Chapter 738: The Road Back is Hard to Walk (Part 1)

"Anna..."

Just like the Leon in her memories, after calling out the name of the young girl before her, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma felt all the exhaustion in her body recede suddenly like a tide, and even her shoulders, which had felt as if they were bearing a thousand-catty burden, suddenly felt light.

However, what replaced it was not joy or delight from the heart, but a wave of lingering remorse and shame.

"I lost my job..."

After saying this in low spirits, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma—or rather, the former Leon—explained with a face full of annoyance:

"I really wasn't slacking off, but I could still only carry about half the load of the others. The foreman only paid me for half a month's wages and told me not to come to the docks tomorrow. I..."

"You've already done very well."

The dim oil lamp and the girl's soft footsteps approached together. After a warm embrace, words of comfort without the slightest hint of blame rang in Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's ears.

"Brother, this isn't your fault. I know, you must have already done your best. I saved some food for you tonight, hurry and go inside, get some good rest after you eat..."

"I..."

"Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma?"

The confused whisper in her ear and the heat coming from the palm of her hand pulled Auntie Auntie Ai Ma out of this memory that did not belong to her.

After shaking her head in a daze, she looked at Leon, whose eyes held some confusion. Having regained her senses, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma apologized:

"I'm sorry, just now... um... I think I saw your past memories."

Looking at the white bricks under her feet that were glowing faintly, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma said softly:

"If I'm not mistaken, if two people step on the same brick, the person who steps on it later seems to see the memories of the person who stepped on it first.

Leon, if you mind, I actually..."

"It's okay, go ahead and look."

Recalling the experience of when he first lost his job carrying bags at the docks, secretly finding a place to cry his heart out, and then being comforted by Anna's gentle words, Leon smiled with a bit of embarrassment.

"There shouldn't be anything too shameful in my memories. Besides, if you hadn't saved Anna back then at the hospital, these memories would have... um... Anyway, if looking at my memories can help you cross the Black and White Bridge, then I won't mind."

"Thank you..."

Holding Leon's warm and powerful palm, warmed all the way to her heart by his frank and fervent emotions, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's palm finally stopped feeling slightly cold, and a little color reappeared on her pale face.

Confirming that she was ready, Leon, with one foot still standing off the bridge, clenched his fist, then lifted his other foot and stood completely on the Black and White Bridge.

A white brick, also a brick representing happiness.

And Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, having received Leon's promise, also gathered her courage again and followed, stepping both feet onto the bridge.

"Big Brother!"

This time, what appeared before Auntie Auntie Ai Ma was Leon's younger brother, who was block-headed and very cute, but always kept a straight face and looked like a little adult. At this moment, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma—or rather, the Leon in the memory—was standing next to a wall, staring blankly at a nail on the wall. William, standing side-by-side with Leon by the wall, was looking up and asking seriously:

"Big Brother, are you sick?"

Leon was sick this time?

Hearing Leon's brother's question, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma couldn't help but be slightly startled.

That shouldn't be right, should it? Leon stepped on a white block; this should be a happy memory, right?

And the Leon in the memory seemed to share the same confusion as Auntie Auntie Ai Ma. After shivering slightly, Leon said with a face full of bewilderment:

"No, I've been a bit tired lately, but my body shouldn't have any problems."

"Don't lie to me!"

After looking at Leon seriously and then looking down at himself, William, acting like a little adult, also shivered, then frowned and said seriously:

"If you aren't sick, how come yours is swollen so..."

"Cough, cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough, cough!"

Coughing with the greatest force he had ever used in his life, Leon forcibly woke Auntie Auntie Ai Ma from his own memories. Not expecting that the memory of the two brothers "relieving themselves" by the wall would also be captured by the Black and White Bridge, Leon said to the somewhat dazed Auntie Auntie Ai Ma with a face full of embarrassment:

"About that, I thought about it just now. Although I don't mind sharing my memories with you, Senior, but... uh... some situations are quite special... so... uh... so can I filter the content first, and then you step on it?"

Through the palms that remained tightly clasped together, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma felt the surging embarrassment in Leon's heart—the kind that would make anyone curl their toes in a high-end apartment—and after coming to her senses, she also understood what had happened and realized exactly what scene she had just witnessed.

After recalling that strange yet abnormally realistic sensation, Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's fair face could not help but flush red instantly, even her glossy, petite earlobes were stained with a blush, and she then hurriedly turned her head away.

"O... okay..."

"..."

Damn it! I was wondering why my luck was so good this time, getting white blocks for two consecutive steps; so that's where it was waiting for me!

After cursing that damn luck under his breath, Leon took a deep breath and took the third step.

A white block, still a white block.

This time it was Melanie who appeared; although she was mischievous and loved to cause trouble, most of the time, she was still a heartwarming little girl.

And the fond memory associated with her was when he had been out selling newspapers and got caught in a freezing rain, resulting in a high fever the next day; Anna had run out to buy him medicine, while Melanie had taken William to raid several crow nests, wanting to nourish his body while he was feverish.

Hmm... up to this point, it was actually quite nice, but it was a pity that for the next week, their home was crazily attacked by a furious flock of crows, and from the door to the windowsill, everything was covered in half-dried, runny bird droppings.

When he recovered from his illness and went to clean it with a scraper, those grayish-white dried droppings had accumulated to over two fingers thick; he had to hit them with a hammer first before they could be scraped off, and he spent three or four days scraping before he finally managed to clean it all up.

Regarding this, one could only say... although a certain little girl was warm enough when she was warm, she was also truly leaky when it was time to leak...

After finishing this warm yet ridiculous memory, Leon could not help but shake his head helplessly, then squeezed Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma's palm firmly, signaling that there was nothing to avoid this time and she could step up.

However, even after Leon squeezed several times, Senior Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, who was lagging behind, did not continue to take a step, remaining silent throughout, while a wave of almost overflowing grief rushed all the way into Leon's heart along their tightly clasped palms.

"Auntie Auntie Ai Ma, my daughter..."

Along with that grief that almost made his heart split in two, Leon only felt his ears ache slightly, and a call filled with sorrow, slight resentment, yet full of worry and reluctance, trembled its way into his eardrums.

"Six years... have you been doing well?"

(End of chapter)