Chapter 18: Cake

The work group notification stated that a meeting would be held in three days at the Jingcheng Grand Hall, the first National Awakened Representatives Conference of the Xia Nation.

Besides the Awakened Management Bureau branches from every province nationwide, there were also representatives from various civilian groups who had not joined the official Awakened ranks. This was naturally a terrifying force; if so many Awakened united, they could destroy a small nation, yet the fact that they could hold a meeting here indirectly demonstrated the trust and importance placed upon them by those above.

Yang Yi naturally had to go; one could say anyone else could skip it, but she absolutely had to attend.

Everyone also knew she would definitely go; hearing Director Zhou joke with her, the branches below had complained to him that too many Awakened wanted to attend as representatives—mostly to catch a glimpse of the "Superman's" beauty and, incidentally, to test her abilities.

Although Awakened seemed rare among ordinary people, with the Xia Nation's world-first population, even if only one in a hundred thousand awakened, that still meant over ten thousand Awakened.

How to manage over ten thousand capable and extraordinary individuals, some of whom possessed particularly great danger, was a serious and dangerous issue.

As the world's first S-class Awakened, Yang Yi became the typical example; one could say her attitude could represent a trend.

If even this sole "Superman" endorsed the Xia Nation's official stance, then on a global scale, the Xia Nation's handling of Awakened issues would cease to be a problem, becoming a model other nations could hardly hope to match.

After all, Awakened in many nations currently did not obey official commands, especially in Western countries where individual heroism prevailed; after all, they were used to freedom, and since they possessed superpowers, why should they obey the orders of ordinary people?

Some Awakened publicly declared their intention to establish a nation for Awakened; even more extreme were those who believed Awakened possessed stronger abilities, serving as proof of more perfect human genes, while those ordinary people who had not awakened were inferior genes.

Possessing abilities far surpassing ordinary people and receiving "superior human" treatment, was that not only natural? Moreover, ordinary laws should no longer constrain Awakened, because the two sides were no longer on the same evaluation level.

Since Wade Davis's global live broadcast at the United Nations, this ideology had become rampant; perhaps this was his purpose.

When Yang Yi dressed and came downstairs, her assistant and driver, Liu Liu Siyuan, was already waiting below.

"Is this outfit appropriate? Is it too informal?" Yang Yi asked as she got into the car.

Liu Liu Siyuan, who had been about to start the car, stopped his action upon hearing this, turned back, and seriously observed her attire: a loose white shirt, black suit trousers, white sneakers, a simple ponytail, and a bare face, looking very fresh.

"I think it looks quite good," Liu Liu Siyuan replied with a serious expression after deliberating for a while.

Yang Yi was somewhat speechless but did not continue to make things difficult for him; only then did Liu Liu Siyuan sigh in relief and start the car, driving out of the Management Bureau.

They were driving a low-key black Hongqi; as the car drove out of the dormitory area gate, a middle-aged woman in bulky clothing bent low, peering into the car window.

The windows were privacy-protected; when closed, outsiders could not see inside, but Yang Yi had opened half of it for ventilation, just enough to reveal half of her face.

"Hey! Yi-Yi! Yi-Yi! Stop the car! I'm Mom!"

Yang Yi was only looking down at her phone, paying no attention to the calls beside the car—after all, no one had ever called her "Yi-Yi" since childhood, so she simply did not notice they were calling her.

Liu Liu Siyuan saw the middle-aged woman in the rearview mirror, glanced at the unmoving Yang Yi, hesitated, tapped the brake, and slowed the car down.

"Captain Yang, it seems they are looking for you."

Yang Yi looked up in surprise; the middle-aged woman had already caught up, looking at Yang Yi with pleading eyes, her hands gripping the car window as she shouted, "Yi-Yi, Yi-Yi, I am your mother!"

Yang Yi frowned and remained silent.

The strange woman before her had a dark, rough face, bearing marks only possible from constant exposure to wind and sun; her hands had large knuckles, and there were even brown stains under her fingernails that could not be washed away.

She wore a semi-new, semi-old windbreaker-style coat, with a pilling brown sweater underneath; rolls of fat bulged within the sweater, like a long balloon hidden around her waist.

But her facial contours did bear a resemblance to Yang Yi; they both possessed semi-open fan-shaped double eyelids and straight, knobby noses.

Yang Yi opened her mouth, her hands holding the phone trembled slightly, and then she heard her own calm and steady voice: "Get in the car!"

At this moment, Yang Yi seemed split into two people: one within her, surging with countless complex and indescribable emotions, countless questions pent up inside like a volcano urgently needing to erupt; the other, her face indifferent, her voice steady and calm.

After the middle-aged woman got in and sat properly, Yang Yi asked calmly, "You say you are my mother; do you have any proof?"

"Yi-Yi, you..." The middle-aged woman seemed to have many words to say, but Yang Yi's indifferent expression made her feel like a stranger, and thinking of the abilities of the person before her, she felt a little fear and hesitation.

Yang Yi turned her head away, seeming somewhat annoyed.

"You have two moles on your right side waist; those were there when Mom gave birth to you," she particularly emphasized the words "gave birth," "and there is a scar on the sole of your right foot; when you were a child, you ran around barefoot and stepped on a cigarette butt."

Yang Yi finally turned her head back and looked at her seriously.

"My grandparents said you abandoned me and left when I was three; why are you looking for me suddenly now? Is there some difficulty in the family?" Yang Yi looked at her wind-swept face and worn-out clothes, her lips curling into a smile that was neither a smile nor not a smile.

