Chapter 351: Perfect Ending
"Every day you forget a lot of things, why not forget this thing too?"
In a daze, someone seemed to ask her this, but Black Keke didn't even know what they were referring to.
Because the things she forgot and didn't forget were far too numerous.
When Black Keke opened her eyes, it was snowing outside.
When she got out of bed, she saw the ginger tea placed on the bedside table, her most hated drink.
But as she got up, she habitually picked up the ginger tea, warmth transferring through the edge of the cup.
After taking a small sip, she immediately stuck out her tongue, the spiciness making her close her eyes.
It was just as bad as she remembered, so disgusting...
Even though she had always said to add milk or something to dilute the ginger taste and spiciness, her mom always believed that pure ginger tea was the only way to nourish health and cure illness.
In the end, didn't she still have to take medicine?
Habitually complaining in her heart, Black Keke walked to the window while holding the ginger tea.
Drinking it one difficult sip at a time, she gently touched the cold window, the chill spreading from her fingertips to her heart, but it was quickly suppressed by the spiciness and warmth of the ginger tea.
On the other side of the window, she could see her parents in the yard, digging dirt and trying to plant something.
It's still snowing, these two idiots.
She thought about it somewhat absentmindedly, not really taking it to heart, but then looked a bit further outside.
Even heavier snow was almost covering Beihai, visibility was not high either.
Had Beihai ever had such heavy snow in the past?
Drinking ginger tea in a daze, Black Keke couldn't quite remember clearly either.
After all, she forgot a lot of things every day, and there was always some deviation after each cycle. Sometimes new enemies would pop up, sometimes new Magical Girls would appear, making things difficult to control.
Although the final outcome was always the same anyway.
She wondered what time this cycle had sent her to. The fact that time after cycling was uncontrollable was also a troublesome thing...
"Jiang Si! Come help!"
The shouts from her parents in the yard made Black Keke pause. She looked down and saw, on the other side of the yard, a young man with his upper body bare, doing pull-ups on a horizontal bar.
His muscles looked very solid, but not disgustingly large, just the kind of healthy and aesthetically pleasing muscles of a normal person.
"Still need one thousand six hundred more, wait."
The young man, pulling himself up with one hand, even one finger, showed no fatigue in his voice, not even panting, as if he were walking on flat ground.
But the heat radiating from his muscles was so intense that the snowflakes melted before they could even get close, sliding off his body like sweat.
"Hurry up! If you don't come, I'll tear down that bar of yours, and sell all those exercise equipment to the junkman!"
Their dad let out a dissatisfied yell. "We're not buddies anymore now. I order you in the name of your father, get your ass over here!"
So Black Keke saw Jiang Si put on an annoyed expression, then grab the bar and forcefully swing his body, bouncing directly from the other side of the yard to land beside their dad and mom.
He casually picked up a shovel and in a few moves, dug up half the yard outside the house.
"Oh, you bastard son, you've ruined the whole yard!"
"Look at the kind of brat you gave birth to."
"As if he's not your seed too."
"Did you drink too much when you were pregnant, messing up Jiang Si's brain?"
"I'd say it was your excessive smoking. I only had a few drinks..."
Black Keke couldn't help but hold her forehead. Although she couldn't remember many things, whenever the two started arguing, the memories of those past daily moments would come flooding back.
Her parents didn't look like middle-aged people who had children; in fact, they both seemed like they hadn't grown up at all.
Although they usually got along well, when they argued, it was like kids fighting.
Over there, Jiang Si had already planted the saplings their parents had bought in the dug-up yard, refilled the holes, patted the ground flat with the shovel, and tossed the shovel aside casually.
"That's it. Don't expect anything to grow in the middle of winter."
As soon as Jiang Si spoke, the arguing parents quieted down. Their mom nodded and asked again, "Should we cover them with a plastic sheet like a greenhouse?"
"They're not vegetables... You can go ask around the street."
