Bai Youwei had barely moved at all — where on earth had she found the tooth?

Could it be…

The Comic Man’s expression twisted and distorted slowly, becoming fierce. “Could it be… you… you found it long ago?!”

“That’s right~” Bai Youwei said with a cheerful smile. “When that little monster was gnawing on the coffee table leg, the cavity tooth got stuck to it. I picked it up~”

“Bai! You! Wei!” the Comic Man seethed with fury. “You played me on purpose! You already found it and still pretended you knew nothing! You——”

“Just let me explain~” Bai Youwei said. “I don’t have a duplicate, so of course I had to be a bit more careful. Besides, it’s not like you would actually die — so why the big fuss…”

She didn’t finish her sentence, because the Comic Man could no longer hear her.

A bolt of lightning crashed down — more blinding, more massive, more ferociously imposing than any before, accompanied by an earth-shaking thunderous boom! It struck the Candy House before her eyes and blasted it to pieces!

The Candy House was gone.

The Comic Man was gone too…

……

Bai Youwei lowered her eyes to look at the tooth in her hand.

Because the child had been so enormous, the tooth was quite large too. As she watched, it slowly turned translucent pink in her palm, wrapped in a shimmering candy cellophane wrapper, gleaming beautifully.

“Happy Holidays.”

Tu Shenshi appeared at some point, smiling as he looked at her: “Your holiday reward has been distributed. Please confirm receipt.”

Bai Youwei tossed the candy from her palm into the air, then caught it. “What kind of reward is this?”

“As you can see, it is a piece of candy,” Tu Shenshi said. “The candy’s name is Sweet Memories. It can store memories. It may not be of much use to you right now, but as time passes, you will find occasion to use it.”

“That sounds like it could be pretty nice.” Bai Youwei thought for a moment, then asked, “Why is it called ‘Sweet Memories’? What about memories that aren’t sweet?”

Tu Shenshi smiled gently. “Pain, sorrow, and anger tend to keep themselves fresh in your memory — hard to forget on their own — so there is naturally no need to deliberately preserve them. It is the memories that bring you comfort that, if forgotten, might leave you with regret.”

Bai Youwei nodded and tucked the candy away. “You make a fair point.”

The dungeon ended, and the space collapsed.

Tu Shenshi said softly, “Goodbye,” and his figure disappeared once more.

Bai Youwei drew a square exit in the air with her finger, held her plush rabbit tight, and stepped out of the dungeon. As her foot crossed over, she was met with a brilliant blue sky and an expansive ocean.

The sea breeze lifted her long hair, and her skirt billowed up around her. She ran along the coastline, ran up the long stone pier, and dashed to its very end, calling out:

“Shen Mo! I’m back——!”

The man heard her voice, reeled in his fishing rod, and turned to stand. Dressed casually in a tank top and shorts, the clothes did nothing to conceal his broad shoulders and trim waist.

Bai Youwei threw herself into his arms, her face pressed against firm muscle — a little painful, but her heart was very happy.

“I won again~” She held up the candy in her hand and waved it in front of his eyes with a showoff’s flourish, then grabbed his shoulders and climbed up. “How was your haul today?”

Shen Mo steadied her with one hand, then picked up the tin bucket from the ground with the other, looking helpless. “You just scared off a fish. Looks like we’re ordering takeout for lunch today.”

Bai Youwei wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed: “Hubby~ you’re really not much of a fisherman, are you? Not a single catch in all this time!”

Just then, a shout rang out from far across the water.

The two of them looked toward the sound and saw a private yacht making its way over. On the deck, a young man was waving his arms energetically, shouting: “Weiwei!!! Ink Bro!!!”

Beside him was a slightly shorter figure, also waving.

Shen Mo narrowed his eyes and said: “Look, the takeout’s arrived.”

“How come I only see Tan Xiao and Xiaoxin?” Bai Youwei craned her neck to look. “Where’s Teacher Cheng?”

“Teacher Cheng is holding make-up classes for students, and he gets seasick anyway — let’s arrange for him next time.” Shen Mo lifted her up higher. “Come on, let’s go see what Tan Xiao brought us for lunch.”

Bai Youwei nodded happily: “Sure, sure, sure~”

Her life now had been reduced to just——

Eat, drink, play, enjoy.

……

—