Chapter 1281: Lang Ge's Chance Encounter with His Mother and Him from 20 Years Ago

Mu Xueman also forked a piece of watermelon and put it in her mouth. The sweet juice spread across her tongue, and she couldn't help but nod, "Mmm, delicious!"

"Xiaoting, the watermelons from your hometown of Jining are purely sweet, with a refreshing quality, not cloying at all."

Xiao Haojun also came over, forked a piece of watermelon, and stuffed it into his mouth. With his cheeks puffed out, he mumbled, "So sweet!"

Lin Lang then took out more items from his personal space, and placed a basket of Weishan Lake duck eggs on the table first. The eggshells had a faint bluish tint.

"Wow, these really are duck eggs, a specialty of our hometown!" Pan Xiaoting cracked one open, revealing an orange-red yolk coated with delicate egg white, with oil droplets dripping down the edge of the bowl.

Lin Lang said with a smile, "These duck eggs are all laid by free-range ducks from the lake. They're delicious steamed or eaten with pancakes."

Pan Xiaoting giggled and said, "Honey, where's the pancake? I've been craving it for ages, I want to eat it now."

"Look how anxious you are! Ta-da... Transform!"

As Lin Lang spoke, he took out a stack of light yellow and crispy Qufu pancakes from his personal space.

There were also several boxes of exquisitely packaged Confucius Mansion pastries, including osmanthus cake, mung bean cake, and jujube paste pastry, with a sweet aroma mixed with the fragrance of flour filling the whole room.

"Thank you, honey, mwah!"

Pan Xiaoting kissed Lin Lang on the cheek, then eagerly picked up a pancake, rolled up some peeled duck eggs, and took a bite with a crisp crunch.

“This is how you eat it! My grandma always rolled it like this when I was little, and it was so delicious.” Pan Xiaoting’s eyes curved into crescents.

Mu Xueman picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and put it in her mouth. It was soft and fluffy, and the sweet fragrance of osmanthus spread on her tongue. Just as she was savoring the taste, a box of Kongfu pastries fell to the ground from Lin Lang's hand.

When Mu Xueman saw that Lin Lang's eyes suddenly reddened, she couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong, honey?"

Unexpectedly, Lin Lang replied with red eyes, "When the clone I just summoned traveled back to the old streets of Shanghai 20 years ago to buy you white sugar cake and Ding Sheng cake, I ran into my mother!"

Upon hearing this, Mu Xueman was stunned and stood there dumbfounded.

Pan Xiaoting said weakly, "Oh my god! Honey, you actually ran into your mother-in-law from 20 years ago during your time travel?"

Lin Lang did not answer, but instantly switched his main body and took over the clone, appearing on the streets of Shanghai in 1987 in a second.

In the old-fashioned street-side pastry shops full of nostalgia, the sweet aroma of pastries wafts through the air.

As soon as Lin Lang regained his senses, his gaze fell on a woman not far away.

Twenty years ago, Lin's mother, Shen Cuiping, was seen pushing a shiny Forever brand bicycle. Her dark blue polyester shirt was clean and neat, and the wisps of hair at her temples were brushed behind her ears by the wind. Her eyes and brows were full of the freshness and gentleness of her youth.

Nine-and-a-half-year-old Lin Lang was sitting obediently on the back of the bicycle, his hands gripping the seat tightly. His small body was sitting upright, which made his little face look even whiter.

The mother and daughter stopped in front of the old pastry shop on the side of the street.

Xiao Linlang's voice was clear and cheerful, filled with the pride of getting a perfect score. He tugged at Shen Cuiping's clothes and shook them.

"Mom, I got a perfect score on my Chinese test today! I want to eat white sugar cake!"

Shen Cuiping reached out and ruffled her son's hair, her eyes overflowing with doting affection. A gentle smile played on her lips, and her voice was incredibly soft: "Okay, our little Lang is so amazing!"

She reached out and gently pinched Lin Lang's nose, smiling as she promised, "As long as you get a perfect score every time, Mom will buy you whatever delicious food you want!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Linlang's eyes instantly lit up like two stars. He nodded his head vigorously, his mouth stretched into a wide grin, and he bounced around on the back seat of the car with great joy.

Lin Lang stood not far away watching this scene, his eyes reddening even more, and warm tears instantly welled up in his eyes.

Looking at the tenderness in his young mother's eyes, and at his carefree childhood self, he felt a lump in his throat, and longed to call out "Mom."

Shen Cuiping had no idea that her future son, now grown up, was looking at her with tears in his eyes from the street.

Shen Cuiping smiled and greeted the pastry shop owner familiarly. She quickly paid and returned carrying two portions of pastries wrapped in oil paper. The oil paper bags contained warm white sugar cakes, their sweet aroma growing stronger.

She first unwrapped the oil paper, picked up a soft and glutinous piece of white sugar cake, and held it to Xiao Linlang's mouth, carefully afraid of burning her son: "Eat slowly, it's fresh out of the pot, don't burn yourself."

Xiao Linlang leaned over and took a big bite. The sweet and sticky cake melted in his mouth, and his eyebrows immediately curved into crescent moons. He mumbled, "Delicious! So delicious!"

Shen Cuiping smiled as she watched her son wolf down his food, her eyes crinkling with laughter. She reached out and patted his head, her tone still gentle, but with a hint of admonition.

"You can only eat one piece, okay? Save your room. Your dad has already made braised pork at home. After you finish dinner, if you still have room, you can have some snacks and pastries, okay?"

"Okay!" Xiao Linlang readily agreed, then glanced longingly at the pastries in the oil paper bag.

Xiao Linlang suddenly noticed that Shen Cuiping was carrying two oil paper packages, and curiously tilted his head to ask, "Mom, why did you buy two packages of pastries?"

