He did not know why, but no matter how tough or desperate the situation was, he was not one who would shed a tear. But now, his brother’s words almost broke his heart!

“You don’t need me…”

“That’s right.” The boy in the crystal ball replied, “No one needs you.”

Little Yichen’s pupils gradually lost focus. He stared numbly at the crystal ball as a line of tears slowly flowed from his left eye. One tear followed another. In an instant, tears streamed down his face.

The man looked at the boy who was now in the midst of being hypnotized and smirked coldly.

“No!” Little Yichen suddenly raised his head and broke down in anger. “It’s not like that! Youyou won’t say such things! This isn’t Youyou; this is an illusion created by you!”

But the man smiled. “I’m not a mage. I don’t know magic. This isn’t something I’ve conjured up. This is your own inner world.”

He leaned closer to Little Yichen, his breath escaping from his thin lips. He said unhurriedly, “You desire to be needed, to be valued, your fear is to be ignored and swept aside, isn’t it? But you’re not needed, not relied upon. None of them need you.”

“It’s not like that!” Little Yichen hollered madly, “You’re lying! Be it Mommy or Daddy, Youyou or Yueyao! They all need me, they all need me!” He was irreplaceable! He was Mu Yichen!

The man smiled. “Is this how you’ve been deceiving yourself all this time?”

Gritting his teeth, Mu Yichen suddenly lunged at the man and smashed the crystal ball in his hand!

With a ripping sound, the crystal ball fell to the ground and shattered! The mist in the ball slowly rose, and Mu Yichen saw it molding into the form of Youyou!

The next moment Youyou was standing right in front of him, in-person. He was just within reach.

Then, darkness engulfed the entire world! It was pitch dark. Everything had changed. The man in the white cape seemed to have vanished as well.

He looked down at himself. There was no rope, no handcuffs, no chain, no chair. He stood up and looked up. The boy was still standing in front of him, but not gone.

“Youyou!” Mu Yichen nervously lunged at the older boy and took him in his arms. The boy’s body, however, was cold and had no warmth.

“Why is your body so cold!?”

He gripped the boy’s shoulder nervously and looked him up and down, but the boy pushed him away unfeelingly.

“Don’t touch me.” As Youyou spoke, his gaze fell on Mu Yichen’s neck, around which a chain with a pendant hung. It was a purple crystal.

Youyou suddenly pulled off the amethyst and casually dropped it on the ground.

“You…”

“Don’t speak my name.” Youyou turned around and said ruthlessly, “Mu Yichen, no one needs you anymore. Mommy and Yueyao already have me. No one wants you to come home, so…”

He slowly turned his head, his eyes were hidden in the shadows. The only visible feature was the icy smile on his lips. “Don’t come home anymore.”

“No… no…” Mu Yichen shook his head in disbelief and squeezed a bitter smile. “Youyou, I know you lost your memories and don’t remember me, but it’s alright. You’ll definitely regain them.”

“Mu Yichen, don’t you know, in Mommy’s heart, I’m more important than you?”.