What it Means to be Human

Mutual Salvation (3)

[The couple was overjoyed by the birth of the twins, yet the devastation they felt when they found out their daughter's illness was as severe as a meteor crashing unto Earth.

"Husband... our daughter..."

Song Jia Li called her husband with a pathetic voice. She couldn't believe what she's seeing. She couldn't accept what kind of fate will befall her daughter.

Xia Chao hugged his wife tightly in his arms. His eyes showed a fierce, yet desperate light.

He won't let anything be an obstacle to his family's happiness.

True to his words, Xia Chao and his wife raised their daughter to be a lovely, happy child.

They would lead Xia Mei Lien to play in the park, gifting her whatever gift would fit her whims.

Her happiness outweighed the gloom from her so-called destitute lifespan. She lived being showered by a brilliantly gorgeous light.

Yet as how light produces an even darker shadow, another child was left deprived of the love he so deserved.

Seen through a window on the second floor of their mansion, a little boy was looking out, his hands seemingly reaching out.

'Mom... Dad...

Xiao Ru... wants to play, too...']

— Excerpt from 'Love Aeternum'.

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A family of three sat across the dining table. Their faces were lit with impeccable joy.

The daughter would chatter on about her experiences in school. She would tell her parents how she and her friends went on an adventure within the school gardens.

Hearing their daughter's joyful chatter, the mother would smile tenderly, and gently wiped her daughter's face. Her eyes contained what seemed like an infinite amount of love for the girl in front of her.

Meanwhile, the father would look at his wife and daughter with satisfaction. His eyes would glimmer with unprecedented joy at the current status quo.

*Tap* *tap*

The sounds of footsteps were heard.

Hearing this, the couple looked towards the source of the sound. A little boy who looked to be around five years old showed up in their view.

Seeing him, the mother immediately smiled,

"You're awake. Ru'er."

Wang Fai, or rather, Xia Ru, did not respond. He shrunk his neck and averted his gaze. He sat on a seat located at a sizeable distance from the family.

The mother's smile froze. She was taken aback by her son's behavior.

The atmosphere was filled with an awkward air.

Aware of this, the father couldn't bear to see his son and wife's interaction with one another. Just as he was about to speak, his phone buzzed. He grabbed it and hurriedly excused himself to answer the call.

The awkward silence ensued.

Just as the mother was planning to speak to clear up the dead air, her daughter spoke.

"Mei Lien wants to go to school!"

The stiff atmosphere was immediately dispelled.

Just a single sentence was able to extinguish the awkwardness that surrounded the dining table. The mother inmediately wiped her daughter's face and gently smiled.

"Mei Lien needs to wait for brother. You'll go to school together."

Xia Mei Lien pouted, dissatisfied with her mother's words. She didn't want to go to school with her brother. The other children would tease her for it.

"But Mei Lien wants to go now!"

*Clack*

The sound of tableware clashing was heard.

The mother and daughter pair looked towards the source of the sound to see Xia Ru putting down his tableware and wiping his lips.

At the same time, the father, Xia Chao, walked into the dining room, still holding his phone. He looked towards his family and spoke,

"It seems like the Shen family's banquet tonight is postponed for the time being."

His wife looked over with widened eyes, "How come? They've been preparing for this since a month ago, haven't they?"

Xia Chao was just as confused. He heard that the Shen family placed a lot of importance on this banquet.

It will be held in celebration of Shen Haoran's, the Shen family's young master's, birthday. Them placing this much of an importance on it shows how important they perceive their young master.

Due to this, the abrupt postponement of the banquet drew doubts among the upper classes.

What might have happened that caused them to delay their beloved young master's birthday party?

Xia Chao's wife, Song Jia Li, didn't let her husband continue to dwell on it. She looked at the time and exclaimed, "Ah, it's almost time for the kids to go to school!"

"A'Chao, do you have anything to do today? Can you escort the children to school?"

Xia Chao also looked at the time. Remembering his work schedule, he immediately looked apologetically at his wife and responded.

"Sorry, A'Li. It seems like I'm also running late for work."

With that, he dashed for his car, rushing towards his company.

Song Jia Li just chuckled and called for their driver. She was going to lead their children to school.

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Caihong followed his host to the car, chattering all the while. It seems that found a deviation in the data he received from the world.

He worryingly asked Wang Fai,

"Host, what do you think happened? There was a deviation in the plot just now. It seems that the banquet that was supposed to serve as the beginning of the male and female leads' story has been postponed."

Hearing this, Wang Fai turned to look at him.

"I don't know. Shouldn't you know?"

He was also clueless on the current events. He thought that the system was some kind of omnipotent being in the worlds he would travel to, given that their ability to gather information, along with futuristic knowledge (plot information), is top-notch. However, the sudden deviation from the otherwise normal data received by Caihong proved him wrong.

"Well, let's just wait and see."