The situation had now exceeded everyone's comprehension. Himeko didn't want to believe it, but Ruan Mei's identity meant she had no reason to weave lies to deceive her. Moreover, Sāmu's past was already shrouded in mystery. He had appeared suddenly among the Stellaron Hunters, his past a complete fog. Himeko couldn't very well ask Kafka for details.
But if... he was Ruan Mei's creation, it seemed to explain many things.
Sāmu, a creation? The thought made Himeko's pupils tremble, and she clenched her fists. Deep in her soul, an anger no less than a volcanic eruption began to brew!
March 7th had never expected that the woman she had kindly brought along was actually the legendary "Ruan Mei." And the thing she wanted to take back from Sister Himeko was Sāmu himself! The little girl was furious, anxious, and sad. She was even angrier at her own weakness, unable to stand up and confront this bad woman, Ruan Mei! To tell her to go back where she came from, that the Astral Express did not welcome her! And she would never give Sāmu to her!
But then the situation took a sharp turn. If it was true, as Ruan Mei said, that Sāmu was a life she had created through experiments... didn't that mean, in a broad sense, that Ruan Mei was Sāmu's "birth mother"?
Now March 7th was completely dumbfounded, not knowing how to react.
Stelle, on the other hand, appeared calm, looking like she was enjoying the drama. In fact, she loved watching "women fight." Why haven't they started fighting yet? As for Sāmu's identity and allegiance, Stelle wasn't worried. She had an unshakeable confidence that Sāmu would not make a decision that would disappoint those who loved him.
The sound of light footsteps rang out. Everyone's heart was shaken to varying degrees. From behind the pushed-open door of the Astral Express, the figure of the pure and beautiful boy slowly emerged.
A gentle breeze blew his bangs. Sāmu's eyes were clear and empty, looking ahead, yet also as if gazing into the boundless emptiness of his own heart. It turned out that taking this step was far simpler than he had imagined. It turned out that his shattered heart already had a pure land. It was surrounded by endless love, gradually piecing together all its fragments, restoring it to its original state.
What a great creation, a miracle born of love. In the boundless space of this heart, it could hold the gentle breeze, the sprouting grass, the fresh flowers, and the sky. It could hold all beautiful things, even the vastness of the entire galaxy.
Yet, it could not hold a single name.
— Ruan Mei.
The gentle breeze suddenly stopped. All sounds of nature fell silent. Sāmu slowly withdrew his gaze and let it fall on Himeko's face nearby. The boy's eyes met hers, and he smiled gently. Sāmu's smile was like a warm spring breeze, extinguishing the flickering flames in Himeko's pupils, blowing out all the unease and fear that had grown in her heart.
It made her realize more clearly than anyone else. Sāmu... was still her Sāmu, her child! The her from moments ago, who had been worrying and hesitating, was simply a fool! Sāmu deserved her trust more than anyone else in the world! On this point, Himeko might have to learn from Stelle! She had never once doubted Sāmu and, at this moment, cast him a look full of understanding and trust.
Sāmu's gaze met hers, and a long-lost feeling of familiarity and warmth washed over him, making him smile again. Then came Sister March 7th, Brother Dan Heng, Uncle Welt. Sāmu met their eyes one by one, exchanging feelings that were unique to each of them.
The tense atmosphere gradually eased.
Finally, only Ruan Mei was left, her face pale, yet still unwilling to give up, waiting. Waiting for his gaze. Waiting for him to look back!
Sāmu?
Sāmu...
Y-you are my child. Why... why won't you look at me?
Look at me! Sāmu!
The next moment, a little light returned to Ruan Mei's eyes. As if hearing her inner voice, Sāmu really did lift his gaze and look towards her.
— "Who are you?"
The boy's first words utterly shattered Ruan Mei's self-righteous psychological defenses. Her light green pupils shrank to a black dot, their former brilliance gone. The woman's lips turned pale and trembled, as if she wanted to say something, but after several attempts, she failed to form the words.
How could she have imagined it? Who could have imagined it? As the creator, as the true "mother," upon reuniting with her child, what she received was not tears of joy, not a desperate embrace and a heartfelt exchange, but a sentence so cold it felt as if it had plucked her from his heart, from the very depths of his soul... "Who are you?"
Although the indoor temperature of the Herta Space Station was like spring all year round, Ruan Mei now only felt a chilling coldness, her hands and feet icy.
Sāmu looked at Ruan Mei's pitiful state but felt not a shred of pity. Only a cold indifference. If he had shown clear hatred, it would have been a sign that he cared. But Sāmu was no longer the Sāmu of the past. It was Ruan Mei who was still clinging to the past.
Your current appearance... it's truly ugly.
"Sāmu..." Ruan Mei was still unwilling to give up. Her fingertips dug into her palm, leaving crescent-shaped indentations, faintly oozing blood. She called out his name emotionally, as if overloading the emotional module she hadn't used in a long time. Sāmu thought of this description because sometimes even inorganic beings seemed to have more moral feelings than her.
The boy remembered his past. Or rather, the part that was only related to Ruan Mei. His birth. And his destruction.
"Sāmu, my child..."
"You must have been led astray, learned bad things outside. How could you say such cold words to me...?"
"I am your... your mother! Your mom!"
"I gave you life, I raised you!"
"Yes, I did some things wrong."
"But that was because I didn't understand then..."
"It was you who didn't give me time to adapt! It was you who wasn't obedient!"
"But it's okay, Mom doesn't blame you."
Even at this moment, Ruan Mei was still stubbornly unrepentant, believing that the abandoned child should bear most of the blame. She placed a hand on her heaving chest and moved uncontrollably closer to Sāmu, bit by bit encroaching on the safe distance.
The woman spoke again, her tone even softer, as if she thought this would win the boy's pity.
"Sāmu, will you come back, please?"
"Come back to my side..."
"Mom is willing to learn for you, to be a good mother."
"Everything you once longed for, I can give you."
"Don't tell me..."
"Do you have to make me beg you?"
Ruan Mei suddenly grabbed Sāmu's hand, holding it tightly. Sāmu couldn't pull it away at first, which gave the woman a great misconception, thinking she had succeeded. She pressed her advantage, briefly setting aside her pride and dignity.
"Fine, I'm begging you..."
"Sāmu, Mom is begging you!"
"Come back to my side!"
As soon as the woman's voice fell, Sāmu seized the opportunity and, frowning as if touching something dirty, pulled his hand from Ruan Mei's grasp. The empty feeling in her palm sent Ruan Mei into a daze. And in response to her emotional confession, Sāmu's cold words were what sent her plunging into a bottomless abyss.
— "Go back?"
— "We can't go back."
-------
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