Chapter 271 Chapter 265 Going Home
“The airport is too crowded.”
Jima said, looking down at George’s hand gripping her wrist tightly, and added, “George, are you nervous? This isn’t like you.”
“I am indeed nervous.”
“Because in your mind, meeting the parents is a necessary condition for marriage, right?”
“Partly.”
“In Huaxia, filial piety is a traditional virtue. Can you bear to let my parents never see their daughter again until they die?” Jima said, “They definitely wouldn’t want me to marry into another world, especially one that’s constantly at war.”
“According to the data, aside from the first year after returning to Earth, you haven’t seen your parents for the remaining fourteen years.”
“I quietly watched them through dreams, just to see them from a distance,” Jima sighed, “My parents are aging so quickly.”
“How did you manage to lie so boldly, knowing I can tell when you’re lying?”
“Never mind, given the crowd at the airport, let’s avoid squeezing into the throng. I haven’t been crammed into a public place like a corporate drone in a long time, so please let go.”
George released his grip.
“Yay, I’m free! Goodbye!” Jima pretended to escape, running a few steps, but when she didn’t feel the familiar grip on her horns, she stopped and turned to look at George, who stayed still.
“Why aren’t you chasing me?”
Now that Jima wasn’t accounting for her horns, she stood at 1.8 meters tall, with a mature and elegant figure. A slight turn caused her round chest to quiver, and there was not a trace of childishness on her face.
George looked Jima up and down and said, “Playing children’s games at this age doesn’t quite fit your image.”
“I was going to stomp my feet,” Jima replied, “Alright, since my dear doesn’t like it, I won’t play such childish games again—next time, I’ll just run away.”
“Actually, I liked it quite a bit.”
“Look at how far the once serious person who’s indifferent to women has fallen,” Jima said cheerfully, grabbing George’s wrist and adding, “Come on, don’t refuse my strength; let’s fly into the sky together.”
Jima used the power of mythological lies.
She took George’s hand, and they gently flew into the sky, soaring over the airport, crossing flyovers, navigating through the congested driverless car crowds, and weaving between skyscrapers.
Pedestrians on the streets couldn’t perceive their figures at all; at that moment, the entire city seemed to be their private paradise.
“Is this the place?”
Jima landed at a riverside community, the residential buildings towering high, with only one household on each floor, close to the city center, and the housing prices were high.
“Yes, your mother lives here.”
“I thought she would buy a villa,” Jima said. “The money I send her each year is no small amount.”
“Because she wants to live with your aunt and look out for each other,” George said. “So she also bought an upper floor apartment for your aunt.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Actually, despite the money you send, your parents might not be happy,” George said. “Your father got into a scheme and lost ten million. His hair has turned quite gray, but fortunately, your stepmother has always been by his side.”
“Only ten million,” Jima said, holding George’s hand as they approached the community’s iron gate, which opened automatically in front of her. “He can hold out for about two years. The money I send him is enough to cover a few repayments.”
“But for someone who has been poor for so long, it’s a significant blow. His hepatitis B has progressed to cirrhosis, and being hospitalized has drained him of his strength.”
“Is that so?” Jima said. “Tomorrow, I’ll send him youth serum and also deal with those scammers, leave them crippled, and let them fend for themselves on the streets.”
“I’ve already captured them; Huaxia’s laws have dealt with them.”
“What’s that matter?”
“Please avoid vigilante justice.”
“Considering your request, I’ll agree to it for now,” Jima said triumphantly. “By the way, which floor?”
“You’ve gone to the wrong building.”
“Why didn’t you warn me?”
“Because I wanted to hold your hand and walk a bit further.”
“How sweet.” Jima smiled, “Come on, comrade George, lead the way.”
George took Jima’s hand and said, “Your father is actually fine; at least your stepmother has been with him. But your mother, she is all alone, constantly being watched because of her substantial wealth. Several times, men and girls came to care for her, sweet-talked her, and conned her out of about ten million. In the end, she became unable to trust anyone. You give them vast wealth without ever thinking about caring for them.”
“So what?” Jima’s voice turned cold. “It’s better than Wan Ziqi.”
“You don’t have to deliberately sever ties with your past self.”
The two entered the elevator, and George pressed the button for the 25th floor, which was Wan Ziqi’s birth date.
“Only in front of you can I openly admit that I am Wan Ziqi,” Jima said, her brow twitching. “Looking back, when I was still a mortal, I worked hard all my life to earn more money, persevering in my studies, attending high school from morning to night until ten-forty in the evening, just to breathe a bit of fresh air before I rushed to shower and lay on the iron bunk beds in an eight-person dormitory by ten-thirty.
“And then I graduated from college and worked hard day and night in a big factory, simply to make more money, right? Once I earned more money, my mom and dad would show smiles on their faces, just like in high school when they saw my 112 score. It felt as if they were seeing a qualified and hardworking beast being born.”
