Ling Cage, pick up Lu Mingfei at the start.

Lu Mingfei walked slowly down the road because he had been held back again.

Along the way, Lu Mingfei shook hands with each of the elderly men, women, brothers, and sisters he hadn't had a chance to thank, making his scalp tingle. He was completely unaccustomed to dealing with this kind of situation. A once-disliked loser had suddenly become the object of gratitude for a large group of people. Although he was happy inside, he was still somewhat at a loss.

Having finally escaped the crowd, and having casually accepted a few game invitations from his buddies along the way, Lu Mingfei had no idea where he had gone.

Looking up, I realized I had unknowingly walked to the entrance of "Life's Most Adorned Jewelry". The shop was quiet, with only the faint sound of needles being threaded.

Fang Yuan sat with his back to the door, bathed in the light from the window, his head down, intently working on a small piece of fabric in his hands.

Her movements appeared somewhat clumsy, even overly cautious, with crooked stitches, far less nimble and precise than when she wielded her weapon.

"Hey Fang Yuan, how are you feeling? No aftereffects, right?" Lu Mingfei walked in quietly. Fang Yuan didn't react; all her attention was focused on the thin needle at her fingertips.

"Sister Fang Yuan?" Lu Mingfei raised his voice slightly.

"Ouch!" Fang Yuan was startled and his hand trembled, almost pricking himself with the needle.

She looked up and saw it was Lu Mingfei; a bright smile immediately bloomed on her face: "Oh, what brings our great hero here?"

"Oh right, we promised to make you clothes. We've been waiting for you these past few days, but you haven't come." Fang Yuan remembered that after returning from the last mission, he promised Lu Mingfei that he would make him a set of clothes for free.

Lu Mingfei scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly: "No, no, I was just walking around and happened to pass by... I had almost forgotten about the clothes."

His gaze fell on the small, clearly baby-sized garment on Fang Yuan's lap. The stitches were delicate, but the fabric was soft and warm.

"This is……?"

Fang Yuan followed his gaze, and the smile on her face instantly softened, an expression Lu Mingfei had never seen on this valiant female warrior's face before.

She gently picked up the little garment, her fingertips tracing the uneven stitches, a little embarrassed yet full of affection: "This... I wanted to make a little garment for the baby. You Feng said I'm clumsy and that he should do it, since he handles most of the shop's affairs... but I just wanted to try it myself."

Her voice softened, as if she were telling a sweetest secret, "Imagine him wearing clothes I made by hand, even if they're a little ugly, it's still a mother's love, right?"

When talking about the baby, it was as if the pool of water came alive. Fang Yuan's eyes suddenly brightened, and as the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up, that smile began to grow from the depths of his eyes, spreading all the way from the corners of his eyes, and becoming soft as it passed through his cheeks.

Lu Mingfei stared at her smile and suddenly froze.

Mother……

A distant and vague word crashed into his heart without warning.

He tried to search through the storehouse of his memories for corresponding images—his mother's face? His mother's hands? His mother's voice?

No.

There was only a hazy, warm glow, and the touch of a warm, dry hand that seemed to have held his. Beyond that, there was only blankness.

When was the last time I saw my mother? Ever since I moved in with my uncle, it seems like I haven't seen her at all. There haven't been any letters, let alone video calls.

Their faces have become increasingly blurred by time and distance in the river of memory, until only the empty concept of "parents" remains, along with the reminder of the substantial monthly allowance that is deposited on time, a small portion of which is used for him.

"Lu Mingfei? Lu Mingfei?"

"Huh? What's wrong?" Lu Mingfei came to his senses and saw a pair of hands waving in front of him.

"Why did you suddenly drift off into thought while we were talking?" Fang Yuan changed her waving hand to a one-finger flick. She had originally wanted to flick this "great hero" who was currently making waves in the village, since she saw Lu Mingfei was lost in thought. It was a funny idea, but now that Lu Mingfei had come back to his senses, she could only awkwardly withdraw her hand.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." Lu Mingfei blinked, quickly flexing his facial muscles to force a familiar, slightly lazy and embarrassed smile. "It's just... I suddenly thought of my mother."

He deliberately kept his tone relaxed, even shrugging, "But, I can't quite remember what she looked like. Isn't that funny?"

Although the boy was smiling, Fang Yuan was very perceptive. She could clearly see that the smile was forced, and the light in his narrowed eyes was fading, like the tide receding, darkening inch by inch.

The shop fell silent for a moment. The light from outside the window shifted, and tiny dust particles danced silently in the beams of light.

