No one paid him any attention, so he turned around to look for them. But the next second, the scenery around him began to build, fold, and change like a piece of cardstock.
The fork in the road was gone, replaced by a gray wall, followed by a familiar security door—
In front of him was his home in District D. Next door was the rented room that Jian Yun had rented for who knows how long, and which she had "invited" him to come in and sit for a while before she left.
Yi Heye stood at the door, extremely vigilant and making no move. He knew this was also part of the SHEEP trap, and he couldn't fall for it. However, he also hadn't yet found a way to break the deadlock.
Just as he was caught in a dilemma, an enticing aroma of food wafted from his own gatehouse.
After starting work, Yi Heye never skimped on himself, but the aroma of ordinary family meals, filled with the warmth of everyday life, seemed to have precisely found the keyhole to his heart, unlocking him from the inside out.
As if possessed, he reached out and pushed open his own front door—
On the dining table, there were single servings of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, shredded pork with green peppers, and Mapo tofu—all his favorite home-style dishes. The only chair at the table was pulled out to await his arrival, and in front of him, rice was piled high like a small mountain, wafting out a fragrant aroma.
Yi Heye didn't realize that his family hadn't cooked for a very long time; he simply obeyed the call and sat down in his designated spot.
The sizzling sound of stir-frying still echoed from the kitchen behind him. Looking at the table full of dishes, Yi Heye blurted out instinctively:
"Mom! Stop making it, I can't eat that much by myself!"
Only after he finished speaking did he belatedly realize what he had said—
mom?
While he was still in a daze, the sounds from the kitchen stopped, and then came the familiar, goosebump-inducing sound of a rolling wheel.
Looking up, she saw a small mechanical car wearing an apron rolling out of the kitchen. The moment it saw Yi Heye, the indicator light above its head lit up.
As the car spun around and extended its mechanical arm toward him, Yi Heye bent down in a daze and embraced her cold, hard body.
After a long while, he called out softly, as if incredulous:
"……Mother?"
Chapter 155, number 155
When Yi Heye softly uttered "Mom," his mind went completely blank.
At that moment, he had completely forgotten why he had come there.
All he knew was that his mother reached out and hugged him, her metallic hand gently patting his back, just like when he was a child lying in her arms, being soothed to sleep by this completely inadequate mother.
The intensity, the frequency, and even that familiar coldness were exactly as he remembered them.
Back then, his mother's arms were a safe haven for him, but now that his arms have grown wider, he realizes that his mother was actually so small.
But Yi Heye is not a person who is good at expressing his emotions.
After the initial surge of emotion subsided, he belatedly let go of her hand, looking at his mother with a somewhat bewildered expression.
The mother was still the same mother; she still couldn't understand Yi Heye's unease and panic. She pulled out a chair for him without saying a word: "It's time to recharge."
The "recharging" his mother talked about meant eating. When Yi Heye was a child, the time for his three meals a day was always fixed down to the second—this was a routine ingrained in his mother's bones, and Yi Heye was completely used to this pattern.
Looking at the steaming food on the table, Yi Heye's wariness completely vanished in the familiar atmosphere.
He only knew that it was time to eat, and that it was time to eat—a principle he had known since childhood.
As before, the bowls and chopsticks were already set on the table. He sat down in the only chair, and his mother stood beside him, waiting for him to finish his meal before clearing the table for him—his mother was a machine; she didn't need to sit down or eat.
It was only then that Yi Heye realized he was really hungry, and he couldn't wait to put a full bowl of vegetables into his bowl.
When his mother made stir-fried pork with chili peppers, she always used the spiciest chili peppers from the market. The burning pain spread across Yi Heye's tongue, making his eyes mist over but also brightening his mood.
"Is it good?" Mom asked mechanically. "What do you want to eat tomorrow? I'll prepare the recipes in advance, and I'll make whatever you want to eat in the future."
Yi Heye was momentarily dazed, then smiled and said, "Delicious."
