Chapter 39: Forgotten Part 2

That gave Tao Fangyi a feeling that he really was important.

“You really are shy~” Wang moved even closer to Tao Fangyi.

Tao Fangyi waved his foreclaws vigorously, struggling to cover his big head.

Wang kept inching closer, and Tao Fangyi shuffled away in the opposite direction.

“Uncle Tao can be shy too~” A jingling, clattering sound came from Wang’s throat. He seemed to be excited.

“S-Stop talking.” Tao Fangyi was still trying to rub his own noggin.

Wang kept closing in on Tao Fangyi. “But I want to keep talking, so what are you gonna do about it?”

Blade Spirit noticed that Wang’s cheeks had also turned bright red. Wang was obviously embarrassed too, they just showed their embarrassment in different ways.

Wang wanted to keep talking with Tao Fangyi, but Blazing Flame knocked on the toy box.

Wang: “Tch.”

“What is it?” Tao Fangyi opened the toy box lid.

Blazing Flame poked his head out. “I really am a hero!!”

Wang: …

He went through all that just to say this? Fine. He really did hate children, and toys created by children were just as detestable.

“You really are a hero!” Tao Fangyi used his little short claw to rub Blazing Flame’s head.

“I’ve learned how to sing my ending theme song now. Do you want to sing together?” Blazing Flame invited Tao Fangyi.

“Of course!” Tao Fangyi knew how to sing it too.

Wang folded his arms across his chest and silently walked away.

“These toys are a bunch of selfish jerks who want to trap their masters in a fantasy. Tao Fangyi shouldn’t be so nice to them.” Wang said.

Blade Spirit sighed. “You really do hate every single individual in this world equally.”

“They deserve it.” Wang snorted in annoyance.

That very night, the fantasy creatures of Older Cousin made a request to Tao Fangyi. They wanted to leave the Toy Room temporarily and go see Older Cousin’s child.

Tao Fangyi agreed, but he demanded that they take him along, since these fantasy creatures were far more destructive than toys.

The fantasy creatures ran to the child’s bedside and gathered around her.

“So… if we trap our master in a dream world, she won’t have a dad anymore?” A tall, burly man asked.

“Even though I don’t like kids, this one is pretty cute.” A man with a big beard said, “I can’t really picture her crying her eyes out.”

“She should always be smiling.” The beauties who had been acting like wood all along also came to life. They reached out and touched the girl’s face. One of them said, “Perhaps one day, she’ll also become an Alliance Chief.”

“Oh!! And then she’ll defeat the two-faced Alliance Chief of the martial world! She’ll inherit our creator’s will!!” Another fantasy creature immediately picked up the thread.

A short-haired wooden beauty was silent for a moment, then she reached out and touched the child’s flat little nose bridge. “Maybe she’ll want to be a teacher when she grows up, or run a little shop.”

Tao Fangyi looked at that group of beautiful women, whose presence had always been so faint, with some surprise.

“Why do I feel like these female fantasies have suddenly gained some soul?” Tao Fangyi was puzzled.

Blade Spirit had followed along. “Probably because their creator has become the father of a little girl. That’s bound to affect these fantasy creatures somewhat.”

“It can work like that, huh.” Tao Fangyi looked at the little girl.

The fantasy creatures were even more dejected when they returned to the Toy Room.

They didn’t want their creator to live in a world full of pain, but they also couldn’t bear the thought of that tiny child losing her father forever.

“Our creator has completely turned into a machine that only knows how to work.” The fantasy creatures hugged each other and wept.

Blazing Flame, who was in the middle of streaming his own show, glanced back before refocusing his attention on the phone.

In the cartoon, Blazing Flame had just been knocked down. He struggled back to his feet. “I won’t let you destroy their happy lives!”

“That’s why we have to protect him from harm.” This was Morning Star’s voice.

Blazing Flame turned his head to look at Morning Star.

“Otherwise when he grows up, he’ll end up just like his Older Cousin.” Morning Star pointed at the weeping fantasy creatures.

Blazing Flame slowly lowered his phone. He seemed to fall into deep thought.

Blazing Flame restarted the episode, but this time he couldn’t keep watching.

After thinking for a moment, Blazing Flame climbed out of the toy box and returned the phone to Tao Fangyi.

“Oh, perfect, it needs to be charged.” Tao Fangyi noticed that his phone was only at five percent battery.

Blazing Flame went over to chat with those fantasy creatures.

The fantasy creatures were full of complaints. “If only that child had never been born. It’s not that I hate her. It’s just that if she’d never been born, our creator could go back to his happiest days.”

