Ning’s mother passed away on the third day, peacefully in her sleep.

After her death, Zhang Xian went to the guesthouse to inform Lin Guodong and Ning Shu, and both of them attended the funeral.

It was the 1990s now, and no matter where a funeral was held, there was always a wake, and children and grandchildren had to observe mourning.

Ning Shu originally didn’t want to go, but considering the power of public opinion, she decided to attend.

If she didn’t, people wouldn’t care about how Ning’s parents had treated her.

To them, once a person was gone, everything was in the past.

If she didn’t observe mourning, it would be seen as unfilial.

In the modern world, one can’t escape public opinion, especially when one’s family holds a special status.

Moreover, Ning Shu didn’t feel that observing mourning was a grievance.

Although Ning’s parents hadn’t raised her and she hadn’t been filial to them, they had given her life.

Even though it was against their will, they had given birth to her, and that fact remained.

After the two-day wake, Ning’s mother was sent to the funeral home for cremation and then to the cemetery.

With Ning’s mother’s affairs settled, Ning Shu and Lin Guodong returned to the capital.

The next time they would return to Ning’s family would probably be for Ning’s father’s funeral.

Fortunately, the Ning family did not cause trouble.

Perhaps because Ning Shu’s position was now high, they couldn’t entangle her, or maybe they had enough self-awareness.

For Ning Shu, this was a good thing.

Ning’s mother had actually been quite young, only in her sixties.

Compared to them, Lin’s parents were already in their eighties, though their health remained good.

Since the Lin family had split, Lin’s parents no longer had burdens, and their mindset had changed.

Over the years, every New Year, Ning Shu would bring them to the capital for a check-up, let them stay a few more days, and then send them back after the holidays.

They had gone from feeling out of place to now living more freely.

Sometimes, Ning Shu would even sign them up for tours.

Now, in their village, they were considered knowledgeable elders.

Ning Shu’s kindness to them was because of their kindness to her, which she would never forget.

During the times when she was controlled by the storyline, their care and tolerance for her and her three children were things that Ning Shu would repay for the rest of her life.

The Lin family, originally part of the collective farming brigade—now renamed Qinglin Bay Village, since the farming brigades no longer existed—was the most respected family in the village.

This was for a reason.

Because of Ning Shu’s work with the group purchasing business, she led the entire village in the cultivation of crops and fruits.

From sugarcane to watermelon, apples, pears, and other easy-to-grow produce, Ning Shu would buy them all.

As a result, Qinglin Bay became famous throughout the county as a farming village.

Every household involved in farming had a good life.

Lin Xiaoshan, a lively young man, was hired by Ning Shu as the regional manager, responsible for the production and transportation of goods from Qinglin Bay.

As for Lin’s other children, they weren’t as quick-witted as Lin Xiaoshan and could only do more down-to-earth work.

By 1995, Ning Shu’s Baixing Food Supermarket had almost expanded nationwide, even reaching remote areas where it was impossible to make a profit.

In those poor areas, there was still a Baixing Food Supermarket, lighting a lantern of hope for the local people.

Ning Shu had never thought about doing charity work.

She was never a particularly kind person, but perhaps because of her age, she began to feel the need to do something for herself, for Lin Guodong, and for her three children, leaving behind some blessings for the future.

The children had all grown up—now in their thirties—and still hadn’t brought anyone home.

She didn’t rush them about it.

In her heart, their happiness was the most important thing.

Honestly, if they never got married, she wouldn’t care.

On the contrary, if they married too early, she would feel a bit sad, as if her children no longer belonged to her, but to someone else.

However, the three children weren’t against marriage.

Among them, Er Bao was the first to start a relationship.

His partner was also an athlete, from the same field as him.

Er Bao’s circle was made up of athletes, so it wasn’t surprising to Ning Shu when he chose someone from the same industry.

After Er Bao got married, Ning Shu had him move out of the small villa they had been living in for years.

Yes, they had all lived in that small villa, and though it had been renovated with Ning Shu’s favorite modern style, it was still the same cozy place.

The three children had always shared rooms, but after Er Bao got married, there was no room for the couple in the villa, so they had to move out.

Ning Shu’s wedding gift to them was a courtyard house.

What surprised Ning Shu was that Er Bao’s marriage seemed to have scared Yi Bao and San Bao.

Knowing that marriage meant moving out of the small villa, Yi Bao and San Bao became afraid of getting married.

They didn’t want to end up like Er Bao, being kicked out of the villa.

They still preferred the slightly cramped room they shared.

Ning Shu felt innocent in all of this—she hadn’t expected that the idea of moving out would frighten Yi Bao and San Bao.

Before Yi Bao and San Bao could find their partners, however, something unexpected happened:

Ning Shu’s app came back online.