Though George had objections, he listened quietly without interrupting.
“Now, I can easily give away money that is dozens of times more than what I could earn in a lifetime when I was still a mortal. Isn’t that better than before? As for being coveted once I have money, that’s their problem. Would you like to go out on the street and ask someone, ‘Hello, I’m about to give you ten million dollars, but you might be targeted. It’s a painful thing. Do you want it?’
“How many people out of a hundred do you think would say yes? I bet it’s two hundred. As long as you have ten million dollars in cash behind you, they would even bring their relatives to collect the money together.”
So heartless and ungrateful, George could only hope that when Jima meets her biological mother later, she would awaken her humanity. He believed that humanity could never truly vanish.
“Ding.”
Almost as soon as Jima finished speaking, the elevator doors opened.
George did not refute Jima’s words because he knew that debating would not change her but would push her in the opposite direction.
“Alright, let’s not talk about Wan Ziqi anymore,” Jima waved her hand lightly as if trying to fan away the stench emanating from Wan Ziqi. “I haven’t seen my mother in a long time; I’m curious how she’s doing.”
She held her head high, not looking down even as she exited the elevator, but the closer she got to her mother’s house, the shorter her steps became, until finally, she crawled along like a snail.
“George, do we have to see my mom?” Jima asked. “Did you tell her how I am now yesterday? If she knows what I look like, then she just has to go online every day to see traces of me everywhere. In a way, that’s almost like seeing me every day.”
“No.”
“Why?!”
“Because countless people are listening to her phone,” George said. “If you can accept the entire world knowing your—”
“You did well, Comrade George,” Jima said, looking at the security door. She raised her hand, then lowered it again, saying to George, “You go ahead.”
George knocked and said, “Hello, Aunt Wan, I brought your son.”
Jima covered her face.
Behind the door came the sound of hurried feet, and with a click, the door opened.
A kind-looking elderly woman stood behind the door, wearing a knitted shawl, her hair still dark, and glasses perched on her nose.
Her face, marked with half-wrinkles, froze with a smile as she questioned, “May I ask who you are?”
“I’m the police officer who came here a few years ago, named George,” George said. “Actually, I belong to Huaxia’s official extraordinary forces and fought against the demon ten days ago; you should have heard about it in the news.”
Wan Yaping’s face broke into a smile, revealing eight teeth, and she laughed repeatedly, “Welcome, welcome! Others say you deceive and rob, but no matter what, you are the one facing the battle. Without you, who knows how arrogant that demon would have been?”
Jima covered her face more tightly.
Wan Yaping looked at Jima, who remained motionless, pretending to be dead.
“So did you find my son’s soul from that demon? But she has already turned my son into her woman?”
Jima finally moved, elbowing George.
“It’s better for you to say it yourself.”
Men are indeed unreliable.
Jima lowered her hand, meeting Wan Yaping’s expectant gaze, and reluctantly said, “I’m the demon you speak of; you should remember me.”
Wan Yaping was taken aback.
Jima eagerly said, “Actually, I am Wan Ziqi, your biological son.”
Wan Yaping looked as if she had been petrified.
Jima poured it out, saying, “It’s a lie that your son made a contract with the demon to summon me. The truth is, please don’t tell anyone else. Fang Shijun is a scammer with a team. After she tricked me out of my money, my dad was eager for cash. I begged her in vain, and that day, I jumped down from above and died.
“Then I was reborn in another world, well, like this, living for three hundred years and finding a magical way to cross back to before my death.”
Wan Yaping said, “What did you say? I don’t quite understand.”
George pulled out a sheet of paper: “I’ve organized a sheet for you.”
Wan Yaping took the paper, which had large, neatly written text and illustrations, perfect for a 70-year-old to read.
George was indeed reliable.
Wan Yaping looked up, adjusting her glasses, gazing at Jima in disbelief as she scrutinized her from top to bottom.
Jima was ready to answer questions about “why,” “why did you do that that day?”
But Wan Yaping said, “Welcome home, daughter.”
Jima felt a sigh of relief in her heart as she stepped into the house. Standing tall with long horns, it seemed as though her horns were about to touch the door frame, but the door frame itself lifted to make way for her horns.
The more Wan Yaping looked at Jima, the happier she became. She gritted her teeth, and past memories told Jima that when Wan Yaping’s emotions ran high, she liked to bite down on her teeth.
She opened her arms and said, “Come hug your precious daughter.”
Jima hesitated for a moment, glanced at George, bent down, opened her arms, and hugged Wan Yaping.
Her full neck and skin formed a stark contrast to Wan Yaping’s aged face.
Wan Yaping’s eyes turned moist, and she whispered, “It’s good to be home, just good to be home.”