Fang Yuan felt as if something soft yet sharp had gently pierced her heart. Looking at the boy in front of her, who was being thanked and relied upon by the entire village, she suddenly realized that this boy did not actually belong here. He had no family here. His arrival here was just an accident. He should have been living in a peaceful world.

She carefully chose her tone and said gently, "You suddenly disappeared and came to such a far and dangerous place... Your parents must miss you very, very much and be very worried about you."

Hearing this, Lu Mingfei felt a strange sense of irritation, but he still softened his tone and said, "They won't miss me."

As if stating a fact, Lu Mingfei tried hard to force a smile, but he just couldn't manage to pull a smile.

Fang Yuan didn't know about Lu Mingfei's past. Growing up in Longgu Village, a place where people supported each other and had strong family bonds, she found it hard to imagine how parents could not love their child. She said, "How could that be? What parents don't love their child? Maybe they're just busy?"

"Love me?" Lu Mingfei repeated the word, his voice very soft. Unpleasant memories surfaced in his mind. For example, when a classmate in junior high school insulted him, asking if his parents had divorced abroad, he got into a fight. As a result, his aunt forced him to apologize to the person in a humble manner. When his cousin Lu Mingze got into trouble, his uncle and aunt supported him, but Lu Mingfei did not. He was insulted and had to do chores for a week the next day.

Fang Yuan's well-intentioned speculation was like a needle, unexpectedly piercing a long-sealed abscess. Lu Mingfei's voice suddenly rose, and his anger erupted like long-suppressed lava.

"They don't love me!"

"Lu Mingfei?" Fang Yuan was startled by this sudden and intense reaction.

Lu Mingfei seemed not to hear, even though he had rested for a long time before coming out to play, he couldn't help but get emotional when the topic of his parents came up.

Lu Mingfei's voice trembled slightly at first, like a taut string being plucked unintentionally.

But soon, something long suppressed, hot and sharp was injected into that vibrato, and the tone suddenly rose, exploding in the quiet shop.

"Still miss me?" He repeated the word, a twisted smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. There was no smile in that smile, only a cold, self-mocking thorn. "If they really missed me, why haven't they come back even once in six years…yes, six years?! Like a piece of unwanted luggage, they just dumped me at my uncle's house and then…they just flew all over the world?!"

His speech became faster and faster, and his words came out like red-hot shrapnel, shooting out recklessly.

His eyes burned uncontrollably, but he stared intently, refusing to let the stinging sensation solidify.

He had never said these things to anyone, not even Lao Tang. In this strange, cruel, yet unexpectedly given him a little "place" in the apocalypse, this old scar, which had scabbed over for more than a decade and had long since become background noise, was unexpectedly and bloodily torn open by Fang Yuan's gentle words, "What parent doesn't miss their child?" He knew that Fang Yuan didn't do it on purpose, that she didn't know anything, but when it came to his parents, the emotions that had been suppressed for many years burst forth under various pressures.

"Archaeology... Ha, is archaeology really that great? So great that you can't even come back to see your own son? Can't you even take a single day off? You're kidding me!" He waved his arms, the movements small but with the intensity of a trapped animal. "They just don't want to! They just think I'm a nuisance, a burden! If it weren't for the monthly allowance deposited into my account on time, I'd think I was born from a rock, a natural-born orphan!"

"But what if I get living expenses? I don't even know how much it is. I can't control it myself. My aunt manages all the money, claiming it's because I'm a minor and she can't control it. But only she knows how much of it is actually spent on me!"

He was panting, his chest heaving violently, as if his words had exhausted all his strength.

The shop was deathly silent; even the faint sounds of the bustling market outside the window seemed to have been shut out.

Only the dust particles dancing in the sunlight continue to spin slowly and obliviously along their original paths.

Fang Yuan went from initial surprise to listening attentively without speaking, offering no comfort, or interrupting.

She simply looked at him quietly, her usually bright and sharp eyes now filled with a deep pool of tolerance and understanding.

She didn't look away, nor did she flinch at Lu Mingfei's sudden loss of composure and harsh words. Instead, she turned her focused listening into an invisible vessel, steadily catching all his outpouring of resentment, grievances, and deep-seated loneliness.

After Lu Mingfei finished yelling, the sudden anger came and went quickly, leaving only exhaustion and immense embarrassment.

He realized what he had said. In front of her, this expectant mother who was just immersed in the joy of pregnancy, he had acted like a fool, pouring out his old, messy stories.