“If only he hadn’t gotten married.”

“I saw her fiancé… Okay, admittedly he’s a decent guy, but he’s not the heir to some corporation, if you know what I mean.”

“If only she hadn’t grown up.”

Dejected, Blazing Flame returned to the toy box. Growing up really did seem like a very complicated affair.

And very painful.

Blazing Flame sat in place for a while, then he poked his head out, unwilling to give up, and waved his hand at Wang.

Wang was very surprised. This little thing actually dared to come looking for him?

Wang pointed at his own face and tilted his head uncertainly.

Blazing Flame nodded.

Wang walked over just in time to hear Blazing Flame ask, “Is our creator really a child who isn’t that good-looking?”

“Ugly.” Wang corrected him. “Not ‘not that good-looking.’ From head to toe, he doesn’t have the slightest bit of connection to the words ‘good-looking’.”

Blazing Flame: “… Does everyone just not like people who aren’t good-looking?”

“Not necessarily, but people are always especially harsh towards those who aren’t good-looking.” Wang said, “He’ll understand that in the future.”

Blazing Flame: …

How could there be so many bad people in this world?

Blazing Flame kept pondering, but no one was paying attention to what this abandoned little toy was thinking about.

Blazing Flame felt like he would never be happy again.

His low spirits lasted all the way until Monday. On Monday he could go with Sophia and the others to see Liu Xuanyong again.

Blazing Flame cheerfully wanted to jump into a puddle, but this time his attempt was stopped by Sophia.

“Why? It was allowed just last time.” Blazing Flame was a bit unhappy.

“Because the Commander-in-Chief doesn’t care at all if you’re dirty or not! If you get yourselves filthy now, you’ll just smudge up my dress!” Sophia was a refined young lady.

“For justice!” Morning Star seized the chance to jump into a puddle.

“You bastard!!” Sophia was very irritable. Sure enough, a six-year-old child was more annoying than a three-year-old.

Blazing Flame dawdled, trying to edge closer to the puddle, but Sophia caught on to his intentions. She yanked him back. “If you dare jump, I’ll spank your butt!”

Little Puzzle Piece came over, “Teacher, I need to pee…”

“No you don’t!” Sophia’s voice rose an octave, “Because I have confiscated your butt!!”

Little Puzzle Piece looked ready to cry. Sophia immediately added, “If you behave well enough! I will give you a bigger butt!”

Little Puzzle Piece stopped crying. She bounced on the spot for a bit in excitement, then returned to the group.

Sophia had grown familiar with this route. She led the toys to Liu Xuanyong’s classroom. The toys lined up on the windowsill to watch Liu Xuanyong during class.

“He really is so cute!” The little hammer bounced happily, “Why would anyone say he’s not good-looking? He’s clearly so good-looking.”

“When he grows up, he’ll find out why people say he’s not good-looking.” Sophia said offhandedly.

Blazing Flame slowly lowered his head.

“See, growing up really is no good.” Sophia said to Blazing Flame.

The bell rang for the end of class. Liu Xuanyong inside the classroom let out a happy exclamation.

“That teacher’s expression even has a bit of disgust on it.” Sophia pointed to the teacher at the podium. “People’s tolerance is different for pretty children and ugly children.”

“It’s just that Liu Xuanyong hasn’t realized it yet.” Sophia’s voice softened a little. She was trying to beguile Blazing Flame.

“Wow!!” The little sand hammer’s voice rang out, “A big doggy!”

“Huh?” Sophia turned her head and spotted a large gray dog heading their way.

Sophia narrowed her eyes. She felt this dog was off.

The dog’s eyes were red. Its tail was curled. Foam was constantly dripping from its mouth.

“No, no, no! That dog is very dangerous!” Sophia yelled.

“Ah! I understand now!” Blazing Flame had finally figured something out.

Just then Morning Star jumped down from the windowsill. Without a second thought, he tripped Liu Xuanyong, who was the first one running out of the classroom.

Liu Xuanyong couldn’t run in that dog’s direction.

The commotion from Liu Xuanyong’s fall attracted the dog’s attention. It looked toward Liu Xuanyong and suddenly broke into a sprint.

The toys screamed.

“Hurry up and hit the elec… dammit. Where would we even get a phone?!” Sophia was frantic, but panic was useless.

“Charge!!” With tones identical to three-year-old children, the toys jumped down one after another and rushed toward the large dog.

“Hey! Don’t act rashly!!” Sophia failed to grab them. “It might not be sick! It might not actually be coming to bite your master!!”

The little toys had already charged forward.

