The pinnacle of magic

"Want coffee?" Shi Rui walked to the coffee machine and asked back.

Bessie: "A macchiato, thank you."

Shi Rui returned to the sofa with two coffee cups.He put the cup on the coffee table, smiled, and sat down slowly on the sofa chair facing Bessie.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" He silently looked at the mother opposite who had clearly entered a sentimental state.

"Clifford's father left us when he was very young. Benson was my first husband. I can still remember our wedding. It was in a small wooden church, surrounded by It’s a forest that stretches as far as the eye can see, and a stream flows past the church door. I only saw that place on a postcard, and I made up my mind that if I want to get married, I must go there. Benson made my wish come true, and he took a lot of effort We had to get the whole itinerary together. All of us had to take an overnight flight, then change coaches and trek nine hours to get there."

"But it's all worth it." Bessie showed a nostalgic smile on her face. "As soon as I got out of the car, I fell in love with that place again. The air was so sweet, and the snow in the forest hadn't completely melted at that time. The branches and roots were all capped white. We walked through the forest to get there. The chapel was exactly like the picture on the postcard. The golden sunlight fell on the cross on the roof, and it looked peaceful and beautiful. I thought that moment It is eternity. But in fact this marriage only lasted six years, two months and eleven days."

Bessie took out her handkerchief and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes: "Maybe you don't know yet, when the paint industry was in recession, my husband was first taken away by the bank for his factory, and then owed a large amount of gambling debts, which made him finally Had to choose to brutally end the lives of the family. I still don’t understand how he managed to keep his face before the incident. The people he wanted to kill were his wife and his own son! That day , other than taking me and Clifford to a decent dinner, he looked like he always did. I didn't even think about it until I got woken up and put in the ambulance, against the white walls of the hospital Understand what the hell is going on. A policeman came to ask me who turned on the gas, and asked me if I knew beforehand. Woohoo...I even asked stupidly, wasn't this an accident? They investigated again It was two days before it was announced that I had nothing to do with the suicide, and I was only allowed near Clifford at that time. I came home in a daze, and I always felt that there was still a smell of gas in the air. You know, the kind of The feeling of being betrayed... is really, really scary!"

"But I know I can't go down. If I do, what's going to happen to Clifford? He's only five years old, and he's shaking and convulsing in bed every night after night after night. I'm selling the house, paying off the debts, and taking Clifford moved to my sister's city. I had to work hard to make money to support Clifford, and I was so busy every day that I wanted to fall asleep as soon as I got home. I didn't have time to discipline him, so when I found out , his temper had become as obstinate and extreme as his father's. Then I married again, and life gradually became more normal. But somehow, Clifford and I just couldn't get close. The kid always used a looked at me in such a strange way that it made me think he was not looking at his mother but at a stranger."

"I prevented him from leaving school to work as a magician's assistant, which made our relationship worse. But I just want him to at least finish high school. If it doesn't go to college right away, at least there will be a chance later, right? But he regards me as an enemy! I have a cold war with me all day, and I haven’t even said a word to me for a year. This makes me very painful. But what can I do? I have missed the best time to educate him, now No matter what I say, in his eyes, it's just dictating his life." The magician's mother almost broke down in tears.

"I knew he was in the adult circle, did some things that he shouldn't do at his age, but he couldn't do anything about it. Later, he gradually became famous, and his busy work was like a thick wall. We were on opposite sides of a wall. I was sad to find that my little Clifford had grown up and I would never have the chance to change him. But I also knew that even though he looked grumpy, money-hungry and inhuman on the outside, My son has a true heart. One day he will walk the right path and laugh at all the absurdities of the past. So no matter what he does, I will never agree or disagree again. I Always believed that he could find and correct his mistakes. But this time is different."

Bessie raised her head and looked at Shi Rui with tears in her eyes.At this moment, she seemed to be shrouded in maternal smoothness. "Ray, I'm not discriminating against you and your group, really. But Clifford is not like you. He has never shown any tendency to do so in the past 20 years. He deserves a good Harmonious family, are you right?" Bessie's eyes were a mother's hope for her son.

"I sincerely hope..." Shi Rui smiled lightly, raised his coffee cup and took a sip, "You can insist on playing the role of loving mother now."