He abruptly turned his face away, wondering why he hadn't been able to hold it in. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he bit down hard on the inside of his mouth, tasting a metallic, sweet flavor.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Sister Fang Yuan," his voice was hoarse and nasal, but he forced it back. "I came out happily today, but I don't know why...I shouldn't have said these things...It has nothing to do with you..."

Fang Yuan didn't speak. Instead, she walked to a small stove in the corner of the shop, picked up the kettle that had been keeping it warm, and poured a cup of hot water. Then, she walked back and gently placed the steaming cup of water on the low table in front of Lu Mingfei.

"Have some water," she said softly, her tone one of natural care, like that of a family member who needs to calm down after an emotional outburst.

Lu Mingfei stared at the glass of water, the rising steam blurring his vision.

"Lu Mingfei, I dare not presume to know what your parents are like, but... perhaps they really have their own reasons." Fang Yuan sat back down in the chair opposite him, her hands folded on her knees, the unfinished baby clothes carefully placed aside.

"What difficulties could they possibly have?" Lu Mingfei turned to look at her, his voice still trembling with disbelief.

"Did you know? There are actually many orphans in Dragonbone Village."

Lu Mingfei was stunned, not understanding why Fang Yuan suddenly said this.

Fang Yuan spoke slowly, as if he were recalling something or carefully choosing his words.

"Many of their parents sacrificed themselves in the fight against the Devouring Beasts. Some children might think, like you just said, that their parents don't want them anymore, that they don't love them anymore. But later, when they grow up a bit, they have the chance to see what their parents left behind. It's not money; it might be a diary, an unmailed letter, or even just some old, preserved objects."

They then realized that their parents, who were not by their side, had built the strongest defense for them on their own battlefield. On the other side of that defense was the battle they had to face, and on this side, they simply hoped that their children could survive safely.

Fang Yuan looked at Lu Mingfei gently: "Think about your abilities again. Did they really appear out of thin air?"

"I..." He opened his mouth, but found his throat was so blocked that he couldn't say anything.

He suddenly picked up the glass of water in front of him, ignoring how hot it was, and gulped down a large mouthful. The hot water scalded his throat, almost bringing tears to his eyes, but it also brought a sharp, clear-headed feeling that rushed straight to his head.

When he came to his senses, Lu Mingfei was suddenly stunned; he had never thought of it from this perspective before.

In his world, the absence of his parents was pure abandonment, a double lack of love and responsibility. The living expenses were nothing more than a cold, insignificant number to maintain the minimum dignity of this abandonment.

But Fang Yuan's words were like a rusty key, trying to turn a door that he had already assumed was welded shut.

Upon closer reflection, considering the strange and powerful abilities within him that had been erupting repeatedly recently… could his parents really just be ordinary people? What if they also had something special about them, a side he was unaware of?

Yes... if I'm not an ordinary person, then they...

This thought was like a stone thrown into a deep pool, creating chaotic and unfamiliar ripples.

"Pfft—"

A little boy's laughter suddenly echoed in my mind, full of sarcasm.

Lu Mingfei suddenly noticed something was wrong with his surroundings. Time seemed to stand still again. Dust in the sunlight hovered in the air. Fang Yuan's movements froze on his concerned expression. All sound disappeared.

Lu Mingfei felt that the voice was very familiar.

Huh? Isn't this Lu Mingze, who claims to be my younger brother?

"What are you laughing at?" Lu Mingfei asked himself.

"It's nothing, brother." The voice carried the languidness of someone just waking up and a lingering hint of mockery. "I just woke up and heard...something quite interesting."

"What's so funny?" Lu Mingfei was a little annoyed. He sensed that Lu Mingze's words had a hidden meaning.

"Hmm... Anyway, you can't go back, so telling you won't help. It's better not to know and just live well here." Lu Mingze's voice paused, and a hint of emotion different from his playful tone seemed to flash across it, so quickly that Lu Mingfei wondered if it was just his imagination. "But Qiao Wei, cough cough... Mom really does love you." His voice paused again.

Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment, somewhat confused. What did he mean? Lu Mingze, were you just trying to say something about Qiao Weini? Explain yourself clearly. What do you mean by "Mom really loves me"?

Lu Mingfei didn't get an answer. The voice just said: "I'm not going to talk about it anymore. I'm still weak. Go to sleep."

Lu Mingze's sudden appearance and abrupt departure, no matter how much Lu Mingfei called out, could not be brought back, like a wisp of fog that came and went without a trace, leaving behind even more mysteries.

But strangely, the seemingly random phrase "Mom really does love you," and Fang Yuan's metaphor about the defensive line, were like two faint yet persistent beams of light, shining into the frozen wasteland in his heart.

