Leaf Grace leaned against the wooden bench, her hand resting on Water Poem’s thigh, gripping it slightly tighter.
She seemed a bit nervous.
Dark clouds filled the sky. A single raindrop fell suddenly, then poured down in a torrential downpour.
“Boom—!” A bolt of lightning split the sky, illuminating the entire world for an instant before plunging it back into darkness.
The autumn wind was chilly, causing Leaf Grace to instinctively pull her clothes tighter.
“Will he come?” Leaf Grace asked.
“Probably not,” Water Poem replied, her brow furrowing slightly.
Sure enough, nothing happened.
After all, this was a world where no supernatural phenomena occurred. This rain was just ordinary rain.
“Mmm—” Leaf Grace stretched widely. Her little face showed a trace of disappointment, but more than that, a sense of relief, as expected.
Or rather, she had let go after knowing the outcome.
This was a world without Autumn Ease.
The rain gradually stopped.
“Poem, look at the bear in that display window.”
“What is it?” Water Poem asked, tilting her head.
“Hmm… At the very beginning, when I was placed into the Anomaly Point, I stood right in front of that window. Then my mom came over, thought I liked it, and bought it for me, placing it in my arms.” Leaf Grace recalled the memory and couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, that bear was huge! I hadn’t even figured things out yet, and suddenly I was holding such a big bear.”
“Hehe, I remember. That day, you went home carrying a life-sized plush bear. Though no one knows where it ended up.” Water Poem covered her mouth, laughing. “So this time, do you still want to buy it?”
“Mm, let’s buy it. In a way, it carries a small part of my memories.”
As she spoke, Leaf Grace stepped across the wet ground in her little leather shoes and stood before the clean, bright display window.
The dark clouds dispersed completely. A timid ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, shining on Leaf Grace.
Water Poem quietly watched Leaf Grace’s back, then walked up behind her.
“Strange,” Leaf Grace murmured softly, gently biting her finger.
“What’s strange?”
“I remember this was supposed to be a brown plush bear. Why is it black now?”
“Perhaps some changes have occurred,” Water Poem explained.
“Mm… maybe. After all, some people and things are indeed missing.” Leaf Grace nodded. Just then, the click-clack of high heels sounded from behind.
It was Leaf Grace’s mother.
Her mother still looked very young. Thanks to frequent beauty salon visits, her face had no wrinkles at all.
She appeared only in her twenties. Standing beside Leaf Grace, they looked like sisters.
“My sweet daughter~ What are you looking at?” Leaf Grace’s mother draped herself over her daughter’s back, blowing gently into her ear as she asked.
This was their way of showing affection, though Leaf Grace felt it was more like teasing her…
“Nothing much,” Leaf Grace shook her head slowly. “Mom, where were you just now?”
“I had a contract to deliver in the city, so I went on the way and chatted a bit. Oh, kids shouldn’t ask so many questions.” She pointed at the plush bear. “Wenwen, do you want this?”
“Uh…” Leaf Grace hesitated slightly, then nodded. “I guess so.”
“Then let’s buy it. It’s not like we can’t afford it.” Leaf Grace’s mother hummed a little tune and walked into the toy store.
This shop specialized in plush toys. All items were branded, with prices far higher than ordinary stores.
For example, this life-sized plush bear. At first glance, Leaf Grace thought it cost about 100 yuan.
One hundred yuan had significant purchasing power in 2004.
Even a pricey KFC big burger back then cost only ten yuan.
But when she checked the price tag, it had an extra digit…
Yes, 1,399.
Just a plush bear toy.
Though it looked high quality, selling it so expensively—wasn’t this just a tax on stupidity?
Targeting only the wealthy?
In fact, Leaf Grace’s mother was exactly that kind of customer.
She didn’t haggle. Pointing at the black bear, she told the owner, “I’ll buy this. Get me a brand new, unopened one from the warehouse.”
“Okay.”
“Wait,” Leaf Grace suddenly stopped her. “Is there… a brown one?”
“Brown? We had some, but the last one sold this morning,” the owner apologized. “Now only this black version remains.”
