Collapse? No, this is just everyday life.

"Well, I forgive you."

Theresa wanted to crouch down to check on him, but to her surprise, he stood up straight, showing no signs of pain, and put his arm around her shoulder, laughing as he spoke.

"You, you... never mind."

She glanced helplessly at Nangong Yu, and he continued, "Since we're all good friends, can Theresa do me a favor?"

"Tell me, I'll help if I can."

Although she was both annoyed and amused by his antics earlier, she genuinely considered Nangong Yu a friend. They had known each other for so long and were already very familiar with each other.

"Ahem, well, how's Yuexia doing? Weren't we supposed to recover in a year at most? It's been so long already, and I wanted to visit her at the Heavenly Mandate headquarters, but Yuexia kept making excuses..."

Seeing his puzzled look, Theresa raised an eyebrow. Remembering how she had been teased earlier, she rolled her eyes and prepared to retaliate: "Of course! Before, Yuexia only had you by her side and had no other choice. Now that she's finally out in the world, of course she's blinded by all the temptations!"

"Is that right?"

Nangong Yu sighed, then took out her phone and said firmly, "Since that's the case, I'll just talk to Yuexia directly. You're right, Yuexia has the right to choose for herself, and I won't bother her anymore."

Theresa was feeling a little smug when she saw Nangong Yu's somewhat bitter expression, but she was immediately startled when she heard what he said.

"Wait, stop!!!"

Theresa snatched his phone away and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the chat box on the screen was still empty.

"What's wrong?" Nangong Yu asked, feigning confusion.

"you!!"

Are you trying to ruin my relationship with my sister?!

She almost choked on her own breath, then gritted her teeth and said, "Why are you being so straightforward now?!"

Theresa is still a little scared.

Because of her physical condition, Yuexia had been spending a long time alone in the nutrient tank, and her mental state was already not quite right. She was really afraid that Nangong Yu would suddenly send out that sentence and trigger Yuexia, and who knows what problems might arise then.

Thinking of this, Theresa added, "You absolutely, positively, must not say such things to Yuexia, understand?!"

"But you just said..."

"I didn't say that!! Don't tell Yuexia, okay?!" Theresa was starting to lose her composure.

"Okay then~"

Seeing his smiling face, Theresa pursed her lips: "I can't say much about Yuexia's current situation. Just know that she's alright. As for the meeting... I don't know the exact time, but it shouldn't be too far off... right?"

Recalling what she looked like under the moonlight, Theresa said in a strange tone.

"As long as everyone is alright, that's all that matters." Nangong Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

On the other side, Kiana and Sirin finally stopped sobbing, and when they looked up, their eyes were still red.

"Honestly, they're both grown women, why are they still crying? Weren't they quite happy when they left home to study at St. Freya?"

Cecilia gently comforted them, wiping away their tears with her fingers.

"This, this is different..."

St. Freya has arrived home after a two-hour drive, but now she's heading to Mu Continent, which is separated from her home by a vast ocean. The feelings she has are quite different.

This is like the difference between going to university and studying abroad; they're not the same thing.

"Alright, alright, I'll come see you with Cecilia when I have time."

Seeing this, Theresa sent Nangong Yu away and wanted to go over and pat her nieces on the shoulder, but suddenly realized that she couldn't reach them, so she could only pat her nieces on the waist.

"Yes, Auntie, you should come often too, I'll definitely miss you!"

"Do not worry!"

Theresa patted her chest and assured them.

At this moment, Siegfried walked up and, seeing their expressions as if they were about to never see each other again, scratched his head in confusion and said, "Aren't we supposed to go to Mu Continent next week? Bianca is there too, so we should be able to have New Year's Eve dinner together. Has the plan changed?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the air suddenly froze.

Kiana, Sirin: "?"

Their eyes were still glistening with tears as they looked up in astonishment.

The result was Cecilia sticking out her tongue in an adorable way: "Sorry, Kiana, Sirin, you two were just so cute, so I..."

With her beautiful eyes blinking, the words she spoke made Kiana and Sirin feel a tightness in their chests.

After what seemed like an eternity, Kiana, her face flushed, finally managed to utter, "Is watching my daughter cry really that interesting?!"

Cecilia smiled and nodded, while the Kiana sisters' vision went black.

The two exchanged a glance, then turned and walked towards the main group without looking back. Seeing this, Cecilia happily called out, "See you next week, Kiana, Sirin~"

Their pace quickened.

In the most crowded spot, Mei was saying goodbye to everyone.

