On Lily’s third day back, after picking up the pieces, she finally decides to meet the people she should
have met a long time ago.
The first stop on the journey is her parents’ place. Although she has lost part of her memory, this has
little effect on her memories toward her parents.
Her car stops downstairs in the RED community. From the moment she gets off the car, Rex takes her
hand. This old residential building has no lift. They go up to the fifth floor on foot. Standing outside the
familiar door, she hesitates for a few seconds, and then she raises her hand and presses the doorbell.
Before the door opens, she hears Bree’s anxious voice from inside, “Who is it, coming, coming…”
As she finishes her last ‘coming’, the closed-door is pushed open from the inside. As the door slowly
opens, the familiar figure gradually comes into Lily’s view.
Before they arrive, they did not inform Bree in advance, as they were afraid that she would change her
mind. Therefore, they didn’t want to alarm her parents.
At the moment, on the two sides of the door, the two people’s eyes meet. When Lily looks at Bree,
whose hair has turned white in just a few months, her tears immediately flow out, “Mum…”
After hearing Lily calling her, only does Bree believe that the person in front of her is not her illusion.
She stands frozen in place. After Lily comes forward and hugs her, only does she dares to believe that
this is not her illusion.
“Li, Lily?” she looks as if she can’t believe it. She raises her arms and hugs Lily tightly, keeps on patting
on her back with her hand that is full of calluses, “What took you so long to get back, your father and I
were so worried...”
“I’m sorry, mum, I’m sorry…” her tears fall freely. She doesn’t know what else she can say except
apologies.
Harry also hurries to the door when he hears the voices. Seeing the mother and daughter embracing
and crying, the man who is not good at expressing feelings also can’t help but cries, “So glad that
you’re back, so glad that you’re back!”
“Come in and let mum have a good look at you,” Bree says while pulling her into the house.
When she walks into the living room, everything is still the same as it had been before. Lily feels a little
more at ease. She sits on the sofa with a cup of hot tea handed over by Bree, starts to have a heart-to-
heart talk with her.
“You haven’t been back for so long. Phone calls and texts are also few and far between. What have
you been up to?” Mothers always worry about their children. Even though Lily is now in front of her
eyes, she still starts to question her.
Luckily, before they arrive, Rex had already taught her how to answer them.
She is not a good liar. Even though they are white lies, she feels extremely guilty when she looks into
Bree’s aged eyes.
Therefore, when she says this, she deliberately avoids Bree’s eyes. She lowers her head and takes a
sip of hot tea from her cup, “We went to investigate a case about transnational smuggling, and it’s an
order from the higher-ups that the details cannot be disclosed. Contacting people during this period
also needs permission. So most of the time, it’s not that I don’t want to be in touch. It’s just that there
are demands from the higher-ups that I have to follow.”
“Transnational smuggling case?” Bree’s expression changes after she hears that, “Isn’t that
dangerous? Lily, you’re a mother now, you’re not alone like before now. When you do anything, you
have to consider your family and children, you…”
Lily knows what she wants to say. She puts down the cup in her hand and raises her hands to hold the
wrinkled hand, “Mum, I know. I promise this is the last time, and it won’t happen again, okay?”
“Never take this kind of case again. We are all ordinary people. Your father and I don’t expect you to
become some kind of hero. As long as you live a healthy life, it’s better than anything else, do you
understand?”
These words that go into Lily’s ear are undoubtedly the most heart-rending. The tears that she has just
held back almost pour out again, luckily she is able to stop them, “I know, mum, I’ll be fine. I still have to
look after you and dad, don’t worry.”
Hearing her say so, Bree finally relaxes. She looks at Rex who is beside them, “You went together,
right? You look like you’ve lost a lot of weight too.”
Rex didn’t expect that Bree would show concern for him, and this warms his heart, “I’m fine, auntie.”
“Stay for lunch later. We still have the tonics that you kept sending us before, which will come in handy
now.”
“You young people, ignoring your health for the sake of work. Little do you know how worried your
mother and I are,” Harry, who is sitting at the side, chimes in as well, “Just this once and never again.
As parents, even if you are not thinking of yourself, you still have to think of your children. You are
away for such a long time. Adair has been unhappy every day because he misses his parents. If it
weren’t for Abby, the child would have been in a depression. The teachers have been questioning
throughout the term. We didn’t know what to say.”
Lily panics when Adair is mentioned. Especially about the child’s studies, she doesn’t know what to
say.
As if sensing her distress, Rex naturally takes over the conversation, “Uncle, don’t worry. We will
definitely talk to Adair’s teacher personally tomorrow.”
At this point, it’s pointless to say anything more. Although Harry is not happy with the two’s actions,
after seeing how thin they become, how can he bear to criticise them, he just feels heartache.
Bree made stewed chicken with fish maw, a very complex tonic soup. It requires preparation and
soaking of the fish maw. The chicken also needs to be handled well. But she doesn’t feel troublesome
at the slightest. She just wants to give them the best of everything.
The aroma of lunch is gradually wafting out of the kitchen. In a foreign country, although there was the
company of Rex, she always felt something is missing. After being deserted for so long, she finally can
feel the atmosphere of a home.
Her strong but cold heart feels unusually soft at this moment. Her eyes are slightly downcast, and she
is thinking about something. All kinds of thoughts appear in her mind.
Her shoulders suddenly feel the warmth of a man’s palm and she looks over her shoulder. She sees
the man taking her into his arms. His long, beautiful fingers are patting on her shoulder. His handsome
face gives her a reassuring feeling as always.
Lily also holds the man’s palm, which is like a source of energy, feeding her with a constant flow of
power.
The meal is ready. The four of them sit at the small dining table. There are a total of three dishes and a
tonic soup, all of them are prepared very diligently.
Rex looks at the big pile of rice in front of him and feels very touched. He looks up and sees Bree
serving food to Lily. While on his side, Harry is not idle either, he already filled half of his plate.
The warmth of family, which has never been deeply felt before, is deeply felt at this moment.
No wonder so many people miss home. He used to think that they are just young, ignorant and naïve.
But now, he understands. What they miss is not just home, but the people at home, the people who can
give each other warmth in this cold world.
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