Despite the unresolved confusion and even the addition of new mysteries, Lu Mingfei's chaotic and turbulent emotions were strangely calmed down after this brief silence detached from reality.

That sharp anger and deep-seated resentment seemed to be slightly covered by something more ambiguous.

Time begins to flow again.

Lu Mingfei held the still-warm water cup, looked up into Fang Yuan's gentle, expectant eyes. The shop was quiet, and the sunlight was still warm.

He took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

"Thank you... Sister Fang Yuan," he said softly, his voice still hoarse, but no longer trembling.

"I should be thanking you," Fang Yuan said, holding Lu Mingfei's hand. "You saved us and did so much for the village, but it seems like we've never really understood you."

"So—" she suddenly drawled, walked to the worktable, and magically produced an old but clean measuring tape from the drawer. She nimbly twirled it in her hand, then looked at Lu Mingfei with a beaming smile, her eyes crinkling into crescents, "Since our great hero has graced us with his presence today, why not take advantage of the moment and measure your measurements?"

Lu Mingfei was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled. The topic had changed too quickly, but it was precisely this natural action that made him feel inexplicably relaxed.

He did as instructed, stood in place obediently, and raised his arms like a dutiful puppet.

Fang Yuan approached with a tape measure, first roughly estimating his shoulder width, then began to measure carefully, the cold tape measure pressed against his skin.

As she measured, she made notes in a notebook beside her, muttering to herself, "The muscle definition in my arms is pretty good. Looks like I'm eating well at Boss Bai's place. But I still seem too thin. I need to eat more."

Lu Mingfei blushed slightly as she talked about him, and his body stiffened a little. He really wanted to say that he had been eating a lot these past few days and felt like he was about to bankrupt Boss Bai, but Fang Yuan would definitely not believe him given his physique.

Fang Yuan's movements were swift and efficient. She quickly finished measuring the main data, then stepped back, touched her chin, and looked Lu Mingfei up and down as if examining a piece of material waiting to be sculpted.

"Hmm...good frame, just a bit too thin. Young people are still growing and expending so much energy, so you need to keep up with your nutrition." She said with the air of someone who'd been there before, then her eyes lit up as if she'd just thought of something. "By the way, what color do you like? Do you want the fabric to be thick and durable, or breathable and comfortable? Now that the weather's starting to warm up, I'll design two outfits for you, one suitable for everyday activities, and one that's a little... um, a bit more stylish? Maybe it'll come in handy for some kind of village awards ceremony or something."

Lu Mingfei was a little confused by her question, and scratched his head: "I...I'm fine with anything. Just don't make the colors too flashy, and the fabric...I'd like it to be sturdy so I can move around easily."

"However, the design must be stylish!" Lu Mingfei added.

"Okay, then leave it to me and You Feng. I guarantee you'll be satisfied." Fang Yuan readily agreed, made a few more notes in his notebook, then put away the measuring tape. "Come pick it up in about a week, or I can deliver it to you."

"No rush, no rush," Lu Mingfei quickly said.

"Oh, right," Fang Yuan said as if suddenly remembering something, turning around to take a package of oil paper from under the counter and handing it to him, "Here, take this."

"What's this?" Lu Mingfei took it; a faint, sweet aroma emanated from the paper package.

"These are some dried fruit that Youfeng dried for me. I soaked them in honey. Now that I'm pregnant, I like to eat sweet and sour things, so I eat them as snacks," Fang Yuan said with a smile. "I still have a lot more, so don't refuse!"

Looking at the simple yet thoughtfully wrapped paper package in his hand, Lu Mingfei felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He sincerely thanked her, "Thank you, Sister Fang Yuan."

"Don't mention it." Fang Yuan waved his hand and handed Lu Mingfei a plastic bag to cover the paper package. "Go back quickly and get some rest. Boss Bai is definitely waiting to see you."

Lu Mingfei nodded, said goodbye to her, and turned to leave "Life's Grand Ornament".

Standing once again on the sun-drenched village road, he subconsciously clenched the oil paper package in his hand, then loosened it.

Lu Mingfei glanced back at the quiet tailor shop. Fang Yuan's figure, behind the window, sat back in the light, picked up the small baby clothes, and seemed to sense his gaze. Fang Yuan looked up and smiled at him.

Lu Mingfei smiled back and left, but he didn't go home. He continued walking along the street. After all, he had been staying at home for several days and wanted to wander around some more. However, the direction he was heading was "Play and Read for Leisure".