From the end of the world

Chapter 608 Meeting the Parents 2
Ma Zao's parents welcomed us into the bakery.

To be precise, the only one who was truly welcomed was Mazao, and I was not. Which decent parents would have a good first impression of the strange adult boyfriend brought home by their young daughter, and this couple was no exception. Mazao's father looked me up and down as if he were examining a criminal, and Mazao's mother hugged her daughter tightly in her arms as if protecting her.

Ma Zao raised his head and looked at his mother in trouble, then looked at me, as if he wanted to get closer to me, but he didn't know how to break free from his mother's arms.

The second floor of the bakery seemed to be the family's living space, while the first floor business area had a small dining area, which was now temporarily used as a living room. We sat down here. Ma Zao's father sat opposite me, while Ma Zao's mother sat at the next table holding Ma Zao.

"Then, please explain in detail what you just said." Ma Zao's father asked seriously, "and...what happened to our daughter."

Ma Zao's father - from now on, let's just call him "Ma's father", and Ma Zao's mother will be called the same way.

In the eyes of young people like me who are in their teens and twenties, men over 30 can be called middle-aged uncles. But in a more formal definition, people over 40 or 45 are considered to be in the middle-aged stage. Although Ma's father is Ma Zao's father, his age is still a little short of middle age, and his face does not show signs of fatigue.

It was obvious that he had a habit of exercising and fitness. He looked healthy, his hair was thick, and his skin showed no obvious signs of sagging. His eyes were bright and sharp when he frowned and stared at others. If I hadn't known in advance that he was a middle-level leader of a construction company in Xianshui City, I might have mistaken him for someone who worked in law enforcement.

Judging from the way Ma's father asked questions, it is very likely that he is not completely ignorant of me. Since Zhu Shi had formally communicated with them about Ma Zao in advance, he should have told them about my existence. However, compared to second-hand information, this couple probably wants to get the first-hand truth from Ma Zao and me.

Then, I told them openly about the relationship between Ma Zao and me.

Although I consider myself as Mazao's lover, according to the agreement between me and Mazao in the past, we are only in a preparatory relationship until Mazao really grows up. It's weird to say that we are still in a preparatory relationship even though we even sleep together. This verbal statement does not prevent me from hugging and kissing Mazao like I do to Zhu Shi, and it does not even prevent us from doing further things. Looking back, it seems that it is already a contract in name only.

While I was explaining, Ma Zao was also there to help. At first, she was just supplementing, but gradually, she became the main narrator. Compared to me, Ma Zao's parents obviously trusted their daughter more and wanted to hear her talk more. But gradually, they became a little hard to trust.

It's not that they didn't believe what Ma Zao said, but because when Ma Zao introduced me in detail, his face gradually showed a happy mood. In the eyes of the couple, this scene was probably like their naive and lovely daughter was deceived by a mysterious young man in society, but she fell in love with him and spoke well of him.

Ma Zao's explanation was from her own perspective. From her perspective, I was the kind person who took her back to heal her when she was seriously injured and lonely, and then helped her with all my efforts. Although she discovered that I had sinister intentions to take advantage of her special physique, she is now in love with me and we are now in a relationship of sharing weal and woe - at first glance, it seems that there will really be no gap between me and her in the future.

It is very likely that she did not say this with the subjective intention of speaking well of me, but she believed it sincerely.

Ma's father had rich social experience and did not seem to be confused by these subjective and emotional words. He frequently looked at me with suspicion while Ma Zao was speaking, and continued to ask Ma Zao questions.

"...According to what you just said, you are now a person with super powers, right?" Father Ma asked cautiously, "Can we see your super powers with our own eyes?"

Such a question was naturally not difficult to answer. Ma Zao left his mother's arms, stood up, summoned a phantom kukri, and chopped the nearby table into pieces as if it were tofu, and then used the power of return to restore it to an intact state.

Although they were probably mentally prepared, when they saw that their seemingly weak and helpless daughter could actually do such a thing, both husband and wife showed expressions that were difficult to digest, as if they were suddenly thrown from reality into a magical fantasy world.

"Sure enough...actually..." Father Ma said in shock.

Ma sat next to me early.

After a while, when he had finished asking questions about me, Ma's father began to ask about Ma Zao's experiences before I met him. Although Ma Zao had lost more than 90% of his memory about the "doomsday era", he still had a lot to answer.

She can now speak calmly about those tragic memories that once caused her pain and kept her tossing and turning like nightmares. On the contrary, Ma's mother couldn't help crying again after listening for a while, and it seemed that it was becoming increasingly difficult for Ma's father to ask.

