NOVEL WEB Chapter 139 - Emotional Attachment
When Mai Dongzi saw Uncle Zhuang, she no longer had so many complicated emotions.
In her previous life, she did not have an uncle, unlike the elderly couple of the Zhuang family and Zhuang Huaiya, who somewhat resembled her relatives from her past life, which allowed her to feel some emotional attachment.
Although Uncle Zhuang had seen Mai Dongzi through the video transmission, he still appeared a bit disoriented when he met her in person, his gaze seemingly looking through her as if searching for someone.
When the elderly couple of the Zhuang family saw her, Grandma Zhuang’s eyes immediately turned red, and Grandpa Zhuang also showed signs of pain. Seeing Uncle Zhuang like this, Mai Dongzi estimated that she must bear a strong resemblance to her mother, Zhuang Yuelan.
“Do I really look so much like my mother?” Mai Dongzi couldn’t help but touch her face.
She felt something was off because, ever since her rebirth, her appearance had been gradually changing.
When she had just been reborn, she only resembled about 40% of her previous self, but now she looked roughly 70% similar.
In other words, she no longer resembled Lucy as much, so logically, she should also resemble Zhuang Yuelan less.
“You look very much alike, take a look.” As Uncle Zhuang spoke, he sent Mai Dongzi some photos and videos.
Since Lucy was originally the daughter of Nigri, she had never seen pictures of her parents.
After being reborn, Mai Dongzi also hadn’t thought about looking for photos of the couple to see what they looked like.
Mai Dongzi opened the photos, and upon seeing the young woman’s face, she felt like she was about to suffocate.
Because Zhuang Yuelan looked strikingly similar to Mai Dongzi’s own mother.
Was her rebirth really just a coincidence?
If it wasn’t a coincidence, then what kind of world is this?
But if it isn’t the same world, why are so many things similar to what she once read in that book?
“Don’t be sad, child. If they knew how successful you are now, they would certainly be very happy for you,” Grandma Zhuang comforted Mai Dongzi.
The elderly woman’s eyes were still red, but she feared Mai Dongzi would be too heartbroken, so she tried to console her.
Meanwhile, the three men from the family, the old, the middle-aged, and the young, were all watching her, wanting to comfort her but unsure what to say. Although they were familiar, they were clearly not her relatives from her previous life.
Mai Dongzi’s longing for her family was stirred by this family, but she did not lose her reason. She knew they were not her relatives from her past life.
It was this very clarity that made her fully aware that she and her family had been separated by life and death. No matter how much she longed for them, the people before her were not them.
A dense, piercing pain began to throb in her chest again. In her previous life, after the apocalypse, she had grown quite accustomed to this kind of pain, as death was a common occurrence in that world.
So, after Grandma Zhuang’s comforting words, Mai Dongzi quickly reined in her slightly out-of-control emotions.
She saw that these three people had indeed been deeply concerned about Zhuang Yuelan, constantly worrying about her mysterious disappearance.
Mai Dongzi also confirmed that these three had not blamed Zhuang Yuelan for their hardships over the past decade, despite her relationship with Atom and the suppression they faced from Zhao Fanni, leading to a difficult life. Zhuang Huaiya’s mother even left due to an affair. Despite all these struggles, they did not hold Zhuang Yuelan responsible. So, Mai Dongzi decided to tell them something.
“My mother is most likely still alive,” Mai Dongzi said.
Her words fell like a bomb in the minds of the Zhuang family. The three of them stared at her in unison, their eyes filled with disbelief and hope.
“She was kidnapped to a backward, remote planet back then. During her escape, she was severely injured. Although she didn’t die, she became comatose and had been in a hospital. But five years ago, she was suddenly taken away by unknown people.”
“It’s true?” Uncle Zhuang asked excitedly, “What planet was it?”
“It was Prince Arthur who sent people to investigate,” Mai Dongzi thought for a moment and decided to share the source of the information with the Zhuang family.
Although the Zhuang family had lived in the lower ranks of society for many years, they were not unfamiliar with Prince Arthur.
After all, their son-in-law had died saving Prince Arthur, and their family had been persecuted by Zhao Fanni because of it. Their granddaughter had also suffered greatly as a result, all due to Prince Arthur.
So, they weren’t overly awed by the fact that Prince Arthur had sent someone to investigate the matter. But since it came from the prince, they didn’t doubt the credibility of the information.
Mai Dongzi sent the relevant investigation materials to Uncle Zhuang. After they read it, everyone was deeply moved.
According to witness accounts, the unknown individuals who took Zhuang Yuelan away treated her, though unconscious, with great care. This suggested that those people meant no harm to Zhuang Yuelan, so there was a strong possibility that she was still alive.
Additionally, the investigation revealed that Atom had not died from illness back then, but in a massive explosion.
Because he was an illegitimate child, the Xi family never performed a DNA test on what they believed to be Atom’s remains to verify his identity. Instead, they hastily cremated the body.
After Prince Arthur’s men learned from Zhao Fanni about her arrangements back then, they suspected that Atom had attacked the assassin in a moment of crisis and escaped.
The elderly Zhuang couple and Uncle Zhuang had always believed that their daughter had been murdered and that her body was never recovered, while their son-in-law had long been reduced to ashes. Suddenly hearing that not only their daughter might still be alive, but also that their son-in-law might have survived, caused a great emotional upheaval.
Such intense emotions could have caused problems, but fortunately, both of them were cultivators, so they were able to handle it.
“I’ll go to that planet and take a look,” Uncle Zhuang said. He wanted to see if he could find any clues.
“I don’t have any personnel. All of this information was gathered by Prince Arthur’s people, and they are still continuing the search for my mother and father. However, they haven’t found any more leads. If they couldn’t find anything, Uncle, it won’t be easy for you to find clues on your own,” Mai Dongzi glanced at Uncle Zhuang and subtly shifted the conversation toward her intended topic.
The reason she revealed this information was, first, to let the elderly Zhuang couple know that Zhuang Yuelan might still be alive, giving them hope. For the elderly, having hope is much better than despair—it gives them something to look forward to.
Secondly, she used this as a starting point to discuss the need to cultivate manpower with Uncle Zhuang.
“Do you want me to do something?” Uncle Zhuang caught on to what Mai Dongzi was implying.
“Manpower and connections,” Mai Dongzi said succinctly.