Shen Cuiping smiled and pinched her son's cheek, patiently explaining, "You're just feeding yourself? Have you forgotten about Jasmine, who lives across the street from us?"

“Every time your Aunt Qiaoyun buys something delicious for Jasmine, she never forgets to bring you a share.”

"Mom bought you some delicious food, so naturally I should also bring some for Jasmine. It's only right to reciprocate." Shen Cuiping's tone was so gentle.

Xiao Linlang nodded with a smile, his little face full of obedience: "Yes, I know, Mom. Let's go home quickly, Jasmine is waiting to play with me."

Shen Cuiping chuckled and teased, "You little rascal, aren't you going to do your homework when you get home? All you want to do is play with Jasmine."

Xiao Linlang pouted and muttered, "Okay, then I'll finish my homework before I play with Jasmine, okay?"

Lin Lang could see his younger self from twenty years ago so close, his mother's smile clearly visible, but he could only stand there, an untouchable bystander.

Lin Lang's eyes were already brimming with tears. Little Lin Lang, sitting on the back of the bicycle, glanced back unintentionally and met the eyes of Lin Lang from twenty years later.

What does it mean to fall in love at first sight?

At that moment, Lin Lang felt as if a single glance had lasted a lifetime, and tears uncontrollably streamed down his face.

As Xiao Linlang ate the piece of white sugar cake in his hand, he tilted his head and glanced at his future self a few more times, feeling a strange sense of familiarity and closeness.

This sense of close familiarity stems from the fact that Kobayashi Ryou sees a resemblance between himself and his father in his future self.

Lin Lang wanted to say something to his 20-year-younger self, but his mind went blank and he couldn't say anything.

"Son, sit tight and hold on to Mommy, we're going home!"

Shen Cuiping straddled the Forever brand 28-inch bicycle, kicked off the kickstand, and slowly pedaled away, carrying the overjoyed Xiao Linlang.

"Mom, there's an uncle crying by the roadside."

Shen Cuiping, who was riding her bicycle, turned around after hearing this, and just then an old-fashioned bus passed by, its body obscuring Lin Lang from the future.

The mother and son thus perfectly missed each other's gaze.

The cart wheels crunched softly over the blue brick pavement, and the sweet-smelling breeze carried the laughter of the mother and daughter. Before long, the cart turned the corner and disappeared completely from Lin Lang's sight.

At this moment, Lin Lang could no longer hold back. His legs went weak, and he squatted down abruptly, covering his face with his hands and bursting into tears.

He cried so bitterly, his shoulders heaving violently, all the emotions he had suppressed for so long bursting forth at that moment.

Lin Lang hadn't experienced an emotional breakdown in a long time.

He always appeared calm and resilient in public. With the system's assistance, he became a man who could rival a god and almost control everything.

But when he saw his mother's young, smiling face and his carefree childhood self disappearing into the distance, Lin Lang broke down and cried bitterly.

No one knew what Lin Lang was thinking at that moment; all they could see was that he was crying very sadly.

Lin Lang's tears were unstoppable, streaming down his face through his fingers as he cried.

Lin Lang's cries were initially choked with suppressed sobs, but later they became completely unrestrained, hoarse and sorrowful, mixed with the lively atmosphere of Shanghai Old Street, yet revealing an indescribable loneliness and longing for his deceased mother.

Passersby turned their heads to look, some curiously peering, others whispering amongst themselves, but Lin Lang paid no heed, focusing only on burying his head and weeping.

He poured all the grievances of being an orphan due to the lack of maternal love over the years, and his longing for his deceased mother, into this heart-wrenching cry. He cried until his throat was hoarse, but he still couldn't stop.

Just as Lin Lang was squatting by the roadside, crying uncontrollably, someone gently patted his shoulder, their voice concerned and gentle: "Young man, what's wrong? Is there something you need help with?"

Upon hearing the voice, Lin Lang abruptly looked up, his teary eyes gradually focusing. The moment he saw the other person's face clearly, he instinctively blurted out, "Uncle Wang!"

The man standing in front of Lin Lang was dressed in a crisp police uniform, with a tall and handsome figure. He was none other than Wang Zhensheng, the father of his high school classmate, Wang Dayong.

At this moment, Wang Zhensheng's eyes were full of the vigor and spirit of a thirty-year-old. When he heard Lin Lang, who was in his twenties, call him Uncle Wang, Wang Zhensheng was obviously stunned for a moment, and his face showed a bit of surprise.

"Young man, you don't look much younger than me, why are you calling me Uncle Wang?"

These words jolted Lin Lang awake. He suddenly realized that he had traveled back twenty years, and that he had never met Wang Zhensheng before, let alone been addressed as "Uncle Wang".

Lin Lang hurriedly wiped away the tears on his face, staggered to his feet, and said in a flustered and apologetic tone, "I'm sorry, officer, I mistook you for someone else."

Wang Zhensheng didn't seem to care, his concern undiminished. He took another half step forward to steady Lin Lang and said warmly, "Young man, you're crying so hard, are you really in trouble?"

"If you need any help, just let me know, and I'll definitely help if I can."

Looking at Wang Zhensheng's young face, Lin Lang suppressed the surging emotions in his heart, thought it over again and again, and finally said, "Officer, I'm fine. You look a lot like one of my uncles who was a narcotics officer who sacrificed his life. It feels very familiar to me."

"Hey... What a coincidence! I just switched from being a criminal investigator to a narcotics officer. What's your uncle's name? Maybe I even know your uncle who sacrificed his life as a narcotics officer."

Lin Lang sniffed and replied with tears in his eyes, "Wang Zhensheng."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhensheng was startled and exclaimed in astonishment, "No way? My name is also Wang Zhensheng! Which brigade did your uncle serve in before he sacrificed his life?"