"No way, too much trouble. And those shop owners are the best at cheating people. Last time they fooled me into buying some rare earth stuff, saying it was good for planting trees. It was completely useless, and they wouldn't let me return it..."
Holding the ginger tea, Black Keke was actually somewhat surprised. Watching her mother across so many cycles, she never knew her mom could act like this towards her own child.
Over there, their dad directly wrapped an arm around Jiang Si. "Buddy, what do you say we plant some vegetables? Healthier. What do you like to eat..."
Jiang Si casually took the cigarette from his mouth, threw it on the ground, and stamped it out, frowning. "Smoking less would be healthier. Instead of spending time growing your own vegetables, you'd be better off working more to earn some money."
"I smoke this one pack, it takes me half a month to finish. That's already very little..."
Seeing their dad getting scolded, their mom beside him put on a look of schadenfreude. "Serves you right for smoking. I told you to smoke less. It's choking everyone every day."
"You too." Jiang Si, having finished stomping the ground and covering the small saplings, looked at their mom. "Did you think I wasn't talking about you? Last night, you secretly drank half that bottle again. What about your promise from before?"
So Black Keke saw their mom put on an embarrassed expression, like a child who had done something wrong, lowering her head and tugging at their dad beside her to push him to the front. "I got thirsty getting up last night..."
"Your last health check showed your liver wasn't good. The doctor told you to drink less. Last time you got drunk, you locked Keke outside, nearly freezing her to death. At the time, you were crying and apologizing, wrote a guarantee yourself. Can't you keep it?"
Their mom was rendered speechless, hiding behind their dad and not saying a word.
Black Keke watched the surreal scene in the yard in astonishment.
She couldn't tell who was the parent and who was the child anymore—
Did her parents give birth to a father for themselves?
But, how should she put it, listening to all this, Black Keke felt that what her big brother said wasn't really wrong.
Actually, in the previous cycles without Jiang Si, her parents had been irresponsible and chaotic, causing her to get sick or injured quite a few times.
To put it nicely, her parents had always maintained a pure heart.
To put it bluntly, they had never grown up. The two of them didn't really have a clear concept of the responsibilities they needed to bear. But Mom and Dad were just a bit scatterbrained in daily life.
They still loved her very much, though...
"Self-discipline every day, to meet a better version of yourself."
Jiang Si grabbed their parents' wrists and started running around the yard. "Fast on an empty stomach, go!"
Black Keke watched her parents, pulled along by Jiang Si, running while laughing and messing around. They were actually quite happy, weren't they...
So as she watched, she started laughing herself.
Then Jiang Si turned his head and looked over.
Black Keke immediately crouched down, hiding from Jiang Si's line of sight.
No way, she wasn't going out running in this heavy snow.
Leaning against the wall beneath the window, Black Keke downed the ginger tea in one go.
Maybe it was a new cycle, maybe not.
After all, at the end, she should have rushed into the passage to the Magic Kingdom with Jiang Si.
She had no idea what the Magic Kingdom looked like or what kind of encounters awaited. Perhaps she was currently caught in some trap of the Magic Kingdom or something.
But one thing was for sure: she probably wasn't in any danger.
Because according to her own design, if she ever fell into a danger she couldn't escape, she would kill herself immediately.
At the very least, her body shouldn't be in a situation where it couldn't move.
Thinking this, Black Keke put the now-cold cup back on the bedside table and lay back down on the bed—
Whatever, since there was no problem, she'd just sleep first~
Jiang Si and her parents messed around for who knows how long before coming back in from the yard. As soon as they entered, the cold air rushed in from outside.
"Oh, my shoes! It's all your fault, you stepped on them and ruined them."
Their dad, being blamed by their mom, just yelled, "It was you stepping on me the whole time. With this heavy snow outside, you were dead set on planting trees. We finally get a holiday, and you just won't let it go."
"Si'er, you tell me, didn't your dad step on me just now?"
"Buddy, you gotta settle this!"
