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After hearing Lu Mian's nostalgia, little Kallen tilted her head, looking confused.

She had never truly left home and couldn't grasp the depth of Lu Mian's emotions.

But that didn't stop her from trying to comfort him.

"Here you go."

Saying that, the girl took something out of her pocket and stuffed it into the young man's hand.

Lu Mian opened his palm and found a single piece of candy wrapped in shiny paper.

A handful of soil from home. A piece of candy from afar.

Indeed... quite meaningful.

He reached out and pinched Kallen's soft, delicate cheek, joking:

"Bringing me back the candy *I* gave you to cheer *me* up. Isn't that a bit much?"

"Haha, I saved it on purpose," Kallen, unembarrassed despite being exposed, popped another candy into her mouth. "You said once, 'Everything's fine after eating sugar,' right?"

She smiled sweetly, as if even sweeter because of the sugar.

Lu Mian stared at her and couldn't help but laugh silently.

Silly girl… I was just making that up. Actually, this is the first time someone's ever given me candy.

In the end, Lu Mian couldn't bring himself to refuse her kind gesture and placed the candy into his mouth.

Sweet. So sweet, almost as sweet as her smile.

He carefully tucked the wrapper away, quietly savoring the taste as he glanced sideways at Kallen, something stirring in his heart.

Until now, even though he cared for both children, there was always a clear bias toward little Otto.

But in this moment… that bias began to waver.

Maybe… maybe he should also try to guide little Kallen…

Beneath the tree, little Otto sat silently in the shadows, his expression calm.

He leaned back, fingers stroking the wheelchair handle, listening carefully to the entire exchange above.

Then, slowly, he nodded — as if reaching some decision.

[After eating Kallen's candy, your fondness for her increased.]

[You start seriously considering guiding and nurturing Kallen too.]

[This idea lingers until the next day.]

[Just when you were thinking of how to hold Otto in one arm and Kallen in the other, the two little ones came running toward you.]

[They said they'd prepared a surprise — and that you're not allowed to follow them for a while.]

[Huh?]

**July 4**: Started this new diary to track my personal journey with this bit of free time. First goal: finish a classic novel. ...

**July 5**: Second day alone… really miss Otto and Kallen.

**July 6**: Third day alone… still miss Otto and Kallen.

**July 7**: Lu Mian, get a grip! You have solo time and you're *not* improving yourself? What the hell!

**July 9**: Sixth day of free time. I miss Otto and Kallen so much it's driving me crazy.

[...]

They used to be with you every day. You're just not used to being alone.

Because if you're not thinking of them… all that's left are your real-life regrets.

As for using this time to secretly stir up European geopolitics or something...

If you had that kind of talent, your past life wouldn't have been so miserable. You'd have made it past eighteen in your own hometown.

And so, after days of torment, it finally ends.

At noon, Lu Mian held his absurd little diary, contemplating the most dignified way to destroy it.

Just then, Otto and Kallen arrived together.

Kallen pushed Otto in his wheelchair, while Otto held something covered in red cloth.

Apparently, this was the "surprise."

Lu Mian paused, hurriedly putting the diary away. "Cough, cough… this the surprise you two prepared?"

"Yup, we worked on it together for a long time." Otto.

"Yup, I helped a lot too. Hurry, open it! You'll be shocked." Kallen.

Though Kallen only passed tools and hung around aimlessly during the project, Otto still acknowledged it as their *joint* work.

So "worked together" and "helped a lot" weren't wrong either.

Lu Mian, who had never received a gift before, bit his lip.

His heart pounded. Was it anticipation? Joy? Or both?

He reached out, pulled back the red cloth.

What lay underneath was a snow globe, held steadily in Otto's little hands.

Clear glass sphere. Mahogany base. Silent and still on Otto's lap.

Lu Mian had guessed at their surprise… but he hadn't expected this.

He stared at the tiny scene inside the snow globe — ancient structures curling along a mountainous ridge.

The Great Wall...

In that moment, your ears stopped hearing. Your mouth stopped speaking. Your eyes had already said enough.

You don't long for home. But you were born there. Raised there. Ate its food and drank its water for eighteen years.

That place built you. And while you don't miss it… if you could choose, you'd die and be buried there without regret.

There's nowhere in the world that can compare.

To be honest, you never left your tiny backwater town in your past life. You never even saw the Great Wall in person.

But there's no need to anymore.

You ran your fingers across the glass, gently touching the snow globe — as if touching the Great Wall itself, and the love infused in this fragile sphere.

After a long silence, you carefully set the snow globe aside — and hugged Otto and Kallen tightly, one in each arm.

Only then did your shoulders begin to shake uncontrollably.

When your dad died, you didn't cry. When your mom left with another man, you didn't cry. Not even when your grandparents passed away after your college exams.

Not because you're cold. You just believed grief was something to carry alone, not something to cry about. You thought real survivors don't sob — they move forward.

You resisted expressing your sorrow. You took it all alone.

Just like you clenched your teeth through cramps and pain until they creaked.

But this—this was the exception.

You couldn't hold it back anymore.

You've been here for so long. You've spent time with Otto and Kallen.

But only today… do you *truly* feel like you belong to this world.

No matter which world is real—your place is here now.

And if someone asks about your hometown again… you'll say:

"This is where my heart is at peace."

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