CHAPTER 649: 607 MEET THE PARENTS 2

Mazao’s parents welcomed us into the bakery.

To be precise, Mazao was the only one who was truly welcomed, while I was not. Which family’s proper parents would have a good first impression of an unknown adult boyfriend brought home by their young daughter? This couple was no exception. Mazao’s father scrutinized me up and down as if I were a criminal, and Mazao’s mother held her daughter tightly in her arms as if for protection.

Mazao looked up at her mother, then at me, seemingly wanting to come closer to me but unable to break free from her mother’s arms.

The second floor of the bakery seemed to be the living quarters for this family, while the ground floor, which was the business area, had a small dining area currently being used as a makeshift living room. We sat down there. Mazao’s father sat opposite me, while Mazao’s mother sat at a nearby table with Mazao in her arms.

"So, please explain properly what you meant by what you just said," Mazao’s father asked seriously, "and... what exactly happened to our daughter."

Mazao’s father—let’s refer to him as "Ma’s father" from here on, and we’ll use a similar style for Mazao’s mother later.

For someone my age, in their teens or twenties, a man over thirty could be called a middle-aged man. However, in a more formal definition, people over forty or forty-five are considered to be in middle age. Although Ma’s father was Mazao’s father, his age was just shy of middle age, and he showed no signs of weariness.

It was apparent he had a habit of exercising, looked healthy, had a full head of hair, and his skin showed no obvious signs of sagging. His eyes were sharp, and his frown had an intimidating edge. If I didn’t know beforehand that he was a mid-level manager at a construction company in Saltwater City, I might have thought he was in law enforcement.

From Ma’s father’s line of questioning, it seemed likely that he wasn’t completely unaware of me. Since Zhu Shi had formally communicated about Mazao with them in advance, he probably also informed them of my existence. However, this couple would probably prefer to hear the firsthand truth from me and Mazao ourselves instead of secondhand information.

Then, I candidly disclosed the relationship between Mazao and me to them.

Although I claimed to be Mazao’s lover, per our past agreement, before Mazao truly grew up, we were still considered to be in a preliminary romantic relationship. Sleeping together yet calling it preliminary sounded odd, of course. This verbal commitment didn’t hinder me from hugging and kissing Mazao like I did with Zhu Shi, nor did it prevent further actions between us. On reflection, it seemed like a meaningless contract.

While I was explaining, Mazao assisted with explanations from the side. Initially, she only supplemented, but gradually, she became the main explainer. Obviously, Ma’s parents trusted their daughter more than me and preferred to listen to her. Yet slowly, they became somewhat doubtful.

It’s not that they didn’t believe what Mazao was saying, but because as she vividly introduced me, her face gradually displayed emotions of happiness and bliss. In this couple’s eyes, this scene probably seemed like their innocent, naive daughter was being deceived by a mysterious young man and instead fell in love with him and was speaking well of him.

Mazao’s explanation was done from her own perspective. From her view, at first, I was a great person who took her in when she was injured and alone, healing her and helping her tirelessly afterward. Although initially, it was discovered that I harbored wicked intentions to exploit her special constitution, we are now in love and share a relationship where we endure hardships together—upon hearing this, it seemed like I would truly never have conflicts with her again.

Most likely, she didn’t say this out of a subjective consciousness to speak well of me, but because she truly felt this way.

With ample social experience, Ma’s father didn’t seem to be swayed by these emotionally subjective words. As Mazao spoke, he frequently glanced at me skeptically and continued to ask Mazao questions.

"...according to what you just said, you are now a supernatural power user, right?" Ma’s father asked cautiously, "Can you let us see your superpower firsthand?"

Such a question was naturally effortless. Mazao stepped out of her mother’s embrace, stood up, summoned the Illusionary Curved Blade, and split a nearby table into fragments as if slicing through tofu, then restored it to its intact state using the Power of Return.

Even though they were presumably prepared mentally, seeing their seemingly weak and feeble daughter capable of such feats, the couple showed expressions as if they were abruptly thrown from reality into a magical otherworldly experience, finding it hard to digest.

"Indeed... unbelievable..." Ma’s father murmured in shock.

Mazao sat down next to me.

After a while, with most of the questions related to me almost finished, Ma’s father started inquiring about Mazao’s experiences before meeting me. Despite losing more than ninety percent of her memories from the "Doomsday Era," she still had many things she could answer.

Those once painful, nightmare-like tragic memories that kept her tossing and turning, she was now able to recount with emotional stability, while Ma’s mother soon couldn’t help but shed tears again, and Ma’s father increasingly found it harder to ask further questions.

Compared to those terrifying experiences that involved life and death or were worse than death, any amount of social experience paled in comparison. As a father, Ma’s father clearly had a strong sense of responsibility to shelter his daughter from storms, and every gruesome, horrific experience she recounted that he wasn’t present for was like tearing a chunk of flesh from his fatherly dignity.