Buried under the covers, Black Keke secretly peeked out and looked over. Jiang Si looked utterly impatient. "Not eating?"
Their mom then looked at Jiang Si with a pitiful expression. "I'm too tired from that fast on an empty stomach you dragged us through, Ba'er..."
"Yeah, yeah." Their dad also put on a look of aches and pains. "These old bones really can't take it anymore. Son, do us a favor..."
So Jiang Si just sighed. "Go check on Keke, see if her fever's gone down."
"Going right away, right away!"
The two of them cheerfully rushed over.
And Jiang Si turned and went into the kitchen, apparently really going to cook.
Black Keke felt a bit dizzy for a moment.
You two really treat your son like a dad...
Their mom rushed in and threw herself directly onto the bed, the cold air rushing over with her. She didn't care at all, just pressed her face close, touching Keke's forehead. "Oh no, why is it still so hot?"
"Is there a possibility," Black Keke pushed at her mom's body, "that it's because you're freezing cold from being outside!"
"Haha, Mom knows, Mom did it on purpose!"
After saying that, she deliberately leaned in and rubbed her face hard against Black Keke's cheek, leaving Black Keke feeling helpless.
"So energetic, looks like there's no problem." Their dad acted a bit more composed, coming over to feel her forehead. "Mm, the fever's gone down a lot. Looks like you're fine."
"You and your brother are complete opposites," their mom complained while lying beside her. "Your brother never got sick a single day growing up. You're sick every few days. It's really strange. Our family genes mutated with you."
"Jiang Si is the one who's mutated."
As soon as she said that, their mom and dad suddenly went quiet, which Black Keke found strange.
She looked up at the two of them. "What's wrong?"
Mom and Dad immediately felt her head. "Oh no, this is bad. Her brain's cooked from the fever!"
"You never call your brother by his name. You cling to him every day. Your mom thinks you treat your brother like a dad. You always call him 'big brother.' This sudden change, and you still say you're not fever-dumb. Spill it, who are you!"
Black Keke had no way to deal with these two clowns either. She just lay back on the bed, kicking wildly through the covers. "Get lost! You two are the ones treating Jiang Si like a dad."
"Alright, alright, no more messing around. But don't call your brother by his name."
It wasn't until this point that her laughing and joking parents became a bit more serious. They patted her head. "Your brother has always taken good care of you. You need to respect your big brother, Keke. When Mom and Dad are no longer around in the future, the two of you need to get along well."
"Though it'll probably still be Jiang Si taking care of her anyway."
"To whom much is given, much is expected," Mom laughed again. "That's just Jiang Si's fate. Whether it's his little sister, or a wife he marries in the future, he's definitely going to get the short end of the stick. Because he's so capable and has such soft ears, he's always the one to give more. So Keke, you need to make it easier for your brother. Don't trouble him with everything, okay?"
"Wow."
Black Keke was speechless at her parents. "You guys are the ones who cause him more trouble, obviously."
"How is that the same? We're his parents. It's only natural for him to work for us! Whether it's you, his little sister, or his future wife, how can you compare to us? You didn't give birth to Jiang Si."
Their dad said this with complete confidence, and their mom beside him nodded repeatedly. "That's right, that's right."
So this is 'husband sings, wife follows'...
But, listening between the lines, Black Keke could tell that Mom and Dad actually loved Jiang Si very much. Their tone was full of worry that he might get taken advantage of or suffer in the future.
Thinking of the future Jiang Si, she almost said he wouldn't get taken advantage of, that no one could bully Jiang Si.
That girls were all too eager to give to him willingly.
But then she remembered her parents, who would be gone in the future, and she lost interest for a moment.
She had no desire to talk about the future.
Her parents were whispering over there, not knowing what they were talking about, giving her the feeling of students in the back row of a class who don't study well, plotting some prank.
But the warm house, filled with heat, and the swirling heavy snow outside, made Black Keke feel a certain intimacy.