"Seele, have a safe journey." Standing before Seele, Mei sincerely wished her a safe trip.

"Yes, Mei too. I wish Mei and her father a speedy recovery from this difficult time," Seele replied with a smile.

Hearing this, Bronya's expression darkened slightly.

"After you go to Mu Continent, you'll probably have to trouble you with things back home a lot, Seele. I don't need to say much about Rain, since you probably know more about it than I do. I'll just talk about Kiana. I'm a little worried about her being alone. She always likes to sneak snacks before meals and then not eat properly, and sometimes she also sneaks a midnight snack before bed. Late-night snacks are okay, but it's best to make them low-sugar. If Kiana comes to chat with you while hugging her pillow at night, don't be surprised, she likes..."

"..."

Seele blinked and looked at Kiana, who had just walked up behind Mei.

Mei hadn't yet noticed Kiana's return and was still rambling on, causing Kiana, who had just walked over, to freeze in place, her face quickly turning bright red with embarrassment.

"No, stop talking!!"

Seeing that Mei still hadn't stopped, Kiana quickly rushed over and pulled Mei away, saying...

Sensing the person beside her, Mei glanced at Kiana indifferently, then spoke sternly: "You listen too!"

"what?"

Then, she looked at Seele again: "And..."

Kiana felt like her underwear was about to be stripped off. She had just been angered by her mother, and now she was about to be publicly exposed. All she wanted to do was find a place to bury herself.

After a while, Mei finally finished giving her instructions, then looked at Bronya with a smile and said, "Bronya, we should be the first people to meet, right...?"

As they said goodbye one by one, they discovered that Mei seemed to know their lifestyles and physical conditions better than they did themselves, and the various pieces of advice and suggestions she offered moved them deeply.

Finally, it was Nangong Yu's turn.

"Me too?" Nangong Yu pointed to herself and looked at Mei in front of her with a smile.

"What you said really hurt me."

With a gentle smile still on her face, Mei made a rare joke.

The wind at the airport ruffled her hair, forcing her to raise her hand to gather her flowing locks. But just then, the hat she was wearing was blown off.

Before she could even cry out in surprise, a hand, as if anticipating her arrival, reached for the hat and pressed it back onto Mei's head.

"It's a bit windy today," Nangong Yu's voice came from above the brim of her hat.

"Um, thank you." Feeling the body getting closer and the strange sensation of her head being pressed down, Mei quickly took a small step back and thanked them softly.

"Is there anything you'd like to remind me of?" Nangong Yu asked with a smile upon seeing this.

"Well....."

Mei glanced at his waist subconsciously, then looked away hesitantly and said, "Then, take care of yourself?"

"......"

"Pfft~"

The girls blushed and laughed together.

Half an hour passed quietly, and it was finally time to say goodbye.

As she watched the group board the plane and the cabin door slowly close, Mei suddenly felt a void in her heart, a deep sadness welled up inside her, and her vision blurred.

After this parting, I don't know when we will meet again.

Just then, Kiana's head appeared on the plane window, and she smiled and waved down.

Mei quickly wiped her eyes, then stood with Theresa, Cecilia, and Siegfried, waving goodbye to the crowd.

Soon, the engine roared to life, and the plane slowly began to move, eventually heading towards the runway and quickly soaring into the sky, disappearing into a tiny, indistinct dot.

Mei only looked away when the tiny dot disappeared into the clouds and could no longer be seen.

"I'll leave first."

Seeing that Theresa and the other two were planning to get together again, Mei gave a soft greeting and turned to leave.

However, when she turned around, the smile on her face finally couldn't be maintained.

After taking the car home, Mei stood at her front door, took a few deep breaths, patted her cheeks, and then looked in the mirror to make sure she couldn't see anything before finally unlocking the door with her key.

"I'm back, father."

Looking at Raiden Ryoma sitting in the living room organizing documents, Mei spoke softly.

"Mei's back."

Seeing his daughter, Raiden Ryoma's eyes softened, and he smiled and waved to her.

"Mei, come here for a second. There's something I might need your help with."

Mei changed her shoes and hurriedly walked towards her father's seat.

"What's wrong? Is it something to do at work?"

"Well, it should be considered a good thing."

As he spoke, he handed over the documents in his hand.

"The company has improved recently, but there are still some shortcomings. So, with the efforts of me and your uncles, we have finally opened up some markets in other places. Here is the information about the part of the company that I need to be responsible for."

Flipping through the documents in her hand, Mei asked softly, "Should I go and negotiate with them?"

"Yes."