“Ah… I see. Then this one is fine,” Leaf Grace nodded with regret.
If possible, she still wished everything could be the same as before.
“That’ll be 1,300. Card or cash?”
“Isn’t it 1,399? Hmm… Card,” Leaf Grace’s mother asked.
“Uh, I’ll round it down for you,” the owner laughed heartily. He could still profit even after the discount.
But Leaf Grace’s mother had no interest in haggling.
It wasn’t that she didn’t know the price was high.
Rather, she simply didn’t care about this amount.
The family’s assets were never hidden from Leaf Grace. Growing up with an adult mindset, she understood their situation well.
Liquid assets alone exceeded hundreds of millions. Her father had also bought vast real estate with foresight; its future value would reach billions.
But that was over a decade away.
Though family business rules limited his access to all funds, as chairman, he still held substantial cash.
In this era, they were absolutely a billionaire-level family.
Living in a remote seaside town was quite low-key by comparison.
Their main industry was high-end trade, now preparing to transform—who knew what would come next, if not for the plane crash that took Leaf Grace’s parents.
In short—
Spending a few thousand yuan was no big deal for her mother.
For an ordinary person, it’d be like buying a drink for a few yuan—and this was 2004 prices.
Thus, Leaf Grace’s mother bought the life-sized bear without blinking and stuffed it into her arms.
“Here, hold it~”
“Ah… so heavy…” Leaf Grace hugged the black bear tightly, her brow furrowing slightly.
“Hmm, Poem, do you want one?” Her mother looked at Water Poem. Though nominally a maid, she treated all maids like adopted daughters.
She couldn’t treat them exactly like Leaf Grace, but never mistreated them. Water Poem, as the “personal maid,” enjoyed nearly equal treatment.
“I don’t need one,” Water Poem smiled awkwardly. “It’s too heavy and would take up bed space.”
“True. Your beds aren’t as big as Wenwen’s…” Her mother nodded seriously and turned back to the store. “Boss, do you have smaller bears?”
“Yes! How big? The last was extra-large. We also have small, medium, and large.” The owner bowed eagerly. This was a rare big customer; he might sell only this many bears in a month.
His high prices targeted the mid-to-high-end market, so sales were naturally low.
“How big is medium?”
“This big.” He quickly showed a sample.
“Oh, how many styles?”
“Four styles for medium: bear, cat, dog, rabbit. Each has two colors—some black and white, others brown and black.”
“Exactly eight, right?”
“Yes, exactly eight.”
“I’ll buy them all.”
Her mother didn’t ask the price, deciding to take every one.
The owner beamed. He rushed her to swipe her card, then happily packed each item, hoping she’d return.
But Leaf Grace doubted they’d come back.
After all, her mother wasn’t always this free…
The sports car had limited space, but as a four-seater, the largest bear stayed with Leaf Grace while the others filled the back seat under Water Poem’s watch.
Wang Hui hadn’t driven today; her mother drove herself, saving a seat.
Leaf Grace, in the passenger seat, didn’t wear a seatbelt. In this era, even drivers weren’t required to wear one.
Though safer, it would’ve made holding the bear inconvenient.
“So big…” Leaf Grace murmured, struggling. The cramped seat space made her uncomfortable.
“Bear with it; we’ll be home soon,” her mother smiled. “Next time, we’ll take your dad’s SUV—it has more room.”
“Uh…” Leaf Grace nodded stiffly, sweating under the bear’s weight.
A world without anomalies.
Did it mean everything would take a different path?
Leaf Grace, accustomed to living as a girl, truly felt no discomfort?
Deep in her heart, was there more of a boy or a girl?
In her future, would she ever meet Autumn Ease again?
Or meet others?
Everything remained unknown.
Still, if this world truly had no supernatural phenomena, that wasn’t bad.
Such a real world—with gains, losses, regrets, and no second chances—felt more like life.
After all—
Life is wonderful because it only happens once.
Leaf Grace hoped this would be her final journey…
The road traveled was too long and too far; she was already tired.