It was a sunny afternoon, and Ning Shu was lying in the yard, basking in the sun, watching Er Bao’s little daughter crawl on the mat on the ground.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar, mechanical-sounding voice.

“Ning Shu…”

The voice sounded as if it was coming from a distant place, so distant it felt like it had been decades since she last heard it.

The sudden sound left Ning Shu stunned.

“Ning Shu…”

The voice called again.

Ning Shu looked around, but there was no one in sight.

“Lin Xiao’er, do you hear anything?” Ning Shu asked her granddaughter.

Lin Xiao’er was Er Bao’s daughter, and her nickname was given by Er Bao.

He said he was the second child in his family, so his daughter was called Xiao’er.

Lin Xiao’er was bent over playing by herself.

Upon hearing her grandmother’s question, she looked up, her large eyes filled with curiosity.

Then, her little head turned to look around, and she finally answered in a soft voice, “Grandma, I don’t hear anything.”

“Ning Shu, it’s me, I’m the spirit of the food app, the soul of the system.”

Ning Shu was stunned.

Had she heard that wrong?

Immediately, she jumped up from the lounge chair, surprising herself with how agile she was despite her age. “System, is it really you?”

She was so excited that her eyes even turned red.

“It’s me.” The voice of the food app was still emotionless, but Ning Shu felt as if she had heard a divine melody. “System, system, it’s really you. You finally came back, system…”

Ning Shu wanted to shout out loud, but she couldn’t.

She could only desperately call out in her mind.

“Yes, I came back. It seems like I made the right bet. I used all my energy to save you. You didn’t crave wealth, and with the countless fortunes you earned, you saved me.” The food app had no other choice. If it didn’t save Ning Shu, she would die, and if she died, it couldn’t survive either.

So, it had to take a chance.

It died, Ning Shu was free.

If she had a conscience and was willing to trade the fortune she had earned through the app to bring it back, then it could return.

But if she didn’t want to, the food app had no way of stopping her.

Either way, it was doomed.

Ning Shu smiled.

If she had the ability, she would definitely save the food app.

But if she didn’t, there was nothing she could do. “You saved me first, so it’s only right that I return the favor.”

The food app replied, “Ning Shu, I’m leaving now. We’ll never meet again. I’m glad you changed your destiny.”

“Before you leave, can you tell me why you bound me and brought me here?” Ning Shu asked.

“I am a system spirit of the World Management Bureau. When a novel gathers enough popularity, it becomes a real world. However, once it becomes real, the characters inside are bound by the rules of the plot. Our mission is to find a soul that can merge with this world, eliminate the plot rules, and give the people of the real world freedom. A soul, which is the spirit of someone who has died. We can’t bring someone alive into the world; that would be smuggling and disrupt the original world’s timeline. I found you.” The food app explained.

“I see now,” Ning Shu understood. “No wonder I died and you brought me here. But why is it a food app?”

The food app replied, “I was chosen based on your profession. By choosing your career, I had a chance to come back. Ning Shu, I’ve told you the reason. This is a reward for you keeping your promise. But at the same time, there’s a prohibition. You cannot mention the World Management Bureau to anyone, and you cannot speak of it. If you do, you will disappear forever.”

“Okay, I understand. Thank you for bringing me here. I’m really grateful to you. In the original world, I was like an orphan. In this world, I’ve found a husband who loves me, and I have obedient children, and now a lovely granddaughter. This life, I’m truly happy,” Ning Shu said, her eyes turning red.

She really was happy.

At the same time, she truly let go.

Fortunately, the original plot was just a novel and didn’t exist in the real world.

At that time, the three treasures were just numbers, not yet born as lives, not human.

“Goodbye then.” The food app left, taking the system with it.

Ning Shu looked at the phone that no one could see, and it disappeared, leaving no trace.

“Grandma… pretty grandma…” Lin Xiao’er, seeing her grandmother standing there in a daze, tilted her little head and looked at her. “Grandma, what are you doing?”

Ning Shu came to her senses, smiling as she ruffled Lin Xiao’er’s hair.

She thought her hair was a bit messy. “Sit still, Grandma will tie your hair.”

“No, no…” Lin Xiao’er quickly ran away.

Grandma loved to tie her hair into sky-high pigtails, but now that she was older, she couldn’t wear them anymore.

People would laugh at her.

Ning Shu looked at her eldest granddaughter, who was holding her head and eyeing her warily, and couldn’t help but laugh. “Then how about I take you to the mall to buy pretty clothes? Do you want to go?”

When Lin Xiao’er heard this, she immediately ran over and hugged Ning Shu’s legs. “Grandma, I want to go! I want lots and lots of pretty clothes!”

“Alright, let’s go buy some beautiful clothes then,” Ning Shu said, taking Lin Xiao’er’s little hand.

The two of them walked out of the courtyard, and the sunlight stretched their shadows as they went.