The sprinting dog suddenly felt itself step on something round and slippery. It crashed to the ground, then felt something hitting it, but it couldn’t see what was hitting it.

The dog started madly biting at thin air.

“No, no, no! Don’t, don’t, don’t!” Sophia could see that dog bite the silicone rattle drum right into its mouth.

“Th-this… this might not actually be a bad thing. Afterwards your master might reasonably go into shock, and then he could live inside his own head his whole life.” Sophia grabbed Blazing Flame.

Blazing Flame: …

“Don’t you charge over there! You don’t actually want to be completely forgotten, do you!” Sophia warned Blazing Flame.

“But I’ve already been forgotten.” Blazing Flame said.

“You can still be remembered!” Sophia said.

Blazing Flame was silent for two seconds, then he shook his head. “No, he needs to grow up.”

“When he grows up he’ll realize he isn’t all that great. He’s not a handsome guy, no one will like him. Someone will tell him he’s not good-looking.” Sophia spoke faster. “He’ll also realize that his life really is incredibly hard!”

“That’s why the happiness of right now is so important.” Blazing Flame said, “When he finds out the truth and feels sad, he’ll need the happiness we created for him.”

“He needs to grow up. He needs to have his own life.” Blazing Flame pressed a hand to his chest. “If children really hate growing up that much, why couldn’t you keep your masters?”

Sophia froze.

Their masters were no longer full of hot-blooded passion, no longer tender-hearted and kind. They no longer needed a swarm of handsome men or beautiful women. After those brief dreams, they chose to plunge into their own far-from-glamorous lives.

They were in pain, colliding.

Constantly losing control, yet trying to stabilize the status quo.

“My existence is to make him feel happy.” Blazing Flame smiled. “He doesn’t need me anymore, because he’s six now.” A six-year-old child no longer finds joy in things meant for a three-year-old.

But Tao Fangyi had also said that Liu Xuanyong was an optimist.

He didn’t suddenly become an optimist at age six.

So…

“We did a really great job.” Blazing Flame said.

Perhaps one day in the future, someone would tell Liu Xuanyong that he wasn’t good-looking, that some of his habits were truly terrible.

That blow would hurt Liu Xuanyong a lot. But by then they would reappear. They were a buffer. They would give that child a space to heal.

After the sadness, Liu Xuanyong wouldn’t become overly self-deprecating. He wouldn’t blindly change himself. He would evaluate that person’s words. If they were just attacking him, he could filter out that bad relationship and not be upset about it for too long.

There was no need to rush to keep him in the present. He was a child who was always going to keep growing, a child who belonged to the future.

“His time can’t be frozen right now.” Blazing Flame pulled his hand free, but then he quickly thought of something else.

Blazing Flame placed his hand behind his back and flipped his switch.

Beautiful lights lit up, accompanied by his classic line— “I am Blazing Flame! I will fight for justice!”

Blazing Flame ran forward without stopping. He leaped up fiercely and hugged the big dog’s snout.

Nearby, some toys’ bodies had already been bitten and bent, but they still got up and continued to resist the “giant monster”.

The teacher inside the classroom also ran out. He grabbed Liu Xuanyong, who was still in a daze, shoved him into the classroom, and then shut both the front and back doors tightly.

The kids were pressed against the windows watching the dog fight thin air.

The teacher was already on the phone reporting that a dog suspected of having rabies had entered the school grounds. He then asked if Liu Xuanyong was okay.

Liu Xuanyong had scraped a layer of skin off his leg when he fell. He still looked dazed.

Just then Morning Star was also checking on Liu Xuanyong’s condition. He was clinging to the boy’s clothes, having been scooped into the classroom along with him by the teacher.

Morning Star tried his best to run back toward the windowsill.

Sophia could see that Blazing Flame was still clinging to the dog’s mouth. Blazing Flame didn’t have the dog’s strength. He tried to wrestle with the dog, but his arm still got bitten.

Toys couldn’t feel pain.

Blazing Flame believed he had done the right thing, so he was still smiling.

“I don’t want anyone to hurt him.”

“But reality isn’t that perfect. So I was thinking, when he’s hurting, can he come into my arms? I will hold him.”

“We’ll all hold him.”

The school security guards arrived. They drove the strange dog away to another area.

Sophia immediately jumped off the windowsill and ran to Blazing Flame’s side.

The lights on Blazing Flame’s body were already busted. Sophia flipped Blazing Flame over and found that the battery compartment was wrecked.

Sophia patted Blazing Flame.

The lights on Blazing Flame flickered once, and then his stuttering line played.

“I-I am Blazing Flame.”

“I will fight, fight for justice.”

What a cringey catchphrase.