Things that had long gone numb, as long as she stayed away, even forgot about them for a very, very long time.
The emotions that had been used up would be recharged a little.
Stirring up small ripples and happiness in her heart, which would quickly fade into boredom and numbness from too much repetition.
But even those small ripples were enough to keep her reminiscing for a while.
Not much time had passed. From the kitchen came the roar of the range hood and the sizzling sound of frying, mingling with her parents' whispers, accompanied by the warmth of the covers, making Black Keke drowsily fall asleep again.
Until the kitchen door opened, and the aroma of food, mixed with a bit of choking cooking smoke, rushed out.
Jiang Si's voice broke the silence.
"Time to eat."
"Coming, coming!"
Her parents went over to help set out the dishes and put them on the table. Just as Black Keke got up to change her clothes,
Her dad suddenly burst in, picked her up like a little chick.
"What are you doing?"
Before she could figure out what was going on, her mom had pushed her brother into a chair, and then her dad placed her on her brother's lap. "Stop arguing. Brother and sister need to get along. Come on, Keke, feed your brother..."
So that's what they were whispering about just now.
Black Keke felt exhausted by her parents for a moment.
Then she looked up slightly at Jiang Si behind her. He also glanced back at her without much expression.
Black Keke looked at those eyes and paused for a moment.
Before she could say anything, Jiang Si had already picked her up.
He casually tossed her into the chair beside him. "If you're eating, eat properly. If not, order takeout yourself."
Mom and Dad immediately quieted down.
The food tasted very good, which surprised Black Keke a little.
This guy actually had some skills. He could cook this well?
After all the cycles she'd been through, she could only fry a few simple dishes...
Her parents were over the moon, wildly bragging that their son's cooking skills were unmatched in heaven and on earth.
But even Black Keke could see through it at a glance.
They were scheming to get Jiang Si to cook again next time.
By the time they finished eating, Mom and Dad had even taken the initiative to clear the dishes. The two of them went to the kitchen and started whispering again, actually being quite affectionate.
Black Keke glanced at her parents in the kitchen. "You have that much say?"
Her tone wasn't like a sister talking to her brother; it was somewhat distant.
"Being able to support myself is enough."
Jiang Si's answer was also very simple.
Black Keke understood immediately. Jiang Si was already financially independent from his parents.
He could leave the family at any time, and would probably live even better—on the other hand, she remembered that her parents had to hire a nanny at home later on, because it would have been too chaotic otherwise.
People who weren't financially independent really had no say in things.
But even so, the strange relationship between her parents and Jiang Si wasn't just because of his financial independence.
"You seem to be enjoying this life quite a bit?" Black Keke raised an eyebrow and asked him. "We might have already fallen into a trap of the Magic Kingdom. Aren't you worried?"
"It's not a big deal." Jiang Si said indifferently. "I can see through it."
Where did this confidence come from...
As they were talking, her parents poked their heads out again. "What are you talking about, Keke?"
"Nothing." Black Keke was getting a bit impatient with her nosy parents. She stood up and tugged at Jiang Si. "I'm going out for a walk with my big brother. We'll be back in a bit."
"Don't run around with your brother again. Last time you did, you threw up..."
"I won't!"
Dragging Jiang Si out of the house, leaving the yard, and stepping outside, the snow was still falling heavily. The crunching sound under their feet was especially pleasant.
The surroundings were very quiet. The neighbors' houses seemed empty. When they reached the road, there were no cars either.
Only a traffic light was blinking there.
"I'm telling you, you act all tough, but you're super easy to fall into these kinds of illusions. And you're so serious about this illusory version of Mom and Dad..."
Jiang Si stared at the traffic light. It wasn't until it turned yellow that he said casually, "Mom and Dad are real."
Black Keke was stunned, then looked back again.
Her parents were poking their heads out the kitchen window, watching the two of them. Then they whispered something to each other. Their dad kissed their mom on the cheek, and they started playfully messing around again.