However, if he then chose to evade and not ask questions in front of his daughter because of this, it might be seen as even more of a loss of dignity. He had to force himself to continue asking his daughter questions and silently endure the interrogation from his own conscience. In the end, he couldn’t maintain his fatherly posture, with his eyes dimming and his demeanor exuding dejection.

Though he was still trying to hold himself together, this level of pretense couldn’t be hidden from Mazao’s eyes. Gradually, Mazao also found it difficult to respond, looking worriedly at her father.

And beneath this concern, there lay a layer of confusion. Even though she knew the "strange man" in front of her was her father, Mazao had no corresponding memories and perhaps struggled to feel it was real.

At the same time, perhaps feeling a sense of unfamiliarity in Mazao’s tone of voice, Ma’s mother also seemed a bit confused. The last memory this couple had of communicating with their daughter was when she was ten years old. Back then, Mazao’s speech mannerisms were probably quite different from the Mazao of today. Coupled with the fact that Mazao now had to use some terms that ordinary people found difficult to understand in order to explain her experiences, this only exacerbated the alienation.

Everything seemed to indicate that Mazao had become a character from a different world than theirs.

Ma’s father glanced at the bakery’s window display. Outside, there were sparse passersby, and the atmosphere of social unrest caused by the frequent bizarre incidents seemed to seep indoors through the window.

He looked at the restless Mazao and showed a trace of loneliness.

"When do you plan to leave?" he suddenly asked.

Ma’s mother was startled and said, "What... What are you suddenly talking about? Mazao is of course staying here!"

"Uh, but..." Mazao obviously wanted to object.

"They are not like us, ordinary citizens barely getting by; they are out to save the world, how can they cater to such trivial family sentiments?" Ma’s father said.

"What nonsense are you talking about..." Ma’s mother looked anxious, "Right... right! Stay for dinner, don’t leave so soon..."

"It’s just past noon, and you’re already talking about dinner?" Ma’s father asked.

Ma’s mother argued logically, "It’s rare for our family of three to reunite, we should at least have a reunion dinner!"

Such a modest request, of course, no one could refuse, so Ma’s father didn’t object either. Mazao and I stayed for a while longer. During this time, Ma’s mother took Mazao to the second floor to start a mother-daughter conversation.

The floors weren’t well-soundproofed, and I could hear them talking about Mazao’s childhood. Ma’s mother seemed to be trying desperately to awaken Mazao’s past memories, hoping to persuade Mazao to stay this way. However, it was as if Ma’s father and Mazao had become strangers, so too was Ma’s mother. Mazao found it hard to withstand the emotions from her parents, but to use this emotion to persuade Mazao to withdraw her mind from her world-saving mission and merely act as a lovely daughter by her parents’ side was impossible.

The reunion dinner time was repeatedly delayed. During this period, Ma’s father displayed an indifference as if he could hear nothing, and he didn’t interact with me at all. It wasn’t until eight o’clock in the evening that I saw the mother and daughter come down from the second floor. Ma’s mother entered the kitchen with a saddened and haggard expression, while Mazao looked apologetically at her back before returning to my side.

"Zhuang Cheng... am I an unfilial daughter?" she suddenly asked.

I didn’t know how to respond, but she didn’t seem to be genuinely seeking my answer.

It was truly strange. She wanted to save the world, and I longed for the Doomsday, yet our entirely opposing goals made us both seem like so-called unfilial children.

After dinner, Ma’s mother seemed to want to continue persuading Mazao to stay. Ma’s father left first, and as he stood, he gave me a look. I followed him out and saw him at the back door.

"...Thank you," he said, looking at the dark sky, "When Mazao’s life was endangered, you saved her. Later, when she was threatened again, it was you who saved her. As Mazao’s father, I sincerely thank you."

"It was what I had to do," I said.

"From the perspective of normal society, my daughter is still too young," he said. "She should continue receiving her education, go to school, meet peers her age, and do age-appropriate things.

"But, I no longer have the right to dictate my daughter’s life. I wasn’t there when she needed help the most; now she has painstakingly built her own circle after countless struggles, developed her independent thoughts and life. She has grown wings of her own, entitled to decide for herself what to do or not do.

"Therefore, I will also try my best to respect her will and decisions. It’s just..."

"Just what?" I asked.

He turned to look at me, his gaze becoming fierce again.

"As a father, I still cannot agree with Mazao being with someone like you," he said with unveiled hostility. Though I can’t stop my daughter’s choice, it doesn’t mean I will allow anything to happen."

Speaking with undisguised ferocity, he threatened me, "So remember, if you ever do anything harmful to Mazao in the future, I will surely not let you off!"