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Lu Zhiyuan raised his legs and smiled somewhat mischievously, “Is this meant to be a ransom meal? Should I eat this meal or not?”

Listening to the banter between the father and son, Gu Ci poured him another glass of milk. “Third Master’s affairs have nothing to do with you. Ziyu was Just talking casually.”

Gu Ziyu stayed silent.

The conversation at the table then shifted to Chinese New Year matters. Gu Ziyu didn’t get a chance to win the final round against Lu Zhiyuan. After lunch, Lu Ze called, saying he had arrived at rhe Global Center. Lu Zhiyuan got up and left after the call.

Once his car disappeared from view, Gu Ziyu narrowed his eyes and asked Gu Ci, “Mom, he’s Third Master, right?”

Gu Ci was momentarily stunned and looked at Gu Ziyu.

With just one glance, Gu Ziyu understood that Gu Ci had known all along.

“How did you figure it out? He’s been acting exceptionally well lately, so convincing that sometimes I thought he had truly returned,” Gu Ci’s tone carried a hint of melancholy.

“The last time we played chess together, I had my suspicions. Dad doesn’t pay attention to anything except racing, yet he played a great game of chess. I found it perplexing. Maybe it’s a shared skill since Third Master is also into racing. But today, when 1 called him ‘Dad’ at the movie theater, he actually responded,” Gu Ziyu said firmly. “Dad doesn’t know the truth yet, so why would he naturally respond? Plus, he’s way too concerned about assassination/’

Third Young Master never paid any attention to Third Master’s affairs.

“Since the car accident, he’s always been Third Master!” Gu Ci pulled Gu Ziyu to sit down beside her. “Now that you’ve seen through it, don’t expose it. Just join us in playing this role.”

“Mom!” Gu Ziyu was anxious. He finally understood why, before going abroad, his mother’s condition had been under control, but after his dad’s accident, her mental state had deteriorated day by day.

On the day they returned from Global Center, they didn’t speak a word on the way back. He now realized that both his parents had been acting all along, living in a fantasy world together.

“Is he not coming back?” Gu Ziyu asked cautiously, fearing to upset Gu Ci.

Gu Ci gazed out the window with a distant look. “I don’t know!”

Gu Ziyu’s brow furrowed deeply. “Mom, do you…do you want to keep playing this forever?”

Continuing the charade meant she would never accept rhe truth.

This was a ticking time bomb!

Her mental state would never improve!

Fortunately, her focus had been diverted by her brother’s recent issues, sparing her from the consequences. If not for that, the situation could have been much worse; her brother’s troubles had been a timely distraction.

“What can 1 do if 1 don’t act anymore? Tell him directly?” Gu Ci’s eyes were slightly red. “Ziyu, please don’t shatter my illusions. I beg you, son!”

“Let’s see a doctor, okay?” Gu Ziyu said softly, holding her hand with a touch of sadness.

“I’m a doctor myself.”

The trickiest patients were those who had given up on treatment and didn’t want to be cured, preferring to live in a false world. Gu Ci was well aware of her current emotional state Third Master’s disguise, all the warmth and sweetness, were nothing but a mirage, yet she remained entrapped in it.

“At the very least, we need to understand what’s going on!” Gu Ziyu said in a hushed tone. “If you don’t ask, you’ll never know: Is Dad gone forever, or is it just temporary? If it’s temporary, when can he come back? That way, you’ll have some peace of mind.”

Gu Ziyu feared that Lu Zhiyuan would never return, and Gu Ci was unwilling to accept the truth. One day, when Third Master no longer wanted to play along, her mirage would be shattered, and his mom would lose her sanity!

“Ziyu, is this not good?” Gu Ci’s eyes were red as she looked at Gu Ziyu.

“Nothing has changed, he’s often by your side, playing chess with you, having meals together. Our family can stay together. What’s wrong with that?”

“What if he doesn’t want to play anymore?” Gu Ziyu refused to indulge Gu Ci. He knew that if he kept indulging her, the outcome would be losing her. Even if it made his mother sad, he had to make Gu Ci see the truth. “He’s fully committed to Black Hawk, so why would he act in this play? My guess is that Dad asked him to before he left, so he agreed to act with you. But it’s all fake. A performance always ends, actors always leave the stage. We can’t live in this play forever.”

“Mom doesn’t want to wake up!” Gu Ci calmly watched her own soul deteriorating. “Ziyu, I’m sorry!”

Gu Ziyu’s eyes turned red, and he felt heartbroken. He saw his mother from a past life once again. His mother perpetually slept within the nightmare of that past life, and he had already broken free. But no one was there to lead her out.

When they returned from Global Center, that day when he saw her condition deteriorating, he panicked, feeling like he had made the wrong choices.

He couldn’t indulge her anymore.

“Mom, in my past life, after you lost your sanity, I went down the wrong path. I suffered for you, which is why I indulged you. We depended on each other, and I was afraid of losing you. Do you know? When you lost control of yourself, hitting me really hurt.” Gu Ziyu opened his shirt, revealing the scars, the evidence of the nightmare he had experienced in that past life. “I’d rather let you keep hurting me, tormenting me, than shatter your beautiful dreams. But in the end, I still lost you. So in this life, I won’t indulge you anymore. Mom, you must see a doctor. You can’t live in your delusions. Your emotions, whether joy or sorrow, are all fake, and you’ll never be able to accept the fact that he left you.”

Gu Ziyu looked at the tearful Gu Ci and spoke gently, “Mom, even if Dad is gone, I’ll still be here by your side.”

Gu Ci gazed at the scars on Gu Ziyu’s body, like a series of knives cutting into her heart. She trembled as she clutched his clothes.

But she still didn’t offer him a promise.

“I understand. The person who can untangle the bell is the one who tied it in the first place. I’m not your solution,” Gu Ziyu wiped away his tears, “but 1 absolutely can t indulge your addiction anymore.”

His mother, brave, strong, beautiful, intelligent – he could use all the words to describe her. But if Lu Zhiyuan were to die, his mother would turn into a walking corpse. She was still trapped in the nightmare of the past life.

She had imprisoned herself in that nightmare, and besides the father from the past life, who else could lead her out?

“Ziyu, are you really going to force me?” Gu Ci asked.

“If I jump from the top of Global Center, would you be willing to see a doctor?” Gu Ziyu delivered a harsh ultimatum, causing Gu Ci to suddenly look up at him. “What are you talking about?”

“Anyway, as long as you have Lu Zhiyuan it doesn’t matter whether I’m alive or not,” Gu Ziyu self-mockingly said.. “Mom, I may not have superpowers, but I can keep my word!”