But just as this sense of panic and unease was brewing, almost causing Henry Bennett's anxiety to flare up again, a voice suddenly sounded from behind.

Henry Bennett turned around in surprise and saw Grace Cooper wearing a white shirt and jeans. She had on a white baseball cap, was carrying a box of bird’s nest, and smiled as she looked into the yard.

His mood instantly relaxed, as if he had seen a savior.

"This..."

Before Henry Bennett could say anything in lingering fear, "Mom," who had just walked out of the yard, also looked clearly stunned.

The hatred and resentment on her face quickly faded in a very short time, as if she had changed into a different person.

First she looked a bit confused, then a little pleasantly surprised as she said to Henry Bennett, "This child is..."

Before Henry Bennett could answer, Grace Cooper had already brushed past him, smiling and greeting, "Hello, Auntie, my name is Grace Cooper, I'm Henry Bennett's high school classmate."

"Oh, hello, hello..."

Mom was obviously a bit flustered, hurriedly inviting Grace Cooper in: "Come in and have a seat, child. Look, Henry Bennett didn't even tell me you were coming, the house is such a mess..."

"Auntie, you don't have to be so polite, just some water is fine..."

"......"

Henry Bennett was almost in a daze, watching Grace Cooper and Mom walk into the house, just like a real old classmate coming over for a visit.

And at this moment, Mom was acting nothing like the demon she should have been. She warmly invited Grace Cooper to sit down, then went to her room to change out of her work clothes, even seemed to have combed her hair, and after chatting for a bit, enthusiastically invited Grace Cooper to stay for dinner. Henry Bennett watched as she pushed him into the room to keep Grace Cooper company, then happily went out to buy groceries. The contrast in all this felt so strong it was unreal.

"Xiao's mom, going out to buy groceries now?"

"Yes, since my child's classmate is here, I want to make something nice."

"Oh, is she here for Henry Bennett? Such a pretty girl..."

"Yes, Henry Bennett's high school classmate. This kid, has a girl classmate come over and doesn't even tell me, I didn't have time to prepare anything."

"......"

From far outside the yard, Mom's voice could be heard chatting with the neighbors. Henry Bennett sat on the sofa, feeling it was all a bit absurd.

"What is she doing?"

"......"

"Parents always care about their children's dating, don't they?"

There was a mysterious smile on Grace Cooper's face as she sat quietly on the sofa and said softly, "Especially since, it seems you don't have many friends?"

Henry Bennett felt it was absurd. "But..."

"I told you, they act just like normal people most of the time. Before malice strikes, they always faithfully play their roles."

Grace Cooper smiled at Henry Bennett and said, "And learning to get along with them is your first lesson. We have to learn to find what's real between each other, and also learn to adapt to the world's falsehoods."

"Otherwise, you'll live in pain."

"There was once one of us who couldn't stand such falseness and chose self-destruction. I don't want you to follow his path."

"......"

Henry Bennett fell silent. He still couldn't understand all this, but he made sure to remember her words.

"Also..."

Grace Cooper suddenly seemed a bit curious, her gaze gently falling on Henry Bennett: "I'm actually quite curious too—if I hadn't shown up just in time, what would you have done?"

"What would I have done?"

Henry Bennett thought of the scene just now, facing "Mom" alone at the gate, and quietly looked into Grace Cooper's eyes.

After a long while, he said in a low voice, "Of course I would have turned and run..."

"Oh?"

Grace Cooper raised her eyebrows and said, "But she was about to turn into a monster and devour you..."

"But she still looks like my mom..."

Henry Bennett didn't know why Grace Cooper was asking these things. He just rubbed his face tiredly and said, "Other than running away, what else could I do?"

Grace Cooper didn't answer, but her expression seemed much more relaxed.

……

……

Henry Bennett had originally thought that when he saw Grace Cooper again, he would be able to quickly ask all the questions in his heart.

But unexpectedly, this time she really acted like an old classmate visiting, and stayed for dinner. Mom made a table full of delicious food—braised pork, spicy fish, and even mysteriously took out a bottle of supposedly high-end red wine from her cabinet. Grace Cooper was polite and gentle, chatting with her and patiently handling Mom's probing questions about her family background...

He himself ended up acting like the outsider.

But, Henry Bennett hadn't eaten all day and was indeed hungry. Seeing Grace Cooper eating without worry, he didn't hold back either.

Honestly, after eating here for so many years, if there were going to be problems, they would have happened long ago. Not eating all day was really just a side effect of yesterday's fright.

After dinner, Grace Cooper chatted with Mom for a while longer before politely saying she needed to go, and asked Henry Bennett to walk her out.

"Go."

Mom pointed outside, looking as if she wished he wouldn't come back tonight: "Walk Xiao Yang home. It's not safe at night."

To this, Grace Cooper could only respond a bit awkwardly, "Just call me Jiajia."

……

……

Under the cold streetlights, Henry Bennett instinctively pulled his hood over his head again, and he and Grace Cooper walked together, their shadows stretching long.