"I haven't had such authentic-tasting chili peppers in ages," Yi Heye said, rubbing his nose. "That noodle shop on the commercial street that's so spicy it's unbearable, they all use artificial capsaicin; you have to add a ton to make it spicy..."
As expected, Mom stood to the side without saying a word—they would never talk like other families at the dinner table, but that didn't stop Yi Heye from having a lot to say to her.
“…Mom, actually the food in our company cafeteria is pretty good, it’s just a bit bland, but the nutrition is quite balanced,” Yi Heye said. “Now that I’m working for the government, I don’t have to worry about going hungry every day anymore.”
After saying that, he shoveled down two more mouthfuls of rice.
He looked at his mother's calm indicator light, and whether it was his imagination or not, he actually felt a sense of warmth and comfort in the silence.
Yi Heye looked up at his work ID hanging on the wall, remembered something, and couldn't help but laugh: "I can actually read a little bit now. But only a little bit, just to pass the written test for the job."
“Back then, I didn’t know that you had to take a theoretical exam to get into this line of work. I was struggling to even read back then. When I asked, I found out I only had a month to prepare.” Yi Heye recalled slowly, “In that month, I probably read all the words I should have read in my life. My brain almost exploded. I feel like throwing up whenever I think about exams.”
At this point, his expression showed a hint of helplessness: "There's nothing I can do. I'm an idiot, unlike them who are so smart. They wear glasses and look all respectable, and they can understand any book at a glance and pass all the exams on their first try."
The mother still didn't give any answer, and this conversation was like a stand-up comedy routine by Yi Heye.
“But things are different after I started working. I’m better than all of them combined.” Yi Heye’s eyes crinkled, like a child seeking praise from an adult, childishly boasting about himself. “I have a sharp eye. I can tell at a glance whether someone is a human or a machine. Even the AI leader they always rave about was seen through by me in one look.”
“Our bureau chief is a very good person. He usually tries to find ways to get rid of me, but he always protects me when it matters. He can tolerate my stubbornness and temper tantrums and doesn’t kick me out. I’m very grateful to him just for taking me in,” Yi Heye said. “Of course, with someone as capable as me, getting rid of me would be a loss for the entire bureau!”
The principle of not speaking while eating or sleeping was simply not applicable to Yi Heye, a child who lacked proper upbringing from a young age.
He talked on and on, as if he had said everything he had kept bottled up for more than 20 years, while also taking the time to eat his food—a hungry person can't resist the aroma of home-cooked meals.
Finally, the food on the table for one person was all eaten up. Mom's indicator light came on, and she was about to clear the table when Yi Heye stood up first: "Mom, let me do it."
“After you left, I was afraid I would starve to death, so I went to work in the commercial street. I was young at the time, and many shops wouldn’t hire me. Finally, I managed to get a job washing dishes.” Yi Heye said while skillfully tidying up the dishes. “That shop has closed down now, but his son opened a beef noodle shop in the commercial street, the one I just mentioned. Now that I think about it, there’s no need to hire someone to wash dishes. They were probably just being kind and finding an excuse to help me out.”
As he spoke, Yi Heye washed the dishes. Although his mother didn't speak, she stood beside him, listening attentively.
As if reluctant to part with something, Yi Heye turned the water down very low and washed the dishes very slowly.
While he stopped talking, the only sound in the kitchen was the gurgling of water, just like a leisurely yet slightly tiring afternoon, the kind of atmosphere a family should have after lunch.
After a long while, Yi Heye put the chopsticks in his hand into the drying box, but still couldn't help but say, "Mom, I have someone I like now."
When he said this, his mother finally turned her head to look at him. Yi Heye knew her reaction, but deliberately chose to ignore it.
"This is the first time I've ever liked someone." Yi Heye smiled helplessly, "But it's really unlucky, we're not compatible..."
"We...it's probably impossible for us to be together." Yi Heye tried to make his words sound lighter, but his voice still tightened. "Mom, why did I fall for him?"
At this moment, his mother stared at him blankly. Yi Heye could sense that she was a little anxious and seemed to have something to say.
But let it be.