Like elementary school kids.
It was true, exactly the same as the real thing.
"Mom and Dad died a long time ago." Black Keke paused, then continued, "Unless they were reincarnated into a next life. But then, what's up with you? Except for that big guy, the Beast of Eternity, no one should be able to follow me through cycles. And if you're following me, then the original Keke and everyone you know would have to start all over..."
"Even I don't know how it's done."
Jiang Si waited for the green light, then crossed the street. Black Keke quickly followed. "But it's probably the Magic Kingdom's doing. They brought the real Mom and Dad here—"
"Or maybe their souls."
Black Keke trotted along behind him, falling into deep thought. "The Magic Kingdom, is it the realm of the souls of the dead?"
"Maybe."
"Is this like an entry exam, or something?"
"No idea."
"Oh, then how do we get out?"
"If you forgot all of this, wouldn't you get out?"
A chill wind swept through, carrying the chaotic flying snowflakes. The branches of a nearby tree snapped under the weight, falling with a loud crash, sending a pile of snow tumbling down.
In the silent world, the sound of the breaking branches and the falling snow echoed.
Black Keke grabbed Jiang Si's wrist, making him stop so she could catch her breath. "What do you mean?"
"Every day you forget a lot of things, why not forget this thing too?"
Black Keke was stunned for a moment, then scratched her head. "Damn, so it was you who said that."
"Don't curse."
"You sure boss Keke around a lot. And I'm not your sister." Black Keke retorted, then looked back at the home, the only conspicuous thing in the snow, with its light and warmth.
"Actually, I don't know if I forgot or remembered. There's too much messy stuff. Sometimes I think I've forgotten, but I actually remember. Sometimes I think I remember, but I've actually forgotten it all."
"Got a bad brain."
"That's not it!" Black Keke subconsciously retorted, then sighed in frustration. "Maybe I do."
"Your left and right brain are already sparring. It's not just a maybe."
"Tsk." Black Keke clicked her tongue, finding it hard to argue. "Telling me to forget or whatever, but I don't really remember what it is I'm supposed to forget..."
Just as she was worrying, Jiang Si's phone suddenly rang.
When Jiang Si took out his phone, Black Keke immediately leaned in to look.
"Son, I had a fight with your mom. My name is Lonely Wolf. You change yours to Lonely Wolf Cub. If you don't, you're my enemy too."
Black Keke rolled her eyes. "Such a child. When will he ever grow up?"
"After all, they die every time before they get the chance."
Jiang Si's one sentence left Black Keke speechless.
Seeing that Jiang Si was actually about to obediently change his name to Lonely Wolf Cub, Black Keke took out her own phone and saw that her dad had also sent her a message.
"Do I have to change it too?"
"Up to you."
Black Keke scrolled through the contact list and saw her mom's ID.
Slaughtering Wolf.
She immediately burst out laughing. "Changing your name is the real trap!"
But she still followed Jiang Si and changed her ID too.
The two of them continued walking forward, getting further and further away from home.
"I thought you were going to lecture me?"
Hearing Black Keke's question, Jiang Si tilted his head. "Lecture you about what?"
"About how I'm cold, I've forgotten miracles, I'm putting on an act, fake mature, numb, indifferent to life, treating everyone like NPCs to be abandoned at will, and that I bully Keke."
"Aren't you already aware of all that yourself?"
"Knowing it yourself, and having someone else point it out and accuse you of it, are two different things. If you don't say it, I'm not going to take it seriously."
"Are you a child?"
"Yeah, a child." Black Keke bounced along beside Jiang Si. "Aren't we all children in this family?"
"Big talk doesn't mean much."
But as they walked forward, Jiang Si said absentmindedly, "In this era, anyone can spout big talk. Two random marketing accounts online can give you a whole lot of it. To accuse you, they can find any unassailable moral high ground they want."
"That statement applies to you too, doesn't it?"
"Mm."
