Shrouded Seascape

"However, he was a good and responsible father. Whenever we made mistakes, he would never resort to crude corporal punishment like my classmates' fathers.

"Instead, he would bring himself down to our level and explain our mistake to us. He would tell us why it was a mistake in the first place, and then he would tell us what to do so that we wouldn't repeat the same mistake.

"Most adults are very concerned about their reputation, and I am not an exception to that. However, my dad is different. When I was just five years old, I remember asking my father about why our family was too poor to afford meat while my classmates could eat meat every day.

"At the time, he sounded apologetic as he said, 'Zhiming, I'm sorry. It's all Daddy's fault, but I'm going to work very hard to earn lots of money so that my good son can eat meat every day.'

"Don't you think he's a great father? I'm the complete opposite to him. I'm neither a good nor a responsible father. I have no idea why I didn't inherit my dad's trait as a good father."

005 listened quietly, showing no intentions to express her opinion.

"My mother was a traditional middle-aged woman. She liked to gossip with the neighbors, and she enjoyed studying recipes. She also loved pulling us out of bed by our ears using her cold hands, even during weekends, which was when my sister and I had spare time.

"She loved us unconditionally, and her love for us was sincere, although she often shows it in the most subtle of ways. An example of it was this one time when I was too young to have my own money that I could use to buy some KFC.

"Back then, every foreign food was extremely expensive, but she secretly saved up some money, and when it was enough for us to eat KFC, she brought us out and bought me and my sister two burgers to eat.

"Her love for us was subtle, but I always knew that if we ever encountered any major issues, she'd step forward to lend us a hand."

"And my sister—my beloved younger sister." Charles chuckled silently to himself before saying, "When we were still very young, we would sleep in the same bed, but her sleeping posture was simply egregious. She'd occupy the majority of the bed, squeezing me into the wall."

"When we grew a bit older, she'd often bully me and make me cry. We fought over everything—food, toys, and even about who would get to lie down in Mom's arms.

"Believe it or not, but the first sentence I learned was 'Sister is a meanie.'

"We've been fighting since we were young, and we've never been willing to give in to the other, but family is still family, after all, so whenever I get into fights at school, she'd rush over to help me without hesitation with her bag slung over one shoulder.

"Once we're back home, we'd work together to make up lies for Mom to believe in.

"Whenever she's sad and is crying, I'll always go and tease her until she's furious because I know that once she's angry enough to hit me, she must no longer be upset."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"The two of us are always fighting and bickering. I guess you can say that we dislike each other. However, it was precisely because of our squabbles that our home was so lively."

"My family is like that, and they are my unforgettable yearning.

"If it hadn't been for them, I wouldn't have had such a perfect childhood. My life as a teenager wouldn't have been as great as well. They are the reason why I wanted to return to the surface world.

"I've never really talked about them with other people; I've only ever talked about them with you," Charles remarked.

005, listening intently in silence, finally nodded. "And the last one—your sweet love."

The three words for "my sweet love" were carved below the words "my unforgettable yearning." The three sentences were neatly arranged on the table in their own row.

"Love..." Charles pondered over the word that sounded wrong coming out of his mouth. "Perhaps I had a sweet love with Sparkle's mother, but I had already forgotten about her. Fortunately, I have other women in the Subterranean Sea."

Charles fell into deep contemplation as he reminisced about the distant past.

"The first time I met Margaret was on the deck of the Narwhale. At the time, she was a slave. When I learned that she was a governor's daughter, the first thing that came to my mind was to use her to blackmail that governor.

"Now that I think about it, I really was a straight shooter. She likes me. I don't know when it started, and I also don't know the reason why she likes someone like me, who has a penchant for throwing caution to the wind.

"Afterward, we never met each other until I became lunatic. She found me in a pile of garbage, and she nursed me until I recovered. She even helped me contact my crew.

"There are some gaps in my memories. I forgot what exactly had happened at the time. I can't remember anything other than the fact that it's missing from my memories.

"Anyway, it was only when I discovered the things she had done for me behind the scenes that I realized what I had lost. I tried to make it up to her, but I think I already had a wife at the time, and she had also changed drastically.

"In the end, we parted ways.

"Many things happened in between, and she eventually sought me out when I was already like this. I could no longer be with her, but we both found closure."

"That won't do," 005 chimed in.

Charles looked over at her and asked, "What?"

"I asked for a sweet love, but that isn't sweet at all. It tastes very bitter."

Charles was at a loss for words on what to do next. Truth be told, he wasn't exactly a veteran when it came to love. Elizabeth wouldn't work. She loved him, but she also loved the beauties in her harem.

The love between them wasn't sweet at all.

"Are you sure I even have a sweet love at all? I feel like I already told you everything that I've been through," Charles asked.

005 shook her head. "Those three are unnecessary. If even one is missing, then our deal is void."

Charles found himself between a rock and a hard place just then. He racked his brain for a long time before finally finding something.

"I remember Lily was on the verge of death at the time, and to fulfill her dying wish, I pretended to be her boyfriend. I went shopping with her, I dined with her, and we ended up kissing in the end." Charles paused, thinking that 005 would say that this short memory fragment was unacceptable, but he was mistaken.

"Mmhm, I can taste it. That's a good love. It's definitely sweet," 005 said. Then, she started stroking the little cat in her arms.

The Feaster opened its mouth and spat out a white ball.

005 caught the white ball and said, "Speak your wish to it once you're ready."

005 floated over and placed the white ball on the table in front of Charles.

Charles flicked his hand, and the white ball instantly arrived in his palm. He revealed a gratified smile as he stared at the white ball. The white ball in his hand was equivalent to a contingency plan.

005's hand wrapped in black bandages swiped across the table, and the three rows of sentences carved on it vanished into thin air. The next second, the three stories that Charles had just told her began to disappear rapidly.

It wasn't just a simple deletion; it was a complete erasure.

Charles wasn't surprised by the sight. A wish from 005 couldn't be obtained by simply telling her stories. There had to be something more than what met the eye, and 005 had "seized" those three stories from Charles in exchange for a wish.