"Mom, I know you can't come back, and I know you want me to stay, you don't want me to go any further." Yi Heye looked at the little robot in front of him and smiled sadly. "Actually, the chili peppers on the market now mutated during the major pollution outbreak, and you can't buy such spicy chili peppers on the market anymore..."
Upon hearing this, the little robot in front of him looked at him somewhat awkwardly.
“I don’t know if you are Jian Yunxian or the memory of you in my mind, and I don’t know how that guy brought you back to me.” Yi Heye wiped the last plate in his hand. “But actually, I’m already very happy to see you again.”
"I talked to you a lot today... Actually, I just wanted to tell you that apart from not being happy in my relationship, I'm doing pretty well in other aspects."
Yi Heye put the plate in the cupboard, then dried his hands and hugged her again.
Goodbye, Mom.
Yi Heye turned around and pushed open his own door, leaving that small figure behind him—
"I have to go."
Chapter 156, number 156
A creaking sound came from behind me; it was the same sound my mother made every time she ran towards me.
Yi Heye heard it, but didn't turn around.
The moment the door closed, everything spun around me.
The familiar scenery in the corridor twisted and changed once again; his mother and that familiar home, together, became phantoms that could never be pieced together again behind him.
It took Yi Heye a lot of effort to open his eyes.
The light was so intense that he couldn't help but shed tears, but he quickly bent down and wiped them away.
He shook his throbbing head and blinked desperately until his vision finally returned.
Yi Heye frowned as he looked around, and it took him a long time to recover from the confusion of his senses and memories.
Asleep? Yi Heye touched his neck, then looked back—"Damn..."
After figuring out the situation, he couldn't help but curse out loud.
At this moment, Pei Xiangjin and Yu Yili were lying nearby. LOPO had not fallen asleep, but was sitting cross-legged in meditation without moving.
Not far behind them was the high wall they had just climbed over.
Yi Heye estimated the distance between them and the wall; it would take about five minutes to walk in a straight line—about the same as their actual walking time in the illusion.
Yi Heye couldn't quite sort out the relationship between truth and falsehood, reality and illusion, and could only force himself not to think too much about it.
The most urgent task is to wake up the two people lying down.
At this moment, Yu Yili lay on the ground, his face up, looking relaxed and content. His hands were neatly placed beside him, and a crack in the brick floor perfectly divided him in two. It seemed that even this sleeping posture was carefully designed.
Pei Xiangjin beside him remained serious. He seemed to have never been truly happy, even when he was asleep in his so-called "ideal world." He seemed to have an endless burden on his shoulders.
But Yi Heye had neither the time nor the inclination to empathize with these two. He nudged them and called their names, but remained silent.
Yi Heye stared at the two of them speechlessly.
With two sharp "slaps," Yi Heye delivered a high-quality slap to each of them. Just when he thought this tactic was ineffective, Yu Yili suddenly groaned in pain, "The left side... too..."
Yi Heye had never heard of such a perverted request. He took a step back in disgust, and the next second, he saw Yu Yili cover his face and frown as he woke up.
He opened his eyes, and for a long time, he was just as dazed. When he saw the high wall less than 500 meters behind him, he belatedly cursed, "Why are we back again??"
Yi Heye said, "It seems like we haven't gone very far at all."
Yu Yili sat there in shock, recalling the events with an incredulous expression:
"I was walking with you guys, and when I turned around, you were gone. Then I realized that everything around me had become incredibly perfect, perfectly symmetrical in all directions. I just didn't want to leave..."
Yi Heye knew that this man was only so capable, and the beautiful dreams that could trap him were probably not beyond this range.
“I dreamt that I was cutting a beautifully shaped steak, and then, for some reason, I suddenly felt a sharp pain on the right side of my face.”
Yu Yili slowly recalled, the burning sensation on half of his face finally rekindling. "After the pain on the right side, I kept waiting for the exact same thing to happen on the left, but it never came. I was in so much pain that I realized this world wasn't the perfect world I wanted at all. I was so angry that I pushed open the door and left..."