"Joey..."
"Double bed..."
"Pickled olives..."
"Transformer storybook..."
"So that's it..."
"So that's it!"
Mo Zhi repeated his words endlessly, his heart so shaken he couldn't calm down.
The thick fog dispersed, and all the previous doubts about John were reasonably explained.
John had a brother named Joey.
Joey liked pickled olives.
Joey liked watching Transformer books and dreamed of becoming a writer.
His mother's love for Joey surpassed her love for John.
Joey died in an accident when John was young, and John witnessed it all.
Perhaps it was to help him escape the shadow of his brother's death.
Or perhaps it was John's mother's loneliness and longing for Joey. She gave John a large dose of beta-blockers.
She treated John as Joey and cared for him.
This is why John "liked" pickled olives but couldn't stand their taste.
He liked watching Transformers but they were left in a dusty corner of the garage.
As the mysteries were gradually revealed, everyone's feelings couldn't be described as mere shock; yet, a greater confusion was also forming.
What was the connection between this and Xiao Xi folding paper rabbits?
There was still a bit of a lead on the timeline.
Without a moment's delay, Mo Zhi collected the last memory fragment and made a final time jump—
It was a carnival party.
John stood in front of a stall and said loudly, "I don't want that ugly doll, I want that little train!"
His mother: "That's the last one, can you give it to Joey? Can I have the teddy bear as your prize?"
"No! I want the little train!"
"Hey, hey, can you stop being so unreasonable? Joey earned that with his own skill."
At this moment, Joey stepped forward to comfort John: "It's okay, we can play together."
After comforting John,
The three of them had a meal together. It was mentioned again that Joey had a particular fondness for pickled olives, and he invited John to try them.
John ate one and immediately spat it out, saying he couldn't eat it.
He was also sulking because of the little train.
After sitting for a while, he said he wanted to go out and play.
After getting permission, he hopped away merrily.
At this time, the carnival street was bustling with people, the lights were bright, and the sky was gradually darkening.
Mo Zhi immediately controlled the NPC to follow.
John ran a long distance and arrived at a deserted hilltop.
He sat on a log, with the prize bag he had just won at the carnival placed beside him.
John gazed at the star-filled sky, lost in thought.
After a while,
Rustle rustle—
Light footsteps approached.
John looked in the direction of the sound...
A little girl was walking by.
She had shoulder-length, striking orange hair.
Xiao Xi!?
Although he had guessed, when the person actually appeared, Mo Zhi was still astonished, covering his wide-open mouth and trembling uncontrollably.
Especially seeing Xiao Xi's short hair, it seemed to remind him of something...
"Hello..." John greeted enthusiastically.
Seeing her spot occupied by a stranger, Xiao Xi turned to leave.
"Wait, don't go!"
John anxiously chased after her, "I'm Johnny... What's your name?"
"You're in my spot."
"Your spot?" John was a little surprised, and he repeatedly apologized, "Sorry, I didn't mean to take it all to myself."
He boldly invited Xiao Xi, "Uh... would you like to sit with me?"
Mo Zhi watched the scene with an aunt-like smile.
Little brother is really good at flirting, sitting together to watch the stars is truly impressive!
Xiao Xi softly asked, "Are you here to watch the stars?"
Even as a child, Xiao Xi exhibited a calm and serene aura that evoked affection.
"Are you too?"
Xiao Xi nodded in affirmation.
The two children, whose destinies were intertwined, sat side-by-side on the log, the starry sky above, and silence all around.
The bgm—onceuponmemory—began playing, escalating the atmosphere to a climax.
"Look there—"
Little John pointed to the distant starry sky, "Do you know? There are countless lamps in the sky."
"Mm."
"You just said this was your spot, do you come here often?"
"I only come during the carnival."
"You don't like crowded places... I don't either," Little John asked, "You still haven't told me your name."
"I won't tell you," Xiao Xi's voice lowered as if recalling something sad, "...People at school mock me for it."
"Why?"
"They say my name reminds them of bad things."
"It can't be worse than John, that's such a common name."
"What's the point of having a name that everyone has? I also want a normal name, to be like ordinary people..."
Splat!
The autistic viewer off-screen couldn't stop his tears from falling.
For them, 'ordinary' was such a precious word.
Mo Zhi remained silent, his eyes slightly red, quietly watching the two chat under the stars.
"That's so boring," the young and naive John, oblivious to the girl's feelings, said carefree, "What's the point if everyone has it?"
"I don't mind," Xiao Xi said with infinite longing in her eyes, "Even just once... I wish I had a name like everyone else, like the stars in the sky."
"From here, they all look similar, but that doesn't diminish their beauty."
"I think so too," John replied.
"What do you think those stars are?"
"My dad says they are giant spheres burning their internal gases."
"Have you tried... making a Mid-Autumn Festival rabbit with stars?"
"Like finding constellations in the sky?"
"Mm."
"Do you think there's a Rabbit constellation in the sky?"
"I don't know, let's look, we'll surely find the best rabbit constellation," Little John stretched out his finger, "On the count of three, let's see who finds it first!"
"Three, two, one, go..."
"I found it!" Xiao Xi looked towards the center of the starry sky, "In the sky, bigger than the others."
"I can't find it... Wait!"
"I see it!!"
"Tell me what you see?" she asked seriously.
Little John excitedly pointed to the stars above the moon, "There, right?? Those are two ears and a head!"
"Anything else?"
"And there... those are two legs."
"That's right, anything else?"
"And... and the moon!!" John said volubly, "The moon is its round belly."
As soon as he said this, everyone lost their composure!
A heavy stone seemed to lodge in Mo Zhi's heart, his nose stinging, tears welling up in his eyes.
She kept tilting her head back, trying to stop the tears from falling.
But,
Memories after memories surfaced—