"Yi-Yi, I had no choice; your grandparents forced me..." Upon hearing this, she wiped away tears, "Yi-Yi, you don't know how much Mom has missed you these years... I finally managed to find this place; people said those with superpowers are managed here..."

"Mom really had no choice back then; the methods your grandmother used to torment her daughter-in-law... no one could stand it... Moreover, your father left when you were one year old, and your grandmother said I was a jinx who killed her youngest son, coming to the house every day to scold and beat me..."

"Especially after you were born; back then you were different from other children... people said you had autism... you understood nothing, didn't communicate with anyone..."

"So, you just threw me at the doorstep of your parents and my uncle, then sold the house and left?" Yang Yi's tone was indifferent, her voice line devoid of any fluctuation.

The middle-aged woman opened her mouth but found no words, then she forced out, "That was all forced by your grandparents..."

Yang Yi said nothing, only twitching the corner of her right mouth.

"Yi-Yi, how have you been these years? Mom has been thinking of you every moment..."

"Back then, once I missed you so terribly that I secretly ran back to see you; your grandparents and uncle were truly heartless; they chained you to the dog kennel and made you fight for food in the same bowl as the dog..."

Little Liu, who had been driving in silence, couldn't help but shudder all over, quickly stealing a glance at Yang Yi in the rearview mirror.

Yang Yi lowered her eyelids, expressionless, her right hand constantly fiddling with the phone screen, countless app icons scrolling back and forth.

"I wanted to secretly take you away, but at that time your grandparents and uncle discovered me, then shouted that they would beat me to death, so I... I... ran away in fear..."

"If it weren't for your grandparents and uncle, we mother and daughter could definitely have been together properly..."

If a perfect score was 100, Yang Yi originally still had five points of expectation, wanting to see what fresh words she could say, perhaps explaining how reluctant and helpless she had been back then, or directly admitting that she had grown to hate her autistic daughter and her in-laws' torment, saw no future, and wanted to live for herself—words like these, real and sincere, would have actually allowed Yang Yi to understand a little more.

Her mouth opened and closed, with white foam sticking to her dry lips, rising and falling with her mouth; as she spoke, she unconsciously sprayed some spittle into the air, which scattered in the atmosphere, making Yang Yi feel the space inside the car even more narrow and stifling.

Yang Yi felt a bit disappointed; she regretted letting her get in the car; she felt everything was utterly boring and meaningless.

Just now, what had she expected? Did she expect the woman before her to suddenly realize her mistake and regret abandoning her? And did she expect to gain a sense of revengeful pleasure from that?

The scene before her played out exactly as expected, yet she gained no pleasure or joy from it, only weariness.

Liu Liu Siyuan drove in silence; he hoped that at this moment he was a lifeless stone, so the people in the car could ignore him.

Yang Yi's thoughts scattered, various notions jumbled together, floating up and dissipating like bubbles in carbonated water.

Not knowing how long the woman opposite had been nagging, Yang Yi came to her senses and interrupted her: "You just said you have remarried and have a son and a daughter; isn't that quite good? You no longer lack a daughter you abandoned since childhood. So, why run all this way? What is your purpose? Do you want something from me? Money? Power? Benefits? Just say it directly. Considering the hardship of your ten months of pregnancy and raising me until I was three, I can satisfy you."

The woman opposite froze.

She moved her lips, explaining in vain: "Yi-Yi, you misunderstood Mom... Mom just wanted to come see you... Mom has missed you so much these years..."

Too late, Yang Yi thought.

All her explanations and complaints were just weakly pulling at that shame curtain that had already been lifted, trying to cover up again the fact that everyone already knew.

That was the last chance.

Yang Yi stared blankly out the car window at the endless stream of traffic and pedestrians.

If she had been frank about her needs, openly admitted she was short on money, or wanted to gain some kind of benefit from her, she wouldn't have refused, because she didn't care about any of that.

But now, the woman's fake, insincere pretense had made her extremely impatient. Her right hand irritably swiped at her phone screen, and information like the time and weather flickered up and down with the movement of her finger.

"Liu Liu Siyuan, step on it!" she said coldly.

Liu Liu Siyuan, who had been like an invisible man just moments ago, seemed to suddenly become aware of his own existence. A sidelong glance caught her small gesture, and he silently sped up. The car soon arrived at a parking lot near the Jingcheng Great Hall.

The moment the car came to a stop, Yang Yi flung herself out as if escaping, and shut the door behind her, blocking the woman's steps as she tried to follow.

Liu Liu Siyuan, very perceptive, got out of the car and came to her side.

After breathing in two lungfuls of air tinged with car exhaust, the stifling feeling in Yang Yi's chest eased a little. She casually smoothed the wrinkles on her clothes: "Leave this matter to you to handle."

"But…" Liu Liu Siyuan froze for a moment, hesitating cautiously.

Yang Yi knew exactly what his deliberate hesitation represented.

"I don't care about this matter, I don't care about this person or the helplessness she once had. This person has nothing to do with me. I don't want this person to bring me any further trouble, and I never want to see that face appear in front of me again. That is my attitude. Understood?"

She knew this was exactly what Liu Liu Siyuan wanted.

Liu Liu Siyuan immediately nodded, signaling that he had fully grasped her meaning.

Yang Yi took one last look at the woman waiting anxiously in the car. Her cloudy eyes gazed at her expectantly, like a defendant in the dock awaiting sentencing, or like someone expecting some unknown delight to drop into her lap.

But the only image that surfaced in Yang Yi's mind was: a lump of old, hardened dung smeared with cream trying to disguise itself.

That image instantly killed her appetite for cake — she probably wouldn't want to eat cake again for at least three months.