Unexpectedly, Jiang Si agreed immediately, leaving Black Keke with no good way to counter him.
"But a lot of that big talk is just a summary of life experiences. Do you know about Wang Yangming's enlightenment at Longchang?"
"This is stuff they taught in school." Black Keke thought for a moment. "Don't tell me you read it in web novels?"
"School doesn't teach it as deeply as web novels do."
Black Keke shrugged, figuring she'd let him have it.
Jiang Si continued, "After Wang Yangming's enlightenment at Longchang, he said a whole lot of big talk. Of course, it's not just Wang Yangming. Confucius, Sun Tzu, whoever—they all pretty much say some kind of big concluding talk. 'Do not be happy about external things, do not be sad about personal matters,' or 'the mind triumphs over matter.' They are all the answers ultimately derived from their life experiences and thoughts."
"Many people take those answers and think they understand them too. But without going through the exact same process, how could they truly understand someone else's answer? Thinking that just because you know it, you can do it, and even liking to use those answers to accuse others—like now, using these big talks to accuse you of being numb, cowardly, and incompetent—that is arrogance."
Black Keke pouted. "You're not trying to scold me by saying this, are you?"
Jiang Si didn't pay her any attention and just continued, "Someone else's answers are just answers. Your own problems, the process still has to be written by you. No one can skip the process and get the answer directly. Whether the result is the same answer or a different one, the process won't be the same, and the realization won't be the same. Holding onto someone else's big talk to accuse others is completely meaningless."
Black Keke immediately started clapping. "That's right, that's right! Big brother, you're right! Damn, are you a philosopher now?"
"Read more web novels. All the great truths of the world are within them. And don't curse."
Jiang Si just said this, then looked at Black Keke. "No one has cycled as many times as you have. Even if someone really did cycle as many times as you, the different experiences would lead to different feelings. I don't think there's anything about you that needs to be criticized. As long as you are unwavering in what you intend to do."
Black Keke smiled, because she remembered a certain acquaintance.
That hesitant Magical Girl who ultimately died by Jiang Si's hand. "Of course, don't underestimate me. I'm not Jade Fox."
"That's good enough."
Jiang Si nodded, as if he was seeing another Keke. "If only she could manage that much."
"Hey, hey, hey."
Black Keke grabbed his head and turned it to face her directly. "I'm the one standing in front of you now, not that sister of yours from your world. Look at me properly! Big brother!"
"Did you forget?"
But Jiang Si just asked this.
Black Keke clicked her tongue, then looked back once more.
Home was completely swallowed by the heavy snow. The lights, the memories, everything was devoured by the cold.
Only the warmth right in front of her was real.
"Of course I forgot. The thing I always remember is that cup of ginger tea. That spicy, burning hot ginger tea."
Murmuring, Black Keke brushed her hair back. "It was truly disgusting."
Then the heavy snow began to melt and disappear.
After the white snowflakes vanished, the branches beneath were revealed. Following that, Black Keke realized her entire body was wrapped in branches!
There were even branches growing into her brain!
She grabbed all those branches and tore them off. Looking down, Jiang Si had already transformed into the three-headed Golden Calamity Dragon King!
His body was a dazzling gold, with not a single branch wrapped around it.
It turned out that only she had been dragged into the illusion just now.
She looked into the distance, and the outline of the Magic Kingdom appeared in her field of vision.
No matter how she flew, she couldn't get any closer.
"So we really can reach the Magic Kingdom."
Murmuring, Black Keke didn't really care whether she could get closer. She just lowered her head, stroking the dragon horns of the three-headed Golden Calamity Dragon King.
"Big brother."
One of the heads looked at her.
The numb expression that Black Keke had always worn finally melted. That inhuman, alien feeling receded a little.
As if she were an ordinary little girl, she hugged the dragon horns, her tone even carrying a bit of joy, like the excitement she felt when she went on her first spring outing with her parents long ago.
"I've decided! In my perfect ending, you have to be there, big brother!"