, Mom? We'll help you carry the dishes."

He really was clever. This way, they avoided the risk of dying by stepping outside.

After all, a player had died horribly that way on the very first night.

"Mom" said nothing and went to open the front door herself.

Two men and two women stood side by side outside. These were the people "Mom" had asked them to write invitations to yesterday.

"Please, come in."

"Mom" smiled brightly, but the four people were expressionless.

Their skin was deathly pale. Despite the heavy rain, none of them had an umbrella, and they stepped into the house soaking wet.

"Children, these two are your maternal uncle and his wife, and these two are your paternal aunt and uncle."

Listening to "Mom's" introductions, Lu Mi silently noted each person's features, especially those of the paternal uncle assigned to him.

Although the window was open, the rain outside left the dining room dim.

The anniversary had arrived after all.

Faced with a table laden with lavish dishes, none of the players looked particularly well.

Lu Mi had a plan in mind, but he wasn't completely confident in it and couldn't remain calm either.

"Mom" raised a glass of wine and said, "Thank you all so much for attending my wedding anniversary with A Jun. You've all witnessed our twenty years of married life."

With that, she tilted her head back and drained her glass in one gulp.

The four relatives raised their glasses and drank at the same time, their movements stiff, like robots following a set program.

Without exception, the wine trickled down from the hems of their clothes and pooled on the floor, yet they seemed completely unaware.

For a moment, Lu Mi didn't dare imagine what lay beneath their heavy clothes.

The players were all quiet. Only Xu Zhi kept putting food on Zhang Mei's plate, chatting and laughing as though this were nothing more than an ordinary lunch.

Zhang Mei's thick bangs covered her eyes. All Lu Mi could see was the slight trembling of the hand holding her chopsticks.

After the meal came the talent performances.

"Mom" reclined serenely on the sofa, while the four relatives and four players stood in the middle of the living room.

Zhang Mei was pushed forward first. According to her invitation, she was paired with the maternal uncle, and their performance was calligraphy.

Trembling with fear, she stood beside her supposed uncle at the table, and they began writing with fountain pens.

Lu Mi craned his neck to look and saw that Zhang Mei was writing an ancient poem from memory. The uncle beside her never glanced at her paper, yet wrote exactly the same words on the sheet before him.

Even their handwriting was identical.

"The rest of you, join in too." Looking as though she were enjoying a happy family gathering, "Mom" urged the others on.

Without a trace of fear, Xu Zhi gallantly invited the paternal aunt to dance a waltz with him.

Ning Zhuangzhuang sat with the maternal aunt at the piano in the corner, and they played four-finger accompaniment for the slow waltz.

Lu Mi found the paternal uncle. Seeing his vacant eyes, he simply dispensed with formalities like a polite invitation.

He began improvising lyrics to the piano's melody on his own, and the uncle immediately joined in, matching his timing with uncanny precision.

These "relatives" were far too well in sync with them, as though they could read the players' minds and knew their every thought.

The whole scene looked harmonious and happy, but what normal person made their guests perform talents at a wedding anniversary?

Standing beside the piano, Lu Mi silently pressed his hand against his pocket.

The Buddha Jade that might save their lives lay quietly inside.