Compared with those horrific experiences that often involve life and death, or even worse than death, any rich social experience will pale in comparison. As a father, Mr. Ma obviously has a strong sense of responsibility to protect his daughter from the wind and rain, and every time his daughter tells of a bloody and horrific experience that she was not present at, it is equivalent to cutting off a large piece of flesh and blood from his dignity as a father.

However, if he avoided asking his daughter, it would be even more humiliating. He could only force himself to continue asking his daughter questions and silently endure the torture from his heart. In the end, he could no longer put on the airs of a father, his eyes dimmed, and his body exuded a dejected smell.

He was still trying to hold on, but this level of cover-up could not hide it from Ma Zao's eyes. Gradually, Ma Zao also found it difficult to answer and looked at his father worriedly.

Under this worry, there is also a sense of confusion. Even though she knows that the "strange man" in front of her is her father, Ma Zao has no relevant memories and may find it difficult to have a sense of reality.

At the same time, perhaps because of the unfamiliar tone of Ma Zao's voice, Ma's mother seemed a little confused. The last time the couple communicated with their daughter was when she was ten years old. Ma Zao's way of speaking at that time was probably quite different from that of Ma Zao now. In addition, in order to explain her experience, Ma Zao now has to use some words that are difficult for ordinary people to understand, which further exacerbates the gap.

Everything seemed to indicate that Ma had long been a character from a different world from them. Ma's father glanced at the bakery window. There were few passers-by outside, and the atmosphere of social unrest caused by the frequent occurrence of strange events seemed to be able to float into the room through the window.

He looked at Ma Zao, who was fidgeting, and showed a somewhat lonely expression.

"When are you planning to leave?" he asked suddenly.

Ma's mother was startled and said, "You...what are you suddenly talking about? Of course Ma Zao wants to stay!"

"Uh, but..." Ma Zao obviously wanted to raise an objection.

"They are not petty citizens like us who can't take care of themselves. They are going to save the world. How can they accommodate those trivial family relationships?" said Ma's father.

"What weird things are you saying..." Ma's mother showed an anxious expression, "Right...right! You guys should stay for dinner, don't leave so soon..."

"It's just past noon and you're already talking about dinner?" asked Ma's father.

Ma's mother argued: "It's not easy for the family of three to be reunited, we should at least have a reunion dinner!"

Of course, no one could deny such a request, and Ma's father did not object. Ma Zao and I stayed for the time being. During this time, Ma's mother took Ma Zao to the second floor and started a conversation between mother and daughter.

The floor is not very soundproof, and you can hear them talking about Ma Zao's childhood. Ma Zao's mother seems to be trying her best to awaken Ma Zao's past memories, trying to persuade Ma Zao to stay during this period of time. However, just as Ma Zao's father has become a stranger to Ma Zao, so has Ma Zao's mother. Ma Zao can't resist the feelings from her parents, but if she wants to use this feeling to persuade Ma Zao to withdraw her mind from the mission of saving the world and just accompany her parents as a lovely daughter, it is impossible.

The time for the reunion dinner was repeatedly delayed. During the meal, Ma's father acted as if he could not hear anything and did not communicate with me. It was not until eight o'clock in the evening that I saw the mother and daughter coming down from the second floor. Ma's mother entered the kitchen with a sad and haggard expression, while Ma Zao looked at the other's back with an apologetic look, and then returned to my side.

"Zhuang Cheng... Am I an unfilial daughter?" she suddenly asked.

I didn't know how to respond, but then again, she didn't really seem to be seeking an answer from me.

It was really strange. She wanted to save the world, and I hoped for the end of the world. We had completely opposite goals, and it seemed that we had both become the so-called unfilial children.

After dinner, Ma's mother seemed to want to keep Ma Zao. Ma's father left the table first, and as he stood up, he gave me a look. I followed him out and saw him at the back door.

"...Thank you." He looked at the dark sky and said, "When Ma Zao was dying, you saved her life. Later, when her life was threatened, you saved him again. As Ma Zao's father, I sincerely thank you."

“That’s what I should do,” I said.

"From the perspective of society, my daughter is still too young," he said. "She should continue to receive compulsory education, go to school properly, make friends with people of the same age, and do things that are appropriate for her age.

"But I am no longer qualified to dictate my daughter's life. I was not by her side when she needed help the most. But now, after countless painful struggles, she has finally established her own circle and has her own independent thoughts and life. She has grown her own wings and is qualified to decide what to do and what not to do.

"So, I will try my best to respect her will and decision. But..."

"Just?" I asked.

He turned to look at me, his eyes becoming fierce again.

"As a father, I still cannot agree that Ma Zao is with an evil guy like you. Although I can't stop my daughter's choice, it doesn't mean that I will allow anything."

As he spoke, his voice showed an undisguised fierceness, and he threatened me, "So, remember this, if you do anything bad to Ma Zao in the future, I will never let you go!"

(End of this chapter)