Chapter 253: Chapter 243: A Man’s Heart

It all happened so fast. By the time anyone could react, the woman and the child in her arms had been yanked out.

Tang Mo glanced over, her expression unchanged as she continued to guide the sphere of light upward.

She had given all the necessary warnings, but when greed took over, there was nothing anyone could do.

As the saying goes, fate decides life and death.

Just then, Ah Bao moved. He reacted in a flash, leaping out without a moment’s hesitation.

Ah Bao was an excellent swimmer. Within a few strokes, he had snatched the child and turned back to grab the woman’s arm.

The aquatic creature’s tentacle was wrapped tightly around the woman’s arm. Ah Bao tugged, but couldn’t free her.

After hesitating for barely a second, Ah Bao looked at the woman’s terrified face, then let go. He returned to Tang Mo’s sphere of light with the child.

Tang Mo had paused their ascent when she saw Ah Bao leave the sphere. Now, he was only a few meters away.

The first thing Ah Bao did upon returning to the sphere was to hold the child and pat his back, making him cough up a few mouthfuls of water. Only when the boy started crying did Ah Bao sit down cross-legged, holding him close.

For a long while afterward, no one spoke. No one mentioned the woman’s death.

It was as if she had never existed at all.

In truth, everyone had seen it clearly. In that situation, Ah Bao could have saved her if he had insisted.

But for reasons everyone understood without saying, he had hesitated. He hadn’t done it. He had only saved his own son.

Tang Mo gently closed her eyes.

’Perhaps there is no absolute right or wrong in this world. Everything depends on your perspective.’

’As for Ah Bao’s choice, all Tang Mo could say was that it was ruthless.’

’But was he a bad person? It didn’t seem so.’

Lost in their own complex thoughts, the group slowly ascended, rising higher and higher until they saw light filtering down into the ocean.

They had finally made it out alive.

In a small fishing village in Donglin City, a young boy had been in agony for days.

"Little Fox, are you sure Sister Tang Mo is really okay?"

Da Yu paced back and forth in his room, restless with anxiety.

The last time, he had listened to the little fox and returned home alone, leaving Sister Tang Mo behind in the ocean.

But after coming back, the more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

’I must have been out of my mind. How could I have left her there all by herself? How is she supposed to get back?’

Weighed down by worry and guilt, the kind-hearted Da Yu hadn’t slept well for days.

"Relax, she’s doing just fine."

Jingjing was lazing on the bed, playing with Xiao Yu, looking perfectly content.

Just then, there was a sudden knock on the door of Da Yu’s house.

"Is Sister back?"

Da Yu had been waiting for that knock for so long that he shot out of the room at the very first sound.

But when he opened the door, it wasn’t who he expected. It was...

"Mom? Dad?"

Seeing the people standing outside, Da Yu couldn’t quite process it.

’Am I dreaming? How am I seeing Mom and Dad?’

He had been telling himself for so long that since their bodies were never found, they might come back one day.

But even without anyone telling him, he knew how small that possibility truly was.

"Da Yu!"

Seeing the son she had missed day and night, Da Yu’s mother threw her arms around him.

Da Yu was taller and thinner. His skin was darker, and he looked more like a grown-up.

It wasn’t until he was in his mother’s arms, truly feeling her embrace and her warmth, that Da Yu finally believed that what he was seeing was real.

"What took you so long to come back?"

Da Yu’s voice cracked with tears. All the grief he had held in for so long seemed to find a sudden release, pouring from his eyes.

He hadn’t cried in a long time.

After his mom and dad were gone, he was the only adult, the pillar of the family. He had to take care of his little sister. He couldn’t cry.

But... but he was so, so tired.

"My sweet boy, it’s all our fault. We’re sorry we took so long to come back."

The family of three stood in the doorway, holding each other and sobbing.

Tang Mo stood back, watching the family. ’The human world is full of such moments,’ she thought. ’Everyone has their own unique, genuine emotions.’

Once their emotions had calmed a little, the family went inside to see Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu had been so young when they disappeared. All this time, she had been their biggest worry.

Tang Mo stood quietly at the door. A moment later, Jingjing scampered out of the room.

"So scary, so scary! Humans are terrifying!"

Jingjing’s white fur was smeared with snot and tears. If it had stayed in there a second longer, it would have been drenched.

「Meanwhile, at Sister Lai’s house.」

"Lai, I’m home."

Sister Lai was sitting by the door, preparing dried fish. She looked up at the sound of his voice.

It was him—the man she dreamed of every night. He was standing right in front of her, alive, and holding a small child.

"You..."

In her dreams, she would both laugh and cry whenever she saw him—crying because he had left her to face life alone, and laughing because she could see him again.

But now that she was truly seeing him, it felt like her throat was stuffed with cotton.

Sister Lai looked up at the glaring sun, then back at the man before her.

"As long as you’re back."

"This whole time, I..."

Uncle Bao wanted to explain what had happened, after all, he had been gone for so long.

"Have you eaten? I’ll go make you something."

Sister Lai cut him off. She stood and started walking toward the house, then turned back halfway to pick up the dried fish from the ground. She stumbled, nearly falling.

"Careful!"

Uncle Bao reached out and steadied her.

The child in his arms curiously tugged at Sister Lai’s hair.

"This child... his mother is dead."

He had been thinking about the child the whole way back, but even now, Uncle Bao still wasn’t sure how he was going to explain everything to Lai.

"Here, come to Auntie."

Sister Lai reached out and took the child. She didn’t ask any questions. She didn’t care where Brother Bao had been for so long; they would have plenty of time later to make up for the time they’d lost.

She didn’t care where the child came from, and she cared even less about his mother.

"I’ll go make some food for you and the child."

Sister Lai acted just as she always had whenever Uncle Bao returned from a trip out to sea, as if he had never been gone at all.

"As long as you’re back, that’s all that matters," Sister Lai said again, turning back as she held the child.

Uncle Bao watched the woman he loved most in the world walk toward the kitchen with the child, ready to cook for him. The gloom that had weighed on his heart for so long seemed to vanish completely.

’This was the woman he loved. This was the life he wanted.’

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