Leave a comment

No matter what this dramatic family plan was doing, every party must come to an end and this meal was no exception.

After a meal that barely filled her tummy, Lilith casually pushed the plate in front of her away. Patting her tummy that was as flat as it did before the meal, she said in satisfaction, “Phew, I’m stuffed. It has been so long since I ate this much. Thank you, Cornelia’s mommy.”

“Didn’t I tell you I’m gonna be angry if you keep acting like a stranger?” The woman put down the rag in her hand and flicked Lilith’s forehead.

Lilith clamped her hand over her forehead and stuck her tongue out. “I got it. Well then, I’m gonna go out and play with the rest, Cornelia’s mommy.”

“Alright, be careful, guys. Don’t hurt yourselves like Cornelia did just now,” the woman reminded them with a smile while cleaning up the dishes.

“Don’t worry, I’m not clumsy like Cornelia.” Lilith jumped off her chair, but not forgetting to rub one in Cornelia’s face before leaving.

Cornelia’s cheek twitched imperceptibly, but kept smiling. Using her knife and fork, she cut the food on her plate into smaller pieces, as if the sauce-stained pieces of meat were Lilith.

“Sure, I know Little Lilith isn’t clumsy. Come give Auntie a hug before you leave.”

“Okay.” Lilith obediently allowed the woman to pull her into her warm embrace. Although Lilith had no idea who exactly this ordinary-looking woman was, there was one thing she could confirm — the kindness in her eyes was real. The woman herself said that she looked at the world with kindness and good intention. How could someone like her possibly be bad?

Even if she was very good at acting, a person’s nature could not be disguised.

Just like someone’s gaze. The evil ones who disguised themselves as a nice person usually needed to squint in order to hide the evil in the depths of their eyes. Otherwise, their disguise could easily be exposed by those who could read people well.

However, the woman’s gaze was always clear.

Lilith simply could not understand how she gave birth to that vicious and ruthless old loli named Cornelia. From a genetic or parental’s point of view, it did not make sense that this couple raised someone like Cornelia.

The woman rested her chin on Lilith’s shoulder, her warm breath tickled Lilith’s ear.

She ran her fingers gently along Lilith’s back, as though she was trying to find out something through the fabric of her clothes.

Then with a voice that was only barely audible to the both of them, the woman whispered softly in her ear, “Does Little Lilith prefer the cruel reality or wonderful dream?”

“Huh?”

Lilith could not understand the strange question that the woman asked nor the intention behind it. If Cornelia heard it then…

“Don’t worry, Cornelia will be a real good child in my presence,” the woman continued.

Good child…

Lilith secretly turned her head around to steal a glance, only to see Cornelia was still tackling the little leftover on her plate. It was only a few pieces of unknown meat that the woman had skillfully prepared to the point that they would melt in the mouth. Yet it took Cornelia a very long time to clear it up from her plate.

It was true that she was not eavesdropping either, even though at this distance she would be able to hear the conversation clearly if she would just concentrate a little. Yet, she simply chose to concentrate on her own business.

Perhaps she was really being a good child right now.

“Why are you asking this?”
“Because I feel that Little Lilith will be able to come up with an answer that I want.”
“Cornelia’s mommy…” Lilith smiled wryly.

She was basically telling Lilith that she had seen through their little acts since the beginning.

“Alright, time’s running out soon. Tell me your answer.” The woman chuckled playfully.

“Cruel reality… or wonderful dream. Of course I would pick reality. No matter how wonderful a dream is, we will still have to wake up from it. Indulging in it only leads to unnecessary suffering.”

“What if… it’s a dream that you will never wake up from?”

“Never wake up from?”

“That’s right. A dream that you won’t wake up from is no different than reality, yet it’s a lot better than the cruel reality. Which one would you choose then?”

“A dream that is no different than reality…”

Lilith pondered for a moment then answered firmly, “I’ll still pick reality.”

The woman was slightly taken aback by the decisiveness in Lilith’s answer. “Why?” she asked puzzledly.

“Because no matter how wonderful a dream is, it will always have its limitations. You are just replaying it. But reality is limitless, you will never know what will happen in the next moment. You will never know what joke God will play on you. You may even find yourself treading on thin ice constantly. Every step may be agonizing, but isn’t this the joy of living?”

“Pfft.” The woman suddenly giggled delicately. “That doesn’t sound like something Little Lilith would say.”

Lilith puffed out her cheeks. “How do you know that’s not what I would say, you don’t even know who the real me is.”

“Call it a woman’s instinct.” The woman patted Lilith’s head. “Well then… Farewell. My offer still stands, you are welcome to stay here forever if you wish to, Lilith.”

“No way.” Knowing that the woman had seen through her act, Lilith stopped pretending and spoke bluntly. “Living with you and your family would be exhausting. I don’t have the energy to play house with you all.”

“We’re not playing house here.” The woman ruffled Lilith’s blonde hair, then straightened up.

As if time was turned back, she turned her attention to Cornelia and doted on her. “Oh dear, your food is getting cold. Do you want mommy to heat it up for you?”

“No need, mommy. It’s still a bit warm.” Cornelia smiled sweetly to her.

The middle-aged man picked up the newspaper that he intended to read after his meal, but not forgetting to reprimand Cornelia for eating too slowly and being immature.

It went without saying that the consequences of that was having his six months of allowance deducted by the woman who was extremely biased to her daughter. Upon hearing the news, the man could only pound his chest.

Lilith let out a soft sigh, feeling more and more confused about this family. In fact, the woman’s words to her were a riddle itself.

Instead, it was Lesiah who showed a thoughtful expression on her face.

“Let’s go. There’s nothing else for us to do here.”

……

After Lilith and the others left, the room became a lot lonelier.

Cornelia ate the last piece of meat into her tummy, then jumped off the chair that was a little too high for her to be using. She twirled around mischievously, then hopped her way to the woman.

“Cornelia’s going out to play then, mommy!”
“Alright, be careful. Don’t hurt yourself, or you’ll break mommy’s heart.”

The woman asked neither where Cornelia was going nor why did she not go with her bestie Lilith. She just wore the same gentle smile that she usually did and reminded her child, “Be sure to come back before dinner.”