"What do you mean?" Bessie looked puzzled.

"But it's hard, right? Especially for you." Shi Rui looked into Bessie's eyes calmly and said, "That betrayal prevented you from building a long-term relationship with people, right? You always Afraid of being abandoned, afraid of being hurt, even afraid of being killed. You can easily create an atmosphere of passionate love, but once the time exceeds the limit you can accept, you will start to doubt. Does this person still love me? If you meet In danger, will he still love me as much as he does now? Will he leave suddenly one day? These questions are like cobwebs that trap your heart layer by layer. The longer a relationship lasts, it will wrap around you The more threads you have, the less you can see what's on the outside. You basically refuse to trust. Am I right?"

The magician's mother stared at Shi Rui in a daze, and even forgot to cry.

"So, even if the other person is your own son, you can't completely trust him. That's why you ran away from home twice when Clifford was a child. You simply can't help yourself. One day you will be betrayed! You can't bear to wait day after day to be abandoned, so you choose to escape!"

"You, how do you understand? How could you understand that feeling? The person next to your pillow turned on the gas after you were asleep and wanted to die with you. How could you understand this feeling?!" Bessie covered her eyes Weeping, "I didn't expect Clifford to even tell you that I ran away from home. Yes, I did have a few times when I couldn't bear the pressure. But I am his mother after all, and I love him more than my own." life!"

"So I said..." Shi Rui showed a soothing smile on his face, "If you don't worry about gains and losses like before, don't suddenly indifference your relationship with him, and always play the role of a good mother, one day he will accept you. "

"forever?"

"Yes. Generally speaking, a mother's love is the most selfless love in the world. It is a cruel thing for a child to refuse a mother's love because of something that has not yet happened. Clifford must have I looked forward to your love, but he was disappointed so many times that he didn't even intend to continue trying."

"But I don't know... I don't know if I can do it."

"You just said that I can't understand your feelings. But what about Clifford? He has experienced the same thing as you, so he can understand your feelings, right?" Shi Rui's eyes sank slightly, and his voice suddenly changed. "But he didn't give up on trusting, never! Although he was influenced by you and his personality was not so stable, he was one of the most strong-willed people I have ever met. Unlike you, even if you commit a crime He is never in a hurry to clear his responsibilities when he makes a mistake. He can always recognize his mistakes and make up for them in time. So even a small flaw in his personality does not detract from his charm in the slightest. And a deliberately created Different from the perfect image that is like a flower in the mirror and the moon in the water, Clifford is real and worthy of respect and trust!"

"You mean, what I, what I'm doing now is just creating a character?" Bessie wanted to question with trembling lips.

"Trust can only be won by paying trust." Shi Rui said lightly, "At this point, you are indeed not suitable to influence his thoughts. If he finds someone who he thinks is worthy of being with him for a lifetime, he will definitely trust him completely It is impossible for the other party to give up because of your objection."

"Ha! In what capacity are you talking to me like this? After talking for a long time, you are just planning to bring him into your filthy world, aren't you? I really feel disgusted by a man wearing such clothes!" The blond The beautiful woman said viciously.

There was no displeasure on Shi Rui's face.He knew that the poor woman had been given too much stimulation tonight, and whether she would change because of it was simply out of his consideration. "Whether you believe it or not, all I want to do is protect him." He stood up, put away the empty cup on the table, and put it into the dishwasher beside him.

Realizing that no matter which face she put on, she couldn't gain the upper hand in front of this man, Bessie couldn't help but let out a cold snort.

"One more thing." Shi Rui turned around and looked at the beautiful woman on the sofa calmly, "No matter what his father has done, Clifford doesn't like someone to take his place. So even if you really want a Please don't force this kind of concept on him."

Bessie: "..."

"Okay, your play's over. I don't think you're going to have any strong resistance to his sudden change of sexual orientation. You just feel like it's time to show you care about Clifford. Now I've Fully understanding the 'innocent' role you played in Clifford's upbringing and your fist 'love child', it's up to you to continue. Again, Clifford is not a fool, if If you are willing to show your sincerity, he will not fail to feel it."

Shi Rui walked out the door of the lounge, and saw the magician walking in this direction frowning.

"Hi, Clifford!"

He waved to the magician, the emerald ring on his left ring finger gleaming in the light.